P'O
-------------




THE STUDENVT'S HIUME.
A
HISTORY OF ENGLAND
FROI THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE REVOLUTION
IN 1688.
BY DAVID HUME.
ABRIDGED.
INCORPORATING THE CORRECTIONS AND RESEARCHES
OF RECENT HISTORIANS;
AND CONTINUED DOWN TO THE YEAR 1858.
tdtuzttateb itj Evabtngs on Woob.
NEW YORK:
HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISIIERS,
FRANKLIN SQUARE.
1873.




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PRE F AC Eo
TiIS work is designed to supply a long-acknowledged
want in our School and College Literature-a STUDENT'S
HISTORY OF ENGLAND in a volume of moderate size, free
from sectarian and party prejudice, containing the results
of the researches of the best modern historians, tracing more
particularly the development of the Constitution, and bringing out prominently the characters and actions of the great
men of our country. It is unnecessary to dwell upon the
manifold difficulties of such an undertaking- difficulties
which the editor of the present work would have deemed
insuperable if he had not been able to avail himself of the
clear narrative and matchless style of Hume.
It has lately been. the fashion in some quarters to underrate the merits and exaggerate the faults of HIume; but the
most competent judges have generally been among the first
to render homage to his greatness as an historian. Thus
Mr. Hallam remarks that the domestic transactions in the
reign of Edward I. have been "extremely well told by
Hume, the first writer who had the merit of exposing the
character of Edward I.;" and a recent critic has observed,
"that Hume's account of our English annals is still, with
all its defects, the best history of the period over which it
extends."*  Indeed, the History of Hume will probably
long remain unrivaled. It is not mere learning and the poring over records that constitute an historian. A writer may
be accurate in his facts, but most erroneous in his deductions from them. With the best materials, he may completely misrepresent history from want of the ability to trace
* The Times, April 1, 1855.




vi                     PREFACE.
the connection of events, and to reason from them correctly; above all, he may. lack that power of historical narration without which the facts of history will ever remain
mere annals-dry bones, devoid of form, and flesh, and vital motion. In all the great qualities of an historian Hume
was- pre-eminently excellent. IHis perception was the most
acute; his judgment, except when occasionally warped by
prejudice, the most sound; his historical views the largest
and most enlightened. But the principal charm of his work
lies in. his inimitable style, the ease and grace of which inspired even so great a writer as Gibbon with " a mixed sensation of delight and despair."
It is not intended, however, to ignore or extenuate Hume's
defects. The editor of the present work has carefully compared. the historian's statements with the best and most recent authorities, retaining his language as far as was practicable, but at the same time introducing into the text numerous corrections and additions. Hiume's political principles,
as is well known, led him to uphold the royal prerogative
against the popular element in our Constitution; and this
bias may be observed, not only in the coloring of his narrative and the tone of his reasonings, but occasionally also, it
must be added, in an unfair use of his authorities.  The effect of these principles is most conspicuous in that portion
of his work which he first published, namely, the history of
James I. and Charles I. In -the lives of the two following
Stuarts there is not much to which any lover of constitutional freedom would be reasonably inclined to object; but
with the view apparently of exculpating Charles I., the great
hero of his work, in his maintenance of those principles
which cost him his crown and his life, the historian has
been led to represent the royal prerogative under the Plantagenets and Tudors as greater and more absolute than the
facts will justify.  These views it has been the duty of the




PREFACE.                    vii
present editor to modify and correct from later and more
unprejudiced writers.
Another defect in Hume's History is the carelessness with
which he has treated the earlier portion; 4and especially the
Anglo-Saxon period. This arose from two causes: his
philosophical indifference for a people whom he considered
little better than barbarians, and the want of authentic materials for his narrative. This want has been supplied in
the present century by the impulse, given to antiquarian research, and by the revival of the study of the Anglo-Saxon
language and literature. The works of Turner, Palgrave,
Lappenberg, and Kemble, have thrown an entirely new
light upon this period of our annals, and, accordingly, the
early history down to the time of the Norman Conquest has
been in a great measure rewritten by the editor.
As much prominence as possible is given in the present
work to the rise and progress of the Constitution; but, in
order to economize space, and at the same time not interrupt
the narrative, much important information upon this subject
is inserted in a smaller type in the "Notes and-Illustrations,"
where the student will find an account of the "government,
laws, and institutions of the Anglo-Saxons," of the " AngloNorman Constitution;" of the "origin and progress of Parliament," and of other matters of a similar kind. Several
constitutional documents, such as the Petition of Right and
the Bill of Rights, are printed at length. These Notes and
Illustrations, which contain discussions on various other historical and antiquarian' subjects, have been drawn up mainly
with the view of assisting the student in farther inquiries;
and with the same object a copious list of authorities is — appended.
The continuation from the reign of James II., which it
has been necessary to compress into narrow limits, has been
compiled from the best authorities, among which Lord Ma



viii                  PREFACE.
hon's History deserves to be particularly mentioned, on account of the valuable assistance which has been derived from
it in this portion of the work. All that could be attempted
in so limited a space was a succinct narrative of the principal events; and it is hoped that no -facts of any great importance have been omitted.
Another work which has been of great service to the editor is the " Historic Peerage of England," by the late Sir
Harris Nicolas. As a peer is usually mentioned in history
by his title, and the same title has often been borne by different families, the student frequently experiences no small
difficulty in ascertaining the family to which a title belongs,
and supposes a relationship between persons who are in no
way connected. Sir Harris Nicolas has removed all difficulties of this kind; and, accordingly, the editor of the present work has taken pains to distinguish in. the Notes between families bearing the same title, and to specify the
times when titles of historical importance were created and
became extinct. It is believed that such information, which
is given for the first time in a history of this description,
will guard the student against many mistakes.
All the coins and medals figured in the work have been
drawn from originals in the Medal-room of the British Museum, and the editor desires to express his obligations to
Mr. Hawkins and Mr. R. Stuart Poole for their advice and
judgment in the selection of them.
NOTE BY THE AMERICAN EDITOR.
In those portions of this volume relating to America, a
few errors of names and dates have been corrected in the
text. Where any important correction seemed requisite, it
has been made in the form of a note, bearing the signature
of the American editor.




Coin of the Emperor Hadrian, p. 11.
C O N T E N T S.
BOOK I.
THE BRITONS, ROMANS, AND ANGLO-SAXONS.
(B.C. 55-A.D. 1066. )
B.C. A.D.      CIHAP.                                                PnGU
55-446.         I. The Britons and Romans..............................  I
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS:
A. Cnsar's Voyage to Britain................. 16
B. The Roman Wall................................ 16
C. The Comes Littoris Saxonici................. 16
D. The Scots and Picts........................... 17
E. Government and Divisions of Britain under the Romans............................... 17
AF. Authorities...................................... 18
A.D.
450-827.        II. The Anglo-Saxons till the Reign of Egbert.......19
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS:
A. The Frisians took part in the Saxon invasion of Britain........................ 37
B. The Isle of Thanet....................... 37
C. Celcic Words in the English Language....37
827-1016.       III. The Anglo-Saxons from the Union of England under Egbert till the Reign of Canute the Dane.. 38
1016-1066.       IV. Danes and Anglo-Saxons from the Reign of Cannte to the Norman Conquest...................... 58
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIPNS:
A. The Government, Laws, and Institutions
of the Anglo-Saxons.......................... 70
B. Anglo-Saxon Language and Literature.... 75
C. Authorities................................ 76




CONTENTS.
BOOK II.
ANGLO-NORMAN KINGS. (A.D. 1066-1199.)
A.D.        CIIAP.                                                 PAn
1066-1087.        V. William I., surnamed the Conqueror..............  77
1087-1154.       VI. William II., IIenry I., Stephen.................... 93
HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET.
1154-1199.      VII. Henry II. and Richard I............................. 108
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS:
A. The Anglo-Norman Constitution........... 128
B. Authorities for Norman History............  132
C. Authorities for Anglo-Norman History... 132
BOOK II.
THE FOUNDATION OF ENGLISH LIBERTY.-FROMS THIE ACCESSION OF JOHN TO TIE DEATHI OF RICHARD III.
(A.D. 1199-1485).
5IOUSE  OF PLANTAGENET.-Co2ztiueLd.
1199-1272.    VIII. John and Henry IIII.................................. 135
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS:
A. On the Amalgamation of the Saxon and
Norman Races................................ 153
B. Confirmations of the Great Charter....... 154
C. Trial by Jury................................... 154
1272-1327.       IX. Edward I. and Edward II.......................  155
1327-1399.        X. Edward III. and Richard II........................ 173
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS:
A. Death of Richard II....................... 199
B. Statute of Prc munirre......................... 199
HOUSE OF LANCASTER.
1399-1461.       XI. IIenry IV., Henry V., IHenry VI................. 201
HOUSE OF YORK.
1461-1485.      XII. Edwgard IV., Edward V., Richard III.......... 223
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS:
A. Origin and Progress of Parliament......... 238
B. Authorities- for the Period of the Plantagenets from John to Richard III....... 240




CONTENTS.                                  xi
BOOK IV.
THE HOUSE OF TUDOR.  (A.D. 1485-1603.)
A. D.        CHAP.                                                   PAGg
1485-1509       XIII. I-renry VII............................................. 242
1509-1530.    XIV. Henrv VIII.  From his Accession to the Death
of Wolsev............................ 255
1530-1547.       XV. Henry  VIII., continuted.   From  the Death of
Wolsey to the Death of the King............... 273
1547-1553.    XVI. Edward VI.....................................   293
1553-1558.    XVII.  Mary.......................................................   303
1 558-1587.  XVIII. Elizabeth.  From  her Accession to the Death
of Mary Queen of Scots.......................... 31S
1587-1603.      XIX. Elizabeth, continued.  From  the Execution of
the Queen of Scots to the Death of Elizabeth.. 348
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS
A. The Court of Star Chamber................  366
B. Authorities for the'Period of the Tudors. 367
BOOK V.
THE HOUSE OF STUART, TO THE ABDICATION OF
JAMES  II.  (A.D. 1603-1688.)
1603-1625:,.     XX. James I.............................................  369
1625-1642.      XXI. Charles I.  From  his Accession to the Commencement of the Civil War..................... 389
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS:
Petition of Right..........  420
1642-1649.    XXII. Charles I., continued.  From  the Commencement of the Civil War to the Trial and Execution of the Kin............................. 422,NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS:
Icon Basilikd.......................................... 450
1649-1660.   XXIII. The Commonwealth................................... 451
1660-1678.   XXIV. Charles II. From the Restoration to the Peace
of Nimeguen...............................      477
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS:
A. Test and Corporation Acts................ 498
B. The Act of Uniformity....................... 499
C. Immunity of Juries.......................... 499




sX1ii                          CONTENTS.
A.D.         CHAP.                                                   PAGE
1678-1685.    XXV. Charles II., continued. From the Peace of Nimeguen to the Death of the King.................. 500
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS:
Habeas Corpus Act................................ 522
1685-1688.   XXVI. James II................................................ 523
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS:
Authorities for the Period of thc Stuarts...... 544
BOOK VI.
FROM THE REVOLUTION OF 1688-TO THE YEAR 1858.
1689-1702.  XXVII. William  and Mary, and William  III............ 545
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS:
An Act for declaring the Riglits and Liberties of the Subject, and settling the Succession of the Crown............................ 569
1702-1714. XXVIII. Queen Anne............................................. 573
HOUSE OF BRUNSWICK.
1714-1727.   XXIX. George I.......................................... 593
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS:
The Convocation of the English Church...... 605
1727-1760.    XXX. George II......................................   606
1760-1783.   XXXI. George III.  From his Accession to the Recognition of American Independence, and the
Peace of Versailles................................. 631
1783-1802.  XXXII. George III., continued. From the Peace of Versailles to the Peace of Amiens.................. 663
1802-1820. XXXIII. George III., continued.  From  the Peace of
Amiens to the Death of the King...............  691
1820-1858. XXXIV. George IV., William IV., and Victoria........... 727
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS:
A. Poor Laws...................................... 756
B. Corn Laws..................................... 757
C. Navigation Laws...............................  757
D. Authorities for the Period comprised in
Book VI...................................... 758
Table of the principal contemporary European Sovereigns from the
period of the Conquest...................................................... 760
List of the Archbishops of Canterbury from the time of the Reformation........762...........................................




CONTENTS.                                            Xiii
GENEALOGICAL TABLES.
PAGE
Of the House of Cerdic (Anglo-Saxon kings).................................   57
Of the Anglo-Danish Kings......................................................              71
Of William  the Conqueror.......................................            80
Of the Descendants of William  the Conqueror down to Henry II.......  92
Of the House of Plantagenet....................................................... 134
Of the Descendants of Philip III. of France (in illustration of the French
wars of Edward III.).....................................................   176
Of the Descent of Henry IV. from  Henry III................................ 197
Of the Descendants of John II. of France (in illustration of the French
wars of Henry V.)................................................................ 207
Of Henry of Richmond (Henry VII.) and the Duke of Buckingham... 233
Of the House of Tudor........241................................... 241
Of the House of Stuart............................................... 368
Of the Descendants of Philip III. of Spain (in illustration of the war
of the Spanish succession)..................................... 563
Of the House of Brunswick.........................................,,,,  764
INDEX.........7...................................................................    765
Reverse of Seal of Edward the Confessor.  The obverse is figured on p. X5




Jeweled Ornament of the Mitre of William of Wy\ykeham, 14th century:
New College, Oxford.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
Medal of James, Duke of York, afterward James II., F
commemorating the naval Victory over the Dutch, June  FRONTIsPIECE.
3,  1665........................................................
Medal commemorating Battle of Plassy.............................. TITLEPAGE.
PAGE                                   PAGE
Coin of Hadrian....................  ix  The Raising of Lazarus-sculpReverse of Seal of Edward the            ture of the 9th or 10th cenConfessor.............x............. xiii   tury, from   Selsey, now  in
Jeweled Ornament of the Mitre            Chichester Cathedral...........  38
of William of Wykeham.......  xiv  Golden Ring of Ethelwolf, in the
Mitre of Thomas ia Becket.......  xvi    British Museum.................  41
Stonehenge...........................      Seal of Edward the Confessor..  58
Gold Coin of Cynobelin or Cuno-        Silver Penny of Canute...........  60
belinus...............................8  Norman Knights at the Battle
Aureus of the Emperor Claudius   9    of Hastings.  From  the BaAureus of the Emperor Carau-             yeux tapestry.....................  70
sius.................................  12  Silver Penny of William the ConMap of the Isle of Thanet at the         queror, struck  at ChesterTime of the Landing of the             unique.............................  77
Saxons.....................  19  Henry of Blois, Bishop of WinMap  of Britain, showing the             chester, and Brother of King
Settlements of the Anglo-Sax-          Stephen. From an enameled
ons.................................  28    plate in the British Museum..  93
Silver Penny of Ethelbert II.,         Eleanor, wife of HenrylII. From
King of Kent and Bretwalda.. 31    her monument at Fontevraud 106




LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.                              xv
PAGE                                   PAGE
Henry II. From his monument             "Oxford Crown" of Charles I. 422
at Fontevraud.................... 108  Obverse of Medal of Sir ThomGeoffrey  l']antagenet, father of        as Fairfax......................... 433
Henry II.....                  109 Pattern for a Crown of the ProRichard I. From his monument              tector Oliver Cromwell........ 451
at Fontevraud.................... 123  Medal given for Service in the
Berengdria........................... 125    Action with the Dutch, July
John.  From his tomb in Wor-              31, 1653......4....6............... 463
cester Cathedral................. 135 Medal of Charles II. and CathIsabella. From her tomb at Fon-           erine, probably relating to the
tevraud........................... 135    Queen's Dowry............ 477
Henry III.  From his tomb in           Medal of James, Dulke of York,
Westminster Abbey............. 145    afterward  James II., comEdward I. From the Tower.... 155    memorating the naval Victory
Noble of Edward III.............. 173    over the Dutch, June 3, 1665 484
Neville's Cross.....................  182  Reverse............;................ 485
IIenry IV. and his Queen, Joan         Medal relating to the Rye House
of Navarre. From their mon-            Plot................................. o00
ument at Canterburyv........... 201  Reverse............................... 50 
Reverse of great Seal of Edward        Medal struck in commemoration
IV................................ 223    of the Acquittal of the Earl of
Reverse of great Seal of Richard          Shaftesbury.......................    515
III.................................. 223  Obverse of Medal of James II.
Henry VII. and Elizabeth  of              and Mary of Modena...........  523
York. From their monument            Medal of Archbishop Sancroft
in Westminster Abbey.......... 242    and the seven Bishops......... 531
Silver Medal of Henry VIII... 255 Medal of William III........... 545
Gold Medal of Henry VIII....  273  Medal of Queen Anne, in honor
Reverse of gold Medal of Henry            of the Union, struck at Leipzig 573
VIII.............................. 274 Medal of George I................ 593
Shilling of Edward VI.......... 293 Medal of the elder Pretender
Medal of Philip and Mary........303    and his Wife..................... 596
Queen Elizabeth.................... 313  Reverse, Clementina.           597
Medal of Pope Gregory XIII.,           Medal of George II................ 606
commemorating the Massacre           Reverse.............................. 607
of St. Bartholomew............. 834 Medal of the young Pretender... 620
Dutch Medal on the Overthrow           Medal commemorating Battle of
of the Armada.................... 348    Plassy................................ 631
Reverse of Medal on preceding          Medal in commemorationof Lord
page............................... 349    Howe'sVictory over the French
Sardonyx  Ring,  with  cameo             Fleet, June 1, 1794:............. 663
head of Queen Elizabeth......  367 Medal in commemoration of the
Obverse of Medal of James I... 369    Battle of Trafalgar.............. 691
Obverse of Pattern for a Broad         Reverse............................... 692
of Charles I...............    389 Medal of the Battle of Aliwal... 727




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HISTORY OF ENGLAND.. —— A                 __
FR.
Stonehenge.
BOOK I.
THE BRITONS, ROMANS, AND ANGLO-SAXONS.
B.C. 55-A.D. 1066.
CHAPTER I.
THE BRITONS AND ROMANS.
~ 1. Earliest Notices of Britain. ~ 2. The earliest Inhabitants of Britain
were Celts of the Cymric Stock. ~ 3. Religion of the Britons. ~ 4.
Knights and Bards. ~ 5. Manners and Customs of the Britons. ~ 6.
British Tribes. ~ 7. Cxsar's two Invasions of Britain. ~ 8. History till
the Invasion of Claudius.  ~ 9. Caractacus.  ~ 10. Conquest of Mona;
Boadicea. ~ 11. Agricola. ~ 12. The Roman Walls between the Solway
and the Tyne, and the Clyde and the Forth. ~ 13. Saxon Pirates; Can
rausius.  ~ 14. Picts and Scots. ~ 15. Final Departure of the Romans.
~ 16. Condition of Britain under the Romans. ~ 17. Christianity ii
Britain.
~ 1. THE southwestern coasts of Britain were known to the
Phoenician merchants several centuries before the Christian era.
The Phoenician colonists of Tartessus and Gades in Spain were
A




2             EARLIEST NOTICES OF BRITAIN.              CHAP. 1.
attracted to the shores of Britain by its abundant supply of tin, a
metal of great importance in antiquity from the extensive use of
bronze for the manufacture of weapons of war and implements
of peace. It would seem that the Phoenicians originally obtained
this metal from India, since the Grecian name for tin is of Indian
origin, and must have been brought into Greece by the Phoenicians,
together with the article itself.* Accordingly, when these traders
found tin in the Scilly Isles, they gave them the name of the Cassiterides, or the, Tin-islands, an appellation by which they were
known to Herodotust in the fifth century before the Christian
era.  Aristotle, however, is the first writer who mentions the
British islands by name.  He says, "In the ocean beyond the
Pillars of Hercules are two very large islands, called Bretannic,
namely, Albion and lerne;": the former being England and Scotland, the latter Ireland. The origin of the name of Britain is very
uncertain,~ but that of Albion is perhaps derived from a Celtic
word signifying white, a name probably given to the islan'd by the
Gauls, who could not fail to be struck with the chalky cliffs of the
opposite coast.  Himilco, a Carthaginian navigator, whose diary
was extant in the fifth century of our era, and who is repeatedly
quoted as an authority by Festus Avienus in his geographical
poem called Ora Maritima, touched near Albion at the Tin Islands, which he calls Oestrymnides.  But the oldest writer who
gives any account of the inhabitants is Pytheas, a Massilian, fragments of whose journal have been preserved by Strabo and other
writers.  By these means some knowledge of the British islands
became gradually diffused among the natives of the Mediterranean.
They had excited the curiosity and inquiries both of Polybius and
Scipio as early as the second century before the Christian era.ll
In addition to the Phoenician merchants, the Greek colonists of
Massilia (Marseilles) and Narbo (Narbonne) carried on a trade at
a very early period with the southern parts of Britain, by making
overland journeys to the northern coast of Gaul.  The principal
British exports seem at that time to have been tin, lead, skins,
slaves, and hunting-dogs, of which the last were used by the Celts
in war; but at a later period, when the Britons became more
civilized, corn and cattle, gold, silver, and iron, and an inferior
kind of pearl may be added to the list. An interesting account
* The Greek name for tin is kassiteros (caaaoirEpog), which evidently
comes from the Sanscrit kastiza.  t iii., 115.: De Mundo, c. 3.
~ Many writers derive it from a Celtic word, brith or b?-it, " painted," because the inhabitants stained their bodies with a blue color extracted from
woad. In the early Welsh poems ewe find the island called Prydain, which
is clearly the same as Britain; but whether this is a genuine Celtic word,
or borrowed from the Romans, can not be determined. ]I Polyb., iii., 57.




CHAP. I.    EARLIEST INHABITANTS OF CYMR'Y.                3
of the British tin-trade is given by Diodorus Siculus.* This
writer relates that the inhabitants near the promontory of Belerium (Land's End), after forming the tin into cubical blocks, conveyed it in wagons to an island named Ictis,t since at low tides
the space between that island and Britain became dry. At Ictis
the tin was purchased by the merchants, who carried it across to
Gaul.
~ 2. Nothing is known of the history of Britain till the invasion
of the island by Julius Caesar in B.C. 55. The fabulous tale of the
colonization of the island by Brute the Trojan, the great-grandson
of AEneas, and of his long list of descendants, does not require
any serious refutation.  The only certain means by which nations
can indulge their curiosity in researches concerning their remote
origin is to consider the language, manners, and customs of their
ancestors, and to compare them with those of the neighboring
nations. There can be no doubt that the first inhabitants of
Britain were a tribe of Celts, who peopled the island from the
neighboring continent.  Their language was the same; their manners, their government, their superstition-varied only by those
small differences which time or a communication with the bordering nations must necessarily introduce. The Celts are divided
inbo two great branches, the Gael and the Cymry, of whom the
former now inhabit Ireland and the Highlands of Scotland, and
the latter the principality of WTales.  It has been vehemently debated whether the ancient Britons belonged to the Gaelic or Cymric stock of the Celtic race; but we may safely acquiesce in the
-conclusion of the most cautious modern inquirers, that both the
Britons and the Gauls of the continent, were Cymry, and that the
Welsh may be regarded as the descendants of the ancient inhabitants.' In proof of this it may be sufficient to mention that the
Celtic words which still exist in the English language are clearly
to be referred to the Cymric and not to the Gaelic dialect.
The Gallic origin of the ancient Britons is expressly stated by
Caesar, who saysl that the maritime parts of the island were inhabited by Belgic Gauls, who had crossed over from the main land
for the sake of plunder.  He adds, it is true, that the inhabitants
of the interior were said by tradition to have sprung from the
soil; from which we can only infer that the earlier immigrations
of the Celts took place long before the memory of man. Tacitus,
* v., 22.
t This island has been identified with the Isle of Wight on account of the
resemblance of its name to Vectis; but its proximity to the tin country, and
the circumstance of the intervening space between this island and Britain
being dry at the low tides, favor its identification with St. Michael's Mount.
I Bell. Gall., v., 12.




4                        RELIGION.                   CHAP. 1.
who derived his information from his father-in-law Agricola, supposed* that the red hair and large limbs of the Caledonians indicated a German origin; and that the dark complexion of the
Silures, their curly hair, and their position opposite to Spain, furnished grounds for believing that they were descended from Iberian
settlers from that country; but these were evidently mere conjectures, to which Tacitus himself seems not to have attached much
importance, since he adds that upon a careful estimate of probabilities we must believe that the Gauls took possession of the
neighboring coast.
~ 3. The connection of the Britons with the Celts of Gaul is
shown by their common religion. Caesar, indeed, was of opinion
that Druidism had its origin in Britain, and was transplanted
thence into Gaul; and it is certain that in his time Britain was
the chief seat of the religion and the principal school where it was
taught. But this circumstance only shows that the common faith
of the Celtic tribes had been preserved in its greatest purity by the
remotest and most ancient of them, who had been driven by the
tide of emigration to the western parts of the island.
The religion of the Britons was one of the most considerable
parts of their government, and the Druids, who were their priests,
possessed great authority among them. Besides ministering at
the altar and directing all religious duties, they presided over the
education of youth; they enjoyed an immunity from war and
taxes; they possessed both the civil and criminal jurisdiction;
they decided all controversies, among states as well as among
private persons, and whoever refused to submit to their decrees
was exposed to the most severe penalties. The sentence of excommunication was pronounced against him; he was forbidden
access to the sacrifices or public worship; he was debarred all intercourse with his fellow-citizens; he was refused the protection
of the law; and death itself became an acceptable relief from the
misery and infamy to which he was exposed. Thus the bands of
government, which were naturally loose among that rude and turbulent people, were happily strengthened by the terrors of their
superstition.
No species. of superstition was ever more terrible than that of
the Druids.  Besides the severe penalties which it was in the
power of the priests to inflict in this world, they inculcated the
eternal transmigration of souls.  They practiced their rites in
dark groves or other secret recesses; and, in order to throw a
greater mystery over their religion, they communicated their doctrines only to the initiated, and strictly forbade the committing of
them to writing, lest they should at any time be exposed to the
* Agricol., c. 11.




CHAP. 1.         MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.                       5
examination of the profane vulgar.  In the ordinary concerns of
life, however, they employed writing, their characters being either
the Greek or-a sort of hieroglyphics formed from the figures of
plants. Of the nature of their rites, except their veneration for:
the oak and mistletoe, we know but little. If a mistletoe was discovered growing upon an oak, a priest severed it with a golden
knife; on which occasion a festival was held under the tree, and
two milk-white bulls were offered as a sacrifice.  The Druids
worshiped a plurality of gods, to which Ceesar, after the Roman
fashion, applies the names of the deities of his own country. The
attributes of the god chiefly worshiped appear to have resembled
those of Mercury. The stupendous ruins of Stonehenge, situated
in Salisbury Plain, are probably the remains of a Druidical temple,
but it is not mentioned by any ancient writer.* The principles
which the Druids inculcated were piety toward the gods, charity
toward men, and fortitude in suffering. They taught their disciples astronomy, or rather perhaps astrology, and magic, and trained them to acuteness in legal distinctions; and a term of twenty
years was commonly devoted to the acquisition of the knowledge
which they imparted.  They chose their own high-priest, but the
election was frequently decided by arms.
Human sacrifices formed one of the most terrible features of the
Druidical worship. The victims were generally criminals, or prisoners of war, but, in default of these, innocent and unoffending
persons were sometimes immolated; and in the larger sacrifices
immense figures made of plaited osier were filled with human beings and then set on fire. The spoils of war were often devoted
by the Druids to their divinities; and they punished with the
severest tortures whoever dared to secrete any part of the consecrated offering.  These treasures they kept in woods and forests,
secured by no other guard than the terrors of their religion; and
this steady conquest over human avidity may be regarded as more
signal than their prompting men to the most extraordinary and
most violent efforts.  No idolatrous worship ever attained such an
ascendant over mankind as that of the ancient Gauls and Britons;
and the Romans, after their conquest, finding it impossible to reconcile those nations to the laws and institutions of their masters
while it maintained its authority, were at last obliged to abolish it
by penal statutes; a violence which had never in any other instance been practiced by those tolerating conquerors.
~ 4. After the Druids, the chief authority was possessed by the
* In the compound word Stone-henge, the latter half, henge, probably signifies the impost, which is suspended on two uprights, and consequently the
word might be used in any case in which one stone was suspended on two
vr more others.-Guest, in Proceedings of Phitolowaical Society, vol. vi., p. 33.




6                         TRIBES.                      CHAP..
equestrian order.  The British bards were closely connected with
the Druids. They sung the genealogies of their princes, and possessed lyric poetry as well as epic and didactic, accompanying their
songs with an instrument called the chrotta.
~ 5. The southeast parts of Britain had already before the age
of Cwesar made the first and most requisite step toward a civil
settlement; and the Britons, by tillage and agriculture, had there
increased to a great multitude.  The other inhabitants of the
island still maintained themselves by pasture: they were clothed
with skins of beasts: they dwelt in round huts constructed of
wood or reeds, which they reared in the forests and marshes with
which the country was covered: they shifted easily their habitation when actuated either by the hopes of plunder or the fear of
an enemy: the convenience of feeding their cattle was even a sufficient motive for removing their seats; and, as they were ignorant
of all the refinements of life, their wants and their possessions were
equally scanty and limited.*
The Britons tattooed their bodies and stained them blue and
green with woad; customs which were long retained by the Picts.
They wore checkered mantles like the Gauls or Scottish highlanders; the waist was circled with a girdle, and metal chains adorned
the breast. The hair and mustache were suffered to grow, and a
ring was worn on the middle finger, after the fashion of the Gauls.
Their arms were a small shield, javelins, and a pointless sword.
They fought from chariots (esseda, covini) having scythes affixed to
the axles.  The warrior drove the chariot, and was attended by
a servant who carried his weapons. The dexterity of the charioteers excited the admiration of the Romans. They would urge
their horses at full speed down the steepest hills or along the edge
of precipices, and check and turn them in full career.  Sometimes
they would run along the pole, or seat themselves on the yoke,
and instantly, if necessary, regain the chariot. Frequently after
breaking the enemy's ranks they would leap down and fight on
foot; meanwhile the chariots were withdrawn from the fray, and
posted in such a manner as to afford a secure retreat in case of
need; thus enabling them to combine the rapid evolutions of cav-dry with the steady firmness of infantry.  The Britons had no
fortresses, and their towns, if such a name can be applied to mere
clusters of huts, were defended by their position in the centre of
almost impenetrable forests, and by being surrounded with a deep
ditch, and a fence or wall of felled trees.
~ 6. The Britons were divided into many small nations or tribes;
* Cesar's story of their having their wives in common probably arose from
some misconception respecting their method of dwelling together in small
societies, as the custom is not mentioned by Diodorus Siculus.




B.C. 55, 54.       C2ESAR'S INVASIONS.                   7
and being a military people, whose chief property was their arms
and their cattle, it was impossible, after they had acquired a; relish
for liberty, for their princes or chieftains to establish any despotic
authority over them. Their governments) though monarchical,
were free, as well as those of all the Celtic nations; and the common people seem to have enjoyed more liberty among them than
among the nations of Gaul from whom they were descended.
Each state was divided into factions within itself; it was agitated
with jealousy or animosity against the neighboring states: and,
while the arts of peace were yet unknown, wars were the chief
occupation, and formed the chief object of ambition, among the
people.
The British tribes with whom the Romans became acquainted
by Ctesar's invasion were mainly the following, though their precise boundaries can not, of course, be laid down:
The Cantli,* under four princes, inhabited Kent.
The Trinobantes were seated to the north of the Thames, and between that river and the Stour, in the present counties of Middlesex and Essex, having London, already a place of considerable
trade, for their capital.
The Cenimagni, perhaps the same as the Iceni of Tacitus, dwelt
in Norfolk, Suffolk, and Cambridgeshire.
The Segontiaci inhabited parts of Hants and Berks.
The Ancalites and Bibroci inhabited parts of Berks and Wilts.
The position of the Cassi is uncertain.
~ 7. Coesar, taking advantage of a short interval in his Gallic
wars, invaded Britain with two legions in the year B.C. 55. The
natives, informed of his intention, were sensible of the unequal
contest, and endeavored to appease him by submissions, which,
however, retarded not the execution of his design. After some
resistance, he landed, as is supposed, at Deal;t and having obtained several advantages over the Britons, and obliged them to
promise hostages for their future obedience, he was constrained, by
the necessity of his affairs and the approach of winter, to withdraw his forces into Gaul. The Britons, relieved from the terror
of his arms, neglected the performance of their stipulations; and
that haughty conqueror resolved next summer (B.c. 54) to chastise
them for this breach of treaty. He landed, apparently at the same
spot, and unopposed, with above 20,000 men, and pitched his camp
a little above Sandwich, near Richborough; and though he found
a more regular resistance from the Britons, who had united under
Cassivelaunus, or Caswallon, one of their petty princes, he discomfited them in every action. lie advanced into the country
* The Cantii derived their naTne from the Celtic Caint, or open country.
t See Notes and Illustrations (A).




8         HISTORY TILL INVASION OF CLAUDIUS.  -CHAP. I
and passed the Thames in the face of the enemy at a ford, probably in the neighborhood of Kingston, in spite of the piles which
Caswallon had caused to be driven into the bed of the river, considerable remains of which are said to have existed in the time
of Beda, seven centuries later. The valiant defense of Caswallon
was frustrated by the treacherous submission of the Trinobantes
and other tribes.  Caesar took and burned his forest fortress at
Verulamium, the modern St. Albans; established his own ally,
Mandubratius, in the sovereignty of the Trinobantes; and having
obliged the inhabitants to make him new submissions, he returned
with his army into Gaul, and left the authority of the Romans
more nominal than real in this island.
~ 8. The civil wars which ensued, and which prepared the way
for the establishment of monarchy in Rome, saved the Britons
from the yoke which was ready to be imposed upon them. Augustus, apprehensive lest the same unlimited extent of dominion,
which had subverted the republic, might also overwhelm the empire, recommended it to his successors never to enlarge the territories of the Romans; and Tiberius, jealous of the fame which
might be acquired by his generals, made this advice of Augustus
a pretense for his inactivity. Almost a century. elapsed before a
Roman force again appeared in Britain; but the natives during
this Deriod kept up some intercourse with Rome though on a
completnelyindependent l"~oo;ting. 1-Lenceas   ell as through their
iormmerce wta  aul, wher-Tte Roman power had been completely established, they appear to have derived some tincture of
Roman civilization; and the coins of Cynobelin, the Cymbeline of'
Shakspeare, and a successor
of Caswallon, as well as those. of Tasciovanus, probably his
father, display the influence
L.@ x     of Roman art, and a knowledge of the Latin alphabet.
Gold Coin of Cynobelin or Cunobelinus.   The mad sallies of Caligula,
Obverse: [C]AMV (Camulodunum); ear of corn. in which he menaced Britain
Reverse: cvNo (Cunobelinus); horse to right. with an invasion, served only
to expose himself and the empire to ridicule; but at length a
British exile named Beric instigated the Emperor Claudius to undertake the reduction of the island, and Aulus Plautius was dispatched thither at the head of four legions, together with Gallic
auxiliaries, A.D. 43. The first great victory and the honor of a
triumph was achieved by Cn. Osidius Geta. Vespasian, the future
emperor, likewise distinguished himself in this campaign, and at
the head of the second legion fought thirty battles, took twenty
places, and subdued the Isle of Wight.  Claudius himself, finding




A.D. 43-62.         CONQUEST OF MONA.                         9
matters sufficiently prepared for his reception, made a journey
into Britain and received the submission of several British states,
the Cantii, Atrebates, Regni, and Trinobantes, whom their possessions and more cultivated manner of life rendered willing to
purchase peace at the expense of their liberty.  Claudius entered
the city of Camulodunum (either Maldon or Colchester), where a
colony of veterans was subsequently established, and the southeastern parts of Britain were gradually moulded into a Roman
province.
~ 9. The other Britons, under the command of Caractacus, or
Caradoc, a son of Cynobelin, stillmaintained an obstinate resistance, and the Romans made
little progress against them.
till Ostorius Scapula was sent
over to command the Roman
armies (A.D. 47). Under this
commander, Roman  camps
were established on the Avon        Aureus of Emperor Claudius.
and Severn; the Iceni* were Obverse: TL.CLAv-D.cAEsAA'vcG.PrM.TP.vIul-'rIMP.
reduced after a desperate and xvi (Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Pontifex
brilliant struggle; the league Maximus, Tribunicia Potestate VIIII. Imperator
~9~~ ~      XVI.); head, laureate, right. Reverse: Triumphal
of the Brigantest was sur- arch, on which equestrian figure and two trophies,
prised and dispersed by the inscribed DE BRITAN (De Britannis).
ratpid march of Ostorius, and the Roman eagles pervaded the
greater part of Britain.  But the Silures and Ordovicesl still
held out, and it was not till after many years of warfare that
Caer Caradoc, the residence of the British leader, seated on a hill
in Shropshire near the confluence of the Coln and Teme, was captured by the Romans, and with it his wife and family. Caradoc
himself sought shelter at the court of his step-mother Cartismandua, queen of the Brigantes, whom he had formerly befriended, but by whom he was basely and treacherously surrendered to
the Romans (A.D. 51).  Caradoc was conveyed to Rome, where
his magnanimous behavior procured him better treatment than
those conquerors usually bestowed on captive princes. But even
after the capture of their leader the Silures still held out, and offered so determined a resistance that Ostorius is said to have died
of vexation.
~ 10. The Romans seem to have done little toward the farther
subjugation of the island till the appointment of Suetonius Paulinus to the command, in the reign of Nero, A.D. 59. After two
years of peaceful administration, he resolved on reducing the island
* People of Norfolk, Suffolk, and Cambridgeshire. Probably, as already
stated, the Cenimagni.   t People between the Humber and the Tyne.
$ The Silures inhabited South Wales; the Ordovices North Wales.
X2




10                       AGRICOLA.                   CHAP. 1.
of Mona, ovi Anglesey, the chief seat of the Druids, which afforded
a shelter to the disaffected Britons. The strait was crossed by
the infantry in shallow vessels, while the cavalry either waded or
swam. The Britons endeavored to obstruct their landing on this
sacred island, both by the force of their arms and the terror of their
religion.  The women and priests were intermingled with the soldiers upon the shore; and running about with flaming torches in
their hands, and tossing their disheveled hair, they struck greater
terror into the astonished Romans by their howlings, cries, and
execrations.than the real danger from the armed forces was able
to inspire. But Suetonius, exhorting his troops to disregard the
menaces of a superstition which they despised, impelled them to
the attack, drove the Britons off the field, burned the Druids in
the same fires which those priests had prepared for their captive
enemies, destroyed all the consecrated groves and altars; and, having thus triumphed over the religion of the Britons, he thought his
future progress would be easy in reducing the people to subjection.
But he was disappointed in his expectations. The Britons, taking
advantage of his absence, were all in arms; and, headed by Boadicea, queen of the Iceni, whose daughter had been defiled and herself scourged with rods by the Roman tribunes, had already attacked with success several settlements of their insulting conquerors. Suetonius hastened to the protection of London, which was
already a flourishing Roman colony; but he found on his arrival
that it would be requisite for the general safety to abandon that
place to the merciless fury of the enemy. London was reduced to
ashes; such of the inhabitants as remained in it were cruelly massacred; the Romans and all strangers, to the number of 70,000,
were every where put to the sword without distinction; and the
Britons, by rendering the war thus bloody, seemed determined to
cut off all -hopes of peace or composition with the enemy.   But this
cruelty was revenged by Suetonius in a great and decisive battle
(A.D. 62), where 80,000 of the Britons are said to have perished;
and Boadicea herself, rather than fall into the hands of the enraged
victor, put an end to her own life by poison. Nero soon after recalled Suetonius from a government where, by suffering and inflicting so many severities, he was judged unfit for composing the
angry and alarmed minds of the inhabitants.
~ 11. After some interval Cerealis received the command from'Vespasian (A.D. 71), and by his bravery propagated the terror of
the Roman arms.  Julius Frontinus succeeded Cerealis both in
authority and reputation; but the general who finally established
the dominion of the Romans in this island was Julius Agricola,
who governed it seven -years (A.D. 78-85), in the reigns of Vespasian, Titus, and Domitian, and distinguished himself in that scene
of action.




A.D. 62-211.            SEVERUS.                        11
This great commander formed a regular plan for subduing Britain, and rendering the acqusition useful to the conquerors. After
subduing the Ordovices, and again reducing Miona, which had revolted, he carried his victorious arms northward.  In the third
year of his government he marched as far as the Tay, where he established garrisons; and in the following year he erected a line of
fortresses between the friths of Clyde and Forth. He extended his
conquests along the western shores of Britain, and even meditated
an expedition to Ireland. In the sixth and seventh years of his administration he made two incursions into Caledonia, in the latter
of which he gained a great and decisive victory over the inhabitants under their leader Galgacus, at the foot of the Grampian Hills.
One of the last acts of his government was to cause his fleet to sail
round Britain, starting from, and returning to, the Portus Trutu-.
lensis, or Sandwich.
During these military enterprises lie neglected not the arts of
peace. He introduced laws and civilization among the Britons,
taught them to desire and raise all the conveniences of life, reconciled them to the Roman language and manners, instructed them in
letters and science, and employed every expedient to render those
chains which he had forged both easy and agreeable to them. The
inhabitants, having experienced how unequal their own force was to
resist that of the Romans, acquiesced in the dominion of their masters, and were gradually incorporated as part of that mighty empire.
~ 12. This was the last durable conquest made by the Romans;
and Britain, once subdued, gave no farther disquietude to the victor.
Caledonia, alone, defended by its barren mountains and by the contempt which the Romans entertained for it, sometimes infested the
more cultivated parts of the island by the incursions of its inhabitants.  The better to secure the frontiers of the empire, Hadrian,
who visited this island, built an earthen rampart between the River
Tyne and the Solway Frith, which has been called the Picts' Wall,
and of which there are still considerable remains. Subsequently
Lollius Urbicus (A.D. 140), under Antoninus Pius, erected another
between the friths of Forth' and Clyde, along the same line where
formerly Agricola had established his fortresses, which was called
the Wall of Antoninus, and is now known by the name of Graham's
Dike. But these fortifications did not prove adequate to check the
incursions of the Maeatoe and Caledonians, who at length became
so formidable, that the propretor, Virius Lupus, was not only obliged
to buy off their attacks, but even to solicit the presence of the aged
Emperor Severus himself. Severus accordingly came, attended by
his two sons, Caracalla and Geta; and, although so afflicted with
the gout that it was necessary to. carry him in a litter, Severus
proceeded through an almost impassable country to the extremity




12                    SAXON PIRATES.                   CHAP. i
of the island, but with the loss'of 50,000 men. ~ Having made a
treaty with the natives, by which they agreed to cede a considerable portion of their territory, he returned to York, where he shortly
afterward expired, A.D. 211. As Severus caused the fortification
constructed by Hadrian to be repaired and strengthened with a
wall, it commonly bore his name.*  Immediately after his death,
his son Caracalla, eager to grasp the empire, entered into a truce
with the northern tribes, and hastened back to Rome.
~ 13. Except, however, on its northern frontier, Britain under
the Roman dominion enjoyed profound tranquillity, till in the third
century of our era it began to be disturbed by new -enemies. These
were the Saxon pirates, whose descents upon the eastern coast at
last became so troublesome that the emperors Diocletian and
Maximian were obliged to appoint a special officer for its defense,
who at a later period obtained the name of " Comes littoris Saxonici," or Count of the Saxon shore.  His jurisdiction appears to
have extended from Branodunum, or Brancaster, on the coast of
Norfolk, to the Portus Adurni, perhaps Pevensey in Sussex.t Carausius, however, the first officer of this kind (A.D. 286), fortifying
the great power with which he was thus invested by an alliance
with the Saxons themselves, asserted his own supremacy in Britain,
and compelled Maximian to acknowledge him as his associate in
the empire. In 293 Carausius was assassinated by his own officer
Allectus, who in turn usurped the imperial title and retained it
till 296, when he was defeated by the army which Constantius
had sent against him: after
which  period Britain  reR~aan   /o,,~           ~ mained in tranquil obedience till the termination of
the Roman sway.
~ 14. The last emperor
who resided in Britain was
Aureus of the Emperor Carausius.  Constantius Chlorus, whose
Obverse: IMP CARAVYIVS Pi AVG (Imperator Ca- consort, Helena, is said to
rausius Pius Felix Augustus);' bust, laureate, right.
Reverse: BENOVAT ROMANO (Renovatio Romano- have been the relative of a
rum); wolf and twins. In the Exergue as.  British prince.   He died at
York in 306, where his son, Constantine the Great, assumed the
title of Caesar.  In the early times of the Roman dominion in
Britain, the northern parts of the island were inhabited by the
Caledonians and Micatme, but in the beginning of the fourth century we find them supplanted by the Picts and Scots, wild and savage tribes, whose destructive inroads were long a terror to southern Britain. The origin of these celebrated names has given rise
to the most vehement' disputes. With respect to the. Scots, it is
* See Notes and Illustrations (B). t See Notes and Illustrations (C).




A.D. 211-446.       PICTS AND SCOTS.                    13
now generally admitted that they were an Irish tribe, who crossed
over to Britain from the sister island. The ancient writers agree
in representing Ireland as the proper home of the Scots; and for
several centuries that island bore the name of Scotia. We can
not pronounce with equal certainty upon the origin of the Picts;
but the most probable opinion is that they were those ancient Caledonian tribes who preserved their independence under the Romans,
and maintained possession of the northern parts of the island till the
invasion of the Irish Scots.* 
In the year 368, under the reign of Valentinian I.;, the Scots
and Picts penetrated as far as London, but were repulsed by Theodosius, father of the emperor of the same name; who also recovered the district between the walls of Severus and Antoninus,
which he named Valentia, in honor of his master. Under the Emperor Theodosius, IMaximus, a member of a distinguished British
family, gained great reputation in fighting against the Picts and
Scots, was saluted emperor by his soldiers, established a western
Roman empire at Trsvyes, and was even acknowledged by Theodosius; but he was subsequently taken prisoner at Aquileia and
put to death, A.D. 388.  Under Maximus a colony of British warriors is said to have been established in Armorica, the subsequent
Brittany.  But this colonization helped to weaken Britain, which
now began to be more and more infested by the Scots, Picts, and
Saxons.  Stilicho afforded temporary succor in 396; but soon
afterward, Gaul being already occupied by the Alani, Suevi, and
Vandals, Honorius was compelled to withdraw his legions from
Britain, which, being thus relinquished by the Romans, was seized
upon by rebellious tyrants, who assumed the title of emperor.
~ 15. At the prayer of the Britons, the island was visited once
more (A.D. 418) by the Roman legions, on the occasion of a new
inroad by the Picts and Scots; but after repulsing the enemy, repairing the British fortresses, and instructing the natives how to
make and to use the arms necessary for their defense, they took
their final leave. The incursions of the northern barbarians were
now renewed. Led by the Gaulish bishop, St. Germain of Auxerre, the Britons appear to have gained a victory over them in 429,
which, from the cry of onset, was called the Hallelujah victory.
But it was unavailing, and in 446 the unhappy Britons had again
recourse to Rome. Aitius the patrician sustained at that time,
by his valor and magnanimity, the tottering ruins of the empire,
and revived for a moment among the degenerate Romans the spirit,
as well as discipline, of their ancestors. The British embassadors
carried to him the letter of their countrymen, which was inscribed
the Groans of the Britons.  The tenor of the epistle was suitable to
* See Notes and Illustrations (D).




14    CONDITION OF BRITAIN UNDER THE ROMANS. CHAP. i.
its superscription. " The barbarians," say they, "on the one hand
chase us into the sea; the sea on the other throws us back upon
the barbarians; and we have only the hard choice left us of perishing by the sword or by the waves." But Aetius, pressed by the
arms of Attila, the most terrible enemy that ever assailed the empire, had no leisure to attend to the complaints of allies whom
generosity alone could induce him to assist. At length the despairing Britons, guided, it is said, by the counsels of Vortigern, a
powerful prince in the south of Britain, and by the example of the
Armoricans, resolved on calling in the aid of the piratical Saxons, and thus repelling the Picts and Scots by means of tribes almost as barbarous.
~ 16. Under the Roman dominion* Britain had assumed an aspect of great prosperity. Agriculture was carried to such a -pitch
that the island not only fed itself, but also exported large quantities of grain to the northern provinces of the empire. Its builders
and artisans were in request upon the Continent. The country
was traversed by four excellent roads, which, however, were probably not originally constructed by the Romans, but merely improved by them. These were the Watling Street, leading from the
Kentish coast, by Rhutupiao and London, to Caernarvon; Ikenild
or Rikenild Street, proceeding from Tynemouth, through York,
Derby, and Birmingham, to St. David's; Irmin or Hermin Street,
running from St. David's to Southampton; and the Foss, between
Cornwall and Lincoln.  Roman civilization in Britain was more
complete than is commonly supposed, though its traces have now
almost completely vanished.  Bede speaks of the Roman towns,
light-houses, roads, and bridges existing in his time; and many
remains of Roman buildings were visible in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, which have now disappeared. York, Chichester,
Chester, and Lincoln retain portions of Roman walls; and the circuses of Dorchester, Cirencester, and Silchester are still visible.
The remote Caerleon (Isca Silurum), as well as Bath, had its theatres, temples, and palaces. Westminster Abbey was the site of
a temple of Apollo, while on that of St. Paul's stood another of
Diana. Even now, in London and other-places once occupied by
the Romans, if the spade of the workman penetrates to an unusual
depth below the soil, fragments of pottery, tesselated pavements,
and other objects are frequently discovered,which testify the presence of its former owners. Thus, when the Saxons established
themselves in Britain, they must have dwelt within Roman walls,
and feasted their eyes with the magnificent works of Roman art.
But at the same time it must be recollected that the Roman occupation of Britain was purely military, and that the country was
* See Notes and Illustrations (E).




A.D. 446.    INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY.                15
never completely Romanized like the provinces of Gaul and Spain.
The natives continued to speak their own language; the number
of Latin words which found a permanent place in the Welsh lan.
guage is comparatively small; and the only traces of' the Roman
occupation subsisting in the English language are confined to the
termination clhester, caster, etc. (from cast ra), which appears in Manchester, Lancaster, etc.; to cohl (colonia), which is found in Lincoln; and to the word street, from stratum or strata.  The condition of England under the Romans has been well compared by a
modern writer with that ofl Ireland as it existed under English
rule in the 17th century.  " The towns were entirely peopled by
the conquerors: they alone were capable of holding municipal privileges or power: and the country was covered with the houses of
gentry and landholders who were all either descended from the
old conquerors or new settlers.  The peasantry only were British
— that class who were in ancient times equally slaves under one
race of rulers or another, and who were only spurred into insurrection by political agitators or by foreign invasions. Still, as in
Ireland, the peasantry, having no attachment to their lords, were
easily excited to revolt; and a successful inroad of the Caledonians would always be attended by a corresponding agitation
among the Britons."*"
~ 17. Christianity was introduced into Britain at an early period, in all probability, however, not through Rome, but from the
East, by means of the Mediterranean commerce carried on through
Gaul. It is known that the latter country had numerous Christian congregations in the 2d century. The most probable tradli
tion ascribes the adoption of Christianity in Britain, as an established religion, to Prince Lucius, or Lever Maur (the Great Light),
who flourished some time in the second half' of the 2d century.
Under Diocletian, Britain reckons the martyrdom of St. Alban at
Verulam, and of Aaron and Julius, two citizens of Caerleon. At
the first council of Arles, in 314, three British bishops appeared,
namely, Eborius of York, Restitutus of London, and Adelfius, probably of Lincoln; whose tenets are said to have differed from those
of the Romish Church.  The monastery of Bangor, near Chester,
was founded at an early period; its name, literally ban gor, or the
great circle, was a generic one for a congregation or monastery,
and thus we find more than one Bangor in Britain.  The Bible
was translated into the British tongue, and some of the British ecclesiastics were famous for their learning and acuteness. Pelagius, the opponent of St. Augustine, and founder of the sect which
bore his name, is said to have been a Briton whose real name was
Morgan, while his disciple Celestius was an Irishman.  St. Ger* Edinburgh Review, vol. xciv., p. 200.




16                   NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.                            CHAP. I.
main, Bishop of Auxerre, and Lupus, Bishop of Troyes, were sent
over to Britain by Pope Celestine to confute the Pelagians; and
the expulsion of those heretics by Severus, Bishop of Treves, and
by St. Germain, in a second visit in 446, was one of the last acts
of Roman power in this island.
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF REMARKABLE EVENTS.
5.0. (]. A.D.
55. Coesar's first invasion of Britain.  140. Lollius Urbicus raises a rampart be54. Coesar's second invasion.                  tween the friths of Forth and Clyde.
A.D;                                     208. Severus visits Britain; builds a wall.
43. Claudius sends an expedition to Britain. 286-293. Usurpation of Carausius.
51. Caractacus subdued and conveyed to  293-296. Usurpation of Allectus.
Rome.                              306. Death of Constantius at York.
62. Defeat and death of Boadicea.        368. The Scots and Picts penetrate to London.
78-85. Administration of Agricola.       429. The Hallelujuh victory.
A21. Hadrian visits Britain, and constructs 446. The Britains supplicate Altius for assist.
a rampart.                                ance.
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
A. C2ESAR'S VOYAGES TO BRITAIN.  generally at the distance of 60 or 70 yards.
Dr. Bruce maintains, in his work on the
The subject of C esars two voyages to  "lRoman Wall," that the stone wall and the
Britain has given rise to much controversy. turf valium  both belong to one and the same
In his first voyage Caesar merely says that fortification, and that they were erected by
he sailed from the country of the Morini, the Emperor Hadrian at one and  the same
without specifying the exact spot; but there time, the former to check the Meate  and
can be little doubt that he started from the Caledonians, the latter to repress any hostile
same place as in his second expedition, name- attempts of the southern Britons  It is imly, the Portus Itius, which is supposed by possible to discuss this subject in the limits
D'Anville, who has been followed by most of this note, but we see no sufficient reason
modern writers, to be Wissant, about half- to abandon  the generally received opinion
way between Boulogne and Calais. In his that, as the vallum of Hadrian was not suffirst expedition Caesar must have landed on ficient to check the Caledonians, it was
the 26th or 27th of August, since he tells useded, by the
that it was full moon on the fourth day after wall of Sevelus. The same line was natuhis arrival in Britain; and it has been calcu- rally adopted, the only difference being in
lated by Dr. Halley the astronomer that this the method of engineering, by adopting a
full moon was on the night of the 30th of lofty and strong wall carried over heights
August (Philosophical Transactions, abridged instead of low mounds running throug the
to the  end  of the year 12700 by John Low- valleys. This new wall was made to start
thorpe, vol. iii., p. 412). Dr. Halley main- from the stations which already existed, and
tained that Caesar landed at Deal, and his thus the trouble and expense of erecting new
opinion has been adopted by almost all sub- stations were saved. This will also account
sequent writers; but Mr. Airy, the Astron- for the circumstance of inscriptions being
omer-Royal, hbts lately started an entirely found in them bearing the name of Hadrian.
new hypothesis. He supposes that Caesar
sailed from the estuary of the Somme and   C. THE COMES LITTORIS SAXONICI.
landed at the beach of Pevensey, on the coast
of Sussex, near the same spot where William    Lappenberg, Kemble, and several modern
the Conqueror disem barked nearly 11 centu- writers maintain that this officer derived his
ries aftelward. The reader will find the argu- name, not from defending the coast which
ments of Mr. Airy in the IArchweologia,' vol. was exposed to the invasions of the Saxon
xxxiv., p. 2311, seq.                    pirates, but from his commanding the Saxons
who were settled along the coasts of Britain
before the arrival of Hengist and HIorsa in
B. THIE ROMAN WALL.               450. But there seems no objection to the orThe Roman fortification, which crosses En- dinary interpretation which has been adoptgland from the Solway Frith to the River ed in the text. Dr. Guest correctly remarks
Tyne, consists of a stone wall and an earthen  that; as the Welsh marches in Shropshire
rampart running parallel with one another, and the -Scotch marches in Northumberland




CRAP. I.               NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.                                        17
were so called, not because they wore inhab- Coesariensis, Flavia: to which a fifth, Valenited by Welshmen or Scotchmen, but because  tia, was added by Theodosius in A.D. 369.
they were open to the incursions of these two  Tile situation of these provinces is to some
races, and were provided with a regular mil- extent uncertain, and rests mainly upon the
itary organization for the purpose of repel-  authority of Richard of Cirencester, a monk
ling their incursions, so, for precisely similar  of the 14th century, whose testimony must
reasons, the southeastern coast of Britain  be received with suspicion.
was called the Saxon Shore, or Frontier.  In    I. BRITANNIA PRIMA, governed by a Prmethe Notitia the Saxon Shore is also called  ses, the country south of the Thames and
the Saxon Frontier (Limes Saxonicus).         Bristol Channel.
AND  II. BRITANNIA  SECUNDA, governed by a
D. THE SCOTS AND PICTS.                 Praeses, the country between the Severn and
From  the second to the eleventh century  the Dee —Wales, H1refordshire, Monmouththe Scots are mentioned as the inhabitants  shire, and parts of Shropshire, Gloucesterof Ireland, and that island bore the name of  shire, and Worcestershire.
Scotia. This is clearly proved by the author-    III. FLAVIA CAESARTIXNSIS, governed by a
ities collected by Zeus, Die Deutschen und  Preses, the country north of the Thames,
die Nachbarsttimme, p. 568. Thus Claudian  east of the Severn, south of the Mersey and
says:                                         the Humber.
"Scotorum cumulos flevit. glacialis Ierne."  IV. MAXIMA C ESARIE55SIS, governed by a
M c e I Y. Cons. lion., 33. Consularis, north of the Mersey and the
" Me juvit Stilicho, totam cum Scotus Iernen  Humber to the wall of Severus
Moit."           Do Laud. Stilted., ii., 251.   V. VALENTIA or VALENTIANA, governed by
The Gaelic spoken by the Scotch High-  a Consularis, the country between the wall
landers is the same language as the Erse  of Severus and the rampart of Antoninus,
spoken by the Irish, and there can be no  the south part of Scotland, Northumberland,
doubt that it was brought into Britain by  and part of Cumberland.
the Irish Scots.                                The country north of the rampart of AntoThat the Picts were Celts, and akin to the  ninus was never long in the power of the
Welsh rather than to the Gael, appears from  Romans. Richard of Cirencester gives the
the names of their kings, of whom a genuine  name of VESPASIANA to the district subdued
list, from the fifth century downward, has  by Agricola between the rampart and a line
been preserved. Almost the only Pictish  drawn fiom the Moray Frith to the mouth
word given as such by an ancient writer is  of the Clyde.
Pen val, the name given by the Picts to the    ROMAN Towes. The following is the list
eastern termination of the valium  of Anto- of Richard of Cirencester: 1. MuNICIPIA,
ninus. Pen is decidedly Welsh.  The name  two in number.  lEborcucsm, York.  Veruof the Ochil Hills in Perthshire, in the coun- lamiumn, St. Albans.
try of the Picts, is to be explained from the    2. COLONIAs, colonies of Roman citizens,
Welsh uchel, "lhigh."   Again, the Welsh  nine in number.  Londiniuz, with the surprefix aber in local names in the Pictish ter-  name of Auzgustc, London.  Camalodunum,
ritory was changed into the Gaelic inver aft-  Colchester or Maldon.  Rhutupfice, Richborer the occupation of the country by the Gaelic  ough.  Thermce or Aquce Soelis, Bath. Isca
Scots: thus Inverin and Isnvernethy  were  Silurum, Caerleon. Deva, Chester. Glevustl
previously Aberin and Abernethy.-See Gar-  or Claudia, Gloucester.  Lindusn, Lincoln.
nett, Transactions of the Philological Society,  Camboricumrn, either Cambridge or Chester.
vol. i., p. 119.                              ford, or Icklingham, in Suffolk.
3. CIVITATES LATIO JURE DONATA,* ten in
E. GOVERNMENT  AND  DIVISIONS OF  number.  Durnomagus or LDurobrice, Castor
BRITAIN UNDER THE ROiMANS.                on Nene, or Wate:  Newton. Catarractonum,
Britain, like the other distant provinces  Catterickin Yorkshire. Cambodunun, Slack
of the empire, was under the immediate su- in Yorkshire.  Coccium, Ribchester in Lanperintendence of the emperor, and not of the  cashire.  Luguvallium, Carlisle.  Pteroton,
senate. It was formed into a Roman prov- Burgh head in Morayshire, Scotland.  Vicince by the Emperor Claudius after the cam-  toria, Dealgin Ross in Perthshire. Corinium,
paign of A.D. 43, and was governed at first Cirencester.  SorbiodcunLum, Old Sarum.
by a Legatus of consular rank: its financial   4.  STIPENDIARIZE  CIVITATES, twelve in
affairs were administered by a procurator.  number.   Ventat Belgaruum, Winchester.
It was subsequently divided by Septimius    * Those cities possessed nearly the same privilege
Severus into two parts, Britannia Superior  as colonies. On the distinction between them, sets
and Inferior, each governed by a Prs-ses.     Smith's Diet. of Antiquities, art. Colonia.
The later organization of Britain is con-   t Venta comes from the Celtic word Gw2ent, a chann.ta..ed in the Netifia  Isr1rii,  a document paign country. of which there are several in Britain.
fained in the;otitia Irrneriit,~ a doctument The Romans obtained their name for many of the cap
compiled about A.D. 400. When Diocletian  ital towns by turning Gwsent into a feminine substan.
divided the empire into four prefectures, tive ( Venta), and then adding the name of the race
Britain formed the third grleat diocese in thabited the district. The Saxons also Used
the name as a feminine substantive, Winte, gen.
prefecture of the Gauls, of which the  Prse-  th'itan; and they called the capital of such district
fectus Prsetorio resided, first at Treves, and  Wintan ceaster, "'the city of the Winte." Sonletimes,
afterward at Aries. Britain was governed by  insteadeof this genitive form, they used the compound
a Vicarius, who resided at Eboracum (York),  Winte ceauter, whence Winchester. See GOest "On
a  the Early English Settlements in South Britain," puband was subdivided into four provinces, B1i-  lished in the " Proceedings of the Arthaeologics 1 Intannia Prima, Britannia Secsunda, Maxima  stitute," held at Salisbury, 1849.




18                   NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.                            CHAP. Y.
Venta lcenorum, Caister, near Norwich. At the time of the Notitia the Roman army
Yenta Silurum, Caer-went, or Caer-gwent, in Britain consisted of 20,000 men.
in Monmouthshire. Segontium, Caer-Seiont,
near Caernarvon. Mluridunum, Seaton, near           F. AUTHORITIES.
Colyton, Devon. Ragce, Leicester. Canti-   Some of the classical authorities respecting
oplolis, or Durovernunm, Canterbury. Duri- the early history of Britain have been alluded
num, or Dunisum, Dorchester. Isca, Exeter. to in the preceding pages, and all the pasBremenieum, Riechester, Northumberland. sages bearing on the subject in the Greek
Viindonum, near Andover, Hants. Duro- and Latin writers, as well as in the ancient
brivce, Rochester.                        English authors, will be found collected in
ROMAN MILITARY COMMANDERS. The mil- the "Monumenta Historica Britannica," vol.
itary forces were originally under the com- i., 1848. The most important modern works
mand of the Legatus, but after the separation  on Roman Britain are: Camden's BBritanof the civil and military administration of the nia; Horsley's Britannia Romana; Stukeprovinces by Diocletian, they were placed  ly's Stonehenge; Whittaker's History of
under three chief military officers, who bore  Manchester; Lappenberg's History of Ezthe titles of Comes Britanniarsum, Comes gland, translated by Thorpe; Algernon HerLittoris Saxonici per Britanniam. and Dux  bert's Britannia under the Romans; Bruce's
Britanniarum. The title of Comes, or Com- Roman sWall; Bicking's Notes on the Notitia
panion, was the highest, and the Comes Dignitatum, vol. ii., p. 496.; Guest On the
Britanniarum had the chief command of the  Early English Settlements in South B-itais,
military forces in Britain. The Comes lit- published in the Proceedings of the Archseotoris Saxonici has been already spoken of. logical Institute held at Salisbury, 1849; the
the DuZx Britanniars-nb had charge of the article Britannia in the Penny Cyclopsedia;
wall of Severus, and the command of the  and an article in the Edinburgh Rleview, vol
troops in the northern part of the province. xciv., p. 17T, seq., on the condition sf Britain
under the Romans.




.........'.."..
-~~~~~CA4~~~~NTERBURYf  WM( Rtc~s
Mp of the Isle of Thaet at the time of the ading of theSaxons
count.p of the Isle of Thanettlement the te of the lan Invaders-in Sussex.
~ 7. Third Settlement of the German Invaders-in Wessex. ~ 8. Fourth
Settlement of the German Invaders-in Essex and Middlesex. ~ 9. Fifth
Settlement of the German Invaders-in Norfolk and Suffolk. ~ 10. Sixth
Settlement of the German Invaders-in Northumbria.  ~ 11]. The Kingdomof Mercia. ~ 12. The Heptarchy.  British States. ~ 13. The Bretwaldas, Ella of Sussex, Ceawlin of Wessex.  ~ 14. Ethelbert of Kent,
third Bretwalda. Introduction of Christianity. ~ 15. Death of Ethelbert. Redwald of East Anglia, fourth Bretwalda. Adventures of Edwin
of Northumbria.  ~ 16. Edwin, fifth Bretwalda.  His Conversion to
Christianity. ~ 17. History of Northumbria. Oswald, sixth Bretwalda.
~ 18. Oswy of Northumbria, seventh Bretwalda.  Decline of the Kingdom of Northumbria. ~ 19. History of Wessex. Ina and Egbert. ~ 20.
History of Mercia. Ethelbald and Offa. ~ 21. Conquests of Egbert,
who becomes sole King of England.
~ 1. THE people now called in by the Britons to their assist



20             THE SAXONS.-THE ANGLES.              CHAP. II.
ance, and who ultimately succeeded in establishing themselves in
the country which they were required to defend, were a Germanic
race, who, under the general name of' Saxons, inhabited the northwestern coast of Germany from the Cimbric Chersonesus, or present Denmark, to the mouths of the Rhine. At the period of
which we are speaking, we find them divided into three principal
tribes, the Saxons proper, the Angles, and the Jutes.
I. The Saxons.*-This people are first mentioned in the second
century by Ptolemy, who places them upon the narrow neck of
the Cimbric Chersonesus, and in three islands opposite the mouth
of the Elbe. From thence their power extended westward as far
as the mouths of the Rhine.  Among the tribes subject to them
twere the Frisians, who probably formed the majority of the Saxon
invaders of England, though they are only mentioned under the
general name of Saxons.t The southern parts of the island were
occupied by the Saxons proper or Frisians, who founded the kingdoms of the South Saxons (South-sexe, whence Sus-sex), of the
West Saxon ( [Yes-sex), and of the East Saxons (Es-sex), the last
including the territories of the Middle Saxons (whence Middlesex). The Germanic tribes have always been divided into two
great branches, to which modern writers have given the name of
High German (the people in the interior or higher parts of Germany) and Low German (the people in the lower parts of the country near the coast). The Saxons belonged to the Low Germanic
branch, and their language was-closely allied to that of the modern
Dutch.
II. The Angles or Engle, who accompanied or followed the Saxons, seem to have been a more numerous and powerful race, as
they peopled a larger district of Britain, and at length gave their
name to the whole land.1 They settled in East Alnglia, or the
eastern counties, north of Essex; Mlercia, or the midland counties;
and Northu/mbria, or all the counties north of the Humber. They
are first mentioned by Tacitus~ among the obscure tribes of the
Suevic race, and they are placed by Ptolemy on the western'bank
of the Elbe near the Lower Saale. Thence they migrated north
of the Elbe to the Cimbric Chersonesus, where they inhabited a
district called Angeln, which lay between the Saxons and the Jutes.
* Their name is usually derived from the short sword, sahs or sax, which
they carried. Some critics connect their name with that of the Sacce in
the East; while others maintain that the word meant nothing more than
seamnen.                      t See Notes and Illustrations (A).
T The Saxon kingdom of Wessex afterward obtained the political supremacy, and hence the name of Anglo-Saxon was given to the whole nation; but it must be borne in mind that this title does not mean the Angles
and Saxons, but the Saxons of England, as distinguished from the Saxons
of the Continent.                          ~ Germania, c. 40.




CHAP.II. MANNERS AND RELIGION OF ANGLO-SAXONS.    21.
There is still a district which bears this name between the River
Slie and the Flensborger Fiord; but anciently it must have comprised a much larger territory. The Angles, like the Saxons, were
originally a Low Germanic race; but, as their first settlements were
upon the upper part of the Elbe in the neighborhood of High German tribes, and their second seats were in the proximity of the
Danes, their language appears to have been affected to some extent by their neighbors, and several peculiarities in the northern
dialects "of England bear traces of the High German and Danish
languages.
III. The Jutes.-These invaders were not so numerous even as
the Saxons, and possessed only Kent, the Isle of Wight, and part
of Hampshire. They came from the peninsula of Jutland, which
is now inhabited by the Danes; but it is probable that the possessions of the Germans, who people at present the southern part
of the peninsula, extended farther north in ancient times, and there
are some reasons for believing that the Jutes were Goths, who,
like the Saxons and Angles, were also a Low Germanic race.
~ 2. The German races who invaded Britain were pagan barbarians. Their religion, which was common to them with the
Scandinavians, seems to have been a compound between the worship of the celestial bodies and that of deified heroes. This fact
will best appear from the names they applied to the days oi the
week, which custom has still retained among. us.  Thus Slnnandceg and l~onartdceg, Sunday and Monday, were named after
the two great luminaries; but it must be observed that the sex
of those deities was the reverse of that ascribed to them by the
Greeks and Romans, the sun being considered by the Germans.as
feminine and the moon as masculine. The name of Tuesday is
by some derived from TIile, probably the same as the Tuisco of
Tacitus, the national and eponymous deity of the Teutons, while
others identify it with Tyr, one of the twelve companions of Odin.
Wodnesdceg or Wednesday, was sacred. to Woden or Odin, the
god of war, common to all the Teutonic and Scandinavian races.
That he must have been a deified hero and king appears from the
circumstance that those leaders, whose kindred formed the royal
houses among the Anglo-Saxons, for the most part derived their
descent from Woden.  Tlzorsdceg, or Thursday, wvas named after
the god Thor, the thunderer, equivalent to the Greek Zeus, and
the Roman Jove, who wielded a hammer instead of a thunderbolt.
F~reyadceg, or Friday, was sacred. to the goddess Freya, the consort
of Woden and northern Venus. Lastly, Saturday derived its name
from Stetes, who, from the attributes with which he is represented,
viz., a fish and a bucket, appears to have been a water-god. Besides these, the Anglo-Saxons had many other deities'They be



22               SHIPS OF ANGLO-SAXONS.              CHAP. II.
lieved in the immortality of the soul and the existence of a supernatural world; but their worship, though fanciful and superstitious, was not tainted with so much cruelty as disfigured that of
the Druids. Their sensual ideas of a future state were calculated,
like those of the Miohammedans, to inspire them with a contempt of
death. They believed that if they obtained the favor of Woden by
their valor (for they made less account of the other virtues) they
should be admitted after their death into his hall; and, reposing
on couches, should satiate themselves with ale from the skulls of
their enemies whom they had slain in battle. Incited by this idea
of paradise, which gratified at once the passion of revenge and that
of intemperance, the ruling inclinations of barbarians, they despised
the dangers of war, and increased their native ferocity against the
vanquished by their religious prejudices.
~ 3. The ships, or keels (ceolas), of the Saxons appear at an ancient period to. have been rudely constructed of a few planks surmounted with wattled osiers and covered with skins; and in these
frail vessels they fearlessly trusted themselves without a compass
to the winds and waves of the stormy ocean which washed their
shores. We may infer, however, from the number of men which
they conveyed to Britain, that in the fifth century their ships must
have been much enlarged in size and improved in solidity ofconstruction. The arms of the Anglo-Saxons were targets worn on the left
arm, spears, bows and arrows, swords, battle-axes, and heavy clubs
furnished with spikes of iron. Sidonius, the Bishop of Clermont,
has described the terror which these barbarians inspired.  "We
have not," he says, "' a more cruel and dangerous enemy than the
Saxons. They overcome all who have the courage to oppose them.'They surprise all who are so imprudent as not-to be prepared for
their attack. When they pursue, they inevitably overtake: when
they-are pursued, their escape is certain.. They despise danger:
they are inured to shipwreck: they are eager to purchase booty
with the peril of their lives. Tempests, which to others are so
dreadful, to them are subjects of joy. The storm is their protection when they are pursued by the enemy, and a cover for their
operations when they meditate an attack.  Before they quit their
own shores, they devote to the altars of their gods the tenth part
of the principal captives; and when they are on the point of returning, the lots are cast with an affectation of equity, and the impious vow is fulfilled.".* Such were the barbarians who were now
approaching the British shores.
~ 4. First settlement of the German invaders, A.D. 450.-The
first arrival of the Saxon tribes in England is commonly placed
either in the year 449 or 450, of which dates the latter is the
* Sidon., viii., 6, quoted by Lingard, i., p. 73.




A.D. 450.   SETTLEMENTS OF GERMAN INVADERS.               23
more correct.* Respecting the manner of their coming and their
first proceedings in the island we find two sets of traditions, those
of the British, and those of the Saxon writers, which vary in many
important particulars. According to the former, the two Jutish
leaders, Hengist arid Horsa, being banished from  their native
country, and wandering about with their followers in three vessels
in quest of new seats, were invited by Vortigern, the British king
before mentioned, to assist him against the Scots and Picts; and
in reward for the services which he had rendered, Hengist and his
followers were presented with the Isle of Thanet for a settlement,
which at that time was separated by a broad estuary from the rest,
of Kent. t  Hengist now sent over to his native country for re-enforcements, and also caused his daughter Rowena, who was celebrated for her beauty, to be conveyed to the land of his adoption.
At a great feast given by the Saxons, Vortigern beheld Rowena,
received from her hands the wassail cup, and, captivated by her
charms, renounced Christianity for her sake, and ceded to Hengist
the remainder of Kent in return for her hand. His indignant
subjects now deposed Vortigern, and placed his son Vortimer on
the throne, who defeated Hengist in three great battles, and compelled him to retire for some years from Br'itain. Rowena having
contrived to poison Vortimer, Vortigern again ascended the throne,
and recalled his father-in-law Hengist; but as the Britons refused
to reinstate him in his possessions, a conference of 300 of the chiefs
of each nation was appointed to be held at Stonehenge in order to
settle the points in dispute. In the midst of the discussion Hengist
suddenly exclaimed to his followers," " Nimath eowre seaxas" (take
your knives), and 299 Britons fell dead upon the floor. Vortigern
alone was spared, for whose ransom three provinces, afterward
known as Essex, Sussex, and Middlesex, were demanded.  Over
these Hengist reigned, and was succeeded by his son Ochta.
In this narrative British and Roman traditions are confounded,
together with the old Saxon Saga of the manner. in which the
Saxons gained possession of Thuringia. The principal assertion
of the narrative, that Hengist received the three provinces mentioned as the ransom of Vortigern, is the least true of all, as they
did not fall under the Saxon dominion till a much later period.
These stories seem to have been invented by the Welsh authors
in order to palliate the weak resistance made at first by their countrymen, and to account for the rapid progress and licentious devastations of the Saxons.
~ 5. The accounts of the conquerors themselves, as recorded in
* The invasion took place in the first year of the reign of the Emperor
Marcian, which corresponds to A.D. 450.
j See Notes and Illustrations (B).




24         SETTLEMENTS OF GERMAN INVADERS.   CHAP. II.
the Saxon Chronicle, and by Beda and others, are more to be relied upon.*  According to these authorities, Hengist and Horsa,
two Jutish leaders, and descendants of Woden, landed with the
crews of three ships at Ypwines-fleet (Ebbes Fleet) in Kent in the
year 450, in compliance with a request made by Vortigern to the
athelings or chiefs of the Saxons, for aid against the Picts and
Scots, who had already advanced into Lincolnshire. After an easy
triumph the victorious Jutes invited their countrymen beyond the
sea to come and take possession of a fertile island, which the sloth
and cowardice of the inhabitants rendered them unable to defend.
A fleet of 16 sail immediately brought over a large body of warriors; to whom and to the former band, as a reward for their past
services, and as a gage for their future exertions in defense of the
island, the Britons assigned settlements in Kent.  The story of
Rowena is adverted to, but only as a British tradition.  Several
battles were subsequently fought.  In the battle of.Egeles-ford,
the present Aylesford (A.D. 455), 1Horsa was slain: according to
Beda, the monument of Horsa was still to be seen in his time in
the eastern part of Kent; and two miles north of Aylesford, at a
place called Horsted, a collection of flint-stones is still pointed out
as the tomb of Horsa.  Two years afterward (A.D. 457) another
great battle was fought between the Saxons and Britons at Creccanford (Crayford) in Kent, when the Saxons, led by Hengist and
his son Eric, surnamed Asc, or the Ash, gained a signal victory.
The Britons were completely driven out of Kent, and Hengist and
his son assumed the kingly power. Hengist died in the 40th year
after his arrival in Britain, and was succeeded by Eric, who reigned 24 yearsj and won more territory from the Britons. He was
the founder of the dynasty of the JEscings, or Ashings,t sons of the
Ashtree, the name given to the kings of Kent.  Ethelbert, fourth
in descent from 2Esc, who began to reign in A.D. 568, was the first
Christian king in England, and one of the most powerful princes
of his time; but the Kentish kingdom soon afterward sank into
obscurity.
~ 6. Second settlement of the Germnan invaders, A.D. 477.-In
the year 477, and therefore during the lifetime of Hengist, Ella
* The most recent English historians, Lappenberg, Sir Francis Palgrave,
and Kemble, regard the whole account of the Anglo-Saxon conquest as of
no historical value, and maintain that we have no real history of the AngloSatxons till their conversion to Christianity, 150 years later. Hengist and
Horsa, it is said, are mythical personages, Hengist (Hengst) and Horsa (Ross)
being the Teutonic names for stallion and horse. There are, however, good
reasons for believing the commonly-received account of the conquest to be
based upon historical facts. See Dr. Guest in the Proceedings of the Archoeological Institute for 1849.
t The termination -ing is the sign of the Anglo-Saxon patronymic.




A.D. 450-519. SETTLEMENTS OF GERMAN INVADERS.            25
(2Ella), with his three sons, Cymen, Wlencing, and Cissa, landed
with a body of Saxons from three ships at the place afterward
called Cymen's Ora, upon the eastern side of Chichester harbor in
Sussex; but the Britons were not expelled till defeated in many
battles by their warlike invaders. After the capture of the old
Roman fown of Anderida, or Andredes-ceaster (Pevensey), in 490,
when the whole British garrison was put to the sword, Ella assumed the title of king of the South-Sexe or Sussex, and extended
his dominion over the modern county of Sussex and a great part
of Surrey. Ella is said to have died between 514 and 519, and
was succeeded by his son Cissa; in whose line the kingdom of
Sussex remained for a long period, though we know not even the
name of any of his successors. The capital of this kingdom was
Chichester, which derives its name from Cissa (Cissa-ceaster,
the chester or city of Cissa). To these German invaders is due
the division of Sussex into rap~es, which again are divided into
hundreds.
~ 7.'hird settlement of the German invaders, A.D. 495.-The
third body of German invaders were, like the last, also Saxons.
They landed in 495 under the command of Cerdic and his son
Cynric, at a place called Cerdic's Ora, which was probably at the
mouth of the Itchin River along the eastern side of the Southampton Water.- None of the invaders met with such vigorous resistance, or exerted such valor and perseverance in pushing their
conquests.  Cerdic did not make much progress till six years
later, after calling in from Germany the aid of Port; from whom
the town of Portsmouth is said to derive its name, as being the
place where Port landed and defeated the Britons. In 514 Cerdie was re-enforced by the arrival of his nephews, Stuf and Wihtgar, who are also represented as Jutish leaders. Cerdic's power
now became more formidable; many districts were conquered,
and among them the Isle of Wight, which Cerdic bestowed on his
nephews. It was not, however, till his great victory over the
Britons at Cerdices-ford (or Charford, in Hampshire) in 519 that
Cerdic assumed the' royal title and erected the kingdom of the
IWest-Sexe or Wessex.  Cerdic's farther progress toward thewest
was checked by a great defeat which he received in the following
year at Mount Badon* from  Arthur, prince of the Damnonii,
whose heroic valor now sustained the declining fate of his country. This is that Arthur so much celebrated in the songs of British bards, and whose military achievements have been blended
with so many fables as even to give occasion for entertaining a
* Mount Badon is usually identified with Bath; but Dr. Guest adduces
strong reasons for believing it to be Badbury in Dorsetshire. (Ut supra,
p. 63.)
B




26       SETTLEMENTS OF GERMAN INVADERS.   CHAP. II.
doubt of his real existence. But poets, though they disfigure the
most certain history by their fictions, and use strange liberties
with truth where they are the sole historians, as among the
Britons, have commonly some foundation for their wildest exag,
gerations.
Cerdic died in 534, leaving his dominions to his son Cynric,
who ruled till his death in 560, and considerably extended his
kingdom, the capital of which was Winton-ceaster, or Winchester, the ancient Venta Belgarum. Cynric was succeeded by his
son Ceawlin.
~ 8. Fourth settlement of the German inzaders, A.D. 527. —These
invaders were also Saxons. They founded the kingdom of the
East-Sexe or Essex, to which the Middle-Sexe or Middlesex also belonged. 1Escevine or Ercemnvine was the first king of Essex;
but his son Sieda, who married a daughter of Ethelbert of Kent,
appears as a subject of his father-in-law; and Essex, though
styled a kingdom, seems always to have been subject to the neighboring kings.
~ 9. FIJth settlement of the German invaders.-The four preceding invasions had been made by tile Jutes and Saxons; but the
next two settlements consist of Angles.  Toward the middle or
end of the 6th century, for the exact date is unknown, some
Angles, apparently divided into two tribes, the North-Folk and
the South-Folk, founded the kingdom of East Anglia, comprising
the modern counties of Norfoll and Suffolk, and parts of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire.  Hardly any thing is known of
the history of East Anglia. Uffa is said to have been the first
king, and his descendants were styled Uffingas, just as the race of
Kentish kings were called _Escingas.
~ 10. Sixth/ Settlement of' the German invaders, about A.D. 547.The country to the north of the Humber had been early separated
into two British states, namely, Deifyr (Deora rice), extending
from the Humber to the Tyne, and Berneich (Beorna rice), lying
between the Tyne and the Forth. These names, afterward Latinized into Deira and Bernicia, were retained till a late period. The
two countries were separated by a vast forest occupying the district between the Tyne and the Tees, or the modern bishopric of
Durham. According to some traditions, Hengist had penetrated
as far as these countries, and founded states there for his son Ochta,
and for Ebusa the son of Horsa; but it seems more probable that
his expeditions were not carried beyond Lincolnshire.  It can not
be doubted, however, that the Angles were settled in parts of Northumbria at an early period; though- it was not till the arrival
of Ida, who landed at Flamborough Head in 547, with a powerful body of Anglian warriors, that the Angles obtained the su



A.D. 519-626.       THE HEPTARCHY.                     27
premacy in the north of the island. Ida became King of Bernicia,
and transmitted his power to his son; and a separate Anglian
kingdom was founded in Deira by Ella. These two kingdoms
remained for some years in a state of hostility with one another;
but they were united in the person of Ethelfrith or 2Edelfrid,
grandson of Ida, who had married a daughter of Ella, and who
expelled her infant brother Edwin.  It was not, however, till the
accession of Edwin in 617 that the united kingdoms seem to have
assumed the name of Northumbria, which was long the most powerful of the Anglo-Saxon states.
~ 11. The country to the west of East Anglia and Deira was
known by the name of the March or boundary, and was conquered
by Anglian chieftains, who were for some time subject to the kings
of Northumbria.  It was erected into an independent state by
Penda about 626, under the name of the ilIarch or lfercia, which
was subsequently extended to the Severn, and comprised the whole
of the centre of England. It was divided by the Trent into North
and South Mercia.
~ 12. Thus after a century and a half was gradually established in Britain what has been called the Heptarchy, or seven Saxon
kingdoms, namely, Kent, Sussex, Wessex, Essex, East Anglia, 3Mercia, and Northumbria.  But this term is incorrect: there were
never exactly seven independent kingdoms coexistent; and if the
smaller and dependent ones are reckoned, the number must be considerably increased. The Britons, or ancient Celtic inhabitants,
had been driven into the western parts of the island, and formed
several small states. In the extreme southwest lay Dlamnonia,
called also West TWales, the kingdom of Arthur, occupying at first
the present counties of Cornwall and Devonshire, but limited at
a later period, after the separation of Cernau, or Cornwall, to Dyvnaint, or Devonshire.  In Somersetshire, Wiltshire, and Dorsetshire, which had been occupied by the Saxons at an early period,
a- large native population still maintained its ground, as was likewise the case in Devonshire long after its occupation by the Saxons; whence the inhabitants of that district obtained the name of
the 1" Welsh kind."  Cambria, or Wales, was divided into several
small kingdoms or principalities. The name of Welsh ( Wclsch), it
may be observed, is the Saxon term for foreigners, and is still applied by the Germans to the Italians. The history of the Celts,
who dwelt in Cumbria, to the north of Wales, is involved in obscurity.  Cumbria, or Cumberland, properly so called, included,
besides the present county, Westmoreland and Lancashire, and extended into Northumbria, probably as far as the modern Leeds.
Caerleol, or Carlisle, was its chief city. North of Cumbria, between the two Roman walls, and to the east of the kingdom of




28                  THE HEPTARCHY.                 CHAP. II.
C)7 )
Map of Britain, showing the Settlements of the Anglo-Saxons.
Bernicia, were situated two other British kingdoms: Reged, in the
southern portion of the district, nearly identical perhaps with Annandale, in Dumfriesshire; and Stratlzclyde, embracing the counties of Dumbarton, Renfrew, and Dumfries, and probably also
those of Peebles, Selkirk, and Lanark. These kingdoms were
sometimes united under one chief, or Pendragon, called also Tyern,
or tyrannus, who, like other British princes, regarded himself as the
successor, and even as the descendant, of Constantine or Maximus.
Besides those Britons who found shelter in these western and
mountainous regions from the fury of the Saxon invaders, great
numbers of them, under the conduct of their priests and chieftains,
o~~~~~~~~~~~g
tP~~~INI 
~~b~~~"i~
4t~~~~Tti'~




A.D. 626.           THE BRETWALDAS.                      29
abandoned altogether their native shores, and settled in Armorica,
on the western coast of France, which from them derived its subsequent name of Bretagne, or Brittany.
Nothing can more evidently show the completeness of the conquest made by the Anglo-Saxons than the fact that their language
fobrms to this day the staple of our own; but with regard to their
treatment of the conquered land, and their relations toward the
natives, we are almost entirely in the dark. It is usually stated
that the Saxons either exterminated the original population, or
drove it into the western parts of the island; but there are good
reasons for believing that this was not completely the case; and
we may conclude from the Welsh traditions, and from the number
of Celtic words still existing in the English language, that a considerable number of the Celtic inhabitants still remained upon the
soil as the slaves or subjects of their conquerors.*
~ 13. To detail the obscure and often doubtful history of the
several Anglo-Saxon states would afford neither amusement nor
instruction, and we shall therefore content ourselves with selecting
the more remarkable events that occurred down to the time when
all the kingdoms were united under the authority of Egbert. The
dignity of Brvetwalda, that is, supreme commander or emperor of
Britain, which was often the subject of contention among the different Anglo-Saxon sovereigns, affords some slight bond of connection to their histories, and it is to this point that we shall first direct our attention.t
The institution of a Bretwalda among the Anglo-Saxons was
probably neither derived from their native customs, nor an assumption of the Roman imperial power before exercised in the
island, but rather a measure sometimes adopted from the necessity
of uniting under a common chief against the Britons, the Picts,
and the Scots.  The dignity was perhaps an elective one.  The
first who held the office, according to Beda, was Ella, king of the
South Saxons; but we know not on what account, nor by what
means, he obtained the dignity.  Ceawlin, King of the West Saxons, or Wessex, the grandson of Cerdic, was the second Bretwalda.
The iZEscing, Ethelbert of Kent, disputed the title with him, but
was overthrown in a great battle at Wibbandun (Wimbledon in
Surrey). Ceawlin was a conqueror, and united many districts to
his kingdom; but from some unknown cause, the termination of
his reign was singularly unprosperous.  His own subjects, and
* This subject is more fully discussed in the Notes and Illustrations (C).
t The existence of the Bretwaldas, at least in the earlier times, is disputed
by Mr. Hallam and Mr. Kemble. But they are expressly mentioned by Beda,
who calls their dignity deceatus or leadership, in the Saxon Chronicle, where
these princes are termed Bretwaldas, and in charters.




30                  THE BRETWALDAS.                  CHAP. II.
even his own relations, united against him with the Britons and.
Scots; he was defeated in a great battle at Wodnesbeorg, in the
year 591, and died in exile two years afterward.
~ 14. After the expulsion of Ceawlin, Ethelbert of Kent obtained the dignity of Bretwalda, to which he had for so many years
aspired. The most memorable event of his reign was the introduction of Christianity among the Anglo-Saxons, for the reception
of which faith the mind of Ethelbert had been prepared through
his marriage with the Christian princess Bertha, daughter of Caribert, King of Paris.  But the immediate cause of its introduction
was a casual incident which occurred at Rome. It happened that
Gregory, who, under the title of the Great, afterward occupied the
papal chair, had observed in the market-place of Rome three Saxon youths exposed to sale, whom the Roman merchants, in their
trading voyages to Britain, had bought of their mercenary parents."
Struck with the beauty of their fair complexions and blooming
countenances, Gregory asked to What country they belonged; and
being told they were Angles, he replied that they ought more properly to be denominated angels: it were'a pity that the prince of
darkness should enjoy so fair a prey, and that so beautiful a frontispiece should cover a mind destitute of internal grace and righteousness. Inquiring farther concerning the name of their province, he was informed that it was Deira, a district of Northumbria.
" Deira," replied he, " that is good! They are called to the mercy
of God from his anger (de ira). But what is the name of the
king of that province?" He was told it was -ZElla, or Alla.
" Allelujah!" cried he; "we must endeavor that the praises of
God be sung in their country."'  Ioved by these allusions, which
appeared to him so happy, he determined to undertake himself a
mission into Britain, and, having obtained the Pope's approbation,
prepared for the journey; but his popularity at home was so great,
that the Roirans, unwilling to expose him to such dangers, opposed his design; and he was obliged for the present to lay aside
all farther thoughts of executing that pious purpose.
After his accession to the pontificate, Gregory, anxious to convert the British Saxons, pitched on Augustine, a Roman monk,
and sent him, with forty associates, to preach the gospel in this
island. These missionaries, terrified with the danger which might
attend their proposing a new doctrine to so fierce a people, of
whose language they were ignorant, stopped some time in France,
and sent back Augustine to lay the hazards and difficulties before
* The celebrated story is told by Beda (ii., 89), and is copied firom him,
with slight variations, by all other medieval writers. It is related more fully
and accurately by Mr. Stanley (Historical Memorials of Canterbury, p. 7,
eeg.) than by any other modern writer.




A.D 597. ETHELBERT-INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY. 31
the Pope, and crave his permission to desist from the undertaking. But Gregory exhorted them to persevere in their purpose;
and Augustine, on his arrival in Kent in the year 597, found the
danger much less than he had apprehended. Ethelbert, already
well disposed toward the Christian faith, assigned him a habitation in the Isle of Thanet, and soon after admitted him to a conference.  Augustine, encouraged by his favorable reception, and
seeing now a prospect of success, proceeded with redoubled zeal
to preach the gospel to the Kentish Saxons. Numbers were converted and baptized, and the king himself was persuaded to submit to the same rite.  Augustine was consecrated Archbishop of
Canterbury, was endowed by Gregory with authority over all the
British churches, and received the pall, a badge of ecclesiastical
honor, from Rome.  Christianity was soon afterward introduced
into the kingdom of Essex, whose sovereign, S eberht, or Sebert,
was Ethelbert's nephew; and, through the influence of Ethelbert,
Mellitus, who had been the apostle of Christianity in Essex, was
appointed to the bishopric of London, where a church dedicated
to St. Paul was erected, on the site of a former temple of Diana.
Sebert also erected on Thorney Island, which was formed by the
branches of a small river falling into the Thames, a church dedicated to St. Peter, which is now Westminster Abbey. In Kent
the -see of Rochester was founded by Augustine, and be-stwed
upon Justus.
Silver Penny of Ethelbert II., King of Kent, and Bretwalda.
Obverse: EDILBIRT...; bust right. Reverse: nREx; wolf and twins. (This coin, if
genuine, is an evident imitation of those of Rome: compare the coin of Carausius, p. 12.)
~ 15. The marriage of Ethelbert with Bertha, and, much more,
his embracing Christianity, begat a connection of his subjects with
the French, Italians, and other nations on the Continent, and tended to reclaim them from that gross ignorance and barbarity in
which all the Saxon tribes had been hitherto involved. Ethelbert also enacted, with the consent of the states of his kingdom,
a body of laws, the first written laws promulgated by any of the
northern conquerors; and his reign was in every respect glorious
to himself and beneficial to his people.  He governed the kingdom of Kent 50 years, and, dying in 616, left the succession to
his son Eadbald.  But he possessed neither the abilities nor the
authority of his father; and the Saxon princes refused to acknowledge him. as Bretwalda. That dignity passed to Redwald,




32              EDWIN OF NORTHUMBRIA.              CHAP. II.
King of the East Angles, who holds the fourth place in the series
of these princes. The protection afforded by Redwald to young
Edwinfrthe rightful heir of the kingdom of Deira, brought him
into collision with lEdelfrid, King of Northumbria. It has been
already mentioned that ~Edelfrid had united Deira with Bernicia
by seizing upon it at the death of Ella, whose daughter he had
married, and expelling her infant brother Edwin. Redwald in\vaded the kingdom of Northumbria, and fought a battle with
dAdelfrid on the banks of the Idle in Nottinghamshire, in which
that monarch was defeated and killed; his sons, Eanfrid, Oswald,
and Oswy, yet infants, were carried into Scotland, and Edwin obtained possession of the crown.
~ 16. Edwin subsequently became the fifth Bretwalda, and all
the Anglo-Saxon states, with the exception of Kent, acknowledged
his supremacy. I-He distinguished himself by his influence over
the other kingdoms, and by the strict execution of justice in his
own dominions. He reclaimed his subjects from the licentious
life to which they had been accustomed; and it was a common
saying that during his reign a woman or child might openly carry
every where a purse of gold without any danger of violence or
robbery. There is a remarkable instance transmitted to us of the
affection borne him by his servants.  Cuichelme, King of Wessex,
was his enemy; but, finding himself unable to maintain open war
against so gallant and powerful a prince, he determined to use
treachery against him, and he employed one Eumer for that criminal purpose. The assassin, having obtained admittance by pretending to deliver a message from Cuichelme, drew his dagger
and rushed upon the king.  Lilla, an officer of his army, seeing
his master's danger, and having no other means of defense, interposed with his own body between the king and Eumer's dagger,
which was pushed with such violence, that, after piercing Lilla, it
even wounded Edwin; but before the assassin could renew his
blow he was dispatched by the king's attendants.
This event, as well as the birth of a daughter about the same
time, is said to have hastened Edwin's conversion to Christianity.
After the death of his first consort, a Mercian princess, Edwin
had married Ethelburga, the daughter of Ethelbert, King of Kent.
This princess, emulating the glory of her mother Bertha, who had
been the instrument for converting her husband and his people
to Christianity, carried Paulinus, a learned bishop, along with
her; and besides stipulating a toleration for the exercise of her
own religion, which was readily granted her, she used every effort to persuade the king t'o embrace it. Her exertions, seconded
by those of Paulinus, were successful. Edwin was baptized on
Easter-day, AD. 627, at York, in a wooden church hastily erected




A.D. 597-795.  OSWALD-OSWY-INA OF WESSEX.              33
for the occasion, and dedicated to St. Peter. Subsequently York
was erected into an archbishopric; Paulinus was appointed the
first northern metropolitan, and a handsome church of stone was
built for his cathedral.  From hence, as a centre, Christianity was
propagated, though not without some vicissitudes, in the neighboring Anglo-Saxon countries.
~ 17. Evil days were now approaching for Northumbria. Edwin was slain in battle by Penda, the powerful king of AMercia.
Northumbria was divided into two separate kingdoms, and the
people, with their monarchs, relapsed into paganism.  At length,
in 634, Oswald, the son of JEdelfrid, again united the kingdoms
of Northumbria, and restored the Christian religion in his dominions. Oswald was also acknowledged as the sixth Bretwalda,
and reigned, according to the expression of Bleda, over the four
nations of Britain-the Angles, the Britons, the Picts, and the
Scots. His reign, however, was short. He became involved in
a war with Penda, A.D. 642, and, like his brother, was defeated
and slain. His corpse was treated with great brutality by Penda;
but he was canonized by the Church as a saint and martyr; his
scattered members were collected as relics, and were held to be
endowed with miraculous powers. Penda penetrated as far as
Bamborough, the residence of the Northumbrian princes on the
coast of Yorkshire, but after a fruitless siege was obliged to retire
and evacuate the kingdom.
~ 18. On the death of Oswald his brother Oswy succeeded to
his kingdom and the dignity of Bretwalda.  He defeated and
slew the formidable Penda in a great battle fought near Leeds in
656.
The reign of Oswy was rendered memorable by a most destructive pestilence called the yellow plague, which, commencing in 664,
ravaged the whole island twenty years, with the exception of the
Highlands of Scotland.  Oswy died in 670, and with him expired
for a time the dignity of Bretwalda.
It is unnecessary to pursue the obscure and uninteresting reigns
of Oswy's successors in the kingdom of Northumbria, which, for
the most part, present little more than a series of seditions, usurpations, and murders. Agriculture was neglected, the land was
desolated by famine and pestilence, and, to fill up the measure of
its calamities, the Northmen landed in 793 on Lindisfarne, and in
the following year at Egferths-Minster (probably Wearmouth),
and plundered and destroyed the churches and monasteries at
those places. After the death of Ethelred (A.D. 795) universal
anarchy prevailed in Northumbria; and the people, having by so
many fatal revolutions lost all attachment to their government
and princes, were well prepared for subjection to a foreign yoke.
B2




34                       EGBERT.                   CHAP. II.
This was finally imposed upon them by Egbert, King of Wessex;
to the history of which kingdom, as finally swallowing up all the
rest, we must now hasten.
~ 19. The history of the kings of Wessex presents nothing remarkable till we arrive at the reign of Ina, who ascended the
throne in 688, and who was remarkable for his justice, policy,
and prudence. He treated the Britons of Somersetshire and the
adjoining'districts (the Wealas, or WVelsh kind), whom he had
subdued, with a humanity hitherto unknown to the Saxon conquerors. He allowed the proprietors to retain possession of their
lands, encouraged marriages and alliances between them and his
ancient subjects, and gave them the privilege of being governed
by the same laws. These laws he augmented and ascertained;
and though he was disturbed by some insurrections at home, his
long reign of thirty-seven years may be regarded as one of the most
glorious and most prosperous reigns of the Anglo-Saxon princes.
In the decline of his age he miade a pilgrimage to Rome, where
he shut himself up in a cloister. The year of his death is unknown.. Egbert was the fourth in descent from Ingild, Ina's brother;
and, being a young.man of the most promising hopes, gave great
jealousy to Brithric, the reigning prince, both because he seemed
by his birth better entitled to the crown, and because he had acquired to an eminent degree the affections of the people. Egbert, sensible of his danger from the suspicions of Brithric, secretly withdrew into France, where he was well received by Charlemagne. By living in the court and serving in the armies of that
prince, the most able and most generous that had appeared in
Europe during several ages, he acquired those accomplishments
which afterward enabled him to make such a shining figure on
the throne.
It was not long ere Egbert had opportunities of displaying his
natural and acquired talents. Brithric was accidentally killed
by partaking of a cup of poison which his wife Eadburga, daughter of Offa, King of Mercia, had mixed for a young nobleman who
had acquired her husband's friendship, and had on that account
become the object of her jealousy. Egbert was now'recalled from
France by the nobility of Wessex, and ascended the throne of his
ancestors in the last year of the 8th century. The royal families
had at this period become extinct in all the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms except that of Wessex, and Egbert was the sole descendant
of those first conquerors who subdued Britain, and who eenhanced
their authority by claiming a pedigree from Woden, the supreme
divinity of their ancestors. But, though his lineage might have
afforded a pretense to make attempts on the neighboring Saxons, hQ




A.D. 688-796.    HISTORY OF MERCIA-OFFA.                35
gave them for some time no disturbance, and rather chose to turn
his arms against the Britons in Cornwall and Wales, whom he
defeated in several battles. Hie was recalled from these conquests
by an invasion of his dominions by Beornwulf, King of Mercia.
But in order to explain that event, and to close the history of the
other Anglo-Saxon states, we must here take a retrospective
glance at that of Mercia.
~ 20. After the death of Penda the history of Mercia presents
little of importance till we arrive at the long reign of Ethelbald
(716-755). That sovereign appears to have possessed as much
power as any of the Bretwaldas, though he did not enjoy that
title. I-e distinguished himself by many successful conflicts with
the Britons, against whom he united under his standard East
Anglia, Kent, Essex, and for a while also Wessex.  At one period he asserted his supremacy over all England south of the
Humber, and in a charter of the year 736 signs himself "King
of Britain."  But he was subsequently defeated in two battles
against the West Saxons; in the latter of which he fell (A.D.
755). Ethelbald, after a short period of usurpation by Beornred,
was succeeded by Offa, the most celebrated of all the Mercian
princes. After gaining several victories over the other AngloSaxon princes, this monarch turned his arms against the Britons
of Cambria, whom he repeatedly defeated. I-Ie settled all the
level country to the east of the mountains, between the Wye and
the Severn, with, Anglo-Saxons; for whose protection he constructed the moundi rp -rampart between the mouth of the Dee
and that of the  ye:, klnown as Offa's Dike, traces of which may
be still discerned.:The King of Mercia was now become so considerable, that the Emperor Charlemagne entered into an alliance
and friendship with him.  That emperor being a great lover of
learning and learned men, Offa, at his desire, sent Alcuin to him,
a clergyman much celebrated for his knowledge, who received
great honors from Charlemagne, and even became his preceptor
in the sciences.  Charlemagne, on his side, made Offa many costly presents, which seem to have chiefly consisted of the spoils
which that emperor had taken from the Huns.  But the glory
and successes of Offa were stained by the treacherous murder of
Ethelbert, King of the East Angles, while sojourning at his court,
and by his violent seizing of that kingdom in the year 792. Overcome by remorse, Offa endeavored to atone for his crime by liberality to the Church.  He gave the tenth of his goods to the clergy,
and engaged to pay the sovereign pontiff a yearly donation for the
support of an English college at Rome: for which purpose he
imposed the tax of a penny on each house possessed of thirty
pence a year.  Offa's liberality, however, was perhaps only a




36               CONQUESTS OF EGBERT.              CHAP. II.
confirmation of that of Ina, King of the West Saxons, who is
also said to have founded a school at Rome, and to have laid for
its support a tax of one penny, under the name of JRom-feoh, or
Rome-scot, on every house in the kingdom. This imposition, being afterward levied on all England, was commonly denominated
Peter's-pence: and though conferred at first as a gift, was afterward claimed as a tribute by the Roman pontiff.
Offa died in 796. The reigns of his successors on the Mercian
throne, who were all either murdered or violently deposed, deserve
not to arrest our attention. Mlercia, irstead of continuing to be
the leading state among the Anglo-Saxons, was, through its internal dissensions, falling fast into decay, and was thus easily reduced by the arms of Egbert, to whose history we must now return.
~ 21. Egbert had already possessed the throne of Wessex nearly a quarter of a century, when the invasion of his dominions before referred to, by Beornwulf, King of Mercia, took place. Egbert
defeated the invaders, and subdued with facility the tributary kingdoms of Kent and Sussex, while the East Angles, from their hatred
to the Mlercian government, immediately rose in arms, and put
themselves under the protection of Egbert.  In order to engage
the Miercians more easily to submission, he allowed Wiglaf, their
countryman, to retain the title of king, while he himself exercised
the real power of sovereignty.  The anarchy. which prevailed in
Northumbria, as already related, tempted him to carry still farther
his victorious arms; and the inhabitants, unable to resist his power,
and desirous of possessing some established form of government,
were forward, on his first appearance, to send deputies, who submitted to his authority, and swore- allegiance to him as their sovereign. Egbert, however, still allowed to Northumbria, as he had
done to Mercia and East Anglia, the power of electing a king, who
paid him tribute and was dependent on him.  These three subordinate kingdoms remained under their'own sovereigns, as vassalsof Egbert, till they were swallowed up by the Danish invasion.
Egbert and his successors, down to Alfred.the Great, commonly
assumed only the title of kings of Wessex, and Alfred's son, Edward the Elder, seems to have been the first who regularly adopted
the title of " Rex Anglorum," or King of the English.
Thus all the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms were nominally united into
one state, nearly 400 years after the first arrival of the Saxons in
Britain. This event is placed in the year 827.




CHAP. If.            NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.                                   37
CHRONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE EVENTS.
A.D.                                      A.n.
450. First arrival of the Saxons in England  617. Kingdom of Northumbria under Edwin.
under Hengist and Horsa.            626. Kingdom of Mercia founded by Penda.
47T. Ella lands in Sussex.                 62T. Conversion of Edwin. Church at York.
495. Cerdic lands in Hampshire.            664. Yellow plague.
519. Cerdic founds the kingdom of Wessex.  793. The Northmen land on Lindisfarne.
i52. The Saxons land in Essex.             800. Accession of Egbert in Wessex.
517. The Angles under Ida settle in Bernicia. 827. Egbert unites all the Anglo-Saxon king.
5)J. Augustinepreaches Christianityin Kent.      doms.
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
A. THE FRISIANS TOOK PART IN THE  of belonging to a race that partakes largely
SAXON INVASION OF BRITAIN.    of Celtic blood. If he calls for his coat (W.
cota, Germ. rock), or tells 6f the basket of
This appears from the following facts: 1. fish he has caught (W. basgawd, Germ. korb),
Procopius says (Bell. Goth., iv., 20) that Brit- or the cart he employs on his land (W. cart,
ain was inhabited in his time (the 6th cen- from cdr, a drag or sledge, Germ. wagen), or
tury) by three races, the Angles, Frisians,  of the pranks of his youth or the prancing
and Britons. The omission of the Saxons, of his horse (W. prank, a trick; p?-ancio, to
and the substitution of the Frisians, can be  frolic), or declares that he was happy when
accounted for only on the supposition that a gownsman at Oxford (WV. hap, fortune,
Frisians and Saxons were convertible terms.  chance; Germ. cglick; XV. gwn), or that his
2. The traditions of the Frisians and Flem- servant is pert (W. pert, spruce, dapper, inings claim Hengist as their ancestor, and re- solent), or, descending to the language of the
late that he was banished from their country.  vulgar, he affirms that such assertions are
3. In old German poetry it is expressly stated  balderdash, and the claim a sham (W. balthat the Frisians were formerly called Sax- dorddus, idle, prating; siom, from shom, a
ons. 4. Many English words and some gram- deceit, a sham), he is unconsciously mainmatical forms are more closely allied to those  taining the truth he would deny. Like the
of the old Friesic than to those of any other M. Jourdain of Molidre, who had been talking
German dialect. For instance, the English  prose all his life without knowing it, he has
sign of the infinitive mode, to, is found in the  been speaking very good Celtic without any
old Friesic, and not in any other German  suspicion of the fact."
dialect. On this subject see Davies " On the    A long list of Celtic words in the English
Races of Lancashire," in the " Transactions language will be found in Mr. Davies's essay,
of the Philological Society" for 1855.    and also in another valuable paper by the
late Mr. Garnett, likewise published in the
B. THE ISLE OF THANET.              "Transactions of the Philological Society"
(vol. i., p. 171). It appears that a consideraThe Isle of Thanet was in Anglo-Saxon  ble proportion of the English words relating
times, and long afterward, separated from  to the ordinary arts of life, such as agriculthe rest of Kent by a broad strait, called by  ture, carpentry, and in general indoor and
Bede the Wantsumu. The Stour, instead of  outdoor service, come from the Celtic. The'being a narrow stream, as at present, was following, which might be multiplied almost
then a broad river, opening into a wide estu- indefinitely, may serve as samples:
ary between Sandwich and Deal, in the direction of Pegwell Bay. Ships coming from     basket,      basgawd.
France and Germany sailed up this estuary,    bran,        brhn (a skin of wheat).
and through the river, out at the other side  crock, crockery, crochan (a pot).
by Reculver. Ebb's Fleet is the name given    drill,       rill (row).
flannel,     gwlanen (from gwlan w0o!).
to a farm-house on a strip of high  ground    gow,'        gwn (a robe).
rising out of Minster Marsh (Stanley, Memo-    hem,        hem (a border).
rials of Canterbury, p. 13). Thanet is the    lath,       llath (a rod).
German name of the island. The Welsh           attock,     matog.
name was Rueim, which probably signified a    peck,        pseol.
foreland, and is still preserved in the com-    pitcher,   piser (. jug).
pound Ratnsgate. In East Kent the gaps in    ridge,        rhic, rhig.
the line of cliff which lead down to the shore    s0lder,  sawdoriaw (to join, eement).
are called gates; hence Ramsgate is the gate    tackle,    tad (instrument, tool).
or pass leading into Ruim (Guest, in Pro-   Mr. Davies also calls attention to the fact
ceedings of the Aicheological Institute for that in the Lancashire dialect (and the same
1849, p. 32).                             holds good of other dialects) many low, burC. CELTIC WORDS IN THE  lNGLISH   lesque, or obscure words can be traced to a
C. C WORDS IT EN~G;ISH   ~Celtic source, and this circumstance, togethLANGUAGE.                   er with the fact that no words connected
Mr. Davies, in the valuable paper already  with law, or government, or the luxuries of
referred to, remarks,;" The stoutest assertor life, belong to this class, is distinct evidence
of a pure Anglo-Saxon or Norman descent is that the Celtic race was held in a state of deconvicted by the language of his daily life pendence or inferiority.




' I 1            ~
The Plaising of Lazarus. Sculpture of the IXth or Xth century from Selsey, now in
Chichester Cathedral.
CHAPTER III.
THE.tNGLO-SAXONS FROM THE UNION OF ENGLAND UNDER EGBERT TILL
THE REIGN OF CAINUTE THE DANE.
i 1. State of the Kingdom. ~ 2. Invasion of the Danes.  Death of Egbert.
~ 3. Reign of Ethelwolf.  His Journey to Rome.- ~ 4. Revolt of Ethelbald.' ~ 5. Reigns of Ethelbald, Ethelbert, Ethelred.  Continued Invasions of the Danes. ~ 6. Accession of Alfred. Successes of the Danes.
Flight of Alfred. ~ 7. Alfred defeats the Danes. Their Settlement in
East Anglia.  The Danelagh.  ~ 8. Wise Regulations of Alfred.  New
Danish War.  Death of Alfred.  ~ 9. His Character.  His Love of
Learning. ~ 10. His Policy and Legislation. ~ 11. Reign of Edward
the Elder.  ~ 12. Reign of Athelstane.  His Conquests, Power, and foreign Connections. ~ 13. Reign of Edmund I. His Assassination. ~ 14.
Reign of Edred.  St. Dunstan; his Character and Power.  ~ 15. Reign
of Edwy. His Quarrel with St. Dunstan. ~ 16. Reign of Edgar. His
good Fortune. ~ 17. Reign of Edward. His Assassination. ~ 18. Reign




A.D. 827-.836.           EGBERT.                         39
of Ethelred II. Invasion of the Danes. Danegelt. ~ 19. Massacre of
the Danes. ~ 20. Conquest of England by Sweyn. Flight of Ethelred.
~ 21. Death of Sweyn, and Return of Ethelred. Invasion of Canute.
Death of Ethelred. ~ 22. Division of England between Canute and Edmond Ironside. Murder of the latter.
~ 1. EGBERT, A.D. 827-836.-Although England was not:firmly
cemented into one state under Egbert, as is usually represented,
yet the power of this monarch and the union of so many provinces
opened the prospect of future tranquillity; and it appeared more
probable that the Anglo-Saxons would thenceforth become formidable to their neighbors, than be exposed to their inroads and devastations. Indeed in the following year Egbert led his victorious
army into North Wales, laid waste the country as far as Snowdon,
penetrated into Denbighshire, and reduced the Isle of Anglesey to
subjection. Of all the territory that had been comprised in Roman
Britain, Strathclyde and. Cumbria alone were free from vassalage
to the crown of Egbert. But these flattering views were soon
overcast by the appearance of the Northmen, who during some
centuries kept the Anglo-Saxons in perpetual disquietude, committed the most barbarous ravages upon them, and at last reduced
them to grievous servitude.
~ 2. These pirates and freebooters inhabited the Scandinavian
kingdoms of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden; and the hordes
which plundered England were drawn from all parts of the Scandinavian peninsula. It was, however, chiefly the Danes who directed their attacks against the coasts of England; the Norwegians
made their descents for the most part upon Scotland, the Hebrides,
and Ireland; while the Swedes turned their arms against the east,
ern shores of the Baltic. These Scandinavians were in race and
language closely connected with the Anglo-Saxons. The languages
of all the Scandinaviah nations differ only slightly from the dialects of the Germanic tribes; and both nations originally worshiped the same gods, and were distinguished by the same love of enterprise and freedom. But, while the Anglo-Saxons had long since
abjured their ancient faith, and had acquired the virtues and vices
of civilization, their Scandinavian kinsmen still remained in their
savage independence, still worshiped Odin as their national god,
and still regarded the plunder of foreign lands as their chief occupation and delight. In the ninth century they inspired the same
terror which the Anglo-Saxons had done in the fifth.  Led by the
younger sons of royal houses, the Vikings* swarmed in all the
harbors and rivers of the- surrounding countries.  Their course
was marked by fire and bloodshed. Buildings sacred and profane
were burnt to the ground; and great numbers of people were mur* Viking is in Danish a naval warrior, a pirate.




40                    ETHELWOLF.                  CHAP. IIL
dered or dragged away into slavery. The terrified inhabitants fled
at their approach, and beheld in them the judgment of God foretold in the prophets.  Their national flag was the figure of a black
raven, woven on a blood-red ground, from whose movements the
Northmen augured victory or defeat.  When it fluttered its wings,
they believed that Odin gave them a sign of victory; but if the
wings hung down, they imagined that the god would not prosper
their arms. Their swords were longer and heavier than those of
Anglo-Saxons, and their battle-axes are mentioned as formidable
weapons.
These terrible Northmen appeared at the same time upon the
coasts of England, France, and Russia.  They wrested from the
French monarch one of his fairest provinces, which was called
Normandy after them; and they founded in Russia a dynasty
which reigned over the country above 700 years. Their first appearance upon the English coasts is placed in the Saxon Chronicle
under the year 787; but it was not till the latter part of Egbert's
reign that they commenced their regular and systematic ravages
of the country. At first they merely made brief and rapid descents upon the coasts, returning to their northern homes with
the plunder they had gained; but they soon began to take up their
abode in England for the winter, and renewed their devastations in
the spring. While England was trembling at this new evil, Egbert,
who alone was able to provide effectually against it, unfortunately
died (A.D. 836), and left the government to his son Ethelwolf.
~ 3. ETIIELWOLF, 836-858.-This prince had neither the abilities nor vigor of his father, and was better qualified for governing
a convent than a kingdom.  He began his reign with making a
partition of his dominions, and delivering over to his eldest son,
Athelstane, the newly conquered provinces of Essex, Kent, and
Sussex. But no inconvenience seems to have arisen from this
partition, as the continual terror of the Danish invasions prevented all domestic dissension. These incursions now became almost
annual, and, from their sudden an'd unexpected nature, kept the
English in continual alarm. The unsettled state of England hindered not Ethelwolf from making a pilgrimage to Rome, whither
he carried his fourth and favorite son, Alfred, then only six years
of age. He passed there a twelvemonth in exercises of devotion,
and in acts of liberality to the Church. Besides giving presents
to the more distinguished ecclesiastics, he made a perpetual grant
of 300 manczuses* a year to that see; one third to support the lamps
of St. Peter's, another those of St. Paul's, a third to the Pope himself. But that Ethelwolf first established tithes in England, as is
maintained by some writers, seems to be founded on a misintear
* The mancus was a silver coin of about the weight of a half-crown.




A.D. 836-871.          ETHELBALD.                       41
pretation of some ancient charters. Tithes were most probably
earlier instituted in this country; but Ethelwolf appears to have
established the first poor-law, by imposing on every ten hides of
land the obligation of maintaining one indigent person.
~ 4. On his return from Rome Ethelwolf
married Judith, daughter of the French
king, Charles the Bald, though she was then
only twelve years of age; but on his landinag in England he met with an opposition
which he little looked for.  His eldest son,   \
Athelstane, being dead, Ethelbald, his sec-'........l
ond son, who had assumed the government,
fbrmed, in concert with many of the nobles,'........1.
the project of excluding his father from a
throne which his weakness and superstition -!
seem to have rendered him so ill qualified GoldenRing ofEthelwolfin the
to fill. The people were divided between British Museum. It is dec.
orated with a bluish-black
the two princes, and a bloody civil war, enamel, firmly incorporated
joined to all the other calamities under into the metal by fusion.
which the English labored, appeared inevitable; when Ethelwolf
had the facility to yield to the greater part of his son's pretensions. - He made with him a partition of the kingdom; and taking to himself the eastern part, which was always at that time
esteemed the least considerable, as well as the most exposed to
invasion, he delivered over to Ethelbald the sovereignty of the
western half.
~ 5. ETHELBALD ETHELBERT, and ETIIELRED, A.D. 858-871.
-Ethelwolf died about 858. He was succeeded by his sons
Ethelbald and Ethelbert, whose short reigns present nothing of
importance. On the death of the latter, Ethelred, another son
of Ethelwolf, ascended the throne in the year 866. Under these
monarchs the Danes continued their ravages with renewed vigor,
and penetrated into the very heart of the country. In the course
of their devastations they defeated and took prisoner Edmund,
the King of East Anglia (871), to whom they proposed that he
should renounce the Christian faith and rule under their supremacy. But Edmund having rejected this proposal with scorn and
horror, the Danes bound him naked to a tree, scourged and shot
at him with arrows, and finally beheaded him. The constancy
with which Edmund met his death caused him to be: canonized as
a saint and martyr: the place where his body was buried took
the name of Bury St. Edmund's, and a splendid monastery was
erected there in his honor.
~ 6. ALFRED, 871-901.-Ethelred died of a wound received in
battle against the Danes (871), and was succeeded by his brother




42                ACCESSION OF ALFRED.              CHAP. III.
Alfied.  This monarch, who was born at Wantage in 849, and
was now 22 years of age, gave very early marks of those great
virtues and shiniig talents by which he saved his country from
utter ruin and subversion.  He distinguished hirnself, during the
reign of his brother Ethelred, in several engagements against the
Danes. -His genius was first roused by the recital of Saxon
poems: he soon learned to read those compositions, and proceeded
thence to acquire the knowledge of the Latin tongue, in which he
met with authors that better prompted his heroic spirit, and direeted his generous views. Absorbed in these elegant pursuits,
he regarded his accession to royalty rather as an object of regret
than triumph; but, being called to the throne in preference to his
brother's children, as well by the will of his father as by the vows
of the whole nation and the urgency of public affairs, he exerted
himself in the defense of his people.
The first seven years of his reign were spent in incessant struggles against the Danes, over whom he gained some victories; but
fresh swarms of Northmen continually poured into the kingdom,
and Alfred, overpowered by superior numbers, was at length
obliged (878) to relinquish the ensigns of his dignity, to dismiss his
servants, and to seek shelter in the meanest disguises from the pursuit and fury of his enemies.  He concealed himself under a peasant's habit, and lived some time in the house of a neatherd, who
had been intrusted with the care of some of his cows.  The wife
of the neatherd was ignorant of the condition of her royal guest;
and observing him one day busy by the fireside in trimming his
bow and arrows, she desired him to take care of some cakes which
were toasting, while she was employed elsewhere in other domestic affairs.  But Alfred, whose thoughts were otherwise engaged,
neglected this injunction, and the good woman on her return, finding her cakes all burnt, rated the king very severely, and upbraided him that he always seemed very well pleased to eat her warm
cakes, though he was thus negligent in toasting them.
~ 7. By degrees, Alfred, as he found the search of the enemy
become more remiss, collected some of his retainers and retired
into the centre of a bog formed by the stagnating waters of the
Thone and Parret, in Somersetshire. He here found two acres
of firm ground, and, building a habitation on them, rendered himself secure by its fortifications, and still more by the unknown and
inaccessible roads which led to it, and by the forests and morasses
with which it was every way environed. This place he called
Ethelingay, or the Isle of Nobles; and it now bears the name of
Athelney.*  He thence made frequnt and unexpected sallies upon
* A beautiful gold enameled jewel found at this spot, and now in the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford, has the inscription "IElfred mec heht gewur,




A.D. 871-878.   ALFRED IN THE DANISH CAMP.              43
the Danes, who often felt the vigor of his arm, but knew not from
what quarter the blow came. He subsisted himself and his followers by the plunder which he acquired; he procured them consolation by revenge; and from small successes he opened their
minds to hope that, notwithstanding his present low condition,
more important victories might at length attend his valor. But
before he would assemble them in arms, or urge them to any attempt which, if unfortunate, might in their present despondency
prove fatal, he resolved to inspect himself the situation of the enemy, and to judge of the probability of success. For this purpose
he entered their camp under the disguise of a harper, or glee-iman,
and passed unsuspected through every quarter. H I-e so entertained them with his music and facetious humors, that he met with
a welcome reception, and was even introduced to the tent of
Guthrum, their prince, where he remained some days. Ile remarked the supine security of the Danes, their contempt of the English,
their negligence in foraging and plundering, and their dissolute
wasting of what they gained by rapine and violence. Encouraged by these favorable appearances, he secretly sent emissaries to
the most considerable of his subjects, and summoned them to a
rendezvous, attended by their warlike followers, at Brixton, on
the borders of Selwood Forest. The English, who had hoped to
put an end to their calamities by servile submission, now found
the insolence and rapine of the conqueror more intolerable than
all past fatigues and dangers; and at the appointed day they joyfully resorted to their prince.  He instantly conducted them to
Ethandun (perhaps Eddington, near WVestbury), where the Danes
were encamped; and, taking advantage of his previous knowledge
of the place, he directed his attack against the most unguarded
quarter of the enemy.  The Danes, surprised to see an army of
English, whom they considered as totally subdued, and still more
astonished to hear that Alfred was at their head, made but a faint
resistance, notwithstanding their superiority of number, and were
soon put to flight with great slaughter. The remainder of the
routed army, with their prince, was besieged by Alfred in a fortified camp to which they fled; but, being reduced to extremity by
want and hunger, they had recourse to the clemency of the victor,
and offered to submit on any conditions. The king gave lhern
their lives, and even formed a scheme for converting them from
mortal enemies into faithful subjects and confederates. He knew
that the kingdom of East Anglia was totally desolated by the frequent inroads of the Danes, and he now proposed to repeople it by
settling there Guthrum and his followers, who might serve him as
can" (Alfred ordered me to be wrought). According to the testimony of
his biographer, Asser, Alfred encouraged goldsmiths.




44              REGULATIONS OF ALFRED.             CHAP. II
a rampart against any future incursions of their countrymen. But,
before he ratified these mild conditions with the Danes, he required
that they should give him one pledge of their submission, and of
their inclination to incorporate with the English, by declaring their
conversion to Christianity.  Guthrum  and thirty of his officers
had no aversion to the proposal, and, without much instruction, or
argument, or conference, they were all admitted to baptismw (A.D.
878). The king answered for Guthrum at the font, gave him the
name of Athelstane, and received him as his adopted son. The
success of this expedient seemed to correspond to Alfred's hopes,
and the greater part of the Danes settled peaceably in their new
quarters. The Danes had for some years occupied the towns of
Derby, Leicester, Stamford, Lincoln, and Nottingham, and were
thence called the Fif or Five Burghers.  Alfred now ceded a considerable part of the kingdom of Mercia, retaining, however, the
western portion, or country of the Hiwiccas. It would, however,
be an error to suppose that the Danes became really the subjects
of Alfred. On the contrary, they continued to form- an independent state down to the latest times of the Anglo-Saxon monarchy.
The general boundary between the Danes and Saxons was the old
Roman road called Watling Street, which ran from London across
England to Chester and the Irish Channel, the province of the
Danes lying to the north and east of that road, which was hence
called Dctnelagli, the Danes' community.  The Danes continually
received fresh accessions of numbers from their. own country, and
were able to bid defiance to all the efforts of the Anglo-Saxon
monarchs to reduce them to subjection.
~ 8. After the treaty with Guthrum, Alfred enjoyed tranquillity for some years.  He employed this interval in restoring order
to the staite, which had been shaken by so many violent convulsions; in establishing civil and military institutions; in composing
the minds of men to industry and justice; and in providing against
the return of like calamities.  After rebuilding the ruined cities,
particularly London, which had been destroyed by the Danes in
the reign of' Ethelwolf, he established a regular militia for the defense of the kingdom. He increased his fleet both in number and
strength, and trained his subjects in the practice as well of sailing
as of naval action. HI-e improved the construction of his vessels,
which were higher, swifter, and steadier than those of the Danes,
and nearly double the length, some of them having more than 60
rowers. A fleet of 120 ships of war was stationed upon the coast;
and, being provided with warlike engines, as well as with expert
seamen, both Frisians and English-for Alfred supplied the defects
of his own subjects by engaging able foreigners in his servicemaintained a superiority over those smaller bands with which En



A.D. 5s78-01. DEATH AND CHARACTER OF ALFRED.            45
gland had so often been infested. But in the year 893 the north.
ern provinces of France, into which Hasting, the famous Danish
chief, had penetrated, being afflicted with a grievous famine, the
Danes set sail from Boulogne with a powerful fleet under the command of Hasting, landed upon the coast of Kent, and began to
commit the most destructive ravages. It would be tedious to narrate the events of this new Danish war, which occupied the attention of Alfred for the next few years. It is sufficient to relate
that, after repeated defeats in different parts of the island, the
small remains of the Danes either dispersed themselves among their
countrymen in Northumberland and East Anglia, or had recourse
again to the sea, where they exercised piracy under the command
of Siegfrid, a Northumbrian; and that Alfred finally succeeded in
restoring full tranquillity in England.  He died (A.D. 901) in the
vigor of his age and the full strength of his faculties, after a glorious reign of twenty-nine years and a half, in which he deservedly attained the appellation of Alfred the Great, and the title of
Founder of the English Monarchy.
~ 9. The merit of this prince, both in private and public life,
may with advantage be set in opposition to that of any monarch
or citizen which the annals of any age or any nation can present
us. His civil and his military virtues are almost equally the objects of our admiration; excepting only that the former, being
more rare among princes, as well as more useful, seem chiefly to
challenge our applause. Nature also, as if desirous that so bright
a production of her skill should be set in the fairest light, had
bestowed on him every bodily accomplishment, vigor of limbs,
dignity of shape and air, with a pleasing, engaging, and open countenance.  When Alfred came to the throne he found the nation
sunk into the grossest ignorance and barbarism, proceeding from
the continual disorders in the government, and from the ravages
of the Danes. The monasteries were destroyed, the monks butchered or dispersed, their libraries burned; and thus the only seats
of erudition in those ages were totally subverted.  Alfred himself complains that on his accession he knew not one person south
of the Thames who could so much as interpret the Latin service;
and very few in the northern parts who had reached even that
pitch of erudition. But this prince invited over the most celebrated scholars from all parts of Europe; he established schools
every where for the instruction of his people; and he enjoined
by law all freeholders possessing two hides of land, or more, to
send their children to school for their instruction.  The foundation, or, at least, the restoration, of the University of Oxford, has
sometimes been ascribed to him, but for this pretension there
seems to be no satisfactory evidence. But the most effectual ex



46              CHARACTER OF ALFRED.              CHAP. II,
pedient employed by Alfred for the encouragement of learning
was his own example, and the assiduity with which, notwithstaniding the multiplicity and urgency of his affairs, he employed
himself in the pursuits of knowledge. He usually divided his
time into three equal portions: one was employed in sleep and
the refection of his body by diet and exercise; another in the
dispatch of business; a third in study and devotion; and that he
might more exactly measure the hours, he made use of burning
tapers of equal length, which he fixed in lanterns, an expedient
suited to that rude age, when the geometry of dialing and the
mechanism of clocks and watches were totally unknown. And
by such a regular distribution of his time, though he often labored under great bodily infirmities, this martial heiro, who fought in
person fifty-six battles by sea and land, was able, during a life of
no extraordinary length, to acquire more knowledge, and even to
compose more books, than most studious men, though blessed
with the greatest leisure and application, have, in more fortunate
ages, made the object of their uninterrupted industry. He translated into Saxon the histories of Orosius and of Bede; to the
former of which he prefixed a description of Germany and the
north of Europe, from the narratives of the travelers Wulfstan
and Ohthere. He also executed.a version of Boethius's "Consolation of Philosophy," besides several other translations which
he either made or caused to be made from the Confessions of St.
Augustine, St. Gregory's Pastoral Instructions, Dialogues, etc.
Nor was he negligent in encouraging the more vulgar and mechanical arts. He invited from all quarters industrious foreigners to repeople his country, which had been desolated by the ravages of the Danes. He introduced and encouraged manufactures; and no inventor or improver of any ingenious art did he
suffer to go unrewarded.  He prompted men of activity to betake
themselves to navigation, to push commerce into the most remote
countries, and to acquire riches by propagating industry among
their fellow-citizens. He set apart a seventh portion of his own
revenue for maintaining a number of workmen, whom he constantly employed in rebuilding the ruined cities, castles, palaces,
and monasteries.  Hence, both living and dead, Alfred was regarded by foreigners, no less than by his own subjects, as the
greatest prince after Charlemagne that- had appeared in Europe
during several ages, and as one of the wisest and best that had
ever adorned the annals of any nation.
~ 10. The great reputation of Alfred, however, has caused
many of the institutions prevalent among the Anglo-Saxons, the
origin of which is lost in remote antiquity, to be ascribed to his
wisdom: such as the division of England into counties, hundreds,




t.D. 901-940. EDWARD THE ELDER-ATHELSTANE.             47
and tithings; the law of frankpledge; trial by jury, etc.; some
of which were probably anterior, and others subsequent, to the
time of Alfred. Eveni the code of laws which he undoubtedly
promulgated was little more than a new collection of the laws of
Ethelbert, Offa, and Ina; into which, with the assistance of his
witan, or council, he inserted only a few enactments of his own.
The great merit of Alfred as a ruler lies not so much in his legislation as in his strict and vigorous administration of the laws
which already existed.
~ 11. Alfred had by his wife, Ealhswith, daughter of a Mercian
earl, three sons and three daughters. The eldest son, Edmund,
died without issue in his father's lifetime. The third, Ethelward,
inherited his father's passion for letters, and lived a private life.
The second, Edward, succeeded to his power, being the first of that
name who sat on the English throne.
EDWARD, 901-9 25.-Immediately on his accession, Edward, usually called Edward the Elder, had to contend with Ethelwold, son
of King Ethelred, the elder brother of Alfred, who, insisting on his
preferable title to the throne, armed his partisans and took possession of Winburne.  On the approach of Edward, however,
Ethelwold fled first into Normandy and thence into Northumberland, where the people declared for him; and having thus connected his interests with the Danish tribes, he went beyond sea,
and, collecting a body of these freebooters, excited the hopes of all
those who had been accustomed to subsist by rapine and violence.
He was also joined by the East Anglian Danes and -the Five
Burghers; but Edward overthrew them in several actions, recovered the booty which they had made, and compelled them to retire into their own country. All the rest of Edward's reign. was
a scene of continued and successful action against them, in which
he was assisted by the activity and prudence of his sister Ethelfleda, widow of Ethelbert, Earl of Mercia. Edward died in the
year 925, and was succeeded by Athelstane, his natural son-his
legitimate children being of too tender years to rule a nation so
much exposed both to foreign invasion and to domestic convulsions.
~ 12. ATHELSTANE, 925-940.-This monarch likewise gained
numerous victories over the Danes, and -is justly regarded as one
of the ablest and most active of the Anglo-Saxon princes. He
passed many good laws, which for the most part were really new
enactments, and not, like many of those of preceding kings, mere
repetitions from older customs or codes. Among them was the
remarkable one, that a merchant who had made three long voyages on his own account should be admitted to the rank of a thane
or gentleman. This shows that commerce was now more honor



48                 EDMUND. —EDRED.              CHAP. III.L
ed and encouraged than it had formerly been, and implies at the
same time that some of the English cities had reached a considerable pitch of prosperity and importance.  At the same time a
more extensive intercourse existed with the Continent, as displayed by the manifold relations of Athelstane with foreign courts.
Several foreign princes were intrusted to his guardianship and
educated at his court, among whom was his own nephew Louis,
soIn ofhis sister Edgiva and Charles the Simple, King of France.
The latter, from his long residence in England, obtained the name
of Louis d' Outremer. Besides his sister married to the King of
France, Athelstane had also bestowed the hand of three others' on
foreign princes. Eadhild, or Ethilda, was married to Hugo the
Great, Count of Paris, the founder of the Capetian dynasty; another, Edgitha, became the consort of Otho, Emperor of Germany;
and a third, Elgiva, espoused Louis, Duke of Aquitaine.
~ 13. EDMUND I., called the Elder, 940-946.-Athelstane died
in the year 940, and was succeeded by his second brother, Edmund.
According to some accounts, Athelstane had caused the death of
Edwin, the eldest of his legitimate brothers, whom he suspected
of aspiring to the crown, by sending him out to sea in an old crazy
boat without oars, and accompanied only by his armor-bearer.
Whatever may be the truth of this story, it is at all events certain
that Edwin perished at sea.
The short reign of Edmund I. is distinguished by two:important
events.  In order to insure tranquillity, he used the precaution
of removing the Five Burghers from the towns of Mercia, because
it was always found that they took advantage of every commotion,
and introduced the rebellious or foreign Danes into the heart of
the kingdom. He also conquered Cumberland from the Britons,
and conferred that territory on Malcolm, King of Scotland, on
condition that he should do him homage for it, and protect the
north fiom all future incursions of the- Danes. Edmund was assassinated in the year 946, by Leofu, a notorious robber, whom he
had sentenced to banishment, but who had the boldness to enter
the hall where he himself dined, and to sit at table with: his attendants.  On his refusing to leave the room when ordered- the
king leaped on him, and seized him by the hair; but the ruffian,
pushed to extremity, drew his dagger, and gave Edmund a wound
of which he immediately expired.
~ 14. ED-RED, 946-955.-Edmund left male issue, but so young
that they were incapable of governing the kingdom; and his
brother Edred was elected to the throne by the witan.  The reign
of this prince, as those of his predecessors, was disturbed by. the
rebellions and incursions of the Danes. After subduing -them,
Edrad, instructed by experience, took greater precautions against




A.D. 940-958.     ST. DUNSTAN-EDWY.                    49
their future revolt. He fixed English garrisons in their most
considerable- towns, and placed over them an English governor,
who might watch all their motions, and suppress any insurrection
on its first appearance.
Edred, though not unwarlike nor unfit for active life, had
blindly delivered over his conscience to the guidance of Dunstan,
commonly called St. Dunstan, Abbot of Glastonbury, whom he advanced to' the highest offices, and who covered under the appearance of sanctity the most violent ambition. Dunstan was born
of noble parents in the west of England; and, being educated
under his uncle Aldhelm, then Archbishop of Canterbury, had
betaken himself to the ecclesiastical life, and had acquired some
character in the court of Edmund. He was, however, represented
to that prince as a man of licentious manners; and, finding his
fortune blasted by these suspicions, his ardent ambition prompted
him to repair his indiscretions by running into an opposite extreme.  He secluded himself entirely from the world; he framed
a cell so small that he could neither stand erect in it nor stretch
out his limbs during his repose; and he here employed himself
perpetually either in devotion or in manual labor. By these solitary occupations his head was filled with chimeras which might
almost pass for insanity. But we may perceive, from many examples, the intimate connection that exists between fanaticism
and cunning; and Dunstan's future life shows that there was at
least considerable method in his madness.  Supported by the
character obtained in his retreat, Dunstan appeared again in the
world, and gained such an ascendant over Edred as made him
hot only the director of that prince's conscience, but his counselor in the most momentous affairs of government.  Finding
that his advancement had been owing to the opinion of his austerity, he professed himself a partisan of the rigid monastic rules.
A mistaken piety had produced in Italy a new species of monks,
called Benedictines, who excluded themselves entirely from the
world, renounced all claim to liberty, and made a merit of the
most inviolable chastity. Their practices and principles, which
superstition at first engendered, were greedily embraced and promoted by the policy of the court of Rome, which perceived that
the celibacy of the clergy could alone break off entirely their connection with the civil power, and, depriving them of every other
object of ambition, engage them to promote, with unceasing industry, the grandeur of their own order. Dunstan, after introducing that reformation in the convents of Glastonbury and Abingdon, endeavored to render it universal in the kingdom.
The progress of the monks was somewhat retarded by the death
of Edred, their partisan, who expired in 955, after a reign of nine
C




:;0            ATROCITIES OF THE MONKS.           CHAP. I1l.
years. His children being infants, his nephew Edwy, son of Edmund, was elected to the throne.
~ 15. EDWY, 955-958. —Edwy, at the time of his accession,
was not above sixteen or seventeen years of age, was possessed
of the most amiable figure, and was even endowed, according to
authentic accounts, with the most promising virtues. He would
have been the favorite of his people had he not, unhappily, at the
commencement of his reign, been engaged in a controversy with
the monks, who have pursued his memory with the same unretenting vengeance which they exercised against his person and
dignity during his short and unfortunate reign. There was a
beautiful princess of the royal blood, called Elgiva, who had made
impression on the tender heart of Edwy; and he had ventured,
contrary to the advice of his gravest counselors, to espouse her,
though she was within the degrees of affinity prohibited by the
canon law. On the day of his coronation, his nobility were assembled in a great hall, and were indulging themselves in that
riot and disorder which, from the example of their German ancestors, had become habitual to the English, when Edwy, attracted by his fondness for his wife, retired into the queen's apartment. Dunstan conjectured the reason of the king's retreat; and
carrying along with him Odo, Archbishop of Canterbury, over
whom he had gained an absolute ascendant, he burst into the
apartment, upbraided Edwy with his absence, probably bestowed
on the queen the most opprobrious epithet.that can be applied to
tier sex, and, tearing him from her arms, pushed him back in a
disgraceful manner into the banquet of the nobles. Edwy, though
young, and opposed by the prejudices of the people, found an opportunity of taking revenge for this public insult.  He questioned Dunstan concerning the administration of the treasury, at the
head of which he had been placed by his predecessor; a reckoning which Dunstan deemed it advisable to evade by flying to
Ghent.
In these transactions it is impossible not to see more than the
history of a mere personal quarrel between the young king and
the Abbot of Glastonbury. A revolution was evidently in progress-a struggle between the high church or Roman party, who
wished to seize the supreme power in the state, and introduce a
new system of ecclesiastical discipline, and those who were for
abiding by the old order of things. Dunstan and his party, who
were the innovators, sought support in the Danish parts of the
kingdom, which were the most ignorant and uncivilized, and always discontented with the government; and having' excited a
rebellion in Mercia and East Anglia, and shortly afterward in
1Northumberland, they proclaimed Edgar, the younger brother of'




A.D. 958-975.            EDGAR.                        51
Edwy, as king. Dunstan now returned into England, and took
upon himself the government of Edgar and his party. With the
consent of a witena-gemot assembled at Bradford, Dunstan received from the hands of Edgar the sees of London and WVorcester, and had the effrontery, or rather the profanity, to justify this
violation of the canons by the examples of St. John and St. Paul.
Even in the southern provinces, the ecclesiastical party now gained the ascendency. Archbishop Odo sent into the palace a party
of soldiers, who seized the queen, and, having burned her face
with a red-hot iron, in order to destroy that fatal beauty which
had seduced Edwy, they carried her by force into Ireland, there
to remain in perpetual exile. Edwy, finding it in vain to resist,
was obliged to consent to his divorce, which was pronounced by
Odo; and a catastrophe still more dismal awaited the unhappy Elgiva. That amiable princess, being cured of her wounds, and having even obliterated the scars with which Odo had hoped to deface
her beauty, returned into England, and was flying to the embraces
of. the king, whom she still regarded as her husband, when she
fell into the hands of a party whom the primate had sent to intercept her. Nothing but her death could now give security to
Odo and the monks, and the most cruel death was requisite to
satiate their vengeance.  She was hamstrung, and expired in a
few days after at Gloucester, in the most acute torments. The
unhappy Edwy himself, who had been excommunicated, died
shortly afterward at the same place (A.D. 958), whether naturally
or through the machinations of his enemies is uncertain; and
thus the triumph of the clergy and Benediceines was complete.
He was succeeded by his brother Edgar.
~ 16. EDGAR, 958-975. One of the first acts of Edgar after
his accession was to promote Dunstan to the archbishopric of
Canterbury. In fact, Edgar, who was only about sixteen years
of age at the time of his accession, was completely governed by
Dunstan and the monks, who had placed him on the throne, and
who, by their pretensions to superior sanctity and purity of manners, had acquired an ascendant over the people. Of the first
five years of his reign we have no memorials, except of his passive co-operation in the ecclesiastical revolution then in progress.
To please the monks he depreciated and degraded the secular
clergy; he favored their scheme for dispossessing the secular canons of all the monasteries; and he bestowed preferment on none
but their partisans.  Above forty Benedictine convents are said
to have been founded by Edgar. These merits have procured
him the highest panegyrics from the monkish historians, and he
is transmitted to.us not only under the character of a consummate statesman and an active prince, but also under- that of a
great saint and a man of virtue.




52                 EDGAR —EDWARD II.              CHAP. III
If we consider Edgar's fortunate reign, he may, perhaps, be in
some degree entitled to the former portion of this eulogy. t-is
reign was undisturbed by any domestic tumult or foreign invasion
of the Danes; a result which was probably in part owing to the
large armament, both military and naval, which he constantly
kept on foot,' and also to the fact that the Danes had now obtained establishments in the north of France, which it required all
their superfluous population to people and maintain. Being thus
freed from disturbance on this side, Edgar was enabled to employ
his vast armaments against the neighboring sovereigns; aaid the
King of Scotland, the princes of Wales, of the Isle of Man, of the
Orkneys, and even the Northmen in Ireland, were reduced to pay
submission to so formidable a monarch. But Edgar was arrogant and vainglorious, and abused his prosperity by degrading
and insulting his conquered foes. On the annual occasion of his
voyage round England, he once appointed eight vassal kings to
attend him at Chester, and to row his barge upon the Dee to the
abbey of St. John the Baptist, he himself acting as the steersman; whence, after offering up their prayers, they returned in
the same order.
The. saintly part of Edgar's character he appears to have owed
to the unscrupulous gratitude of the monks toward their benefactor: for his conduct was licentious in the highest degree, and
violated every law, human and divine. Among other feats of the
same kind, he broke into a convent, and carried off Editha, a nun,
by force.
The extirpation of wolves in England was a remarkable incident of this reign, which was chiefly effected by converting the
money payment imposed upon the Welsh princes into an annual
tribute of three hundred wolves' heads.
~ 17. Edgar died in the year 975, in the thirty-third year of
his age, leaving two sons: Edward, aged thirteen, whom he had
had by his first wife, Ethelfleda; and Ethelred, his offspring by
Elfrida, then only seven. There can be no doubt that the former
had, the best claim to the succession; and, though Elfrida attempted to raise her son to the throne, Edward was crowned at
Kingston by the vigorous policy of Dunstan.
EDWARD Il., called the MARTYR, 975-979. —The kingdom was
now again divided into two parties, and the short reign of Edward presents nothing memorable except the struggles between
Dunstan and the Benedictines on the one hand, and the secular
clergy on the other, who in some parts of Mercia succeeded in expelling the monks. To settle this controversy several synods
were held, in which Dunstan is said to have worked sundry
miracles.




A.D. 975-1001.        ETHELRED II.                      53
The death of young Edward was memorable and tragical.  He
was hunting one day in Dorsetshire, and being led by the chase
near Corfe Castle, where his step-mother, Elfrida, resided, he took
the opportunity of paying her a visit, unattended by any of his
retinue, and thereby presented her with the opportunity which
she had so long wished for. After he had mounted his horse he
desired some liquor to be brought him; while he was holding
the cup to his mouth, a servant of Elfrida approached and gave
him a stab behind. The prince, finding himself' wounded, put
spurs to his horse; but, becoming faint by loss of blood, he fell
from the saddle, his foot stuck in the stirrup, and he was dragged
along by his unruly horse till he expired. Being tracked by the
blood, his body was found and was privately interred at Wareham by his servants. The youth and innocence of this prince,
with his tragical death, obtained him the appellation of " Martyr," though his murder had no connection with any religious'
principle or opinion.
~ 18. ETHELRED II., 979-1016. — Ethelred II., the son of Elfrida, called by historians "the Unready," now ascended the
throne, at the early age of ten. Dunstan put the crown on the
young monarch's head at Kingston; but pronounced, it is said, a
curse instead of a blessing.  The haughty prelate lived ten years
longer, still retaining the dignity of primate, but without so much
influence as he had formerly enjoyed.  A period, however, was
approaching, in which the heat of ecclesiastical disputes gave
place to a more important question respecting the very existence
of the nation.  Two or three years after Ethelred's accession, the
Danes and ~Northmen, who could no longer disburden themselves
on Normandy, began to renew their incursions in England; and
Ethelred's long reign presents little else than a series of struggles
with those piratical invaders.  I-e adopted the foolish and shameful expedient of buying off their attacks, and thus only excited
the hopes of the Danes of subduing a people who defended themselves by their money, which invited assailants, instead of by their
arms, which repelled them. In the year 993 the northern invaders, having by their previous incursions become well acquainted with the defenseless condition of England, made a powerful
descent under the command of Sweyn, King of Denmark, and
Olave, King of Norway; and, sailing up the HIumber, spread on
all sides their destructive ravages. In the following year they
ventured to attack the centre of the kingdom, and, entering the
Thames in ninety-four vessels, laid siege to London, and threatened it with total destruction.  But the citizens, alarmed at the
danger, and firmly united among themselves, made a bolder defense than the nobility and gentry; and the besiegers, after suf



54         MASSACRE OF THE DANES —SWEYN.   CHAP. IIL
fering the greatest hardships, were finally frustrated in their attempt.  They then carried their devastations into other quarters,
till they were bought off with 16,000 pounds of silver. But in a
few years they again returned, and in 997, and the following year,
committed dreadful devastations in various parts, till bought off
again with the payment of 24,000 pounds. This tribute gave
rise.to an odious and oppressive impost, which, under the name
of Danegelt, or Dane-money, continued to be levied on the laity
long after the occasion for its imposition had ceased.  Observing
the close connections maintained among all the Danes, however
divided in government or situation, Ethelred, being now a widower, made his addresses to Emma, sister to Richard II., Duke of
Normandy, in the hope that such an alliance might serve to
check the incursions of the Northmen. He succeeded in his
suit; the princess came over to England and was married to
Ethelred in 1001.
~ 19. Shortly after this marriage, Ethelred, from a policy incident to weak princes, formed the cruel resolution of murdering the
Danes throughout his dominions. But, though almost all the ancient historians speak of this massacre as if it had been universal,
this representation of the matter is absolutely impossible, as the
Danes were almost the sole inhabitants in the kingdoms of Northumberland and East Anglia, and were very numerous in Mercia.
The animosity between the inhabitants of English and Danish race
had, from repeated injuries, risen to a great height; and especially
through the conduct of those Danish troops which the English
monarchs, from the superiority of their military qualities, had long
been accustomed to keep in pay. These mercenaries, who were
quartered about the country, and committed many violences, had
attained to such a height of luxury, according to the old English
writers, that they combed their hair once a day, bathed themselves
once a week, and changed their clothes frequently. Secret orders
were given to commence the massacre on the festival of St. Brice
(November 13th, 1002). The rage of the populace, excited by so
many injuries, sanctioned by authority, and stimulated by example,
spared neither sex nor age, and was not satiated without the tortures as well as death of the unhappy victims. Even Gunilda,
sister to the King of Denmark, who had married Earl Paling, and
had embraced Christianity, was seized and condemned to death
by Ethelred, after seeing her husband and children butchered befbre her face. This unhappy princess foretold in the agonies of
despair that her murder would soon be avenged by the total ruin
of the English nation.
~ 20. Never was prophecy better fulfilled, and never did barbarous policy prove more fatal to its authors.  Sweyn and his




A.D. 1002-1016.    EDMOND IRONSIDE.                     55
Danes appeared the next year off the western coast, and took full
revenge for the slaughter of their countrymen; and Ethelred was
twice reduced to the infamy of purchasing a precarious peace. At
length, toward the close of 1013, Sweyn, being virtually sovereign
of England, and the English nobility every where swearing allegiance to him, Ethelred, equally afraid of the violence of the enemy and of the treachery of his own subjects, fled into Normandy,
whither he had sent before him Queen Emma and her two sons
Alfred and Edward.
~ 21. The king had not been above six weeks in Normandy when
he heard of the death of Sweyn, who expired at Gainsborouglh before he had time to establish himself in his newly-acquired dominions. The English prelates and nobility, taking advantage of this
event, sent over a deputation to Normandy inviting Ethelred to
return, with which he complied, and was joyfully received by the
people, in the spring of 1014. On his death-bed at Gainsborough,
Sweyn, with the approbation of the assembled Danes, named his
son CanIte,* who had accompanied him in the expedition, as his
successor. But, on the approach of Ethelred, who displayed on
this occasion an unwonted celerity, Canute- embarked with his
forces for Denmark.  A ray of hope seemed now to dawn on England, but it was only transient.  Ethelred soon relapsed into his
usual incapacity and indolence; and the government becamtne a
scene of internal feud, treachery, and assassination. In 1015 Canute returned with a large fleet and landed in the west of England. Edmond, the king's eldest son, made some fruitless attempts to oppose his progress; but, not being supported by his fa.ther and the nation, was obliged to disband the greater part of his
army, and to retire with the remainder to London., where Ethelred had shut himself up.  Hither also Canute directed his course,
in the hope of seizing Ethelred's person; but the king expired before his arrival, after an unhappy and inglorious reign of 35 years.
~ 22. EDMiND IRONSIDE, 1016.-By the small party who had
remained faithful to the royal cause, Edmond was now elected
king; whose hardy valor procured him the name of Ironside.
Meanwhile, Canute had arrived at London, where, as the bridge
impeded his operations, he caused a canal to be dug on the south
bank of the river, through which he conveyed his ships; and also
surrounded the city on the land-side with a deep trench, thus hoping to cut off all the supplies. But these measures, as well as a
general assault, having failed, Canute proceeded into the western
districts, where Edmond was engaging the Danes with considerable success. At length the Danish and English nobility, equally
* Knut is the proper orthography of the name. Canuite is a corruption,
and should be pronounced with the accent on the last syllable.




56                        CHRONOLOGY.                       CHAP, ill.
harassed with these convulsions, obliged their kings to come to a
compromise, and to divide the kingdom between them by treaty.
Canute obtained Mercia, East Anglia, and Northumberland, which
he had entirely subdued; the southern parts were left to Edmond.
This prince was murdered about a month afterward on the 30th
of November, through the machinations of Edric, the Duke of
Mercia, who thereby made way for the succession of Canut/~ the
I)ane to the crown of all England.
CHRONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE EVENTS.
A.D.                               A.D.
867. Descent of the Danes.          993. Descent of the Danes under Sweyn
871. Accession of Alfred.               and Olave.
878. Alfred's treaty with the Danes.  1002. Massacre of the Danes.
901. Death of Alfred.              1016. Canute shares the kingdom with Edo
958. Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury.  mond Ironside.




CHAP. III.                      GENEALOGY.                                     57
GENEALOGICAL TABLE OF THE HOUSE OF CERDIC.
CERDTIc, the'ancestor of the kings of England of the Saxon line, and the ninth in descent
from Woden, founded the kingdom of Wessex, A.D. 519. Cerdic died in 534; and from
him Egbert, the first King of England, is descended as follows: 1. Cynric, King of Wessex
(r. 534-560). Ceawlin, King of Wessex (r. 560-591). 3. Cuthwine. 4. Cutha. 5. Ceolwald. 6. Cenred. 7. Ingild. 8. Eoppa. 9. Eafa. 10. Ealhmund, King of Kent, whose
son Egbert was elected to succeed Brithric in the kingdom of Wessex, A.D. 800. The line
then proceeds as follows:
EGBERT,
r. 800-836.
m. Rvedburh.
ETHELWOLF,
r. 836-858.
in. 1. Osburh. 2. Judith.
I                                        I
Athelstane ETHELBALD, ETHELBERT,  ETHELRED,  Ethelwyth.  ALFRED,
(k. of S.E. of  r. 858-860.  r. 860-866.     r. 866-871.               r. 871-901.
Eng. d. 854).                                                       in. Ealhswith.
EDWARD the ELDER,                  5 other children.
r. 901-925.
m. 1. Ecgwyn. 2. Aelflied. 3. Edgiva.
By his three marriages Edward left 15 children, by 3 of whom he was succeeded.
I                I              I
ATHELSTANE,         EDMUND,         EDRED,
r. 925-940.      r. 940-946.    r. 946-955.
m. 1. Elgrva. 2. Ethelfired.
EDk,                             EEDGAR,
r. 955-958.                      r. 958-975.
m. 1. EthelflTed. 2..Elfthryth. 3. Wulfthryth.
EDWARD the MARTYR,            ETHELRED,         Edgyth.
r. 975-979.            r. 979-1016.
m. 1. 1. lflid. 2. Emma of Normandy.
By these two marriages Ethelred had 14 children, of whom it will here be necessary
only to mention 3, viz., Edmond, his eldest son by 2l0lfled; Alfied, his eldest son by
Emma, murdered by Earl Godwin; and Edward, surnamed the Confessor, his second eon
by the same wife.
EDMOND IRONSIDE,             Alfred,        EDWARD the CONFESSO
r. April to Nov. 1016.      ob. 1036.             r. 1042-1066.
m. Sigeferth.                                  m,. Edgitha.
(The succession interrupted by the
Danish line.)
Edmond.          Edward,
m. Agatha (d. 1057).
I
Edgar Atheling    Margaret,    Christina
(in whom the   m. Malcolm, k.  (a nun).
male Saxon     of Scotland.
line became
extinct).       Matilda.
m. HENRY I., k. of England
(thus uniting the Saxon and Norman lines).
C 2




Seal of Edward the Confessor. (British Museum.)
[GQILLVM EADWARDI ANGLOV1M BASILEaI; IKing seated with sceptre adl sword.
CHAPTER IV.
DANES AND ANGLO-SAXONS FRO3M TIlE REIGN OF CANUTE TO THE NORMAN CONQUEST.
~ 1. Accession of Canute. First Acts of his Reign.  Marries Emma of
Normandy.  ~ 2. Rise of Earl Godwin.  ~ 3. Canute's Devotion. Iis
Reproof of his Courtiers.  ~ 4. He reduces the King of Scotland. His
Death.  ~ 5. Division of the Kingdom.  Reign of Harold Harefoot.
~ 6. Reign of Hardicanute.  ~ 7. Accession of Edward the Confessor.
~ 8. Influence of the Normans.' Revolt and Banishment of Earl Godwin.
~ 9. William, Duke of Normandy, visits England. Return of Earl Godwin; his Death.  Rise of Harold. ~ 10. Siward restores Malcolm, King
of Scotland. ~ 11. Edward invites his Nephew from Hungary.: ~ 12.
Harold's Visit to Normandy.  ~ 13. Harold reduces Wales; condemns
his Brother Tosti. Aspires to the Succession. Death of Edward. ~ 14.
His Character. ~ 15. Accession of Harold. William assembles a Fleet
and Army. Invasion of Tosti and of Harold Hardrada. Battle of Stanford Bridge.  ~ 16. Norman Invasion.  Battle of Hastings. Death of
Harold.
~ 1. CANUTE, 1016-1039.-Edmond Ironside left a brother,
Edwy, who died in 1017, and two half-brothers, Alfred and Edward, the sons of Ethelred by his second wife, Emma of Normandy; as well as two infant sons of his own, Edmond and Edward.
But immediately after his death Canute convened a general as



A.D. 1016-1019.  ACCESSION OF CANUTE.                  59
sembly of the states at London, and, having suborned some nobles
to declare that Edmond had never designed his kingdom to pass
to his brothers, and had appointed himself to be tutor to his children, the states put him in possession of the government. Canute
sent Edmond's children to his half-brother Olave, King of Sweden,
it is said with a secret request to put them to death; but Olave,
too generous to comply, transmitted them to Stephen, King of
Hungary, to be educated at his court.
In order to secure his elevation, Canute had been obliged to
gratify the chief of the nobility by bestowing on them the most
extensive governments and jurisdictions. He also found himself
compelled to load the people with heavy taxes in order to reward
his Danish followers: he'exacted from them at one time the sum
of 72,000 pounds, besides 11,000 which he levied on London alone.
But, like a wise prince, being determined that the English should
be reconciled to the Danish yoke by the justice and impartiality
of his administration, he sent back to Denmark as many of his
followers as he could safely spare: he restored the Saxon customs
in a general assembly of the states:. he made no distinction between
Danes and English in the distribution of justice; and he took
care, by a strict execution of law, to protect the lives and properties of all his people.
Alfred and Edward, who were protected and supported by their
uncle Richard, Duke of Normandy, still gave Canute some anxiety.
In order to acquire the friendship of the duke, he paid his addresses to Queen Emma, sister of that prince, and promised that
he would leave the children whom he should have by that marriage in possession of the crown of England. Richard complied
with his demand, and sent over Emma to England, where she was
soon after married to Canute, notwithstanding that he had been
the mortal enemy of her former husband.
~ 2. When Canute had settled his power in England beyond all
danger of a revolution, he appears in 1019 to have made a voyage
to Denmark; and the necessity of his affairs caused him frequently to repeat it, in order to make head against the WVends,' as well
as against the kings of Sweden and Norway. On one of these
occasions, Earl Godwin, observing a favorable opportunity, attacked the enemy in the night, drove them from their trenches, and
obtained a decisive victory over them. Next morning, Canute,
seeing the English camp entirely abandoned, imagined that those
disaffected troops had deserted, and was agreeably surprised to find
that they were engaged in pursuit of the discomfited enemy. He
was so pleased with this success, and with the manner of obtain* The name of Wends is given by the Germans and Scandinavians to their
Sclavonic neighbors.




60          HIS REPROOF TO HIS COURTIERS.    CHiP. IV
ing it, that he bestowed his daughter in marriage upon Godwin,
and treated him ever after with entire confidence and regard.
~ 3. This senmi-barbarous monarch, who had committe& numberless murders and waded through slaughter to a throne, but who
had nevertheless many of the- qualities of a great sovereign, sought
to regain the favor of Heaven by employing himself in those exercises of piety which the monks represented as most meritorious.
He built churches, endowed monasteries, and even undertook a
pilgrimage to Rome. It appears, from a letter which he addressed to the English clergy, that he must have been in that city in
the year 1027, when Conrad, Emperor of Germany,was also there
for the purpose of his coronation. He appears from the same letter to have obtained some privileges for English pilgrims to Rome,
and an abatement of the large sums exacted from the archbishops
for their palls; but, on the other hand, he enforced a strict payment of St. Peter's pence and other ecclesiastical dues.
Canute's celebrated reproof of his courtiers exhibits more moral
elevation. Some ofhis flatterers, breaking out one day in admiration of his grandeur, exclaimed that every thing was possible for
him; upon which the monarch, it is said, ordered his chair to be
set on the sea-shore while the tide was rising, and as the waters
approached he commanded them to
retire, and to obey the voice of him
/iS          ~lp s $ who was lord of the ocean.  1-e
feigned to sit some time in expectation of their submission; but when
the sea still advanced toward him,
Silver Penny of Canute.  and began to wash him with its bilObverse: cwT RECx; bust, left, with a lows, he turned to his courtiers, and
triangular flag, seen on other coins of
Danish kings. Reverse: UIT.nEI o remarked to them that every reaavN, cross.              ture in the universe was feeble and
impotent, and that power resided with one Being alone, in whose
hands were all the elements of nature, who could say to the ocean,
Thus far shalt thou go and no farther; and who could level with
his nod the most towering piles of human pride and ambition.
~ 4. The only memorable action which Canute performed after
his return from Rome was an expedition against Malcolm, King
of Scotland, and his nephew, Duncan, King of Cumberland, whom
he reduced to subjection (1030). Canute died at Shaftesbury, in
1035, leaving by his first marriage two sons, Sweyn and Harold,
and by Emma another son, named, from his bodily strength, Hardi-Canute. To the last he had given Denmark; on Sweyn he
had bestowed Norway; and Harold was in England at the time
of his death.
~ 5. HAROLD I. HAREF'OOT, 1035-1040.-According to Canute's




A.D. 1019-1042.   HAROLD 1.-H-IARDICANUTE.             61
marriage contract with Emma, Hardicanute should have succceded him on the English throne; but the absence of that prince in
Denmark, as well as his unpopularity among the Danish part of
the population, caused him to lose one half of the kingdom.
Leofric, Earl of Mercia, asserted the pretensions of Harold, whose
presence in England was of great service to his cause, while the
powerful Earl Godwin embraced that of Hardicanute. A civil
war was, however, averted by a compromise: it was agreed that
Harold should enjoy, together with London, all the provinces
north of the Thames, while the possession of the south should remain to Hardicanute, and, till that prince should appear and
take possession of his dominions, Emma fixed her residence at
Winchester, and established her authority over her son's share of
the partition.
Alfred and Edward, Emma's sons by Ethelred, still cherished
the hope of ascending the throne. Edward sailed with 40 ships
from Barfleur, and made a descent at Southampton, but, meeting
with no sympathy from the people, was obliged to return. Alfred
subsequently landed in Kent at the head of about 600 followers;
but being deceived by Earl Godwin, who pretended to espouse his
cause, was by him decoyed to Guildford, where nearly all his followers were murdered in the most cruel manner, he himself was
taken prisoner, his eyes were put out, and he was conducted to
the monastery of Ely, where he died soon after. This is the only
memorable action performed in the reign of HIarold, who, from his
agility, apparently his only accomplishment, obtained the name of'Harefoot. He died on the 17th March, 1040.
~ 6. HARDICANUTE, 1040-1042. — On the intelligence of his
brother's death, Hardicanute immediately proceeded to London,
where he was acknowledged king of all England without opposition. He was a poor intemperate sot, without any generous and
regal, or even manly qualities. His first act was to disinter the
body of his brother Harold, with whom he was enraged for depriving him of his share of the kingdom: the corpse, after decapitation, was thrown into the Thames; but being found by a fisherman, was buried by the Danes of London in their cemetery at
St. Clements. Little memorable occurred in the short reiffn of
Hardicanute. He renewed the imposition of Danegelt, and obliged
the nation to pay a great sum of money to the fleet which brought
him from Denmark. The discontents in consequence ran high in
many places, and especially at Worcester, which was set on fire
and plundered by the soldiers. Hardicanute died suddenly about
two years after his accession, while in the act of raising the cup to
his lips at a marriage festival at Lambeth (A.D. 1042).
~ 7. EDWARD THE CONFESSOR, 1042-1066. —The death of




62              EDWARD THE CONFESSOR.              CHAP. IV.
Hardicanute seemed to present to the English a favorable opportunity for recovering their liberty, and for shaking off the Danish
yoke. Prince Edward was in England on his half-brother's demise; and though the children of Edmond Ironside were the true
heirs of the Saxon family, yet their absence in so remote a country as Hungary appeared a sufficient reason for their exclusion, to
a people like the English, so little accustomed to observe a regular order in the succession of their monarchs. The claims of Edward were supported by Earl Godwin, who only stipulated that
Edward should marry his daughter Editha, which he afterward
performed.  Edward was crowned king with every demonstration
of duty and affection; and, by the mildness of his character, he
soon reconciled the Danes to his administration.
One of the first acts of Edward was to strip his mother Emma,
the queen dowager, of the immense treasures which she had
amassed. He confined her, during the remainder of her life, in a
monastery at Winchester, but carried his rigor against her no farther.  He had hitherto lived on indifferent terms with that princess, whom he accused of neglecting himself and his brother during their adverse fortune; and as she was unpopular in England,
the king's severity, though exposed to some censure, met not with
very general disapprobation.
~ 8. But, though freed from the incursions of the Danes, the
nation was not yet delivered from the dominion of foreigners.
The king had been educated in Normandy, and had contracted
many intimacies with the natives of that country, as well as an
affection for their manners.  The court of England was soon filled with Normans, who, being distinguished both by the favor of
Edward, and by a degree of cultivation superior to that which
was attained by:the English in those ages, soon rendered their
language, customs, and laws fashionable in the kingdom.  Above
all, the Church felt the influence of those strangers; several were
appointed to prelacies'and *other- high dignities, and Robert, a
Norman also, was promoted'to the see of Canterbury.  Thus the
subsequent Norman conquest was in a great degree facilitated.
These proceedings excited the jealousy of the English, and particularly of Earl Godwin.  This powerful nobleman, besides the
southern parts of Wessex, had the counties of Kent and Sussex
annexed to his government. His eldest son, Sweyn, possessed
the same authority in the northern part of WVessex, or the counties of Oxford, Berks, Gloucester, Somerset, and Hereford; and
Harold, his second son, was Duke of East Anglia, and at the
same time Governor of Essex.  The great authority of this family was supported by immense possessions and powerful alliances; and the abilities, as well as ambition, of Godwin himself,
contributed to render it still more dangerous.




A.D. 1042-1051.    REVOLT OF EARL GODWIN.               63
It was not long before his animosity against the Norman favorites broke into action. Eustace, Count of Boulogne, having paid
a visit to the king, passed by Dover in his return: one of his
train, being refused entrance to a lodging which had been assigned him, attempted to make his way by force, and in the contest
wounded the master of the house. The inhabitants flew to assist
the wounded man; a tumult ensued, in which nearly 20 persons
were killed on each side; and Eustace, being overpowered by
numbers, was obliged to save his life by flight from the fury of
the populace. On the complaint of Eustace, the king gave orders
to Godwin, in whose government Dover lay, to punish the inhabitants; but Godwin, who desired rather to encourage than to
repress the popular discontents against foreigners, refused obedience, and endeavored to throw the whole blame of the riot on the
Count of Boulogne and his retinue. Edward, touched in so sensible a point, saw the necessity of exerting the royal authority, and
threatened Godwin, if he persisted in his disobedience, to make
him feel the utmost effects of his resentment.
Whatever may have been the faults or crimes of Godwin, he
had the good fortune, or rather, perhaps, the good policy, to appear in the present conjuncture as the patriotic defender of the
English cause against the foreign predilections of the sovereign.
He had now gone too far to retreat, and therefore he and his sons,
Sweyn and- Harold, assembled their forces for the purpose of overawing the king, and forcing redress of the grievances of the nation. But, besides the Godwin family, England was divided by
two other mighty earls, or dukes: Leofric, whose government
embraced the ancient kingdom of MIercia; and Siward, whose
sway extended over the kingdom of Northumberland. - These
powerful noblemen, fiom jealousy of Godwin, embraced the king's
cause, and assembled a numerous army; and when the southern
earl and his sons approached London with their forces to attend
the witena-gemot appointed to be held there, they found themselves
outnumbered. Sweyn was declared an outlaw by the witan;
Godwin and Harold were summoned to take their trial, but, refusing to appear unless hostages were given for their safety, they
were ordered to leave the country within five days. Baldwin,
Earl-of Flanders, gave protection to Godwin and his three sons,
Sweyn, Gurth, and Tosti, the last of whom had married the
daughter of that prince: Harold and Leofwin, his two other sons,
took shelter in Ireland. The estates of the father and sons were
confiscated; their governments were given to others; Queen Editha was confined in a monastery at Warewel; and the greatness
of this family, once so formidable, seemed now to be totally supplanted and overthrown (1051).
* At this period the Latin title duzx alternates with the Danish jarl (earl).




64           HIS DEATH-HAROLD-MACBETH.            CHAP. IV.
~ 9. The Norman influence was now again in the ascendant;
and, before the end of the year, William, DIuke of Normandy, paid
a visit to Edward with a large retinue. IBut Godwin had fixed
his authority on too firm a basis, and he was too strongly sup
ported by alliances both foreign and domestic, not'to occasion
farther disturbances, and make new efforts for his re-establishment. Having fitted out a fleet in the Flemish harbors, and being joined at the Isle of Wight by his son Harold with a squadron collected in Ireland, h.e entered the Thames, and, appearing
before London, where the people seemed favorably disposed toward him, threw every thing into confusion (1052). The king
alone seemed resolute to defend himself to the last extremity;
but the interposition of the English nobility, many of whom favored Godwin's pretensions, made Edward hearken to terms of
accommodation, and it was agreed that hostages should be given
on both sides. At this news the Frenchmen fled in various directions: the Archbishop of Canterbury, and bishops of London
and Dorchester, succeeded in escaping into Normandy. At a
great witena-gemot held outside the walls of London, Godwin and
his sons were declared innocent of the charges laid against them,
and were restored to their honors and possessions; and thus the
authority of the crown was almost entirely annihilated.  Godwin's death, which happened soon after while he was sitting at
table with the king, prevented him from farther establishing the
authority which he had acquired, and from reducing Edward to
still greater subjection. I-Is son Sweyn had died on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem; and Godwin was therefore succeeded in his
governments and offices by his son Harold, who was actuated by
an ambition equal to that of his father, and was superior to him
in address, in insinuation, and in virtue. By a modest and gentle
demeanor he acquired the good-will of Edward, and, gaining every day new partisans by his bounty and affabilit-y, he proceeded
in a more silent, and therefore a more dangerous manner to the
increase of his authority.
~ 10. The death of Siward, Duke of Northumberland, in 1055,
made the way still more open to his ambition. Siward, besides
his other merits, had acquired honor to England by his successful,3onduct in the only foreign enterprise undertaken during the reign
of Edward. Duncan, King of Scotland, the successor of Malcolm,
was a prince of a gentle disposition, but possessed not the genius
requisite for governing a country so turbulent, and so much infested by the intrigues and animosities of the great. Macbeth, a
subordinate king, and nearly allied to the crown, not content with
curbing the king's authority, carried still farther his pestilent ambition: he put his sovereign to death; chased Malcolm Kenmore,




A.D. 1051-1057. HAROLD'S VISIT TO NORMATNDY.           65
his son and heir, into England; and usurped the crown.  Siward,
whose daughter was married to Duncan, embraced, by Edward's
orders, the protection of this distressed family: he marched an
army into Scotland; and having defeated and killed Macbeth in
battle, together with several Normans who had taken refuge with
him, he restored MIalcolm to the throne of his ancestors. Soon
after this achievement Siward died; and as his son, Waltheof, appeared too young to be intrusted with the government of Northumberland, Harold's influence obtained that dukedom for his own
brother Tosti.
~ 11. ieanwhile, Edward, feeling himself far advanced in the
decline of life, began to think of appointing a successor, and sent a
deputation to Hungary to invite over his nephew Edward, called
the " Outlaw," son of his elder brother, Edmond Ironside, the
only remaining heir of the Saxon line. That prince, whose succession to the crown would have been easy and undisputed, came
to England with his children, the atheling Edgar, Margaret, and
Christina; but his death, which happened a few days after his arrival (1057), threw the king into new difficulties. He saw that
the great power and ambition of Harold had tempted him to aspire to the throne, and that Edgar, on account- of his youth and
inexperience, was very unfit to oppose the pretensions of so popular
and enterprising a rival. In this uncertainty he secretly cast his
eye toward his kinsman? William, Duke of Normandy, as the only
person whose power, and reputation, and capacity could support
any destination which he might make in his favor, to the exclusion
of Harold and his family.
~ 12. According to some accounts, Edward chose Harold himself as his enmbassador to communicate to William the designs
which he entertained in his favor, and to deliver a sword and a
ring as pledges of his intention; but, though we may gather in
general that Harold paid a visit to the court of the Duke of Normandy, the circumstances attending it, and even the date, are involved in the greatest obscurity.
William employed this opportunity to extort from Harold a
promise that he would support his pretensions to the English
throne, and made him swear that he would deliver up the castle
of Dover, and all the other strongholds in his earldom then garrisoned by Norman soldiers; and in order to render the oath more
obligatory he employed an artifice well suited to the superstition
of the age. He secretly conveyed under the altar, on which Harold
agreed to swear, the relies of some of the most revered martyrs;
and when Harold had taken the oath, he showed him the relics,
and admonished him to observe religiously an engagement which
had been ratified by so tremendous a sanction. The English no



66       HAROLD ASPIRES TO THE SUCCESSION. CHAP. IV
bleman was astonished; but, dissembling his concern, he renewed
the same professions, and was dismissed with all the marks of confidence by the Duke of Normandy, who promised to maintain him
in all his possessions, and also to give him his daughter Adeliza
in marriage.
~ 13. - In what manner Harold observed this oath, which had
been extorted from him by fear, and which, if fulfilled, might be
attended with the subjection of his native country to a foreign
power, we shall presently see. Meanwhile, he continued to practice every art of popularity; and fortune threw two incidents in
his way by which he was enabled to acquire general favor and to
increase the character, which he had already attained, of virtue
and abilities. The first of these was the reduction of Wales. The
second related to his brother Tosti, who had been created Duke
of Northumberland, but had acted with such cruelty and injustice
that the inhabitants, led by Morcar and Edwin. grandsons of the
great duke Leofric, rose and expelled him (1065). To Harold,
who had been commissioned by the king to reduce and chastise
the Northumbrians, Morcar made so vigorous a remonstrance
against Tosti's tyranny, accompanied with such a detail of wellsupported facts, that Harold found it prudent to abandon his
brother's cause; and, returning to Edward, he persuaded him to
pardon the Northumbrians and to confirm Morcar in the government to which they had elected him. He even married the sister
of that nobleman; and by his interest procured Edwin, the younger
brother, to be elected into the government of Mercia.' Tosti in
rage departed the kingdom, and took shelter in Flanders with Earl
Baldwin, his father-in-law.
By this marriage almost all England was engaged in the interests of Harold; and as he himself possessed the government of
Wessex, Morcar that of Northumberland, and Edwin that of Mercia, he now openly aspired to the succession. Edward, broken
with age and infirmities, saw the difficulties too great for him to
encounter; and though his inveterate prepossessions kept him from,
seconding the pretensions of Harold, he took but feeble and irresolute steps for securing the succession to the Duke of Normandy. While lie continued in this uncertainty he was surprised by
sickness, which brought him to his grave on the 5th of January,
1066, in the 65th year of his age and 25th of his reign. By some
authorities he is said, on Lhis death-bed, to have appointed Harold
his successor.
~ 14. This prince, who about a century after his death was
canonized with the surname of "1 the Confessor," by a. bull of Pope
Alexander III., was the last of the Saxon line that ruled in England. Though his reign was peaceable and fortunate, he owed




A.D. 1057-1066.  ACCESSION OF HAROLD.                  67
his prosperity less to his own abilities than to the conjunctures of
the times.  The Danes, employed in other enterprises, attempted
not those incursions which had been so troublesome to all his
predecessors, and so fatal to some of them. The facility of his disposition made him acquiesce under the government of Godwin and
his son Harold; and the abilities, as well as the power, of these
noblemen enabled them, while they were intrusted with authority,
to preserve domestic peace and tranquillity. The most commendable circumstance of Edward's government was his attention to
the administration of justice, and his compiling, for that purpose,
a body of laws, which he collected from the laws of Ethelbert, Ina,
and Alfred. This compilation, though now lost-for the laws
that pass under Edward's name were composed afterward-was
long the object of affection to the English nation. Edward was
buried in Westminster Abbey, which was consecrated only a few
days before his death.  This church was erected by Edward and
dedicated to St. Peter, in pursuance of the directions of Pope Leo
IX., as the condition of his release from a pilgrimage to Rome.
Its site was, as we have said, previously occupied by a church
erected by Sebert, King of Essex, which had long gone to ruin.
King Edward was the first sovereign who touched for the evil.
~ 15. HAROLD II., 1066.-Harold's accession to the throne was
attended with as little opposition and disturbance as if he had
succeeded by the most undoubted hereditary title. On the day
after Edward's death he was crowned and anointed king by Aldred,
Archbishop of York; and the whole nation seemed joyfully to
acquiesce in his elevation. But in Normandy the intelligence of
Harold's intrigues and accession had moved William to the highest pitch of indignation.  He sent an embassy to England, upbraiding that prince with his breach of faith, and summoning.
him to resign immediately possession of the kingdom. Harold
not only refused to comply with this demand, but also expelled
all the Normans settled in England, whom King Edward had established in fiefs and castles. This answer was no other than
William expected, and he had previously fixed his resolution on
making an attempt upon England. He assembled a fleet of nearly 1000 vessels, great and small, and an army of 60,000 men.
Several of the European princes declared in favor of his claim;
but his most important ally was the Pope, Alexander II., who
hoped that the French and Norman barons, if successful in their
enterprise, might. import into England a more devoted reverence
to the holy see, and bring the English churches to a nearer conformity with those of the Continent.  He pronounced Harold a
perjured usurper; denounced excommunication against him and
his adherents; and, the more to encourage the Duke of Normandy




68'    INVASION OF TOSTI-NORMAN INVASION. CHAP. IV.
in his enterprise, he sent him a consecrated banner, and a ring
with one of St. Peter's hairs in it. Thus were all the ambition
and violence of that invasion covered over safely with the broad
mantle of religion.
The first blow was, however, struck by Harold's brother Tosti.
That nobleman filled the court of his father-in-law Baldwin with
complaints of the injustice which he had suffered, and engaged the
interest of that family against his brother. In the spring of the
year Tosti sailed with a considerable fleet from the Flemish ports,
and committed some ravages on the southern and eastern coasts
of England; but, being repulsed by earls IMorcar and Edwin, took
refuge with the Scottish king, Malcolm Kenmore. Here he entered into negotiations with Harold Hardrada, King of Norway,
promising him half of England as the price of his assistance; but
how far he was acting for himself alone, or in William's interests
also, it appears uncertain. In the summer a Norwegian fleet of
300 sail appeared on the Yorkshire coast; Scarborough was taken
and burned, and the earls Edwin and MIorcar defeated in a bloody
battle at Fulford on the Ouse, near Bishopsthorpe.  Harold now
hastened with a large army into the north; and as soon as he
reached *the enemy at Stanford Bridge, called afterward Battle
Bridge, he found himself in a condition to engage them. A bloody
but decisive action was fought on the 25th of September, which
ended in the total rout of the Norwegians, together with the death
of Tosti and Harold Hardrada. But Harold had scarcely time to
rejoice for this victory when he received intelligence that the
Duke of Normandy had landed with a great army in the south of
England.
~ 16. The Norman fleet sailed from St. Vale'ry on the Somme
on the 27th of September, and arrived safely at Pevensey, in Sussex, on the eve of the feast of St. Michael. The army quietly
disembarked.  The duke himself, as he leaped on shore, happened
to stumble and fall; but had the presence of mind, it is said, to
turn the omen to his advantage, by calling aloud that le had taken
possession of the country.
Harold hastened by quick marches to reach this new invader;
but though he was re-enforced at London and other places with
fresh troops, he found himself also weakened by the desertion of
his old soldiers, who, from fatigue and discontent at Harold's refusing to divide the Norwegian spoil among them, secretly withdrew from their colors.  His brother Gurth, a man of bravery
and conduct, began to entertain apprehensions of the event, and
remonstrated with the king that it would be better policy to prolong the war; urging that, if the enemy were harassed with small
skirmishes, straitened in provisions, and fatigued with the bad




A.D. 1066.        BATTLE OF HASTINGS.                   69
weather and deep roads during the winter season, which was approaching, they must fall an easy and a bloodless prey.  Above
all, he exhorted his brother not to expose his own person; but
Harold was deaf to all these remonstrances; elated with his past
prosperity, as well as stimulated by his native courage, he resolved
to give battle in person, and for that purpose he drew near to the
Normans, who had removed their camp and fleet to Hastings,
where they fixed their quarters.
- After some fruitless messages on both sides, the English and
Normans prepared themselves for the combat. According to the
monkish historians, the aspect of things on the night before the
battle was very different in the two camps; the English spending
the time in riot, and jollity, and disorder; the Normans in silence
and in prayer, and in the other functions of their religion. In the
morning the duke called together the most considerable of his
commanders, and made them a speech suitable to the occasion.
He next divided his army into three lines: the first consisted of
archers and light-armed infantry; the second was composed of
his bravest battalions, heavy armed and ranged in close order; his
cavalry, at whose head he placed himself, formed the third line,
and w ere so disposed that they stretched beyond the infantry, and
flanked each wing of the army.  He ordered the signal of battle
to be given, and the whole army, moving at once, and singing the
hymn or song of Roland, the famous peer of Charlemagne, advanced in order and with alacrity toward the enemy.
Harold had seized the advantage of a rising ground, and having likewise drawn some trenches to secure his flanks, he resolved
to stand on the defensive.  The Kentishmen were placed in the
van, a post which they had always claimed as their due; the Londoners guarded the standard; and the king himself-accompanied
by his two valiant brothers, Gurth and Leofwin-dismounting,
placed himself at the head of his infantry, and expressed his resolution to conquer or to perish in the action. The battle raged
for some time with doubtful success, till William commanded his
troops to make a hasty retreat, and to allure the enemy from their
ground by the appearance of flight. The English, heated by the
action, and sanguine in their hopes, precipitately followed the
Normans into the plain, when William ordering the infantry to
face about upon their pursuers, and the cavalry to make an assault upon their wimigs, the English were repulsed with great
slaughter; but, being rallied by the bravery of Harold, they were
able still to maintain their post. The duke tried the same stratagem a second time with the same success; but even after this second advantage he still found a great body of the English who
seemed determined to dispute the victory to the last extremity.




70                   DEATH OF HAROLD.                  CHAP. lV.
He ordered his heavy-armed infantry to make an assault upon
them, while his archers, placed behind, should gall the enemy, who
were exposed by the situation of the ground, and who were intent
on defending themselves against the swords and spears of the assailants. By this disposition he at last prevailed. Harold was
slain by an arrow, while he was combating with great bravery at
the head of his men; his two brothers shared the same fate; and
the English, discouraged by the fall of those princes, gave ground
on all sides, and were pursued with great slaughter by the victorious Normans.  Thus was gained by William, Duke of Normandy, the great and decisive victory of Hastings,* after a battle which
was fought from morning till sunset, and which seemed worthy,
by the heroic valor displayed by both armies and by both commanders, to decide the fate of a mighty kingdom. It took place
on the 14th of October, 1066.  The loss was very great on both
sides.  The dead body of Harold was found among the slain, and
was allowed by the Conqueror to be buried in the Abbey of
Waltham, which was founded by the Saxon king. This is the
more probable account, but other. authorities relate that William,
in scorn, ordered the corpse to be buried on the sea-shore.
Norman Knights at the Battle of Hastings. From the Bayeux Tapestry.
The battle of Hastings is depicted on the Bayeux tapestry,t
from which the preceding illustration is taken. Two Norman
knights are represented, clad in chain armor, the former bearing
the chief banner of the army, and the latter a flag with five tongues
* Though this battle is commonly called the Battle of Hastings, the real
field was at Seftlac, about nine miles from that place.
t This curious piece-of needlework, 214 feet long and 19 inches broad,
which is still preserved at Bayeux, represents the whole history of the expedition, as well as the battle. According to tradition, it was worked by
Matilda, the wife of William the Conqueror; but, though it is probably of
later date, it may be regarded as a faithful representation of the costume of
the period.




CHAP. IV.           NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.                                 71
or points, and with a cross in it. The bird figured ia the chief
banner is probably  the  celebrated  raven,* which  the Northmen
preserved as their national ensign after their conversion to Christianity.
CHRONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE EVENTS.
A.D.                                     A.D.
1017. Accession of Canute.                     liam, Duke of Normandy, visits En1030. Canute reduces the kings of Scotland     gland.
and Cumberland.                   1052. Return of Godwin, who is pardoned.
1035. Death of Canute. Accession of Harold 1054. Earl Siward defeats Macbeth, and reHarefoot.                                stores Malcolm, King of Scotland.'
1036. Alfred and Edward make *attempts 1063. Earls Harold and Tosti reduce Wales.
upon England.                            Tosti condemned by Harold.
1039. Death of Harold Harefoot. Accession 1066. Death of Edward the Confessor. Acof Hardicanute.                          cession of Harold.
1049. Death of Hardicanute. Accession of   "  Invasion of Tosti and I-Iarold HardraEdward the Confessor.                    de. Battle of Stanford Bridge. In1051. Tumult at Dover. Revolt and ban-         vasion of the Normans, and battle of
ishment of Earl Godwin.  Wil-            Hastings.
GENEALOGY OF THE ANGLO-DANISH KINGS OF ENGLAND.
Ilarald Blatand,
d. 985.
Sweyn Tvesjn-g,
d. 1014.
CANUTE,
r. 1016-1035.
m. 1. Elgiva. 2. Emma, widow of Ethelred.
Sweyn       IAROLD HAREFOOT,            IIARDICANUTE,          GunhUd.
(k. of Norway),     r. 1035-1040.              r. 1040-1042
d. 1036.                            (on his death the Saxon line
restored in Edward the Confessor).
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
A. -THE  GOVERNMENT, LAWVS, AND  the Camalodunum, the Lindum."  Hence it
INSTITUTIONS  OF  THE   ANGLO- follows that the laws and customs of England
SAXONS.                                were also entirely of German origin; and, indeed, several of them may be traced back to
1. Introduction.-The completeness of the the ancient German usages recorded by
Anglo-Saxon conquest has been already de- Tacitus.
duced from the exclusive establishment of   2. The King and Royal Familiy.-Among
their language in England. Even the Brit- the latter was the nature of the kingly powish names of places yielded to Anglo-Saxon  er. The Teutonic tribes that invaded Britones, with some few exceptions, and those ain, like their ancestors in the wilds and
chiefly in the border counties and in Corn- woods of Germany, had no regular and perwall. " No one traveling through England,"  manent king, but elected a supreme head as
says Mr. Hallam (Middle Ages, ch. viii., note occasion required, who, as his office chiefly
4), " would discover that any people had ever consisted in directing their warlike expediinhabited it before the Saxons, save so far as tions, obtained the name of Heretoga, or
the mighty Rome has left traces of her em- almy-leader. Among the Saxons and Fripire in some enduring walls, and a few names sians of the Continent this state of things conthat betray the colonial city, the Londinium, tinued much longer than in England, where
See above, p. 40.




72                    NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.                            CHAP. IV.
the more settled and permanent nature of    Ealdormen. —In ancient times the affairs
the Anglo-Saxon possessions early introduced  of each tribe were directed by the eldest
a regular monarchical form of government.  (ecldoramcl, alderman), which name thus beElla of Sussex was the first who assumed the  came synonymous with chief. Hence ealdortitle of Cyning, or king.* Throughout the  man was the chief title of nobility among the
whole of the Anglo-Saxon period the kingly  Anglo-Saxons, and was applied to any man
dignity remained elective; and though the  in authority, but more especially to the govcrown was generally retained in one family, ernor of a shire or large district. In the 11th
there was no rule of hereditary succession. century, under the Danish monarchs, an imRegard was still had to the original purpose  portant change was introduced in the appelfor which a king was chosen-that he should  lation of ranks. The word eorl or -earl lost
be a person capable of carrying on the gov- its general sense of good birth, and became
eminent and conducting the enterprises of  an official title, equivalent to alderman, and
the nation. If the eldest son of the deceased  was applied to the governor of a shire or
monarch was qualified for this, he commonly  province. The term earl as a general deshad the preference, but still not without ignation of nobility was now supplanted by
election by the great council. But if he was thaene; and hence in the later period of
a minor, or otherwise disqualified, he was fre- Anglo-Saxon monuments we find thane opquently set aside, and another appointed, posed to ceorl, as sorl is in the earlier (Halwho, however, was usually a member of the  lam's Middle Ages, vol. ii., p. 360, 361). The
reigning family. Thus we have seen the  ealdorman, or earl, and bishop were of equlal
lineal snccession broken by Alfred, Athel- rank, while the archbishop was equal to the
stane, Edred, and other monarchs.  The  atheling, or member of the royal house. Aftright of election appears to have belonged to  er the Norman conquest the title of alderman
the whole nation, though attempts were seems to have been restricted to the magissometimes made to confine it to the clergy  trates of cities and boroughs.
and nobility. By degrees the kingly power   Thanes.-Next in degree to the alderman
grew stronger in England, especially after was the thane (A. S. thegn, from thegnian, to
the separate kingdoms became merged into  serve, minister). There were different deone. The kings then began to assume more  grees of thanes, the highest being those called
high-flown titles: as that of Basileus-which  king's thanes. It was necessary that the
was borrowed from the Byzantine court-  lesser thane should have five hides of land
Primicerius, Fliavius, Augustus, etc.; some  (about 600 acres); while the qualification of
of which are not very intelligible, and were the alderman was forty, or eight times as
probably not very well understood by the much. Nobility in England first arose from
bearers themselves. Elgbert, however, and his office or service; but subsequently the heredfive immediate successors, contented them- itary possession of land produced an herediselves with the title of kings of Wessex. Ed- tary nobility; and at length it became so
ward the Elder assumed the style of "King  much dependent upon property, that the
of the Elnglish" (rex Anglorumn), while Athel- mere possession of five hides of land, together
stane called himself "C King of all Britain'   with a chapel, a kitchen, a hall, and a bell,
(totius Britannise monarchus, rex, or rector), converted a churl into a thane. In like manand was the first to introduce the Greek  ner, as we have seen, by a law of Athelstane
name of basileus. Edwy and Edgar are re- (which, however, was perhaps only a confirmmarkable for their pompous titles. The king, ation of a more ancient charter), a merchant
like the rest of his subjects, had a wer-gild, who had made three voyages on his own acor fixed price for his life, the amount of count becameathane. The thane was liable
which varied in different kingdoms, but was to military service on horseback, and was,
of course considerably higher than that of his therefore, on a par with the eques, or knight.
most distinguished subjects. Alfred made  He probably had a vote in thes national
the compassing of the king's death a capital council.
offense, attended with confiscation.- The    Georls or churls.-Between the thane and
king's sons, or, in their default, those who  the serf, or slave, was the churl or freeman
had the next pretensions to the succession, (sometimes also called frigman; in Lat. vilwere called athelings, or nobles.t The con- lanus; Norm. villain). But every man was
sort of an Anglo-Saxon king was styled em- obliged by law to place himself under the
phatically "the  wife" (cowen), "the lady"  protection of some lord, failing which he
(hlcefdige).  She was crowned and conse- might be seized as a robber.  The ceorls were
crated like him, had a separate court, and a for the most part not independent freeholdseparate property, besides her dowry, or ers, and cultivated the lands of their lords,
"morning gifts" (morgen-gifu).             on which they were bound to reside, and
3. Division o. ranks.-The whole free pop- could not quit, though in other respects they
elation of England under the rank of royalty  were freemen. But there were several conmay be divided into two main classes of eorls ditions of ceorls, who in the Domesday-Book
(earls) and ceorls (churls); that is, gentle  form  2-5ths of the registered inhabitants.
and simple, or nobles and yeomen.          We have already seen that the ceorl might
acquire land, and thlat, if he obtained as much
* Cyning probably means the son of the nation, as five hides, he became forthwith a thane.
Cyn meaning race, and ing being the wvell-known Hence there must have been many ceorls in
Anglo-Saxon patronymic.                    England who were independent freeholders
t Atheling is a patronymic from AtAlel or Ethel
[noble), which forms the prefix of so many of lb  possessing less than teis qeantity of land,
uamne of the Anglo-Saxon kings.            probably the Socsmanni or Soemen of Doumes



CHAP. IV.                 DIVISION OF THE SOIL.                                   73
day-Book, and whom Mr. Hallam  describes veyed by some token, such as a piece of turf,
as " the root of a noble plant, the free socage the branch of a tree, a spear, a drinkingtenants, or English yeomanry, whose inde- horn, etc.; and in the case of lands granted
pendence has stamped with peculiar features  to the Church, these tokens were solemnly
both our constitution and our national char- deposited upon the altar. Conveyances of
acter."  (Europe during the Middle Ages, this kind were even continued after the invol. ii., p. 274.)                         troduction of writing, and there are instances
Serfs.-The lowest class were the serfs, or of them as late as the Conquest. The title to
servile population (theowas, esnas), of whom  land thus conveyed seems to have been equal25,000 are registered in Domesday-Book, or ly valid with that of bocland; but the latter
nearly 1-11th of the registered population. name can be applied with propriety only to
Slaves were of two kinds-hereditary or penal such land as was conveyed by writing. Bocslaves. A free Anglo-Saxon could become a  land was exempt from  all public burdens,
slave only through crime, or default of him- except those called the trinzode nseeessitas, or
self or forefathers in not paying a wergild; liability to military service, and of contribor by voluntary sale-the father having power uting to the repair of fortresses and bridges
to sell a child ofseven, and a child of thir-  (fyrd, butrh-bbt, and brycge-bbt).'ocland
teen having power to sell himself. The great was granted by the king with the consent of
majority of slaves probably consisted of cap- the witan; it could be held by freemen of all
tured Celts or their descendants: a conclu- ranks, and even bequeathed to females; but
sion which seems to be corroborated by the  in the latter case only in usufruct, reverting
fact that this class was by far most numer- after the death of a female holder to the male
ous toward the Welsh borders, and that sev- line. After the Norman conquest we hear
eral Celtic words preserved in our language  no more offole-landl; what remilained of it at
relate to some menial employment.          that period became terae regis, or crownClergy.-The clergy occupied an influen- land: except a remnant, of which there are
tial station in society. They took a great traces in the common lands of the presshare in the proceedings of the national coun- ent day. This was a consequence of the
cil; and in the court of the shire the bishop  feudalism  introduced by the Normans, by
presided along with the alderman  This in- which all England was regarded as the defluence was a natural result of their superior mesne of the king, held under hima by feudal.
learning in those ignorant ages, as well as of tenure.
the veneration paid to the sacerdotal c0ar-   6. Shires. -The territorial division of shires
acter.                                     or counties is a very ancierit one, being men4, fThe wsitena-gemdt.-The great national tioned in the laws of King Ina, long before
council, the assent of which was necessary  the time of Alfred; though that monarch
for all the laws of the Anglo-Saxon kings, may perhaps have rectified their boundaries.
was called tvitena-gem6t, assembly of the  The smaller kingdoms and their subdivisions
ctitans or wise men. Of its constitution we fell naturally into shires, as Kent, Sussex,
know little or nothing. It was composed of  Surrey, Essex, and Norfolk and Suffolk in
bishops, abbots, aldermen, and, according to  East Aunglia. At what time the complete
the general expression, of the noble and wise  distribution'of counties was effected is unof the kingdom; but who these last were is known; but they existed in their present
uncertain.  They probably comprised the  state at the time of the Conquest. The counroyal thanes; and it is not improbable that ties of York and Lincoln, apparently from
even all the lower thanes were privileged to their great size, were divided into thirds,
attend, though they may not often have ex- called tredings, which, under the corrupt
ercised their right. But it is now generally  name of ridings, still exist in the former.
admitted that the ceorls had not the smallest In the later Anglo-Saxon times a scir-genzot
share in the deliberation of the national as- (shire-mote, or county court) was held twice
sembly; that no traces of elective deputies, a year-in the beginning of May and Octoeither of shires or cities, exist; and that the  ber-in which all the thanes were entitled to
Saxon witena-gemnot can not therefore be  a seat and to a vote. Its functions were juconsidered as the prototype of the modern  dicial, and it was presided over by the ealdore
parliament.                                man, or earl, and by the bishop; for origin5. Division of the soil. Fole-land and  ally the ecclesiastical dioceses were identical
Boc-land —The soil of England was distrib- with. the counties.  HItue justly remarks
uted in the manner usual among the Ger- that, among a people wvho lived in so simple
mans upon the Continent. Part of the land  a manner as the Anglo-Saxons, the judicial
remained the property of the state, and part power is always of more importance than the
was granted to individuals in perpetuity as legislative; and the thanes were mainly infreeholds. The former was called Folc-laend, debted for the preservation of their liberties
the land of the folk, or the people, and might to their possessing the judicial power in their
either be occupied in common, or parceled  own county courts. The scir-gerefa (shireout to individuals for a term, on the expira- reeve, sheriff) was the executive officer aption of which it reverted to the state. The pointed by the king to carry out the decrees
land detached from the Folc-land, and grant- of the court, to levy distresses, take charge of
ed to individuals in perpetuity as freehold, prisoners, etc. The sheriff was at first only
was called Boc-land, from  boe, a book or an assessor, but in process of time became a
writing, because, after the introduction of  joint president, and ultimately sole presiwriting, such estates were conveyed by a  dent. This court survived the Conquest;
deed or charter. Previously they were con- and it is the opinion of Mr. Hallamn that it
D




74                    NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.                            CHAP. IV.
contributed in no small degree to fix the lib- wser or leod,* but there was also a tariff for
erties of England by curbing the feudal aris- every part of the body, down to the teeth
tocracy. (Middle Ages, vol. ii.,, p. 2T7.)  and nails. Considerable value seems to have
7. Hundreds.-The territorial division into  been set on personal appearance, as the loss
hundreds was very ancient among the Teu- of a man's beard was valued at 20 shillings,
tonic races, and is mentioned by Tacitus  the breaking of a thigh at only 12; the loss
(Geerm., 6 and 12). In England the constitu- of a front tooth at 6 shillings, the breaking
tion of the hundreds is so anomalous that it of a rib at only half that sunm. In the case
is impossible to ascertain the principle on  of a fi;eeman this price was paid to his relawhich it was founded. Some of the smaller tives, in that of a slave to his master. In
shires present the greatest number of hund- this regulation we see but little advance upon
reds; but this may have arisen from their that barbarous state of society in which, in
being more densely populated.  Some writers the absence of any public or general law,
have supposed that the hundreds consisted of  each family or tribe avenges its own injuries.
100 families of freemen; but the hypotheses The wrergild is merely a substitute for peron the subject are little better than guesses. sonal vengeance. The amount of the werIn the time of Edward the Confessor the  gild varied according to the rank and prophundreds of Northamptonshire seem to have erty of the individual, and in this sense every
consisted of 100 hides of land. In the north  man had truly his price. For this purpose
of England the wapentake corresponded to  all society below the rank of the royal family
the hundred of the southern districts. The  and of an ealdorman was divided into three
name, which literally signifies the touching  classes: first, the tywhind man or. ceorl,
of arms, was derived from  the ceremony  whose wer,c according to the laws of Mercia,
which took place on the inauguration of the  was 200 shillings; secondly, the sixhind man,
chief magistrate, when, having dismounted  or lesser thane, whose wer was 600 shillings;
from  his horse, he fixed his spear in the  and thirdly, the royal thane whose death
ground, which was then touched with the  could not be compensated under 1200 shilspears of those present. VVe have here the  lings  The wer of an ealdorman was twice as
military origin of the hundred, as adverted  much as that of a royal thane: that of an
to by Tacitus, who, however, also mentions  atheling three times, that of a king commonits civil or judicial destination. The hund- ly six times as much. But a regulation still
red-mote,. or court of the hundred, was held  more calculated to defeat the true ends of
by its own hundred-man under the sheriff's  justice was that by which the value of a
writ, and was a court of justice for suitors  man's oath was also estimated by his properwithin the hundred. But all important cases  ty. The evidence'of a thane in a Court of
were decided by the county court; and in  justice counterbalanced that of 12 ceorls, and
course of time the jurisdiction of the court that of an ealdorman the oath of 6 thanes.
of the hundred was confined to the punish-  In accordance with this mercenary spirit we
ment of petty offenses and the maintenance  are not surprised to hear that the fountains
of sI local police.                        of justice were often corrupted at their source,
S. T/tlshitsgs. Franskpledye.-In the later  and that the ealdorman on his bench, and
Anglo-Saxon times, and in the southern dis-  even the monarch on his throne, were not altricts of England, we also find another small- ways inaccessible to a bribe. In cases of foul
er subdivision, the teothinzq, or tything, syn-  or willful murder (morth), arson, and theft,
onymous with ward. Every man, whose rank  capital punishment was sometimes inflicted,
and property did not afford an ostensible  if the injured party preferred it to the accept..guarantee for his good conduct, was com- ance of a wergild. Banishment was a cuspelled, after the reign of Athelstane, to find  toinary punishment for atrocious crimes. The
a surety (bolh). This surety was afforded by  banished criminal became an outlaw, and was
the tythings, the members of which formed, said to bear a wolf's head; so that if he reas it were, a perpetual bail for one another's  turned and attempted to defend himself it
appearance in cases of crime, with, apparent- was lawful for any one to slay him. Cutting
ly, an ultimate responsibility if the criminal off the hands and feet was another punishescaped, or if his estate proved inadequate to  ment for theft. Adultery, though a penal
defray the penalty incurred. In this view  offense, might be expiated, like miurder, with
the tythings were also calledfritlh-borhls, or a fine.
securities for the peace; a term which, hav-   10. Courts of jqustice.-The two principal
ing been corrupted into.friborg, gave rise to  courts of justice were the shire-mote, or counthe Norman appellation off2-sankpledge. The  ty court, and the hundred-mote, of the con-;nstitution seems to have existed only par- stitution of-both of which we have already
tially in the north of England, where it was  spoken. From the county court an appeal
called tienmranna tale (tenllan's tale).   lay to the king in council. In the county
9. Punishments.-In considering the pun- court, as observed above, all the thanes had
ishments of the Anglo-Saxons we can hardly  a right to vote; but as so large and tumultfail to be struck by their mercenary spirit, uous an assembly was found inconvenient, it
a characteristic, however, which they shared  gradually became the custom to intrust the
in common with the jurisprudence of many  finding of a verdict to a committee usually
other barbarous or semi-civilized nations. consisting of 12 of the principal thanes, but
Almost every offense could be expiated with  sometimes of 24, or even 36, and in order to
money; and in cases of murder and bodily  form a valid judgment it was necessary that
injuries, not only was a price set upon the   * Wer and leod both signify mnan, and gild nmnes
corpse, called wergild, or leodgild, or simply  or paysment.




CRIAP. IV. ANGLO-SAXON LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE. 75
two, thirds of them should concur. In the  3 furlongs, 3 acres, 9 feet, 9 palms, and 9
northern districts these judges were called  barleycorns.
lahmren. Their decisions were submitted for   11. Gilds.-The municipal gilds of the Anthe approval of the whole court. The ac- glo-Saxons may be traced to the heathen
cused, who was obliged to give security (both) sacrificial gilds, an original feature of which
for his appearance, might clear himself by  was the common banquet. These devil's
his own oath, together with that of a certain  gilds, as they are termed in the Christian
number of compurgators or fellow-swearers  laws, were not abolished, but converted into
who were acquainted with him as neighbors, Christian institutions. There were even nuand at all events resident within the juris- merous ecclesiastical gilds. It was incumdiction of the court. The compurgators, bent on them to preserve peace, and, in case
therefore, were witnesses to character, and  of homicide by one of the members, the cortheir functions can not be at all compared to  poration paid part of the weesgild. In London
those of a modern juryman. The thanes, or were several fJith-gilds (peace-gilds) of diflahmenz, who found the verdict, bore a near-  ferent ranks; and in the time of Athelstane
er resemblance to a jury; yet it is evident, we find them forming an association for the
from the mode of trial by compurgation, as  purpose of mutual indemnity against robwell as those by ordeal and judicial combat,  bery. Ealdormen are usually found at the
of which we shall speak presently, that they  heads of the gilds as well as of the cities
were not called upon, like a modern jury-  themselves. The chief magistrate of a town
man, to form a judgment of the facts from   was the woic-gerefa, or town-reeve, who apthe evidence and cross-examination of wit-  pears to have been appointed by the king.
nesses.*  If the accused was a vassal, and  Other officers of the same kind were the porthiQ hlaford, or lord, would not give testimony  reeve and burgh-reeve. The chief municipal
in his favor, then he was compelled to bring  court of London was the Hus-thiing, literally,
forward a triple number of compurgators.  a court or assembly in a house, in contradisThe accuser was also obliged to produce corm-  tinction to one held in the open air, whence
purgators, who pledged themselves that he  the modern hurstings. This word was introdid not prosecute out of interested or vin-  duced by the Northmen, in whose language
dictive motives.                           thing signified any judicial or deliberative
Ordeals, or God's judgments, were only re-  assembly.
sorted to when the accused could not produce    12. Comserc', manners, and ciustons. —
compurgators, or when by some former crime  England enjoyed a considerable foreign comhe had lost all title to credibility. Some forms  merce. London was always a great emporiof ordeal, as the consecrated morsel and the  1n1: Frisian merchants are found there and
cross-proof, were only calculated to work  in York as early as the 8th century.  WVool
upon the imagination; others, and the more  was the chief article of export, and was recustomary, as those by hot water and fire,  ceived back from the Continent in a llanu —
subjected the body to a painful and hazard-  factured state. DMints were established in
ous trial, firom which it is difficult to see  several cities and towns, with a limited numhow even the mo:t innocent person could  ber of privileged moneyers; and many of tla
ever have escaped, except through the collu- Anglo-Saxon coins still preserved exhibit consion of his judges. These were conducted in  siderable skill. The Anglo-Saxons loved to
a church under the superintendence of the  indulge in hospitality and feasting, and at
clergy. In the ordeal by hot water, the ac- their cheerful meetings it was customary to
cused had to take out a stone or piece of  send round the harp, that all might sing in
iron with his naked hand and arm from a  turn. The men, as well as the women, some5caldron of the boiling element; in that by  times wore necklaces, bracelets, and rings,
fire, he had to carry a bar of heated iron for  which were of a more expensive kind than,
a certain distance that had been marked out.  those used by the female sex. We have alIn both cases the injured member was wrap- ready adverted to King Alfred's taste for
ped up by the priest in a piece of clean linen  jewelry. The Anglo-Saxon ladies employed
cloth, which was secured with a seal, and if,  themselves much in spinning; and thus even
on opening the cloth on the third day, the  King Alfred himself calls the female part of
wound was found to be healed, the accused  his family "the spindle-side," in contradiswas acquitted, or in the contrary event, was  tinction to the spear, or male side. Hence
adjudged to pay the penalty of his offense.  the name of.isister for a young unmarried
Judicial combats, called by the Anglo-Saxons  woman.
eornest, and by the Danes holmgang,, from    B. ANGLO-SAXON IANGUAG1  AND
their being generally fought on a small river-           ITEAU
island, though not entirely unknown, appear
to have been much rarer among those people    The Anglo-Saxon language was converted
than among their Norman successors.        into English by a slow process of several cenWithin the verge of the king's court an ac- turies. The works of Alfred, and the Anglocused person enjoyed sanctuary and refuge.  Saxon laws before the reign of Athelstane,
Its limits, whether permanent or temporary, present the language in its purest state. On
are defined with an exactness almost ludi- an examination of Alfred's translations, Mr.
crous, and as if there was something magical Turner found that only about one fifth of the
in the numbers, to be on every side from the  words had become obsolete (Anglo-Saxons,
burgh gate of the king's residence, 3 miles, vol. ii., p. 445), so that the great bulk of our
*  The origin of trial by jury is discussedin a note language still remans Anglo-Saxon. The
at the end of chap. viii.                  period of transition, called by some writers




76                   NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.                            CHAP. IV.
the Semi-Saxon, is commonly estimated to  Elfric, the strenuous defenders of the English
extend from the middle of the 12th to the  Church in the 11th century.against the innomiddle of the 13th century. Saxon became  vations of Rome.
English chiefly through the effects of time;         (. AUTIORITIES
and though the Norman conquest had undoubtedly some influence on the process, it   The principal ancient historical sources for
was much less than has been commonly irm- the Anglo-Saxon times are: Beda, Chronliagined.. Many of the manuscripts of the 13th  con and Historia Ecclesiastica; the Saxon
century are written in as pure Saxon as that Chronicle; Asser, De Rlebus Gestis Alfreciidi;
which prevailed before the conquest. The  Ethelweardf Chronicon; Florence of Worcesadmixture of Norman-French was not intro- ter, Chronicle; Simeon of Durham, Historia
duced to any great extent into our language, de Gestis Anglorumn, continued by John of
or at all events not adopted in our litera-:exham; Henry of Huntingdon, Hist. Anture, before the latter half of the 14th cen- glorum. The preceeding works will be found
tury, when the genius and example of Chaucer in the iMonumelta Historica Britannica, as
recommended and sanctioned the example.   well as in other collections and separate ediThe Angles and the Saxons introduced two  tions. In the collection just referred to are
different Gothic dialects; that of the former also contained the following anonymous pieces
approaching the High Gernnan, while that of  referring to the period in question: Annales
the latter resembled the Low German or  Cambrice; Brsut y Tyvuysogion, or Chronicle
Netherlandish.  Subsequently the Danes set- of the Princes of Wales; Carmene de Bello
tiled in the districts occupied by the Angles, Hastingensi.
and introduced many Scandinavian words.   The other principal collections in which
The boundaries between the Anglian and  these and other historical works relating to
Saxon dialects may perhaps be roughly indi- the Anglo-Saxon period are contained, are:
cated by a line drawn from the north of Es- Parker's Collections;  Savile's Collection;
sex to the north of Worcestershire.       Camden, Agliccr, lVoNrmannica, Hibernica,
The earlier specimens of Anglo-Saxon liter- Cambrica, a veteribsus scripta; Fulman,
ature are metrical, the metre being marked  Quinque Scriptores; Gale, Historice Anglihy accent and alliteration. The oldest ex- cance  Scriptores Qusinsquq, and Scriptores
tant specimen of Anglo-Saxon poetry is the  Qusindecirm; Hearne's Collections; Twysden,
i' Gleemgn's Song," the author of which flour- Historice Anglicance  Scriptores Decemn;
ished toward the end of the 4th and begin- Sparke, Hist. Anglicance Scriptores varii;
ning of the 5th centuries, and Consequently  Wharton, Asmglia Sacra.  These collections
before the invasion of England: the oldest contain the following authors, besides most
MS. of the poem, however, is five centuries of those already enumerated as in the Monlater. Two other poems, also written before umenta Historica: Ailred of Rievaulx, Life
the Anglo-Saxon migration, are the "Battle  of Edward the Confessor, etc. [Twysden];
of Finsburgh" and the " Tale of Beowulf."  John Brompton, Chronicles [ibid.]; Eadmer,
The songs: of Cedmon, a monk of Whitby, Historia Aovorum, etc. [Wharton]; Roger
who flourished a little before the time of Beda, Hoveden, Annales [Savile]; Ingulphus, Hist.
are probably the oldest specimens extant of  Croylandensis [ib. and Fulmnan]; William
Anglo-Saxon poetry written in this country. of Malmesbury, De Gestis Riegunb Anygloruz
Coedmon remained six centuries the great and De Gestis Pontificunsc  Angl. [Savile];
and inimitable poet, the Milton, of the Anglo- Hugo Candidus, Historia [Sparke]; Peter
Saxons. Several other poems and songs are Langtoft, Metsric l Chronsicle [Ilearne]; St.
extant, reaching down to the 11th century. Neot, Chlronicon [Gale]; the Filores Histori.One of the noblest specimens of the last pe- anu rn attributed to Matthew of Westminriod is the Anglo-Saxon version of the psalms. ster [Parker].
The most important Anglo-Saxon prose works   The following authors are published in the
are the chronicles, usually cited in the singu- foreign collection of Duchesne: Gervase of Tillar number as "the Saxon Chronicle."  The bury; Expne  Anqlice Jlegince Encoizttsm.
earliest of these, supposed to have beenscom-   The English Historical Society has pubpiled by order of Plegmund, Archbishop of lished the following works: a Collection of
Canterbury, who was consecrated in 890 and  Saxon Charters, edited by the late Mr. J.
died in 923, contains notices of the operations' M. Kemble, under the title of CodEx Diploof Alfred and his immediate predecessors. maticus  ivi Saxonici; also, the C/mhronica
The next is the MS. ascribed to St. Dunstan, of Roger of Wendover.
which goes down to the year 97T. Besides   The best modern works on the Anglo-Saxon
these there are four others of later date. period are, Turner's History of the AngloMost of these chronicles begin with the in- Saxons, 3 vols., 8vo; Palgrave's Rise and
vasion of Julius Coesar. It seems to have  Progress of the English  Coummon wealth durbeen usual to keep such chronicles in the  ing the Anglo-Saxon Period, 2 vols., 4to;
monasteries; but there were also, probably, and, History of England, Anglo-Saxon Pe.
public or national registers, in which theac-  riod [FCamily Library, vol. xxi.]; Kemble,
cession of the kings and other such events  Saxons in England, 2 vols., 8vo; Lappenwere recorded.                            berg, England under the Anglo-Saxon Kings,
Of King Alfred's works, who must also be  translated from the German, with additions,
regarded as one of the Anglo-Saxon authors, by Thorpe, 2 vols., 8vo. On the influence of
we have already spoken. Other prose writers the Danes in England, the best work is Worare St. Wulfstan, Archbishop Wulfstan, bet- saee, An Account of the Danes and Norwe.
ter known by his Latin name of Lupus, and  gians in England, Scotland, anzd Ireland.




Silver Penny of William the Conqueror, struck at Chester-unique.
Obverse: + PILLELM REX; bust, front face, crowned, with sceptre in right hand.
Reverse: + VNNVLF ON CESTRE; cross potent, in each angle a circle, containing respectively PAXS.
BOOK  II.
ANGLO-NORMAN KINGS.
A.D. 1066-1199.
CHAPTER V.
WILLIA3I L., SURNAMED THE CONQUEROR. A.D. 1066-1087.
~ 1. History of Normandy. Rolf the Ganger. William I. Longue-epee.
Richard I. Sans-peur. ~ 2. Richard II. Le Bon. Richard III. Robert the Devil. William II. of Normandy and I. of England. ~ 3. Norman Manners. ~ 4. Consequences  of the Battle of Hastings.  Submission of the English. ~ 5. Settlement of the Government. ~ 6. William's
Return to Normandy. Revolts of the English, suppressed upon William's
Return to England. ~ 7. New Insurrections in 1068. ~ 8. Insurrections
in 1069. Landing of the Danes. ~ 9. Deposition of Stigand and the
Anglo-Saxon Prelates. ~ 10. Last Struggle of the English. Conquest
of Hereward. ~ 11. Insurrection of the Norman Barons. ~ 12. Revolt
of Prince Robert. ~ 13. Projected Invasion of Canute. Domesday Book.
War with France and Death of William.  ~ 14. Character of William.
His Administration.  Forest Laws. Curfew-bell. Population.
~ 1. TIIE Norman conquest produced a complete revolution in
the manners as well as in the government of the English; and we
must, therefore, here pause a while in order to take a brief view
of the conquerors in their native homes. For the next century
English history consists of a graft of the history of Normandy
upon that of England; and the latter, therefore, will be better
understood from some knowledge of the Normans themselves.
For a long period the coasts of France, like those of England,
were ravaged by the incursions of the Northmen; and for the
greater part of a century the monks made the Neustrian churches
re-echo with the dismal chant of the litany, "A  furore Normannorum libera nos, Domine."  Thus the way was prepared for the
final subjugation of the country by Rolf, or Rollo, son of the Nor



78              HISTORY OF NORMANDY.               CHAP. V.
wegian jarl Rognwald. Rollo is said to have been so large of
limb that no horse could be found to carry him, whence his name
of i "Rolf the Ganger," or walker; though another, and perhaps
more probable, derivation of his surname is from the restlessness
of his expeditions. It was in November, 876, that Rollo first
landed in Neustria; but he made no settlement there on that occasion, and he had to fight and struggle long before he could obtain possession of his future dominions. In 912 the French king,
Charles the Simple, conciliated him by the cession of a considerable part of Neustria.  On this occasion lRollo, abjuring his pagan
gods, became a Christian; the Archbishop of Rouen baptized
him; and Robert, Duke of France, his sponsor at the font, gave
him his daughter Gisele in marriage. After the completion of
the treaty Rollo was required to do homage to Charles for his
newly-acquired domains. Feebleness has a natural hankering
after the semblance of power. In their declining days the Greek
emperors retained and exaggerated the ceremony of adoration introduced by Diocletian from the forms of eastern servitude: the
last feeble monarchs of the Carlovingian race adopted the example of the court of Byzantium, and their vassals were expected
to fall, and kiss their feet, a humiliating ceremony retained by the
pride of the Roman pontiff after it has been banished from the
courts of temporal princes. When the bold Northman heard the
condition of his tenure he started back with indignation, exclaiming Ne si by Gott! But the ceremony being insisted on, Rollo deputed one of his soldiers to perform it; who, raising Charles's
foot instead of lowering his own mouth, threw the monarch on
his back! 
Homage performed in such a fashion did not' promise a very
obedient vassal; and in the course of a few years Rollo's risings
and rebellions extorted new cessions of territory. But toward the
close of his life he found it expedient to connect himself more
closely with the court of France, and allowed his son William to
receive investiture from King Charles at Eu. Rollo died in 931.
In 933 we find his son and successor, Guillaume Longue-epee, or
William Long-sword, doing homage to King Raoul, and receiving
Cornouaille, subsequently known as the Cotentin, from that monarch, whereby the western boundary of Normandy was extended
to the sea. The name of "Normandy," however, does not appear till the 11th century; and in the earlier times the county
and the count, for it was not at first a dukedom, appear to have
been called after the capital, Rouen. Already in the time of
William, though only the second sovereign, the court had become
entirely French in language and manners; though a pure Norwegian population still occupied the parts near the coast. Hence




A.D. 876-1035.   HISTORY OF NORMANDY.                    79
William, who wished that his son and heir, Richard, should be
able to speak to his Norse subjects in their own tongue, sent him
to Bayeux to be educated.  William was murdered by some Flemings in 942. He had, however, previously engaged his subjects
to acknowledge his youthful son, Richard, afterward known by
the surname of " Sans Peur." This prince married Emma,
daughter of Hugh le Grand, and was one of the chief partisans
who established his son Hugh Capet on the throne of France.
Richard was engaged in a war with England, the causes of which
remain unexplained. It was terminated through the mediation
of Pope John XV., by a treaty of peace signed at Rouen on the
1st March 991; the first treaty ever made between France and
England.
~ 2. By the sister of Hugh Capet Richard Sans Peur had no
children; but by Gunnor, his second wife, he left five sons and
three daughters, among whom, besides his successor, Richard II.,
or le Bon, was Emma, wife of Ethelred II. of England, and subsequently of Canute. Richard II., like his father, was a minor
at his accession in 996, of which circumstance the oppressed peasantry took advantage and rose in rebellion; but the insurrection
was soon put down. Richard's reign is peculiarly interesting to
us in consequence of his intimate connections with England,
which, continuing under his successor Robert, contributed much
to introduce Norman civilization and influence into this country,
and to effect its moral subjugation before the actual conquest.
Richard le Bon died in 1026. His eldest son and successor,
Richard III., was poisoned after a short reign by his brother
Robert, surnamed the Devil, an appellation conferred out of no
playful allusion, but from the feelings which he really inspired.
Robert assumed the reins of government in 1028, not without a
struggle.  His short reign was marked by a fresh acquisition of
territory; but a few years after his accession, struck probably
with remorse for the murder of his brother, he resolved to make
a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and died on his return-it is said bv
poison-at Nice in Bithynia, in the summer of 1035. Before his
departure to the Holy Land he had induced the Norman barons
to acknowledge as his successor his natural son William, to whom
lie was much attached, and whom a concubine at Falaise had
borne to him in 1027. But upon the death of Robert many of
the barons refused to acknowledge the bastard; and during his
minority the country was torn asunder by the feuds of the nobility. As soon, however, as he arrived at manhood, William asserted his rights by force of arms; he triumphed over all his adversaries, and success and energy caused him to be feared and
courted by the other princes of Europe.  Baldwin of Flanders




80                        WILLIAM j.                    CHAP. V
had bestowed upon him his daughter Matilda in marriage.  His
ambitious, designing, and unscrupulous temper shrunk from  no
crimes serviceable to his interests: but he expiated his offenses
by his devotion and munificence toward the Romish Church; and,
therefore, the Pope blessed and hallowed his expedition against
England in 1066.*
~ 3. The Normans, when they invaded England, had lost all
trace of their northern origin in language and manners; and
though no good will existed between them and their French neighbors, yet they were become in these respects completely French.
It has been already remarked that, under the second Norman
prince, the Danish language had become obsolete in the Norman
capital.  It was in Normandy, indeed, as Sir F. Palgrave observes,
"- that the langue d'oil acquired its greatest polish and regularity.
The earliest specimens of the French language, in the proper sense
of the term, are now surrendered by the French philologists to
the Normans. "t  They were thus completely estranged from their
Norwegian brethren, who would willingly have rescued England
from their grasp; yet the more essential attributes of body and
mind are not so easily shaken off as language and conventional
manners; and the Normans were still distinguished from the other natives of France by their large limbs and fair complexions as
well as by their moral qualities.  William the Conqueror himself
is made to represent them as proud, hard to govern, and litigious.
The imputation of craft and vindictiveness made against them by
Malaterra is confirmed by several French proverbs.I
We now resume the thread of the narrative.
~ 4. Nothing could exceed the consternation which seized the
English when they received intelligence of the unfortunate battle
of Hastings, the death of their king, the slaughter of their princi* GENEALOGY OF WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR,
FROMIX ROTLO, FIRST DUKE OF NOILMANDY.
Rollo the Ganger, d. 931.
William Longue-epee, d. 942.
Richard I. Sans Peur, d. 996.
Richard II. le Bon, d. 1026.  Emma, m. Etholred.
1'    I
Richard III., d. 1028.  Robert the Devil, d. 1035.
WILLIAM
(by Harlotta).
t Normandy and England, vol. i., p. 703.
t As Reponse Normande, for an ambiguous answer; Unpfin Normand, a
sly fellow, not much to be relied on; and Reconciliation Normande, for a
pretended re.conciliation, which does not banish all projects of vengeance.




A.D. 1035-1066.  SUBMISSION OF THE ENGLISH.            81
pal nobility and of their bravest warriors, and the rout and dispersion of the remainder.  That they might not, however, be altogether wanting to themselves in this extreme necessity, they
took some steps toward uniting themselves against the common
enemy. The two potent earls, Edwin and Morcar, who had fled
to London with the remains of the broken army, took the lead on
this occasion: in concert with Stigand, Archbishop of Canterbury,
they proclaimed Edgar Atheling, and endeavored to put the people in a posture of defense. William, that his enemies might have
no leisure to recover from their consternation, or unite their counsels, immediately put himself in motion after his victory, and advanced against Dover, which immediately capitulated. The SN-orman army, being much distressed with a dysentery, was obliged to
remain here eight days, but the duke, on their recovery, advanced
with quick marches toward London. A repulse which a body of
Londoners received from 300 Norman horse, renewed in the city
the terror of the great defeat at Hastings; even the earls Edwin
and Morcar, in despair of making effectual resistance, retired with
their troops to their own provinces. As soon as he passed the
Thames at Wallingford, and reached Berkhampstead, Stigand, the
primate, made submissions to him; and, before he came within
sight of the city, all the chief nobility, and Edgar Atheling himself, the newly elected king, came into his camp, and declared their
intention of yielding to his authority. Orders were immediately
issued to prepare every thing for the ceremony of his' coronation;
and William, pretending that the primate had obtained his pall in
an irregular manner from Pope Benedict IX., who was himself a
usurper, refused to be consecrated by him, and conferred this honor on Aldred, Archbishop of York. Westminster Abbey was the
place appointed for that magnificent ceremony (Dec. 25).  The
most considerable of the nobility, both English and Norman, attended the duke on this occasion: Aldred, in a short speech, asked
the English whether they agreed to accept of William as their
king; the Bishop of Coutance put the same question to the Normans; and both being answered with acclamations, Aldred administered to the duke the usual coronation oath, by which he bound
himself to protect the Church, to administer justice, and to repress
violence: he then anointed him, and put the crown upon his
head. There appeared nothing but joy in the countenance of thG
spectators; but in that very moment there burst forth the strongest symptoms of the jealousy and animosity which prevailed between the nations, and which continually increased during the
reign of this prince. The Norman soldiers, who were placed
without in order to guard the church, hearing the shouts within,
pretended to fancy that the English were offering violence to their
D2




82                      WILLIAM I.                  CHAP. V.
duke; and they immediately assaulted the populace, and set fire
to the neighboring houses. The alarm was conveyed to the nobility who surrounded the prince; both English and Normans, fiull
of apprehensions, rushed out to secure themselves from the present
danger; and it was with difficulty that William himself was able
to appease the tumult.
~ 5. The king, thus possessed of.the throne by a pretended destination/of King, Edward, and by an irregular election of the people, but still more by force of arms, retired from London to Barking in Essex, and there received the submissions of all the nobility
who had not attended his coronation. Even Edwin and Morcar,
with the other principal noblemen of England, came and swore
fealty to him, were received into favor, and were confirmed in the
possession of their estates and dignities. William sent Harold's
standard to the Pope, accompanied with many valuable presents:
all the considerable monasteries and churches in France, where
prayers had been put up for his success, now tasted of his bounty:
the English monks found him well disposed to favor their order:
and he built a new convent near Hastings, which he called Battle
Abbey, and which, on pretense of supporting monks to pray fbr
his own soul, and for that of Harold, served as a lasting memorial
of his victory.
William introduced into England that strict execution of justice
for which his administration had been much celebrated in Normandy; and all his new subjects who approached his person were
received with affability and regard.  No signs of suspicion appeared, not even toward Edgar Atheling, the heir of the ancient
royal family, whom William confirmed in the honors of Earl of
Oxford, conferred on him by Harold, and whom he affected to
treat with the highest kindness, as nephew to the Confessor, his
great friend and benefactor. Though he confiscated the estates
of Harold and of others, yet most of the property was left in the
hands of its former possessors.  He confirmed the liberties and
immunities of London and the other. cities of England; and in his
whole administration he bore the semblance of the lawful prince,
not of the conqueror.  But amid this confidence and friendship
which he expressed for the English, he took care to place all real
power in the hands of his Normans, and still to keep possession
of the sword, to which he was sensible he had owed his advancement to sovereign authority.. He disarmed the city of London,
and other places which appeared most warlike and populous; and
building citadels in that capital, as well as in Winchester, Hereford, and the cities best situated for commanding the kingdom, he
quartered Norman soldiers in all of them, and left nowhere any
power able to resist or oppose him.




A.D. 1066, 1067.   REVOLTS OF THE ENGLISH.               83
~ 6. By this mixture of vigor and lenity he had so soothed the
minds of the English, that in the following year (1067) he thought
he might safely revisit his native country, and enjoy the congratulations of his ancient subjects.  He left the administration in the
hands of his uterine brother, Odo, Bishop of Baieux, and of William Fitz-Osberne, the latter of whom had rendered him the most
important services in the conquest of England. That their authority might be exposed to less danger, he carried over with him
all the most considerable nobility of England, who, while they
served to grace his court by their presence and magnificent retinues, were in reality hostages for the fidelity of the nation. Among
these were Edgar Atheling, Stigand the primate, the earls Edwin,
Morcar, and Waltheof, with others eminent for the greatness of
their fortunes and families, or for their ecclesiastical and civil dignities.  He was visited at the abbey of Fecamp, where he resided
during some time, by Rodulph, uncle to the King of France, and
by many powerful princes and nobles,'who, having contributed to
his enterprise, were desirous of participating in the joy and advantages of his success. His English courtiers, willing to ingratiate themselves with their new sovereign, outvied each other. in
equipages and entertainments, and made a display of riches which
struck the foreigners with astonishment.  William of Poitiers, a
Norman historian, who was present, speaks with admiration of
the beauty of their* persons, the size and workmanship of their
silver plate,- the costliness of their embroideries-an art in which
the English then excelled; and he expresses himself in such terms
as tend much to exalt our idea of the opulence and cultivation of
the people.
But the departure of William was the immediate cause of all
the calamities which the English endured during'this and:the subsequent reigns, and gave rise to those mutual jealousies and animosities between them and the Normans, which were neveir'appeased
till a long tract of time had gradually united the two nations, and
made them one people.'. During his absence discontents and com-plaints multiplied every where; secret conspiracies were entered
into against the government, and hostilities were already begun in
many places. The king, informed of these dangerous discontents,
hastened over to England; and, by his presence and the vigorous
measures which he pursued, disconcerted all the schemes of the
conspirators.  But he now began to regard all his English subjects as inveterate and irreclaimable enemies; and thenceforth
resolved to reduce them to the most abject slavery. After quelling some disturbances in the west of England, excited by Githa,
King Harold's mother, and building a fortress to overawe the city,
of Exeter, William returned to Winchester, and dispersed his army'
into their quar-ters.




84                     WILLIAM I.                 CHAP. V.
~ 7. At Winchester William was joined by his wife Matilda,
who had not before visited England, and whom he now ordered
to be crowned by Archbishop Aldred (1068). The Anglo-Saxon
nobles meantime formed a league for expelling the Normans from
their country. The two earls Edwin and Morcar, the former of
whom William had disgusted by refusing him the hand of his
daughter which he had promised, were the chief instigators of the
rebellion.  Cospatric, Earl of Northumberland, agreed to take up
arms; and the conspirators received promises of assistance from
the sons of Harold, who had fled to Ireland after the battle of
Hastings; from Blithwallon, King of North Wales; from Malcolm,
King of Scotland; and from Sweyn, King of Denmark. William
knew the importance of celerity in quelling such a formidable insurrection.  He immediately marched northward.  The earls
Edwin and Morcar had taken up a position near Warwick; but
they did not venture upon risking a battle with the Conqueror.
The sons of Harold landed upon the western coast of England,
but were defeated and compelled to retire to Ireland. In the
north, whither William had marched after the submission of the
earls at Warwick, the Normans were equally successful. York,
the only fortress in the country, was taken, and Cospatric, accompanied by Edgar Atheling and his sisters, fled to the court of
iIalcolm in Scotland.  Thereupon the latter concluded a peace
with William, and did homage tb him for Cumuberland and other
lands which he held in England. By this act the conquest of
England may be regarded as completed.
~ 8. In 1069 the insurrection again broke out in the north.
The Danes, after having made two or three vain attempts on the
southeastern coast, landed in the Humber under the command of
the sons of King Sweyn; and Edgar Atheling, with other leaders, appeared from Scotland. York was taken by assault, and
the Norman garrison, to the number of 3000 men, was put to the
sword. This success proved a signal to many other parts of England; and the inhabitants, repenting their former easy submission, seemed determined to make by concert one great effort for
the recovery of their liberties, and for the expulsion of their oppressors.
William first marched against the rebels in the north, and engaged the Danes by large presents, and by offering them the liberty of plundering the sea-coast, to retire, without committing farther hostilities. Having thus got rid of his most formidable opponents, William had no difficulty in crushing the rest of his enemies. Waltheof, one of the most important of the Anglo-Saxon
nobles, submitted to the Conqueror, and was rewarded with the
hand of Judith, the daughter of William's half-sister, and with




A.D. 1067-1070. DEPOSITION OF THE ENGLISH PRELATES. 85
the earldoms of Huntingdon and Northampton, to which that of
Northumberland was subsequently added. Malcolm, King of
Scotland, coming too late to support his confederates, was constrained to retire; the English leaders submitted, and all the
rebels dispersed themselves, and left the Normans undisputed
masters of the kingdom.  Edgar Atheling, with his followers,
sought again a retreat in Scotland from the pursuit of his enemies, where his sister Margaret was shortly afterward married to
Malcolm. William, who passed the winter in the north, issued
orders for laying entirely waste the fertile country which, for the
extent of' sixty miles, lies between the Humber and the Tees.
The lives of 100,000 persons are computed to have been sacrificed to this stroke of barbarous policy, and the country was rendered so desolate, that for several years afterward there was
hardly an inhabitant left. This act, which has been attributed
to William's vengeance upon the inhabitants, was rather, perhaps,
a cruel and ill-advised measure of precaution against the incursions of the Scots and Danes. It is not likely that so avaricious
and sagacious a prince should have resorted to a measure'that
crippled his own power and revenue merely out of a spirit of revenge. The same barbarous measure was resorted to in France
in much more civilized times, when the constable Montmorency
completely desolated Provence in order to check the advance of
the Emperor Charles V.
The insurrections and conspiracies in so many parts of the
kingdom had involved the bulk of the landed proprietors, more or
less, in the guilt of treason; and the king took advantage of executing against them, with the utmost rigor, the laws of forfeiture
and attainder. Their lives were indeed commonly spared, but
their estates were confiscated, and either annexed to the royal
demesnes, or conferred with the most profuse bounty on the Normans and other foreigners. Several of the Anglo-Saxon nobles,
despairing of the fortunes of their country, fled abroad. Some
took refuge at the court of Constantinople, where they entered
the service of the Greek emperor, and, being incorporated with
Danes and others, formed, under the name of Varangians, the imperial body-guard.
~ 9. William now proceeded to deprive the Anglo-Saxons of
all offices in the state, ecclesiastical as well as civil. The AngloSaxon Church had, to a certain extent, maintained its independence of the Roman see; and accordingly the Pope Alexander
willingly assisted William in depriving the Anglo-Saxon prelates
of their benefices. A papal legate was dispatched into England,
who summoned a council of prelates and abbots at Winchester
in 1070. In this council the legate, upon some frivolous charges,




86                     WTILLIAM I.                 CHAP. V.
degraded the Primate Stigand from his dignity; the king confiscated his estate, and confined him in Winchester Castle during
the remainder of his life. Like rigor was: exercised against the
other English prelates; and Wulstan of Worcester was the only
one that escaped this general proscription.  Even the AngloSaxon monasteries were plundered, and their plate carried off to
the royal treasury.
Lanfranc, a Milanese. monk, celebrated for his learning and
piety, was promoted to the vacant see of Canterbury. This prelate was rigid in defending the prerogatives of- his station; and
after a long process before the Pope, he obliged Thomas, a Norman monk, who had been appointed to the see of York, to acknowledge the primacy of the Archbishop of Canterbury..But
William retained the Church in great subjection, as well as his
lay subjects, and would allow none, of whatever character, to dispute his sovereign will and pleasure.
~ 10. The situation of the two great earls, MIorcar and Edwin,
became now very disagreeable.  Sensible that they had entirely
lost their dignity, and could not even hope to remain long in
safety, they determined, though too late, to share the same fate
with their countrymen. -While Edwin retired to his estate in
the north, with a view of commencing an insurrection,l Morcar
took shelter with the brave Hereward in the Isle of Ely; and
the exploits of Ilereward against the Normans lived in the memory of the English. -IHe was in Flanders at the time of the Conquest; but hearing that his mother had been deprived of her
estate by a foreigner, he returned to England, drove out the intruder, and erected the banner of independence. HI-e was quickly
joined by other bold spirits, and, protected by the fens and morasses of the Isle of Ely, was able to bid defiance to William's
power.  But when the powerful Morcar had joined him, the king
found it necessary to employ all his endeavors to subdue their
stronghold, and having surrounded it with flat-bottomed boats,
and made a causeway through the morasses to the extent of two
miles, he obliged the rebels to surrender at discretion (1071).
Hereward alone forced his way,- sword in hand, through the enemy; and still continued his hostilities by sea against the Normans, till at last William, charmed with his bravery, received
him into favor, and restored him to his estate.  Earl Morcar
was thrown into prison, and died in confinement. Edwin, attempting to- make his escape into:Scotland, was betrayed by some
of his followers, and was killed by a party of Normans, to the
great affliction of the English.  To complete the ling's prosperity, Edgar Atheling himself, despairing of success, and weary
of a fugitive life, submitted to hisl enemy; and receiving a de



A.D. 1070-1075. iNSURRECTION OF THE NORMAN BARONS. 87
cent pension for his subsistence, was permitted to live at Rouen
unmolested.
~ 11. The conquest of England was complete; but the king
had now to encounter the jealousy and hostility of his companions
in arms.  I-lis imperious character had excited general discontent
among the haughty Norman nobles; and even Roger, Earl of
Hereford, son and heir of Fitz-Osberne, the' king's chief favorite,
was strongly infected with it. This nobleman, intending to marry his sister to Ralph de Guader, Earl of Norfolk, had thought it
his duty to inform the king of his purpose, and to desire the royal consent; but meeting with a refusal, he proceeded, nevertheless, to complete the nuptials, and assembled all his friends, and
those of Guader, to attend the solemnity.  The two. earls here
prepared measures for a revolt; and, during the gayety of the festival, while the company was heated with wine, they opened the
project to their guests. The whole company, inflamed with the
same sentiments, entered, by a solemn engagcment, into the design
of shaking off the royal authority.  Even Earl Waltheof;, who.
had married the Conqueror's niece, inconsiderately expressed his
approbation of the conspiracy, and promised his. concurrence toward its success. But, after his cool judgment returned, he foresaw that the conspiracy of those discontented barons was not
likely to prove successful against the established power of William; and he opened his mind to his wife Judith, of whose fidelity he entertained no suspicion, but who, having secretly fixed
her affections on another, took this opportunity of ruining her
easy and credulous husband. She conveyed intelligence of the
conspiracy to the king, and aggravated every circumstance which
she believed would tend to incense him against Waltheof, and
render him absolutely implacable. Meanwhile, the earl, at the
suggestion of Lanfranc, to whom he had discovered the secret,
went over to Normandy, whither William had gone some time
previously to quell an. insurrection in his province of Maine;
but, although he was well received by the king, and thanked for
his fidelity, the account previously transmitted by Judith had
sunk deep into W'illiam's mind, and had destroyed all the merit
of her husband's repentance.
The conspirators, hearing of W5altheof s departure, immediately concluded their design to be betrayed, and flew to arms before
their schemes were ripe for execution. They were defeated at
every point by the king's officers; and William, who hastened
over to England in order to suppress the insurrection, found that
nothing remained but the punishment of the criminals, which he
executed with great severity (A.D. 1075). Agreeably to his usual
maxims, he showed more lenity to their leader, the Earl of Here



88                      WILLIAM I.                 CHAP. V.
ford, who was only condemned to a forfeiture of his estate, and to
imprisonment during pleasure. But Waltheof, being an Englishman, was not treated with so much humanity. The king, instigated by Judith, as well as by his rapacious courtiers, who longed for so rich a forfeiture, ordered him to be tried, condemned,
and executed. The English, who considered this nobleman as
the last resource of their nation, grievously lamented his fate, and
fancied that miracles were wrought by his relics, as a testimony
of his innocence and sanctity. The infamous Judith, falling
soon after under the king's displeasure, was abandoned by all the
world, and passed the rest of her life in contempt, remorse, and
misery.
~ 12. The king afterward passed some years in Normandy,
where he was detained by the revolt of his eldest son Robert, who,
on account of some real or imaginary grievances, had openly levied
war against his father.  William called over an army of English
under his ancient captains, who soon expelled Robert and his adherents from their retreats, and restored the authority of the sovereign in all his dominions. The young prince was obliged to
take shelter in the castle of Gerberoy in the Beauvoisis, which the
King of France, who secretly fomented all these dissensions, had
provided for him. There passed under the walls'of this place
many rencounters which resembled more the single combats of
chivalry than the military actions of armies; but one of them was
remarkable for its circumstances and its event. Robert happened
to engage the king, who was concealed by his helmet; and both
of them being valiant, a fierce combat ensued, till at last the young
prince wounded his father in the arm, and unhorsed him.  On his
calling out for assistance, his voice discovered him to his son, who,
struck with remorse for his past guilt, and astonished with the
apprehensions of one much greater, which he had so nearly incurred, instantly threw himself at his father's feet, craved pardon
for his offenses, and offered to purchase forgiveness by any atonement. The interposition of the queen, and other common friends,
at length brought about a reconcilement, which was probably not
a little forwarded by the generosity of the son's behavior in this
action, and by the returning sense of his past misconduct. The
king seemed so fully appeased, that he even took Robert with him
into England; where he intrusted him with the command of an
army, in order to repel an inroad of Malcolm, King of Scotland,
and to retaliate by a like inroad into that country.  The Welsh,
unable to resist William's power, were about the same time necessitated to pay a compensation for their incursions; and every
thing was reduced to full tranquillity in this island. (1079.)
~ 13. The remaining transactions of this reign are not of much




A.D. 1075-1087.     DEATH OF WILLIAM I.                      89
importance. In the year 1085, Canute, who had succeeded Sweyn
in the kingdom of Denmark, collected a large fleet with thedesign of invading England; which, though from various causes not
carried into execution, nevertheless, occasioned some calamity to
the nation.  The odious tax of Danegelt was reimposed; a large
army of foreigners was brought over from the Continent; and the
lands adjoining the sea-coast were laid waste in order to deprive
the expected enemy of support. In the following year William
received at Salisbury the oath of fealty from all the freeholders
of the kingdom; a consequence of that peculiar form of feudalism
which he had introduced from his Norman dominions, and which
will be described at the conclusion of this book. The preparation of Domesday Book,* completed in 1086, was perhaps connected with this event.
In 1087 William was detained on the Continent by a misunderstanding which broke out between him and the King of France,
and which was occasioned by inroads made into Normandy by
some French barons on the frontiers. His displeasure was increased by the account he received of some railleries which that
mnonarch had thrown out against him.  William, who was become
corpulent, had been detained in bed some time by sickness; upon
which Philip expressed.his surprise that his brother of England
should be so long in lying in.  The king sent him word that, as
soon as he was up, lie would present so many lights at Notre
Dame as would perhaps give little pleasure to the King of France
-alluding to the usual practice at that time of women after childbirth.  Immediately on his recovery he led an army into l'Isle de
France, and laid every thing waste with fire and sword.  But the
progress of these hostilities was stopped by an accident which soon
after put an end to William's life. His soldiers having burned the
town of Mantes, William rode to view the scene; adcl as his horse,
treading upon some hot ashes, started aside, the king was thrown
violently on the pommel of the saddle; and, being in a bad habit
of body, as well as somewhat advanced in years, he began to apprehend the consequences, anid ordered himself to be carried in a
* This important national record derives its name, according to Ingulphus, a contemporary writer, from its resembling the last judgment in its
universality and completeness (Hallam, Middle Ages, vol. iii., p. 361, note);
though some have considered it a corruption of Donzus Dei, the name of the
chapel. in Winchester Cathedral where it was preserved. It was compiled
by committees appointed by royal commissioners in the different counties,
and shows the extent, nature, and divisions of the landed property in each;
and the products of various kinds, as woods, fisheries, mines, etc. It consists of two volumes, a large folio and a quarto, both written on vellum. It
was printed by the government in 17,83. A complete account of it will b3
found in Sir H. Ellis's General Introduction to _Domes&dc  Book, 2 vols., 8vo.




90                      WILLIAM I.                 CHAP. V.
litter to the monastery of St. Gervas. Finding his illness increase,
and being sensible of the approach of death, he discovered at last
the vanity of all human grandeur, and was struck with remorse
for those horrible cruelties and acts of violence which he had committed during the course of his reign over England. I-He endeavored to make atonement by presents to churches and monasteries;
and he issued orders that several prisoners should be set at liberty.
He left Normandy and Maine to his eldest son Robert; he wrote
to Lanfranc, desiring him to crown William King of England; to
Henry he bequeathed 5000 pounds of silver.  His second son,
Richard, had been killed while hunting in the New Forest.
~ 14. William expired in the 61st year of his age, in the 21st
year of his reign over England, and in the 54th of that over Normandy. He was buried in the church of St. Stephen at Caen.
Few princes have been more fortunate than this great monarch,
or were better entitled to grandeur and prosperity from the abilities and the vigor of mind which he displayed in all his conduct.
His spirit was bold and enterprising, yet guided by prudence; his
ambition, which was exorbitant, and lay little under the restraints
of justice, still less under those of humanity, ever submitted to the
dictates of sound policy. Born in an age when the minds of men
were intractable and unacquainted with.submission, he was yet
able to direct them to his purposes; and, partly from the ascendant'of his vehement character, partly from art and dissimulation,
to establish an unlimited authority.  Though not insensible to
generosity, he was hardened against compassion; and in the difficult enterprise of subduing a brave and warlike people he succeeded so completely that he transmitted his power to his descendants. Except the former conquest of England by the Saxons themselves, it would be difficult to find in all history a revolution more destructive or attended with a more complete subjection of the ancient inhabitants. Contumely seems even to have
been wantonly added to oppression; and the natives were universally reduced to such a state of meanness and poverty, that
the English name became a term of reproach, and several generations elapsed before one family of Saxon pedigree was raised to
any considerable honors, or could so much as attain the rank of
baron of the realm.
The arbitrary administration of William was particularly displayed in the forest laws. William, like all the Normans, was
extremely fond of hunting; and, according to the quaint expression of the Saxon chronicler, " loved the tall game as if he had
been their father." The forests appear to have been protected
before the Conquest; but William established the most severe
penalties for the preservation of the game. The killing of a deer.




AD. 1087.           HIS ADMINISTRATION.                        91
or. boar, or even a hare, was punished with the loss of the delinquent's eyes; and that at a time when the killing of a man could
be atoned fbr by paying a moderate fine or composition.  In forming the New Forest in the neighborhood of his palace at Winchester, the country around was " afforested," by which term we
are to understand, not that it was planted with trees, but that it
was rendered subject to the forest laws.  It is said that many
churches and villages in this tract were destroyed f'or the purpose
of making the forest; but their number has been probably exagogerated.
The numerous castles erected in all parts of England during
the reign of the Conqueror were at once the means and the visible signs of Anglo-Saxon subjection. ~ Of these strong-holds of
the aristocracy, without which feudalism could not have been perfectly established, no fewer than 48 are recorded in Domesday
30ook as erected since the time of Edward the Confessor.
William is said to have introduced the practice of the cuifew
(i.e., couvrefeu) bell, upon the ringing of which all fires had to be
covered up at sunset in summer, and about eight at night in the
winter. - This was regarded as a badge of servitude by the English; but it was the custom in Normandy, and indeed in many
other countries, in the Middle Ages, and was observed as a precaution against fire.
The whole number of persons registered in Domesday Book is
about 283,000. With the cities and omitted counties we may
reckon 300,000 heads of families in England in the reign of the
Conqueror; and the whole population can not, therefore, be estimated at much more than a million.
CHRONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE EVENTS.
A.D.                             A.D.
1066. Coronation of William the Conqueror. 10T8. Revolt of Prince Robert in Normandy.
1071. Earl IHereward subdued in Lincoln- 1086. William receives -the oath of fealty
shire and all England finally reduced.  from all the English freeholders.
10T5. Insurrection of the Norman barons in 1087. Death of the Conqueror.
England.




92                                 WILLIAM  1.                             CHAP. V.
DESCENDANTS OF WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR, DOWN TO
HENRY II.
WILLIAM I.
b.'1027. d. T Sept. 10ST.
m. Matilda, d. of Baldwin,
C(ount of Flanders.
I
Robert.     Richard.      WILLIAM IT.           HCENRY I.             6 daughters,
d. 2 Aug. 1100.     d. 1 Dec. 1135.
m. 1. Matilda of Scotland;   Of whom Adela,
2. Adeliza of Louvain     the fourth, m.
(by whom, no children).    Stephen, Count
of Blois.
I  I              I                 I            [
William.           Matilda.           Robert        Several other STEPHEN.
d. 1120.       m. 1. Henry V.  (by a concubine).   illegitimate    d. 1154.
m. Matilda, d. of    of Germany.          d. 1147.        children.
Fulk of Anjou.  2. Geoffrey of Anjou.
HENRY IL




Henry of Elois, Bishop of VWinchester, and brother of IKing Stephen. From,an
enameled plate in the British AMuseum.*
CHAPTER VI.
WILLIAM. II., HENRY I., STEPEIEN. A.D. 1087-1154.
1 A. Accession of WILLIAM RUFUS. Conspiracy against the King. ~ 2. Invasion of Normandy, and other Wars. ~ 3. Acquisition of Normandy.
~ 4. Quarrel with Anselm, the Primate.  ~ 5. Transactions in France.
Death and Character of Rufus.  ~ 6. Accession of HENRY I. His Charter.  ~ 7. Marriage of the King.  ~ 8. Duke Robert invades England.
Accommodation with him.  ~ 9. Henry invades and conquers Normandy. ~ 10. Ecclesiastical Affairs. Disputes respecting Investitures. ~ 11.
Wars abroad. Death. of Prince William.  ~ 12. Henry's second Marriage. Marriage of his Daughter. His Death and Character.  ~ 13.
Accession of STEPHEN. Measures for securing the Government.  ~ 14.
Stephen acknowledged in Normandy.  Disturbances in England.  ~ 15.
Matilda invades England, and obtains the Crown. Her Flight.  ~ 16.
* For an explanation of the inscription, see Labarte, "Arts of the Middle Ages," p. xxiv.




WILLIAM II.                CHAP. VI.
P'rince Henry in England. Acknowledged as Stephen's Successor.
Death and Character of Stephen.
~ 1. VIJLLIAM II., A.D. 1087-1100.-AVilliam, surnamed R1?tfus,
or the Red, from the color of his hair, had no sooner procured his
father's recommendatory letter to Lanfranc, the primate, than he
hastened to England, and arrived before intelligence of his father's
death had reached that kingdom. Pretending orders from the
king, he secured the fortresses of Dover, Pevensey, and Hastings;
and got possession of the royal treasure at Winchester, amounting
to the sum of 60,000 pounds. The primate, having assembled
some bishops and some of the principal nobility, instantly proceeded to the ceremony of crowning the new king (Sept. 26); and
by this dispatch endeavored to prevent all faction and resistance.
The Norman barons, however, would, for many reasons, have preferred the succession of the Conqueror's eldest son Robert to the
throne of England; and Odo, Bishop of Baieux, and Robert, Earl
of Mortaigne, maternal brothers of the Conqueror, envying the
great credit of Lanfranc, which was increased by his late services,
availed themselves of this feeling, and engaged their partisans in
a formal conspiracy to dethrone the king. But William, having
gained the affections of the native English by general promises of
good treatment, and of an amelioration of the forest laws, was
soon in a situation to take the field; and by the rapidity of his
movements speedily crushed the rebellion. Freed, however, from
the danger of these insurrections, he took little care of fulfilling
his promises to the English; who still found theniselves exposed
to the same oppressions which they had undergone during the
reign of the Conqueror, and which were rather augmented by the
violent and impetuous temper of the present monarch. The death
of Lanfranc (1089), who retained great influence over him, gave
soon after a full career to his tyranny; and all orders of men
found reason to complain of an arbitrary and illegal administration. Even the privileges of the Church, held sacred in those
days, were a feeble rampart against his' usurpations; but the terror of William's authority, confirmed by the suppression of the
late insurrections, retained every one in subjection, and preserved
general tranquillity in England.
~ 2. Having thus strengthened his power in England, William
invaded the dominions of his brother Robert in Normandy (1090).
The war, however, was brought -to an end by the mediation of the
nobility on both sides, strongly connected by interest and alliances;
and the two brothers also stipulated that, on the demise of either
without issue, the survivor should inherit all his dominions. Prince
Henry, disgusted that little care had been taken of his interests in
this accommodation, retired to St. Michael's Moount, a strong for



A.D. 1087-1091.   ACQUISITION OF NORMANDY.              95
tress on the coast of Normandy, and infested the neighborhood
with his incursions. Robert and William, with their joint forces,
besieged him in this place, and had nearly reduced him by the
scarcity of water; when the elder, hearing of his distress, granted
him permission to supply himself, and also sent him some pipes
of wine for his own table. Being reproved by William for this
ill-timed generosity, he replied, " What, shall I suffer my brother
to die of thirst? Where shall we find another when he is gone?"
The king, also, during this siege, performed an act of generosity
which was less suitable to his character. Riding out one day
alone, to take a survey of the fortress, he was attacked by two
soldiers and dismounted. One of them drew his sword in order
to dispatch him, when the king exclaimed, "Hold, knave! I am
the King of England."  The soldier suspended his blow; and
raising the king from the ground with expressions of respect, received a handsome reward, and was taken into his service. Prince
Henry was soon after obliged to capitulate; and being despoiled
of all his patrimony, wandered about for some time with very few
attendants, and often in great poverty.  Robert returned with
William to England; and the king soon after, accompanied by
his brother, led an army into Scotland, and obliged Malcolm to
accept terms of peace (1091), which was mediated by Robert on
the part of William, and by Edgar Atheling on that of Malcolm.
Advantageous conditions were stipulated for Edgar, who returned
to, England; Malcolm consented to do homage to William; and
Cumberland, formerly held by, the Scottish kings as a fief under
the English crown, was now reduced to an English county, and
secured by the fortification of Carlisle.
~ 3. All Europe, but especially France and Germany, was at
this time carried away with the phrensy of the crusade preached
by Peter the Hermit for the recovery of the holy sepulchre at
Jerusalem.*  Robert, Duke of Normandy, impelled by the bravery of his spirit, had early enlisted himself among the crusaders;
but being always unprovided with money, he resolved to mortgage his dominions for a term of five years; and he offered them
to his brother William for the very unequal sum of 10,000 marks.
The bargain was soon concluded; the king raised the money by
violent extortions on his subjects of all ranks, even on the convents, which were obliged to melt their plate in order to furnish
the quota demanded of them: he was put in possession of Normandy and Maine; and Robert, providing himself with a magnifieent train, set out for the Holy Land.
~ 4. William was destitute alike of religious feeling and re* The history of the Crusades is narrated in the Student's Gibbon, p
545, seq.




96                     WILLIAM II.                CHAP. VI:
ligious principle, and during the latter part of his reign was engaged in quarrels with the Church.  After the death of Lanfranc, the king, for several years, retained in his own hands the
revenues of Canterbury, as he did those of many other vacant
bishoprics; but, falling into a dangerous sickness, he was seized
with remorse, and resolved, therefore, to supply instantly the vacancy of Canterbury (1093). For that purpose he sent for Anselm, a Piedmontese by birth, Abbot of Bec in Normandy, who
was much celebrated for his learning and piety, and whom he
persuaded with difficulty to accept the high dignity. William
soon after recovered; and his passions regaining their wonted
vigor, he returned to his former violence and rapine. H1-e still
preyed upon the ecclesiastical benefices; the sale of spiritual dignities continued as open as ever; and he kept possession of a
considerable part of the revenues belonging to the see of Canterbury.  But he found in Anselm the most persevering opposition,
which was the more dangerous on account of the character of
piety which he soon acquired in England by his great zeal against
all abuses.
There was at that time a schism in the Church between Urban and Clement, who both pretended to the papacy; and Anselm, who, as Abbot of Bec, had already acknowledged Urban, was
determined, without the king's consent, to introduce his authority
into England.  William was enraged at this attempt, and summoned a synod with an intention of deposing Anselrm; but he
was at last engaged by other motives to give the preference to
Urban's title.  Anselm received the pall from that pontiff; and
matters seemed to be accommodated between the king and the
primate, when the quarrel broke out afresh firom a new cause.
William had undertaken an expedition against Wales, and required the archbishop to furnish his quota of soldiers for that
service; but Anselm sent them so miserably accoutred, that the
king was extremely displeased, and threatened him with a prosecution. Anselm, on the other hand, demanded positively that all
the revenues of his see should be restored to him; appealed to
Rome against the king's injustice; and affairs came to such extremities, that the primate, finding it dangerous to remain in the
kingdom, desired and obtained the king's permission to retire beyond sea (1097). All his temporalities were seized; but he was
received with great respect by Urban, who considered him as a
martyr in the cause of religion, and even menaced the king, on
account of his proceedings against the primate and the Church,
with the sentence of excommunication.
~ 5. In 1099 the Crusaders became masters of Jerusalem.
Their success stimulated others to follow their example; and




A.D. 1091-1100. DEATH AND CHARACTER OF RUFUS.            97
William, Duke of Guienne and Count of Poitiers, like Robert,
offered to mortgage all his dominions to William, in order to
raise money for the purpose of proceeding to the Holy Land with
an immense body of followers. The king accepted the offer, and
had prepared a fleet and an army in order to escort the money
and take possession of the rich provinces of Guienne and Poitou,
when an accident put an end to his life and to all his ambitious
projects.  He was engaged in hunting in the New Forest, attended by Walter Tyrrel, a French gentleman, remarkable for
his address in archery; and as William had dismounted after a
chase, Tyrrel, impatient to show his dexterity, let fly an arrow
at a. stag which suddenly started before him. The arrow, glancing from a tree, struck the king in the breast, and instantly slew
him;* while Tyrrel, without informing any one of the accident,
put spurs to his horse, hastened to the sea-shore, embarked for
France, and joined the crusade.  The body of William  was
found in the forest by the country people, and was buried at
Winchester.  Tradition long pointed out the tree struck by Tyrrel's arrow, and a stone still commemorates the spot where it
stood.
William seems to have been a violent and tyrannical prince;
a perfidious, encroaching, and dangerous neighbor; an unkind
and ungenerous relation.  He was equally prodigal and rapacious in the management of his treasury; and if he possessed abilities, he lay so much under the government of impetuous passions that he made little use of them in his administration. He
built a new bridge across the Thames at London, surrounded the
Tower with a wall, and erected Westminster Hall, which still
remains a noble specimen of the architecture of the time. It was
remarked in that age that Richard, an elder brother of William's,
perished by accident in the New Forest; Richard, his nephew,
natural son of Duke Robert, lost his life in the same place, after
the same manner. And all men, upon the king's fate, exclaimed
that, as the Conqueror had been guilty of extreme violence in
expelling all the inhabitants of that large district to make room
for his game, the just vengeance of Heaven was signalized in the
same place by the slaughter of his posterity. William was killed
on August 2d, 1100, in the 13th year of his reign, and about
the 40th of his age. As he was never married, he left no legitimate issue.
~ 6. tIENRY I., surnamed BEAUCIERC, A.D. 1100-1135.-Henry was hunting with Rufus in the New Forest when intelligence
of that monarch's death was brought him; and being sensible of
* Such is the received account;. but there are grounds for suspecting that
Rufus was assassinated by an attendant.
E




98                      HENRY I.                  CHAP. VI.
the advantage attending the conjuncture, he hurried to Winchester, in order to secure the royal treasure. From thence, without
losing a moment, he hastened to London; and having assembled
some noblemen and prelates, whom his address, or abilities, or
presents gained to his side, he was suddenly elected, or rather
saluted king, and immediately proceeded to the exercise of royal
authority. In less than three days after his brother's death the
ceremony of his coronation was performed by Maurice, Bishop
of London (Aug. 5). As Henry had usurped the throne in violation of the undoubted right of Robert, who had not yet returned from Palestine, he resolved, by fair professions at least, to gain
the affections of all his subjects. He granted a charter, in which
he promised-to the Church, that he would not seize the revenues of any see or abbey during a vacancy-to the barons and
other tenants of the crown, that he would not oppress them with
feudal exactions-and to the people, that he would observe the
laws of King Edward the Confessor. This charter purports to
have been passed with the advice and consent of the barons of
England, who are here mentioned for the first time instead of the
witan. Henry at the same time granted a charter to London,
which seems to have been the first step toward rendering that
city a corporation.
~ 7. Sensible of the great authority which Anselm had acquired, Henry invited him to return.  On his arrival the'king
had recourse to his authority respecting his marriage with Matilda, daughter of Malcolm III., King of Scotland, and niece to
Edgar Atbeling, who had been educated under her aunt Christina in the nunnery of Rumsey: since, as she had worn the veil,
though never taken the vows, doubts might arise concerning the
lawfulness of the act. The affair was examined by Anselm, in
a council of the prelates and nobles which was summoned at
Lambeth; and Matilda there proved that she had put on the
veil, not with a view of entering into a religious life, but merely
in consequence of a custom then familiar to the English ladies,
who protected their chastity from the brutal violence of the Normans, by taking shelter under that habit, which, amid the horrible licentiousness of the times, was yet generally revered. The
council pronounced that Matilda was still free to marry; and
her espousals with Henry were celebrated by Anselm with great
pomp and solemnity. No act of the king's reign rendered him
equally popular with his English subjects, and tended more to
establish him on the throne.
~ 8. Meanwhile, Robert had taken possession of Normandy
without opposition, and immediately made preparations for recovering England, of which, during his absence, he had been so




A.D. 1100-1106.    HE CONQUERS NORMANDY.               99
unjustly defrauded. - The great fame which he had acquired in
the East forwarded his pretensions, and many of the Norman
barons, discontented at the separation of the duchy and kingdom,
invited him to make an attempt upon England, and promised to
join him with.all their forces. Robert landed with his followers
at Portsmouth (July 19, 1101); and 1-Henry, who had collected
an army chiefly through the influence of the primate, advanced to
meet him. The two armies lay in sigllt of each other for some
days without coming to action, and both princes, being apprehensive of the event, which would probably be decisive, hearkened the more willingly to the counsels of Anselm and the other
great men, who mediated an accommodation between them. It
was agreed that Robert should resign his pretensions to England,
and receive in lieu of them an annual pension of 3000 marks;
that, if either of the princes died without issue, the other should
succeed to his dominions; that the adherents of each should be
pardoned and restored to all their possessions either in Normandy
or England; and that neither Robert nor Henry should thenceforth encourage, receive, or protect the enemies of the other.
~ 9. The indiscretion of Robert soon made him a victim to
Henry's ambitious schemes. Normandy, during the reign of this
benign but dissolute prince, was become a scene of violence and
depredation; and Henry having found that the nobility were more
disposed to pay submission to him than to their legal sovereign,
he collected, by arbitrary extortions in England, a great army and
treasure, and landed in Normandy in 1105. In the second campaign he gained a decisive victory before the castle of Tenchebray,
in which nearly 10,000 prisoners'were taken, among whom was.Duke Robert himself, and all the most considerable barons who
adhered to his interests. This victory was followed by the final
reduction of Normandy (1106). Henry, having received the homage of all the vassals of the duchy, returned into England, and
carried along with him the duke as prisoner. That unfortunate
prince was detained in custody during the remainder of his life,
which was no less than 28 years, and he died in the castle of Cardiff, in Glamorganshire. Prince William, his only son, who had
also been captured, was committed to the care of Helie de St.
Saen, who had married Robert's natural daughter, and who, being
a man of probity and honor, executed the trust with great affection and fidelity. Edgar Atheling, who had followed Robert in
the expedition to Jerusalem, and who had lived with him ever
since in Normandy, was another illustrious prisoner taken in the
battle of Tenchebray. Henry gave him his liberty, and settled a
small pension on him, with which he retired; and he lived to a
good old age in England, totally neglected and forgotten. This




100                     HENRY I.                  CHAP. VI.
prince was distinguished by personal bravery; but nothing can be
a stronger proof of his mean talents in every other- respect than
that he was allowed to live unmolested and go to his grave in
peace.
~ 10. A little after Henry had completed the conquest of Normandy, and settled the government of that province, he finished a
controversy which had been long depending between him and the
Pope, with regard to the investitures in ecclesiastical benefices.
Before bishops took possession of their dignities they had former.
ly been accustomed to pass through two ceremonies: they receive I
from the hands of the sovereign a ring and crosier; as symbols of
their office, and this was called their investiture: they also made
those submissions to the prince which were required of vassals by
the rites of the feudal law, and which received the name of homage. And as the king might refuse both to grant the investiture
and to receive the homage, though the chapter had, by some canons
of the Middle Age, been endowed with the right of election, the
sovereign had in reality the sole power of appointing prelates.
But Urban II. had equally deprived laymen of the rights of granting investiture and of receiving homage; and the Church openly
aspired to a total independence of the state. Anselm had refused
to do homage to the king; and Pascal II., who filled the papal
throne in Henry's reign, supported Anselm in his refusal, and
threatened to excommunicate the king for persisting in his demands. But Henry had established his power so firmly in England and Normandy, that the Pope consented to a compromise.
Henry resigned the right of granting investitures, by which the
spiritual dignity was supposed to be conferred; and Pascal allowed the bishops to do homage for their temporal properties and
privileges. The pontiff was well pleased: to have made this acquisition, which he hoped would in time involve the whole; and
the king, anxious to procure an escape from a very dangerous situation, was content to retain some, though a more precarious authority, in the election of prelates.
~ 11. The acquisition of Normandy had been a great point of
Henry's ambition; but the injustice of his usurpation was the
source of great inquietude, involved him in frequent wars, and
obliged him to impose on his English subjects those many heavy
and arbitrary taxes of which all the historians of that age unanimously complain. William, the son of his brother Robert, had
been withdrawn from his power by Helie de St. Saen, to whose
care Henry had intrusted him. The cause of the young prince
was espoused by Louis the Fat, King of France, and by other Continental princes. The wars which ensued required Henry's fiequent presence in Normandy; and though he was generally sue



A.D. 1106-1121.   DEATH OF PRINCE WILLIAM.            101
cessful, he was not released from anxiety on this account till the
year 1128, when his nephew was killed in a skirmish shortly after he had been created Count of Flanders by the French monarch.
But eight years previously Henry received a terrible blow in the
loss of his only son William. In 1120 the king, having concluded
in Normandy a treaty of peace with the French king, set sail
from Barfleur on his return, and was soon carried by a fair wind
out of sight of land. His son William was detained by some accident; and his sailors, as well as their captain, Thomas FitzStephens, having spent the interval in drinking, were so flustered,
that, being in a hurry to follow the king, they heedlessly carried
the ship on a rock, where she immediately foundered. William
was put into- the long-boat, and had got clear of the ship, when,
hearing the cries of his natural sister, the Countess of Perche, he
ordered the seamen to row back in hopes of saving her; but the
numbers who then crowded in soon sunk the boat, and the prince,
with all his retinue, perished. Above 140 young noblemen, of
the: principal families of England and Normandy, were lost on this
occasion. A butcher of Rouen was the only person on board who
escaped. HIe clung to the mast, and was taken up next morning
by fishermen. Fitz-Stephens also took hold of the mast, but, being informed by the butcher that Prince William had perished, he
said that he would not survive the disaster; and he thre-w himself headlong into the sea. Henry entertained hopes for three
days that his son had put into some distant port of England; but
when certain intelligence of the calamity was brought him he
fainted away; and it was remarked that he never after was seen
to smile, nor ever, recovered his wonted cheerfulness. The death
of William may be regarded, in one respect, as a misfortune to the
English, because it was the immediate source of those civil wars
which, after the demise of the king, caused such confusion in the
kingdom; but it is remarkable that the young prince had entertained a violent aversion to the natives, and had been heard to
threaten that when he should be king he would make them draw
the plow, and would turn them into beasts of burden.
~ 12. Prince William left no children, and the king had not
now any legitimate issue, except one daughter, Matilda, whom, in
1110, he had betrothed, though only eight years of age, to the
Emperor Henry V., and whom he had then sent over to be educated in Germany. The king had lost his consort, Queen Maud,
in 1118, and after the death of his son he was induced to marry
again in hopes of having male heirs. Accordingly in 1121 he
married Adelais, daughter of Godfrey, Duke of Louvain, and niece
of Pope Calixtus, a young princess of an amiable person; but there
was no issue by the marriage. The Emperor of Germany died:




102               HENRY I.-STEPHEN.               CHAP. VI.
without issue, and in 1127 Henry bestowed his daughter on Geoffrey, the son of Fulk, Earl of Anjou, and endeavored to insure
her succession by having her recognized heir to all his dominions,
and obliging the barons, both of Normandy and England, to swear
fealty to her. This marriage also threatened to prove fruitless,
but in 1133 Matilda bore a son, who was named Henry after his
grandfather.  Thereupon the king made all the barons renew the
oath of fealty which they had already sworn to her. During the
latter years of h is reign Henry resided generally in Normandy,
where he died December 1, 1135, from eating too plentifully of
lampreys, a food which always agreed better with his palate than
his constitution. He died in the 67th year of his age, and the
35th of his reign, leaving by will his daughter Matilda heir of all
his dominions, without making any mention of her husband Geoffiey, who had given him several causes of displeasure. His body
was carried to England, and interred at Reading, in the abbey of
St. Mary, which he had founded there.
Henry, like his father, was a monarch of great ability, and pos,
sessed all the great qualities both of body and mind, natural and
acquired, which could fit him for the high station to which he attained.  His person was manly, his countenance engaging, his
eyes clear, serene, and penetrating.  BIy his great progress in literature he acquired the name of Beauclerc, or the Scholar; but his
application to those sedentary pursuits abated nothing of the activity and vigilance of his government. His temper was susceptible of the sentiments as well of friendship as of resentment; but
his conduct toward his brother and nephew showed that he was
too much disposed to sacrifice to his ambition all the maxims of
justice and equity.
~ 13. STEPHEN, A.D. 1135-1154.-Adela, daughter of William
the Conqueror, had been married to Stephen, Count of Blois, and
had brought him several sons, among whom Stephen and Henry,
the two youngest, had been invited over to England by the late
king. HIenry was created Bishop -of Winchester, and Stephen
had been endowed with great estates.  The king had married
him to Matilda, who was daughter and heir of Eustace, Count of
Boulogne, and who brought him, besides that feudal sovereignty
in France, an immense property in England. Stephen, in return,
professed great attachment to his uncle, and appeared zealous for
the succession of his daughter Matilda. But no sooner had Henry
breathed his last, than, insensible to all the ties of gratitude and
fidelity, he hastened over to England, and stopped not till he arrived at London, where some of the lower rank, instigated by his
emissaries, as well as moved by his general popularity, immediately saluted him king. It was pretended that the late king on




A.D. 1121-1138.   DISTURBANCES IN ENGLAND.             103
his death-bed had expressed dissatisfaction with his daughter MIatilda, and had expressed his intention of leaving Stephen heir to
all his dominions.  William, Archbishop of Canterbury, believing
or feigning to believe this improbable tale, anointed Stephen, and
put the crown upon his head (Dec. 26); and from this religious
ceremony, that prince, without any shadow either, of hereditary
title or consent of the nobility or people, was allowed to proceed
to the exercise of sovereign authority.
Stephen, that he might farther secure his tottering throne, passed
a charter, in which he made liberal promises to all orders of men.
He invited over from the Continent, particularly from Brittany
and Flanders, great numbers of those bravoes or disorderly soldiers with whom every country in Europe, by reason of the general ill police and turbulent government, extremely abounded;
and that he might also overawe all malcontents by new and additional terrors of religion, he procured a bull from Rome, which
ratified his title.
~ 14. Matilda, and her husband Geoffrey, were as unfortunate
in Normandy as they had been in England. The Norman nobility, hearing that Stephen had obtained the English crown, put
him in possession of their government. Even Robert, Earl of
Gloucester, natural son of the late king, who was much attached
to the interests of his sister Matilda, and zealous for the lineal
succession, consented, nevertheless, to do Stephen homage, and to
take the oath of fealty; but with an express condition, that the
king should never invade any of Robert's rights or dignities.
The clergy and barons, in return for their submission, exacted
terms destructive of public peace, as well as of royal authority;
many required the right of fortifying their castles, and of putting
themselves in a posture of defense; and the king found himself
totally unable to refuse his consent to this exorbitant demand.
All England was immediately filled with those fortresses, which
the noblemen garrisoned either with their vassals, or with licentious soldiers, who flocked to them from all quarters.
The Earl of Gloucester, having now settled with his friends
the plan of an insurrection, retired beyond sea, sent the king a
defiance, solemnly renounced his allegiance, and upbraided him
with the breach of those conditions which had been annexed to
the oath of fealty sworn by that nobleman (1138).  David, King
of Scotland, appeared at the head of an army in defense of his
niece's title, and, penetrating into Yorkshire, committed the most
barbarous devastations on that county. The fury of his massacres and ravages enraged the northern nobility, who assembled an
army, with which they encamped at Northallerton, and awaited
the arrival of the enemy. A great battle was here fought, called




104                     STEPHEN.                   CHAP. VI
the battle of the Standard, from a high crucifix, erected by the
English on a wagon, and carried along with the army as a military ensign. The King of Scots was defeated, and he himself, as
well as his son Harry, narrowly escaped falling into the hands of
the English (1138).
~ 15. This success overawed the malcontents in England, and
might have given some stability to Stephen's throne, had he not
been so elated with prosperity as to engage in a controversy with
the clergy, who were at that time an overmatch for any monarch.
The bishops of Salisbury and Lincoln having, in imitation of the
nobility, erected several strong fortresses, Stephen, who was now
sensible from experience of the mischiefs attending these multiplied citadels, resolved to begin with destroying those of the clergy. Accordingly, he seized both those prelates, threw them into
prison, and obliged them, by menaces, to deliver up those places
of strength which they had lately erected. To the surprise of
Stephen, the cause of the prelates was espoused by his own brother, Henry, Bishop of Winchester, who, having been appointed the
papal legate, assembled a synod at Westminster, and there complained of the impiety of Stephen's measures, who had employed
violence against the dignitaries of the Church. The Empress
Matilda, invited by this opportunity, and secretly encouraged by
the legate himself, landed in England, with Robert Earl of
Gloucester, and a small retinue of knights (1139). She fixed her
residence first at Arundel Castle, whose gates were opened to her
by Adelais, the queen-dowager.  Many barons declared for her,
and open war broke out between the two parties. A frightful
state of anarchy ensued. The castles of the nobility were become
receptacles of licensed robbers, who, sallying forth day and night,
committed spoil on the open country, orn the villages, and even
on the cities; put the captives to torture, in order to make them
reveal their treasures; sold their persons into slavery; and set
fire to their houses after they had pillaged them of every thing
valuable. The land was left untilled; the instruments of husbandry were destroyed or abandoned; and a grievous famine, the
natural result of those disorders, affected equally both parties,
and reduced the spoilers, as well as the defenseless people, to the
most extreme want and indigence.
There happened at last an event which seemed to promise some
end of the public calamities. Stephen himself, being captured by
Earl Robert, near Lincoln, was conducted to Gloucester; and
though at first treated with humanity, was soon after, on some
suspicion, thrown into prison and loaded with irons (1141). The
claims of Matilda to the throne were solemnly recognized in an
ecclesiastical synod held at Winchester by Stephen's brother, the




A.D. 1138-1152.  PRINCE HENRY IN ENGLAND.             105
legate. The only laymen summoned to this council were the
Londoners, who were at length obliged to submit; and her authority, by the prudent conduct of Earl Robert, seemed to be
established over the whole kingdom. But affairs remained not
long in this situation.  Matilda, besides the disadvantages of her
sex, which weakened her influence over a turbulent and martial
people, was of a passionate, imperious spirit, and knew. not how
to temper with affability the harshness of a refusal. Stephen's
queen, seconded by many of the nobility, and by the citizens of
London, petitioned for the liberty of her husband, and offered that
on this condition he should renounce thllecrown and retire into a
convent. The legate desired that Prince Eustace, his nephew,
might inherit Boulogne and the other patrimonial estates of his
father; and the Londoners also applied for the establishment of
King Edward's laws. All these petitions were rejected in the
most haughty and peremptory manner. The legate availed himself of the ill-humor excited by Matilda's imperious conduct, and
secretly instigated the Londoners to a revolt. Having assembled
all his retainers, he openly joined his force to that of the Londoners, and besieged Matilda in Winchester.  The empress, being hard pressed by famine, made her escape; but in the flight,
Earl Robert, her brother, fell into the hands of the enemy. This
nobleman, though a subject, was as much the life and soul of his
own party, as Stephen was of the other; and Matilda, sensible
of his merit and importance, consented to exchange the prisoners
on equal terms (1141). The civil war was again kindled with
greater fury than ever, and continued several years. The empress
at last retired into Normandy (1146), and about the same time
her brother Robert died.
~ 16. In 1148 Matilda's son, Prince Henry, proceeded into
Scotland, where he remained some time; made incursions into
England; and by hi's dexterity and vigor in all manly exercises,
by his valor in war, and his prudent conduct in every occurrence,
he roused the hopes of his party, and gave symptoms of those
great qualities which he afterward displayed when he mounted
the throne of England. Soon after his return to Normandy he
was, by Matilda's consent, invested with that duchy (1150), and
upon the death of his father, Geoffrey, which happened in the
subsequent year, he took possession both of Anjou and Maine.
He still farther augmented his dominions by concluding a discreditable marriage with Eleanor, daughter and heir of William,
Duke of Guienne and Earl of Poitou, whom Louis VII. of France
had divorced on account of the levity of her conduct. This marriage gave him possession of Guienne, Poitou, and other provinces
in the south, of France (1152). The lustre which he:received
E2




10G                      STEPHEN.                   CHAP. VI.
from this acquisition, and the prospect of his rising fortune, had
such an effect in England, that Henry was encouraged to make
an invasion (1153). Having gained some advantage over Stephen
at Malmesbury, a decisive action was every day expected; when
the great men of both sides, terrified at the prospect of farther
bloodshed and confusion, interposed with their good offices, and
set on foot a negotiation between the rival princes.  It was
agreed that Stephen should possess the crown during his lifetime,
and that upon his demise Henry should succeed to the kingdom.
After all the barons had sworn to the observance of this treaty,
and done homage to Henry, as to the heir of the crown, that
prince evacuated the kingdom; and the death of Stephen, which
happened the next year after a short illness (October 25, 1154),
prevented all those quarrels and jealousies which were likely to
have ensued in so delicate a situation.
England suffered great miseries during the reign of this prince;
but his personal character appears not liable to any great exception. He was possessed of industry, activity, and courage to a
great degree; though not endowed with a sound judgment, he
was not deficient in abilities; he had the talent of gaining men's
affections; and, notwithstanding his precarious situation, he nev_
er indulged himself in the exercise of any cruelty or revenge.
l-Ie is commonly branded as a usurper; but, as the right of direct
lineal succession was not firmly established till the time of Edward I., his seizing of the crown, regarded in itself, was no more
an act of usurpation than that of his two predecessors. It was,
however, a crime, inasmuch as he had sworn fealty to Matilda,
the daughter of his benefactor.
Eleanor wife of Henry IT. From her monument at Fontevraud.




CHAP. VI.                       CHRONOLOGY.                                    107
CIRONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE EVENTS.
A.D.                                      A.D.
1087. Accession of William Rufus.         1135. Death of Henry I. Stephen seizes the
1091. Cumberland reduced to an English           vacant throne.
county.                             1138. Battle of the Standard.
1100. Rufus shot in the New Forest. Acces- 1141. Stephen defeated and captured. Masion of Henry I.                          tilda ascends the throne.
2106. Henry conquers Normandy and car- 1146. Matilda retires to Normandy.
ries his brother Robert prisoner to 1154. Death of Stephen and accession of
England.                                  Henry H.




Henry II. From his monument at Fontevraud.
CHAPTER VII.
ROUSE OF PLANTAGENET. — HENRY II., AND RICHARD I.
A.D. 1154-1199.
~ 1. Accession of HENRY II. First Acts of his Government. ~ 2. His
Wars and Acquisitions in France. ~ 3. Ecclesiastical Disputes. Thomas a Becket. ~ 4. Constitutions of Clarendon. ~ 5. Opposed by Becket.
~ 6. Compromise with Becket and Return of that Prelate. ~ 7. Becket
assassinated. ~ 8. Grief and Submission of the King. ~ 9. Conquest of
Ireland. ~ 10. Revolt of Prince Henry and his Brothers. ~ 11. Henry's
Penance at the Tomb of Becket. Peace with his Sons. ~ 12. Death of
Prince Henry. ~ 13. Preparations for a Crusade. Family Misfortunes
and Death of the King. His Character. ~ 14. Accession of RICHARD I.
Preparations for a Crusade. ~ 15. Adventures on the Voyage. ~ 16.
Transactions in Palestine. ~ 17. The King's Return and Captivity in
Germany. His Brother John and Philip of France invade his Dominions. ~ 18. Liberation of Richard and Return to England. ~ 19. War
with France. Death and Character of the King.
~ 1. HENRY II., 1154-1189. —Henry II., who now ascended
the throne, was the first monarch of the house of the Plantagenets, whose name was derived from the planta genista, the Spanish
broom-plant, a sprig of which was commonly worn by Geoffrey,
Henry's father, in his hat.' The Plantagenets reigned over England for more than three centuries, and to this family all the English monarchs belonged from Henry II. to Richard III. (A.D.
* The portrait of Geoffrey Plantagenet on the following page, of which
the original is now in the museum of Le Mans, served formerly to ornament
the tomb of Geoffrey in the cathedral of Le Mans.




D. 1154.      GEOFFREY PLANTAGENET.                  109
ENGETVO   fFINCEPSPyACgNe    TVh  AEVnrTyV
LEIISOQtQVIES PACE OVIGENTe DATVRO 
Geoffrey rlantagenet, father of Henry II.




110                     HENRY I.  C1IAP. VII.
1154-1485); but on the death of iichard II. they were divided
into the houses of Lancaster and York, to the former of which belonged Henry IV., Henry V., and Henry VI. (1399-1471), and to
the latter Edward IV., Edward V., and Richard III. (1471-1485).
The first two Plantagenet monarchs were still Anglo-Norman
princes; and it is not before the reign of John that a new epoch
commences in English history.
No opposition was offered to the accession of Henry. I-e was
in Normandy at the time of Stephen's death, and upon his arrival
in England he was received with the acclamations of all orders of
men,.who swore with pleasure the oath of fealty and allegiance to
him. He was crowned on the 19th of December. The first act
of his government corresponded to the high idea entertained of his
abilities, and prognosticated the re-establishment of justice and
tranquillity, of which the kingdom had so long been bereaved. He
immediately dismissed all those mercenary soldiers who had committed great disorders in the nation; he revoked all the grants
made by his predecessor, even those which necessity had extorted
from the Empress Matilda; he repaired the coin, which had been
extremely debased during the reign of his predecessor, and he took
proper measures against the return of a like abuse. He was rigorous in the execution of justice and in the suppression of robbery and violence; and, that he might restore authority to the
laws, he caused all the newly-erected castles to be demolished,
which had proved so many sanctuaries to freebooters and rebels.
~ 2. The Continental possessions of Henry were far more extensive than those of any of his predecessors. He was master, in the
right of his father, of Anjou and Touraine; in that of his mother,
of Normandy and Maine; in that of his wife, of Guienne, Poitou,
Xaintogne, Auvergne, Perigord, Angoumois, the Limousin. These
provinces composed above a third of the. whole French monarchy,
and were much superior, in extent and opulence, to those territories which were subjected to the immediate jurisdiction and government of the king. On the death of his brother Geoffrey in
1158, Henry prepared to take possession of the county of Nantes,
which had been put into Geoffrey's hands by the inhabitants, after they had expelled their former prince, Count Hoel; but which
had been seized by Conan, Duke or Count of Brittany, on the pretense that it had been separated by rebellion from his principality.
IJest Louis, the French king, should interpose in the controversy,
Henry paid him a visit, and so allured him by caresses and civilities, that an alliance was.contracted between them; and they
agreed that young Henry, heir to the English monarchy, should be
affianced to Margaret of France, though the former was only five
years of age and the latter was still in her cradle.  Henry. now




A.D. 1154-1162.    THOMAS'A BECKET.                  111
secure of meeting with no interruption on this side, advanced with
his army into Brittany; and Conan, in despair of being able to
make resistance, not only delivered up the county of Nantes to
him, but also betrothed his daughter and only child, yet an infant,
to Geoffrey, the king's third son, who was of the same tender
years. The Duke of Brittany died about seven years after; and
Henry, being mesne lord, and also natural guardian to his son and
daughter-in-law, put himself in possession of that principality, and
annexed it to his other great dominions.
~ 3. In 1162 Henry commenced his long and memorable struggle with the papal power. On the death of Theobald, Archbishop
of Canterbury, the king resolved to take rigorous measures against
the multiplied encroachments of the clergy; and that he might be
secure against any opposition, he advanced to that dignity Becket,
his chancellor, on whose compliance he thought he could entirely
depend.
Thomas a Becket, the first man of English descent who, since
the Norman conquest, had, during the course of a whole century,
risen to any considerable station, was born of reputable parents in
the city of London; and, being endowed with industry and capacity, he early insinuated himself into the favor of Archbishop
Theobald, and obtained from that prelate some preferments and
offices. By their means he was enabled to travel for-improvement to Italy, where he studied the civil and canon law at Bologna;
and on his return he appeared to have made such proficiency in
knowledge, that he was promoted by his. patron to the archdeaconry of Canterbury, an office of considerable trust and profit.
He was afterward employed with success by Theobald in transacting business at Rome; and on Henry's accession was promoted
by the influence of the archbishop to the dignity of chancellor.
Besides exercising this high office, Becket was put in possession
of large baronies that had escheated to the crown; and to complete his grandeur, he was intrusted with the education of Prince
Henry, the king's eldest son, and heir of the monarchy. The
pomp of his retinue, the sumptuousness of his furniture, the luxury of his table, the munificence of his presents, corresponded to
these great preferments, or, rather, exceeded any thing that England had ever before seen in any subject.  His historian and
secretary, Fitz-Stephens, mentions, among other particulars, that
his apartments were every day in winter covered with clean straw
or hay, and in summer with green rushes or boughs, lest the gentlemen who paid court to him, and could not, by. reason of their
great number, find a place at table, should soil their fine clothes
by sitting on a dirty floor. A great number of knights were retained in his service; the greatest barons were proud of being re



112                     HENRY II.                 CHAP. VII.
ceived at his table; his house was a place of education for the
sons of the chief nobility; and the king himself frequently vouchsafed to partake of his entertainments.
Becket, who by his complaisance and good-humor had rendered
himself agreeable, and by his industry and abilities useful, to his
master, appeared to him the fittest person for supplying the vacancy made by the death of Theobald. As he was well acquainted
with the king's intentions of retrenching, or rather confining within the ancient bounds, all ecclesiastical privileges, Henry, who
never expected any resistance from that quarter, immediately issued orders for electing him Archbishop of Canterbury (May 24,
1162). But no, sooner was Becket installed in this high dignity
than he totally altered his demeanor and conduct. Without consulting the king, he immediately returned into his hands the commission of chancellor, pretending that he must thenceforth detach
himself from secular affairs, and be solely employed in the exercise of his spiritual functions; but in reality that he might break
off all connections with Henry, and apprise him that Becket, as
primate of England, was now become entirely a new personage.
He maintained, in his retinue and attendants alone, his ancient
pomp and lustre, which were useful to strike the vulgar; in his
own person he affected the greatest austerity and most rigid mortification,.'which, he was sensible, would have an equal or a greater tendency to the same end. He wore sackcloth next his skin;
he changed it so seldom that it was filled with dirt and vermin;
his usual diet was bread, his drink water, which he even rendered
unpalatable by the mixture of unsavory herbs; he tore his back
with the frequent discipline which he inflicted on it; he daily on
his knees washed, in imitation of Christ,,the feet of thirteen beggars, whom he afterward dismissed with presents; and his aspect
wore the appearance of seriousness and secret devotion. Becket'waited not till Henry should commence those projects against the
ecclesiastical power which he knew had- been formed by that
prince; he was himself the aggressor in several matters, and endeavored to overawe the king by the intrepidity and boldness of
his enterprises.
The question between them was at length brought to an issue
by the following case: A clerk in Worcestershire, having debauched a gentleman's daughter, had proceeded to murder the
father; and the general indignation against this crime moved the
king to require that the clerk should be delivered up, and receive
condign punishment from the magistrate. Becket insisted on the
privileges of the Church; confined the crimninal in the bishop's
prison, lest he'should be seized by the king's officers; maintained
that no greater punishment could be inflicted on him than' degrat



A.D. 1162-1164. CONSTITUTIONS OF CLARENDON. 113
dation; and when the king demanded that, immediately after he
was degraded, he should be tried by the civil power, the primate
asserted that it was iniquitous to try a man twice upon the same
accusation and for the same offense.
~ 4. Henry, laying hold of so plausible a pretense, resolved to
determine at once those controversies which daily multiplied between the civil and the ecclesiastical jurisdictions. He summoned
an assembly of all the prelates of England, and he put to them
this concise and decisive question, Whether or not they were
willing to submit to the ancient laws and customs of the kingdom? The bishops unanimously replied that they were willing,
saving their own order; a device by which they thought to elude
the present urgency of the king's demand, yet reserve to themselves, on a favorable opportunity, the power of resuming all their
pretensions.
Henry was not content with a declaration in these general
terms; he resolved, ere it was too late, to define expressly those
customs with which he required compliance. For this purpose
he summoned a general council of the nobility and prelates at
Clarendon (Jan. 25, 1164), in which the laws, commonly called
the Constitutions of Clarendon, were voted without opposition. The
articles, 16 in number, established the following principal points:
Clerical offenders were again brought under secular jurisdiction,
from which they had been removed at some period since the Conquest.  This step was imperatively demanded by the enormous
increase of crime among the clergy, no fewer than 100 murders
having been committed by men of that profession since the king's
accession; and as the t~piritual courts could inflict only spiritual
penalties, these crimes met with no adequate punishment. Other
articles regarded the cognizance by civil courts of clerical contracts
and rights of advowson. The king asserted the power of approving the election of bishops, and of receiving their homage as barons; he forbade that any of his tenants in chief should be excommunicated without his consent, or that any of the clergy should
leave the kingdom without his permission. At the same time
was passed the Assize of Clarendon, a series of regulations respecting civil affairs, which, however, was not confirmed till the
year 1176.
~ 5. Becket at first obstinately withheld his assent to the Constitutions; but, finding himself deserted even by his own brethren,
he was at last obliged to comply; and he promised, legally, with
good faith, and without fraud or reserve, to observe the Constitu* The Constitutions will be found in Lord Lyttelton's History qf Henry
1~., App. to book iii., No. 2; the Assize in Palgrave's English Commonwealth, vol. ii., p. 168.




114                     HENRY II.                CHAP. VII
tions; and he took an oath to that purpose. When the Pope,
however, not only refused to ratify, but absolutely annulled the
Constitutions, Becket expressed the deepest sorrow for his compliance, and endeavored to engage all the other bishops in a confederacy to support their ecclesiastical privileges. On the other
hand, Henry, being determined to prosecute the archbishop to the
utmost, summoned, at Northampton, a great council, which he
purposed to make the instrument of his vengeance against the inflexible prelate (Oct. 12, 1164). Becket was condemned as guilty
of a contempt of the king's court for not having personally appeared in a suit instituted against him respecting some lands, and
as wanting in the fealty which he had sworn to his sovereign;
and all his goods and chattels were confiscated.  T he king, not
content with this sentence, however violent and oppressive, farther
demanded back from him, on various pretexts, several large sums
of money; and finally required him to give in the accounts of
his administration while chancellor, and to pay the balance due
from the revenues of all the prelacies, abbeys, and baronies, which
had, during that time, been subjected to his management. Becket,
by the advice of the Bishop of Winchester, offered 2000 marks as
a general satisfaction for all demands; but this offer was rejected
by the king. After a few days spent in deliberation, l3ecket,
having gone to church and said mass, proceeded thence to court,
arrayed in his sacred vestments. As soon as he arrived within
the palace gate he took the cross into his own hands, bore it aloft
as his protection, and marched in that posture into the royal
apartments. The king, who was in an inner room, was astonished at this parade, by which the primate seemed to menace him
and his court with the sentence of excommunication; and he sent
some of the prelates to remonstrate with him on account of such
audacious behavior.  The king would probably have, pushed the
affair to the utmost extremity against him; but Becket asked
Henry's immediate permission to leave Northampton; and upon
meeting with a refilsal, he withdrew secretly, wandered about
for some time disguised as a monk, under the name of Brother
Christian, and at last took shipping and arrived safely at Gravelines.
~ 6. Louis, King of France, jealous of the iising greatness of
Henry, and the Pope, whose interests were more immediately concerned in supporting Becket, received him with the greatest marks
of distinction. A war ensued between Louis and Henry; and
the Pope menaced Henry with excommunication. But after three
years' time peace was concluded between the two monarchs, and
the Pope and Henry began at last to perceive that, in the present
situation of affairs, neither of them could expect a final and deci



A.D. 1164-1170. EXILE AND RETURN OF BECKET.           115
sive victory. over the other, and that they had more to fear than
to hope from the duration of the controversy. After much negotiation, all difficulties were finally adjusted between the parties
(1170), and the king allowed Becket to return, after he had been
six years in banishment, on conditions which may be esteemed
both honorable and advantageous to that prelate. But the king
attained not even that temporary tranquillity which he had hoped
to reap from these expedients. During the heat of his quarrel
with Becket, while he was every day expecting an interdict to be
laid on his kingdom, and sentence of excommunication to be fulminated against his person, he had thought it prudent to have his
son, Prince Henry, associated with him in the royalty, and to make
him be crowned king by the hands of Roger, Archbishop of York
(June 15, 1170). But Becket, claiming the sole right, as Archbishop of Canterbury,. of officiating in the coronation, had inhibited all the prelates of England from assisting at this ceremony:
and had procured from the Pope a mandate to the same purpose.
Henry had promised that the ceremony should be renewed; but
the violent spirit of Becket, elated by the power of the Church,
and by the victory which he had already obtained over his sovereign, was not content with this voluntary compensation.  On his
arrival in England, at the beginning of December, he met the
Archbishop of York and the bishops of London and Salisbury,
who were on their journey to the king in Normandy. H-e notified to the archbishop the sentence of suspension, and to the two
bishops that of excommunication, which, at his solicitation, the
Pope had pronounced against them. Ile then proceeded, in the
most ostentatious manner, to take possession of his diocese. In
Rochester, and all the towns through which he passed, he was
received with the shouts and acclamations of the populace. As
he approached Southwark, the clergy, the laity, men of all ranks
and ages, came forth to meet him, and celebrate with hymns of
joy his triumphant entrance.
~ 7. When the suspended and excommunicated prelates arrived
at Baieux, where the king then re-ided, and complained to him
of the violent proceedings of Becket, he instantly perceived the
consequences; and being vehemently agitated, burst forth into an
exclamation against his servants, whose want of zeal, he said, had
so long left him exposed to the enterprises of that ungrateful and
imperious prelate.  Four gentlemen of his household, Reginald
Fitz-Urse, William de Tracy, Hugh de IMoreville, and Richard
Brito, or the Breton, taking these passionate expressions to be a
hint for Becket's death, immediately communicated their thoughts
to each other; and swearing to avenge their prince's quarrel,
secretly withdrew from court. Some menacing expressions which




116                     HENRY II.                 CHAP. VII
they had dropped gave a suspicion of their design; and the king
dispatched a messenger after them, charging them to attempt
nothing against the person of the primate; but these orders arrived too late to prevent their fatal purpose. The four assassins,
though they took different roads to England, arrived nearly about
the same time at Saltwood, near Canterbury; and, being there
joined by some assistants, they proceeded in great haste to the
archiepiscopal palace. They found the primate, who trusted entirely to the sacredness of his character, very slenderly attended;
and threw out many menaces and reproaches against him, requiring him, among other things, to quit the country, unless he consented to absolve the excommunicated prelates. Alarmed by the
threats of the knights, the monks hurried the archbishop into the
church, where vespers had already commenced.  The assassins,
who had retired to arm themselves, soon reappeared at the church
door, which the monks would have fastened, but Becket forbade
them to convert the house of God into a fortress. In the" dim
twilight the trembling monks concealed themselves under the altars and behind the pillars of the church. Becket met his murderers as he descended from the chapel of St. Benedict into the
transept.  Fitz-Urse, wielding in his hand a glittering axe, was
the first to approach him, exclaiming, "' Where is the traitor?
where is the archbishop?"  At the second call Becket replied,
" Reginald, here I am; no traitor, but the archbishop and priest
of God; what do you wish?" and, passing by him, took up his
station between the central pillar and the massive wall which still
forms the southwest corner of what was then the chapel of St.
Benedict.  He was then again required to revoke the excommunication; and on his giving another firm refusal, the assassins attempted to drag him out of the church in order to dispatch him
beyond the sacred precincts. But Becket resisted with all hi.might, and, exerting his great strength, flung Tracy down upon
the pavement.  Finding it hopeless to remove him, Fitz-Urse
approached him with his drawn sword, and, waving it over his
head, merely dashed off his cap. Thereupon Tracy sprang forward and struck a more decisive blow. Grim, a monk of Cambridge, who up to this moment had his arm round Becket, threw
it up to intercept the blade. The blow lighted upon the arm of
the monk, which fell wounded or broken, and the spent force of
the stroke descended on Becket's head, grazed the crown, and
finally rested on the left shoulder, cutting through the clothes and
skin. The next blow, whether struck by Tracy or Fitz-Urse, was
only with the flat of the sword, and again upon the bleeding head,
which Becket drew back, as if stunned, and then raised his clasped
hands above it. The blood from the first blow was trickling down




A.D. 1170.     ASSASSINATION OF BECKET.                117
his face in a thin streak; he wiped it with his arm; and when he
saw -the stain he said, " Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my
spirit." At the third blow, which was also from Tracy, he sank
on his knees, and murmured in a low voice, " For the name of
Jesus and the defense of the Church I am willing to die." Without moving hand or foot, he fell flat on his face as he spoke, and,
while in this posture, received from Richard the Breton a tremendous blow upon the skull. A subdeacon named Hugh. an associate of the assassins, planting his foot on the neck of the corpse,
caused the blood and brains to spirt out upon the pavement. This
foul deed was perpetrated on l'uesdayj the 29th December (A.D.
1170), a day long memorable in England as the martyrdom of
St. Thomas.*
Thomas h Becket was a prelate of the most lofty, intrepid,
and inflexible spirit, who was able to cover to the world, and
probably to himself, the enterprises of pride and ambition under
the disguise of sanctity and of zeal for the interests of religion.
An extraordinary personage, surely, had he been allowed to remain in his first station, and had directed the vehemence of his
character to the support of law and justice, instead of being engaged by the prejudices of the times to sacrifice all private duties
and public connections to ties which he imagined, or represented,
as superior to every civil and political consideration.  But no
man who enters into the genius of that age can reasonably doubt
of Becket's sincerity.
~ 8. The intelligence of his murder threw the king into great
consternation.  Tfhe point of chief importance to Henry was to
convince the Pope of his innoceice, or, rather, to persuade him
that he would reap greater advantages from the submission of
England than from proceeding to extremities against that kingn
dom. By the skill of his embassadors he found means to appease
the pontiff, whose anathemas were only leveled in general against
all the actors, accomplices, and abettors of Becket's murder; but
the cardinals Albert and Theodin were appointed legates to examine the cause, and were ordered to proceed to Normandy for
that purpose.  The clergy, meanwhile, though their rage was
happily diverted from falling on the king, were not idle in magnifying the sanctity of Becket. Endless were the panegyrics on
his virtues, and numerous miracles were alleged to be wrought
by his relics. Between two and three years after his death he
was canonized by Pope Alexander; his body was removed to a
magnificent shrine, enriched with presents from all parts of
* The preceding account of Becket's death is chiefly taken from Mr.
Stanley's accurate and graphic narrative in his "Historical Memorials of
Canterbury."




B118                    HENRY II.                CHAP. VII.
Christendom; pilgrimages were performed to obtain his intercession with Heaven; and it was computed that in one year above
100,000 pilgrims arrived in Canterbury, and paid their devotions
at his tomb.
~ 9. As soon as Henry found that he was in no immediate
danger from the thunders of the Vatican, he undertook a longprojected expedition against Ireland.
As Britain was first peopled from Gaul, so was Ireland probably from Britain.  The Irish were converted to Christianity by
St. Patrick about the middle of the 5th century; and as Ireland
escaped the incursions of the barbarians who overran the rest of
Europe, the ecclesiastics of that country had preserved a considerable share of learning when other nations were buried in ignorance. The Irish schools were resorted to by foreigners, and Irish
missionaries spread their religion and their learning over the Continent of Europe. The invasion of the Danes and Northmen in
the 8th century replunged Ireland into barbarism, from which,
however, the towns which those invaders inhabited on the east
coast were beginning to emerge. Besides many small tribes,
there were, in the age of Henry II., five principal sovereignties
in the island-Munster, Leinster, Meath, Ulster, and Connaught;
and as it had been usual for the one or the other of these to take
the lead in their wars, there was commonly some prince who
seemed, for the time, to act as monarch of Ireland. Roderick
O'Connor, King of Connaught, was then advanced to this dignity; but his government, ill obeyed even within his own territory, could not unite the people in any measures, either for the
establishment of order or for'defense against foreigners. The
ambition of Henry had, very early in his reign, been moved to
attempt the subjecting of Ireland; and a pretense was only wanting to invade a people who, being always confined to their own
island, had never given any reason of complaint to any of their
neighbors. For this purpose he had recourse to Rome, which assumed a right to dispose of kingdoms and empires, and especially
of islands, according to an alleged donation of Constantine.  Adrian IV. (Breakspear), the only Englishman who has ever sat
upon the papal throne, gladly availed himself of the opportunity
of bringing the Irish Church under the dominion of Rome, and
therefore, in the year 1156, issued a bull in favor of Henry, giving him entire right and authority over the island.  Henry,
though armed with this authority, was prevented by various
causes from putting his design into execution, and waited for a
fivorable opportunity of invading Ireland.
Dermot Macmorrogh, King of Leinster, had carried off Dovergilda, wife of O'Ruarc, Prince of Breffny, and thereby provoked




A.D. 1170.   EXPEDITION AGAINST IRELAND.              119
the resentment of the husband, who, having collected forces, and
being strengthened by the alliance of Roderick, King of Connaught, invaded the dominions of Dermot, and expelled him his
kingdom. The exiled prince craved the assistance of Henry in
restoring him to his sovereignty, and offered, on that event, to
hold his kingdom in vassalage under the crown of England.
Henry, being at the time embarrassed by the rebellions of his
French subjects, as well as by his disputes with the see of Rome,
gave Dermot no farther assistance than letters patent, by which
he empowered all his subjects to aid the Irish prince in the recovery of his dominions. Dermot, supported by this authority,
formed a treaty with Richard de Clare of Strigul (Chepstow),
surnamed Strongbow. Thisg nobleman was the son of the Earl
of Pembroke, but had impaired his fortune by expensive pleasures;
and being ready for any desperate undertaking, he promised assistance to Dermot on condition that he should espouse Eva,
daughter of that prince, and be declared heir to all his dominions.
While Richard was assembling his succors, Dermot also engaged
the assistance of two other knights in South Wales, Robert FitzStephens and Maurice Fitz-Gerald. In 1169 Fitz-Stephens crossed over to Ireland with a small force and took the town of Waterford, and was shortly afterward joined by F itz-Gerald. In the
following year Richard de Clare, having obtained an ambiguous
permission from Henry to embark in the enterprise, landed in
Ireland, took Dublin, and, marrying Eva, became soon after, by
the death of Dermot, master of the kingdom of Leinster, and prepared to extend his authority over all Ireland. Roderick, and the
other Irish princes, were alarmed at the danger; and, combining
together, besieged Dublin with an army of 30,000 men; but Earl
Richard, making a sudden sally at the head of 90 knights, with
their followers, put this numerous army to rout, chased them off
the field, and pursued them with great slaughter. None in Ireland now dared to oppose themselves to- the English.
Henry, jealous of the progress made by his own subjects, sent
orders to recall all the English, and determined to attack Ireland
in person; but Richard and the other adventurers found means
to appease him by making him the most humble submissions.
The monarch landed in Ireland at the head of 500 knights, besides other soldiers; he found the Irish so dispirited by their late
misfortunes, that, in a progress which he had made through the
island, he had no other occupation than to. receive the homage of
his new subjects. He left most of the Irish chieftains or princes
in possession of their ancient territories; bestowed some lands on
the English adventurers; gave Earl Richard the commission of
Seneschal of Ireland; and, after a stay of a few months, returned




120                     HENRY II.                CHAP. VII.
in triumph to England. By these trivial exploits, scarcely worth
relating, except for the importance of the consequences, was Ireland subdued and annexed to the English crown (1171-1172).
On his return to Normandy in the spring of 1172, Henry met the
papal legates, and having sworn on the relics of the saints that he
had not commanded nor desired the death of the archbishop, and
having also made various concessions to the Church, he received
absolution from the legates, and was confirmed in the grant of
Ireland made by Pope Adrian.
~ 10. The king's precaution in establishing the several branches of his family seemed well calculated to prevent all jealousy
among his children, and to perpetuate the greatness of his family.
He had appointed Henry, his eldest son, to be his successor in the
kingdom of England, the duchy of Normandy, and the counties
of Anjou, Maine, and Touraine; Richard, his second son, was invested in the duchy of Guienne, and county of Poitou; Geoffrey,
his third son, inherited, in right of his wife, the duchy of Brittany; and the new conquest of Ireland was destined for the appanage of John, his fourth son. But his hopes were frustrated
by the unnatural conduct of these very children.  In 1173 his
three eldest sons fled to the court of France, and demanded of
their father immediate possession of a portion, at any rate, of the
territories promised to them.  They had been encouraged in their
filial disobedience by their mother, Eleanor, who had been offended with her husband on account of his numerous amours, and attempted herself to fly to France, but was seized and thrown into
confinement. Young Henry had also been instigated by his father-in-law, King Louis, who persuaded him that the fact of his
having been crowned as king conferred upon him the right of
participating in the throne.  Many of the Norman nobility deserted to Prince Henry; and the Breton and Gascon barons seemed equally disposed to embrace the quarrel of Geoffrey and Riclhard. Disaffection had crept in among the English; and the earls
of Leicester and Chester in particular had openly declared against
the king. Qn the Continent, however, Henry obtained at all
points, and without much difficulty, the advantage over his enemies; and the chief hopes of the malcontents seemed now to depend on the state of affairs in England. William, King of Scotland, had also entered into this great confederacy; and a plan
was concerted for a general invasion on different parts of the
king's extensive and factious dominions.  The King of Scots
lhad crossed the border, the Flemings made a descent upon Suffolk, and several of the counties were in open revolt.  The belief again gained ground that the king had been privy to the
murder of the archbishop, and that these disasters were a judgmnent upon him.




A.D. 1170-117b.  REVOLT OF THE KING'S SONS.            121
~ 11. Under these circumstances Henry resolved to make a
pilgrimage to the tomb of the martyr, and humble himself before
the ashes of the saint.  He crossed over from Normandy in 1174,
and on July 12 entered Canterbury. As soon as he came within
sight of the cathedral he dismounted, walked barefoot toward it,
prostrated himself before the shrine of the saint, remained in fasting and prayer during a whole day, and watched all night the holy
relics.  He even submitted to a penance still more singular and
humiliating. He assembled a chapter of the monks, disrobed himself before them, put a scourge of discipline into the hands of each,
and presented his bare shoulders to the lashes which these ecclesiastics-successively inflicted upon him.  Next day he received ab.
solution; and, departing for London, got soon after the agreeable
intelligence of a great victory which his generals had obtained over
the Scots at Alnwick, and of the capture of their king William.
As this victory was gained on the very day of his absolution, it
was regarded as the earnest of his final reconciliation with Heaven
and with Saint Thomas. This great and important victory proved
at last decisive in favor of Henry, and entirely broke the spirit of
the English rebels, who hastened to make their submissions. Louis
was glad to conclude a peace with Henry; his sons returned to
their obedience; and William, King of Scotland, was compelled
with all his barons and prelates to do homage to Henry in the
cathedral of York, and to acknowledge him and his successors for
their superior lord (1175). 3Berwick and Rcxburgh were ceded to
the English monarch, and the castle of Edinburgh was placed in
his hands for a limited time. - This was the first great ascendant
which England obtained over Scotland; and, indeed, the first important transaction which had passed between the kingdoms.
~ 12. Henry, having thus, contrary to expectation, extricated
himself with honor from a situation in which his throne was exposed to great danger, was employed for several years in the internal administration of his kingdom. One of the most important
of his enactments was the appointment of itinerant justices, of
which institution an account is given at the close of this book.*
Another was the substitution in certain cases -of a trial by sixteen
sworn recognitors in place of the trial by: battle. These recognitors were taken from the county in which the case was to be
tried, and bear a close analogy to a modern jury.t
The success which had attended Henry in his wars did not
much encourage his neighbors to form any attempt against him;
and his transactions with them, during several years, contain little
memorable. He sent over his fourth son, John, into Ireland with
a view of making a more complete conquest of the island; but the
* See p. 131.                      f Ibid.
F




122                     HENRY II.                 CHAP. VII.
petulance and incapacity of this prince, by which he enraged the
Irish chieftains, obliged the king soon after to recall him. The
latter years of Henry's reign were imbittered by the renewed rebellion of his sons, and by their quarrels with one another. In
1183 Prince Henry was seized with a fatal illness in the midst of
his criminal designs, and died expressing deep sorrow for his filial
ingratitude. Richard and Geoffrey made war upon each other;
and when this quarrel was accommodated, Geoffrey, the most vicious perhaps of all Henry's unhappy family, levied forces against
his father.  Henry was freed from this danger by his son's death,
who was killed in a tournament at Paris (1186).
~ 13, In the year 1187 the city of Jerusalem fell into the hands
of Sultan Saladin. A new crusade was determined upon. The
French and English monarchs and the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa took the cross. In the midst of these preparations Prince
Richard, who was supported by Philip of5 France, again took up
arms against his father (1188). After much fruitless negotiation
the King of England was obliged to defend his dominions by arms,
and to engage in a war with France, and with his son, in which
his reverses so subdued his spirit that he submitted to all the rigorous terms which were imposed upon him. But the mortification which Henry received from these terms was the least that he
met with on this occasion. When he demanded a list of those
barons to whom he was bound to grant a pardon for their connections with Richard, he was astonished to find at the head of them
the name of his favorite son John. The unhappy father, already
overloaded with cares and sorrows, finding this last disappointment in his domestic tenderness, broke out into expressions of the
utmost despair, cursed the day in which he received his miserable
being, and bestowed on his ungrateful and undutiful children a
malediction which he never could be prevailed on to retract. This
finishing blow, by depriving him of every comfort in life, quite
broke his spirit and threw him into a lingering fever, of which he
expired at the castle of Chinon near Saumur (July 6, 1189). His
natural son, Geoffrey, who alone had behaved dutifully toward
him, attended his corpse to Fontevraud, where it lay in state in
the abbey church.  Next day Richard, who came to visit the
dead body of his father, was struck with horror and remorse at
the sight; and he expressed a deep sense, though too late, of that
undutiful behavior which had brought his parent to an untimely
grave. Thus died, in the 58th year of his age, and 34th of his
reign, the greatest prince of his time for wisdom, virtue, and abilities. He was of a middle stature, strong, and well proportioned;
his countenance was lively and engaging; his conversation affable
and entertaining; his elocution easy, persuasive, and ever at com



A.D. 1175-1189.    ACCESSION OF RICHARD I.               123
mand. IIe loved peace, but possessed both bravery and conduct
in war; was provident without timidity, severe in the execution
of justice without rigor, and temperate without austerity. ile
preserved health, and kept himself from corpulency, to which he
was somewhat inclined, by an abstemious diet, and by frequent
exercise, particularly hunting. Henry had five sons by Eleanor,
of whom  only two, Richard and John, survived him.  Of his
natural children the most distinguished were his two sons by the
"fair" Rosamond, daughter of Walter Clifford, a baron of Herefordshire.  The celebrated story of the labyrinth at Woodstock
and of the tragic fate of Rosamond is an invention of later times.
IIer elder son William, who received the surname of Longsword,
married the daughter of the Earl of Salisbury.  Her youngest son
Geoffrey, already mentioned, became Bishop of Lincoln and Archbishop of York.
~w
Richard I. From his monument at Fontevraud.
~ 14. IrcHARD I., 1189-1199.  The compunction of Richard
for his undutiful behavior toward his father was durable, and influenced him in the choice of his ministers. The faithful servants
of Henry, who had vigorously opposed all the enterprises of his
sons, were received with open arms, and were continued in those
offices which they had honorably discharged to their former master.  One of Richard's first acts was to send orders for releasing
his mother Eleanor from the confinement in which she had long
been detained by Henry.
The history of Richard's reign consists of little more than his
personal adventures.  Impelled more by the love of military




124                     RICHARD I.                CHAP. VII.
glory than by superstition, he acted as if the sole purpose of his
government had been the relief of the Holy Land, and the recovery of Jerusaleml from the Saracens. This zeal against infidels,
being communicated to his subjects, broke out in London on the
day of his coronation (Sept. 3).: The king had issued an edict
prohibiting Jews from appearing at his coronation; but some of
them, bringing him large presents from their nation, presumed, in
confidence of that merit, to approach the hall in which he dined:
being discovered, they were exposed to the insults of the by-standers; they took to flight; the people pursued them; the rumor
was spread that the king had issued orders to massacre all the
Jews; a command so agreeable was executed in an instant on
such as fell into the hands of the populace, who, moved by rapacity and zeal, broke into their houses, which they plundered, after
having murdered the owners. The inhabitants of the other cities of
England imitated the example; in York 500 Jews, who had retired
into the castle for safety, and found themselves unable to defend
the place, murdered their own wives and children, and then, setting fire to the houses, perished in the flames.
The king, negligent of every consideration but his present object, endeavored to raise money by all expedients, how pernicious
soever to the public, or dangerous to royal authority. He put to
sale the revenues and manors of the crown, and the offices of
greatest trust and power; and even sold, for so small a sum as
10,000 marks, the vassalage of Scotland, together with the fortresses of Roxburgh and:Berwick, the greatest acquisition that
had been made by his father during the course of his victorious
reign. Leaving the administration in the hands of the bishops of
Durham and Ely, whom he appointed justiciaries and guardians
of the realm, Richard proceeded to the plains of Vezelay, on the
borders of Burgundy, the place of rendezvous agreed on with the
French king. Philip and Richard, on their arrival there (29th
June, 1190), found their combined army amount to 100,000 men.
~ 15. The French prince and the English here reiterated their
promises of cordial friendship, and pledged their faith not to invade each other's dominions during the crusade. They then separated; Philip took the road to Genoa, Richard that to Marseilles, with a view of meeting their fleets, which were severally
appointed to rendezvous in these harbors. They put to sea; and,
nearly about the same time, were obliged, by stress of weather, to
take shelter in Alessina, where they were detained during the
whole winter.  Here Richard was joined by ]Berengaria, daughter
of the King of Navarre, with whom he had become- enamored in
Guienne.  In the spring of the following year (1191), the English
fleet, on leaving the port of 5Messina, met, with a furious tempest,




A.D. 1189-1192.          CRUSADE.                        12X
Berengaria.
and the squadron in which Berengaria and her suite were embarked was driven on the coast of Cyprus.  In consequence of
their inhospitable treatment by Isaac, the ruler of Cyprus, Richard landed on the island, dethroned Isaac, and established governors over the island.  Richard then espoused Berengaria (May
12), and immediately afterward sailed for Palestine.
~ 16. The arrival of Philip and Richard inspired new life into
the Christians.  The emulation between those rival kings and
rival nations produced extraordinary acts of valor: Richard in
particular drew to himself the general attention, and acquired a
great and splendid reputation.  Acre, which had been attacked
for above two years by the united force of all the Christians in
Palestine, now surrendered; but Philip, instead of pursuing the
hopes of farther conquest, being disgusted with the ascendant as,
sumed and'acquired by Richard, declared his resolution of return.
ing to France.  The Christian adventurers under Richard's command determined, on opening the campaign, to atteimpt the siege
of Ascalon, in order to prepare the way for that of Jerusalem;
and they marched along the sea-coast with that intention.  The
march of 100 miles from Acre to Ascalon was a great and perpetual battle of 11 days.- Ascalon fell into the hands of the
Christians; other sieges were carried on with equal success; Richard was even able to advance within sight of Jerusalem, the object of his enterprise; when he had the mortification to find, that,
from the irresistible desire of all his allies to return home, there
appeared an absolute necessity of abandoning for the present all
hopes of farther conquest, and of securing the acquisitions of the
Christians by an accommodation with Saladin.  Richard therefore concluded a truce with that monarch (1192), and stipulated
that Acre, Joppa, and other sea-port towns of Palestine should




126                     RICHARD I.                  CHAP. VII.
remain in the hands of the Christians, and that every one of that
religion should have liberty to perform his pilgrimage to Jerusalem unmolested.
~ 17. There remained, after the truce, no business of importance
to detain Richard in Palestine; and the intelligence which he received, concerning the intrigues of his brother John, and those of
the King of France, made him sensible that his presence was necessary. in Europe. As he dared not to pass through France, he
sailed to the Adriatic; and, being shipwrecked near Aquileia, he
put on the disguise of a pilgrim, with the purpose of taking his
journey secretly through Germany.  At Vienna his expenses and
liberalities betrayed the monarch in the habit of the pilgrim, and
he was arrested by orders of-Leop-olD-duke of Austria (Dec. 20,
1192), Who had served -under Richard in Palesftine, and had been
disgusted by some insult of that haughty monarch. The emperor,
Henry VI., required the royal captive to be delivered -to him, and
detained him in a castle in the Tyrol.  The English learned the
captivity of their king from a letter which the emperor sent to
Philip, King of France.*  The news excited the greatest indignation in England; and it seemed incredible that the champion
of the cross should be treated with such indignity.  Philip hastened to profit by the circumstance, and formed a treaty with John,
of which the object was the perpetual ruin of Richard.  Philip,
in consequence, invaded Normandy, but was driven out of the
province with loss; and John was equally unsuccessful in his enterprises in England.  The justiciaries, supported by the general
affection of the people, provided so well for the defense of the
kingdom, that John was obliged, after some fruitless efforts, to
conclude a truce'with them.
~ 18. Meanwhile, the high spirit of Richard suffered in Germany every kind of insult and indignity.  IIe was even produced
before the diet of the empire at Worms, and accused by Henry of
many crimes and misdemeanors (May 20, 1193); but Richard,
whose spirit was not broken by his misfortunes, after premising
that his dignity exempted him from answering before any jurisdiction, except that of Heaven, yet cohdcscended, for the sake of
his reputation, to justify his conduct before that great assembly;
and his spirit and eloquence made such impression on the German princes, that they exclaimed loudly against the conduct of
the emperor. The Pope also threatened him with excommunication; and Henry at last agreed to restore Richard to his freedomrn for the sum of 150,000 marks, about 300,000 pounds cf our
* The well-known story of the discovery of Richard's place of confinement by his page singing a song under his window rests on no historical authority, and owes its origin to a French romance of the 13th century.




A.D. 1192-1194.  CAPTIVITY OF RICHARD.                127
present money, of which 100,000 marks were to be paid before
he received his liberty, and 67 hostages delivered for the remainder. His escape was very critical; for Henry, having determined to violate the treaty for the sake of farther advantages,
gave orders that Richard should be pursued and arrested. But
the king, making all imaginable haste, had already embarked at
the mouth of the Scheldt, and was out. of sight of land when
the messengers of the emperor reached Antwerp. As soon as
Philip heard of the king's deliverance from captivity, he wrote to
his confederate John in these terms: Tacke care of yourself; the
devil is broken loose. The joy of the English was extreme on the
appearance of their monarch (1194), who had suffered so many
calamities, who had acquired so much glory, and who had spread
the reputation of their name into the farthest East, whither their
fame had never before been able to extend. The barons, in a
great council, confiscated, on account of his treason, all Prince
John's possessions in England; and they assisted the king in reducing the fortresse.s which still remained in the hands of his
brother's adherents.
~ 19. Richard, having settled every thing in England, passed
over with an army into Normandy, being impatient to make war
on Philip, and to revenge.himself for the many injuries which he
had received fiom that monarch. Yet the incidents whidli attended these hostilities were mean and frivolous; and the war,
frequently interrupted by truces, was continued till within a short
period of Richard's death. Richard was wounded in the shoulder
with an arrow while besieging the castle of Chalus, belonging to
his vassal Vidomar, Viscount of Limoges, who had refused to surrender a treasure which he had discovered. The castle was taken,
and all the garrison hanged, except the archer, Bertrand de Gourdon, who. had wounded Richard, and whom the king reserved for
a more deliberate and more cruel execution.'IThe wound was not
in itself dangerous, but the unskillfulness of the surgeon made it
mortal; he so rankled IRichard's shoulder in pulling out the arrow, that a gangrene ensued; and that prince was now sensible
that his life was drawing toward a close. He sent for Gourdon,
and asked him, "' Wretch, what have I ever done to you to oblige
you to seek my life?"    What have you done to me?" replied
coolly the prisoner; " you killed with your own hands my father
and my two brothers, and you intended to have hanged myself.
I am now in your power, and you may take revenge by inflicting
on me the most severe torments; but I shall endure them all with
pleasure, provided I can think that I have been so happy as to rid
the world of such a nuisance."  Richard, struck with the reasonableness of this reply, and humbled by the near approach of death,




128                               RICHARD  I.                         CHAP. YVI
ordered Gourdon to be set at liberty and a sum  of money to be
given him; but, unknown to the monarch, the unhappy man was
flayed alive, and then hanged. Richard died on the 8th of April,
1199, in the tenth year of his reign, and the 42d of his age.  He
left no issue behind him.
The most shining parts of this prince's character are his military talents. No man, even in that romantic age, carried personal courage and intrepidity to a greater height; and this quality gained him  the  appellation  of the lion-hearted, cceur de lion.
He passionately loved glory, chiefly military glory; and as his
conduct in the field was not inferior to his valor, he seems to
have possessed every talent necessary for acquiring it. Of an impetuous and vehement spirit, he was distinguished by all the good
as well as the bad qualities incident to  that character; he was
open, frank, generous, sincere, and  brave; he was revengeful,
domineering, ambitious, haughty, and cruel, and was thus better
calculated to dazzle men by the splendor of his enterprises, than
either to promote their happiness or his own grandeur by a sound
and well-regulated policy.   King Richard was a passionate lover
of poetry-there even remain some poetical works of his composition; and he bears a rank among the'Proveneal poets, or Troubadours, who were the first of the modern Europeans that distinguished themselves by attempts of that nature.
CHRONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE EVENTS.
A.D.                                      A.D1).
1154. Accession of eIenry IT.                   Becket. William, King of Scots de1164. The Constitutions of Clarenssdon pass-    feated and captmued at Alnwick.
ed. The council of Northampton con- 1189. Death of Henry II. and accession of
demns Archbishop Becket, who flies        Richard I.
abroad.                              "  Persecution and massacre of the Jews.
1170. Return  of Becket.  ills assassina- 1191. Richard conquers Cyprus. Arrives in
tion.                                     the Holy Land.
1171. Conquest of Ireland.                1192. Richard seized and confined in Ger1173. Revolt of Prince Ilenry and his broth-    many.
ers.                               1194. Returns to England.
1174. Penance of the king at the tomb of 1199. Death bf Richard.
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
A. THIE ANGLO-NORMIAN CONSTITU-  in the possessions won with their swords they
TION.                   found new cares devolve upon them, and the
necessity of a new system of polity. Having
1. The feudal system.-While the barba- abandoned their fife of wandering and brigrous tribes which overran Europe after the  andage, it became necessary not only to cul.
fall of the Roman empire were wandering  tivate the land for a subsistence, but to be
from clime to clime in search of subsistence, prepared to defend it both against the atevery individual claimed an equal share of tempts of the ancient possessors to regain,
liberty; and thus, when Charles the Simple and of fresh swarms of wanderers to seize it.
inquired of the Northmen what title their Still retaining their military character, and
leader bore, they replied, " None, we are all ignorant alike of systems of finance and the
*equally free."  But when they were settled  expedient of a standing army, each man held




{CHAP. ViI.    ANGLO-NORMAN CONSTIT UTION.                                      129
himself in readiness to obey the call to serv- connection or aclquaintance with the lm'ince,
ice in the field. The superior officers, who and added every day new force to his authorheld large territories directly from the prince, ity over the vassals of his barony. They rewere bound to appear with a proportionate  ceived from him education in all military ennumber of followers; and these followers held  terprises; his hospitality invited them to live
their lands from their immidiate lord on the  and enjoy society in his hall; their leisure,
same condition. Tirhs, as Dr. Robertson ob- which was great, made them perpetual reserves, "a feudal kingdom was properly the  tainers on his person, and partakers of his
encampment of a great army; military ideas country sports and amusements; they had
predominated, military subordination was no means of gratifying their ambition but by
established, and the possession of land was making a figure in his train; his favor and
the pay which the soldiers received for their countenance was their greatest honor; his
personal service."  The possessions held by  displeasure exposed them to contempt and
these tenures were called fiefs, or beneficia.  ignominy; and they felt every moment the
The vassal who held them  was not only  necessity of his protection, both in the conbound to mount his horse and follow his lord,  troversies which occurred with other vassals,
or suzerain, to the wars, but also to assist  and, what was more material, in the daily
him with his counsel, and to attend as an  inroads and injuries which were committed
assessor in his courts of justice.  More special by the neighboring barons. From  these
and definite services were-to guard the cas-  causes not only was the royal authority extile of his lord a certain number of days in  tremely eclipsed in most of the European
the year; to pay a certain sum  of money  states, but even the military vassals, as well
when his suzerain's eldest son was made a  as the lower dependents and serfs, were held
knight, and his eldest daughter was married;  in a state of subjection from which nothing
and to contribute to his ransom in case he  could free them but the progress of commerce
was taken prisoner in war. In return for  and the rise of cities, the true strong-holds of
these services the lord was bound to afford  freedom.
his vassal protection in case of his fief being    2. Feudalism in England.-The introduc.
attacked; while the defense of each other's  tion of feudalism  was one of the principal
person was ieciprocal. The natural conse-  changes effected in England by the Conquest.
quence  of this was the system called "sutb-  The king became the supreme lord of all the
infeudation," by which the immediate holder  land; whence Coke says, " All the lands and
parceled out portions of his fief to others on  tenements in England in the hands of subthe same conditions of tenure by which he  jects are holden mediately or immediately
held it himself. These sub-tenants owed to  of the king; for in the law of England we
him  the same duties  lhich he owed to his  have not properly allodium."  (Coke upon
lord, and he held his own court of justice, in  Littleton, i., 1.) Even the Saxon landholders
which lie exercised jurisdiction over his vas-  who were not deprived of their lands were
sals. The few lands that remained free,7thalt  brought under the system of feudal tenure,
is, which were not bound to render service  and' were subjected to services and imposts
to a superior lord, or suzerain, though liable  to which they were not before liable; but
to burdens for the public defense, were called  most of the nmanors were bestowed upon the
alodial in contradistinction to.feudcal.    Normans, who thus held immediately of the
The ceremony by which' the vassal ac-  king, and were hence called Tenants in Ctaknowledged his feudal dependence and ob- pite or Tenants in chief. But though the An.
ligations was called homage, from homo, a  glo-Saxon thane was reduced to the condition
man, because the vassal became the man of  of a simple freeholder, or franklin, and though
his lord. Homage was accompanied with an  the Norman lord perhaps retained a certain
oath of fealty on the part of the vassal, and  portion of his estate as demesne land, yet the
investiture on the part of the lord, which was  latter had no possessory right in the whole,
the conveying of possession of the fief by  and the estate was not therefore so profitable
nleans of some pledge or token. Homage  to him as might'at first sight appear. The
was of two kinds, liege and simple. Liege  tenant-in-chief was bound to knight service,
homage (from Lat. ligare, Fr. lier, to bind)  or the obligation to maintain, 40 days in the
not only obliged the liege man to do personal field, a certain number of cavaliers complete.
service in the army, but also disabled him  ly equipped, raised from his under-tenants.
from renouncing his vassality by surrender-  Even religious foundations and monasteries
ing his fief. The liege man took the oath of  were liable to this service, the only exception
fealty on his knees without sword and spurs, being the tenure of frankalrroign, or free
and with his hands placed between those of  alms.  Every estate of 20 pounds yearly
hiris lord. The vassal who rendered simple  value was considered as a knight's fee, and
homage had the power of finding a substitute  was bound to furnish a soldier. The tenantsfor military service, or could altogether lib- in-chief appear from Domesday-Book to have
erate himself by the surrender of his fief.  In  amounted, in the reign of William the Consimple homage the vassal took the oath stand- queror to about 1400, including the numerous
ing, girt with his sword and with his hands ecclesiastical foundations. The number of
at liberty.                                r.esne lords, or those holding fiefs not directThe aristocratical nature of feudalism will ly from the king, was about 8000.
readily be inferred from the preceding de-   There were peculiarities in the feudal sysscription. The great chief, residing in his tem of Normandy itself which'were introcountry-seat, which he was commonly al- duced by William into England. According
lowed to fortify, lost in a great measure his to the generally received principle of teuds,
F2




130                  NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.                          CHAP. VIL
the oath of the vassal was due only to the  age of England, ed. by Courthope, p. xviii.).
lord of whom  he immediately held. But This passage is quoted as a clear exposition
William, as already related, exacted the oath  of a difficult question; but there is reason to
of fealty from all the landowners of England, believe that the lesser barons were someas well those who held in capite as the un- times summoned, and particularly when
der-tenants. In doing this he seems to have  taxes were to be imposed; for as the crown
been guided by the custom of Normandy, had only the right to exact from its immewhere the duke had immediate jurisdiction  diate tenants the customary feudal aids, it
over all his subjects.*  Hence William's became necessary, when the crown needed
power was much greater than that of the any extraordinary aid, to summon all the
feudal sovereigns of the Continent, and the chief ten mnts in order to obtain their consent
constitution approached more to an absolute to the imlposition. It was once disputed with
despotism. The great fiefs of England did  great acrimony whether the Commons or
not, like those of France, date their origin in  representatives of counties and boroughs
a period when the power of the vassal who  formed a part of the Great Council; but it
received them was almost equal to that of the is now universally acknowledged that they
sovereign who bestowed them; but being  were not admitted into it till the reign of
distributed on the same occasion, and almost HenryIMI., and that the tenants alone of the
at the same time, William took care not to  crown composed that supreme and legislative
make them so large as to be dangerous to  assembly under the Anglo-Norman kings.
himself; for. which reason also the manors   Mr. Hallam has summed up the constituassigned to his followers were dispersed in  tion of this national assembly down to the
different counties. Hence the nobles in En- reign of John as follows: " 1. The Norman
gland never attained that pitch of power kings explicitly renounced all prerogative of
which they possessed in Germany, France, levying money on the immediate military
and Spain; nor do we find them defying the tenants of the crown without their consent
sovereign's jurisdiction, as was very common given in a great council of the realm; this
in those countries, by the right of carrying  immunity extending also to their sub-tenants
on private wars among themselves.         and dependents. 2. All these tenants in
3. T'he Great CGoucil or Parliament. —  chief had a constitutional right to attend,
The supreme legislative power of England  and ought to be summoned; but' whether
was lodged in the king and the Great Coun- they could attend without a summons is not
cil of the realm, called Conmmune Conciliusn  manifest. 3. The sumilons was usually diRegni, and also Curia Regis, and at a later rected to the higher barons, and to such of a
time Parliament. The Great Council was second class as the king pleased, many being
attended by the archbishops, bishops, and  omitted for different reasons, though all had
principal abbots, and also by the Greater a right to it. 4. On occasions when money
Barons.  "The great tenants of the crown  was not to be demanded, but alterations
were of two descriptions —those who held by  made in the law, some of these second barKnight Service in Capite, and those who held  ons, or tenants in chief, were at least occaalso in Capite by Grand Sergeantry, so call- sionally summoned, but whether by strict
ed, says Littleton, from being a greater and  right or usage does not fully appear. 5. The
more worthy service than Knight Service-  irregularity of passing over many of them
attending the king not only in war but in  when councils were held for the purpose of
his court.... To both descriptions of ten- levying money, led to the provision in the
ants the word BARON, in its more extended  Great Charter of John by which the king
sense of a lord of the manor, was applicable; promises thattheyshall be summoned through
but the latter only, those who held of the  the sheriff on such occasions; but the promking by Grand Sergeantry, held their lands ise does not extend to any other subject of
per Baroniam, and were the King's Barons, parliamentary deliberation."  (Middle Ages,
and as such possessed bothia civil and crim- iii., p. 213.)
inal jurisdiction, each in his Curia Baronis,   Under the Conqueror and his sons it was
or Court Baron, while the Lesser Barons had  customary to assemble such councils at the
only a civil jurisdiction over their vassals. three great festivals of Christmas, Easter,
To both ranks alike pertained the service of and Whitsuntide, and on other occasions
attending the sovereign in war with a certain  when needed. It does not, however, appear
number of knights, according to the number probable that such a council should have asof Knights' Fees holden of the Crown; and  sembled so frequently in any large numbers,
to those who held per baroniam was annexed  and though its existence indicates some linmthe duty also of attending him in his Great itation of the royal prerogative in the matter
Councils, afterward designated Parliaments;  of legislation, yet it can not be determined
for it was the principle of the feudal system  how far its assent was necessary to the makthat every tenant should attend the court of ing of laws.
his immediate superior, and hence it was   4. Legislatiov.-There was, indeed, little
that he who held per baroniam, having no  or no legislation under the early Norman
superior but the crown, was bound to attend  kings; for the chartersand other acts which
his sovereign in his Great Council or Parlia- they passed were rather confirmations of anment, which was in fact the Great Court cient privileges than new enactments. Even
Baron of the Realm" (Nicolas, Historic Peer- in Normandy itself there seems to be no trace
See Hownrd, Ant. Lois des Frascais, i., p. 196, of Norsejurisprudence, nor of itats nor courts,
ap. Thorpe; Lappenberg's Anglo-Nosrman Iiengs, p. previous to the conquest of England; the law
95. Comp. Hallam, Middle Ages, vol i., p. 168.  seems to have lain in the breast of the sov



CHAP. VII.    ANGLO-NORMAN CONSTITUTION.                                             131
ereign.  (Palgrave, I'ormandycl and Englandc,  ons.  Appeals were allowed from the county
ii., 25S.) There is at all events no monu-  and baronial courts to the court of the king;
ment of jurisprudence previous to that epoch;  and, lest the expense and trouble of a jourand though a similarity may be subsequent-  ney to court should discourage suitors, itinly traced between the English and Norman  erant judges were established in the reign
laws, yet England indisputably gave more  of Henry II. (A.D. 1176), who made their cirthan she borrowed. Learned men have even  cults through the kingdom, and tried all
maintained that the famous Norman code  causes that were brought before them.  For
called the Gr'and Co ftursier, or great cus- this purpose England was divided into six
tomary, was of Anglo-Saxon origin; nay, the  districts, nearly corresponding to the judges'
later Normans claimed Magna  J/Crharta as tho  circuits of the present day.
foundation of their franchises.*  In England    In judicial proceedings the ancient practice
the earliest legislation of the Norman sover- of compurgation by the oaths of friends and
eigns must be referred to the time of Henry  of trial by ordeal (p. 15) still subsisted under
II., and most of the changes ascribed to the  the Anglo-Norman kings; but the trial by
Conqueror were not effected before that ordeal was to some extent superseded by that
reign. t                                      of combat, whiclh, if not introduced by the
5. Cousrts of Justice.-Besides the Great Normans, was very seldom practiced before
Council of the Realm, the king had an ordi-  the Conquest.  The privilege of compurganary or select council, for administrative and  tion, an evident source of perjury, was aboljudicial purposes, which was also called Cu- ished by Henry II., though by some exempain or Aula Regis (the King's Court).  It tion it continued to be preserved long afterattended the person of the sovereign, and  ward in London and boroughs.  Trial by
was composed of the great officers of state:  ordeal was abolished by the fourth Lateran
as the chiefjusticiary,t chancellor, constable, Council at the beginning of the reign of
marshal, chamberlain, treasurer, steward, Henry III   A regulation of Henry IL introand others nominated by the king. These  duced an important change in suits for the
were his councilors in political matters, and  recovery of land, by allowing a tenant who
also the supreme court of justice of the  was unwilling to risk a judicial combat to
kingdom, in which  the king sometimes sat put himself on the assize; that is, to refer
in person.  A particular branch, called the  the case to four knights chosen by the sheriff,
Court of Exchequer, was established in very  who in  their turn  selected twelve more.
early times for the administration of all mat-  These sixteen decided the case by their veiters connected with the revenue. Its exist-  diet; but this proceeding was limited to the
ence can at all events be traced to the reign  king's court and that of the itinerant justices,
of Henry I.  By degrees, when suits began  and never took place in the county court or
to multiply in the king's court, and pleadings  that of the hundred.: This-practice will again
became more technical and intricate, another  clam our attention when we come to trace
branch was detached for- the decision of pri- the history of trial by jury.
vate suits, which was called the Court of    6. Revenue of the Croswn.-The power of
Com.ron Pleas.  It seems to have its be- the Anglo-Norman kings was much supportginning in the reign of Richard I.; but it ed by a great revenue, and by a revenue that
was completely established by Magna Charta,  was fixed, perpetual, and independent of the
of which the 14th clause enacted, " Common  subject. Tile first branch of the king's stated
Pleas shall not follow our court, but be held  revenue was the royal demesnes or crown
in some certain place."  The Coucrt of Kiny's lands. The king was never content with the
Bench was formed out of the ancient Curia  stated rents, bult levied, at his pleasure, heavy
Regis, and at last monopolized this title, be- taxes, called tallcages, on the inhabitants both
fore common to it with the great and ordi- of town and country who lived within his denary councils. The rolls of the King's Bencll mesne.  They were assessed by the itinerant
begin in the sixth year of Richard I.  Prop-  justices on their circuits.  The tenants in
erly the King's Bench was destined for suits  capite were bound, as we have already seen,
relating to the king and the realm; but pri-  to furnish in war a soldier for every knight's
vate suits were allowed to be carried to it fee, and if they neglected to do so, they were
from the courts below.  obliged to pay the king a composition in
The county courts and Hundred-courts  money called escuage or scutage.  Another
still continued as in Saxon times.  All the  tax, levied upon all the lands at the king's
fieeholders of the county, even the greatest  discretion, was-Danegeld, which was continbarons, were obliged to attend the sheriffs in  ued after all apprehension of the Danes had
these courts, and to assist them in the ad- passed away; but the last instance recorded
ministration of justice.  Such courts were  of its payment is in the 20th year of Henry
unknown upon the Continent, and served as  II. The king also derived a considerable
a powerful check upon the courts of the bar- revenue from certain burdens to which his
military tenants were liable. The most imPalgrave, Nrormandy and England, i., p. 107 sq. portant of these feudal incidents, as they
and notes, p. 720. Conp. HnllanAfiddle Ages,ii,p. were called, were Reliefs, Fines upon aliena314. The Grand Customary itself, however, ascribes
the Collection to Rolf: Lappenberg, Anglo-Norma tlion, Escheats, Forfeitures, Aids, Wardship,
Kings, by Thorpe, p. 92.                      and Marriage.  1. A Relief, which was the
Palgrave, ibid., p. 113; Hallam, ibid.. p. 413.    same as the Saxon heriot, was a fine paid by
The chief justiciary presided in the king's court, the heir to his lord on succeeding to a fief.
iand was, by virtue of his office the regent of thS kigng
doii during the absence of the sovereign. He wag  The fine was at first arbitrary, but by Magna
thus the greatest subject in the kingdom.     Charta it was fixed at about a fourth  of the




132                  NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.                          CHAP. Vii
annual value of the fief. The king was en- pendent upon the will of the lord, and was
titled to a sort of extra relief, called Primler incapable of holding any property of his own.
Seisin, on the death of any of his tenants in  Yet he appears to have possessed some percapite, provided the heir had attained his sonal rights; for though subject to be sold
majority. The primer seisin consisted of one by his master, an action would lie against
year's profits of the land. 2. A F1'ine upon  the latter for murder, rape, or mutilation.
alienation was a sum paid to the lord when the Villeins were divided into, two classes, called
tenant transferred his fief to another. 3. An  villeins regardant and villeins in gross.
Escheat was when a fief reverted to the supe- The former were adscri2pti glebve, or attachrior lord in consequence of the tenant having  ed to certain lands; and when these lands
died without heirs. 4. A'Forfeiture arose  changed owners the villeins regardant befrom the vassal failing to perform his duties came the property of the new possessors.
toward either his lord or the state. " Under The villeins ine gross, on the contrary, might
rapacious kings, such as the Norman line in  be sold in open market, and transferred from
England, a new doctrine was introduced, the  hand to hand without regard to any land or
corruption of blood, by which the heir was settlement. They were called eBn  gross beeffectually excluded from deducing his title, cause this term, in our legal phraseology, inat any distant time, through an attainted  dicates property held absolutely, and without
ancestor."  (Hallam.) 5. Aids were contri- reference to any other. But there appears to
butions which the lord was entitled to de- have been no essential difference in the conmand from his vassal under certain circum- dition of these villeins. The way in which
stances. They were raised according to local the villeins emerged from this degraded pocustoms, and were felt to be a great griev- sition into the peasantry of England will be
ance. Three only were retained by the Mag- narrated at the end of the next book.
na Charta-to make the lord's eldest son a
B. AUTHORITIES FOR NORMAN HISknight, to marry his eldest daughter, and to TORY.
ransom his person from captivity. 6. lTar dship was the right of the lord to the care of    The principal sources of Norman history
his tenant's person during his minority, and  are: Dudo of St. Quentin, whose work conto receive the profits of his estate. 7. Afar-  tains the lives of the first three dukes (in
riage. The lord might tender a husband to  Duchesne); WVilliam of Jumibges (Gemeticus),
his female ward in her minority, and if she  who epitomized the preceding work, and
rejected the proposal she forfeited the sum  continued it down to the Battle of Hastings
which the guardian could have obtained for  [ibid.]; William of Poitiers, Gesta GuzlielTni
such an alliance. This was afterward ex-  ducis.Yormannorints   et regis Ansglorurn
tended to the male wards. In both cases it  [ibid.]; Ordericus Vitalis, ilistori  Eccel.
became the source of great abuse and ex-  [ibid.]; Wace, or Gasee, Roman de Bous;
tortion.                                  the Hypodeigma Ncqustrice [Parker, Camden.]
7. The C/wurchs.-The policy of William    The best modern works on the early histhe Conqueror was favorable to the Church  tory of Normandy are: The EiJitorne preof Rome, which had supported his claims to  fixed to Lappenberg's Hist. of Eligland unthe English throne. One of his most import-  der the Norrman Kilyjs, translated and supant innovations was the separation of the  plemented by Benjamin Thorpe; Palgrave,
civil and ecclesiastical jurisdictions, which  Hist. of Nlormandy and England, Svo (only
had been united in the Anglo-Saxon times. 2 vols. published, containing the history of
He prohibited the bishops from  sitting in  Normandy to the death of Richard I.); Thierthe county courts; he allowed ecclesiastical ry, Histoire da la Conquc2te de l'Angleter7e
causes to be tried in spiritual courts only;  par les N~crmands, 4 vols., Svo.
and he so much exalted the power of the C. AUTIORITIES FOR ANGLO-NORMAN
clergy that he assigned to the Church  more               hISTORY.
than one third of the knights' fees into which
he divided England.                         MIany of these authorities have been alS. Villenage. —A great part of the popula- ready enumerated in note C, appended to
tion under the Anglo-Norman kings was in a  Book I. (p. 76). Thus, of those mentioned
state of slavery, to. which the name of Vil- there, the Saxon Chronicle continues down
tenage was applied. In the Anglo-Saxon  to the year 1154; Florence of Worcester's
times a large part of the population consisted  work to 1308; Simeon of Durham's, with the
of ceorls, or freemen, forming a class between  continuation, 1156; Henry of Huntingdon's
the thanes and the serfs. But under the to 1154; Brompton's to 1199; Eadmer's to
Normans most of the ceorls were thrust down  1122; Hoveden's to 1201; Ingulf's to 1089,
into slavery, and the Anglo-Saxon ceorls and  with continuations by Peter of Blois and by
serfs became the Norman villeins. It would  anonymous writers to 1486; Malmsbury's
seem, however, that the ceorls who had -ac- Gesta Regum to 1142; Peter Langtoft's work
quired land were allowed in many cases to to 1307; Hugo Candidus' to 1175; Matthew
retain their land and their freedom. These of Westminster's (Flores Historiarum) to
atre the Soemanni or Socmen of Domesday- 1307; Roger of Wendover's to 1235.
Book, the same as the small freeholders or   Of the authorities for Norman history menyeomanry of later times, The condition of tioned in the preceding note, the work of
the villeins appears to have increased in  Ordericus Vitalis is also serviceable for Anrigor under the successive Anglo.Norman  glo-Norman history, as;t comes down to the
kings down to the time of Henry II., at year 1141.
which -period the villein was absolutely de-   Robert de Thorigny, o,nlonk of the abbey




CHAP. VII. AUTHORITIES FOR ANGLO-NORMAN HISTORY. 133
of Bec, continued the history of William of  from 1066 to 1289, by Thomas Wikes, a monk
Jumidges down to the year 1137; and it forms  of the abbey of Oseney near Oxford (Gale);
the 8th book of that work as published in  and Henry Knighton's Chronicle from 950 to
Camden's Anglica, lNormanica, etc. Wil- 1395 (Twysden). Many chronicles of this peliam of Newbury treats of the period from  riod bear no author's name, and are called
1066 to 1197. The Chronicle of Radulphus'after the abbey or monastery in which they
de Diceto, a dean of St. Paul's, with a con- were composed or preserved. Among the
tinuation, comes down to the year 1200. It principal of them may be named-the Anis published in Twysden's Collection. The  nases Bszrtonenses, A.). 1044-1262 (in FYul
Chronicle of Gervase of Canterbury reaches man's Collection); Annales Waverleienses,
to about the same period as the preceding  1066-1291 (Gale); Chronifcon de MIailros
(ibid.). Benedict of Peterborough's Chroni-  (Mekose), 753-1270 (F'ulman, the Bannatyne
cle embraces the period from 11T0 to 1192 (in  Club), etc.
liearne).  Walter of Coventry continued    Among the works relating to particular
Hloveden, besides writing other chronicles;  periods may be named the Lives of Thomas.
but his works exist only in manuscript. Bi Becket by John of Salisbury, Benedict of
Ralph of Coggeshall, who died about 1227,  Peterborough, Edward Glim, Herbert of
wrote a Chronicon Anglicanucr  from the  Bosham, and others, published by Dr. Giles,
Conquest to the year 1200. It has never been  in the Patres Ecclesice Anglicance.
printed in England, but will be found in    Richard of Devizes wrote a chronicle of the
Martine and Durand's collection. The chron- first three years of Richard I., which is pubiclers of St. Alban's, formerly cited under the  lished by the English Historical Society. The
name of Matthew Paris, are in reality three  Itineraritum  Regis Anglorumn  Ricardi et
persons-Roger of Wendover, Matthew Paris,  aliorcum  in terrain Hierosolymnorum, puband William Rishanger. Roger of Wendover,  lished in Gale, contains an account of King
who has been already mentioned, is a con-  Richard's crusade. It is commonly attrib.
temporary authority from 1201. His work  uted, but without any grounds, to Geoffrey
has been published by the English Historical Vinesaulf.
Society. The principal work of Matthew    Among modern works relating to this peParis is the  1i'storia Major (A.D. 1066 to  riod may be mentioned that of Thierry, al1259, with a continuation to 1273); but only  luded to in the preceding note; Lappenberg's
the portion from 1235 to 1259 belongs to MI. tlist. of LEnglancd under the Norman King.%,
Paris, the remainder being a plagiarism from  translated by Thorpe (also mentioned in the
Wendover with  interpolations.  William  preceding note), which comes down to the
Rishanger is the continuator of Paris from  end of Stephen's reign; the continuation of
1260 to 1273, and his work therefore belongs this work by Pauli, Geschichte von England;
to the period embraced in the next book.   and LordLyttleton'sLsfe of HenryII. (6vols.
Other works that may be mentioned relat-  Svo), a standard work in English literature5
ing to the present period are-a chronicle  and remarkable for the purity of its style.




134                            GENEALOGICAL TABLE.
GENEALOGICAL TABLE OF THE HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET.
GEOFFREY PLANTAGENET,
Count ofAnjou. d. 1151.
HENRY II.
b. 133.' d. 1189.
m. Eleanor, Countess of Poitou and Aquitaine.
William.   Henry.           RICHARD I.             Geoffrey.         JOHN.            3 daughters
d. 1156.   d. 1183.      b. 1157. d. 1199.     m. Constance   b. 1167. d. 1216.        (Matilda,
mn. Berengaria of Navarre.  of Brittany.    m. 1. Hawisa,          Eleanor,
(No issue.),       d. 1186.      2. Isabella of          Joan).
|______    Angouleme.
Arthur.                Eleanor.
HENRY III.               Richard,            3 daughters
b. 1207. d. 1272.      Earl of Cornwall.         (Joan
m. Eleanor of Provence.        d. 1272.             Isabella,
______________________________           Eleanor).
i            I                                    I
EDWARD I.           Edmund, Earl of Lancaster.    2 daughters
b. 1239. d. 1307.              d. 1296.              (Margaret,m. 1. Eleanor of Castile.             I                   Beatrice).
2. Margaret of France.    TJomas, Earl of Lancaster.
I      I            I                I                 I             i.    i
John.    Henry.       Alfonso.      EDWARD II.          Thomas,        Edmund,  9 daughters.
d. 1271.   d. 1274.    d. 1284.    b. 1284. d. 1327. Earl of Norfolk. Earlof Kent.
m. Isabella of France.    d. 1338.      d. 1330.
i      -              JI                    I
EDWARD III.           John of Eltham.         2 daughters
b. 1312. d. 1377.         d. 1336.          (Eleanor, Joan).
m. Philippa of Hainault.
Edward         William.   Lionel         John        Edmund          Thomas        5 daughters.'the Black Prince).  d. 1335.  (Duke of     of Gaunt   (Duke of York).  (Duke of   2 sons, who died
d. 1376.                 Clarence).   (Duke of        d. 1402.     Gloucester).    in infancy.
m. Joan of Kent.              d. 1368.    Lancaster).                    d; 1397.
m. Elizabeth    d. 1399.
E          de Burgh.
Edward of  RICHARD II.           I
Augoullie.      b. 1367.      Philippa.   HENRY IV..  m.Edmund b. 1366. d. 1413.
Mdortimer,   m. I. Mary of
Earl of March.   Bohun,
2. Joan of Navarre.
Roger Mortimer,  IIENRY V.   Thomas,   John,   Humphrey,             2
Earl of March.    b. 1388.     Duke of  Duke of   Duke of  daughters.
m. Eleonora,     d. 1422.     Clarence. Bedford.  Gloucester.
daughter of   m. Catherine
Thomas Holland, of France.
Earl of Kent.
i                        I
Edmund.                   Anne.                                HENRY VI.
d. 1424.              m. Richard,                           b. 1421. d. 1471.
Earl of Cambridge,
second son of Edmund,
Duke of York.
Richard, Duke of York                     Edward. b. 1453,
(killed near Wakefield, 12460).          killed at Tewkesbury, 1471.
m. Cicely, daughter of RalePh, Earl of Westmoreland.
I                        I                         I                         I
EDWARD IV.               RICHARD III.                 George,               8 other sons and
b. 1441. d. 1483.        b. 1450. d. ]1485.       Duke of Clarence,        daughters, most of
m. Elizabeth Woodville.   m. Anne, daughter of          killed, 1478.         whom died young.
the Earl of Warwick.               i
Edward, Earl of Warwick.   Margaret, Countess of Salisbury.
EDWARD V.                     Richard,           Elizabeth.               1 other son and
b. 1470. d. 1483            Duke of York.    m. IENRY VII.                6 other daughters.
Imurdered by his uncle Richard).  b. 1473. d. 1483.




John. From his tomb in Worcester  Isabella. Thom her tomb at Fontevraud.
Cathedral.
BOOK  I I.
THE FOUNDATION OF ENGLISIH LIBERTY.
FROM  THE ACCESSION OF JOHN TO THE DEATH OF RICHARD III.
A.D. 1199-1485.
CHAPTER VIII.
HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET CONTINUED.-JOHN AND HENRY III.
A.D. 1.199-1272.
1. Introduction.  ~ 2. Accession and Marriage of JOHN,  ~ 3. War with
France. Murder of Prince Arthusi. John is expelled from France. ~ 4.
The King's Quarrel with the Court of Rome. Interdict of the Kingdom.
~ 5. Excommunication and Submission of the Kincg. He does Homage
to the Pope. ~ 6. War with France. ~ 7. Discontent and Insurrection
of the Barons. ~ 8. Magna Charta. ~ 9. Civil Wars. Prince Lewis
called over. Death and Character of the King. ~ 10. Accession of
HENRY III.  General Pacification.  ~ 11. Commotions.  War with
France.  ~ 12. King's Administration.  His Partiality to Foreigners.
~ 13. Usurpations and Exactions of the Court of Rome.  ~ 14. Richard,
Earl of Cornwall, King of the Romans. Simon de Montfort. ~ 15.
Parliament of Oxford, or Mad Parliament. ~ 16. Opposition to the Barons. Treaty with France. ~ 17. Civil Wars. Battle of Lewes. ~ 18.
Leicester's Parliament.  House of Commons. ~ 19. Battle of Evesham
and Death of Leicester. ~ 20. Prince Edward's Crusade. Death and
Character of the King.
~ 1. TrwE reign of John marks an important epoch in the his



136                       JOHN.                   CHAP. VIII
tory of the English nation. Under the early Anglo-Norman kings
there had been two different races dwelling upon the English soil,
speaking different languages, and possessing no common interests;
but during the reigns of Henry II. and Richard I. the Saxons and
Normans became fused into the English people, and they now
united to oppose the tyranny of John, and to uphold their common interests."  During the reign of John and that of his successor the Saxon and Norman languages were supplanted by the
English tongue; and not only were the foundations laid, but much
of the superstructure was reared, of those liberties which are still
the glory and the safety of the English nation.
~ 2. JOHN, 1199-1216. — John was the fifth and youngest son
of Henry II., and as he received from his father no fiefs, like his
other brothers, he obtained the surname of Sans terre, or Lackland,
by which he is commonly known.  Although Geoffrey, the third
son of Henry II., had left two children, Arthur and Eleanor, and
John had attempted to deprive Richard of his crown, yet the lat.
ter was induced, by the influence of their mother, to name John
as his successor. But Arthur, who had become Diuke of Brittany
in right of his mother, was not left without supporters. The barons of Anjou, MIaine, and Touraine immediately declared in his
favor, and applied for assistance to the French monarch as their
superior lord. Philip, who desired only an occasion to embarrass
John, and dismember his dominions, embraced Arthur's cause,
and sent him to Paris to be educated, along with Lis own son
Louis. John, after being crowned at Westminster on the 27th
AMay, crossed over to France, in order to conduct the war against
Philip, and to recover the revolted provinces from his nephew,
Arthur.  His mother, Constantia, seized with a violent jealousy
that Philip intended to usurp his dominions, found means to carry
off her son secretly from Paris; she put him into the hands of
his uncle and restored the provinces which had adhered to the
young prince. From this incident Philip saw that he could not
hope to make any progress against John; and the two monarchs
entered into a treaty (1200), by which they adjusted the limits of
all their territories.  John, now secure, as he imagined,- on the
side of France, indulged his passion for Isabella, the daughter and
heir of Aymar Tailleffer, Count of Angouleme, a lady with whom
he had become much enamored.  His queen, the heiress of the
family of Gloucester, was still alive; Isabella was married to the
Count de la Marche, and was already consigned to the care of
that nobleman, though, by reason of her tender years, the marriage had not been consummated.  The passion of John made
* See Notes and Illustrations (A) on the amalgamation of the Saxon
and Norman races.




A.D. 1199-1203.    WAR WITH FRANCE.                   137
him overlook all these obstacles; he persuaded the Count of Angouleme to carry off his daughter from her husband; and having,
on some pretense or other, procured a divorce from his own wife,
he espoused Isabella, regardless both of the menaces of the Pope
and the resentment of the injured count.
~ 3. But John's government, equally feeble and violent, gave
great offense to his barons, who appealed to the King of France,
and demanded redress from him as their superior lord. Philip
perceived his advantage, opened his mind to great projects, interposed in behalf of the French barons, and began to talk in a high
and menacing style to the King of England. The young Duke of
Brittany, who was now rising to man's estate, sensible of the dangerous character of his uncle, determined to seek both his security
and elevation by a union with Philip and the malcontent barons.
(1203). He joined the French army, which had begun hostilities
against the King of England; he was received with great marks
of distinction by Philip, was knighted by him, espoused his daughter Mary, and was invested not only in the duchy of Brittany, but
in the counties of Anjou and Maine, which he had formerly resigned to his uncle. Every attempt succeeded with the allies till
an event happened which seemed to turn the scales in favor of John;
and to give him a decisive superiority over his enemies.  He fell
on Arthur's camp, who was besieging Mirebeau, before that prince
was aware of the danger, dispersed his army, took him prisoner,
together with the most considerable of the revolted barons, and
returned in triumph to Normandy. The greater part of the prisoners were sent over to England, but Arthur was shut up in the
castle of Falaise. The fate of Arthur is involved in obscurity;
but there is no reason to doubt the common report that John, after
removing his nephew to Rouen, stabbed him with his own hands,
and, fastening a stone to the dead body, threw it into the Seine.
The states of Brittany now carried their complaints before Philip
as their liege lord, and demanded justice for the violence committed by John on the person of Arthur. Philip received their application with pleasure, summoned John to stand a trial before
him, and, on his non-appearance, passed sentence, with the concurrence of the peers, upon that prince, declared him guilty of
felony and parricide, and adjudged him to forfeit to his superior
lord all his seignories and fiefs in France. Philip now embraced
the project of expelling the English, or rather the English king,.
from France, and of annexing to the crown so many considerable
fiefs, which during several ages had been dismembered from it.
While he was making considerable progress in this design, John
remained in total inactivity at Rouen, passing all his time, with
his young wife, in pastimes and amusements, as if his state had




138                       JOHN.                  CHAP.. VIII.
been in the most profound tranquillity, or his affairs in the most
prosperous condition. Philip pursued his victorious career without opposition from the English monarch. Town after town fell
into his hands; and, at length, by the surrender of Rouen, the
whole of Normandy was reunited to the crown of France, about
three centuries after the -cession of it by Charles the Simple to
Rollo the first duke (1204). Philip carried his victorious army
into the western provinces; soon reduced Anjou, lMaine, Touraine, and part of Poitou; and in this manner the French crown,
during the reign of one able and active prince, received such an
accession of power and grandeur, as in the ordinary course of
things it would have required several ages to attain.
~ 4. The papal chair was then filled by Innocent III., who, being endowed with a lofty and enterprising genius, gave full scope
to his ambition, and attempted, perhaps more openly than any of
his predecessors, to convert that superiority which was yielded
him by all the European princes into a real dominion over them.
A favorable incident soon happened which enabled so aspiring a
pontiff to extend his usurpations on so contemptible a prince as
John. Hubert, the primate, died-in 1205; and as the monks or
canons of Christchurch, Canterbury, possessed a right of voting
in the election of their archbishop, some of the juniors of the order
met clandestinely the very night of Hubert's death, chose Reginald, their sub-prior, for the successor, and, having enjoined him
to the strictest secrecy, sent him immediately to Rome, in order
to solicit the confirmation of his election. The vanity of Reginald prevailed over his prudence, and he no sooner arrived in
Flanders than he revealed to every one the purpose of his journey,
which was immediately known in England. The king was enraged at the novelty and temerity of the attempt, in filling so important an office without his knowledge or consent; the suffragan
bishops of Canterbury, who were accustomed to concur in the
choice of their primate, were no less displeased at the exclusion
given them in this election; while the senior monks of Christchurch were injured by the irregular proceedings of their juniors.
The canons of Christchurch, with the approbation of the king, now
chose the Bishop of Norwich for their primate, and the suffragans
subsequently concurred in their choice. The king and the convent of Christchurch dispatched twelve monks of that order to
support before the tribunal of Innocent, the election of the Bishop
of Norwich. But Innocent, refusing to recognize their election,
compelled the twelve monks, under the penalty of excommunication, to choose for their primate Cardinal Langton, an Englishman
by birth, but educated in France, and connected, by his interests
and attachments, with the see of Rome.




A.D. 1203-1214.   QUARREL WITH ROME.                   139
John was inflamed with the utmost rage when he heard of this
attempt of the court of Rome; and he immediately vented his
passion on the monks of Christchurch, by expelling them from the
convent and taking possession of their revenues. Innocent, finding that John was not sufficiently tamed to submission, fulminated
at last a sentence of interdict (March, 1208) which he had for
some time held suspended over him.
~ 5. The interdict was followed up in the next year (1209) by
the sentence of excommunication; and, as the king still refused
to yield, the Pope three years afterward (1212) absolved John's
subjects from their oaths of allegiance, and called upon Philip to
carry the sentence of deposition into effect. The French monarch
collected a large force for the purpose of invading England; and
John, finding that he could not rely upon his own subjects, agreed
to submit to all the requirements of the Pope. He not only acknowledged Langton as primate, but he passed a charter, in which
he resigned England and Ireland to God, to St. Peter and St. Paul,
and to Pope Innocent and his successors in the apostolic chair,
and agreed to hold these dominions as feudatory of the Church of
Rome, by the annual payment of 1000 marks. In consequence
of this agreement, he did homage to Pandolf, the Pope's envoy,
With all the submissive rites which the feudal law required of vassals before their liege lord and superior (1213).
~ 6. When Pandolf, after receiving the homage of John, returned to Franice, he congratulated Philip on the success of his pious
enterprise; and informed him that John, having thus made his
kingdom a part of St. Peter's patrimony, had rendered it impossible for any Christian prince, without the most manifest and most
flagrant impiety, to attack him. Philip was enraged on receiving
this intelligence, and resolved to continue his enterprise, but the
English fleet assembled under the Earl of Salisbury, the king's
natural brother, attacked the French in their harbors, and destroyed and captured a great number of their ships. Philip, finding it impossible to prevent the rest from falling into the hands
of the enemy, set fire to them himself, and thereby rendered it
impossible for him to proceed farther with his enterprise.
~ 7. The interdict being at length removed, the king, as if he
had nothing farther to attend to but triumphs and victories, went
over to Poitou (1214), which still acknowledged his authority;
and he carried the war into Philip's dominions. About the same
time the great and decisive victory gained by the King of France
at Bovines, over the Emperor Otho, established for ever the glory
of Philip, and gave full security to all his dominions. John could
therefore think henceforth of nothing farther than of ruling peaceably in his own kingdom, and concluded a peace at Chinon (Sept.




140                       JOHN.                  CHAP. VIII.
18); but he was destined to pass througll a series of more humiliating circumstances than had ever yet fallen to the lot of any
other monarch. Equally odious and contemptible both in public
and private life, he had affronted the barons by his insolence, dishonored their families by his gallantries, enraged them by his tyranny, and given discontent to all ranks of men by his endless exactions and impositions. The effect of these lawless practices had
already appeared in the general demand made by the barons of a
restoration of their privileges; and after he had reconciled himself
to the Pope, by abandoning the independence of the kingdom, he
appeared to all his subjects in so mean a light that they universally thought they might with safety and honor insist upon their
pretensions. Nothing forwarded this confederacy so much as the
concurrence of Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury-a man whose
memory, though he was obtruded on the nation by a palpable encroachment of the see of Rome, ought always to be respected by
the English. The patriotic efforts of this prelate were warmly
seconded by William, Earl of Pembroke; and to these two distinguished men the English nation are under the deepest obligations for the foundation of their liberties. Langton showed some
of the principal barons a copy of Henry I.'s charter, whi-ch he said
lie had happily found in a monastery; and he exhorted them to
insist on the renewal and observance of it. John, in order to
break or subdue the league of his barons, endeavored to avail himself of the ecclesiastical power, of whose influence he had, from
his own recent misfortunes, had such fatal experience. He granted to the clergy a charter, relinquishing forever that important
prerogative for which his father and all his ancestors had zealously contended, yielding to them the free election on all vaicancies,
reserving only the power to issue a conge dl',lire, and to, subjoin a confirmation of the election; and declaring that, if either
of these were withheld, the choice should nevertheless be deemed
just and valid; and he sent an agent to Rome in order to appeal
to the Pope against the violence of his barons, and procure him a
favorable sentence from that powerful tribunal. The barons, who
had also endeavoretl to engage the Pope in their interests, easily
saw, from the tenor of his letters, that they must reckon on having him as well as the king for their adversary; but they had already advanced too far to recede from their pretensions, and their
passions were so deeply engaged, that it exceeded even the power
of superstition: itself any longer to control them. They chose
Robert Fitz-WValter their general, whom they called the larsalsl
of tthe arnmy of God, and ofHoly Cl/urch; and they proceeded without farther ceremony to levy war upon the king.  They were re-ceiveld without opposition into the capital; and finding now the




A. D. 1215.          MAGNA CHARTA.                     141
great superiority of their force, they issued proclamations requiring the other barons to join them. The king was left at Odiham
in Hampshire, with a poor retinue of only seven knights; and
after trying several expedients to elude the blow, le found himself at last obliged to submit at discretion.
~ 8. A conference between the king and the barons was appointed at Runnymede, between Windsor and Staines, a place
which has ever since been celebrated on account of this great
event. The two parties encamped apart, like open enemies, the
barons on the field of Runnymede, the king on a little shady island
on the Buckinghamshire side of the river; and, after a debate of
a few days, the king, with a facility somewhat suspicious, signed
and sealed the charter which was required of him (19th June,
1215). This famous deed, commonly called the MAGNA CHARTA,
or GREAT CHARTER, either granted or secured very important liberties and privileges to every order of men in the kingdom-to
the clergy, to the barons, and to the people. The privileges
granted to the clergy in the preceding February are confirmed by
the Great Charter, and have been already enumerated. The barons were relieved from the chief grievances to which they had
been subject by the crown. The " reliefs" of heirs of the tenants
in chief, succeeding to an inheritance, were limited to a certain
sum, according to the rank of the tenant; the guardians in chivalry were restrained from wasting the lands of their wards; heirs
were to be married without disparagement, and widows secured
from compulsory marriages. The next clause was still more important.  It enacted that no " scutage" or " aid" should be imlposed without the consent of the great council of the kingdom,
except in the three feudal cases of the king's ransom, the knighting of his eldest son, and the marriage of his eldest daughter; and
it provided that the prelates, earls, and greater barons should be
summoned to this great council, each by a particular writ, and all
other tenants in chief by a general summons of the sheriffs. All
the privileges and immunities granted to the tenants in chief were
extended to the inferior vassals. The franchises of the city of
London, and of all other cities and boroughs, were declared inviolable; and aids in like manner were not to be required of them,
except by the consent of the great council. One weight and one
measure were extended throughout the kingdom. The freedom of.
commerce was granted to alien merchants. The Court of Common Pleas was to be stationary, instead of following the king's
person. But " the essential clauses" of Magna Charta, as Mr.
Hallam has well observed, are those " which protect the personal
liberty and property of all freemen, by giving security from arbitrary imprisonment and arbitrary spoliation." No FREEMAN SHALL




142                        JOHN.                  CHAP. VIII,
BE TAKEN OR IMIPRISONED, OR BE DISSEISED OF HIS FREEIIOLD, OR
LIBERTIES, OR FREE CUSTOMS, OR BE OUTLAW~ED, OR EXILED, OR
ANY OTHERWIS4 DESTROYED; NOR WILL WE PASS UPON HIM, NOR
SEND UPON IHIM, BUT BY LAWFUL JUDG3IENT OF HIS PEERS, OR BY
THE LAW O1F THE LAND. WE WILL SELL TO NO MAN, WVE WILL NOT
DENY OR DELAY TO ANY MAN, JUSTICE OR RIGHT.  " It is obvious," adds Mr. Hallam, "that these words, interpreted by any
honest court of law, convey an ample security for the two main
rights of civil society.  From the era therefore of King John's
charter it must have been a clear principle of our Constitution that
no man can be detained in prison without trial. Whether courts
of justice framed the writ of Habeas Corpus in conformity to the
spirit of this clause, or found it already in their register, it became
from that era the right of every subject to demand it. That writ,
rendered more actively remedial by the statute of Charles II., but
founded upon the broad basis of Magna Charta, is the principal
bulwark of English liberty; and if ever temporary circumstances,
or the doubtful plea of political necessity, shall lead men to look
on its denial with apathy, the most distinguishing characteristic
of our Constitution will be effaced."t
Other clauses of the charter protected freemen and even villeins
from excessive fines. The latter were not to be deprived of their
carts, plows, and implements of husbandry.:
The barons obliged the king to agree that London should remain in their hands, and the towefibe consigned to the custody
of the primate, till the 15th of August ensuing, or till the execution of the several articles of the Great Charter.  The better to
insure the same end, he allowed them to choose five-and-twenty
members from their own body, as conservators of the public liberties; and no bounds were set to the authority of these men either
in extent or duration. All men throughout the kingdom were
bound, under the penalty of confiscation, to swear obedience to
them; and the freeholders of each county were to choose twelve
knights, who were to make report of such evil customs as required
redress, conformably to the tenor of the Great Charter.
John seemed to submit passively to all these regulations, however injurious to majesty; but he only dissembled till he should
find a favorable opportunity for annulling all his concessions, and
he was determined, at all hazards, to throw off so ignominious a
* These are the words of the 4th chapter of Henry III.'s charter, which
is the existing law. They differ only slightly from those in John's charter.
t Middle Ages, vol. ii., p. 324.
1 John's charter is printed in the 1st volume of Rymer's Foedera, and
other places. Respecting the subsequent confirmations of the charter, see
Wote.s and Illustrations (B).




A.D. 1216.             CIVIL WARS.                     143
slavery. He secretly sent abroad his eniissaries to enlist foreign
soldiers, and he dispatched a messenger to Rome, in order to lay
before the Pope the Great Charter, which he had been compelled
to sign, and to complain, before that tribunal, of the violence which
had been imposed upon him. Innocent, considering himself as
feudal lord of the kingdom, was incensed at the temerity of the
barons, and issued a bull, in which he annulled and abrogated the
whole charter, as unjust in itself, as obtained by compulsion, and
as derogatory to the dignity of the apostolic see.
~ 9. The king, as his foreign forces arrived along with this bull,
now ventured to take off the mask; and, under sanction of the
Pope's decree, recalled all the liberties which he had granted to
his subjects, and which he had solemnly sworn to observe. The
barons, after obtaining the Great Charter, seem to have been lulled
into a fatal security; the king was, from the first, master of the
field; and immediately laid siege to the castle of Rochester, which
was obstinately defended by William de Albiney, at the head of
140 knights with their retainers, but was at last reduced by faimine. The captivity of William de Albiney, the best officer among
the confederated barons, was an irreparable loss to their cause,
and no regular opposition was thenceforth made to the progress
of the royal arms. The ravenous and barbarous mercenaries, incited by a cruel and enraged prince, were let loose against the es-,
tates, tenants, manors, houses, parks of the barons, and spread
devastation over the face of the kingdom. The king, marching
through the whole extent of England, from Dover to Berwick, laid
the provinces waste on each side of him, and considered every
state, which was not his immediate property, as entirely hostile,
and the object of military execution.
The barons, reduced to this desperate extremity, and menaced
with the' total loss of their liberties, their properties, and their
lives, employed a remedy no less desperate; and making applications to the court of France, they offered to acknowledge Louis,
the eldest son of Philip, for their sovereign, on condition that he
would afford them protection from the violence of their enraged
prince. Philip was strongly tempted to lay hold on the rich prize
which was offered to him; and having exacted from the barons
25 hostages of the most noble birth in the kingdom, he sent over
an army with Louis himself at its -head (1216). The king was
assembling a considerable army, with a view of fighting one great
battle for his crown; but passing from Lynn to Lincolnshire his
road lay along the sea-shore, which was overflowed at high water,
and, not choosing the proper time for his journey, he lost in the
inundation all his carriages, treasure, baggage, and regalia. The
affliction for this disaster, and vexation from the distracted state




144                 JOHN-HENRY III.              CHAP. VII.I
of his affairs, increased the sickness under which he then labored;
and, though he reached the castle of Newark, he was obliged to
halt there, and his distemper soon after put an end to his life, 17th
October, 1216, in the 49th year of his age, and 18th of his reign,
and freed the nation from the dangers to which it was equally
exposed by his success or by his misfortunes.
The character of this prince is nothing but a complication of
vices, equally mean and odious, ruinous to himself, and destructive to his people. Cowardice, inactivity, folly, levity, licentiousness, ingratitude, treachery, tyranny, and cruelty; all these qualities appear too evidently in the several incidents of his life to give
us room to suspect that the disagreeable picture has been anywise
overcharged by the prejudices of the ancienthistorians. It ishard
to say whether his conduct to his father, his brother, his nephew,
or his subjects was most culpable; or whether his crimes, in
these respects, were not even exceeded by the baseness which appeared in his transactions with the King of France, the Pope, and
the barons.  His European dominions, when they devolved to
him by the death of his brother, were more extensive than have
ever, since his time, been ruled by an English monarch; but he
first lost, by his misconduct, the flourishing provinces in France,
the ancient patrimony of his family; he subjected his kingdom to
a shameful vassalage under the see of Rome; he saw the prerogatives of his crown diminished by law, and still more reduced by
faction; and he died at last when in danger of being totally expelled by a foreign power, and of. either ending his life miserably
in prison, or seeking shelter as a fugitive from the pursuit of his
enemies.
It was this king who, in the year 1215, first gave by charter,
to the city of'London, the right of electing, annually, a mayor out
of their own body, an office which was till now held for life..He
gave the city also power to elect and remove its sheriffs at pleasure, and its common councilmen annually.   London Bridge was
finished in this reign. The former bridge was of wood. Maud,
the empress,'was the first that built a stone bridge' in England.
~ 10. HENRY III.,:121-6-1272. —The Earl of Pembroke, who,
at the time of John's death, was Marshal of England, was, by his
office,' at the head of the armies, and consequently, during a state
of civil wars and convulsions, at the head of the government; and
it happened fortunately for the young monarch and for the nation
that the power could not have been intrusted into more able'and
more faithful hands. He immediately carried young Prince Henry, now 9 years of age, to Gloucester, where the ceremony of coronation was performed (Oct. 28, 1216). As the concurrence of
the papal authority was requisite to support the tottering throne,




A.D. 1218.      GENERAL PACIFICATION.                 145
Henry was obliged to swear fealty to the Pope, and renew that
homage to which his father had already subjected the kingdom;
and, in order to enlarge the authority of Pembroke, and give him
a more regular and legal title to it, a general council of the barons
was soon after summoned at Bristol, where that nobleman was
chosen protector of the realm.
Henry III. From his Tomb in Westminster Abbey.
Pembroke, by renewing and confirming the Great Charter with
some alterations, gave much satisfaction and security to the nation in general.  He also wrote letters, in the king's name, to all
the malcontent barons, most of whom began secretly to negotiate
with him, and many of them openly returned to their duty. Louis
soon found that the death of John had, contrary to his expectations, given an incurable wound to his cause, and that every English nobleman was plainly watching for an opportunity of returning to his allegiance. The French army was totally defeated at
Lincoln, and driven from that city. A French fleet, bringing over
a strong re-enforcement, were attacked by the English, and were
routed with considerable loss. Louis, whose cause was now totally desperate, concluded a peace with Pembroke, and promised
to evacuate the kingdom. Thus was happily ended a civil war
which seemed to be founded on the most incurable hatred and
jealousy, and had threatened the kingdom with the most fatal
consequences.
~ 11. The Earl of Pembroke did not long survive the pacifica.
tion, which had been chiefly owing to his wisdom and valor, and
G




146                    HENRY III.               CHAP. VIII.
he was succeeded in the government by Peter des Roches, Bishop
of Winchester, and Hubert de Burgh, the justiciary (1218). The
counsels of the latter were chiefly followed; and had he possessed
equal authority in the kingdom with Pembroke, he seemed to be
every way worthy of filling the place of that virtuous nobleman.
IBut the powerful barons, who had once broken the reins of subjection to their prince, and obtained an enlargement of their liberties and independence, could ill be restrained by laws under a
minority. They retained by force the royal castles, which they
had seized during the past convulsions, or which had been committed to their custody by the protector; and they usurped the
king's demesnes.
Notwithstanding these intestine commotions in England, and
the precarious authority of the crown, Henry was obliged to carry
on war in France. Louis VIII., who had succeeded to his father
Philip, instead of complying with Henry's claim, who demanded
the restitution of Normandy and the other provinces wrested from
England, made an irruption into Poitou (1224), took Rochelle after
a long siege, and seemed determined to expel the English from
the few provinces which still remained to them. Henry sent over
his uncle, the Earl of Salisbury, who stopped the progress of
Louis's arms; but no military action of any moment was performed on either side.
~ 12. The character of the king, as he grew to man's estate,
became every day better known; and he was found in every respect unqualified for maintaining a proper sway among those turbulent barons whom the feudal constitution subjected to his authority. Gentle, humane, and merciful even to a fault, he seems
to have been steady in no other circumstance of his character; but
to have received every impression from those who surrounded him,
and whom he loved, for the time, with the most imprudent and
most unreserved affection. Hubert de Burgh, while he enjoyed
his authority, had an entire ascendant over Henry, and was loaded with honors and favors beyond any other subject. Besides
acquiring the property of many castles and manors, he married
the eldest sister of the King of Scots, was created Earl of Kent,
and, by an unusual' concession, was made chief justiciary of England for life; yet Henry, in a sudden caprice, threw off this faithful minister (1231), and exposed him to the violent persecutions
of his enemies. The man who succeeded him in the government
of the king and kingdom was Peter, Bishop of Winchester, a Poitevin by birth, who had been raised by the late king, and who
was no less distinguished by his arbitrary principles and violent
conduct than by his courage and abilities. This prelate had been
left by King John justiciary and regent of the kingdom during an




A.D. 1218-1253.   PAPAL USURPATIONS.                  147
expedition which that prince made into France; and his illegal
administration was one chief cause of that great combination
among the barons, which finally extorted from the crown the charter of liberties, and laid the foundations of the English Constitution. Henry, though incapable from his character of pursuing the
same violent maxims which had governed his. father, had imbibed
the same arbitrary principles; and in prosecution of Peter's advice, he invited over a great number of Poitevins and other foreigners, who, he believed, could be more safely trusted than the
English, and who seemed useful to counterbalance the great and
independent power of the nobility. Every office and command
was bestowed on these strangers; they exhausted the revenues of
the crown, already too much impoverished; they invaded the
rights of the people; and their insolence drew on them the hatred
and envy of all orders of men in the kingdom.
The king, having married Eleanor, daughter of the Count of
Provence (14th January, 1236), was surrounded by a great number of strangers from that country also, whom he caressed with
the fondest affection, and enriched by an imprudent generosity.
The resentment of the English barons rose high at the preference
given to foreigners, but no remonstrance or complaint could ever
prevail on the king to abandon them, or even to moderate his attachment toward them. The king's conduct would have appeared more tolerable to the English had any thing been done meanwhile for the honor of the nation, or had Henry's enterprises in
foreign countries been attended with any success or glory to himself or to the public. But though he declared war against Louis
IX. in 1242, and made an expedition into Guienne, upon the invitation of his step-father, the Count de la Marche, who promised
to join him with all his forces, he was unsuccessful in his attempts
against that great monarch, was worsted at Taillebourg, was deserted by his allies, lost what remained to him of Poitou, and was
obliged to return, with the loss of honor, into England. He was
more successful in 1253 in repelling an invasion made by the
King of Castile upon Guienne; but he thereby involved himself
and his nobility in an enormous debt, which both increased their
discontents, and exposed him to great danger from their enterprises.
~ 13. The chief grievances suffered by the English during this
reign were, however, the usurpations and exactions of the court
of Rome. All the chief benefices of the kingdom were conferred
on Italians; great numbers of that nation were sent over at one
time to be provided for, and non-residence and pluralities were carried to an enormous height. The benefices of the Italian clergy in
England amounted to 60,000 marks a year, a sum which exceeded




148                     HENRY III.               CHAP. VIIL.
the annual revenue of the crown itself. The Pope exacted the
revenues of all vacant benefices, the twentieth of all ecclesiastical
revenues without exception, the third of such as exceeded 100
marks a year, and the half of such as were possessed by non-residents. He claimed the goods of all intestate clergymen; he pretended a title to all money gotten by usury; he levied benevolences upon the people; and when the king, contrary to his usual
practice, prohibited these exactions, he threatened him with excommunication.
But the most oppressive expedient employed by the Pope was
the embarking of Henry in a project for the conquest of Naples,
or Sicily on this side the Fare (1255). He pretended to dispose
of the Sicilian crown, both as superior lord of that particular
kingdom, and as vicar of Christ, to whom all kingdoms of the
earth were subjected; and he made a tender of it to Henry for his
second son Edmund. Henry accepted the insidious proposal, gave
the Pope unlimited credit to expend whatever sums he thought
necessary for completing the conquest, and was surprised to find
himself on a sudden involved in an immense debt of 135,541
marks, besides interest. He applied to the parliament for supplies,
but the barons, sensible of the ridiculous cheat imposed by the
Pope, determined not to lavish their money on such chimerical
projects. In this extremity the clergy was his only resource. The
Pope published a crusade for the conquest of Sicily from King
Mainfroy, a more terrible enemy, as he pretended, to the Chris,
tian faith than any Saracen. He levied a tenth on all ecclesias,
tical benefices in England for three years, and gave orders to ex,
communicate all bishops who made not punctual payment.  Ho
granted to the king the goods of intestate clergymen, the revenues
of vacant benefices, and the revenues of all non-residents.
~ 14. About the same time Richard, Earl of Cornwall, the
brother of the king, was engaged in an enterprise no less expensive and vexatious than that of Henry, and not attended with much
greater probability of success. The immense opulence of Richard
having made the German princes cast their eyes on him as a candidate for the empire, he was tempted to expend vast sums of
money on his election; and he succeeded so far as to be chosen
King of the Romans, which seemed to render his succession infallible to the imperial throne (1256); but he found at last that he
had lavished away the frugality of a whole life in order to procure
a splendid title.
The king was engaged in constant disputes with his barons,
who frequently addressed him with the severest remonstrances.
He was compelled several times to confirm the Great Charter;
and on one of these occasions it was done in the most solemn and




A.D. 1253-1258.   SIMON DE MONTFORT.                   149
even awful manner. All the prelates and abbots were assembled;
they held burning tapers in their hands; the Great Charter was
read before them; they denounced the sentence of excommunication against every one who should thenceforth violate that fundamental law; they threw their tapers on the ground, and exclaimed, MAay the soul of every one who incurs this sentence so stink- and corrupt in hell! The king bore a part in this ceremony, and subjoined, " So help me God I will keep all these articles inviolate, as I
am a man, as I am a Christian, as I am a knight, and as I am a
king crowned and anointed." Yet was the tremendous ceremony
no sooner finished than his favorites, abusing his weakness, made
him return to the same arbitrary and irregular administration, and
the reasonable expectations of his people were thus perpetually
eluded and disappointed.  All these imprudent and illegal measures afforded a pretense to Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester,
a younger son of that Simon de Montfort who had conducted the
crusade against the Albigenses, to attempt an innovation in the
government, and to wrest the sceptre from the feeble and irresolute hand which held it. He had married the king's sister, Eleanor, widow of the Earl of Pembroke, and had governed Gascony
for many years with vigor and success. He secretly called a meeting of the most considerable barons, who embraced the resolution
of redressing the public grievances by taking into their own liands
the administration of government. Henry having summoned a
Parliament (May 2, 1258) in expectation of receiving supplies for
his Sicilian project, the barons appeared in the hall clad in complete armor, and with their swords by their side. A violent altercation ensued; and the king at length promised to summon another Parliament at Oxford, on June 11, in order to arrange a
new plan of government.
~ 15. This Parliament, which the Royalists, and even the nation, fiom experience of the confusions that attended its measures,
afterward denominated the mad Parliament, met on the day appointed; and as all the barons brought along with them their military vassals, and appeared with an armed force, the king, who
had taken no precautions against them, was in reality a prisoner
in their hands, and was obliged to submit to all the terms which
they were pleased to impose upon him. A council of state, consisting of 15 barons, was selected to make the necessary reforms. The
king himself took an oath that he would maintain whatever ordinances they should think proper to enact for that purpose. Simon de Montfort was at the head of this supreme council, to which
the legislative power was thus in reality transferred; and all their
measures were taken by his secret influence and direction.  Their
chief enactments, called the Provisions of Oxford, were, that four




150                     HENRY III.               CHAP. VIIL
knights should be chosen by each county, to point out the grievances of their neighborhood; that three sessions of Parliament
should be regularly held every year, in the months of February,
June, and October; that a new sheriff should be annually elected
by the votes of the freeholders in each county; that no heirs
should be committed to the wardship of foreigners, and no castles
intrusted to their custody; and that no new warrens or forests
should be created, nor the revenues of any counties or hundreds
be let to farm.
The Earl of Leicester and his associates roused anew the popular clamor which had long prevailed against foreigners, and they
fell with the utmost violence on the king's half-brothers, who were
supposed to be the authors of all national grievances, and whom
the king was obliged to banish. The barons formed an association among themselves, and swore that they would stand by each
other with their lives and fortunes; they displaced all the chief
officers of the crown, the justiciary, the chancellor, the treasurer,
and advanced either themselves or their own creatures in their
place. The whole power of the state being thus transferred to
them, they ventured to impose an oath, by which all the subjects
were obliged to swear, under the penalty of being declared public
enemies, that they would obey:and execute all the regulations,
both known and unknown, of the barons. Not content with the
usurpation of the royal power, they introduced an innovation in
the constitution of Parliament, which was of the utmost importance. They ordained that this assembly should choose a committee of 12 persons, who should, in the intervals of the session,
possess the authority of the whole Parliament, and should attend,
on a summons, the person of the king in all his motions. Thus
the monarchy was totally subverted without its being possible for
the king to strike a single stroke in defense of the constitution
against the newly-erected oligarchy.
~ 16. But the barons, in proportion to their continuance in
power, began gradually to lose that popularity which had assisted
them in obtaining it; and the fears of the nation were aroused
by some new edicts, which were plainly calculated to procure to
themselves an impunity in all their violences. They appointed
that the circuits of the itinerant justices, the sole check on their
arbitrary conduct, should be held only once in seven years; and
men easily saw that a remedy which returned after such long intervals, against an oppressive power which was perpetual, would
prove totally insignificant and useless. The cry became loud in
the nation that the barons should finish their intended regulations.
The current of popularity was now much turned to the side of
the crown, and the rivalship between the Earls of Leicester and




A.D. 1258-1264.    BATTLE OF LEWES.                     151
Gloucester, the chief leaders among the barons, began to disjoint
the whole confederacy.
Louis IX., who then governed France, used all his authority
with the Earl of Leicester, his native subject, to bend him to compliance with Henry.  He made a treaty with England (20th IMay,
1259) at a time when the distractions of that kingdom were at
the greatest height, and when the king's authority was totally annihilated; and the terms which he granted might, even in a more
prosperous state of their affairs, be deemed reasonable and advantageous to the English. Hle yielded up some territories which
had been conquered from Poitou and Guienne; he insured the
peaceable possession of the latter province to Henry; he agreed
to pay that prince a large sum of money; and he only required
that the king should in return make a final cession of Normandy
and the other provinces, which he could never entertain any hopes
of recovering by force of arms. This cession was ratified by Henry, by his two sons and two daughters, and by the King of the
Romans and his three sons: Leicester alone, either moved by a
vain arrogance, or desirous to ingratiate himself with the English
populace, protested against the deed, and insisted on the right,
however distant, which might accrue to his consort.
~ 17. The situation of Henry soon after wore a more favorable
aspect, and the secret desertion of the Earl of Gloucester to the
crown seemed to promise him certain success in any attempt to
resume his authority. The Pope absolved him from his oath; the
king soon afterward resumed the government; and Leicesterwas
obliged to fly to France. The death of the Earl of Gloucester,
and the accession of his son to Leicester's side, soon changed the
scene again. The civil war was renewed and carried on with various success, till at length the king and the barons agreed to submit their differences to the arbitration of the King of France. At
a congress at Amiens (1264) Louis annulled the Provisions of
Oxford, and determined that Henry might retain whatever foreigners he pleased in his service. But this decision, instead of
quenching the flames, only caused them to break forth with redoubled vehemence. Leicester, having summoned his partisans
from all quarters, gained a decisive victory over the royal forces
at Lewes (May 13), taking. Henry and his brother, the King of
the Romans, prisoners. Prince Edward, the eldest son of Henry, who commanded the royal army, was obliged to assent to a
treaty with the conqueror, called the Mise of Lewes, from an obsolete French term of that meaning. In order to obtain the liberation of the English monarch, Prince Edward and Henry, son
of the King of the Romans, were obliged to surrender themselves
as prisoners.




152                     HENRY III.               CHA.P. VIII
~18. Leicester had no sooner obtained this great advantage,
and gotten the whole royal family in his power, than he openly
violated every article of the treaty, and acted as sole master of
the kingdom. In order to strengthen his power he summoned a
new Parliament in London (Jan. 20, 1265), which forms a memorable epoch in constitutional history. Besides the barons of his
own party, and several ecclesiastics, who were not immediate tenants of the crown, he ordered returns to be made of two knights
from each shire, and, what is moreremarkable, of two representatives of each borough, an order of men which in former ages had
always been regarded as too mean to enjoy a place in the national
councils. This is rightly regarded as the first meeting of the
HousE or' COMMONS. But Leicester's policy only forwarded by
some years an institution for which the general state of things
had already prepared the nation. Leicester, having thus assembled a Parliament of his own model, and trusting to the attachment of the populace of London, seized the opportunity of crushing his rivals among the powerful barons.
~ 19. But he soon found himself embarrassed by the opposition,
as well as by the escape, of Prince Edward. The Royalists, secretly prepared for this latter event, immediately flew to arms;
and the joy of this gallant prince's deliverance, the oppressions
under which the nation labored, the expectation of a new scene
of affairs, and the accession of the Earl of Gloucester, procured
Edward an army which Leicester was unable to withstand. The
contest was brought to a conclusion by the battle of Evesham
(Aiug. 4, 1265).  Leicester himself was slain, with his eldest son
Henry, and about 160 knights, and many other gentlemen of his
party.  The old king had been purposely placed by the rebels in
the front of the battle; and, being clad in armor, and thereby not
known by his friends, he received a wound, and was in danger of
his life; but crying out, I am Henry of Winchester, your icing, he
was saved, and put in a place of safety by his son, who flew to his
rescue. The lifeless body of Leicester was mangled by the victors. The people long regarded him as a martyr to their cause
and the champion of their liberties. The victory of Evesham
proved decisive, and the king's authority was established in all
parts of the kingdom:
~ 20. Prince Edward, finding the state of the kingdom tolerably
composed, was seduced (1270) by his avidity for glory, and by the
prejudices of the age, as well as by the earnest solicitations of the
King of France, to undertake an expedition against the infidels in
the Holy Land.  He sailed from England with an army, and arrived in Louis's camp before Tunis in Africa, where he found that
monarch already dead, from the intemperance of the climate and




A.D. 1264-1272.           HENRY'S CHARACTER.                                  153
the fatigues of his enterprise.   Prince Edward, not. discouraged
by this event, continued his voyage to the Holy Land, where he
signalized himself (1271) by acts of valor, revived the glory of
the English name in those parts, and struck such terror into the
Saracens that they employed an assassin to murder him, who
wounded him in the arm, but perished in the attempt. During
his absence  the  old king, overcome by the cares of government
and the infirmities of age, expired at Bury St. Edmonds (November 16, 1272), in the 66th year of his age, and 57th of his reign.
His brother, the King of the Romans (for he never attained the
title of emperor), died about seven months before him.
The most obvious feature of Henry's character is his incapacIty for government, which rendered him as much a prisoner in
the hands of his own ministers and favorites, and as little at his
own disposal, as when detained a captive in the hands of his enemies.   From  this source, rather than from  insincerity or treachery, arose his negligence in observing his promises;  and le was
too easily induced, for the sake of present convenience, to  sacrifice the lasting advantages arising from the trust and confidence
of his people.
CHRONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE EVENTS.
A.D.                                       A.D.
1199. Accession of King John.              1216. Death of King John, and accession of
1204. Normandy conquered by Philip At-           Henry III.
ggustlus.                           125S. Parliament of Oxford, or Mad Parlia1208. England placed under an interdict by       ment.
the Pope.                          1264. Battle of Lewes and capture of the king.
1212. John deposed by Pope Innocent.       1265. Leicester's parliament. Burgesses first
1213. John does honmage to the Pope for En-      summoned.
gland.                               "  Battle of Evesham and death of Leices1215. Magna Clharta granted.                     ter.
1272. Death of IIenry III.
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
A. ON THE AMAAM AMAT'ION OF THE  cific statemlent of a contemporary writer that
AXON AND NORAN    the distinction between the two races was
SAXON  AND NORMAN RACES.
almost obliterated in the reign of Henry II.
The period at which this event took place (i' sic permixte sunt nationes, ut vix discerni
has given rise to much discussion. It was possit hodie, de liberis loquor, quis Anglicus,
the favorite theory of Thierry that the dis- quis Normannus sit genere," quoted by Haltinction between the two races continued till lam, Middle Ages, ii., p. 321); and this amala very late time. Lord Macaulay supposes gamation must have been completed after
the amalgamation to have taken place be- the separation of Normandy from England
tween the accession of John and the death of  in the reign of John. This view is in acEdward I., remarking, "It is certain that, cordance with two other facts: 1. That the
when John became king, the distinction be- commencement of English literature dates
tween Saxons and Normans was strongly  from the 13th century, for the Ormulum,
marked, and that before the end of the reign which is the oldest specimen of the English
of his grandson it had almost disappeared."  language extant, can not be placed later than
(Hist. of England, i., p. 16.) But even Ma- this date. 2. That before the 13th century
caulay supposes the distinction to have lasted  had passed away, the difference of dress,
too long. It is impossible to reject the spe- which in that state of society would survive
G 2




154                  NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.                          CHAP. VIII.
many other differences, was no longer ob-   Nor do we find any trace of trial by jury,
served, and the distinctive peculiarities of properly so called, in the century which sucNorman and Saxon attire had disappeared. ceeded the Norman conquest. The first apSee Buckle, History of Civilization in.Esn- proach to trial by jury is the assize of novel
vland, i., p. 566.                         disseisin introduced in the reign of Henry II.
By this custom, in a suit for the recovery of
B. CONFIRMATIONS  OF TIT    E  GREAT   land, a tenant who was unwilling to risk
a judicial combat might put himself on the
The Great Charter was always regarded as assize-that is, refer the case to four knights
a fundamental law; but as the English mon- chosen by the sheriff, who, in their turn, searchs were constantly disposed to evade it, lected 12 more. The 16 knights thus impanthe barons and the people repeatedly claimed  neled were then sworn, and decided the case
its confirmation from their sovereigns. No by their verdict. Whether this was a Norfewer than thirty-eight solemn ratifications  man or an Anglo-Norman institution is lost
of it are recorded; of which six were made  in obscurity, and need not be here discussed.
by Henry III., three by Edward I., fifteen  Whether the words in the charter of John
by Edward III., six by Richard II., six by  that ";a man is to be tried by the lawful
Henry IV., one by Henry V., and one by  judgment of his peers" really means trial by
HenryVI. The Charter received a few alter-  jury may admit of dispute; but at any rate
ations upon its successive confirmations in  it clearly recognizes the great principle upon
the first, second, and ninth years of Henry  which trial by jury rests.
III.'s reign, the last of which is in our statute   In criminal cases at all events we find an
book and has never received any alteration. approach to a jury under Henry HII. Trial
The most important change in the Charter, by ordeal had now grown out of fashion; and
as confirmed by Henry III., was the omission  though the trial by combat still remained, it
pf the clause which prohibited the levying of could not, of course, be practiced unless some
aids or esciiages without the consent of Par- prosecutor appeared. But as a person veheliament. But though this clause was omit- mently suspected of a crime might be comted, it continued to be observed during the  mitted to safe custody on the presentment of
reign of Henry, for we find the barons con- a jury, he had the option of appealing to a
stantly refusing him the aids or subsidies second jury, which was sometimes composed
which his prodigality was demanding. But of 12 persons. Such a jury, however, still
he still retained the right of levying money  differed from a modern one in the essential
upon towns under the name of tallage, and  principle that it did not come to a decision
also claimed the right of levying other con- upon the evidence of others. The jurors in
tributions, such as upon the export of wool. fact continued to be witnesses, and founded
But a final stop was put to all these exactions their verdict on their own knowledge of the
by the celebrated statute passed in the 25th  prisoner and of the facts of the case. Hence
year of the reign of Edward I., entitled Con- they are often called recognitors, because
firmatio Chartaruzrn. This statute not only  they decided from previous knowledge or recconfimed the Great Charter, but gave, to use  ognition, including what they had heard and
the words of Hallam,: the same security to believed to be true. They seem to have adprivate property which Maglia Charta had  mitted documentary evidence, but parole evgiven to personal liberty."  In it the king  idence seldom or never.
solemnly declared that " for no business from    The great distinction between a modern
thenceforth we shall take such manner of and an ancient jury lies in the circumstance
aids, tacks, nor prises, but by the common  that the former, are not witnesses themselves,
consent of the realm, and for the common  but merely judges of the testimony of others.
profit thereof, saving the ancient aids and  A previous knowledge of the facts of the case,
prises due and accustomed."  Thus was the which would now be an objection to a jurygreat principle of parliamentary taxation ex- man, constituted in former days liis merit
plicitly acknowledged eighty years after the  and eligibility. At what precise period witfirst enactment of the Great Charter. On  nesses distinct from the jury themselves, and
the Magna Charta, see Blackstone's Intro- who had no voice in the verdict, first began
duction to the Charter; Thompson's Essay  to be regularly summoned, can:not be asceron Magna Charta; Creasy, On the English  tained. The first trace of such a practice
Constitution, p. 128, sqq.                occurs in the 23d year of Edward III., and
had probably been creeping in previously.
C. TRIAL BY JURY.                That it was perfectly established by the midWe have already adverted (p. 75) to the  dle of the 15th century we have clear evimistaken and now obsolete opinion that trial dence from Fortescue's treatise De Laudibus
by jury existed in England in the Anglo- Legum Anglite (c. 26), written about that
Saxon times. The 12 thanes who sat in the period. Personal knowledge of a case conSheriff's Court have no analogy to a modern  tinued to be allowed in a juror, who was even
jury except in their number. Their func- required to act upon it; and it was not till
tion of presenting offenders gave them more  a comparatively recent period that the comnthe resemblance of the present grand jury;  plete separation of the functions of juryman
and they seem, like the scabini or ecchevins and witness was established.
of the Continent, to have formed a permanent   For farther information on this subject see
magistracy.  So also the Anglo-Saxon conm-  Iallam's Middle Ages, vol. ii., ch. viii., pt.
purgators resembled the witnesses in a muod- i., and note viii.; and Forsyth's History of
ern trial rather than the jurymen.         Trial by Jturp.




Edward I. From the Tower.
CHAPTER IX.
TIIE REIGNS OF EDWARD I. AND EDWARD II. A.D. 1272-1327.
~ 1. Accession of EDWARD I. Civil Administration. ~ 2. Conquest of
Wales.  ~ 3. Persecution of the Jews.  ~ 4. Disputed Succession to the
Scottish Crown. Award of Edward.  ~ 5. War with France.  ~ 6.
Conquest of Scotland. ~ 7. War with France. Dissensions of the Barons and Confirmation of the Charters. ~ 8. Peace with France. Revolt
of Scotland. ~ 9. Battle of Falkirk. Death of Wallace. ~ 10. Insurrection of Robert Bruce. ~ 1i. Edward's last Expedition against Scotland. His Death and Character.  ~ 12.' Accession of EDWARD II.
Weakness of the King and Discontent of the Barons. ~ 13. Banishment
and Murder of Gaveston. ~ 14. War with Scotland. ~ 15. Hugh le
Despenser.  Civil Commotions. Lancaster executed.  ~ 16. Truce with
Scotland. Conspiracy against the King. He is dethroned and murdered.
~ 1. EDWARD I., 1272-1307.-PRINCE EDWARD had reached
Sicily in his return from the Holy Land, when he received intelligence of the death of his father; but as he soon learned the quiet
settlement of the kingdom, under Walter Giffard, Archbishop of
York, the Earl of Cornwall, son of Richard, King of the Romans,
and the Earl of Gloucester, as guardians of the realm, he was in
no hurry to take possession of the throne, but spent more than a




156                      EDWARD I.                    CHAP. IX
year in Italy and France before he made his appearance in England. After arranging the affairs of the province of Guienne, and
settling a dispute between the Countess of Flanders and his subjects, he landed at Dover in August, 1274, and was crowned at
WVestminster (August 19) by Robert, Archbishop of Canterbury.
In a Parliament which he summoned at Westminster in the following February he took care to inspect the conduct of all his
magistrates and judges, to displace such as were either negligent
or corrupt, to provide them with sufficient force for the execution
of justice, to extirpate all bands and confederacies of robbers, and
to repress those more silent robberies which were committed either
by the power of the nobles or under the countenance of public
authority.
Under the Statute of Gloucester, in 1278 [6 Edw. I., c. 1], enacted for the stricter administration of justice, Edward issued
commissions to inquire into all encroachments on the royal demesne; into the value of escheats, forfeitures, and wardships; and
into the means of repairing or improving every branch of the revenue. The commissioners, in the execution of their office, began
to carry matters too far against the nobility, and to question titles
to estates which had been transmitted from father to son for several generations.  Earl Warrenne, who had done eminent service
in the late reign, being required to show his titles, drew his sword,
and subjoined that William the Bastard had not conquered the
kingdom for himself alone, his ancestor was a joint adventurer in
the enterprise, and he himself was determined to maintain what
had from that period remained unquestioned in his family. The
king, sensible of the danger, desisted from making farther inquiries
of this nature; but he caused a strict investigation to be instituted
into his father's grants to the Church, and in 1279 was passed the
Statute of Mortmain'(in mortua manu.),* by which it was forbidden
to make over lands and tenements to ecclesiastical corporations
without the king's license.
~ 2. In the year 1283 was completed -the conquest of Wales,
one of the most important events of his reign. Llewellyn, prince
of Wales, had been deeply engaged with the Montfort faction;
and in the general accommodation made with the vanquished, had
also obtained his pardon; but as he had reason to dread the future effects of resentment and jealousy in the English monarch,
he maintained a secret correspondence with his former associates,
and even made his addresses to a daughter of the Earl of Leicester, who was sent to him from beyond sea, but, being intercepted
* As the members of ecclesiastical bodies (being professed) were reckoned
dead persons in law, land therefore holden by them might with great propriety be said to be held in mortud mnanu. Kerr's Blackstone, i., p. 509.




A D. 1272-1283.   CONQUEST OF MWALES.                  157
in her passage near the Isles of Scilly, was detained in the court
of Edward. This incident increased the mutual jealousy between
Edward and Llewellyn.  Edward sent him repeated summons to
perform the duty of a vassal, and in 1276 levied an army.to reduce him to obedience.. The same intestine dissensions which had
formerly weakened England, now prevailed in Wales, and had
even taken place in the reigning fhmily.  David and Roderic,
brothers to Llewellyn, dispossessed of their inheritance by that
prince, had been obliged to have recourse to the protection of Edward, and they seconded with all their interest, which was extensive, his attempts to enslave their native country. Edward,
equally vigorous and cautious, entering by the north with a formidable army, pierced into the heart of the country; and, having -carefully explored every road before him and. secured every
pass behind him, approached the Welsh army in its last retreat
among the hills of Snowdon.  Destitute of magazines, cooped up
in a narrow corner, they, as well as their cattle, suffered all the
rigors of famine; and Llewellyn, without being able to strike a
stroke for h's independence, was at last obliged to submit at discretion, and receive the terms imposed upon him by the victor
(1277).  He returned with Edward to England, and did homage
to the king at Westminster; after which he received back his
bride, and was allowed to return to Wales. But complaints soon
arose on the side of the vanquished.  Prince David, seized with
the national spirit, made peace with his brother, and promised to
concur in the defense of public liberty. The Welsh flew to arms;
and Edward,' not displeased with the occasion of making his conquest final and absolute, assembled all his military tenants, and
advanced into Wales with an army which the inhabitants could
not reasonably hope to resist.  The situation of the country gave
the Welsh at first some advantage; but Llewellyn was defeated
and slain in an action, and 2000 of his followers were put to the
sword (1282). David, who succeeded him in the principality,
could never collect an army sufficient to face the English; and
being chased from hill to hill, and hunted from one retreat to another, was obliged to conceal himself under various disguises, and
was at last betrayed in his lurking-place to the enemy. Edward
sent him in chains to Shrewsbury; and, bringing him to a formal
trial before all the peers of England, ordered this sovereign prince
to be hanged, drawn, and:quartered as a traitor (1283). All the
WVelsh nobility submitted to the conqueror; the laws of England,
with the sheriffs. and other ministers of justice, were established
in that principality; and though it was long before national antipathies were extinguished, and a thorough union attained between the people, yet this important conquest, which it had re



158                    EDWARD I.                  CHAP. IX.
quired 800 years fully to effect, was at last, through the abilities
of Edward, completed by the English.  The king invested in the
principality his second son Edward, then an infant, who had been
born at Caernarvon. The death of his eldest son, Alphonso, soon
after made young Edward heir of the monarchy, the principality
of Wales was fully annexed to the crown, and henceforth gives a
title to the eldest son of the kings of England.
~ 3. The settlement of Wales appeared so complete to Edward
that in less than two years after. he went abroad (1286), in order
to make peace between Alphonso, King of Aragon, and Philip
the Fair, who had lately succeeded his father Philip the Hardy on
the throne of France.  Edward had powers from both princes to
settle the terms and-he succeeded in his endeavors. HI-e staid
abroad about three years; and on his return found many disorders
to have prevailed, both from open violence and from the corruption of justice. Edward, in order to remedy this prevailing abuse,
summoned a Parliament and brought the judges to a trial (1289),
where all of them, except two, who were clergymen, were convicted of this flagrant iniquity, were fined and deposed. The following year was marked by the banishment of all the Jews from
England.  Throughout Edward's reign that people had experienced both his anxiety for their conversion and the judicial rigor
with which he visited their real or imputed offenses. For the
former objectf he set the friars to preach, and in vain supported
their exhortations by the offer of pecuniary advantages. Of his
rigor the following are some examples: Clipping the coin was in
the early part of Edward's reign a crime of frequent occurrence,
and the perpetration was facilitated by the custom, sanctioned by
the laws, of cutting the silver penny into halves and quarters. In
1278, 280 Jews were hanged for this crime in London alone, the
mere possession of clipped money being deemed sufficient evidence
of guilt. Many Christians, however, suffered the same punishment. About eight years afterward all the Jews in England,
including women and children, were thrown into prison for some
imputed offense, and detained till they had paid a fine of ~12,000.
At last, in the year 1290, the whole race was banished the kingdom, to the number of 16,311. This severe step is attributed to
the persuasion of Eleanor, the king's mother. Edward allowed
them to carry abroad all their money and movables, which proved
a temptation to the sailors and others to murder many of them;
for which, however, the king inflicted capital punishment. Jews
were not permitted to come again into England till the time of
the Commonwealth.
~ 4. We now come to give an account of the state of affairs in
Scotland, which gave rise to the most interesting transactions of




A.D. 1283-1291. DISPUTED SUCCES-SION IN SCOTLAND.     159
this and of some of the subsequent reigns.  Alexander III., who
had espoused the sister of Edward, died in 1286, without leaving
any male issue, and without any descendant, except Margaret,
born of Eric, King of Norway, and of Margaret, daughter of the
Scottish monarch. This princess, commonly called the Maid of
Norway, had, through her grandfather's care, been recognized as
his successor by the states of Scotland; and on Alexander's death
was acknowledged Queen of Scotland. Edward was naturally led to
build mighty projects on this incident; and having lately, by force
of arms, brought Wales under subjection, he attempted, by the
marriage of Margaret with his eldest son, to unite the whole
island into one monarchy. The states of Scotland readily gave
their assent to the English proposals; but this project, so happily formed and so amicably conducted, failed of success by the
sudden death of the Norwegian princess, who expired on her passage to Scotland (1291), and left a very dismal prospect to the
kingdom. There were numerous competitors; but three only
had any real claim to the crown. These were the descendants
of the three daughters of David, Earl of Huntingdon, and brother
of William, King of Scotland, the prince taken prisoner by Henry
II. John Baliol, Lord of Galloway, was the grandson of Margaret, the eldest daughter; Robert Bruce, Lord of Anandale, was
the son of Isabel, the second daughter; and Hastings, Lord of
Abergavenny, was the grandson of Ada, the third daughter. Baliol and Bruce laid claim to the whole kingdom; and Hastings
maintained that, in right of his mother, he had a title to a third
of it. The parliament of Scotland, threatened with a furious civil
war, agreed in making a reference to Edward. The temptation
was too strong for the virtue of the English monarch to resist;
and he purposed to lay hold of the present favorable opportunity,
if not to create, at least to revive, his claim of a feudal superiority over Scotland. Carrying with him a great army, he advanced
to the frontiers, and invited the Scottish parliament, and all the
competitors, to attend him in the castle of Norham, a place sit-.uated on the southern banks of the Tweed, in order to determine
that cause which had been referred to his arbitration. WVhen the
whole Scottish nation had thus unwarily put themselves in his
power, Edward claimed the right of determining among the competitors to the crown, not in virtue of the reference made to him,
but in quality of superior and liege lord of the kingdom, and required an acknowledgment of his claim.  The Scottish parliament was astonished at so new a pretension, and answered only
by their silence; but the king, in order to maintain the appearance of free and regular proceedings, desired them to remove into
their own country to deliberate upon his claim, and to inform him




160                     EDWARD I.                  CHAP. IX.
of their resolution; and he appointed a plain at Upsettleton, on
the northern banks of the Tweed, for that purpose.
When the Scottish barons assembled in this place, though moved
with indignation at the injustice of this unexpected claim, and at
the fraud with which it had been conducted, they found themselves betrayed into a situation in which it was impossible for
them to make any defense for the ancient liberty and independence of their country.  The king, therefore, interpreting their silence as consent, addressed himself to the several competitors;
and, previously to his pronouncing sentence, required their acknowledgment of his superiority.  There appeared on this occasion no fewer than nine claimants, who all proved themselves
equally obsequious. Edward next gave orders that Baliol should
choose 40 commissioners: Bruce 40 more; to these the king
added 24 Englishmen: he ordered these 104 commissioners to
examine the cause deliberately among themselves, and make their
report to him; and he promised in the ensuing year to give his
determination.  During this interval, Edward, in order to give
greater authority to his intended decision, proposed this general
question both to the commissioners and to all the celebrated lawyers in Europe: whether a person descended from the eldest sister, but farther removed by one degree, were preferable, in the
succession of kingdoms, fiefs, and other indivisible inheritances, to
one descended from the younger sister, but one degree nearer to
*the common stock?  This was the true state ofthe case; and the
principle of representation had now gained such ground every
where that a uniform answer was returned to the king in the
affirmative. He therefore pronounced sentence in favor of 13aliol,
who, upon renewing his oath offealty to England, was put in possession of the kingdom (1292). The conduct of Edward, both in
the deliberate solemnity of the proceedings and in the justice of
the award, was so far unexceptionable; but he immediately proceeded in such a manner as made it evident that, not content with
his claim of superiority, he aimed at the absolute sovereignty and
dominion of the kingdom. He required King John himself, by six
different summons on trivial occasions, to come to London; refused him the privilege of defending his cause by a procurator;
and obliged him to appear at the bar of his parliament as a private person. His intention plainly was to enrage Baliol by these
indignities, to engage him in rebellion, and to assume -the dominion of the state as the punishment of his treason and felony.
Accordingly Ba iol, though a prince of a soft and gentle spirit,
returned into Scotland highly provoked at this usage, and determined at all hazards to vindicate his liberty; and the war which
soon after broke out between France and England gave him a
faivorable opportunity of executing his purpose.




A.D. 1291-1294.     WAR WITH FRANCE.                    161
~ 5. In an accidental rencontre between the crews of an English and a Norman vessel at a watering-place near Bayonne, one
of the latter was killed.  A series of reprisals ensued on both
sides, and the sea became a scene of piracy between the nations.
At length a fleet of 200 Norman vessels set sail to the south for
wine and other commodities, and in their passage seized all the
English ships which they met with, hanged the seamen, and seized
the goods. The inhabitants of the English seaports, informed of
this incident~ fitted out a fleet of 60'sail, stronger and better manned than the others, and awaited the enemy on their return.
After an obstinate battle they put them to rout, and sunk, destroyed, or took the greater part of them (1293). The affair was
now become too important to be any longer overlooked by the
sovereigns. Philip cited the king, as Duke of Guienne, to appear
in his court at Paris, and answer for these offenses; and Edward,
finding himself in immediate danger of war with the Scots, allowed himself to be deceived by the gross artifice of Philip, who proposed that, if Edward would once consent to give him possession
of Guienne, he should think his honor fully repaired, would engage
to restore that province immediately, and would accept of a very
easy satisfaction for all other injuries. But the French monarch
was no sooner put in possession of Guienne than the citation was
renewed, Edward was condemned for nonappearance, and Guienne, by a formal sentence, was declared to be forfeited and annexed to the crown (1294). Edward, fallen into a like snare with
that which he himself had spread for the Scots, was enraged; and
the more so as he was justly ashamed of his own conduct in being
so egregiously overreached by the court of France.  He formed
alliances with several princes on the Continent, and sent a powerful army into Guienne, which met at first with some success, but
was ultimately defeated in every quarter.  The French king, in
order to make a greater diversion of the English force, and to engage Edward in dangerous and important wars, formed a secret
alliance with John Baliol, King of Scotland-the commencement
of that strict union which during so many centuries was maintained by mutual interests and necessities between the French and
Scottish nations.
~ 6. The expenses attending these multiplied wars of Edward,
and his preparations for war, joined to alterations which had insensibly taken place in the general state of affairs, obliged him to
have frequent recourse, to Parliamentary supplies. Edward became sensible that the most expeditious way of obtaining supply
was to assemble the, deputies of all the boroughs, to lay before
them the necessities of the state, and to require their consent to
the demands of their sovereign. For this reason he issued writs




162                    EDWARD I.                  CHAP. IX.
to the sheriffs, enjoining them to send to Parliament, alone with
two knights of the shire, two deputies from each borough within
their county; and these provided with sufficient powers from their
community to consent, in their name, to what he and his council
should require of them: as it is a most equitable rule, says he, in
his preamble to this writ, that what concerns all should be approved
of by all, and common-dclngers be repelled by united efforts-a noble
principle which laid~ the foundation of a free and equitable government. These writs were issued in the 23d year of his reign
(1295), and are regarded by Hume and others as the true epoch
of the House of Commons; but there is now sufficient evidence
that the representatives of the boroughs had been summoned on
previous occasions during his reign; and accordingly the Parliament summoned by Simon de Montfort under Henry III. must be
regarded as the real foundation of the House of Commons.*
When Edward received intelligence of the treaty secretly concluded between John and Philip, he marched into Scotland with
a numerous army to chastise his rebellious vassal (1294). He
gained a decisive victory over the Scots near Dunbar.  All the
southern parts of the country were instantly subdued by the English; and the feeble and timid Baliol hastened to make a solemn
and irrevocable resignation of his crown into the hands of Edward.  The English king marched northward to Aberdeen and
Elgin, without meeting an enemy; and, having brought the whole
kingdom to a seeming state of tranquillity, returned to the south
with his army, carrying away with him the stone on which the
Scotch kings were inaugurated, and to which the popular superstition paid the highest veneration.  lBaliol was carried prisoner
to London, and committed to custody in the Tower. Two years
after he was restored to liberty, and submitted to a voluntary banishment in France, where, without making any farther attempts
for the recovery of his royalty, he died in a private station. Earl
Warrenne was left Governor of Scotland, and Edward returned
with his victorious army into England.
~ 7. An attempt which he made about the same time for the
recovery of Guienne was not equally successful. In order to carry
on the war, the king stood in need of large sums of money, which
he raised by arbitrary exactions both on the clergy and laity.
Notwithstanding his many noble qualities, Edward was of an imperious disposition. He resolutely refused to confirm the Great
Charter; and among his other heavy exactions, without the consent of Parliament, those on the export of wool are particularly
mnentioned.. The clergy, after a violent struggle, were obliged to
* For an account of the rise and progress of the English Parliament, see
Notes and Illustrations to chap. xii.




A.D. 1294-1297.  DISSENSIONS OF THE BARONS.           163
submit, and to pay a fifth part of all their movables. But the
nobles and the commons were more successful in their resistance.
They found intrepid leaders in Humphrey Bohun, Earl of Hereford, the constable, and Roger Bigod, Earl of Norfolk, the marshal of England, two patriots, to whom England owes the deepest
gratitude, since they had the courage to withstand the arbitrary
will of one of the most prudent and successful monarchs that had
sat upon the English throne since the Conquest. Edward assembled on the sea-coast an army which he purposed to send over to
Guienne, while he himself should in person make an impression
on the side of Flanders; and he intended to put these forces under
the command of the Earls of Hereford and Norfolk; but these
two powerful earls refused to execute his commands, and affirmed
that they were only obliged by their office to attend his person in
the wars. A violent altercation ensued; and the king, in the
height of his passion, addressing himself to the constable, exclaimed, Sir Earl, by God, you shall either go or hang. By God,
Sir ]King, replied Hereford, I will neither go nor hang. And he
immediately departed with the marshal, and above thirty other
considerable barons. Upon this opposition the king laid aside the
project of an expedition against Guienne, and crossed over into
Flanders; but the constable and marshal, with the barons of their
party, resolved to take advantage of Edward's absence, and to obtain an explicit assent to their demands. When summoned to attend the Parliament at London, they came with a great body of
cavalry and infantry, and before they would enter the city required that the gates should be put into their custody. Their
demands, however, were moderate, and such as sufficiently justify
the purity of their intentions in all their past measures. They
only required that the two charters (the Great Charter and that
of the forests) should receive a solemn confirmation; that a clause
should be added to secure the nation forever against all impositions and taxes without consent of Parliament; and that they
themselves and their adherents, who had refused to attend the
-king into Flanders, should be pardoned for the offense, and should.
be again received into favor. The Prince of Wales and his council assented to these terms, and the charters were sent over to the
king at Ghent in Flanders, to be there confirmed by him. Edward was at last obliged, after many internal struggles, to affix
his seal to the charters, as also to the clause that bereaved him
of the power which he had hitherto assumed of imposing arbitrary
taxes upon the people. This took place in 1297, and in the 25th
year of his reign. Edward subsequently attempted to evade these
engagements, and in 1305 secretly applied to Rome, and procured from that mercenary court an absolution from all the oaths




164                     EDWARD I.                   CHAP. IX
and engagements which he had so often reiterated to observe both
the charters; but he soon after granted a new confirmation. Thus,
after the contests of nearly a whole century, and these ever accompanied with violent jealousies, often with public convulsions,
the Great Charter was finally established; and the English nation
have the honor of extorting, by their perseverance, this concession
from the ablest, the most warlike, and the most ambitious. of all
their princes.*
~ 8. In 1298 peace was concluded between France and England by the mediation of Pope Boniface.  Their union was cemented by a double marriage-that of Edward himself; who was
now a widower, with Margaret, Philip's sister, and that of the
Prince of Wales with Isabella, daughter of that monarch.  Philip
was willing to restore Guienne to the English; Edward agveed
to abandon his ally the Earl of Flanders, on condition that Philip
should treat in like manner his ally the King of Scots.
It was, indeed, high time for Edward to apply himself to the affairs of Scotland. There was one William Wallace, of a small
fortune, but descended of an ancient family in the west of Scotland, whose courage prompted him to undertake, and enabled him
finally to accomplish, the desperate attempt of delivering his native country from the dominion, of foreigners.  This man, whose
valorous exploits are the object of just admiration, but have been
much exaggerated by the traditions of his countrymen, had been
provoked by the insolence of an English officer to put him to death;
and finding himself obnoxious, on that account, to the severity of
the administration, he fled into the woods, and offered himself as a
leader to all those whom their crimes or bad fortune, or avowed
hatred of the English, had reduced to a like necessity.  I-Ie was
endowed with gigantic force of body, with heroic courage of mind,
with disinterested magnanimity, with incredible patience, and ability to bear hunger, fatigue, and all the severities of the seasons;
and he soon acquired, among those desperate fugitives,'that authority to which his virtues so justly entitled him.  Wallace having, by many fortunate enterprises, brought the valor of his followers to correspond to his own, resolved to strike a decisive blow
against the English government; and he concerted the plan. of attacking Ormesby, to whom, as justiciary, the government had, been
deputed by, Warrenne, at Scone, and of taking vengeance on him
for all the violence and tyranny of which he had been guilty.
The justiciary, apprised of his intentions, fled hastily into England; all the other officers of that nation imitated his example;
their terror added alacrity and courage to the Scots, who betook
* On the confirmation of the Charter, see also Notes and Illustrations
(B) to chap. viii.




A. D. 1297-1302.  DEATH OF WALLACE.                    165
themselves to arms in every quarter. WVarrenne, having collected
an army of 40,000 men in the north of England, suddenly-entered
Scotland, but was defeated by Wallace with great slaughter at
Cambuskenneth, near Stirling.  Among the slain'was Cressingham, the English treasurer, whose memory was so extremely odious to the Scots that they flayed his dead body, and made saddles
and girths of his skin. Warrenne, finding the remainder of his
army much dismayed by this misfortune, was obliged again to
evacuate the kingdom, and retire into England.  Wallace, breaking into the northern counties during the winter season, laid every
place waste with fire and sword; and, after extending on all sides,,
without opposition, the fury of' his ravages as far as the bishopric
of Durham, he returned, loaded with spoils and crowned with
glory, into his own country (1297).
~ 9. Edward now hastened over to England, collected the whole
military force of England, Wales, and Ireland, and marched with
an army of nearly 100,000 combatants to the northern frontiers.
The king gained a decisive victory over the Scots at Falkirk
(1298). The whole Scottish army was broken, and chased off
the field with great slaughter; and the Scots never suffered a
greater loss in any action, nor one which seemed to threaten more
inevitable ruin to their country.
The subjection of Scotland, notwithstanding this great victory
of Edward, was not yet entirely completed.  The English army,
after reducing the southern provinces; was obliged to retire for
want of provisions, and left the northern counties in the hands
of the natives. In 1303 the Scots again rose in arms, and gained
several successes.  The king assembled both a great fleet and fa
great army; and, entering the frontiers of Scotland, appeared with
a force which the enemy could not think of resisting in the open
field. The English navy, which sailed along the coast, secured
the army from any danger of famine; Edward's vigilance preserved it from surprises; and by this prudent disposition they
marched victorious fiom one extremity of the kingdom to the
other, ravaging the open country, reducing all the castles, and receiving the submissions of all the nobility, even those of the regent.
Wallace, though he attended the English army in their march,
found but few opportunities of signalizing that valor which had
formerly made him so terrible to his enemies. At last that hardy
warrior, who was determined, amid the universal slavery of his
countrymen, still to maintain his independency, was betrayed into
Edward's hands by Sir John Monteith, his friend, whom he had
made acquainted with the place of his concealment. The king,
whose natural bravery and magnanimity should have induced him
to respect like qualities in an enemy, enraged at some acts of vi



166                     EDWARD I.                 CHAP. IX.
olence committed by Wallace during the fury of war, resolved to
overawe the Scots by an example of severity.  He ordered Wallace to be carried in chains to London, to be tried as a rebel and
traitor, though he had never made submissions or sworn fealty to
England, and to be executed in Smithfield (1305). But the Scots,
already disgusted at the great innovations introduced by the sword
of a conqueror into their laws and government, were farther enraged at the injustice and cruelty exercised upon Wallace; and it
was not long ere a new and more fortunate leader presented himself, who conducted them to liberty, to victory, and to vengeance.
~ 10. Robert Bruce, son of that Robert who had been one of
the competitors for the. crown, had succeeded, by his father's
death, to all his rights; and the demise of John Baliol, together
with the captivity of Edward, eldest son of that prince, seemed to
open a full career to the genius and ambition of this young nobleman.  At a meeting of the. Scottish nobility at Dumfiies (Feb.
1306), he called upon them to throw off the English yoke; but
finding that John Comyn, the son of Baliol's sister, and one of
the most powerful of the Scottish nobles, was not ready to join
his side, Bruce attacked him in the cloisters of the Grey Friars,
and running him  through the body, left him  for dead.  Sir
Thomas Kirkpatrick, one of Bruce's friends, asked him soon after
if the traitor were slain, I believe so, replied Bruce. And is that a
matter, cried Kirkpatrick, to be left to conjecture? I will secure inm.
Upon which he drew his dagger, ran to Comyn, and stabbed him
to the heart.
~ 11. The murder of Comyn affixed the seal to the conspiracy
of the Scottish nobles: they had now no resource left but to shake
off the yoke of England, or to perish in the attempt. Bruce was
solemnly crowned and inaugurated in the Abbey of Scone, by the
Bishop of St. Andrews, who had zealously embraced his cause.
The English were again chased out of the kingdom, except such
as took shelter in the fortresses that still remained in their hands;
and Edward found that the Scots, twice conquered in his reign,
and often defeated, must yet be anew subdued. Not discouraged
with these unexpected difficulties, he sent Aymer de Valence with
a considerable force into Scotland to check the progress of the
malcontents; and that nobleman, falling unexpectedly upon Bruce
at Mlethven in Perthshire, threw his army into such disorder as
ended in a total defeat. Bruce fought with the most heroic courage, but was at last obliged to yield to superior fortune, and take
shelter, with a few followers, in the western isles. Edward, vowing revenge against the whole Scottish nation, assembled a great
army, and was preparing to enter the frontiers, secure of success,
when he unexpectedly sickened and died near Carlisle (July 77




A.D. 1303-1307.    EDWARD II.-DISCONTENTS.             167
1307), enjoining with his last breath his son and successor to
prosecute the enterprise, and never to desist till he had finally
subdued the kingdom of Scotland.  He expired in the 69th year
of his age, and 35th of his reign, hated by his neighbors, but extremely respected and revered by his own subjects.
The enterprises finished by this prince, and the projects which
he forined and brought near to a conclusion, were more prudent,
more regularly conducted, and more advantageous to the solid interests of his kingdom, than those which were undertaken in any
reign, either of his ancestors or his s-alcessors.  Edward, however
exceptionable his character may appear on the head of justice, is the
model of a politic and warlike king: he possessed industry, penetration, courage, vigilance, and enterprise; he was frugal in all
expenses that were not necessary; he knew how to open the public treasures on a proper occasion; he punished criminals with
severity; he was gracious and affable to.his servants and courtiers;
and being of a majestic figure, expert in all military exercises, and
in the, main well-proportioned in his limbs, notwithstanding the
great length and the smallness of his legs, he was as well qualified
to captivate the populace by his exterior appearance as to gain
the approbation of men of sense by his more solid virtues. But
the chief advantage which the people of England reaped, and still
continue to reap, from the reign of this great prince, was the correction, extension, amendment, and establishment of the laws,
which Edward maintained in great vigor, and left much improved
to posterity; for the acts of a wise legislator commonly remain,
while the acquisitions of a conqueror often perish with him.
This merit has justly gained for Edward the appellation of the
English Justifnian.
~ 12. EDWARD 11., 1307-1327.-This prince, called Edward
of Caernarvon, from the place of his birth, was 23 years of age at
his father's death. The prepossessions entertained in: his favor
kept the English from being fully sensible of the extreme loss
which they had sustained by the death of the great monarch who
filled the thione; but the first act of his reign blasted-all these
hopes, and showed him to be totally unqualified to rule. The indefatigable Robert Bruce, though his army had been dispersed,
and he himself had been obliged to take shelter in the western
isles, remained not long inactive; but before the death of the late
king had sallied from his retreat and again collected his followers,
had appeared in the field and had obtained by surprise an important advantage over Aymer de Valence, who commanded the English forces. But Edward, after marching a little way into Scotland, immediately returned upon his footsteps and disbanded his
army. His grandees perceived from this conduct that the author



168                    EDWARD II.                 CHAP. IX.
ity of the crown, fallen into such feeble hands, was no longer to
be dreaded; and Edward's passion for favorites soon gave them
a pretext for complaint. There was one Piers Gaveston, son of
a Gascon knight of some distinction, who had honorably served
the late king, and who, in reward of his merits, had obtained an
establishment for his son in the family of the Prince of Wales.
This young man soon insinuated himself into the affections of his
master by his agreeable behavior, and by supplying him with all
those innocent though frivolous amusements which suited his capacity and his. inclinations. Edward, after his accession, not content with conferring on him possessions which had sufficed as an
appanage for a prince of the blood, daily loaded him with new
honors and riches; married him to his own niece, sister of the
Earl of Gloucester; and seemed to enjoy no pleasure. in his royal
dignity but as it enabled him to exalt to the highest splendor this
object of his fond affections. When he went to France, both in
order to do homage for the duchy of Guienne and to espouse the
Princess Isabella, to whom he had long been affianced, Edward
left Gaveston guardian of the realm, with more ample powers than
had usually been conferred.
~ 13. It would afford but little amusement or instruction to de*tail all the events which at last drew down upon the favorite the
tragical fate which he had courted through his insolence and ostentation. Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, cousin-german to the king,
and first prince of the blood, headed a confederacy of the nobles
against Gaveston, and compelled the king to banish him (1308).
Edward, however, contrived to convert even this circumstance
into a mark of favoq by making his minion Lord-lieutenant of Ireland, and shortly after managed to procure his recall.  The king
set no longer any bounds to his extravagant fondness and affection; while Gaveston himself, forgetting his past misfortunes,
and blind to their causes, resumed his former offensive behavior.
In 1311 a junto of the barons, besides extorting some measures
of reform, obliged the king to pass an ordinance for the removal
of evil counselors, by which a great number of persons were by
name excluded from every office of power and profit; and Piers
Gaveston himself was forever banished the king's dominions, under the penalty, in case of disobedience, of being declared a public
enemy. But Edward, removing to York, freed himself from the
immediate terror of the barons' power, invited back Gaveston from
Flauders, which that favorite had made the place of his retreat,
and declaring his banishment to be illegal, and contrary to the
laws and customs of the kingdom, openly reinstated him in his
former credit and authority (1312). The barons, highly provoked
at this disappointment, and apprehensive of danger to themselves,




A.D. 1307-1314.  HUGH LE DESPENSER.                  169
from the declared animosity of so powerful a minion, saw that
either his or their ruin was now inevitable. The Earl of Lancaster, Guy, Earl of Warwick, Humphrey Bohun, Earl of Hereford, Aymer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke, and others, renewed
with redoubled zeal their former confederacies against him. The
Earl of Lancaster suddenly raised an army and marched to York,
where he found the king already removed to Newcastle. He flew
thither in pursuit of him; and Edward had just time to escape to
Tynemouth, where he embarked, and sailed with Gaveston to
Scarborough. He left his favorite in that fortress; but Gaveston,
sensible of the bad condition of his garrison, was obliged to capitulate, and to surrender himself prisoner. He was ultimately conducted to Warwick Castle. The Earls of Lancaster, Hereford,
and Arundel immediately repaired thither; and without any regard to the laws, or the military capitulation, they ordered the
head of the obnoxious favorite to be struck off by the hands of the
executioner.
~ 14. The terror of the English power being abated by the feeble conduct of the king, even the least sanguine of the Scots began
to entertain hopes of recovering their independence; and the whole
kingdom, except a few fortresses which he had not the means to
attack, acknowledged the authority of Robert Bruce. But the
union of all parties in England, after the death of Gaveston, restored that kingdom to its native force, and opened again the prospect of reducing Scotland. Edward assembled forces from Gascony, Flanders, Ireland, and Wales, for this important enterprise,
which, joined with the English, formed an army amounting, according to the Scotch writers, to 100,000. The army collected
by the Bruce exceeded not 30,000 combatants; but, being composed of men who had distinguished themselves by many acts of
valor, who were rendered desperate by their situation, and who
were inured to all the varieties of fortune, they might justly, under such a leader, be deemed formidable to the most numerous
and best appointed armies. He posted himself at Bannockburn,
about two miles from Stirling, where, on the 25th June, 1314, he
gained a great and decisive victory over the English, which secured the independence of Scotland, and fixed Bruce on the throne
of that kingdom. The king himself narrowly escaped by taking
shelter in Dunbar, whose gates were opened to him by the Earl
of March, and he thence passed by sea to Berwick.
~ 15. The king's chief favorite, after the death of Gaveston, was
Hugh le Despenser, or Spenser, a young man of English birth, of
high rank, and of a noble family, who possessed all the exterior
accomplishments of person and address which were fitted to engage the weak mind of Edward.  His father was a nobleman
T4i




170                    EDWARD II.                  CHA?.. IX
enerable from his years, respected through all his past life for
wisdom, valor, arid integrity, and well fitted, by his talents and
experience, to have supplied the defects both of the king and of
his minion; but no sooner was Edward's attachment declared for
young Spenser than the turbulent Lancaster, and most of the
great barons, regarded him as their rival, made him the object of
their animosity, and formed violent plans for his ruin. After committing many disorders they entered London with their troops
(1321); and giving in to the Parliament, which was then sitting,
a charge against the Spensers, of which they attempted not to
prove one article, they procured, by menaces and violence, a sentence of attainder and perpetual exile against these ministers. In
the following year Edward hastened with his army to the marches
of Wales, the chief seat of the power of his enemies, whom ha
found totally unprepared for resistance. Lancaster, in order to
prevent the total ruin of his party, summoned together his vassals
and retainers; Adeclared his alliance with Scotland, which had
long been suspected;, and, being joined by the Earl of Hereford,
advanced with all his forces against the king. But being disappointed in that plan of operations, he fled with his army to the
north, in expectation of being there joined by his Scottish allies;
he was pursued by the king; and his army diminished daily, till
he came to Boroughbridge, where he was defeated and capturied.
Lancaster, who was guilty of open rebellion, was condemned by a
court martial, and led to execution. He was clothed in a mean
attire, placed on a lean jade without a bridle, conducted to an eminence near Pomfret, one of his own castles, and there beheaded
(1322).
~16. Edward, after making one more fruitless attempt against
Scotland, whence he retreated with dishonor, found it necessary to
terminate hostilities with that kingdom by a truce of thirteen
years. This truce was the more seasonable for England, because
the nation was at that juncture threatened with hostilities from
France. Charles the Fair had some grounds of complaint against
the king's ministers in Guienne; and Queen Isabella, who had
obtained permission to go over to Paris, and endeavor to adjust
in an amicable manner the difference with her brother, proposed
that Edward should resign the dominion of Guienne to his son,
now thirteen years of age; and that the prince should come to
Paris, and do the homage which every vassal owed to his superior
lord. Spenser was charmed with the contrivance; young Edward
was sent to Paris; and the ruin covered under this fatal snare
was never perceived or suspected by any of the English council
(1325).
The queen, on her arrival in France, had there found a great




A.D. 1314-1327. EDWARD DETHRONED AND MURDERED.    171
number of English fugitives, the remains of the Lancastrian faction; and their common hatred of Spenser soon begat a secret
friendship and correspondence between them and that princess.
Among the rest was young Roger Mortimer, a potent baron in the
Welsh marches, who was easily admitted to pay his court to Queen
Isabella.  The graces of his person and address advanced him
quickly in her affections. He became her confidant and counselor in all her measures; and, gaining ground daily upon her heart,
he engaged her to sacrifice at last to her passion all the sentiments
of honor and of fidelity to her husband.  Mortimer lived in the
most declared intimacy with her; a correspondence was secretly
carried on with the malcontent party in England; and when Ed.
ward, informed of those alarming circumstances, required her
speedily to return with the prince, she publicly replied that she
would never set foot in the kingdom till Spenser was forever removed from his presence and councils-a declaration which procured her great popularity in England, and threw a decent veil
6vder all her treasonable enterprises. She affianced young Edward
with Philippa, daughter of the Count of Holland and tIainault;
and having, by the assistance of this prince, enlisted in her service
nearly 3000 men, she set sail from the harbor of Dort, and landed
safely and without opposition on the coast of Suffolk (1326). She
was joined by.the earls of Kent and Norfolk, and many of the
nobility; and Edward, being deserted by his subjects, departed for
the West; but, being disappointed in his expectations with regard
to the loyalty of those parts, he passed ovei to Wales, where, he
flattered himself, his name was more popular, and which he hoped
to find uninfected with the contagion of general rage which had
seized the English.  The elder Spenser, created Earl of AVinchester, was left governor of the castle of Bristol; but the garrison mutinied against him, and he was delivered into the hands
of his enemies and executed. The king took shipping for Ireland; but being driven back by contrary winds, he endeavored to
conceal himself in the mountains of Wales. He was soon discovered, was put under the custody of the Earl of Leicester, and was
confined in the castle of Kenilworth. The younger Spenser also
fell into the hands of his enemies, and was executed without any
appearance of a legal trial. The queen then summoned, in the
king's name, a Parliament at Westminster (Jan. 7, 1327). A
charge was drawn up against the king, in which, even though it was
framed by his inveterate enemies, nothing but his narrow genius
or his misfortunes were objected to him.  His deposition was
voted; the prince, already declared regent by his party, was
placed on the throne; and a deputation was sent to Edward; at
Kenilworth, to require his resignation, which menaces and terror




172                          EDWARD II.                         CHAP. IX.
soon extorted from him (Jan. 20). That unfortunate monarch
was transferred to Berkeley Castle, and the impatient Mortimer
secretly sent orders to his keepers instantly to dispatch him.
These ruffians threw him on a bed, held him down violently with
a table which they flung over him, thrust into his fundament a
red-hot iron, which they inserted through a horn; and though the
outward marks of violence upon his person were prevented by this
expedient, the horrid deed was discovered to all the guards and
attendants by the screams with which the agonizing king filled
the castle while his bowels were consuming (Sept. 21).  Thus
miserably perished, in the 44th year of his age and 21st of his
reign, Edward II., than whom  it is not easy to imagine a prince
less fitted for governing the fierce and turbulent people subjected
to his authority.
CHRONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE EVENTS.
A.D.                                 A.D.
1272. Accession of Edward I.               pendence of Scotland under Robert
1283. Conquest of Wales.                   Bruce.
1290. The Jews banished from England.    1322. The Earl of Lancaster defeated and
1296. Conquest of Scotland.                executed.
1305. Wallace executed in London.    1326. Queen Isabella invades England, and
1307. Accession of Edward II.              deposes her husband.
314. Battle of Bannockburn, and ind,- 132T. The king murdered at Berkeley Castle.




Noble of Edward III.
Obv.: EDWARID'. DEI. G. GRA. ANGL' Z FRANO'. D. II. IYB'G. The king standing in a
ship (type supposed to relate to the naval victory gained by him over the French fleet off
Sluys, A.D). 1340). Rev.: InIc: TRANSIENS: ER: MEDIVM: ILLORVU: IBAT +.  Cross
fleury, with a fleur-de-lis at each point, and a lion passant under a crown in each quarter.
CHAPTER X.
hIOUSE OF PLANTAGENET CONTINUED.-EDWARD III. AND IRICHARD II.
A.D. 1327-1399.
~ 1. Accession of EDWARD III. War with Scotland. ~ 2. Fall of Mortimer. ~ 3. King's Administration. War with Scotland. Battle of Ialidown Hill.  ~ 4. Edward's Claim to the Crown of France. ~ 5. War
with France. ~ 6. Domestic Disturbances. Affairs of Brittany. ~ 7.
Renewal of the French War. Battle of Crdcy. ~ 8. Captivity of the
King of Scots.  Calais taken.  ~ 9. Institution of the Garter.  War in
Guienne and Battle of Poitiers. ~ 10. Captivity of King John. Invasion
of France and Peace of Bretigni. ~ 11. The Black Prince in Castile.
Rupture with France. ~ 12. Death of the Prince of Wales. Death and
Character of the King. ~ 13. Miscellaneous Transactions of this Reign.
~ 14. Accession of RICHARD II. Insurrections. ~ 15. Discontents of
the Nobility.  Expulsion or Execution of the King's Ministers.  ~ 16.
Counter-revolution.  Ascendency of the Duke of Lancaster.  Cabals
and Murder of the Duke of Gloucester.  ~ 17. Death of John of Gaunt,
Duke of Lancaster. Revolt of his Son Henry. Deposition, Death, and
Character of the King.  ~ 18. The Wiclifites.
~ 1. EDWARD III., 1327-1377.-AFTER the king's murder a
council of regency was appointed by Parliament, and the Earl of
Lancaster was made guardian and protector of the king's person,
who, at the age of 14, ascended the throne with the title of Edward III.  The real power, however, was in the hands of Isabella and Mortimer.
The Scots seized the opportunity offered by the unsettled state
of the English government to make some devastating incursions
into the northern counties. The young king, who had put himself at the head of an army in order to repress them, was near
falling into the hands of the enemy. Douglas, having surveyed




174                    EDWARD III.                 CHAP. X.
exactly the situation of tile English camp, entered it secretly in
the nighttime, with a body of 200 determined soldiers, and advanced to the royal tent, with the view of killing or carrying off
the king in the midst of his army. But some of Edward's attendants, awaking in that critical moment, made resistance; his
chaplain and chamberlain sacrificed their lives for his safety;
the king himself, after making a valorous defense, escaped in the
dark; and Douglas, having lost the greater part of his followers,
was glad to make a hasty retreat with the remainder. Soon after,
the Scottish army decamped without noise in the dead of night;
and, having thus gotten the start of the English, arrived without farther loss in their own country. This inglorious campaign
was followed by a disgraceful peace.  As the claim of superiority
in England, more than any other cause, had tended to inflame the
animosities between the two nations, Mortimer, besides stipulating a marriage between Jane, sister of Edward, and David, the
son and heir of Robert, consented to resign absolutely this claim,
to give up all the homages done by the Scottish Parliament and
nobility, and to aclknowledge Robert as independent sovereign of
Scotland. This treaty was ratified by Parliament, 1328, but was,
nevertheless, the source of great discontent among the people.
~ 2. But the fall of MIortimer was now approaching. H-aving
persuaded the Earl of Kent that his brother, King Edward, was
still alive, and detained in some secret prison in England, he induced the unsuspicious earl to enter into a conspiracy for his restoration, and then caused him to be condemned by the Parliament,
and executed (1330).  The Earl of Lancaster, on pretense of his
having assented to this conspiracy, was soon after thrown into
prison; and many of the prelates and nobility were prosecuted.
Mortimer employed this engine to crush all his enemies, and to
enrich himself and his family by the forfeitures. He assumed the
title of Earl of March, affected a state and dignity equal or superior to the royal; his power became formidable to every one;
and all parties, forgetting past animosities, conspired in their hatred of Mortimer. It was impossible that these abuses could long
escape the observation of a prince endowed with so much spirit
and judgment as young Edward.  He communicated his intentions of subverting Mlortimer to several nobles; and the castle
of Nottingham was chosen for the scene of their enterprise. The
queen-dowager and MIortimer lodged in that fortress: the king
also was admitted, though with a few only of his attendants; and
as the castle was strictly guarded, the gates locked every evening,
and the keys carried to the queen, it became necessary to communicate the design to Sir William Eland, the governor, who
zealously took part in it.  By his direction the king's associates




A.D. 1327-13s2.  WAR WITH SCOTLAND.                    175
were admitted through a subterraneous passage, which had formerly been contrived for a secret outlet from the castle, but was
now buried in rubbish; and Mortimer, without having it in his
power to make resistance, was suddenly seized in an apartment
adjoining to the queen's. A Parliament was immediately summoned, which condemned him, from the supposed notoriety of the
facts alleged against him, without trial, or hearing his answer, or
examining a witness; and he was hanged on a gibbet at Tyburn
(1330). The queen was confined to her own house at Risings,
near London; and though the king, during the remainder of her
life, paid her a decent visit once or twice a year, she never was
able to reinstate herself in any credit or authority.
~ 3. Edward, having now taken the reins of government into
his own hands, applied himself with industry and judgment to
redress all those grievances which had proceeded either from want
of authority in the crown, or from the late abuses of it. The
robbers, thieves, murderers, and criminals of all kinds had, during the course of public convulsions, multiplied to an enormous
degree, and were openly protected by the great barons, who made
use of them against their enemies. Miany of these gangs had become so numerous as to require the king's own presence to disperse them; and he exerted both courage and industry in executing this salutary office. For the next three or four years Edward's attention was engaged with the affairs of Scotland. The
wise and valiant Robert Bruce, who had recovered by arms the
independence of his'country, died soon after the last treaty of
peace with England, leaving David, his son, a minor, under the
guardianship of Randolph, Earl of 5Murray, the companion of all
his victories. A good deal of discontent had been excited among
many of the English nobility by the:non-performance of that article of the treaty by which they were to be restored to their' estates in Scotland.  Under the influence of these feelings they resolved on setting up Edward Baliol, the son of John, who was
then residing in Normandy, as a pretender to the Scottish crown;
and Edward secretly encouraged Baliol in the enterprise, and gave
countenance to the nobles who were disposed to join in the attempt. The arms of Baliol were attended with surprising success; that prince was crowned at Scone (1332); and David, his
competitor, was sent over to France with his betrothed wife, Jane,
sister to Edward. But Baliol's imprudence, or his necessities,
making him dismiss the greater part of his English followers, he
was attacked on a sudden near Annan, put to the rout, and
chased into England in a miserable condition; and thus lost his
kingdom by a revolution as sudden as that by which he had acquired it.




176                     EDWARD III.                   CHAP. X.
While Baliol enjoyed his short-lived and precarious royalty, he
had offered to acknowledge Edward's superiority, and to espouse
the Princess Jane, if the Pope's consent could be obtained for dissolving her former marriage, which was not yet consummated.
Edward, ambitious of recovering that important concession made
by Mortimer during his minority, willingly accepted the offer;
but as the dethroning of Baliol had rendered this stipulation of no
effect, the king prepared to reinstate him in possession of the
crown, and advanced toward the north with an army for that purpose. Douglas, the Scottish regent, was defeated and slain at Halidown-hill, a little north of Berwick. Baliol was acknoiwledged
as king by a Parliament held at Perth (1333), and the superiority of England was again recognized; many of the Scottish nobility swore fealty to Edward; and to complete the misfortunes
of that nation, Baliol ceded Berwick, Dunbar, Roxborough, Edinburgh, and all the southeast counties of Scotland, which were declared to be forever annexed to the English monarchy. But the
Scots were still far from being subdued. In 13352 and again in
the following year, Edward was obliged to proceed thither with
an army; and, as a war was now likely to brelak out between
France and England, the Scots had reason to expect from this
incident a great diversion of that force which had so long oppressed and overwhelmed them.
~ 4. This war was occasioned by Edward's claim to the crown
of France, which embroiled the two countries for more than a
century.  Upon the death of Charles IV. in 1328 without male
issue, Philip de Valois, the cousin of Charles, succeeded as Philip
VI., since by the French law no female was capable of succeeding
to the crown.  Edward III., however, laid claim to the crown in
right of his mother Isabella; and since the last three kings of
France had all left daughters, who were still alive, he maintained
that, though his mother Isabella was, on account of her sex, incapable of succeeding, a right to the crown could be'transmitted
to him through her. But even if this argument had been of any
avail, Charles, King of Navarre, had a preferable title to the throne
(see genealogical table below).* Edward's claim indeed was so
* The following genealogical table exhibits the descent of Edward III.
and Philip VI. from their common ancestor, Philip III.:
Philip III.
Philip IV.                  Charles of Valois.
I.    I-         PHILIP VL
Louis X.   Philip V.   Charles IV.   Isabella.
Jane.   4 daughters. 2 daughters. EDWARD IlI.
Charles, King
of Navarre.




A.D. 1332-1340.    WAR WITH FRANCE.                   177
unreasonable, and so thoroughly disavowed by the whole French
nation, that to insist on it was no better than pretending to the
violent conquest of the kingdom; and it is probable that he would
never have farther thought of it had it not been that in several
particulars he had found reason to complain of Philip's conduct
with regard to Guienne, as well as of that prince's having given
protection to the exiled David Bruce, and supported, or at least
encouraged the Scots in their struggles for independence.
~ 5. Edward now began to prepare for war, formed various
alliances on the Continent, and assumed the title of King of
France.(1337).  He crossed over to Flanders,.where he had obtained the adhesion of Van Artevelde, the leader of the popular
party among the Flemings (1338); and in the following year he
invaded France, but was obliged to retreat without effecting any
thing. Edward, however, was a prince of too much spirit to be
discouraged by the first difficulties of an undertaking; and he
was anxious to retrieve his honor by more successful and more
gallant enterprises. Philip, apprised from the preparations which
were making both in England and the Low Countries:that he
must expect another invasion from Edward, fitted out a great
fleet of 400 vessels, manned with 40,000 men; and he stationed
them off Sluys, with a view of intercepting the king in his passage to the Continent (1340). The English navy was much inferior in number, consisting only of 240 sail; but whether it were
by the superior abilities of Edward, or the greater dexterity of
his seamen, they gained the wind of the enemy, and had the sun
in their backs, and with these advantages began the action. The
Flemings, descrying the battle, hurried out of their harbors, and
brought a re-enforcement to the English, which, coming unexpectedly, had a greater effect than in proportion to its power and
numbers. 230 French ships were: taken; 30,000 Frenchmen
were killed, with two of their admirals; the loss of the English
was inconsiderable compared to the greatness and importance of
the victory. But though the lustre of this great success increased
the king's authority among his allies, and though Edward marched to the frontiers of France at the head of above 100,000 men,
consisting chiefly of foreigners, nothing of importance followed.
A peace was concluded in the course of the year between the two
monarchs, and Edward returned to England.
~ 6. Edward now found himself in a bad situation both with
his own people and with foreign states; and it required all his
genius and capacity to extricate himself from such multiplied difficulties and embarrassments. His unjust and exorbitant claims
on France and Scotland had engaged him in an implacable war
with these two kingdoms; he had lost almost all his foreign alli
H 2




178                    EDWARD III.                CHAP. X.
ances by his irregular payments; he was deeply involved in debts,
fbr which he owed a consuming interest; except his naval victory, none of his military operations had been attended with glory
or renown; the animosity between him and the clergy, especially
Stratford, Archbishop of Canterbury, to whom the charge of collecting the taxes. had been chiefly intrusted, was open and declared; the people were discontented on account of many arbitrary measures in which he had been engaged; and,'what was
more dangerous, the nobility, taking advantage of his present necessities, were determined to retrench his power, and, by encroaching on the ancient prerogatives of the crown, to acquire to themselves independence and authority. The Parliament framed an
act to confirm the great charter anew, and to oblige all the chief
officers of the law and of the state to swear to the regular observance of it. They enacted that no peer should be punished
but by the award of his peers in Parliament; that the chief officers of state should be appointed by the advice of Parliament;
and that they should answer before Parliament to any accusation
brought against them. In return for these important concessions,
the Parliament offered the king a grant of 20,000 sacks of wool;
and his wants were so urgent from the clamors of his creditors
and the demands of his foreign allies, that he was obliged to accept of the supply on these hard conditions. He ratified this:
statute in full Parliament; but he subsequently issued an edict to
abrogate and annul it; and after- two years of this arbitrary exertion of royal power, the obnoxious statute was formally repealed
by the Parliament.
A disputed claim to the succession of Brittany on the death of
the Duke John III. again attracted Edward's attention toward
France. The succession was claimed by the Count de M3ontfort,
John's brother by a second marriage, and by Charles de Blois,
nephew of the French king, who had married John's niece. Montfort offered to do homage to Edward as King of France for the
duchy of Brittany, and proposed a strict alliance for the support
of their mutual pretensions. Edward saw immediately the advantages attending this treaty; Montfort, an active and valiant
prince, closely united to him by interest, opened at once an entrance into the heart of France, and afforded him much more flattering views than his allies on the side of Germany and the Low
Countries.  Montfort, however, fell into the hands of his enemies; was conducted as a prisoner to Paris; but Jane of Flanders, Countess of' Montfort, the most extraordinary woman of'the
age, after she had put Brittany in a good posture of defense, shut
herself up in Hennebonne till she was relieved by the succors
which Edward sent her under the command of Sir Walter lianny, one of the bravest captains of England (1342).




A.D. 1340-1346.   BATTLE OF CRECY.                   179
~ 7. In the autumn of the same year Edward undertook, in
person, the defense of the Countess of Montfort; and, as the last
truce with France was now expired, the war, which the English
and French had- hitherto carried on as allies to the competitors
for Brittany, was thenceforth conducted in the name and under
the standard of the two monarchs. This war, like the preceding,
was carried on without any important advantages on either side
till 1346, when the English gained the first of the two great victories which have shed such a lustre upon Edward's reign. The
king had intended to sail to Guienne, which was threatened by a
formidable French army, and embarked at Southampton, on board
a fleet of nearly 1000 sail of all dimensions, carrying with him,
besides all the chief nobility of England, his eldest son, the Prince
of Wales, now 16 years of age. The winds proved long contrary;
and the king, in despair of arriving in time in Guienne, at last
ordered his fleet to sail to Normandy, and safely disembarked his
army at La Hogue (July, 1346).
This army, which, during the course of the ensuing campaign,
was crowned with the most splendid success, consisted of 4000
men-at-arms, 10,000 archers, 10,000 Welsh infantry, and 6000
Irish. Edward, after laying waste Normandy and advancing almost up to the gates of Paris, retreated toward Flanders, pursued
by the French king with an immense army. Edward had crossed the River Somme below Abbeville, when he was overtaken by
the French army. He took up his position near the village of
CRECY, about 15 miles east of Abbeville, and determined there to
await the enemy. He drew up his army on a gentle ascent, and
divided them into three lines, the first commanded by the Prince
of Wales, and the third by himself. He had likewise the precaution to throw up trenches on his flanks, in order to secure himself
fiom the numerous bodies of the French, who might assail him
from that quarter; and he placed all his baggage behind him in
a wood, which he also secured by an intrenchment. Edward,.besides the resources which he found in his own genius and presence
of mind, employed also a new invention against the enemy, and
placed in his front some pieces of artillery, the first that had yet
been made use of on any remarkable occasion in Europe. The
invention of artillery was at this time known in France as well
as in England; but Philip, in his hurry to overtake the enemy,
had probably left his cannon behind him, which he regarded as a
useless encumbrance. After a long day's march from Abbeville,
the French army, imperfectly formed into three lines, arrived, already fatigued and disordered, in presence of the enemy.  The
first line, consisting of Genoese cross-bow men, was commanded
by Anthony Doria and Charles Grimaldi; the second was led by




180                    EDWARD III.                CHAP.' X.
the Count of Alenqon, brother to the king; Philip himself was at
the head of the third. The King of Bohemia, and the King of
the Romans, his son, were also present, with all the nobility and
great vassals of the crown of France. The army consisted of
above 120,000 men, more than three times the number of the English. But the prudence of one man was superior to the advantage of all this force and splendor.
The English, on the approach of the enemy, kept their ranks
firm and immovable; and the Genoese first began the attack.
There had happened, a little before the engagement, a thundershower, which had moistened and relaxed the strings of the Genoese cross-bows; their arrows, for this reason, fell short of the enemy. The English archers, taking their bows out of their cases,
poured in a shower of arrows upon this multitude who were opposed to them, and soon threw them into disorder. The young
Prince of Wales had the presence of mind to take advantage of
this situation, and to lead on his line to the charge. The young
prince had been knighted only a month before; and Edward, who
was watching the battle from a windmill, resolved to leave to his
son the glory of the victory. Although the prince was then hard
pressed by the French, the king refused to send succors to his assistance, saying, " Let the child win his spurs, and let the day be
his."  After a stout resistance the French cavalry was thrown
into disorder; the Count of Alenoon was slain; the Welsh infantry rushed into the throng, and with their long knives cut the
throats of all who had fallen; nor was any quarter given that day
by the victors. The King of France advanced in vain with the
rear to sustain the line commanded by his brother. He had himself a horse killed under him, and was at length obliged to quit
the field of battle.  The whole French army took to flight, and
was followed and put to the. sword, without mercy, till the darkness of the night put an end to the pursuit.  The king, on his
return to the camp, flew into the arms of the Prince of Wales,
and exclaimed, " My brave son! persevere in your honorable
course; you are my son; for valiantly have you acquitted yourself to-day, and worthy are you of a crown." From this time the
young prince became the terror of the French, by whom he was
called the Black Prince, from the color of the armor which he
wore on that day.
This battle, which is known by the name of the battle of Crecy,
began about four o'clock in the afternoon, and continued till evening (Aug. 26, 1346).  On the day of battle and on the ensuing
there fell, by a moderate computation, 1200 French knights, 1400
gentlemen, 4000 men-at-arms, besides about 30,000 of inferior
rank: many of the principal nobility of France and the King of




A.D. 1346-1347.       CALAIS TAKEN.                      181
Bohemia were left on the field of battle. The fate of the King of
Bohemia was remarkable. He was blind from age, but, being
resolved to hazard his person and set an example to others, he ordered the reins of his bridle to be tied on each side to two gentlemen of his train; and his dead body, and those of his attendants,
were afterward found among the slain, with their horses stanlding
by them in that situation. It is said that the crest of the King
of Bohemia was three ostrich feathers, and his motto Ich dien, I
serve, which the Prince of Wales and his successors adopted in
memorial of this great victory.* The action may seem no less
remarkable for the small loss sustained by the English than for
the great slaughter of the French; there were killed in it only
one esquire and three knights, and very few of inferior rank. The
king, not elated by his present prosperity so far as to expect the
total conquest of France, or even that of any considerable provinces, limited his ambition to the conquest of Calais, which would
secure an easy entrance into France; and after the interval of a
few days, which he employed in interring the slain, he marched
with his victorious army, and presented himself before that place.
~ 8. While Edward was engaged in this siege, which employed
him nearly a twelvemonth, there passed in different places many
other events; and all to the honor of the English arms.  The
Earl of Derby, who commanded the English forces in Guienne,
carried his incursions to the banks of the Loire, and filled all the
southern provinces of France with horror and devastation. The
Scots, under the command of their king, David Bruce, entered
Northumberland, but were completely defeated by Earl Percy, at
Neville's Cross, near Durham (Oct. 12, 1346); and the king himself was taken prisoner, with many of the nobility.  David Bruce
was detained in captivity till 1357, when he was liberated for a
ransom of 100,000 marks.
The town of Calais had been defended with remarkable vigilance, constancy, and bravery by the townsmen, during a siege of
unusual length; and Philip had made a vain attempt to relieve it.
At length, after enduring all the extremities of famine, John de
Vienne, the governor, surrendered unconditionally, Aug. 4, 1347.
The story runs that Edward had at first resolved to put all the
garrison to death; but that at last he only insisted that six of the
most considerable citizens should be sent to him, to be disposed
of as he thought proper; that they should come to his camp, carrying the keys of the city in their hands, bareheaded and barefooted, with-ropes about their necks; and on these conditions he
promised to spare the lives of all the remainder. Wrhen this in.
* There is, however, great doubt respecting the truth of this tradition.
See the essay by Sir H. Nicolas in the Archeeologia, vol. xxxii.




182                     EJDWARD  Il.                 CHAP. IL
Neville's Cross.
telligence was conveyed to Calais it struck the inhabitants with
consternation; and they found themselves incapable of coming to
any resolution in so cruel and distressful a situation. At last one
of the principal inhabitants, called Eustace de St. Pierre, stepped
forth and declared himself willing to encounter death for the safety
of his friends and companions; another, animated by his example,
made a like generous offer; a third and a fourth pr~ented themselves to the same fate; and the whole number was soon completed. These six heroic burgesses appeared before Edward in
the guise of malefactors, laid at his feet the keys of their city, and




A-D 1347-1349.   INSTITUTION OF THE GARTER.             183
were ordered to be led to execution. It is surprising that so generous a prince should ever have entertained such a barbarous purpose against such men; and still more that lie should seriously
persist in the resolution of executing it.  But the entreaties of
his queen saved his memory from that infamy; she threw herself
on her knees before him, and, with tears in her eyes, begged the
lives of these citizens. Having obtained her request, she carried
them into her tent, ordered a repast to be set before them, and,
after making them a present of money and clothes, dismissed them
in safety.*. The king, after taking possession of Calais, ordered
all the inhabitants to evacuate the town, and peopled it anew with
English; a policy which probably preserved so long to his successors the dominion of that important fortress.  He made it the
staple of wool, leather, tin, and lead; the four chief, if not the
sole, commodities of the kingdom for which there was any considerable demand in foreign markets.
Through the mediation of the Pope's legates Edward concluded
a truce with France; but, even during this cessation of arms, an
attempt was made to deprive him of Calais (1348). Edward,
however, being informed of the plot, proceeded to Calais with
1000 men; and when the French presented themselves to take
possession of the town, according to the stipulation, he rushed
forth with cries of battle and victory (Jan. 1, 1349). The king,
who fought as a private man, distinguished himself in single combat with a French knight named Ribaumont, by whom he was
twice struck to the ground, but whom he at last made prisoner.
The French officers who had fallen into the hands of the English
were admitted to sup with the Prince of Wales and the English
nobility; and after supper the king himself came into the apartment, and went about conversing familiarly with one or other of
his prisoners.  He openly. bestowed the highest encomiums on
Ribaumont; called him the most valorous knight that he had
ever been acquainted with; confessed that he himself had at no
time been in so great danger as when engaged in combat with
him; and presented him with a string of pearls which he wore
about his own head.
~ 9. It was about the same time (1349) that the king instituted the order of the Garter. Its origin is lost in obscurity, but,
according to the received story, was as follows: At a court-ball,
Edward's mistress, commonly supposed to be the Countess of
Salisbury, dropped her garter; and the king, taking it up, observed some of the courtiers to smile, as if they thought that he
had not obtained this favor merely by accident, upon which he
* This dramatic and interesting story is narrated by Froissart alone, and
is open to much suspicion.




184                   EDWARD III.                 CHAP X.
called out, Honi soit qui zal y pense, Evil to him that evil thinks;
and gave these words as the motto of the order.
A grievous calamity, more than the pacific dispositions of the
princes, served to maintain and prolong the truce between France
and England. A destructive pestilence invaded England as well
as the rest of Europe; and is computed to have swept away near
a third of the inhabitants in every country which it attacked.
Above 50,000 souls are said to have perished by it in London
alone. This malady first discovered itself in the north of Asia,
was spread over all that country, made its progress from one end
of Europe to the other, and sensibly depopulated every state
through which it passed. The truce between the two kingdoms,
which had always been ill-observed on both sides, expired in
1355. John had succeeded to the French throne on the death
of his father, Philip de Valois, in 1350; and France was distracted by the factions excited by Charles, King of Navarre.
John had succeeded, indeed, in seizing and imprisoning that
monarch; but his brother Philip and Geoffrey d'Harcourt took
up and continued his designs, and had recourse to the protection
of England. Edward, well pleased that the factions in France
had at length gained him some partisans in that kingdom, which
his pretensions to the crown had never been able to accomplish,
purposed to attack his enemy both on the side of Guienne, under
the command of the Prince of Wales, and on that of Calais, in his
own person. Young Edward arrived in the Garonne with his
army, overran Languedoc, advanced even to Narbonne, laying
every place waste around him; and, after an incursion of six
weeks, returned with a vast booty and many prisoners to Guienne, where he took up his winter-quarters.  The King of En,
gland's incursion from Calais was of the same nature, and attended with the same issue. After plundering and ravaging the open
country he retired to Calais, and thence went over to England, in
order to defend that kingdom against a threatened invasion of the
Scots, who, taking advantage of the king's absence, had surprised
Berwick. But on the approach of Edward they abandoned:that
place, which was not tenable while the castle was in the hands of
the English; and retiring to their mountains, gave the enemy full
liberty of burning and destroying the whole country from Berwick
to Edinburgh. In: the following year (1356) the Prince of Wales,
encouraged by the success of the preceding campaign, took the
field with an army of 12,000 men, of which not a third were English; and with this small body he ventured to penetrate into the
heart of France. His intentions were to march into Normandy,
and to join his forces with those of the Earl of Lancaster and the
partisans of the King of Navarre; but finding all the bridges on




A.D. 1349-1356.   BATTLE OF POITIERS.                185
the Loire broken down, and every pass carefully guarded, he was
obliged to think of making his retreat into Guienne. The King
of France, provoked at the insult offered him by this incursion,
and entertaining hopes of success from the young prince's temerity, collected a great army of above 60,000 men, and advanced by
hasty marches to intercept his enemy. They came within sight
at Maupertuis near POITIERS; and Edward, sensible that his retreat was now become impracticable, prepared for battle with all
the courage of a young hero, and with all the prudence of the oldest and most experienced commander. John, at the instance of
the Cardinal of Perigord, lost a day in negotiation. The Prince
of Wales had leisure during the night to strengthen, by new intrenchments, the post which he had before so judiciously chosen;
and he contrived an ambush of 300 men at arms and as many
archers, whom he ordered to make a circuit, that they might fall
on the flank or rear of the French army during the engagement.
The van of his army was commanded by the Earl of Warwick,
the rear by the Earls of Salisbury and Suffolk, the main body by
the prince himself. - John also arranged his forces in three divisions. There was no reaching the English army but through a
narrow lane, and a body of English archers who lined the hedges
plied the advancing enemy on each side with their arrows, and
slaughtered them with impunity. The French detachment, much
discouraged by the unequal combat and diminished in their number, arrived at the end of the lane, where they met on the open
ground the Prince of Wales himself, at the head of a chosen body,
ready for their reception.  They were discomfited and overthrown, and, recoiling upon their own army, put every thing into
disorder. In that critical moment the men placed in ambush unexpectedly appeared and attacked in flank the dauphin's line,
which fell into some confusion. The Duke of Orleans, and several other French commanders, fled with their divisions; but King
John made the utmost efforts to retrieve by his valor what his
imprudence had betrayed; till, spent with fatigue, and overwhelmed by numbers, he and his son yielded themselves prisoners. Young Edward received the captive king with all the marks
of regard and sympathy; administered comfort to him amid his
misfortunes; paid him the tribute of praise due to his valor; and
ascribed his own victory merely to the blind chance of war, or to
a superior providence which controls all the efforts of human force
and prudence. The behavior of John showed him not unworthy
of this courteous treatment; his present abject fortune never made
him forget a moment that he was a king. More touched by Edward's generosity than by his own calamities, he confessed that,
notwitlhstanding his defeat and captivity, his honor was still un



186                    EDWARD III.                 CHAP.X.
impaired; and that, if he yielded the victory, it was at least gained
by a prince of such consummate valor and humanity. Edward
ordered a repast to be prepared in his tent for the prisoner, and
he himself served at the royal' captive's table, as if he had been
one of his retinue; he stood at the king's back during the meal,
constantly refused to take a place at table, and declared that,
being a subject, he was too well acquainted with the distance between his own rank and that of royal majesty to assume such
freedom. The battle of Poitiers was fought Sept. 19, 1356.
The Prince of Wales conducted his prisoner to Bordeaux; and
not being provided with forces so numerous as might enable him
to push his present advantages, he concluded a two years' truce
with France, which was also become requisite that he might conduct the captive king with safety into England. On entering
London, May 24, 1357, he was met by a great concourse of
people of all ranks and stations. The prisoner was clad in royal
apparel, and mounted on a white steed, distinguished by its size
and beauty and by the richness of its furniture. The conqueror
rode by his side in a meaner attire, and carried by a black palfrey.
In this situation, more glorious than all the insolent parade of a
Roman triumph, he passed through the streets of London, and
presented the King of France to his father, who advanced to
meet him, and received him with the same courtesy as if he had
been a neighboring potentate that had voluntarily come to pay
him a friendly visit.
~ 10. During the captivity of John, France was thrown into
the greatest confusion by domestic factions and disorders. Edward employed himself during a conjuncture so inviting chiefly in
negotiations with his prisoner; and John had the weakness to
sign terms of peace, by which he agreed to restore all the provinces which had been possessed by Henry II. and his two sons,
and to annex them forever to England, without any obligation
of homage or fealty on the part of the English monarch. But the
dauphin and the states of France rejected this treaty, so dishonorable and pernicious to the kingdom; and Edward, on the expiration of the truce, having now, by subsidies and frugality, collected
some treasure, prepared himself for a new invasion of France
(1359).  It is unnecessary to follow the ravages of the English
during this invasion, in which many of the French provinces were
laid waste with fire and sword, and the people suffered incredible
miseries. At length the dauphin agreed to the terms of a peace,
which was concluded at Bretigni near Chartres, on the following
conditions (May 8, 1360).  It was stipulated that King John
should be restored to his liberty, and should pay as his ransom
three millions of crowns of gold, about 1,500,000 pounds of our




A,D. 1356-1367.    PEACE OF BRETIGNI.                  18
present money, which was to be discharged at different payments;
that Edward should forever renounce all claim to the crown of
France, and to the provinces of Normandy, Maine, Touraine, and
Anjou, possessed by his ancestors; and should receive in exchange the provinces of Poitou, Xaintonge, l'Agenois, Perigord,
the Limousin, Quercy, Rouergue, l'Angoumois, and other districts
in that quarter, together with Calais, Guisnes, MIontreuil, and the
county of Ponthieu, on the other side of France; that the full
sovereignty of all these provinces, as well as that of Guienne,
should be invested in the crown of England, and that France
should renounce all title to feudal jurisdiction, homage, or appeal
from them; that the King of Navarre should be restored to all
his honors and possessions; that Edward should renounce his
confederacy with the Flemings, John his connections with the
Scots; that the disputes concerning the succession of Brittany
between the families of Blois and Montfort should be decided by
arbiters appointed by the two kings; and that forty hostages,
such as should be agreed on, should be sent to England as a security for the execution of all these conditions. In consequence
of this treaty the King of France was brought over to Calais,
whither Edward also soon after repaired; and there both princes
solemnly ratified the treaty. John was sent to Boulogne; the
king accompanied him a mile on his journey, and the two monarchs parted with many professions,' probably cordial and sincere,
of mutual amity. In 1363 John came over to England, as he
was unable to fulfill the terms of his release. He was lodged in
the Savoy, the palace where he had resided during his captivity,
and where he soon after sickened and died. John was succeeded
on the throne by Charles the dauphin, a prince educated in the
school of adversity, and well qualified, by his consummate prudence and experience, to repair all the losses which the kingdom
had sustained from the errors of his two predecessors.
~ 11. In 1367 the Black Prince marched into Castile, in order
to restore Peter, surnamed the Cruel, who had been driven from
the throne of that country by his natural brother, Henry, Count
of Transtamare, with the assistance of the French.  Henry was
defeated by the English prince at Najara, and was chased off the
field, with the loss of above 20,000 men. There perished only 4
knights and 40 private men on the side of the English. Peter,
who so well merited the infamous epithet which he bore, purposed
to murder all his prisoners in cold blood, but was restrained from
this barbarity by the remonstrances of the Prince of Wales. All
Castile now submitted to the victor; Peter was restored to the
throne; and Edward finished this perilous enterprise with his
usual glory.  But the barbarities exercised by Peter over his




188                   EDWA1RD III.                CHAP. X.
helpless subjects, whom he now regarded as vanquished rebels, revived all the animosity of the Castilians against hlim; and on the
return of Henry of Transtamare, and some forces levied anew in
France, the tyrant was again dethroned, and was taken prisoner.
-lis brother, in resentment of his cruelties, murdered him with his
own hand; and was placed on the throne of Castile, which he
transmitted to his posterity. The Duke of Lancaster, who espoused in second marriage the eldest daughter of Peter, inherited
only the empty title of that sovereignty, and, by claiming the succession, increased the animosity of the new king of Castile against
England.
But the prejudice which the affairs of Prince Edward received
from this splendid though imprudent expedition ended not with it.
He had involved himself so much in debt by his preparations and
the pay of his troops that he found it necessary, on his return, to
impose a new tax on his French subjects. This incident revived
the animosity of the Gascons, who were encouraged to carry their
complaints to Charles, as to their lord paramount, against these
oppressions of the English government. Charles, in open breach
of the treaty of Bretigni, sent to the Prince of Wales a summons
to appear in his court at Paris, and there to justify his conduct
toward his vassals. The prince replied that he would come to
Paris; but it should be at the head of 60,000 men. Hence tlhe
war between the French and English broke out again; and Edward, by advice of Parliament, resumed the title of King of France
(1369). The French invaded the southern provinces; and by
means of their good conduct, the favorable dispositions of the people, and the ardor of the French nobility, they made every day considerable progress against the English. The state of the Prince
of Wales's health did not permit him to mount on horseback, or
exert his usual activity; and when he was obliged by his increasing infirmities to throw up the command and return to his native
country, the affairs of the English in the south of France seemed
to be menaced with total ruin. Shortly before his departure Edward perpetrated an act of cruelty which is the greatest blot upon
his fair name. I-Iaving retaken the town of Limoges, which had
revolted from him, he ordered all the inhabitants to be butchered;
and being too ill to ride or walk, lie was carried in a litter through
the street to view the carnage. After the departure of the Black
Prince the king endeavored to send succors into Gascony; but all
his attempts, both by sea andland, proved unsuccessful. He was
at last obliged, from the necessity of his affairs, to conclude a truce
with the enemy, after almost all his ancient possessions in France
had been ravished from him, except Bordeaux and Bayonne, and
all his conquests except Calais.




A.D. 1367-1377.  DEATH OF THE BLACK PRINCE.            189
~12. The decline of the king's life was thus exposed to many
mortifications, and corresponded not to the splendid and noisy
scenes which had filled the beginning and the middle of it. This
prince, who during the vigor of his age had been chiefly occupied
in the pursuits of war and ambition, began at an unseasonable
period to indulge himself in pleasure; and, being now a widower,
he attached himself to one Alice Perrers, who acquired a great
ascendant over him, and, by her influence, gave such general disgust, that, in order to satisfy the Parliament, he was obliged to
remove her from court. The Prince of Wales, after a lingering
illness, died in the 46th year of his age (June 8, 1376). His
valor and military talents formed the smallest part of his merit:
his generosity, affability, and moderation gained him the affections of all men; and he was qualified to throw a lustre, not only
on that rude age in which he lived, but on the most shining period of ancient or modern history. -Ie was buried in the cathedral of Canterbury, where his tomb is still shown. The king survived about a year the death of his son, and England was deprived at once of both these princes, its chief ornament and support.  Ile expired in the 65th year of his age, and the 51st of
his reign (June 21, 1377), and was buried at Westminster. The
people were then sensible, though too late, of the irreparable loss
which they had sustained. The ascendant which the English
then began to acquire over France, their rival and supposed national enemy, makes them cast their eyes on this period with great
complacency, and sanctifies every measure which Edward embraced for that end. But the domestic government of this prince
is really-more admirable than his foreign victories; and England
enjoyed, by the prudence and vigor of his administration, a longer
interval of domestic peace and tranquillity than she had been blessed with in any former period, or than she experienced for many
ages after. He gained the affections of the great, yet curbed their
licentiousness; he made them feel his power without their daring
or even being inclined to murmur at it; his affable and obliging
behavior, his munificence and generosity, made them submit with
pleasure to his dominion; his valor and conduct made them successful in most of their enterprises; and their unquiet spirits, directed against a public enemy, had no leisure to breed those disturbances to which they were naturally so much inclined, and
which the frame of the government seemed so much to authorize.
This was the chief benefit which resulted from Edward's victories and conquests. His foreign wars were in other respects
neither founded in justice, nor directed to any salutary purpose.
Edward had six sons and five daughters by his queen Philippa
of Hainault. His sons were: 1. Edward, the Black Prince, who




EDWARD III.                CHAP. X.
married Joan, daughter of his uncle the Earl of Kent, who was
beheaded in the beginning of this reign. She was first married
to Sir Thomas Holland, by whom she had children. By the
Prince of Wales she had a son Richard, who alone survived his
father.  2. William, who died young.  3. Lionel, Duke of Clarence, who left one daughter, Philippa, married to Edmund MIortimer, Earl of March. 4. John of Gaunt, so called from being
born at Ghent, Duke of Lancaster, and father of Henry IV. 5.
Edmund, Duke of York. 6. Thomas, Duke of Gloucester.
~ 13. Conquerors, though usually the bane of human kind,
proved often, in those feudal times, the most indulgent of sovereigns. They stood most in need of supplies from their people;
and, not being able to compel them by force to submit to the necessary impositions, they were obliged to make them some compensation by equitable laws and popular concessions. This remark
is in some measure justified by the conduct of Edward III. He
took no steps of moment without consulting his Parliament and
obtaining their approbation, which he afterward pleaded as a reason for their supporting his measures. The Parliament, therefore, rose into greater consideration during his reign, and acquired
more regular authority, than in any former time.*
One of the most popular laws enacted by any prince was the
statute which passed in the twenty-fifth of this reign, and which
limited the cases of high treason, before vague and uncertain, to
three principal heads-conspiring the death of the king, levying
war against him, and adhering to his enemies.
The magnificent castle of Windsor was built by Edward III.,
and his method of conducting the work may serve as a specimen
of the condition of the people in that age. Instead of engaging
workmen by contracts and wages, he assessed every county in England to send him a certain number of masons, tilers, and carpenters, as if he had been levying an army.
It is easy to imagine that a prince of' so much sense and spirit
as Edward would be no slave to the court of Rome. Though the
old tribute was paid during some years of his minority, he afterward withheld it; and when the Pope, in 1367, threatened to cite
him to the court of Rome for default of payment, he laid the matter before his Parliament. That assembly unanimously declared
that King John could not, without a national consent, subject his
kingdom to a foreign power; and that they were therefore determined to support their sovereign against this unjust pretension.
During this reign the statute of provisors was enacted, rendering
it penal to procure any presentations to benefices from the court
of Rome, and securing the rights of all patrons and electors, which
* See Notes and Illustrations to chap. xii.: on the Parliament.




A.D. 1377.      ACCESSION OF RICHARD II.              191
had been extremely encroached on by the Pope. By a subsequent
statute, every person was outlawed who carried any cause by appeal to the court of Rome.
Edward III. may be called the father of English commerce.
He encouraged Flemish weavers to settle in his kingdom, and
protected them against the selfishness of the English weavers.
Wool was the chief article of export and source of revenue. The
merchants carried on an extensive trade with the Baltic.  The
use of the French language in pleadings and public deeds was
abolished in this reign; but the first English paper which we
meet with in Rymer is in the year 1386, during the reign of
Ric(hard II.
~ 14. RICHARD II., 1377-1399. —Richard II., son of the Black
Prince, upon whom the crown devolved, was born at Bordeaux
in 1366, and was therefore now only 11 years of age; and the
Lords, on the petition of the House of Commons, who were now
beginning to take -a greater share in public affairs, elected: a council to conduct the ordinary course of business. Richard was
crowned at Westminster July 16.
The first three or four years of Richard's reign passed without
any thing memorable taking place except some fruitless expeditions against France. The expenses of these armaments, and the
usual want of economy attending a minority, much exhausted the
English treasury, and obliged the Parliament, besides making
some alterations in the councils, to impose a new and unusual
tax of three groats on every person, male and female, above fifteen years of age; and they ordained that, in levying that tax,
the opulent should relieve the poor by an equitable compensation.
This imposition produced a mutiny. The first disorder was raised
in a village of.Essex, and Kent soon followed the example. The
tax-gatherers came to the house of a tiler in Dartford and demanded payment for his daughter, whom he asserted to be below
the age assigned by the statute. One of these fellows offered to
produce a very indecent proof to the contrary, and at the same
time laid hold of the maid, which the father resenting, immediately knocked out the ruffian's brains with his hammer. The
by-standers applauded the action, and exclaimed that it was full
time for the people to take vengeance on their tyrants, and to
vindicate their native liberty. They immediately flew to arms;
the whole neighborhood joined in the sedition; the flame spread
in an instant over the county; it soon propagated itself into those
of Hertford, Surrey, Sussex, Suffolk, Norfblk, Cambridge, and
Lincoln. Before the government had the least warning of the
danger, the disorder had grown beyond control or opposition;
the populace had shaken off all regard to their former masters -




192                    RICHARD II.                CHAP. X.
and, being headed by the most audacious and criminal of their
associates, who assumed the feigned names of Wat Tyler, Jack
Straw, Hob Carter, and Tom Miller, by which they were fond of
denoting their mean origin, they committed every where the most
outrageous viole!ce on such of the gentry or nobility as had the
misfortune to fall into their hands.
The mutinous populace, amounting to 100,000 men, assembled
on Blackheath, 12th June, 1381, under their leaders Tyler and
Straw, where they were addressed by one John Ball, an itinerant
preacher, who took for his text the following lines:
When Adam delved, and Evd span,
Where was then the gentleman?
They broke into the city, burned the Duke of Lancaster's palace
of the Savoy, cut off the heads of all the gentlemen whom they
laid hold of; and pillaged the warehouses of the rich merchants.
A great body of them quartered themselves at Mile End; and the
king, finding no defense in the Tower, was obliged to go out to
them and ask their demands. They required a general pardon,
the abolition of slavery, freedom of commerce in market-tewns
without toll or impost, and a fixed rent on lands, instead of the
services due by villenage. These requests were complied with;
charters to that purpose were granted them; and this body immediately dispersed and returned to their several homes.
During this transaction another body of the rebels had broken
into the Tower, had murdered Simon of Sudbury the Archbishop
of Canterbury and chancellor, with Sir Robert Hales, the treasurer, and some other persons of distinction, and continued their
ravages in the city. The next morning the king, passing along
Smithfield, very slenderly guarded, met with Wat rT'yler, at the
head of these rioters, and entered into a conference with him.
Tyler, having ordered his companions to retire till he should give
them a signal, after which they were to murder all the company
except the king himself, whom they were to detain prisoner, feared not to come into the midst of the royal retinue. He there behaved himself in such a manner, that Walworth, the Mayor of
London, not able to bear his insolence, drew his sword and struck
him so violent a blow as brought him to the ground, where he
was instantly dispatched by others of the king's attendants. The
mutineers, seeing their leader fall, prepared themselves for revenge; and this whole company, with the king himself, had undoubtedly perished on the spot, had it not~been for an extraordinary presence of mind which Richard discovered on the occasion.
He ordered his company to stop; he advanced alone toward the
enraged multitude; and accosting them with an affable and in



:A.D 1377-1385.     INSURRECTION S.                    193
trepid countenance, he asked them, "What is the meaning of this
disorder, my good people? Are ye angry that ye have lost your
leader?  I am your king; I will be your leader."  The populace, overawed by his presence, implicitly followed him; he led
them into the fields, to prevent any disorder which might have
arisen by their continuing in the city; being there joined by Sir
Robert Knollys, and a body of well-armred veteran soldiers, who
had been secretly drawn together, he strictly prohibited that officer from falling on the rioters and committing an undistinguished
slaughtei upon them; and he peaceably dismissed them with the
same charters which had been granted to their fellows. Soon
after the nobility and gentry, hearing of the king's danger, in
which they were all involved, flocked to London with their adherents and retainers, and Richard took the field at the head of
an army 40,000 strong. It then behooved all the rebels to submit; the charters of enfranchisement and pardon were revoked
by Parliament; the low people were reduced to the same slavish
condition as before; and several of the ringleaders were severely
punished for the late disorders. Some were even executed without process or form of law.
~ 15. A youth of sixteen (which was at this time the king's
age), who had discovered so much courage, presence of mind, and
address, raised great expectations in the nation; but in proportion as Richard advanced in yearsthese hopes vanished; and his
want of capacity, at least of solid judgment, appeared in every enterprise which he attempted. In 1385 he undertook an expedition against the Scots, who had risen with the assistance of the
French. But, though he advanced toward Edinburgh with an
army of 60,000 men, and destroyed in his way all the towns and
villages on each side of him, his impatience to return to England
arid enjoy his usual pleasures and amusements outweighed every
consideration, and he led back his army without effecting any
thing by all these mighty preparations.
The subjection in which Richard was held by his uncles, particularly by the Duke of Gloucester, a prince of ambition and
genius, was extremely disagreeable to the king, and he soon attempted to shake off the yoke imposed upon him. Robert de
Vere, Earl of Oxford, a young man of a noble farmily, of an agreeable.figure, but of dissolute manners, had acquired an entire ascendant over him, and governed him with an absolute authority.
The jealousy of power immediately produced an animosity between the minion and his creatures on the one hand, and the
princes of the blood and chief nobility on the other; and the
usual complaints against the insolence of favorites were loudly
echoed and greedily received in every part of the kingdom. Their




194                    RICHARD II.                CHAP. X
first attempts were directed against the king's ministers; and
Michael de la Pole, the chancellor, lately created Earl of Suffolk,
was, at the instigation of the Duke of Gloucester, impeached and
condemned by the Parliament on somewhat frivolous charges
(1386).  Gloucester and his associates next attacked the king
himself and his royal dignity, and framed a commission, which
was ratified by Parliament, by which a council of regency was
formed with the Duke of Gloucester at the head, to which the
sovereign power was transferred. In the following year, Richard,
having obtained from his judges, whom he met at Nottingham, a
declaration that the commission was derogatory to the royalty
and prerogative of the king, attempted to recover his power; but
the Duke of Gloucester and his adherents took up arms, defeated
the forces of the king, and executed and banished his adherents.
Robert de Vere, whom the king had created Duke of Ireland,
fled into the Low Countries, where he died in exile a few years
after.
~ 16. In less than a twelvemonth, however, Richard, who was
in his twenty-third year, declared in Council, that,.as he had now
aftained the full age which entitled him to govern by his own authority his kingdom and household, he resolved to exercise his
right of sovereignty; and he proceeded to change all his ministers (1389). Even the Duke of Gloucester was removed for a
time from the council; and no opposition was made to these great
changes. It is not easy for us to assign the reason of this unexpected event. The Duke of Lancaster returned soon after from
Spain; having resigned to his rival all pretensions to the crown
of Castile, upon payment of a large sum of money, and having
married his daughter, Philippa, to the King of Portugal. The
authority of this prince served to counterbalance that of the Duke
of Gloucester, and secured the power of Richard, who paid great
court to his eldest uncle, by whom he had never been offended,
and whom he found more moderate in his temper than the
younger.
The wars, meanwhile, which Richard had inherited with his
crown, still continued, though interrupted by frequent truces, according to the practice of that age, and conducted with little vigor,
by reason of the weakness of all parties.  The French war was
scarcely heard of; the tranquillity of the northern borders was
only interrupted by one inroad of the Scots, which proceeded
more from a rivalship between the two martial families of Percy
and Douglas than from any national quarrel: a fierce battle or
skirmish, celebrated in the ballad of "Chevy Chase," was fought
at Otterbourne, in which young Percy, surnamed Hotspulr, from
~his impetuous valor, was taken prisoner, and Douglas slain; and




A, D. 1385-1396.  COUNTER-REVOLUTION.                  195
the victory remained undecided.  Some insurrections of the Irish
obliged the king to make an expedition into that country, which
he reduced to obedience; and he recovered, in some degree, by
this enterprise, his character of courage, which had suffered a little by the inactivity of his reign. At last the English and French
courts began to think in earnest of a lasting peace, but found it
so difficult to adjust their opposite pretensions, that they were
content to establish a truce of 25 years; and, to render the amity
between the two crowns more durable, Richard, who had lost his
first consort, Anne of Bohemia, was affianced to Isabella, the
daughter of Charles (1396).  MIeanwlhile, the.Duke of Gloucester, taking advantage of the king's indolent character and his addiction to low pleasures, resumed his plots and cabals. The king,
seeing that either his own or his uncle's ruin was inevitable,
caused Gloucester to be unexpectedly arrested; to be hurried on
board a ship which was lying in the river.; and to be carried over
to Calais, where alone he could safely be detained in custody.
The Earls of Arundel and Warwick were seized at the same time:
the malcontents, so suddenly deprived of their leaders, were astonished and overawed; and the concurrence of the Dukes of
Lancaster and York in those measures bereaved them of all possibility of resistance. A Parliament was immediately summoned,
which passed whatever acts the king was pleased to dictate to
them: they annulled forever the commission which usurped upon
the royal authority, and they declared it trcasonable to attempt,
in any future period, the revival of any similar commission. The
Commons then preferred an impeachment against Fitz-Alan, Archbishop of Canterbury, and brother to Arundel, and accused him
for his concurrence in procuring the illegal commission, and in attainting the king's ministers.  The primate pleaded guilty; but,
as he was protected by the ecclesiastical privileges, the king was
satisfied with a sentence which banished him the kingdom and sequestered his temporalities. An accusation was presented against
the Duke of Gloucester and the Earls of Arundel and Warwick
by several of the nobles.  The Earl of Arundel was condemned
and executed; the Earl of Warwick was, on account of his submissive behavior, pardoned as to his life, but doomed to perpetual
banishment in the Isle of Man.  A warrant was next issued to
the earl marshal, Governor of Calais, to bring over the Duke of
Gloucester, in order to his trial; but the governor returned for
answer that the duke had died suddenly of an apoplexy in that
fortress. In the subsequent reign proofs were produced in Parliament that he had been suffocated with pillows by his keepers;
and it appeared that the king, apprehensive lest the public trial
and execution of so popular a prince and so near a relation might




196                    RICHARD II.                 CHAP. X.
prove both dangerous and invidious, had taken this base method
of gratifying, and, as he fancied, concealing his revenge upon him.
~ 17. The death of the Duke of Lancaster in 1399 involved the
king in fiesh troubles. Lancaster's son and successor had been
banished by Richard for 10 years, in order to prevent a duel between him and the Duke of Norfolk; and on his father's death
Richard seized his estates. Henry, the new duke, had acquired,
by his conduct and abilities, the esteem of the public; he was
connected with most of the principal nobility by blood, alliance,
or friendship; and as the injury, done him by the king might in
its consequences affect all of them, he easily brought them, by a
sense of common interest, to take part in his resentment. Embarking at Nantes with a retinue of 60 persons, among whom
were the Archbishop of Canterbury and the young Earl of Arundel, nephew to that prelate, he landed at Ravenspur in Yorkshire,
and was immediately joined by the earls of Northumberland and
Westmoreland, two of the most potent barons in England. The
malcontents in all quarters flew to arms; London discovered the
strongest symptoms of its disposition to mutiny and rebellion; and
Henry's army, increasing on every day's march, soon amounted to
the number of 60,000 combatants. Richard was at this time absent on an expedition into Ireland.  His uncle, the Duke of York,
whom he had left guardian of the realm, assembled an army of
40,000 men, but found them entirely destitute of zeal and attachment to the'royal cause, and soon after openly joined the Duke of
Lancaster, who was now entirely master of the kingdom. Trhe
king, receiving intelligence of this invasion and insurrection, hastened over from Ireland and landed at Milford Haven; but, being
deserted by his troops, was taken prisoner and carried first to
Flint Castle and afterward to London. The Duke of Lancaster
now began to carry his views to the crown itself. He first extorted a resignation from Richard (Sept. 29); but as he knew that
this deed would plainly appear the result of force and fear, he also
purposed, notwithstanding the danger of the precedent to himself
and his posterity, to have him solemnly deposed in Parliament for
his alleged tyranny and misconduct. A charge, consisting of 33
articles, was accordingly drawn up against him and presented to
that assembly, in which the exertion of arbitrary prerogatives was
imputed to him: such as the dispensing power, levying purveyance, employing the marshal's court, extorting loans, granting protections from lawsuits, etc. The charge was not canvassed, nor
examined, nor disputed in either house, and seemed to be received
with universal approbation.  Richard was deposed by the suffrages of both houses; and the throne being now vacant, the
Duke: of Lancaster stepped.forth,.and having crossed himself on




A.D. 1396-1399. LANCASTER PLACED ON THE THRONE.           197
the forehead and on the breast, and called upon the name of
Christ, pronounced these words: "In the name of the Father,
Son, and Holy Ghost, I, Henry of Lancaster, challenge this realm
of England, and the crown,.with all the members and appurtenances, as that I am descended by right line of blood, coming from
the good lord King Henry III., and through that right that God
of his grace hath sent me, with help of my kin and of my friends,
to recover it; the which realm was in point to be undone for default of governance, and undoing of good laws." In order to understand, this speech, it must be observed that there was a silly
story received among some of the lowest vulgar, that Edmond,
Earl of Lancaster, son of Henry III., was really the elder brother
of Edward I.; but that, by reason of some deformity in his person, he had been postponed in the succession, and his younger
brother imposed on the nation in-his stead. As the present Duke
of Lancaster inherited from Edmond by his mothel, this genealogy
made him the true heir of the monarchy,* and it is therefore insinuated in Henry's speech; but the absurdity was too gross to
be openly avowed either by him or by the Parliament. The case
is the same with regard to his right of conquest: he was a subject who rebelled against his sovereign; he entered the kingdom
with a retinue of no more than sixty persons; he could not therefore be the conqueror of England; and this right is accordingly
insinuated, not avowed. But no objection was taken to the
claims of Henry; and the unanimous voice of Lords and Commons placed him on the throne (Sept. 30).  Henry, in six days
after, called together, without any new election, the same members; and this assembly he denominated a new Parliament. They
were employed in the usual task of reversing every deed of the
opposite party.  On the motion of the Earl of Northumberland,
the House of Peers resolved unanimously that Richard should be
imprisoned under a secure guard in some secret place, and should
be deprived of all commerce with any of his friends or partisans.
* He was descended from Henry III. both by father and mother.
Henry III.
Edward I., king.     Edmond, Earl of Lancaster.
Edward II., king.     Henry, Earl of Lancaster.
Edward III., king.    Henry, Dnke of Lancaster.
John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster —Blanche, Duchess of Lancaster.
Henry IV.
There could be no doubt that the rightful heir to the crown, on the deposition of Richard, was the Earl of March, then a child, the grandson of Lionel, Duke of Clarence. See genealogical table, p. 134.




198                    RICHARD II.                 CHAP. X.
It was easy to foresee that he would not long remain alive in the
hands of such barbarous and sanguinary enemies.  The exact
manner of his death is unknown, for the common account that he
was murdered at Pomfret by Sir Piers Exton rests on no sufficient evidence. The corpse was exhibited for two days in St.
Paul's Church (March 12, 1400).  Hle died in the 34th year of
his age, and the 23d of his reign. lIe left no posterity, either legitimate or illegitimate.  Hie appears to have been a weak prince,
and unfit for government, less for want of natural parts and capacity than of solid judgment and a good education.  He was violent in his temper, profuse in his expense, fond of idle show and
magnificence, devoted to favorites, and addicted to pleasure; passions, all of them, the most inconsistent with a prudent economy,
and consequently dangerous in a limited and mixed government.
The last two years of his reign were altogether tyrannical; and
his deposition, like the subsequent one of James II., seems to have
been necessary for the preservation of national liberty. "The
sincere concurrence," observes Mr. Hallam (gMiddle A ges, vol. iii.,
p. 81), "which most of the prelates and nobility, with the mass
of the people, gave to changes that could not be otherwise effected
by one so unprovided with foreign support as Henry, prove this
revolution to have been, if not an indispensable, yet a national
act, and should prevent our considering the Lancastrian kings as
usurpers of the throne."
~ 18. There was a sensible decay of ecclesiastical authority during this period. The disgust' which the laity had received from
the numerous usurpations both of the court of Rome and of their
own clergy had very much weaned the kingdom from superstition;
and strong symptoms appeared, from time to time, of a general desire to shake off the bondage of the Roinish Church. John Wick,
liffe, a secular priest educated at Oxford, began, in the latter end
of Edward III., to spread the doctrine of reformation by his discourses, sermons, and writings; and he made many disciples
among men of all ranks and stations. Wickliffb himself, as well
as his disciples, who received the name of Wickliffites, or Lollards, was distinguished by a great austerity of life and manners.
His doctrines, being derived from his search into the Scriptures
and into ecclesiastical antiquity, were nearly the same with those
which were propagated by the reformers in the sixteenth century;
he only carried some of them farther than was done by the more
sober part of these reformers. The Duke of Lancaster encouraged
the principles of Wickliffe; and he made no scruple, as well as
Lord Percy, the marshal, to appear openly in court with him,
when cited before the tribunal of the Bishop of London, in order
to give him countenance upon his trial. The clergy, we may well




A.D. 1390.                 THE  WICKLIFFITES.                                  199
believe, were more wanting in power than in inclination to punish
this new  heresy, which struck at all their credit, possessions, and
authority. But, besides this defect of power in the Church, which
saved Wickliffe, that reformer himself, notwithstanding his enthusiasm, seems not to have been actuated by the spirit of martyrdom; and, in all subsequent trials before the prelates, he so explained away his doctrine by tortured meanings as to render it
quite innocent and inoffensive.  Alost of his followers imitated his
cautious disposition, and saved themselves either by recantations
or explanations.   He died  of a palsy, in  the  year 1385, at his
rectory  at Lutterworth, in  the  county  of Leicester.   Geoffrey
Chaucer, who flourished at this time, and who may be regarded
as the father of English poetry, was a follower of Wickliffe.
CHRONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE EVENTS.
A.n.                                       A.).
1327. Accession of Edward III.             1361. Another great pestilence.
1333. Battle of -Ialidon 1-ill and defeat of 1367. The Black Prince gains the Battle ol
the Scots.                                Najara in Spain.
1340. Naval victory over the French at Sluys. 1369. A third great pestilence.
1346. The French defeated at Cr6cy. The 13T6. Death of the Black Prince.
Scots defeated at Neville's Cross.  1377. Death of Edward III., and accession
1347. Calais taken.                              of Richard II.
1349. A great pestilence.                  1381. Rebellion of Jack Straw, Wat Tyler,
1356. The French defeated by the Black            and others.
Prince at Poitiers. The French king  1397. Captivity and murder of the Duke of
captured.                                  Gloucester, the king's uncle.
1360. Peace concluded with Frlance at Bre- 1399. Invasion of Henry, Duke of Lancaster.
tigny.                                     Capture and deposition of Richard II.
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
A. DEATH OF RICHI-ARD II.            amination of the evidence has failed to convince us that it was the deposed English
All the contemporary English authorities, monarch.
to the number of more than a dozen, agree
that Richard died of starvation, either forced
or voluntary, after a few months' imprison-   This statute, passed 16 Ric. II., c. 5 (A.T.
ment. The French chroniclers assert that 1393), was enacted to check the exorbitant
he was violently murdered, still, however, power claimed and exercised by the Pope in
agreeing in the fact of his death. On the  England. It was so called fiom the words
other hand, three or four Scotch writers, of  of the writ used for the citation of a party
whom the principal are Winton and Bower, who had broken the statute: "prcemunire
assert that he escaped from Pomfret to the  facias A. B.," cause A. B. to be forewarned
Western Isles of Scotland; that he was there  that'he appear before us to answer the conrecognized and carried to the court of Rob- tempt with which he stands charged. Hence
ert III., and that he lived under that mon- the word prnceemnire denominated, in comarch and the Regent Albany till 1419, when  mon speech, not only the writ, but also the
he died at Stirling.                      offense of maintaining the papal power.
The truth of the Scotch account fhas been  "The original meaning," says Blackstone,
maintained at great length by Mr. Tytler "'of the offense which we call proemunnire, is
(Hist. of Scotland, vol. iii., App.), who has introducing a foreign power into this land,
been followed by Mr. Williams (Preface to  and creating imapersiur in is2serio, by paythe Chroniecque de la T'riason et rMort de ing that obedience to papal process which conRichart 11., published by the Eng. Historic- stitutionahlly belonged to the king alone, long
al Soc. 1846) and a few others. That a per- before the Reformation in the reign of Henry
son pretending to be Richard was maintained  VIII."  Though the statute of 16 Ric. II., c.
in Scotland is sufficiently clear; but an ex- 5, is usually called tdhe statute of Premunire,




200                  NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.                            CHAP. X'everal others of a similar kind had been en- elsewhere, any translations, processes, exacted in preceding reigns. The 35 Edw. I. communications, bulls, instruments, or other
was the first statute made against papal pro- things, which touch the king, against him,
visions, the name applied to a previous his crown and realm, and all persons aiding
nomination to certain benefices, of which the and assisting therein, shall be put out of the
Pope claimed the patronage, by a kind of an- king's protection, their lands and goods forticipation, before they became actually void, feited to the king's use, and they shall be
though afterward indiscriminately applied to  attached by their bodies to answer to the
any kind of patronage exerted or usurped by  king and his council: or process of prcemuthe Pope. In the reign of Edward III. more  nire facias shall be made out against them,
stringent laws were enacted against papal as in any other case of provisors."  In the
provisions; and in 40 Edw. III. it was enact- reign of Henry VIII. the penalties of preemued -that King John's donation to the Pope niae were extended still farther against the
was null and void, being without the concur- authority of the Pope. See the Student's
rence of Parliament. The 16 Ric. II., c. 5, Blackcstane by Kerr, p. 404, seq.
enacts that "whoever procures at Rome, or




Hienrly IV.:rn lfih queen Joan of Navarre, fiom their monument at Canterbury.
CHAPTER XI.
T RIE HOUSE OF LANCASTER. IIENRY IV., HENRY V., HENRY VI.
A.D. 1399-1461.
~ 1. Accession of HENRY IV. Insurrections. Persecution of the Lollaras.
~ 2. Rebellions of the Earl of Northumberland. Battle of Shrewsbury.
~ 3. Foreign Transactions. Captivity of James of Scotland. Death and
Character of the King. ~ 4. Accession of HENRY V. His Reformation.
~ 5. Proceedings against the Lollards.  Sir John Oldcastle. ~ 6. Invasion of France.  Battle of Agincourt.  ~ 7. New Invasion of France.
Conquest of Normandy. Treaty of Troyes and Marriage of Henry with
Catherine of France. ~ 8. Farther Conquests of Henry V. His Death
and Character. ~ 9. HENRY VI. Settlement of the Government. French
Affairs.  ~ 10. Siege of Orleans. Joan d'Arc.  ~ 11. Charles VII.
crowned at Rheims. Henry VI. crowned at Paris. ~ 12. Capture, Trial,
and Execution of the Maid of Orleans. ~ 13. Treaty of Arras. Death
of Bedford. ~ 14. Marriage of Henry VI. Death of the Duke of Gloucester. The English expelled from France. ~ 15. Claim of the Duke
of York to the Crown. His powerful Connections. ~ 16. Unpopularity
of the Government. Suffolk accused and executed. ~ 17. Insurrection
of Jack Cade. Disaffection of the Commons. Rising of the Duke of
York. ~ 18. The Duke of York Protector. First Battle of St. Albans.
~ 19. Civil War. Decision of the House of Peers. Battle of Wakefield
and Death of the Duke of York. ~ 20. Second Battle of St. Albans.
EDWARD IV. saluted King by the Citizens of London.
~ 1. HENRY IV., 1399-1413. —This monarch was born at Bolingbroke, in Lincolnshire, in 1366. He was declared king, as
we have already seen, Sept. 30, 1399. The rightful heir to the
1 2




202                     HENRY IV.                 CHAP. XI.
crown, Edmund Mortimer, Earl of March, was a child of only
seven years old, and was detained by Henry in an honorable custody at Windsor Castle.
Henry was hardly seated upon the throne before several earls
favorable to Richard's cause formed a conspiracy for seizing the
king's person. The plot was betrayed to the king by the Earl of
Rutland (Jan. 4, 1400), and the conspirators perished on the
scaffold. This unsuccessful attempt hastened the death of Richard, who was shortly afterward murdered, as narrated in the preceding chapter.
Henry, finding himself possessed of the throne by so precarious
a title, resolved, by every expedient, to pay court to the clergy.
There were hitherto no penal laws enacted against heresy; but
he engaged the Parliament to pass a law that, when any heretic
who relapsed or refused to abjure his opinions was delivered over
to the secular arm by the bishop or his commissaries, he should
be committed to the flames by the civil magistrate before the
whole people.  This weapon did not long remain unemployed in
the hands of the clergy; and William Sautre, a clergyman in
London, atoned for his erroneous opinions by the penalty of fire
(1401).
ThIe revolution in England proved likewise the occasion of an
insurrection in WVales. Owen Glendower, who pretended to be
descended from the ancient princes of that country, and whose
estates had been seized by Lord Grey of Ruthyn, recovered possession by the sword. Henry sent assistance to Grey; the Welsh
took part with Glendower; and a troublesome and tedious war
was kindled, in which Lord Grey and Sir Edmund Mortimer, uncle of the Earl of March, were taken prisoners. As Henry dreaded and hated all the family of March, he allowed Mortimer to remain in captivity; and, though that nobleman was nearly allied
to the Percies, to whose assistance he himself had owed his crown,
he refused to the Earl of Northumberland permission to treat of
his ransom with Glendower. To this disgust was soon added another.'The Percies, in repulsing an inroad of the Scots, in 1402,
captured Earl Douglas and several other of the Scotch nobility.
Henry sent the Earl of Northumberland orders not to ransom his
prisoners, which that nobleman regarded as his right by the laws
of war received in that age. The king intended to detain them,
that he might be able, by their means, to make an advantageous
peace with Scotland. The Percies were likewise discontented
by the withholding from them the sums due to them as wardens
of the marches.
~ 2. The factious disposition of the Earl of Worcester,- younger
brother of Northumberland, and the impatient spirit of his son,




A.D. 1399-1407.  REBELLIONS OF THE PERCIES.           203
Harry Percy, surnamed Hotspur, inflamed the discontents of that
nobleman; and the precarious title of Henry tempted him to seek
revenge by overturning that throne which he had at first established. tie entered into a correspondence with Glendower. He
gave liberty to the Earl of Douglas, and made an alliance with
that martial chief; he roused up all his partisans to arms; and
such unlimited authority at that time belonged to the great families, that the same men, whom a few years before he had conducted against Richard, now followed his standard in opposition to
Henry. When war was ready to break out, Northumberland was
seized with a sudden illness at Berwick; and young Percy, taking
the command of the troops, about 12,000 in number, marched toward Shrewsbury, in order to join his forces with those of Glendower. The king, however, who had an army of about the same
force on foot, attacked him before the junction could be effected
(July 23, 1403). We shall scarcely find any battle in those ages
where the shock was more terrible and more constant. Henry
exposed his person in the thickest of the fight; his gallant son,
whose military achievements were afterward so renowned, and
who here performed his novitiate in arms, signalized himself in
his father's footsteps, and even a wound which he received in the
face with an arrow could not oblige him to quit the field. Percy
supported that fame which he had acquired in many a bloody
combat; and Douglas, his ancient enemy, and now his friend,
still appeared his rival amid the horror and confusion of the day.
But while the armies were contending in this furious manner, the
death of Percy, by an unknown hand, decided the victory, and
the Royalists prevailed. The loss was great on both sides, particularly in Percy's army, of which about a third fell; but on the
king's side many persons of distinction were slain. The Earls of
Worcester and Douglas were taken prisoners. The former was
beheaded at Shrewsbury, the latter was treated with the courtesy
due to his rank and merit. The Earl of Northumberland was
tried by his peers and condemned in a fine, which, however, the
king remitted.
Two years afterward Northumberland again rose in rebellion,
and was joined by Thomas Mowbray, Earl of Nottingham, and
Richard Scrope, Archbishop of York. But they acted without
concert. The archbishop and Nottingham were seized by a stratagem of Ralph Neville, Earl of Westmoreland, though the latter
was at the head of an inferior force, were tried, condemned, and
executed. This was the first instance in English history in which
an archbishop perished by the hands of the executioner (1405).
Northumberland escaped into Scotland; but in 1407, having entered the northern counties in hopes of raising the peiple,.he was




201                     HENRY IV.                 CHAP. XI
defeated and slain at Bramham by Sir Thomas Rokesby, Sheriff
of Yorkshire.  The only domestic enemy now remaining was
Glendower, over whom the Prince of Wales had obtained some
advantages; but the Welsh leader contrived to protract the struggle for some years after the death of Henry IV.
~ 3. The remaining transactions of this reign are not of much
interest. In 1407 fortune gave Henry an advantage over that
neighbor who, by his situation, was most enabled to disturb his
government. Robert III., King of Scots, was a prince, though of
slender capacity, extremely innocent and inoffensive in his conduct; but Scotland, at that time, was still less fitted than England for cherishing or even, enduring sovereigns of that character.
The Duke of Albany, Robert's brother, a prince of more abilities,
at least of a more boisterous and violent disposition, had assumed
the government/of the state; and, not satisfied with present authority, he entertained the criminal purpose of extirpating his
brother's children, and of acquiring the crown to his own family.
He threw into prison David, his eldest nephew, who there perished by hunger; James alone, the younger brother of David,
stood between that tyrant and the throne; and King Robert, sensible of his son's danger, embarked him on board a ship, with a
view of sending him to France, and intrusting him to the protecion of that friendly power.  Unfortunately, the vessel was taken
by the English; Prince James, a boy about nine years of age,
was carried to London; and, though there subsisted at that time
a truce between the kingdoms, Henry refused to restore the young
prince to his liberty. Robert, worn out with cares and infirmities, was unable to bear the shock of this last misfortune; and he
soon after died, leaving the government in the hands of the Duke
of Albany. But though the king, by detaining James in the English court, had shown himself somewhat deficient in generosity,
he made ample amends by giving that prince an excellent education, which afterward qualified him, when he mounted the throne,
to reform, in some measure, the rude and barbarous manners of
his native country. A hostile feeling prevailed throughout this
reign between England and France; but the civil disturbances in
both nations prevented it from breaking out into any serious hostilities.  The cause of the deposed and murdered Richard was
warmly espoused by the French court, but their zeal evaporated
in menaces. Soon after his accession, Henry, at the demand of
Charles, had restored Isabella, the widow of the late king, but retained her dowry on the pretense of setting it off against the unpaid ransom of the French king John.
The king's health declined some months before his death. HIe
was subject to fits, which bereaved him, for the time, of his senses;




A.D. 1407-1413.  HENRY V. —HIS REFORMATION.           205
and, though he was yet in the flower of his age, his end was visibly approaching. He expired at Westminster (March 20, 1413),
in the 46th year of his age, and the 13th of his reign. The great
popularity which Henry enjoyed before he attained the crown, and
which had so much aided him in the acquisition of' it, was entirely
lost many years before the end of his reign; and he governed his
people more by terror than by affection, more by his own policy
than by their -sense of duty or allegiance. But it must be owned
that his prudence and vigilance, and foresight in maintaining his
power, were admirable; his courage, both military and political,
without blemish; and he possessed many qualities which fitted
him for his high station, and which rendered his usurpation of it
rather salutary during his own reign to the English nation. The
augmentation of the power of the Commons during this reign deserves notice. It was chiefly shown by the punishment which
they awarded to sheriffs for making false returns, by the increased
freedom of debate, and by the control which they exercised over
the supplies.
Henry was twice married: by his first wife, Mary de Bohun,
daughter and co-heir of the Earl of Hereford, he had four sons,
Henry his successor to the throne, Thomas Duke of Clarence, John
Duke of Bedford, and Humpfirey Duke of Gloucester; and two
daughters, Blanche and Philippa, the former married to the Duke
of Bavaria, the latter to the King of Denmark. HIis second wife,
Jane, whom he married after he was king, and who was the daughter of the King of Navarre, and widow of the Duke of Brittany,
brought him no issue.
~ 4. HENRY V., 1413-1422, was born at Monmouth, Aug..9,
1388. The many jealousies to which Henry IV.'s situation naturally exposed him, had so infected his temper, that he had entertained unreasonable suspicions with regard to the fidelity of
his eldest son; anid, during the latter years of his life, he had excluded that prince from all share in public business, and was even
displeased to see him at the head of armies, where his martial talents, though useful to the support of government, acquired him a
renown which he thought might prove dangerous to his own auth'ority.
The active spirit of young Henry had, during his father's life,
indulged in pleasure; but the common stories related by the chroniclers of his riots and debaucheries are doubtless gross exaggerations. - It is said that on one occasion a riotous companion of the
prince's had been indicted before Gascoigne, the chief justice, for
some disorders, and Henry was not ashamed to appear at the bar
with the criminal, in order to give him countenance and protection. Finding that his presence had not overawed the chief jus



206                      HENRY V.                  CI1AP. X.
tice, he proceeded to insult the magistrate on his tribunal; but
Gascoigne, mindful of the character which he then bore, and the
majesty of the sovereign and of the laws which he sustained, ordered the prince to be carried to prison for his rude behavior.
The spectators were agreeably disappointed when they saw the
heir of the crown submit peaceably to the sentence, make reparation for his error by acknowledging it, and check his impetuous
nature in the midst of his extravagant career. The memory of
this incident, and of many others of a like nature, rendered the
prospect of the future reign nowise disagreeable to the nation, and
increased the joy which the death of so unpopular a prince as the
late king naturally occasioned. The first steps taken by the young
prince confirmed all those prepossessions entertained in his favor.
He dismissed his former companions; and retained in office the
wise ministers of his father, including the chief justice. The king
seemed ambitious to bury all party distinctions in oblivion; and
the defects of his title were forgotten amid the personal regard
which was universally paid to hinl.
~ 5. There remained among the people only one party distinction. The Lollards were every day increasing in the kingdom,
and were become a formed party, ywhich appeared extremely dan.
gerous to the Church, and even formidable to the civil authority.
The head of this sect was Sir John Oldcastle (Lord Cobham), a
nobleman who had distinguished himself by his valor and his milb
itary talents, and had on many occasions acquired the esteem both
of the late and of the present king. Henry, after vainly endeavr
oring to reconcile him to the Catholic faith, gave full reins to ecclesiastical severity against the inflexible heresiarch. Arundel, the
primate, indicted Cobham; and, with the assistance of his three
suffragans, the Bishops of London, Winchester, and St. David's,
condemned him to the flames for his erroneous opinions.  Cobham, who was confined in the Tower, made his escape before the
day appointed for his execution, and, having raised his followers,
made two desperate attempts to seize the king.  But they were
defeated by Henry's vigilance; many of the Lollards were seized,
and some executed (1414). Cobham himself, who made his escape by flight, was not brought to justice till four years after, when
he was hanged as a traitor, and his body was burned on the gibbet, in execution of the sentence pronounced against him as a heretic. This criminal design brought discredit on the party, and
checked the progress of' the sect.
~ 6. The disorders into which France was plunged through the
lunacy of its monarch, Charles VI., and the consequent struggle
for the regency between his brother the Duke of Orleans, and his




A.D. 141341415.    BATTLE OF AGINCOURT.                     207
cousin the Duke of Burgundy,* which resulted in open warfare,
seemed to present a favorable opportunity for attack; and Henry,
impelled by the vigor of youth and the ardor of ambition, determined to carry violent war into that distracted kingdom (1415).
A conspiracy, which was happily detected in its infancy, to place
the Earl of March upon the throne, detained the king awhile.
The Earl of Cambridge, Lord Scrope, and Sir Thomas Grey, the
chief conspirators, were arrested, and the king, after trying them
in an irregular manner, and procuring their execution, granted the
Earl of March a general pardon.  Then, trusting to the assistance
of the Duke of Burgundy, who had been secretly soliciting the alliance of England, but without establishing any concert with him,
he put to sea, and landed near Harfleur, at the head of an army
of 6000 men at arms and 24,000 foot, mostly archers. That town
was at last obliged to capitulate (Sept. 22); but the fatigues of this
siege and the unusual heat of the season had so wasted the English
army, that Henry could enter on no farther enterprise, and was
obliged to think of returning into England.  IIe had dismissed
his transports, and therefore determined on marching by land to
Calais, although a French army of 14,000 men at arms, and
40,000 foot, was by this time assembled in Normandy.  That he
might not discourage his army by the appearance of flight, or expose them to those hazards which naturally attend precipitate
marches, he made slow and deliberate journeys till he reached the
Somme, and after encountering many difficulties and hardships he
was so dextrous or so fortunate as to seize by surprise a passage
near St. Quentin which had not been sufficiently guarded; and he
safely carried over his army. Henry then bent his march north,
ward to Calais; but he was still exposed to great and imminent
danger from  the enemy, who had also passed the* Somme, and
threw themselves full in his way, with a purpose of intercepting
his retreat. After he had passed the small river of T'ernois, at
Blangi, he was surprised to observe from the heights the whole
P rench army drawn up in the plains of Agincourt, and so posted
that it was impossible for him to proceed on his march without
* The following genealogical table showvs the relationship of these princes:
JOHN IL., King of France.
(Taken prisoner by Edward III.)
CHARLES V.                  Philip, Duke of Burgundy,
d. 1404.
CHARLES VI.    Louis, Duke of Orleans,    John, Duke of Burgundy,
killed 140T.           killed 1418.
CHARES.VIL.   Charles, Duke of Orleans   Philip the Good,
taken at Agincourt.    Duke of Burgundy.




208                     HENRY V.                  CHAP. XI.
coming to an engagement. The enemy was four times more numerous, as half the English who had landed at Harfleur had perished; was headed by the dauphin and all the princes of the blood;
and was plentifully supplied with provisions of every kind. Henry's situation was exactly similar to that of Edward at Crecy, and
that of the Black Prince at Poitiers, and he observed the same
prudent conduct which had been followed by these great commanders; he drew up his army on a narrow ground between two woods,
which guarded each flank, and he patiently expected. in that posture
the attack of the enemy (Oct. 25, 1415). The French archers on
horseback and their men at arms, crowded in their ranks, advanced
upon the English archers, who had fixed palisadoes in their front
to break the impression of the enemy, and who safely plied them
from behind that defense with a shower of arrows which nothing
could resist. The clay soil, moistened by some rain which had
lately fallen, proved another obstacle to the force of the French
cavalry: the wounded men and horses discomposed their ranks;
the narrow compass in- which they were pent hindered them from
recovering any order; the whole army was a scene of confusion,
terror, and dismay; and Henry, perceiving his advantage, ordered
the English archers, who were light and unencumbered, to advance
upon the enemy and seize the moment of victory. They fell with
their battle-axes upon the French, who, in their present posture,
were incapable either of flying, or of making defense; they hewed
them in pieces without resistance; and, being seconded by the men
at arms, who also pushed on against the enemy, they covered the
field with the killed, wounded, dismounted, and overthrown. No
battle was ever more fatal to France by the number of princes and
nobility slain or taken prisoners. Among the prisoners were the
Dukes of Orleans and Bourbon.  The killed are computed, on the
whole, to havre amounted to 10,000 men; and Henry was master
of 14,000 prisoners. The loss of the English was very small; but
the common statement that only 40 perished is scarcely credible.
Henry, not being in a condition to pursue his victory, interrupted
not his march a moment after the battle; he carried his prisoners to
Calais, thence to England, and concluded a truce with the enemy.
~ 7. But during this interruption of hostilities from England,
France was exposed to all the furies of civil war; and the several
parties became every day more enraged against each other. In
consequence of the capture of the Duke of Orleans at Agincourt,
the Count of Armagnac, his father-in-law, became the head of his
party (hence called the Armagnacs), and was created Constable of
France. The Duke of Burgundy, who had aspired to this dignity,
formed an alliance with the English; and his power was strengthened by the accession of Isabella, the queen, who had formerly been




A.D. 1415-1420. TREATY OF TROYES-MARRIAGE OF HENRY. 209
his enemy, but who had now quarreled with the Armagnacs. The
dauphin sided with the latter; and open war broke out between
the two factions. While the country was so ill-prepared to resist
a foreign enemy, Henry landed in Normandy at the head of 25,000
men (August 1, 1417), and met with no considerable opposition
from any quarter. Ile made himself master of Falaise; Evreux
and Caen submitted to him; and having subdued all the lower
Normandy, and having received a re-enforcement of 15,000 men
from England, he formed the siege of Rouen, which he took after
an obstinate defense (1418). But Henry still continued to negotiate, and had almost arranged some advantageous terms, when
the Duke of Burgundy secretly finished a treaty with the dauphin;
and these two princes agreed to share the royal authority during
King Charles's lifetime, and to unite their arms in order to expel
foreign enemies. This alliance seemed at first to cut off from
Henry all hopes' of farther success, but the treacherous assassination of the Duke of Burgundy soon afterward by the partisans of
the dauphin opened the way to a new and still more favorable arrangement. Philip, Count of Charolois, now Duke of Burgundy,
thought himself bound by every tie of honor and of duty to revenge the murder of his father, and to prosecute the assassins to
the utmost extremity. A league was immediately concluded at
Arras between him and Henry, by which the Duke of Burgundy,
without stipulating any thing for himself except the prosecution
of his father's murderers, and the marriage of the Duke of Bedford
with his sister, was willing to sacrifice the kingdom to Henry's
ambition; and he agreed to every demand made by that monarch.
In order to finish this astonishing treaty, which was to transfer
the crown of France to a stranger, Henry went to Troyes, accompanied by his brothers, the Dukes of Clarence and Gloucester;
and was there met by the Duke of Burgundy (1420). The imbecility into which Charles had fallen made him incapable of seeing any thing but through the eyes of those who attended him;
as they on their part saw every thing through the medium of their
passions. The treaty, being already concerted among the parties,
was immediately drawn, and signed, and ratified. The principal
articles Were, that Henry should espouse the Princess Catherine,
the daughter of the king; that King Charles, during his lifetime,
should enjoy the title and dignity of King of France; that Henry
should be intrusted with the present administration of the government, and should succeed to the throne on the death of Charles,
to the exclusion of the dauphin. In a few days after Henry espoused the Princess Catherine; he carried his father-in-law to
Paris, and put himself in possession of that capital; he obtained
from the Parliament and the three estates a ratification of the




210                     HENRY V.                  CHAP. XI.
treaty of Troyes; and he immediately turned his arms, with success, against the adherents of the dauphin.  Sens, Montereau,
and Melun yielded to his arms; but the necessity of providing
supplies, both of men and money, obliged him to go over to England (1421), and he left the Duke of Exeter, his uncle, Governor
of Paris during his absence.
~ 8. Henry returned with 24,000 archers and 4000 horsemen,
and was received at Paris with great expressions of joy. Meanwhile, a body of 7000 Scots, who were afraid to see France fall
into the power of their ancient enemy, had proceeded to the assistance of the dauphin, and had defeated the English under the
Duke of Clarence at Bauge.  But the presence of Henry soon
restored all. The dauphin was chased beyond the Loire, and he
almost totally abandoned all the northern provinces; he was even
pursued- into the south by the united arms of the English and
Burgundians, and threatened With total destruction.  And to
crown all the other prosperities of Henry, his queen was delivered of a son, who was called by his father's name, and whose birth
was celebrated by rejoicings no less pompous, and no less sincere,
at Paris than at London. But the glory of Henry, when it had
nearly reached the summit, was stopped short by the hand of
Nature, and'all his mighty projects vanished into smoke. He
was seized with a fistula, a malady which the surgeons at that
time had not skill enough to cure; and he expired on August 31,
1422. in the 35th year of his age and 10th of his reign. He left
the regency of France to his elder brother, the Duke of Bedford;
that of England to his younger, the Duke of Gloucester; and the
care of his son's person to the Earl of Warwick.
This prince possessed many eminent virtues; and if we give
indulgence to ambition in a monarch, or rank it, as the vulgar are
inclined to do, among his virtues, they were unstained by any conriderable blemish. His abilities appeared equally in the cabinet
and in the field; the boldness of his enterprises was no less reinarkable than his pefsonal valor in conducting them. He had
the talent of attaching his friends by affability, and of gaining his
enemies by address and clemency. The exterior figure of this
great prince, as well as his deportment, was engaging. His stature was somewhat above the middle size, his countenance beautiful, his limbs genteel and slender, but full of vigor; and he excelled in all warlike and manly exercises.
Catherine of France, Henry's widow, married soon after his
death a Welsh gentleman, Sir Owen Tudor, said to be descended
from the ancient princes of that country; she bore him two sons,
Edmund and Jasper, of whom the eldest was created Earl of
Richmond, father of Henry VIl.-the second, Earl of Pembroke.




AD. 1240-1428. SETTLEMENT OF THE GOVERNMENT.           211
~ 9. HENRY VI., 1422-1461, was born at Windsor, December
6, 1421, and was consequently scarcely nine months old when he
succeeded his father. The Lords and Commons, who had acquired great authority under the Lancastrian princes, without
paying much regard to the verbal destination of Henry V., assumed the power of giving a new arrangement to the whole administration. They declined altogether the name of regent with
regard to England; they appointed the Duke of Bedford protector
or guardian of that kingdom, a title which they supposed to imply
less authority; they invested the Duke of Gloucester with the
same dignity during the absence of his elder brother; and, in order to limit the'power of both these princes, they appointed a
council, without whose advice and approbation no measure of importance could be determined. Trhe person and education of the
infant prince was committed to Henry Beaufort, Bishop of Winchester, his great-uncle, and the legitimated son of John of Gaunt,
Duke of Lancaster. The interest of the early part of this reign
centres in the affairs of France.  Charles VI., the unhappy sovereign of that country, expired about two months after the death
of his son-in-law Henry.  His son, Charles VII., a young prince
of a popular character, and rightful heir to the throne, asserted
his claim to it against his infant competitor, although the superior
power of the English seemed to threaten him with expulsion; and
there were thus two rival kings of France. Bedford, the mosf
accomplished prince of his age, a skillful politician, as well as a
good general, strengthened himself by forming an alliance with
the Duke of Brittany, who had received some disgusts from the
French court. In order to avert from the northern border the
hostility of the Scots, many of whom were serving under Charles
VII., Bedford persuaded the English council to form an alliance
with James their prisoner; to free that prince from his long captivity; and to connect him with England by marrying him to a
daughter of the Earl of Somerset and cousin of the young king.
The treaty was soon concluded; a ransom Of ~40,000 was stipulated; and the King of Scots was restored to the throne of his
ancestors, and proved, in his short reign; one of the most illustrious princes that had ever governed that kingdom.
~ 10. The military operations in France from 1423 to 1426,
though they were favorable to the English, and reduced Charles
to great straits, were not of sufficient importance to detain us.
But in 1428 the Duke of Bedford determined to penetrate into the
south of France, which remained in obedience to Charles VII.;
and with this view he caused Orleans to be invested, which commanded the passage of the Loire, and was the key of the southern
provinces. The command of the besieging forces was intrusted to




212                     HENRY VI.                 CHAP. XL
the Earl of Salisbury, one of the most distinguished commanders
of the age.  Upon his death by a cannon ball the siege was continued by the Earl of Suffolk, and had lasted many months, when
relief was unexpectedly brought by a female who gave rise to
one of the most singular revolutions that is to be met with in
history.
In the village of Domremi, near Vaucouleurs, on the borders
of Lorraine, there lived a country girl of 27 years of age, called
Joan d'Arc, who was servant in a small inn, and who in that station had been accustomed to tend the horses of the guests, to ride
them without a saddle to the watering-place, and to perform other
offices which, in well-frequented inns, commonly fall to the share
of the men-servants.  This girl was of an irreproachable life, and
had not hitherto been remarked for any singularity; whether that
she had met with no occasion to excite her genius, or that the
unskillful eyes of those who conversed with her had not been able
to discern her uncommon merit.  It is easy to imagine that the
present situation of France was an interesting object, even to persons of the lowest rank; and Joan, inflamed by the general sentiment, was seized with a wild desire of bringing relief to her sovereign in his present distresses. Her inexperienced mind, working
day and night on this favorite object, mistook the impulses of passion for heavenly inspirations; and she fancied that she saw visions and heard voices, exhorting her to re-establish the throne of
France, and to expel the foreign invaders. She went to Vaucouleurs; procured admission to Baudricourt, the governor; informed him of her inspirations and intentions; and conjured him
not to neglect the voice of God, who spoke through her, but to
second those heavenly revelations which impelled her to this glorious enterprise. Baudricourt treated her at first with some neglect; but on her frequent returns to him, and importunate solicitations, he began to remark something extraordinary in the maid,
and was inclined, at all hazards, to make an easy experiment.
He gave her some attendants, who conducted her to the French
court; which at that time resided at Chinon. It is pretended that
Joan immediately on her admission knew the king, though she had
never seen his face before, and though he purposely kept himself
in the crowd of courtiers, and had laid aside every thing in his
dress and apparel which might distinguish him; that she offered
him, in the name of the supreme Creator, to raise the siege of
Orleans, and to conduct him to Rheims to be there crowned and
anointed; and on his expressing doubts of ber mission, revealed
to him, before some sworn confidants, a secret which was unknown
to all the world besides himself, and which nothing but a heavenly
inspiration could have discovered to her; and that she demanded,




A.D. 1428-1429.       JOAN OF ARC.                     213
as the instrument of her future victories, a particular sword, which
was kept in the church of St. Catherine of Fierbois, and which,
though she had never seen it, she described by all its marks, and
by the place in which it had long lain neglected. This is certain,
that all these miraculous stories were spread abroad in order to
captivate the vulgar. Joan's requests were at last complied with;
she was armed cap-a-piet, mounted on horseback, and shown in
that martial habiliment before the whole people. Her dexterity
in managing her steed, though acquired in her former occupation,
was regarded as a fresh proof of her mission; and she was received with the loudest acclamations by the spectators. Her first
exploit was to conduct a convoy of provisions into Orleans (April,
1429); and the English, daunted by a kind of supernatural terror
at the preparations, did not venture to attack her. The maid entered the city of Orleans arrayed in her military garb, and displaying her consecrated standard; and was received as a celestial
deliverer by all the inhabitants.
She now called upon the garrison to remain no longer on the
defensive; and she promised her followers the assistance of Heaven
in attacking those redoubts of the enemy which had so long kept
them in awe, and which they had never hitherto dared to insult.
These enterprises succeeded.  In one attack Joan was wounded
in the neck with an arrow;* she retreated a moment behind the
assailants, she pulled out the arrow with her own hands, she had
the wound quickly dressed, and she hastened back to head the
troops, and to plant her victorious banner on the ramparts of the
enemy. By all these successes the English were entirely chased
from their fortifications on that side; and as it might prove extremely dangerous for Suffolk, with such intimidated troops, to
remain any longer in the presence of so courageous and victorious
an enemy, he raised the siege, and retreated with all the precaution imaginable (May 8).
~ 11. The raising of the siege of Orleans was one part of the
maid's promise to Charles; the crowning of him at Rheims was
the other; and she now vehemently insisted that he should forthwith set out on that enterprise. A few weeks before such a proposal would have appeared the most extravagant in the world.
But Charles, at the head of only 12,000 men, marched to that
town without opposition.  The ceremony of his coronation was
here performed with the holy oil, which a pigeon had brought to
King Clovis from heaven on the first establishment of the French
monarchy (July 12). The Mlaid of Orleans, as she was now
called, stood by his side in complete armor, and displayed her
sacred banner, which had so often dissipated and confounded his
fiercest enemies; and the people shouted with the most unfeigned




21.4                    HENRY VI.                  CHAP. XI.
joy at viewing such a complication of wonders. Charles, thus
crowned and anointed, became more respectable in the eyes of all
his subjects. Many towns and fortresses in that neighborhood,
immediately after Charles's coronation, submitted to him on the
first summons; and the whole nation was disposed to give him the
most zealous testimonies of their duty and affection.
Nothing can impress us with a higher idea of the wisdom, address, and resolution of the Duke of Bedford than his being able
to maintain himself in so perilous a situation, and to preserve
some footing in France, after the defection of so many places, and
amid the universal inclination of the rest to imitate that contagious example.  The small supplies, both of men and money,
which he received from England set the talents of this great man
in a still stronger light. It happened fortunately, in this emergency, that the Bishop of Winchestelr, now created a cardinal,
landed at Calais with a body of 5000 men, which he was conducting into Bohemia on a crusade against the Hussites. He was
persuaded to lend these troops to his nephew during the present
difficulties; and the regent was thereby enabled to take the field,
and to oppose the French king, who was advancing with his army
to the gates of Paris.  The regent endeavored to revive the declining state of his affairs by bringing over the young king of England and having him crowned and anointed at Paris (1431).
But he expected more effect from an accident which put into
his hands the person that had been the author of all his calamities.
~ 12. The }Maid of Orleans, in making a sally from CompiBgne,
was taken prisoner by the Burgundians. A complete victory
would not have given more joy to the English and their partisans.
The service of Te lDeum, which has so often been profaned by
princes, was publicly celebrated, on this fortunate event, at Paris.
The Duke of Bedford fancied that, by the captivity of that extraordinary woman, who had blasted all his successes, he should
again recover his former ascendant over France; and to push
farther the present advantage, he purchased the captive from John
of Luxembourg, and formed a prosecution against her, which,
whether it proceeded from vengeance or policy, was equally barbarous and dishonorable. She was tried and condemned by an
ec-clesiastical court for sorcery, impiety, idolatry, and magic, aggravated by heresy; her revelations were declared to be inventions
of the devil to delude the people; and she was sentenced to be delivered over to the secular arm. Joan, who had borne her trial
with amazing firmness, felt her spirit at last subdued. She publicly declared herself willing to recant; she acknowledged the illusion of those revelations which the Church had rejected; and




A.D. 1429-1444.        JOAN OF ARC.                     215
she promised never more to maintain them. Her sentence was
then mitigated: she was condemned to perpetual imprisonment, and
to be fed during life on bread and water. But the barbarous vengeance of Joan's enemies was not satisfied with this victory. They
purposely placed in her apartment a suit of men's apparel; and
watched for the effects of that temptation upon her. On the sight
of a dress in which she had acquired so much renown, and which,
she once believed, she wore by the particular appointment of
Heaven, all her former ideas and passions revived; and she ventured in her solitude to clothe herself again in the forbidden garment. Her insidious enemies caught her in that situation; her
fault was interpreted to be no less than a relapse into heresy; no
recantation would now suffice, and no pardon could be granted
her.  She was condemned to be burned in the market-place of
Rouen; and the infamous sentence was accordingly executed
(June 14, 1431).
~ 13. From this period the affairs of the English in France, the
result of which we shall here anticipate, went insensibly to decay.
After the death of Bedford's wife, who was sister to the Duke of
Burgundy, and the regent's subsequent hasty marriage with.Jaqueline of Luxembourg, the last link was severed which had
hitherto preserved some appearance of friendship between those
princes; an open breach took place between them, and the Duke
of Burgundy determined to reconcile himself with the court of
France. In 1435 a treaty was concluded at Arras between the
Duke of Burgundy and Philip, which was followed almost immediately by the death of:the Duke of Bedford at Rouen (Sept. 14,
1435).- The English continued to hold a gradually declining footing in France for some years after that event; but the period offers
few interesting or memorable occurrences. Shortly after the regent's death, and before his successor, the Duke of York, could
arrive, the forces of the French king were admitted into Paris by
the citizens; Lord Willoughby, who had retired with the small
English garrison into the.Bastile, was forced to capitulate on the
condition of an honorable retreat (April, 1436). Yet the struggle was protracted feebly on both sides. In 1444 a truce of 22
months, afterward prolonged to April, 1450, was concluded,
chiefly through the influence of the Bishop of Winchester, now
Cardinal Beaufort; for the Duke of Gloucester still retained the
most lofty pretensions with regard to France.
~ 14. We now turn to the affairs of England. The death of
the Duke of Bedford was an irreparable loss to the English nation. His ascendency had preserved some show of agreement
between the Duke of Gloucester and the Cardinal Beaufort, who
had long been enemies; but after his death they openly conspired




216                    HENRY VI.                  CHAP. Xi.
each other's ruin. We have already seen that the treaty with
France had been concluded through the influence of Cardinal
Beaufort in opposition to the Duke of Gloucester; and each
party was now ambitious of choosing a queen for Henry, as it
was probable that this circumstance would decide forever the victory between them.  HIenry was now in the 23d year of his age.
Of the most harmless, inoffensive, simple manners, but of the most
slender capacity, he was fitted, both by the softness of his temper,
and the weakness of his understanding, to be perpetually governed by those who surrounded him; and it was easy to foresee that
his reign would prove a perpetual minority.  The Duke of
Gloucester proposed to marry Henry to a daughter of the Count
of Armagnac, but had not credit to effect his purpose. The Cardinal and his friends had cast their eyes on Margaret of Anjou,
daughter of Regnier, titular King of Sicily, Naples, and Jerusalem. This princess herself was the most accomplished of her age,
both in body and mind, and seemed to possess those qualities
which would equally qualify her to acquire the ascendant over
HIenry, and to supply all his defects and weaknesses. The Earl
of Suffolk, who had previously negotiated the treaty with France,
now made proposals of marriage to Margaret, which were accepted (1445); and, in order to ingratiate himself with her and her
family, engaged, by a secret article, that the province of Maine,
which was at that time in the hands of the English, should be
ceded to Charles of Anjou, her uncle (1445).  The treaty of marriage was ratified in England; Suffolk obtained first the title of
marquis, then that of duke; and even received the thanks of
Parliament for his services in concluding it. The princess fell
immediately into close connections with the cardinal and his
party, the Dukes of Somerset, Suffolk, and Buckingham, who,
fortified by her powerful patronage, resolved on the final ruin of
the Duke of Gloucester. This generous prince, worsted in all
court intrigues, for which his temper was not suited, but possessing in a high degree the favor of the public, had already received
from his rivals a cruel mortification, which he had hitherto borne
without violating public peace, but which it was impossible that
a person of his spirit and humanity could ever forgive. His
duchess, the daughter of Reginald, Lord Cobham, had been accused of the crime of witchcraft; and it was pretended that there
was found in her possession a waxen figure of the king, which she
and her associates, Sir Roger Bolingbroke, a priest, and one Margery Jordan of Eye, melted in a magital manner before a slow
fire, with an intention of making Henry's force and vigor waste
away by like insensible degrees. The accusation was well calculated. to affect the weak and credulous, mind of the king, and to




A.D. 1444-1453. THE ENGLISH EXPELLED-FROM FRANCE.  217
gain belief in an ignorant age; and the duchess was condemned
to do public penance, and to suffer perpetual imprisonment (1441).
In order to effect their purpose against the duke, the Cardinal of
Winchester and his party caused a Parliament to be summoned, to
meet, not at London, which was supposed to be too well affected
to the duke, but at Bury St. Edlmund's, where they expected that
le would lie entirely at their mercy (1447). As soon as he appeared he was accused of treason, and thrown into prison. He
was soon after found dead in his bed; and though it was pretended that his death was natural, and though his body, which
was exposed to public view, bore no marks of outward violence,
no one doubted but he had fallen a victim to the vengeance of his
enemies. The cardinal himself survived only a few weeks the
murder of his nephew, for which he is said to have felt great remorse in his last moments. After this event, Suffolk, the declared favorite of the queen, and who had now been made a duke,
became prime minister, and the affairs of the nation, owing to the
imbecility of the king, were directed by him and Margaret; but
the court was divided into parties which were enraged against
one another. In this state of things French affairs were neglected. The province of Maine was ceded to Charles of Anjou, the
queen's uncle, according to the marriage-treaty. After the conclusion of the truce Charles VII. had employed himself with great
judgment in repairing the numberless ills of France; and in 1449
he availed himself of a favorable opportunity to break it. Normandy and Guienne were overrun by powerful French armies almost without resistance i and by the summer of 1451 the English
were completely expelled from France, with the exception of
Calais. Though no peace or truce was concluded, the war was,
in a manner, at an end, and the civil dissensions which ensued in
England permitted but one feeble effort more, in 1453, for the recovery of Guienne, in which the veteran Talbot lost his life.
~ 15. Meanwhile, the, incapacity of Henry, which appeared every day in a fuller light, had encouraged the appearance of a pretender to the crown. All the males of the house of Mortimer
were extinct; but Anne, the sister of the last Earl of March,
having espoused the Earl of Cambridge, beheaded in the reign of
Henry V., had transmitted her latent, but not yet forgotten, claim
to her son, Richard, Duke of York. This prince, thus descended,
by his mother, from Philippa, only daughter of the Duke of Clarence, third son of Edward III., stood plainly in the order of succession before the king, who derived his descent from the Duke
of Lancaster, fourth son of that monarch;* and that claim could
not, in many respects, have fallen into more dangerous hands than
4 See the genealogical table, p. 134.
K




218                     HENRY VI.                 CHAP. XI.
those of the Duke of York.  Richard was a man of valor and
abilities, of a prudent conduct and mild disposition; he possessed
an immense fortune from the —union of so many successions, those
of Cambridge and York on the one hand with those of Mortimer
on the other; and his marriage with the daughter of Ralph Nevil,
Earl of Westmoreland, had widely extended his interest among
the nobility. The Earls of Salisbury and Warwick were of that
family, and were of themselves, on many accounts, the greatest
noblemen in the kingdom. The personal qualities also of these
two earls, especially of Warwick, enhanced the splendor of their
nobility, and increased their influence over the people.  This latter nobleman, commonly known, from the subsequent events, by
the appellation of the King-maker, had distinguished himself by
his gallantry in the field, by the hospitality of his table, by the
magnificence and still more by the generosity of his expense, and
by the spirited and bold manner which attended him in all his
actions. No less than 30,000 persons are said to have daily lived
at his board in the different manors and castles which he possessed in England; the military men, allured by his munificence
and hospitality, as well as by his bravery, were zealously attached
to his interests, and the people in general bore him an unlimited
affection.
~ 16. Though the English were never willing to grant the supplies necessary for keeping possession of the conquered provinces
in France, they repined extremely at the loss of these boasted acquisitions. The voluntary cession of Maine to the queen's uncle
had made them suspect treachery in the loss of Normandy and
Guienne. They still considered Margaret as a Frenchwoman,
and a latent enemy of the kingdom.- But the most fatal blow
given to the popularity of the crown, and to the interests of the
house of Lancaster, was by the assassination of the virtuous Duke
of Gloucester; and, as the Duke of Suffolk was known to have
had an active hand in the crime, he partook deeply of the hatred
attending it.'The revenues of the crown, which had long been
disproportioned to its power and dignity, had been extremely dilapidated during the minority of Henry. The royal demesnes
were dissipated; and at the same time the king was loaded with
a debt of' 372,000 pounds, a sum so great that the Parliament
could never think of discharging it. This unhappy situation forced
the ministers upon many arbitrary measures; the household itself could not be supported without stretching to the utmnost the
right of purveyance, and rendering it a kind of universal robbery
upon the people. Suffolk, once become odious, bore the blame of
the whole; and every grievance, in every part of the administration, was universally imputed to his tyranny and injustice. Tho




A.D. 1453-1454.        CIVIL WAR.                     219
Commons sent up to the Peers an accusation of high treason
against him (1450). The king, to save him from present ruin, banished him the kingdom during five years. But a captain of a vessel was employed by his enemies to intercept him in his passage to
France: he was seized near Dover; his head struck off -on the
side of a long-boat; and his body thrown into the sea. No inquiry was made after the actors and accomplices in this atrocious
deed of violence.
~ 17. The humors of the people, set afloat by the Parliamentary impeachment and by the fall of so great a favorite as Suffolk,
broke out in various commotions.  The most dangerous was that
excited by a man of low condition, one John Cade, a native of
Ireland, who had been obliged to fly into France for crimes, and
who took the name of John Mortimer.  On the first mention of
that popular name the common people of Kent, to the number of
20,000, flocked to Cade's standard; Sir Humphrey Stafford, who
had opposed him with a small force, was defeated and slain in an
action near Sevenoke; and Cade, advancing with his followers
toward London, encamped on Blackheath. Though elated by his
victory, he still maintained the appearance of moderation; and
sent to the court a plausible list of grievances. The city opened
its gates to Cade, who maintained, during some time, great order
and discipline among his followers.  At last they broke into a
rich house, which they plundered; and the citizens, alarmed at
this act of violence, shut their gates against them; and, being seconded by a detachment of soldiers sent- them by Lord Scales,
Governor of the Tower, they repulsed the rebels with great slaughter. The Kentish men were so discouraged by the blow, that,
upon receiving a general pardon from the primate, then chancellor, they retreated toward Rochester, and there dispersed. The
pardon was soon after annulled, as extorted by violence; a price
was set on Cade's head, who was killed by one Iden, a gentleman
of Sussex; and many of his followers were capitally punished for
their rebellion (1450).
The Duke of Somerset, who had been governor of Normandy,
succeeded Suffolk in the administration, but his loss of that province made him very unpopular with the English. The Duke of
York, who had recently returned from his government of Ireland,
raised an army of 10,000 men, with which he marched toward
London (1452), demanding a reformation of the government, and
the removal of the Duke of Somerset from all power and authority.  Having suffered himself, however, to be entrapped into a
conference, he was seized, but dismissed; and he retired to his
seat of Wigmore, on the borders of Wales.
~ 18. The queen's delivery of a' son (Oct. 13, 1454), who re



220                     HENRY VI.                CHu.P. XT.
ceived the name of Edward, removed all hopes of the peaceable
succession of the Duke of York. Henry, always unfit to exercise
the government, fell at this time into a distemper which so far increased his natural imbecility that it rendered him incapable of
maintaining even the appearance of royalty. The queen and the
council, destitute of this support, found themselves unable to resist the York party, and they were obliged to yield to the torrent.
They sent Somerset to the Tower, and appointed the Duke of
York lieutenant of the kingdom, with powers to open and hold a
session of Parliament. That assembly, also, taking into consideration the state of the kingdom, created him Protector during
pleasure (1454). But in the following year the king, having recovered his health, annulled the protectorship of the duke, released
Somerset fiom the Tower, and committed the administration into
the hands of that nobleman. The Duke of York levied an army;
but still without advancing any pretensions to the crown. He
complained only of the king's ministers, and demanded a reformation of the government. A battle was fought at St. Albans (May
23, 1455), in which the Yorkists were superior; among the slain
were the Duke of Somerset and many other persons of distinction.
The king himself fell into the hands of the Duke of York, who
treated him with great respect and tenderness; he was only
obliged (which he regarded as no hardship) to commit the whole
authority of the crown into the hands of his rival. This was the
first blood spilt in that fatal quarrel which was not finished in
less than a course of 30 years, which was signalized by 12 pitched
battles, which opened a scene of extraordinary fierceness and cruelty, is computed to have cost the lives of 80 princes of the blood,
and almost entirely annihilated the ancient nobility of England.
Yet affairs did not immediately proceed to the last extremities.
In 1456 the king was restored to the sovereign authority; and
for two or three years the parties seemed in outward appearance
to be reconciled. But the smallest accident, without any formed
design, was sufficient, in the present disposition of men's minds,
to dissolve the seeming harmony. One of the king's retinue insulted one of the Earl of XVarwick's, the most important partisan
of the Duke of York; their companions on both sides took part
in the quarrel; a fierce combat ensued; the earl apprehended
his life to be aimed at; he fled to his government of Calais; and
both parties, in every county of England, openly made preparations for deciding the contest by war and arms (1459).
~ 19. A civil war was now fairly kindled. In 1460 the king
was defeated and taken prisoner by the Earl of Warwick at Northampton (July 10). The Duke of York displayed great seeming
moderation after this success, though he publicly intimated his




A,D. 1454-1461.        CIVIL WAR.                     221
expectation that the Parliament should raise him to the throne.
The rival claims were, however, submitted to the decision of the
House of Peers, whose sentence was calculated, as far as possible, to please both parties.  They declared the title of the Duke
of York to be certain and indefeasible; but, in consideration that
Henry had enjoyed the crown, without dispute or controversy,
during the course of 38 years, they determined that he should
continue to possess the title and dignity during the remainder of
his life; that the administration of the government, meanwhile,
should remain with the Duke of York; and that he should be
acknowledged the true and lawful heir of the monarchy. The
duke acquiesced in this decision, and Henry himself, being a prisoner, could not oppose it. But Queen Margaret, who, after the
defeat at Northampton, had fled to Durham, and thence to Scotland, had, with the assistance of the northern barons, collected
an army 20,000 strong.  The Duke of York, informed of her
appearance in the north, hastened thither with a body of 5000
men, to suppress, as he imagined, the beginnings of an insurrection; when, on his arrival at Wakefield, he found himself so much
outnumbered by the enemy. H-e nevertheless hazarded a battle,
in which the queen gained a complete victory (Dec. 23). The
duke himself was killed in the action; and as his body was found
among the slain, the head was cut off by Margaret's orders, and
fixed on the gates of York, with a paper crown upon it in derision
of his pretended title.  One of his sons, the Earl of Rutland, a
youth of 17, was brought to Lord Clifford; and that barbarian,
in revenge of his father's death, who had perished in the battle
of St. Albans, murdered,' in cool blood, and with his own hands,
this innocent prince; whose exterior figure, as well as other accomplishments, are represented by historians as extremely amiable. The Earl of Salisbury was wounded and taken prisoner, and
immediately beheaded, with'several other persons of distinction,
by martial law, at Pomfret. The Duke of York perished in the
50th year of his age, and left three sons, Edward (afterward Edward IV.), George (afterward Duke of Clarence), Richard (afterward Richard III.), with three daughters, Anne, Elizabeth, and
Margaret.
~ 20. The queen, after this important victory, divided her army.
She sent the smaller division, under Jasper Tudor, Earl of Pembroke, half-brother to the king, against Edward, the new Duke of
York. She herself marched with the larger division toward London, where the Earl of' Warwick had been left with the command
of the Yorkists. Pembroke was defeated by Edward at Mortimer's Cross, in Herefordshire, with the loss of nearly 4000 men
(Feb. 2, 1461); his army was dispersed; he himself escaped by




222                              HENRY  VI.                          CHAP. XI.
flight; but his father, Sir Owen Tudor, was taken prisoner, and
immediately beheaded by Edward's orders.  This barbarous practice, being once begun, was continued by both parties from a spirit
of revenge, which covered itself under the pretense of retaliation.
Mlargaret compensated this defeat by a victory which she obtained over the Earl of Warwick at St. Albans (Feb. 19), when the
person of the king fell again into the hands of his own party; but
the queen made no great advantage of this victory.  Young Edward advanced upon her from the other side, and, collecting the
remains of Warwick's army, was soon in a condition to give her
battle with-superior forces.  She was sensible of her danger while
she lay between  the  enemy  and  the  city  of London; and  she
found it necessary to  retreat with her army to the north.   Edward  entered the capital amid the  acclamations of the  citizens,
and was proclaimed king by the  title of Edward IV. (March 3,
1461).
CHRONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE EVENTS.
A.D.                                     A.D.
1399. HIenry IV. crowned.                1429. S'ege of Orleans. Joan of Arc.
1400. Revolt of Owen Glendower and others. 1431. Henry VI. crowned at Paris. Execu1401. William Sautre, a clergyman, burned       tion of Joan of Arc.
for Lollardism.                   1445. The king marries Margaret of Anjou.
1403. Revolt of the Earl of No thumberland. 1450. Jack Cade's insurrection.
Battle of Shrewsbury and death of 1451. The English expelled from France.
Percy.                            145?. Insurrection of the Duke of York.
1413. Death of Henry IV. and accession of 1455. Commencement of the civil wars.
Henry V.                                 First battle of St. Albans.
1415. Battle of Agincourt.               1460. Battle of Wakefield and death of Rich1420. Treaty ofTroyes. Henly marries Cath-     ard, Duke of York.
erine of France and is named heir 1461. Second battle of St: Albans. Edward
and regent of that kingdom.              IV. declarld' king by the citizens of
1422. Death of Henry V. and accession of       London.
Hery VIL




Reverse of Great Seal of Edward IV. -  everse of Great Seal of Richard III.
Edwardus.: Dei: Gracia.  Rex: anglie:    PRicardus   dei. gracia. lRex. nnglie.
et: Francie et: Domintus: HIibernie.  et. francie. et. Domintus. Iihbernie.
CHAPTER XII.
THE HOUSE OF'YORK.  E.DWARD-IV., ED'WARD V., RICHARD III.
A.D. 1461-1485.
~ 1. EyDWARD IV. assumes the Crown.  Wnar of the Roses. Battle of Towton.  ~ 2. Battle of Hcxham.  Flight of Margaret and Capture of lIenry VI.  ~ 3. Edward's Marriage.  Discontent of Warwick.  ~ 4. Warwick flies to France and leagues himself with Margarlet.  ~. Wa~ r. ick
invades England, expels Edwvard, and restores Henry.  ~ 6. Return of
Edward. Battles:of Barnet and Tewkesbury. Death of HeInry VI. ~ 7.
Peace of Pecquigni. Execution of Clarence.  D)cath and Character of
the King.  ~ 8. Accession of Ei)wARD V. Violent Proceedings of Richard, Duke of Gloucester.  ~ 9. Execution of Rivers, Hastings, and others.  ~ 10. RICIIARa   III. Murder of Edward V. and the )Duke of York.
~ 11. Conspiracy in favor of the Earl of Richmond.  His Invasion, and
Death of Buckin-lgham.  ~ 12. Richmond's second Invasion. Battle of
Bosiworth and Death of Richard.  ~ 13. State of the Nation under the
Plantagenets.  Progress.of the. Constitution.  ~ 14. Civil Rights of Individuals.  Villenage.  ~ 15 General Progress of the Nation.
~ 1. EaDWARD IV., 1461-1483.-Youncg Edward, now  in his
20th year, was of a temper well fitted to make his way through
such a scene of war, havoc, and devastation as must conduct him
to the full possession of that crown which he claimed from hereditary right, but which he had assumed from the tumultuary election alone of his own party.   -ie was bold, active, enterprising;
and his hardness of heart and severity of character rendered him
impi,:egnable to all those moseinents of compassion which might
relax his vigor in the prosecution of tl-le most bloody revenge upon
his enemies. The scaffold, as well as the field, incessantly stream



224                    EDWARD IV.                CHAP. XII
ed with the noblest blood of England, spilt in. the quarrel between
the two contending families, whose animosity was now become
implacable. The people, divided in their affections, took different
symbols of party; the partisans of the house of Lancaster chose
the red rose as their mark of distinction; those of York were denominated from the white; and the civil wars were thus known,
over Europe, by the name of the quarrel between the two roses.
Queen Margaret had collected a force of 60,000 men in Yorkshire, while the Earl of Warwick, at the head of 40,000, hastened
to check her progress.  The hostile armies met at Towton, near
Tadcaster (March 29, 1461), and a fierce and bloody battle ensued, which ended in a total victory on the side of the Yorkists.
Edward issued orders to give no quarter; and above 36,000 men
are computed to have fallen in the battle and pursuit; -of whom
28,000 were Lancastrians.  Henry and Margaret had remained
at York during the action; but learning the defeat of their army,
and being sensible that no place in England could now afford them
shelter, they fled with great precipitation into Scotland. Edward
did not pursue the fugitive king and queen into their retreat, but
returned to London, where a Parliament was summoned for settfling the government. They recognized the title of Edward, by
hereditary descent through the family of Mortimer; and declared
that he was king by right, from the death of his father, who had
also the same lawful title; and that he was in possession of the
crown from the day that he assumed the government, tendered to
him by the acclamations of the- people. They also passed an act
of forfeiture and attainder against HIenry VI. and Queen Margaret, and their infant son Prince Edward, besides many other persons of distinction.
~ 2. Queen Margaret sailed over twice to France to solicit assistance. Louis XI. of France, who had succeeded his father
Charles, was prevailed upon to gtiant her a small body of troops,
by a promise to surrender Calais if her family should by his means
be restored to the throne of England. She invaded England in
1464; but was defeated in two battles by Lord MIontacute, brother
of the Earl of Warwick, first at Hedgley Moor (April 25), and
afterward at Hexham (May 15).  The Duke of Somerset, the
Lords Roos and Hungerford, were taken in the pursuit, and immediately beheaded. The fate of the unfortunate royal family
after this defeat was singular. Margaret, flying with her son into
a forest where she endeavored to conceal herself, was beset, during the darkness of the night, by robbers, who, either ignorant or
regardless of her quality, despoiled her of her rings and jewels,
and treated her with the utmost indignity.  The partition of this
rich booty raised a quarrel among them; and, while their atten



A.D. 1461-1464.   CAPTURE OF HENRY VI.                  225
tion was thus engaged, she took the opportunity of making her
escape with her son into the thickest of the forest, where she wandered for some time, overspent with hunger and fatigue, and sunk
with terror and affliction.  WVhile in this wretched condition, she
saw a robber approach with his naked sword; and, finding that
she had no means of escape, she suddenly embraced the resolution
of trusting entirely for protection to his faith and generosity.
She advanced toward him; and presenting to him the young
prince, called out to him, " Here, my friend, I commit to your
care the safety of your king's son." The man, whose humanity
and generous spirit had been obscured, not entirely lost, by his
vicious course of life, was struck with the singularity of the event,
was charmed with the confidence reposed in him; and vowed not
only to abstain from all injury against the princess, but to devote
himself entirely to her service. By his means she dwelt some
time concealed in the forest, and was at last conducted to the seacoast, whence she made her escape into Flanders. - She passed
thence into her father's court, where she lived several years in
privacy and retirement.  Her husband was not so fortunate or so
dextrous in finding the means of escape.  Some of his friends
took him under their protection, and conveyed him into Lancashire, where he remained concealed during a twelvemonth; but
he was at last detected, delivered up to Edward, and thrown into
the Tower.
~ 3. The cruel and unrelenting spirit of Edward, though inured
to the ferocity of civil wars, was, at the same time extremely devoted to the softer passions; and his amorous temper led him into
a snare which proved fatal to his repose, and to the stability of
his throne.  Jaqueline of Luxembourg, Duchess of Bedford, had,
after her husband's death, married Sir Richard Woodville, a private gentleman,-to whom she bore several children; and among
the rest Elizabeth, who was remarkable for the grace and beauty
of her person, as well as for other amiable accomplishments. This
young lady had married Sir John Grey, by whom she had children; and her husband being slain in the second battle of St. Albans, fighting on the side of Lancaster, and his estate being for
that reason confiscated, his widow retired to live with her father
at his seat of Grafton in Northamptonshire. The king came accidentally to the house after a hunting party, and was so charmed
with the beauty of the young widow that he offered to share his
throne with her. The marriage was privately celebrated at Grafton, but was not avowed by Edward till the autumn of 1464. It
gave great offense to the Earl of Warwick, who had intended to
strengthen the throne of Edward by some splendid connection.
The influence of the queen soon became apparent, who sought to
K2




226                    EDWARD IV.                CHA9. XII.
draw every grace and favor to her own friends and kindred, and
to exclude those of Warwick, whom she regarded as her mortal
enemy.  Tie earl perceived with disgust that his credit was lost;
and the nobility of England, envying the sudden growth of the
Woodvilles, were inclined to take part with Warwick's discontent, to whose grandeur they were already accustomed, and who
had reconciled them to his superiority by his gracious and popular manners. But the most considerable associate that Warwick
acquired to his party was George, Duke of Clarence, the king's
second brother, by offering him in marriage his eldest daughter,
and co-heir of his immense fortunes; a settlement which, as it
was superior to any that the king himself could confer upon him,.
immediately attached him to the party of the earl. Thus an extensive and dangerous combination was insensibly formed against
Edward and his ministry.
~ 4. There is no part of English history since the Conquest so obscure, so uncertain, so little authentic or consistent, as that of the
wars between the two Roses: and, as they exhibit a mere struggle for power that involves not any great constitutional principle,
we shall narrate them as briefly as possible. Warwick proceeded to the court of France, where he was well received by Louis.
Margaret was sent for from Anjou; and, in spite of the injuries
which Warwick had experienced at her hands, and the inveterate
hatred which he bore to the house of Lancaster, an agreement
was, from common interest, soon concluded between them. It
was-stipulated that Wafrwick should espouse the cause of Henry,
and endeavor to re-establish him on the throne; that the administration of the government during the minority of young Edward,
Henry's son, should be intrusted conjointly to the Earl of Warwick and the Duke of Clarence; that Prince Edward should
marry the Lady Anne, second- daughter of Warwick; and' that
the crown, in case of the failure of male issue in that prince, should
descend to the Duke of Clarence, to the entire exclusion of King
Edward and his posterity.
~ 5. Louis now prepared a fleet to escort the Earl of WVarwick,
and granted him a supply of men and money. That nobleman
landed at Dartmouth (Sept. 13, 1470), with the Duke of Clarence,
the Earls of Oxford and Pembroke, and a small body of troops;
while the king was in the north, engaged in suppressing an insurrection which had been raised by Lord Fitz-Hugh, brother-in-law.
to Warwick. — The scene which ensues resembles more the fiction
of a poem or romance than an event in true history. The prodigious popularity of Warwick drew such multitudes to his standard, that in a very few days his army amounted to 60,000 men,
and was continually increasing. Edward hastened southward to




A.D. 1464-1471.    BATTLE OF BARNET.                    227
encounter him; but, being deserted by the Marquis of Montacute,
W~arwick's brother, he hurried with a small retinue to Lynn in
Norfolk, where he luckily found some ships ready, on board of
which he instantly embarked. Thus the Earl-of Warwick, in no
longer space than eleven days after his first landing, was left entire master of the kingdom. That nobleman hastened to London,
and, taking Henry from his confinement in the Tower, into which
he hiimself had been the chief cause of throwing him, he proclaimed him king with great solemnity, A Parliament was summoned, in the name of that prince, to meet at Westminster; and the
treaty with Margaret was here fully executed (1471).  Henry
was recognized as lawful king; but his incapacity for government
being avowed, the regency was intrusted to Warwick and Clarence till the majority of Prince Edward; and in default of that
prince's issue, Clarence was declared successor to the crown.
~ 6. Tlhe Duke of Burgundy had: treated Edward with great
coldness on his landing in Holland; but subsequently he secretly
hired for him a small squadron of ships and about 2000 men.
With these the king landed on the coast of Norfolk (1471); but
being there repulsed, he sailed northward, and disembarked at
Ravenspur, in Yorkshire.  His partisans every moment flocked to
his standard; he was admitted into the city of York; and he was
soon in such a situation as gave him hopes of succeeding in all his
claims and pretensions. WVarwick assembled an army at Leicester, with the intention of meeting and of giving battle to the enemy; but Edward, by taking another road, passed him unmolested,
and presented himself before the gates of London, where his admittance by the citizens made him master not only of that rich
and powerful city, but also of the person of Henry, who,: destined
to-be the perpetual sport of fortune, thus fell again into the hands
of his enemies. The king soon found himself in a condition to face
the Earl of NWarwick, who.had taken post at Barnet in the neighborhood of London (April 14). At this juncture his son-in-law
the Duke of Clarence, in filfillment of some secret engagements
which he had formerly taken with his brother, and to support the
interests of his own family, deserted to the king in the nighttime,
and carried over a body of 1-2,000 -men along with him. Warwick was now too far advanced to retreat; and, as he rejected
with disdain all terms of peace offered him by Edward and Clarence, he was obliged to hazard a general engagement, in which
his army was completely routed. - Warwick, contrary to his more
usual practice, engaged that day on foot, resolving to show his
army that he meant to- share every fortune with them; and he
was slain in the thickest of the engagement; his brother under —
went the same fate; and, as Edward had issued orders not to give




228                    EDWARD IV.                CHAP. XII.
any quarter, a great and undistinguished slaughter was made in
the pursuit. The same day on which this decisive battle was
fought, Queen Margaret and her son, now about 18 years of age,
and a young prince of great hopes, landed at Weymouth, supported by a small body of French forces. She advanced through the
counties of Devon, Somerset, and Gloucester, increasing her army
on each day's march; but was at last overtaken by the rapid and
expeditious Edward at Tewkesbury, on the banks of the Severn.
The Lancastrians were here totally defeated (May 4).  Queen
Margaret and her son- were taken prisoners, and brought to the
king, who asked the prince, after an insulting manner, how he
dared to invade his dominions? The young prince, more mindful
of his high birth than.of his present fortune, replied, that he came
thither to claim his just inheritance.  The ungenerous Edward,
insensible to pity, struck him on the face with his gauntlet; and
the Dukes of Clarence and' Gloucester, Lord Hastings, and Sir
Thomas Grey, taking the blow as a signal for farther violence,
hurried the prince into the next apartment, and there dispatched
hiin with their daggers. Margaret was thrown into the Tower;
King Henry expired in that confinement a few days after the bat-.
tie of Tewkesbury; but whether he died a natural or violent
death is uncertain.. It is pretended, and was generally believed,
that the Duke of Gloucester' killed him with his own hands; but
the universal odium which that prince has incurred inclined perhaps the nation to aggravate his crimes without any sufficient authority.
~ 7. All the hopes of the house of Lancaster seemed now to be
itterly extinguished. Every legitimate prince of that family was
dead; and peace being fully restored to the nation, a Parliament
was summoned, which ratified, as usual, all the acts of the victor,
and recognized his legal authority. But all the glories of Edward's reign terminated with the civil wars; where his laurels
too were extremely sullied with blood, violence, and cruelty. His
spirit seems afterward to have sunk in indolence and pleasure;
or his measures were frustrated by imprudence and want of foresight.  Relying on the assistance of the Duke of Burgundy, he
invaded France in 1475 with a considerable army; but, being disappointed in that expectation, he readily listened to the advances
of the politic Louis, who was willing to conclude a truce on terms
more advantageous than honorable. He stipulated to pay Edward immediately 75,000 crowns, on condition that he should
withdraw his army from France, and promised to pay him 50,000
crowns a year during their joint lives; it was added that the
dauphin, when of age, should marry Edward's eldest daughter.
The two monarchs ratified this treaty, which did little honor to




A D. 1471-1483. DEATH AND CHARACTER OF THE KING.    229
either, in a personal interview at Pecquigni, near Amiens.  The
most honorable part of it was the stipulation for the liberty of
Queen Margaret. Louis paid 50,000 crowns for her ransom;
and that princess, who had been so active on the stage of the
world, and who had experienced such a variety of fortune, passed
the remainder of her days in tranquillity and privacy, till the year
1482, when she died.
The Duke of Clarence, by all his services in deserting Warwick,
had never been able to regain the king's friendship, which he had
forfeited by his former confederacy with that nobleman. HI-e had
also had the misfortune to give displeasure to the queen herself,
as well as to his brother, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, a prince
of the deepest policy, of the most unrelenting ambition, and the
least scrupulous in the means which he employed for the attainment of his ends.  A combination between these potent adversaries being secretly formed against Clarence, it was determined to
begin by attacking his friends, of whom two or three were tried
and executed on fiivolous charges. Clarence, instead of securing
his own life against the present danger by silence, and reserve, was
open and loud in justifying the innocence of his friends, and in
exclaiming against the iniquity of their prosecutors. The king,
highly offended with his freedom, or using that pretense against
him, committed him to the Tower, summoned a Parliament, and
tried him for his life before the House of Peers, by whom he was
pronounced guilty. The manner of his death is unknown; according to an absurd- rumor, he was drowned in a butt of Malmsey (1478).
Louis, instead of carrying out the treaty of Pecquigni, found
his advantage in contracting the dauphin to the Princess Margaret, daughter of Maximilian; and the king, notwithstanding his
indolence, prepared to revenge the indignity.  But while he was
making preparations for that enterprise, he was seized with a distemper, of which he expired (April 9, 1483) in the forty-first year
of his age, and twenty-second of his reign: a prince more splendid
and showy than either prudent or virtuous; brave, though cruel;
addicted to pleasure, though capable of activity in great emergencies; and less fitted to prevent ills by wise precautions, than to
remedy them after they had taken place by his vigor and enterprise.
Besides five daughters, this king left two sons; Edward, Prince
of Wales, his successor, then in his twelfth year, and Richard,
Duke of York, in his ninth.
~ 8. EDWARD V., 1483.-The young king, at the time of his
father's death, resided in the castle of Ludlow, on the borders of
Wales, under the care of his uncle, the Earl of Rivers, the most




230                     EDWARD V.                  CHAP. XII;
accomplished nobleman in England.* The queen, anxious to preserve that ascendant over her son which she had long maintained
over her husband, wrote to the Earl of Rivers that he should levy
a body of forces, in order to escort the king to London, to protect
him during his coronration, and to keep him from falling into the
hands of their enemnies.  The Duke of Gloucester, meanwhile,
whom the late king, on his death-bed, had nominated as regent,
set out from York, attended by a numerous train of the northern
gentry.  Having fallen in with the king's escort, he caused Lord
Rivers and Sir: Richard Grey, one of the queen's sons, together
with Sir Thomas Vaughan, to be arrested at Stony Stratford;
and the prisoners were instantly conducted to Pomfret. Gloucester approached the young prince with the greatest demonstrations
of respect; and endeavored to satisfy him with regard to the violence committed on his uncle and brother; but Edward, much attached to these near relations, by whom he had been tenderly
educated, was not such a master of dissimulation as to conceal his
displeasure.
The people, however, were extremely rejoiced at this revolution;
and the duke was received in London with the loudest acclamations; but the queen no sooner received intelligence of her brother's imprisonment than she foresaw that Gloucester's violence
would not stop there, and that her own ruin, if not that of all
her children, was finally determined.  She therefore fled into the
sanctuary of Westminster, attended by the -Marquis of Dorset;
and she carried thither the five princesses, together with the Duke
of York.  BIut, being at length persuaded by the Archbishops of
Canterbury and York to produce her son, she was struck with a
kind of presage of his future fate: she tenderly embraced him;
she bedewed him with her tears; and bidding him an eternal
adieu, delivered him, with many expressions of regret and reluctance, into their custody. 
~ 9. Gloucester, who had hitherto concealed his fierce and savage nature with the most profound dissimulation, was chosen protector by the council; and, having so far succeeded in his views,
no longer hesitated in removing the obstructions which lay between him and the throne. The death of Earl Rivers, and of the
other-prisoners detained in Pomfret, was first determined; and he
easily obtained the consent of the Duke of Buckingham, as well
as of Lord Hastings, the two chief leaders of' the party opposed to
the queen, to this violent and sanguinary measure.  lOrders were
accordingly issued to Sir Richard Ratcliffe, a proper instrument
in the hands of this tyrant, to cut off the heads of the prisoners.
* This nobleman first introduced the noble art of printing into England.
Caxa was. recommended. by him to the patronage of Edward IV.




A,D. 1483. PROCEEDINGS OF DUKE OF GLOUCESTER.          231
The protector then assailed the fidelity of Buckingham by all the
arguments capable of swaying a vicious mind, which knew no
motive of action but interest and ambition; and he easily obtained from him a promise of supporting him in all his enterprises.
He then sounded at a distance the sentiments of Hastings by
means of Catesby, a lawyer, who lived in great intimacy with that
nobleman; but found him impregnable in his allegiance and fidelity to the children of Edward.  He saw, therefore, that there were
no longer any measures to be kept with him; and he determined
to ruin utterly the man whom he despaired of engaging to concur
in his usurpation.  He accordingly summoned a council in the
Tower; whither that nobleman, suspecting no design against him,
repaired without hesitation.  The Duke of Gloucester appeared
in the easiest and most jovial humor imaginable. After some
familiar conversation he left the council, as if called away by other
business; but soon after returning with an angry and inflamed
countenance, lle asked them what punishment those deserved that
had plotted against his life, who was so nearly related to the king,
and was intrusted with the administration of government? Hast,
ings replied, that they merited the punishment of' traitors. "These
traitors," cried the protector, "are the sorceress, my brother's
wife, and Jane Shore, his mistress, with others, their associates;
see to what a condition they have reduced me by their incantations and witchcraft;" upon which he laid bare his arm, all shriveled and decayed. But the counselors, who knew that this infirmity had attended him from his birth, looked on each other
with amazement; and above all, Lord Hastings, who, as he had
since Edward's death engaged in an intrigue with Jane Shore,
was naturally anxious concerning the issue of these extraordinary
proceedings.  "Certainly, my lord," said he, "if they be guilty
of these crimes, they deserve the severest punishment."  "And
do you reply to me," exclaimed the protector, "with your ifs and
your ands.? You are the chief abettor of that witch' Shore; you
are yourself a traitor; and I swear by St. Paul that I will not
dine before your head be brought to me."  He struck the table
with his hand; armed men rushed in at the signal. Hastings
was seized, was hurried away, and instantly beheaded on a timber log which lay in the court of the Tower. Lord Stanley, the
Archbishop of York, the Bishop of Ely, and other counselors,
were committed prisoners in different chambers; and the protector, in order to carry on the farce of his accusations, ordered
the goods of Jane Shore to be seized; and he summoned her to
answer before the council for sorcery and witchcraft. But as no
proofs which could be received, even in that ignorant age, were
produced against her, he directed her to be tried in the spiritual




232                    RICHARD 1II.                  CHAP. XII.
court, for lher adulteries and lewdness; and she did penance in a
white sheet in St. Paul's, before the whole people.
~ 10. These acts of violence, exercised against all the nearest
connections of the late king, prognosticated the severest fate to
his defenseless children; and after the murder of Hastings the
protector no longer made a secret of his intentions to usurp the
crown.  Dr. Shaw, in a sermon at St. Paul's Cross, attempted to
persuade the people that Edward IV. had been previously married to Lady Butler, and that therefore Edward V. and his other
children by Elizabeth Woodville were illegitimate. Various other
artifices were in vain employed to entrap the people to salute him
king. At length Buckingham and the lord mayor proceeded with
a rabble to his residence at Baynard's Castle; he was told that
the nation were resolved to have him for their sovereign; and,
after some well-acted hesitation, he accepted the crown (June 26).
This ridiculous farce was soon after followed by a scene truly
tragical: the murder of the two young princes.  Richard gave
orders to Sir Robert Brakenbury, Constable of the Tower, to put
his nephews to death; but this gentleman, who had sentiments
of honor, refused to have any hand in the infamous office. The
tyrant then sent for Sir James Tyrrel, who promised obedience;
and he ordered Brakenbury to resign to Tyrrel the keys and gqvernment of the Tower for one night.  Tyrrel, choosing three associates, Slater, Dighton, and Forest, came in the nighttime to
the.door of the chamber where the princes were lodged; and
sending in the assassins, he bade them execute their commission,
while he himself staid without.  They found the young princes
in bed, and fallen into a profound sleep. After suffocating them
with the bolster and pillows they showed their naked bodies to
Tyrrel, who ordered them to be buried at the foot. of the stairs,
deep in the ground, under a heap of stones.*
~ 11-. RICHARD III., 1483-1485. —rThe first acts of Richard's
administration were to bestow rewards on those who had assisted
him in usurping the crown, and to gain, by favors, those who he
thought were best able to support his future government; and he
loaded the Duke of Buckingham especially, who was allied to the
royal family, with grants and honors.  But it was impossible that
fiiendship could long remain inviolate between two men of such
corrupt minds as Richard and the Duke of Buckingham.  The
cause of the latter's discontent is not easily ascertained; but it is
* This story has been questioned by WValpole in his Historic Doubts, and
subsequently by other writers; but, on the whole, the balance of probability
greatly preponderates in its favor. In 1674, during some repairs, the bones
of two youths were discovered under a staircase in the White Tower, and
were interred in Westminster Abbey by order of Charles II. as those of Edward V. and his brother.




A.D. 1483.       BUCKINGHAM'S CONSPIRACY.                     2;3
certain that the duke, soon after Richard's accession, began to
form a conspiracy against the government, and attempted to overthrow that usurpation which he himself had so zealously contributed to establish.  Morton, Bishop of Ely, a zealous Lancastrian,
whom the king had imprisoned, and had afterward committed to
the custody of Buckingham, encouraged these sentiments; and by
his exhortations the duke cast his eye toward the young Earl of
Richmond, as the only person who could free the nation from the
tyranny of the present usurper. He was descended on his mother's side from John of Gaunt by Catherine Swynford, a branch
legitimated by Parliament, but excluded from the succession. On
his father's side he was grandson of Sir Owen Tudor and Catherine of France, relict of Henry V.'
The universal detestation of Richard's conduct turned the attention of the nation toward Henry; and as all the descendants
of the house of York were either women or minors, he seemed to
be the only person from whom the nation could expect the expulsion of the odious and bloody tyrant. It was therefore suggested
by Morton, and readily assented to by the duke, that the only
means of overturning the present usurpation was to unite the opposite factions, by contracting a marriage between the Earl of
Richmond and the Princess Elizabeth, eldest daughter of King
Edward, and thereby blending together the opposite pretensions
of their families, which had so long been the source of public disorders and convulsions.  lMargaret, Richmond's mother, assented
to the plan without hesitation; while on the part of the queen
dowager the desire of revenge for the murder of her brother and
of her three sons, apprehensions for her surviving family, and indignation against her confinement, easily overcame all her prejudices against the house of Lancaster, and procured her approbation of a marriage to which the age and birth, as well as the pres* Genealogy of Henly of Richmond and of the Duke of Buckinghaam:
EDWVARD III.
John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster.  Thomac, Duke of
m. Catherine Swynford.    Gloucester.
John Beaufort, Earl of Somerset.  Anne.
d. 1418.          m. Edmund, Earl
I                 of Stafford.
Catherine of France, John Beaufort, Duke of   |
widow of Henry V.,   Somerset,        Humphrey Stafford, Duke
m. Owen Tudor.      d. 1444.            of Buckingham.
II  I  -d. 1459.
Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond, m. Margaret.        I
I              IHumphrey Stafford,
HENRY VII.       d. in lifetime of his father.
-lenry Stafford, Duke
of Buckingham,
beheaded 1483.




234                    RICHARD III.                CHAP. XII;
ent situation of the parties, seemed so naturally to invite them.
She secretly borrowed a sum of money in the city, sent it over to
the Earl of Richmond, who was at present detained in Brittany
in a kind of honorable custody, required his oath to celebrate the
marriage as soon as he should arrive in England, advised him' to
levy as many foreign forces as possible, and promised to join him
on his first appearance, with all the friends and partisans of her
family. The plan was secretly communicated to the principal
persons of both parties in all the counties of England; and a
wonderful alacrity appeared in every order of men to forward its
success and completion.  The Duke of Buckingham took arms in
Vales, and gave the signal to his accomplices for a general insurrection in all parts of England.  But heavy rains having renderedl the Severn, with the other rivers in that neighborhood, impassable, the Welshmen, partly moved by superstition at this extraordinary event, partly distressed by famine in their camp, fell
off from him; and Buckingham, finding himself deserted byl his
followers, put on a disguise, and took shelter in the house of Banister, an old servant of his family. But being detected in his retreat, he was brought to the king at Salisbury; and was instantly executed, according to the summary method practiced in that
age (Nov. 3, 1483).  The other conspirators immediately dispersed themselves.  The Earl of Richmond, in concert with his
fiiends, had set sail from St. Malo's, carrying on board a body
of 5000 men levied in foreign parts; but his fleet being at first
driven back by a storm, he appeared not on the coast of England
till after the dispersion of all his friends; and he found himself
obliged to return to the court of Brittany.
The king, every where triumphant, ventured at last to summon
a Parliament, which had no choice left but co recognize his authority, and acknowledge his right to the crown; and Richard,
in order to reconcile the nation to his government, passed some
popular laws, particularly one against the late practice of extorting money on pretense of benevolence.. Richard's consort, Anne,
the second daughter of the Earl of Warwick, and widow of Edward Prince of Wales, having borne him but one son, who died
about this time, he considered her as an invincible obstacle tV the
settlement of his fortune, and he was believed to have carried her
off by poison. Ile now proposed, by means of a papal dispensation, to espouse himself the Princess Elizabeth, and to unite, in
his own family, their contending titles.
~ 12. Being exhorted by his partisans to prevent this marriage
by a new:invasion, and having received assistance from the court
of France, Richmond set sail from Harfieur in Normandy, with
a small army of about 2000 men; and after a navigation of six




A.D. 1483-1485.   BATTLE OF BOSWORTH.                   235
days he arrived at 3Milford Haven, in Wales, where he landed
without opposition (August 7, 1485).  The earl, advancing toward Shrewsbury, received every day some re-enforcement from
his partisans.
The two rivals at last approached each other at Bosworth near
Leicester; Henry at the head of 6000. men, Richard with an
army of above double the number. Soon'after the battle began,
Lord Stanley, who, without declaring himself, had raised an army
of 7000 men, and had so posted himself as to be able to join either party, appeared in the field, and declared for the Earl of Richtnond. The intrepid tyrant, sensible of his desperate situation, cast
his eyes around the field, and, descrying his rival at no great distance, he drove against him with fury, in hopes that either Henry's
death, or his own, would decide the victory between them. - Te
killed with his -own hands Sir William Brandon, standard-bearer
to the earl; he dismounted Sir John Cheyney; he was now within reach of Richmond himself, who declined not the combat; when
Sir William Stanley, breaking in with his troops, surrounded Richard, who, fighting bravely to the last moment, was overwhelmed
by numbers, and perished by a fate too mild and honorable for his.
multiplied and detestable enormities (Aug. 22, 1485). The body
of Richard was thrown carelessly across a horse; was carried to
Leicester amid the shouts of the insulting spectators; and was interred in the Grey Friars' Church of that place.
The historians who lived in the subsequent reign have probably
exaggerated the vices of the monarch whom their- master overthrew; and some modern writers have attempted to palliate the
crimes by which he obtained possession of the crown.  It is. certain that he possessed energy, courage, and capacity; but these
qualities would never have made compensation to the people for
the precedent of his usurpation, and for the contagious example
of vice and murder exalted upon a throne.  His personal appearance has even been a subject of warm controversy; for while
some writers represent him as of a small stature, hump-backed,
and with a harsh, disagreeable countenance, others maintain that
he had a pleasing expression, and that his only defect was in having one shoulder a little higher than the other.
~ 13. The reign of the house of Plantagenet expired with Richard III. on Bosworth Field. The change of a dynasty forms of
itself no historical epoch;- but in- a limited -or constitutional monarchy this change is generally accompanied by some revolution in
the state, which gives it the character of a true historical era.
The reigns of Henry VII., and his successors of the house. of
Tudor, bear a distinct character from those of the Plantagenet




236.                    RICHARD III.               CH uP. XII.
princes. The exhaustion of the kingdom through the protracted
wars of the roses, and the almost entire annihilation of the greater English nobility, enabled the Tudors to rule with a despotism
unknown to their predecessors.
The period of the Plantagenets forms, on the whole, one of the
most important and interesting epochs of English history. In it
were established all those institutions by which our liberties are
secured.  The leading political feature which it presents is the
gradual development of the English Constitution out of feudalism. The first ostensible act which marks our regenerated nationality is the Great Charter wrung from the pusillanimous and
tyrannical John.  "From  this era," says Mr. Hallam,* "a new
soul was infused into the people of England.  Her liberties, at
the best long in abeyance, became a tangible possession; and
those indefinite aspirations for the laws of Edward the Confessor were changed into a steady regard for the Great Charter."
In the subsequent struggles for our liberties Magna Charta was
repeatedly appealed to as their foundation, and repeatedly confirmed by the acts of different sovereigns.  The weak and long
reign of John's successor, Henry III., served to foster the infancy
of English freedom.  It appears from the writings of Bracton,
who filled the office of a judge toward the conclusion of that
reign, that the royal prerogative was even in those early days defined and limited by law. Not only was the king considered by
that writer as subject to the law, but also to his court of earls
and baronhs; who, indeed, before the existence of Parliament, were
the law-makers. rThe establishment of the last-named great council of the nation forms, in a constitutional point of view, the chief
glory of the Plantagenet era; the main facts of its origin and
progress are indicated at tile close of this book.
~ 14. From the Constitution we naturally turn our view to
those who were its subjects.  As early at least as the reign of
Henry III., the legal equality of all freemen below the rank of
the peerage appears to have been completely established. The
civil rights of individuals were protected by that venerable body
of ancient customs, which, under the name of the common law,
still obtains in our courts of justice.  Its origin is lost in the obscurity of remote antiquity. A very small portion of it may'be
traced to the Saxon times; but the greater part must have sprung
up since the Conquest, since we find the pecuniary penalties which
marked the Saxon legislation exchanged in criminal cases for capital punishment.  The law was administered under the Plantagenets by three courts, which still exist —the King's Bench, the
Common Pleas, and the Exchequer-the origin of which has been
narrated in the history of the Anglo-Norman Constitution.
* Middlc  Ages, ii., p. 329.




CHAP. XII.      PROGRESS OF THE NATION.                237
It is difficult to trace the steps by-which villenage was graduallyjmitigated under the Plantagenets; but on the whole it is certain
that at the termination of that dynasty it had almost entirely disappeared. Tenants in villenage were gradually transformed into
copyholders. Villeins bound to personal service escaped to distant parts of the country, where they could not easily be traced
and reclaimed, and entered into free and voluntary service under
a new master. Others hid themselves in towns, where a residence
of a twelvemonth made them free by law. Something must also
be, attributed to manurnissions. The influence of the Church was
exerted in behalf of this degraded class: and the repentant lord
was exhorted by his spiritual adviser to give freedom to his fellow
Christians.  As public opinion became more enlightened and humane, the courts of law leaned to the side of the oppressed peasantry in all suits in which their rights were concerned. In the
reign of Edward III. regular statutes were framed for the protection of artisans and husbandmen. The popular insurrection in
the time of Richard II. betrays an advance in the condition of the
lower classes; and-though it shows a great amount of villenage,
discovers at the same time a vast extension of freedom.
~ 15. With regard to the general progress of the nation, we perceive under the sway of the Plantagenets a notable increase in its
wealth and intelligence as well as in its freedom. The woolen
manufactures were established in various parts of England, and
began to supply foreign nations. In the reign of Edward III. the
English were remarkable for their excellence in the arts of peace
as well as of war. A rich literature had been produced, adorned
with the names of Chaucer and Gower, of Wickliffe and Mandeville; while in matters of religion, the principles of the Reformation were already developed and promulgated.  Assisted by the
invention of printing, which was introduced into England in the
reign of Edward IV., this progress might have gone on to the
most happy results, had not certain events occurred to retard it.
Henry IV., in order to support his usurpation of the crown, found
it expedient to court the established Church, and to crush the
Reformation of Wickliffe, which had also compromised itself by
the excesses of some of its followers. The wars of Henry V. diverted the attention of the English from domestic to foreign affairs; while the civil disturbances which ensued under Henry IV.,
being concerned merely about a dynasty, and involving not, like
those under the Stuarts, any great public principle, served only to
damp the genius and energies of the nation, and disposed it to bend
under the tyranny of its subsequent monarchs.
The population at the end of the reign of the Plantagenets probably amounted to about three millions.




238                  NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.                          CHAP. XII.
CHRONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE EVENTS.
A.D.                                       A.D.
1461. Edward IV. assumes the crown. Bat- 1478. The Duke of Clarence put to death.
tie of Towton.                      1483. Death of Edward IV. and accession of
1466. Henry VL imprisoned in the Tower.          Edward V. The young king and his
1470. Warwick invades England and re-            brother Richard are confined and then
leases Henry VI. Edward takes ref-        murdered in the Tower, and their
uge in Flanders.                          uncle, the Protector Richard III., as1471. Edward returns. Warwick defeated           sumes the crown.
and killed at Barnet.  Battle of 14S5. The Earl of Richmond lands, defeats,
Tewkesbury and capture of Queen           and slays Richard at Bosworth, and
Margaret. Death of Henry VI. in           assumes the crown with the title of
the Tower.                                HIenry VII.
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
A. ORIGIN ANTD PROGRESS OF PAR-   Letters Patent from the crown, in which the
LIAMENIT.                  descent of the dignity is regulated, being
usually confined to heirs male. The first
This subject has been briefly adverted to  peer created by patent was in tile reign of
in the preceding narrative, but its import- Richard II. It is still the practice to call up
ance demands a mnore detailed account. The  the eldest son of a peer to the House of Lords
word Parliament (parlement or colloquiseus   by writ of summons in the name of his faas some of our historians translate it) is de- ther's barony; but with this exception, peers
rived from the French, and signifies an as- are now always created by letters patent.
sembly that meets and confers together. This   The first instance in which earls and barname is first applied by a contemporary chron-  ons are called peers is in 14 Edw. II. (1321),
icler to a Great Council of the nation sum- in the award of exile against the Despensers.
moned in 1246. The constituent parts of a   The degrees of nobility are dukes, marParliament are now, and were under the later quesses, earls, viscounts, and barons. 1. The
Plantagenet kings, the sovereign and the  title of Duke or dux was used among the
three estates of the realm, the lords spiritual, Anglo-Saxons as a title of dignity; but as
the lords temporal (who sit together with  William the Conqueror and his successors
their sovereign in one house), and the cons- were dukes of Normandy, they would not
mons, who sit by themselves in another. The  honor any subject with the title till the reign
Parliament, as so constituted, is an outgrowth  of Edward III., who, claiming to be King of
of the Great Council of the realm, held under Firance, created his eldest son Edward, the
the Anglo-Norman kings, the constitution of  Black Prince, Duke of Cornwall. Several of
which has been already explained [p. 130]. the royal family subsequently received the
It will be convenient to trace separately the  title of duke. 2. The title of AMarquess or
history of each house.                    s marchio was originally applied to a Lord
I. TrIE HOUSE OF LoRDs.-The spiritual Marcher, or lord of the frontier districts,
peerage consisted originally of archbishops, called the marches, from the Teutonic word
bishops, and abbots; and the lay peerage  marsche, a limit; but it was first created a
only of barons and earls, but every earl was parliamentary dignity by Richard II., who
also a baron. For more than two centuries made Robert- de Vere Marquess of Dublin.
after the Norman conquest the only baronies 3. An.Earl corresponded to the Saxon Ealknown were baronies by tenure, being inci- dorman or Alderman, who originally had the
dent to the tenure of land held immediately  administration of a county.' Under the adunder the crown. Hence the right of peer- ministration of the Norman kings the title
age was originally territorial, being annexed  became merely personal, though the earl conto certain lands, and, when they were alien- tinued to receive a third penny of the emolated, passing with them as an appendant. uments arising from the pleas in the county
Thus in 11 IHen. VI. the possession of the  courts. In Latin the earl was called Comes,
Castle of Arundel was adjudged to confer an  and after the Norman conquest Count, whence
earldomn "by tenure" on its possessor.    the name county is still applied to the shires;
Afterward, when the alienations of land  but the title of count never superseded the
became frequent, and the number of those more ancient designation of earl, and soon
who held of the king in capite increased, it fell into disuse. The title of earl continued
became the practice, either in the reign of to be the highest hereditary dignity till the
John or Hensy IIL, for the king to summon  reign of Edward III. 4. The dignity of Visto the Great Council, by Wf~rit, all such per- count or Vice - Comes was borrowed from
sons as he thought fitsoto summon. In this France, and was first conferred by Henry
way the dignity of the peerage became per- VL, who had been crowned King of France.
sonal instead of territorial. Proof of a tenure  5. The title of BJrron has been already exby barony became no longer necessary, and  plained. [See p. 130.]
the record of the writ of summons came to   IL. THE IHouss8 OF ConIOiS. -The membe sufficient evidence to constitute a peer.   bers of the House of Commons consist of the
The third mode of creating peers is by  knights of the shires, and the burgesses, or




CHAP. XII.           NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.                                   239
representatives of the cities and boroughs. acted that the king should hold a Parliament
The origin of the knights of the shires must at least once a year. Under this weak monbe traced to the clause in the charter of John, arch the Commons were not slow in exer.
by'which the sheriff was bound to summon  cising their rights; and the rolls of Parliato the Great Council all the'inferior tenants mefit show that'thI Commons granted supin chief. liow long these inferior tenants  plies on condition that the king should redress
continued to sit personally in Parliament can  the grievances of which they complained.
not be determined; but, as their attendance  Gradually the assent of the Commons came
was vexatious to themselves and disagreeable  to be considered necessary for the enactment
to the king, it became the practice for them  of laws; and in the long and prosperous
to send representatives at an early period, reign of Edward III. the three essential prinpc-rhaps in the reign of John, certainly in  ciples of our government, as Mr. Hallam calls
the reign of Henry III. But the principle  them, were established upon a firm footing:
of representation was finally established in  the illegality of raising money without conthe celebrated Parliament summoned by Si-  sent of Parliament: the neccessity that tihe
mon de Montfort in the 49th of Henry IIL.  two houses should concur for any alterations
(1265), when writs were issued to all the  in the law; and, lastly, the right of the Comsheriffs, commanding them  to return' two  mons to inquire into public abuses, and to
knights froll each shire, and two citizens or  impeach public counselors. With regard to
burgesses for every city and borough con-  the second constitutional principle mentioned
tained in each shire. This is the true epoch  above, we find that in the reign of Edward
of the- House of Commons. A question arises  III. laws were declared to be made by the
into which our limits prevent us from enter-  king at the request of the Commons, and by
ing, whether the knights were still elected  the assent of the Lords. The practice was
by the tenants in chief alone, or by all the  that the petitions of the Commons, with the
freeholders in the county court; but the lat-  respective answers made to them in the king's
ter is more probable. That the representa-  name, were drawn up after the end of the
tion of cities and boroughs can not be traced  session in the form of laws, and entered upon
earlier than the Parliament of Simon de  the statute-roll. But still it must be observed
Montfort is now generally admitted. From   that the statutes do not always express the
this time till the 23d of Edward I. (1295) the  true sense of the Comlmons, as their petitions
representatives of the cities and boroughs  were frequently modified and otherwise alwere occasionally summoned; but they were  tered by the king's answers. The first imnot permanently ingrafted upon Parliament  portant instance in which the Commons extill the latter date, when the expense: of Ed-  ercised the third constitutional principle alward, arising from his foreign wars, led him  luded to was toward the end of the reign of
to have recourse to this means for obtaining  Edward III., when, supported by the Black
supplies of money. [See p. 161.] The suc-  Prince, they impeached Lord Latimer, and
cess of the experiment insured its repetition;  the other ministers of the king, the inittri.,
and the king found that he could more read-  ments of the Duke of Lancaster and Alice
ily obtain larger sums of mioney by the sub-  Perrers, who had acquired an' ascendency
sidies of the citizens and burgesses than he  over Edward.
had previously obtained by tallages upon    Under the reign of Richard II. the power
their towns. The necessity of summoning  of the House of Commons made still farther
the citizens and burgesses became still great-  progress, which was continued under the
er after the Confirmatio Cmhartarum in 1297,  three kings of the house of Lancaster, who
when the king renounced the right of levy-  owed their throne to a parliamentary title.
ing tallages upon the towns. [See p. 154.]  Among the rights established under these
It must be recollected that the only object of  kings the two following were the most imsummoning the citizens and burgesses was to  portant: 1. The introduction, in the reign
obtain money, and that it was not intended  of Henry VI., of complete statutes under the
to give them the power of consenting to the  name of bills, instead of the old petitions, to
laws. But gradually the power of the purse  which the king gave his consent, and which
gave them a share in the legislation, and the  he was not at liberty to alter, as he had done
statement of Mr. Ilallam can not be denied, in the case of petitions. We have already
that the liberties of England were to a great seen that all statutes at first orginated by
extent purchased by the money of our fore- petitions of the House of Commons; but it
fathers.                                   now became the practice for either house to
It is doubtful at what time Parliament was originate a bill, except in the case of money
divided into two houses. At first they seem  bills, which continued to be originated exto have sat in the same chamber; but from  clusively by the Commons. 2. That the
the earliest times they voted separately, and  king ought not to take notice of matters
imposed separate taxes, each upon its own  pending in Parliament, and that the Comorder. The knights of the shires voted at mons should enjoy liberty of speech.
first with the earls and barons; but in the    The persons who had the right of voting
reign of Edward II. the houses were probably  for knights of the shire were declared by 8
divided as we now find them, and in the first Hen. VI., c. 7 to be all freeholders of lands
year of Edward II. this was certainly the  and tenements of the annual value of 40s.,
case.                                      equivalent at least to ~20 of our value; which
The Commons soon obtained the right to  was a limitation of the number of voters,
petition for redress of grievances; and as since it would appear from 7 Hen. IV. c. 15
early as the reign of Edward II. it was en- that all persons whatever, present at the




240                  NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.                         CHAP. XLI.
county court, had previously the right of olas Trivet, Annales sex regunz Asgliee, 1135
voting for the knights of their shires. For to 1318; Adam Murimuth, Chronicle (with
farther particulars the reader may consult as continuation), 1303 to 1380. The Chronicle
to the House of Lords Sir Harris Nicolas, of Lanercost, published by the Bannatyne
The Historic Peerage of England, the Intro- Club, extends fiom 1201 to 1346. The folduction in the edit. of 185T; as to the House lowing are in Camden's Anglica, etc.: Thos.
of Commons, Hallam's Middle Ages, vol. iii., De la More, De Vita et Mforte Edwoardi II.;
c. 8; and as to both houses, The Stsudent's Walsingham, Historia brevis Anglice, 1273
Blascstone. by Kerr, p. 9T, seq., 429, seq.    to 1423. The same author's Ilypodigma
AVetstrie containing an account of the affairs
B. AUTHORITIES  FOR THIE PERIOD OF  of Normandy to Henry V., is also in Camden.
THE PLANTAGENETS FROM JOHN TO  Froissart's Chroniques is an interesting but
RICHARD III.                            not very trustworthy work for the times of
A reference to note C, appended to chap. EdwardIII. andRichardII. The Chroniquses
vii. [p. 132], will show what histories already  of Monstrelet (1400 to 1467) and the AlMmoires
mentioned extend into this period. In addi- de Comines (1461 to 1498) may also be contion may be named the Annals of Dsunstaple  sulted for foreign affairs during the later
to 1297; Walter of Hemingford, Lives of the Plantagenets.
Edowards; John Trokelow, Annlales Edwardi   The early printed chronicles which treat
II, with a continuation by Henry Blaneford; of this period, with the exception of Fabyan's
Robert of Avesbury, Historia de Mirabilibus  (to 1509) and Hardyng's (to 1538), are not
GestisEdwardi lll.  the Monk of Evesham, contemporary. The principal are those of
Hist. Vitce et Regni Ricardi II.; Otter- Hall, Grafton, Holinshed, and Stowe. Sir
bourne's Chronicle, from Brute to 1420; Whet- Thos. More's History of Richard 111. is the
hamstede's Chronicle, 1441 to 1460; Elmham, best authority for thit period: he was old
Vita et Gesta lienrici V.; Titus Livius, idemn.; enough to have heard the facts from contemWilliam of Worcester, Arniales Rerum An- poraries, and especially from Bishop Morton,
glic~rum, 1324 to 1491; Rous, Historia Re- in whose service he had lived. Indeed, Sir
gum Analice (to 1485). The preceding works Henry Ellis is of opinion (Pref. to Hard yng)
tare published in Hearne's collection. The that this work was in reality composed by
foliowing are in the collection of Hall: Nich- Morton.




GENEALOGICAL TABLE OF THE HOUSE OF TUDOR.
Margaret Beaufort                                 Edmund Tudor,
(sole daughter and heiress of John, Duke                    Earl of Richmond
of Somerset, and great-granddaughter              (son of Owen Tudor by Catherine of
of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster.                  France, widow of Henry V.).                                       Q
See Genealogical Table, p. 233).
HENRY VII.
b. 1456. d. April 21, 1509.
m. Elizabeth of York,                                                                  0
daughter of Edward IV.                                                                  0
[                                                                            <
Arthur,                      HENRY VIII.,                                 Margaret,                           Mary,              3 other       ~
Prince of Wales,       b. June 28, 1491. d. Jan 28, 154T.                 b. 1489. d. 1541.                 b. 1498. d. 1533.      children, died
b. Sept. 20, 1486.  m. 1. Catherine of Aragon. 2. Anne Boleyn.       m. 1. James IV. of Scotland.       m. 1. Louis XII. of France.  in infancy.    3
d. April 2, 1502. m.   3. Jane Seymour. 4. Anne of Cleves.       2. Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus.       2. Charles Brandon,
Catherine of Aragon.  5. Catherine Howard. 6. Catherine Parr.       3. Henry Stuart, Lord Methven.            Duke of Suffolk.
MARY               ELIZABETH         EDWAD VI.            (by James IV.)          (by Earl of Angus)                   Frances
(by Catherine of    (by Anne Boleyn), (by Jane Seymour),        James V.              Margaret Douglas.            (by the latter husband).       2
Aragon), b. Feb. 18,   b. Sept. 7, 1533.   b. Oct. 12, 153T.     of Scotland.          m. Matthew Stuart,               m. Henry Gray,              t
1516. d. Nov. 1T, 1558.   d. March 24, 1603.  d. July 6, 1553.    m. Mary of Guise.        Earl of Lenox.               Marquis of Dorset.           0
- m. Philip II. of Spain.                                                                         l _
Mary, Queen of Scots.  Lord Darnley.    Charles Stuart,    LADY JANE GRAY
m. 1. the dauphin,    m. Mary,         Duke of Lenox.      (beheaded in 1553).
afterward Francis II.  Queen of Scots.                                                   O
2. Lord Darnley.                      Arabella Stuart, 
I               J        imprisoned by James L
JAMES VI. of Scotland
and I. of England.
(louse of Stuart.)




Henry VII. and Elizabeth of York. From their monument in Westminster Abbey.
B O O K IV.
THE HOUSE OF TUDOR.
A.D. 1485-1603.
CHAPTER XIII.
HENRY VII. A.D. 1485-1509.. 1. Introduction. ~ 2. Accession of HENRY VII. His Coronation, Marriage, and Settlement of the Government.  ~ 3. DIiscontents. Invasion
of Lambert Simnel, and Battle of Stoke. Coronation of the Queen. ~ 4.
Foreign Affairs. Peace of Estaples. ~ 5. Perkin Warbeck. Execution
of Lord Stanley. ~ 6. Farther Attempts of Perkin.  Cornish Insurrection, and Battle of Blackheath. ~ 7. Perkin again invades England, is
captured, and executed. Execution of Warwick. ~ 8. Marriage and
Death of Prince Arthur. Marriage of the Princess Margaret. Oppression of Empson and Dudley.  ~ 9. Matrimonial Intrigues of Henry.
Death and Character of the. King. ~ 10. Miscellaneous Occurrences.
~ 1. THE accession of the Tudors to the English throne is nearly coincident with the proper era of modern history. The final
important change in the European populations had been effected
by the settlement of the Turks at Constantinople in 1453. The
improvement in navigation was soon to lay open a new world, as
well as a new route to that ancient continent of Asia, whose almost fabulous riches had attracted the wonder and cupidity of
Europeans since the days of Alexander the Great.  Hence was




A.D. 1485.      ACCESSION OF HENRY VIi.                243
to arise a new system of relations among the states of Europe.
The comrmerce of the East, previously monopolized by the Venetians and Genoese, began to be diverted to the Western nations;
its richest products to be rivaled by those of another hemisphere.
The various European states, having consolidated their domestic
institutions, were beginning to direct their attention to the affairs
of their neighbors. The invasion of Italy by Charles VIII. of
France, in the reign of Henry VII., is justly regarded as the commencement of the political system of Europe, or of that series of
wars and negotiations among its different kingdoms which has
continued to the present day. The house of Tudor, lifted to the
throne by the civil wars, and strengthened by the very desolation
which they had occasioned, was enabled to play an effective part
upon the Continent, and to lay the foundation of that European
influence which England still commands.
Besides the advantages derived from commerce, the intercourse
of nations is beneficially felt in their mutual influence upon opinion and the progress of society. Europe, first cemented into a
whole by the conquest of the Romans, deriveed a still firmer bond
of union from its common Christianity.  In the darkness of the.
middle ages that sacred tie had been abused for the purposes of
secular avarice and ambition; and Rome, by the power of superstition, ruled once more over the prostrate nations. The seeds of
a reformation, choked in England by political events, were carried
to the Continent, whence this country received the fruits which
had found their first nurture in her own bosom. The distinguishing historical feature of the reign of the Tudors is the progress
and final establishment of the Reformation.  That great revolution was accompanied with an astonishing progress in manners,
literature, and the arts; but above all it encouraged that spirit of
civil freedom, by which, under the house of Stuart, the last seal
was affixed to our constitutional liberties.
~ 2. The victory which the Earl of Richmond gained at Bosworth was entirely decisive; Sir William Stanley placed upon his
head the crown which Richard wore in battle; and the acclamations of " Long live Henry the Seventh!" by a natural and unpremeditated movement, resounded from all quarters of the field.
(Aug. 22, 1485).  Henry was now in his 30th year.  He had, as
we have already seen, no real title to the crown; but he determined to put himself in immediate possession of regal authority,
and to show all opponents that nothing but force of arms, and a
successful war, should be able to expel him. He brought to the
throne all the bitter feelings of the Lancastrians.  To exalt the
Lancastrian party, to depress the adherents of the house of York,
were the favorite objects of his pursuit; and through the whole




244                     HENRY VII.                CHAP. XIII.
course of his reign he never forgot these early prepossessions. His
first command after the battle of Bosworth was to secure the person of Edward Plantagenet, Earl of Warwick, son of the Duke of
Clarence, who had been put to death by his brother Edward IV.
Henry immediately afterward set onit for the capital. His journey bore the appearance of an established monarch making a
peaceable progress through his dominions, rather than of a prince
who had opened his way to'the throne by force of arms. The
promise he had made of marrying Elizabeth, the daughter of Edward IV., seemed to insure a union of the contending titles of the
two families; but, though bound by honor as well as by interest
to complete this alliance, he was resolved to postpone it till the
ceremony of his own coronation should be finished, and till his
title should be recognized by Parliament. Still anxious to support his personal and hereditary right to the throne, he dreaded
lest a preceding marriage with the princess should imply a participation of sovereignty in her, and raise doubts of his own title
by the house of Lancaster. On the 30th of October Henry was
crowned at Westminster by Cardinal Bourchier, Archbishop of
Canterbury. The Parliament, which assembled soon after, seemed
entirely devoted to him. It was enacted " That the inheritance
of the crown should rest, remain, and abide in the king;" but
whether as rightful heir, or only as present possessor, was not determined.  In like manner, Henry was contented that the succession should be secured to the heirs of his body; but he pretended
not, in case of their failure, to exclude the house of York, or to
give the. preference to that of Lancaster.  In the following year
he applied to papal authority for a confirmation of his title. The
Parliament, at his instigation, passed an act of attainder against
the late king himself and many of the nobility. Henry bestowed
favors and honors on some particular persons who were attached
to him; but the ministers whom he most trusted and favored were
not chosen from among the nobility, or even from among the laity.
John Morton and Richard Fox, two clergymen, persons of-industry, vigilance, and capacity, who had shared with him  all his
former dangers and distresses, were called to the privy council;
Morton was restored to the bishopric of Ely, Fox was created
Bishop of Exeter.  The former, soon after, upon the death of
Bourchier, was raised to the see of Canterbury. At the beginning
of the following year the king's marriage was celebrated at London
(Jan. 18, 1486), and that with greater appearance of universal joy
than either his first entry or his coronation. Henry remarked,
with much displeasure, this general favor borne to the house of
York. The suspicions which arose from it not only disturbed his
tranquillity during his whole reign, but bred disgust toward his
consort herself, and poisoned all his domestic enjoyments.




A.D. 1485-1487.     LAMBERT SIMNEL.                    245
~ 3. In the course of this year an abortive attempt at insurrection was made by Lord Lovel and some other noblemen; but
though Henry had been able to defeat this hasty rebellion, raised
by the relics of Richard's partisans, his government was become
in general unpopular, the effects of which soon appeared by incidents of an extraordinary nature.  There lived in Oxford one
Richard Simon, a priest who possessed some subtlety, and still
more enterprise and temerity. This man had entertained the design of disturbing Henry's government by raising a pretender to
his crown; and for that purpose he cast his eyes on Lambert
Simnel, a youth of 15 years of age, who was son of a baker, and
who, being endowed with understanding above his years, and address above his condition, seemed well fitted to personate a prince
of royal extraction. A report had been spread among the people,
and received with great avidity, that Richard, Duke of York, second son of Edward IV., had escaped from the cruelty of his uncle,
and lay somewhere concealed in England. Simon, taking advantage of this rumor, had at first instructed his pupil to assume that
name, which he found to be so fondly cherished by the public; but
hearing afterward a new report, that the Earl of Warwick had
made his escape fiom the Tower, and observing that this news
was attended with no less general satisfaction, he changed the
plan of his imposture, and made Simnel personate that unfort,:nate
prince.  Simon determined to open the first public scene of it in
Ireland, which was zealously attached to the house of York, and
bore an affectionate regard to the memory of Clarence, Warwick's
father, who had been their lieutenant. Thomas Fitzgerald, Earl
of Kildare, the deputy of the island, and other persons of rank,
gave attention to Simnel; and the people in Dublin, with one consent, proclaimed him king by the appellation of Edward VI. (May
2, 1487).  The whole island followed the example of the capital,
and not a sword was any where drawn in Henry's quarrel. The
king's-first act on this intelligence was the seizure of the queendowager, the forfeiture of all her lands and revenue, and the close
confinement of her person in the nunnery of Bermondsey; and he
next ordered that Warwick should be taken from the Tower, be
led in procession through the streets of London, be conducted to
St. Paul's, and there exposed to the view of the whole people.
The expedient had its effect in England; but in Ireland the people still persisted in their revolt, and Henry had soon reason to
apprehend that the design against him was not laid on such slight
foundations as the absurdity of the contrivance seemed to indicate.
John, Earl of Lincoln, son of John de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk,
and of Elizabeth, eldest sister of Edward IV., whom Richard III.
had declared heir to the throne, was engaged to take part in the




246                      HENRY VI.                 CHAP. XIII.
conspiracy; and he induced the Duchess of Burgundy, another
sister of Edward IV., to join it.  After consulting with Lincoln
and Lovel, she hired a body of 2000 veteran Germans, under the
command of Mbartin Schwartz, a brave and experienced officer,
and sent them  over, together with these two noblemen, to join
Simnel in Ireland.  An invasion of' England was resolved on;
and Simnel landed in Lancashire, and advanced as far as Stoke,
near Newark. Here they werg defeated by Henry in a decisive
battle (June 16, 1487).  Lincoln and Schwartz perished in the
battle, with 4000 of their followers.  Lovel escaped from the field,
but was never more seen or heard of. Simnel, with his tutor
Simon, was taken prisoner.  Simon, being a priest, was not tried
at law, and was only committed to close custody. Simnel was too
contemptible to be an object either of apprehension or resentment
to Henry.  He was pardoned, and made a scullion in the king's
kitchen, whence he was afterward advanced to the rank of a
falconer.
After the king had gratified his rigor by the punishment of his
enemies, he determined to give contentment to the people in a point
which, though a mere ceremony, was passionately desired by them.
The queen had been married nearly two years, but had not yet
been crowned; andl this affectation of delay had given great discontent to the public, and had been one principal source of the
disaffection which prevailed. The king, instructed by experience,
now finished the ceremony of her coronation (Nov. 25).
~ 4. The foreign transactions of this reign present little of interest or importance. The cautious and parsimonious temper of
the king rendered him averse to war, and he could never be induced to take up arms when he saw the least prospect of attaining his ends by negotiation. There happened about this time in
France some events which compelled his interference; but it was
exercised too late, and without vigor enough to be effective.
Charles VIII., who had now succeeded to the crown of France,
was extremely desirous of annexing Brittany to his dominions;
and, at the invitation of some discontented Breton barons, the
French invaded that province with a large army (1488). Henry
entered into a league with Maximilian of Germany and Ferdinand
of Aragon for the defense of Brittany; but the resources of these
princes were distant, and Henry himself only dispatched an army
* " Toward the close of the 17th century, at his seat at Minster Lovel,
in Oxfordshire, was accidentally discovered a chamber under the ground, in
which was the skeleton of a man seated in a chair, with his head reclining
on a table. Hence it is supposed that the fugitive had found an asylum in
this subterraneous chamber, where he was perhaps starved to death through
neglect. "-Lingacrd.




A.D. 1487-1492.     PERKIN WARBECK.                     247
of 6000 men, which proved entirely useless (1489). An unforeseen event disconcerted the policy of the allies. Anne, who had
succeeded to the duchy of Brittany on the death of her father, had
contracted a marriage with nIMaximilian, but Charles invested
Rennes, where the duchess resided, with a large army, and extorted
a promise of marriage as the condition of her release. The nup.
tials were accordingly celebrated, and Anne was conducted to Par.
is, which she entered amid the joyful acclamations of the people,
Thus Brittany was finally annexed to the French crown (1491).'
As the King of England piqued himself on his extensive fore.
sight and profound judgment, it could not but give him the highest displeasure to find himself overreached by a raw youth like
Charl-s; but lie postponed the gratification of his anger and resentment to that of his ruling passion, avarice.  On pretense of a
French war, he illegally attempted to levy a benevolence,* as it was
called, on his subjects; and the Parliament, which met soon after,
inflamed with the idea of subduing France, voted him a supply,
Henry now crossed over to Calais with a large army, and proceed,
ed to invest Boulogne, as if he had been serious in his enterprise;
but, notwithstanding this appearance of hostility, there had been
secret advances made toward peace above three months before,
and commissioners had been appointed to treat of the terms. They
met at Estaples. The demands of Henry were wholly pecuniary;
and the King of France, who deemed the peaceable possession of
Brittany an equivalent for any sum, and who was all on fire for
his projected expedition into Italy, readily agreed to the proposals
made him. A large sum of money was paid down, and a yearly
pension promised (1492). Thus the king, as remarked by his historian, made profit upon his subjects for the war, and upon his
enemies for the peace; and the people agreed that he had fulfilled
his promise when he said to the Parliament that he would make
the war maintain itself.
~ 5. The king had now reason to flatter himself with the prospect of durable peace and tranquillity; but his inveterate and indefatigable enemies raised him an adversary who long kept him
in alarm, and sometimes even brought him into danger.  The report was revived that Richard, Duke of York, had escaped from
the Tower when his elder brother was murdered; and, finding
this rumor greedily received by the people, the enemies of Henry
looked out for some young man proper to personate that unfortunate prince.  There was one Perkin Warbeck, born at Tournay
* A benevolence was ostensibly a voluntary contribution, but was, in reality, a tax levied arbitrarily on the rich. Such contributions, having become
an intolerable burden under Edward IV., had been abolished by the Parliament of Richard III.




248                    HENRY VII.               CHAP. XIILI
of respectable parents, who by the natural versatility and sagacity
of his genius seemed to be a youth perfectly fitted to act any part,
or assume any character. He was comely in his person, graceful
in his air, courtly in his address, full of docility and good sense in
his behavior and conversation. The war which was then ready
to break out between France and England seemed to afford a
proper opportunity for the discovery of this new phenomenon;
and Ireland, which still retained its attachments to the house of
York, was chosen as the proper place for his first appearance. He
landed at Cork; and immediately assuming the name of Richard
Plantagenet, drew to him partisans among that credulous people
(1492). The news soon reached France, and Charles sent Perkin
an invitation to repair to him at Paris. He received him with
all the marks of regard due to the Duke of York; settled on him
a handsome pension; assigned him magnificent lodgings; and, in
order to provide at once for his dignity and security, gave him a
guard for his person. When peace was concluded between France
and England at Estaples, Henry applied: to have Perkin put into
his hands; but Charles, resolute not to betray a young man, of
whatever birth, whom he had invited into his kingdom, would
agree only to dismiss him. The pretended Richard retired to the
Duchess of Burgundy, who is thought by many to have been the
original instigator of the plot. This princess, after feigning a long
and severe scrutiny, burst out into joy and admiration at his wonderful deliverance, embraced him as her nephew, the true image
of Edward, the sole heir of the Plantagenets, and the legitimate
successor to the English throne. She immediately assigned him
an equipage suited to his pretended birth, and on all occasions
honored him with the appellation of the White.Rose of IEngland
(1493). The English, from their great communication with the
Low Countries, were every day more and more prepossessed in
favor of the impostor. The whole nation was held in suspense, a
regular conspiracy was formed against the king's authority, and a
correspondence settled between the malcontents in Flanders and
those in England. The king was informed of all these particulars; but agreeably to his character, which was both cautious and
resolute, he proceeded deliberately, though steadily, in counterworking the projects of his enemies. His first object was to ascertain the death of the real Duke of York, and to confirm the
opinion that had always prevailed with regard to that event. Of
the persons employed in the murder of Richard's nephews, Tyrrel
and Dighton alone were alive, and they agreed in the same story;
but, as the bodies were supposed to have been removed by Richard's orders from the place where they were first interred, and
could not now be found, it was not in Henry's power to put the




A D. 1492-1496.    EXECUTION OF STANLEY.                249
fact, so much as he wished, beyond all doubt and controversy.*
He dispersed his spies all over Flanders and England; and he induced Sir Robert Clifford, one of the chief partisans of the impostor, to betray the secrets intrusted to him. Several of Warbeck's
partisans in England were arraigned, convicted, and executed for
high treason.  Among the other victims was Sir William Stanley,
the lord chamberlain, a man of great wealth and influence, who
had said in confidence to Clifford, that, if he were sure the young
man who appeared in Flanders was really son to King Edward,
he never would bear arms against him (1495).
~ 6. The fate of Stanley made great impression on the kingdom,
and struck all the partisans of Perkin with the deepest dismay.
And as Perkin found that the king's authority daily gained ground
among the people, and that his own pretensions were becoming
obsolete, he resolved to attempt something which might revive the
hopes and expectations of his partisans. After a vain attempt
upon the coast of Kent he retired into Flanders (1495), and in
the following year crossed over into Ireland, which had always
appeared forward to join every invader of Henry's authority. But
Poynings, who had been appointed deputy of Ireland in 1494,t
had put the affairs of that island into so good a posture, that Perkin met with little success; and he therefore bent his course
toward Scotland, and presented himself to James IV., who then
governed that kingdom. James gave him in marriage the Lady
Catherine Gordon, daughter of the Earl of Huntley, and made an
inroad into England (1496), carrying Perkin along with him, in
hopes that the appearance of the pretended prince might raise an
insurrection in the northern counties; but instead of joining the
invaders, the English prepared to repel them; and James retreated into his own country.  The king discovered little anxiety to
procure either reparation or vengeance for this insult committed
on him by the Scottish nation; his chief concern was to draw advantage from it, by the pretense which it afforded him to levy'impositions on his own subjects. But the people, who were acquainted with the immense treasures which he had amassed, could ill
brook'the new impositions raised on every slight occasion. When
the subsidy began to be levied in Cornwall, the inhabitants, nu.
merous and poor, robust and courageous, murmured against a tax
* Respecting the subsequent discovery of the place of their burial, see
note, p. 232.
t Th6 statute of Drogheda, enacted in 1495, and known by the name of
Poynings' law, formed the basis for the government of Ireland till the time
of the Union. Its most important provision was that no bill could be introdaced into the Irish Parliament unless it had previously received the approval of the:English council. For details, see Hallam, Constitutional History,
iii., 361, 362.
L 2




250                    HENRY VII.               CHAP. XIII
occasioned by a sudden inroad of the Scots, from which they esteemed themselves entirely secure, and which had usually been repelled by the force of the northern counties. They took up arms,
and determined to march to London, but they were defeated at
Blackheath (June 22, 1497). The leaders were taken and executed. The rest were almost all made prisoners, but were dismissed without farther punishment.
~ 7. James now privately desired Perkin to depart the kingdom; and shortly afterward a truce was concluded with Scotland.
Perkin hid himself, during some time, in the wilds and fastnesses
of Ireland, till he resolved to try the affections of the Cornish,
whose mutinous disposition, notwithstanding the king's lenity,
still subsisted after the suppression of their rebellion. No sooner
did he appear at Bodmin in Cornwall, than the populace, to the
number of 3000, flocked to his standard; and Perkin, elated with
this appearance of success, took on him, for the first time, the appellation of Richard IV., King of England. He attempted to get
possession of Exeter, but, on learning the approach of the king's
forces, retired to Taunton. Though his followers now amounted
to the number of nearly 7000, and seemed still resolute to maintain his cause, he himself despaired of success, and secretly withdrew to the sanctuary of Beaulieu, in the New Forest. The Cornish rebels submitted to the king's mercy; a few persons of desperate fortunes were executed, some others were severely fined,
and all the rest were dismissed with impunity. Perkin himself
was persuaded, under promise of pardon, to deliver himself into
the king's hands. The king conducted him, in a species of mock
triumph, to London. Perkin, having attempted to escape, was then
confined to the Tower, where his habits of restless intrigue and
enterprise followed him. He insinuated himself into the intimacy
of four servants of Sir John Digby, Lieutenant of the Tower, and
by their means opened a correspondence with the Earl of Warwick, who was confined in the same prison. Perkin engaged him
to embrace a project for his escape by the murder of the lieutenant, and offered to conduct the whole enterprise. The conspiracy
escaped not the king's vigilance; and as Perkin, by this new attempt, had rendered himself totally unworthy of mercy, he was
arraigned, condemned, and soon after hanged at'l'Tyburn. The
Earl of Warwick was beheaded on Tower Hill a few days afterward (1499). This violent act of tyranny, the great blemish of
Henry's reign, by which he destroyed the last remaining male of
the line of Plantagenet, begat great discontent among the people,
which he vainly endeavored to alleviate by alleging that his ally,
Ferdinand of Aragon, scrupled to give his daughter Catherine in
marriage to his son Prince Arthur while any male descendant of




A.D.1496-1503.   MARRIAGE OF MARGARET.                    251
the house of York remained.  AMen, on the contrary, felt higher
indignation at seeing a young prince sacrificed, not to law and
justice, but to the jealous politics of two subtle and crafty tyrants.
~ 8. Two years later (7Nov. 14, 1501) the king had the satisfaction of completing a marriage which had been projected and negotiated during the course of seven years; Arthur being now near
16 years of age, Catherine 18. But this marriage proved in the
issue unprosperous.  The young prince a few months after sickened and died, much regretted by the nation (April 2, 1502)o.
Henry, desirous to continue his alliance with Spain, and also unwilling to restore Catherine's dowry, which was 200,000 ducats,
obliged his second son Henry, a boy of 11 years of age, whom he
created Prince of Wales, to be contracted to the infanta; an event
which was afterward attended with the most important consequences.  The same year another marriage was celebrated, which
was also, in the next age, productive of great events; the marriage of MIargaret, the king's eldest daughter, with James, King
of Scotland.  But amid these prosperous incidents the king met
with a domestic calamity whichlmade not such impression on him
as it merited: his queen died in childbed (1503), and the infant
did not long survive her.
The situation of the king's afflairs, both at home and abroad,
being now in every respect very fortunate, he gave full scope to
his natural propensity; and avarice, which had ever been his ruling passion, being increased by age and encouraged by absolute
authority, broke all restraints of shame or justice. iHe had found
two ministers, Empson and Dudley, perfectly qualified to second
his rapacious and tyrannical inclinations, and to prey upon his defenseless people. These instruments of oppression were both lawyers; the first of mean birth, of brutal manners, of an unrelenting temper; the second better born, better educated, and better
bred, but equally unjust,:severe, and inflexible.  Bly their knowledge of law these men, wh,;om the king made barons of the Exchequer, were qualified to pervert the forms of justice, to the oppression of the innocent; and the most iniquitous extortions were
practiced under legal pretenses. The chief means of oppression
employed by these ministers were the penal statutes, which, without consideration of rank, quality, or services, were rigidly put
in execution against all men; spies, informers, and inquisitors
were rewarded and encouraged in every quarter of the kingdom;
and no difference was made whether the statute were beneficial or
hurtful, recent or obsolete, possible or impossible to be executed.
The sole end of the king and his ministers was to amass money,
and bring every one under the lash of their authority.  The Parliament was so overawed, that at this very time, during the great



252                    HENRY VII.                CHAP. XIII.
est rage of Henry's oppressions, the Commons chose Dudley their
speaker, the very man who was the chief instrument of his iniquities (1504).  By these arts of accumulation, joined to a rigid frugality in his expense, the king so filled his coffers, that he is said
to have possessed in ready money the sum of 1,800,000 pounds;
a treasure almost incredible, if we consider the scarcity of money
in those times.
~ 9. The remaining years of Henry's reign present little that is
memorable.  The Archduke Philip, on the death of his motherin-law, Isabella, proceeded by sea, with his wife Joanna, to take.
possession of Castile, but was driven by a violent tempest into
Weymouth (1506). The king availed himself of this event to detain Philip in a species of captivity, and to extort from him a
promise of the hand of his sister Margaret, with a large dowry.
Nor was this the only concession which Henry wrung from Philip
as the price of his liberty.  He made him promise that his son
Charles should espouse his daughter 3Mary, though that prince
was already affianced to a daughter of the King of France.  He
also negotiated a new treaty of commerce with the Flemings,
much to the advantage of the English. But perhaps the most
ungenerous part of the king's conduct on this occasion was his
obliging Philip to- surrender Edmund de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk,
nephew of Edward IV., and younger brother of the Earl of Lincoln, who had perished at the battle of Stoke. The Earl of Suffolk, having incurred the king's resentment, had taken refuge in
the Low Countries. Philip stipulated indeed that Suffolk's life
should be spared; but Henry committed him to the Tower, and,
regarding his promise as only personal, recommended his successor to put him to death.* Shortly afterward Henry's health declined; and he began to cast his eye toward that future existence
which the iniquities and severities of his reign rendered a very
dismal prospect to.him. To allay the terrors under which he
labored, he endeavored, by distributing alms and founding religious houses, to make atonement for his crimes, and to purchase,
by the sacrifice of part of his ill-gotten treasures, a reconciliation
with his offended Maker.  He ordered, by a general clause in his
will, that. restitution should be made to all those whom he had
injured.  He died of a consumption, at his favorite palace of
Richmond (April 25, 1509), after a reign of 23 years. and 8
months, and in the 52d year of his age. He was buried in the
chapel he had built for himself at Westminster. The reign of
HI-enry VII. was, in the main, fortunate for his people at home,
and honorable abroad. He put an end to the civil wars with
* Henry VIII. put him to death after the lapse of a few yeais (1513),
without alleging any new offense against him.




A.D. 1509.     HIS DEATH AND CHARACTER.                 253
which the nation had long been harassed, he maintained peace
and order in the state, he depressed the former exorbitant power
of the nobility, and, together with the friendship of some foreign
princes, he acquired the consideration and regard of all.  The
services which he rendered the people were derived, indeed, from
his views of private advantage, rather than the motives of public
spirit.  Bacon compares him with Louis XI. of France and Ferdinand of Spain, and describes the three as'" the trles magi of kings
of those ages"-the great masters of kingcraft.  Avarice was,
on the whole, Henry's ruling passion; and he remains an instance,
almost singular, of a man placed in a high station, and possessed/
of high talents for great affairs, in whom that passion predomin,
ated above ambtition.
~ 10. The Star Chamber, so called from the room in which it
met, is usually said to have been founded in the reign of Henry
VII.; but this is not strictly correct.*  In 1495 the Parliament
enacted that no person who should by arms or otherwise assist
the king for tile time being should ever after be attainted for such
an instance of obedience.  Such a statute could not of course bind
future Parliaments; but, as Mr. Hallam  observes (Coonstitutional
FIist., chap. i.), it remains an unquestionable authority for the
constitutional maxim, "' that possession of the throne gives a sufficient title to the subject's allegiance, and justifies his resistance
of those who may pretend to a better right."  It was by accident
only that the king had not a considerable share in those great
naval discoveries by which the present age was so much distinguished. Columbus, after meeting with many repulses from the
courts of Portugal and Spain, sent his brother Bartholomew to
London, in order to explain his projects to Henry, and crave his
protection for the execution of them. The king invited him over
to England; but his brother, being taken by pirates, was detained in his voyage; and Columbus meanwhile, having obtained the
countenance of Isabella, was supplied with a small fleet, and happily executed his enterprise. Henry was not discouraged by this
disappointment; he fitted out Sebastian Cabot, a Venetian, settled in Bristol, and sent him westward (in 1498) in search of new
countries.  Cabot discovered the main land of America, Newfoundland, and other countries; but returned to England without
making any conquest or settlement.
* See Notes and Illustrations at the cnd of this book.




254                             HENRY  VII.                         CHAP. XILI.
CHRONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE EVENTS.
A.D.                                     A.D.
1486. Henry VII. marries Elizabeth of York, 1497. Perkin makes a descent on Cornwall,
and unites the claims of York and        but is captured.
Lancaster.                        1499. Perkin and the Earl of WVarwick exe1487. Lambert Simnel personates Edwardl,        cuted.
Earl of Warwick, and pretends to 1501. Marriage of Prince Arthur and Caththe throne.                              erine of Aragon. Arthur dies the
1492. Perkin Warbeck appears in Ireland as     following year, and Catherine is conRichard Duke of York, younger son        tracted to Henry, Prince of Wales.
of Edward IV.                     1509. Death of Henry VII. and accession of
1496. The impostor, Perkin, accompanies        Henry VIII.
James IV. of Scotland in an invasion
of England.




Silver Medal of Henry VIII.
]R;lBRICVS. VIII. DEI. GRA REN ANGL. FRANC. DOM. Y- +
CHAPTER XIV.
HENRY VIII. FROM HIS ACCESSION TO THE DEATH OF WOLSEY.
A.D. 1509-1530.
~ 1. Accession of HE'NRY VIII. Empson and Dudley punished. ~ 2. The
King's Marriage. War with France. Wolsey Minister. ~ 3. Battle of
Guinegate. Battle of Flodden. ~ 4. Peace with France. Louis XII.
marries the Princess Mary. ~ 5. Greatness of Wolsey. He induces Henry to cede Tournay to France. Wolsey Legate. ~ 6. Election of the
Emperor Charles V. Interview between Henry and Francis. Charles
visits England. Field of the Cloth of Gold. ~ 7. Henry mediates between Charles. and Francis. Execution of Buckingham. ~ 8. Henry
styled "Defender of the Faith." Charles again in England. War with
France. Scotch Affairs. Defeat of Albany. ~ 9. Supplies illegally
levied. League of Henry, the Emperor, and the Duke of Bourbon. ~ 1-0.
Battle of Pavia. Treaty between England and France. ~ 11. Discontent of the English. Francis recovers his Freedom. Sack of Rome.
League with France. ~ 12. Henry's Scruples about his Marriage with
Catherine. Anne Boleyn. Proceedings for a Divorce. ~ 13. Wolsey's
Fall. ~ 14. Rise of Cranmer. Death of Wolsey.
~ 1. THE death of Henry VII. had been attended with as open
and visible a joy among the people as decency would permit; and
the accession of his son, Henry VIII., spread universally a declared
and unfeigned satisfaction. Henry was now in his 19th year.
The beauty and vigor of his person, accompanied with dexterity
in every manly exercise, was farther adorned with a blooming and
ruddy countenance, with a lively air, with the appearance of spirit
and activity in all his demeanor. Even the vices of vehemence,
ardor, and impatience, to which he was subject, and which afterward degenerated into tyranny, were considered only as faults, incident to unguarded youth, which would be corrected when time
had brought him to greater moderation and maturity; and, as the
contending titles of York and Lancaster were now at last fully
united in his person, men justly expected from a prince obnoxious




256                    HENRY VIII.               CHAP. Ixit.
to no party that impartiality of administration which had long been
unknown in England. The chief competitors for favor and authority under the new king were the Earl of Surrey,* treasurer,
and Fox, Bishop of Winchester, secretary and privy seal. Surrey
knew how to conform himself to the humor of his new master;
and no one was so forward in promoting that liberality, pleasure,
and magnificence which began to prevail under the young monarch.  One party of pleasure succeeded to another; tilts, tournaments, and carousals were exhibited with all the magnificence of
the age; and as the present tranquillity of the public permitted
the court to indulge itself in every amusement, serious business
was but little attended to. The frank and careless humor of the
king, as it led him to dissipate the treasures amassed by his father,
rendered him negligent in protecting the instruments whom that
prince had employed in his extortions.  The informers, who had
so long exercised an unbounded tyranny over the nation, were
thrown into prison, condemned to the pillory, and most of them
lost their lives' by the violence of the populace. Empson and
Dudley, who were most exposed to public hatred, were committed
to the Tower; and in order to gratify the people with the punishment of these obnoxious ministers, crimes very improbable, or indeed absolutely impossible, were charged upon them: that they
had entered into a conspiracy against the sovereign, and had in.
tended on the death of the late king to have seized by force the
administration of government. Their conviction by a jury was
confirmed by a bill of attainder, and they were executed on Tower
Hill.
~ 2. Soon after his accession, Henry, by the advice of his council, though contrary to the opinion of the primate, celebrated his
marriage with the Infanta Catherine (June 7); and the king and
queen were crowned at Westminster on the 24th of June.
The first two or three years of Henry's reign were spent in profound peace; but, impatient of acquiring that distinction in Europe to which his power and opulence entitled him, he could not
long remain neuter amid the noise of arms; and the natural enmity of the English against France, as well as their ancient claims
upon that kingdom, led Henry to join the alliance which, after the
league of Cambray, the Pope, Spain, and Venice had formed against
the French monarch, and into which he was in a considerable degree enticed by the hopes held out to him by the pontiff, Julius
II., that the title of Most Cbristian King, hitherto annexed to the
crown of France, should be transferred to that of England. War
* The Earl of Surrey had been attainted on the accession of Hinry VII.
(1485), but was restored to the earldom in 1489. IHe was created duke of'
Norfolk in 1514.




A.D. 1509-1511.     RISE OF WOLSEY.                    257
was declared aga.iist France (1511); and a Parliament, being
summnoned, readily granted supplies for a purpose so much favored
by the English nation.  But Henry suffered himself to be completely deceived by the artifices of his father-in-law, Ferdinand.
That selfish and treacherous prince advised him not to invade
France by the way of Calais, where he himself should not have it
in his power to assist him; he exhorted him rather to send forces
to Fontarabia, whence he could easily make a conquest of Guienne, a province in which, it was imagined, the English had still
some adherents.  He promised to assist this conquest by the
junction of a Spanish army; and so forward did he seem to promote the interests of his son-in-law, that he even sent vessels to
England in order to transport over the forces which Henry had
levied for that purpose. But he made use of their presence merely
to overrun and annex the kingdom of Navarre; and the Marquis
of Dorset, the English commander, observing.that his farther stay
served not to promote the main undertaking, and that his men
were daily perishing by want and sickness, returned to England
with his army. iNotwitlistanding his disappointments in this campaign, Henry was still encouraged to prosecute his warlike measures against Louis, especially as Leo X., who had succeeded Julius on the papal throne, had detached the Emperor Miaximilian
from the French interest. He determined to invade France; and,
all on fire for military fame, was little discouraged by the prospect
of a war with the Scots, who had formed an alliance with France.
And he had now got a minister who complied with all his inclinations, and flattered him in every scheme to which his sanguine
and impetuous temper was inclined.
Thomas Wolsey, Dean of Lincoln and almoner to the king,
surpassed in favor all his ministers, and was fast advancing toward that unrivaled grandeur which he afterward attained. This
man was reputed to be the son of a butcher. at Ipswich; but having got a learned education, and being endowed with an excellent
capacity, he was admitted into the Marquis of Dorset's family as
tutor to that nobleman's children, and soon gained the fiiendship
and countenance of his patron. He was afterward employed by
Henry VII. in a secret negotiation which regarded his intended
marriage with Margaret of Savoy, Maximilian's daughter, and acquitted himself to the king's satisfaction. Being introduced to
Henry VIII., by Fox, Bishop of Winchester, he was admitted to
Henry's parties of pleasure, took the lead in every jovial conversation, and promoted all that frolic and entertainment which he
found suitable to the age and inclination of the young monarch.
Henry soon advanced his favorite from being the companion of his
pleasures to be a member of his council, and from being a member




258                    HENRY VIII.               CHAP. XIV.
Of his council to be his sole and absolute minister. By this rapid
advancement and uncontrolled authority the character and genius
of Wolsey had full opportunity to display itself. Insatiable in his
acquisitions, but still more magnificent in his expense; of extensive capacity, but still more unbounded enterprise; ambitious of
power, but still more desirous of glory; insinuating, engaging,
persuasive, and, by turns, lofty, elevated, commanding; haughty
to his equals, but affable to his dependents; oppressive to the
people, but liberal to his firiends; more generous than grateful;
less moved by injuries than by contempt; he was framed to take
the ascendant in every intercourse with others, but exerted this
superiority of nature with such ostentation as exposed him to
envy, and made every one willing to recall the original inferiority,
or rather meanness, of his fortune.
~ 3. The war commenced in 1513 with a desperate naval action.
Sir Edward Howard, the English admiral, was slain in attempting to cut six French galleys out of the port of Conquet with only
two vessels; and the whole fleet was so discouraged by the loss of
their commander that they retired from before Brest. The French
navy came out of harbor, and even ventured to invade the coast
of Sussex, but were repulsed.  On the 30th of June the king
landed at Calais with a considerable army, and was joined by
Maximilian with some German and Flemish -soldiers; Observing
the disposition of the English monarch to be more bent on glory
than on interest, Maximilian enlisted himself in his service, wore
the cross of St. George, and received 100 crowns a day as one of
his subjects and captains. But while he exhibited this extraordinary spectacle, of an emperor of Germany serving under a king
of England, he was treated with the highest respect by Henry, and
really directed all the operations of the English army. Henry,
having received intelligence of the approach of the French horse,
ordered some troops to pass the Lis in order to oppose them.
The cavalry of France, though they consisted chiefly of gentlemen
who had behaved with great gallantry in many desperate actions
in Italy, were, on sight of the enemy, seized with so unaccountable
a panic that they immediately took to flight and were pursued by
the English, and many officers of distinction were made prisoners.
The action, or rather rout, is sometimes called the battle of Guinegate, from the place where it was fought; but more commonly the
Battle of Spurs, because the French that day made more use of
their spurs than of their swords or military weapons (Aug. 16).
But Henry, though at the head of 50,000 men, derived little advantage fromn his victory. Instead of marching to Paris, he engaged in the siege of the inconsiderable town of Terouenne, which
had been already invested by the Earl.of Shrewsbury (Aug. 22).




A.D. 1511-1515.   BATTLE OF FLODDEN.                  259
After the fall of that place the king laid siege to Tournay, which
soon surrendered (Sept. 9.) The Bishop of' Tournay was lately
dead, and the king bestowed the administration of the see on his
favorite Wolsey, and put him in immediate possession of the revenues, which were considerable. Then, observing the season to be
far advanced, he thought proper to return to England, and he carried the greater part of his army with him.
The success which during this summer had attended Henry's
arms in the north was much more decisive.  James, King of
Scotland, had assembled the whole force of his kingdom; and
having passed the Tweed with a brave though a tumultuary army
of above 50,000 men, he ravaged those parts of:Northumberland
vwhichl lay nearest that river. Meanwhile, the Earl of Surrey,
having collected a force of 26,000 men, marched to the defense
of the country. The two armies met at Flodden, near the Cheviot
Hills. The action was desperate, and protracted till night separated the combatants.  The victory seemed yet undecided, and
the numbers that fell on each side were nearly equal, amounting
to above 5000 men; but the morning discovered where the advantage lay.  The English had lost only persons of small note:
but the flower of the Scottish nobility had fallen in battle, and
their king himself, after the most diligent inquiry, could nowhere
be found. In searching the field the English met with a dead
body which resembled him, and was arrayed in a similar habit;
and they put it in a leaden coffin and sent it to London. But
the fond conceit was long entertained among the Scots that he
wras still alive, and, having secretly gone in pilgrimage to the
Holy Land, would soon return and take possession of the throne.
When the Queen of Scotland, Margaret, who was created regent
during the infancy of her son, applied for peace, Henry readily
granted it, and took compassion upon the helpless condition of his
sister afid nephew.
~ 4. In the following year (1514) Henry discovered that both
the emperor and the -King of Spain had deserted his alliance for
that of Louis; and that they had listened to a proposition for the
marriage of their common grandson, the Archduke Charles, to a
daughter of the French king's, although that young prince was
already affianced to Henry's sister Mary. Under these circumstances, Henry readily listened to the suggestion of his prisoner,
the Duke of Longueville, for a peace with France, to be confirmed
by Mary's marriage with Louis, who was now a widower. The
articles were easily adjusted between the monarchs; but Louis
died in less than three months after the marriage (Jan. 1, 1515),
to the extreme regret of the French nation. Francis, Duke of Angouleme, a youth of 21, who had married Louis's eldest daughter,




260                    HENRY VIII.               CHAP. XIV.
succeeded him on the throne. Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk,
was at that time in the court of France, the most comely personage of his time, and the most accomplished in all the exercises
which were then thought to befit a courtier and soldier. He
was Henry's chief favorite, and that monarch had even once entertained thoughts of marrying him to his sister, and had given
indulgence to the mutual passion which took place between them.
The queen asked Suffolk whether he had now the courage, without farther reflection, to espouse her? And she told him that
her brother would more easily forgive him for not asking his consent than for acting contrary to his orders.  Suffolk declined not
so inviting an offer, and their nuptials were secretly celebrated at
Paris.  Wolsey, as well as Francis, was active in reconciling the
king to his sister and brother-in-law; and he obtained them permission to return to England.
~ 5. The numerous enemies whom WVolsey's sudden elevation,
his aspiring character, and his haughty deportment had raised
him, served only to rivet him faster in Henry's confidence, who
valued himself on supporting the choice which he had made, and
who was incapable of yielding either to the murmurs of the people or the discontents of the court.  That artful prelate, well acquainted with the king's imperious temper, concealed from him
the absolute ascendant which he had acquired; and while he se:
cretly directed all public councils, he ever pretended a blind submission to the will and authority of his master.  He had now
been promoted to the see of York, with which he was allowed to
unite, first that of Durham, next that.of Winchester, and there
seemed to be no end of his acquisitions.  The Pope created him
a cardinal (1515). No churchman, under color of exacting respect to religion, ever carried to a greater height the state and
dignity of that character.  His train consisted of 800 servants,
of whom many were knights and gentlemen; some even of the
nobility put their children into his family as a place of education;
and in order to gain them favor with their patron, allowed them
to bear offices as his servants.  Whoever was distinguished by
any art or science paid court to the cardinal, and none paid court
in vain. Literature, which was then in its infancy, found in him
a generous patron; and both by- his public institutions and private
bounty he gave encouragement to every branch of erudition. Not
content with this munificence, which gained him the approbation
of the wise, he strove to dazzle the eyes of the populace by the
splendor of his equipage and furniture, the costly embroidery of
his liveries, the lustre of his apparel. On the resignation of Warham, Chancellor and Archbishop of Canterbury, the great seal was
immediately delivered to Wolsey.  If this new accumulation of




A.D. 1515-1519.   CHARLES V. EMPEROR.                  261
dignity increased his enemies, it also served to exalt his~ personal
character, and prove the extent of his capacity. A strict administration of justice took place during his enjoyment of this high
office; and no chancellor ever discovered greater impartiality in
his decisions, deeper penetration of judgment, or more enlarged
knowledge of law and equity.
In 1518 Francis, being desirous of recovering Tournay, succeeded, by means of flatteries and attentions, in gaining Wolsey's
favor.  By the cardinal's advice a treaty was entered into for the
ceding of that town; and in order to give the measure a more
graceful appearance, it was agreed that the dauphin and the Princess Mary, the king's daughter, both of them infants, should be
betrothed, and that this city should be considered as the dowry of
the princess.  Francis also agreed to pay 600,000 crowns in
twelve annual payments; and lest the cardinal should think himself neglected in these stipulations, he promised him a yearly pension of 12,000 livres, as an equivalent for his administration of
the bishopric of Tournay.
The pride of WVolsey was about this time farther increased by
his being invested with the legatine power, together with the right
of visiting all the clergy and monasteries in England, and even of
suspending all the laws of the Church during a twelvemonth.
Wolsey, having obtained this new dignity, made a new display of
that state and parade to which he was so much addicted.  On
solemn feast-days, he was not content without saying mass after
the manner of the Pope himself; not only had he bishops and abbots to serve him; he even engaged the first nobility to give him
water and the towel. But he carried the matter much farther
than vain pomp and ostentation. He erected an office which he
called the legatine court, and conferred on it a kind of inquisitorial and censorial powers, even over the laity. He even pretended, by virtue of his commission, to assume the jurisdiction of all
the bishops' courts, particularly that of judging of wills and testaments, and the right of disposing of every ecclesiastical preferment.
~ 6. While Henry, indulging himself in pleasure and amusement, intrusted the government of his kingdom to this imperious
minister, the death of the Emperor Maximilian left vacant the
first station among Christian princes, and proved a kind of era in
the general system of Europe (1519).  The Kings of France and
Spain immediately declared themselves candidates for the imperial
crown, and employed every expedient of money or intrigue which
promised them success in so great a point of ambition. Henry
also was encouraged to advance his pretensions; but his minister,
Pace, who was dispatched to the electors, found that he began to




262                    HENRY VIII.               CHAP. XIV.
solicit too late, and that the votes of all these princes were already
pre-engaged, either on one side or the other.  Charles ultimately
prevailed; and thus fortune alone, without the concurrence of prudence or valor, never reared up of a sudden so great a power as
that which centred in him. He reaped the succession of Castile,
of Aragon, of Austria, of the Netherlands; he inherited the conquest of Naples, of Grenada; election entitled him to the empire;
~even the bounds of the globe seemed to be enlarged a little before
his time, that he might possess the whole treasure, as yet entire
and unrifled, of the New World. Francis, disgusted with his ill
success, now applied himself, by way of counterpoise to the power
of Charles, to cultivate the friendship of Henry, who possessed
the felicity of being able, both by the native force of his kingdom
and its situation, to hold the balance between those two powers.
He solicited an interview near Calais, in expectation of being able,
by familiar conversation, to gain upon his friendship and confidence; and as Henry himself loved show and magnificence, and
had entertained a curiosity of being personally acquainted with
the French king, he cheerfully adjusted all the preliminaries.
Meanwhile, the emperor, politic though young, being ihformed of
the intended interview between Francis and IHenry, was apprehensive of the consequences, and took the opportunity, in his passage from Spain to the Low Countries, to make the English king
a still higher compliment by paying him a visit in his own dominions.  Henry and the queen hastened to meet him at Hythe.
Besides the marks of regard and attachment which Charles gave
to Henry, he gained the cardinal to his interests by holding out
to him the hope of attaining the papacy.  The views of Henry
himself, indeed, after being disappointed of the imperial crown,
were directed toward France as his ancient inheritance; and no
power was more fitted than the emperor to assist him ia such a
design.
The day of Charles's departure (May 30, 1520), Henry went over
to Calais with the queen and his whole court; and thence proceeded to Guisnes, a small town near the frontiers.  Francis, attended in like manner, came to Ardres, a few miles distant; and
the two monarchs met for the first time in the fields at a place
situated between these two towns, but still within the English
pale; for Francis agreed to pay this compliment to Henry, in consideration of that prince's passing the sea that he might be present
at the interview. W~olsey, to whom both kings had intrusted the
regulation of the ceremonial, contrived this circumstance in order
to do honor to his master. The nobility both of France and England here displayed their magnificence with such emulation and
profuse expense as procured to the place of interview the name of




A.D. 1519-1521.   EXECUTION OF BUCKINGHAM.              263
the field of the clotlh of gold. The two monarchs, who were the
most comely personages of the age, as well as the most expert in
every military exercise, passed their time till their departure in
tournaments and other entertainments, more than in any serious
business.  Henry paid then a visit to the emperor and Margaret
of Savoy, at Gravelines, and engaged them to go along with him
to Calais, and pass some days in that fortress.  The artful and
politic Charles here completed the impression which he had begun
to make on Henry and his favorite, and secured the cardinal still
farther in his interests by very important services and still higher
promrises. I-e renewed assurances of assisting him in obtaining
the papacy, and he put him in present possession of the revenues
belonging to the sees of Badajoz and Valentia in Castile.
~ 7. The violent personal emulation and political jealousy which
had taken place between the emperor and the French king soon
broke out in hostilities (1521); but while these ambitious and warlike princes were acting against each other in almost every part
of Europe, they still made professions of the strongest desire of
peace, and both of them incessantly carried their complaints to
Henry, agsto the umpire between them.  The king, who pretended to be neutral, engaged theym to send their embassadors to Calais,
there to negotiate a peace, under the mediation of Wolsey and
the Pope's nuncio. The emperor was well apprised of the partiality of these mediators, and his demands in the conference were
so unreasonable as plainly proved him conscious of the advantage.
Francis rejected the terms; the congress of Calais broke up; and
Wolsey soon after took a journey to Bruges, where he met with
the emperor, and concluded, in his master's name, an offensive alliance with him and the Pope against France. He stipulated
that England should next summer invade that kingdom with
40,000 men; and he betrothed to Charles the Princess Mary, the
king's only child, who had now some prospect of inheriting the
crown. The Duke of Buckingham was soon after tried and executed for high treason, having unguardedly let fall some expressions as if he thought himself entitled to succeed, in case the king
should die without issue. His death. has been attributed to the
resentment of Wolsey, and at all events the grounds alleged for
his condemnation seem frivolous and inadequate (1521).*
~ 8. Europe was now in a ferment with the progress of Luther
* This Duke of Buckingham was the son of the Duke of Buckingham
executed by Richard IIIL, and was descended by a female from the Duke
of Gloucester, youngest son of Edward III. (See genealogical table, p.
233.) The office of constable, which this nobleman inherited from the Bo,
huns, Earls of Hereford, was forfeited, and was never after revived in England.




264                    HENRY VIII.               CHAP. XIV.
and the Reformation.  Henry, who had been educated in a strict
attachment to the Church of Rome, wrote a book in Latin against
the principles of Luther, and sent a copy of it to Leo, who received so magnificent a present with great testimony of regard,
and conferred on him the title of Defender of the Faith (1521).
This was one of the last acts of Leo X., who died before the close
of the year, in the flower of his age. He was succeeded in the
papal chair by Adrian'VI., a Fleming, who had been tutor to the
Emperor Charles. The emperor, who knew that Wolsey had received a disappointment in his ambitious hopes by the election of
Adrian, and who dreaded the resentment of that haughty minister, was solicitous to repair the breach made in their friendship
by this incident. He paid another visit to England (1522); and,
besides flattering the vanity of the king and the cardinal, he renewed to Wolsey all the promises which he had made him of
seconding l.is pretensions to the papal throne. The more to ingratiate himself with Henry and the English nation, he gave to
Surrey, Admiral of England, commission for being admiral of his
dominions; and he himself was installed knight of the garter at
London.  The king declared war against France while the emperor was in England. The English army, which landed at Calais,
under the command of Surrey, did not accomplish any thing of
importance; but in Scotland the regent Albany, though at the
head of 45,000 men, was frightened into a disgraceful truce with
Lord Dacre; and in the following year he retreated still more disgracefully before the English army under Surrey. Soon after he
went over to France, and never again returned to Scotland.  The
Scottish nation, agitated by their domestic factions, were not during several years in a condition to give any-more disturbance to
England; and Henry had full leisure to prosecute his designs on
the Continent.
~ 9. The reason why the war against France proceeded so
slowly on the part of England was the want of money. In 1522
Henry had illegally raised a large sum of money under the name
of a loan or "benevolence;" and in the Parliament held in the
following year he issued privy seals to wealthy persons, demanding loans of particular sums, and published an edict for a general
tax upon his subjects, under the natpe of a loan. Wolsey, attended by several of the nobility and prelates, came to the House
of Commons, and demanded a grant of ~800,000. So large a
grant was unusual from the Commons; and, though the cardinal's
demand was seconded by Sir Thomas More, the speaker, and several other members attached to the court, the House could not be
prevailed with to vote more than the moiety of the sum demanded. The cardinal, much mortified with the disappointment, came




A.D. 1521-1525.     BATTLE OF PAVIA.                   265
again to the I-ouse, and desired to reason with such as refused to
comply with the king's request.  He was told that it was a rule
of the House never to reason but among themselves; and his. desire was rejected, though they enlarged a little their former grant.
The king was so dissatisfied with this saving disposition of the
Commons, that, as he had not called a Parliament during seven
years before, he allowed seven more to elapse before he summoned
another; and, on pretense of necessity, he levied in one year, from
all who were worth ~40, what the Parliament had granted him
payable in four years: a new invasion of national privileges.
Wolsey received this year (1523) a new disappointment in his
aspiring views. The Pope, Adrian VI., died; and Clement VII.,
of the family of Medicis, was elected in his place, by the concurrence of the imperial party.- Wolsey could now perceive the' insincerity of the emperor, and he concluded that that prince would
never second his pretensions to the papal chair. As he higholy
resented this injury, he began thenceforth to estrange himself
from the imperial court, and to pave the way for a union between
his master and the French king. Yet the confederacy against
France seemed more formidable than ever on the opening of the
campaign; and the country was exposed to still greater peril by
a domestic conspiracy which had been formed by Charles, Duke*
of Bourbon, Constable of France, who, entering into the emperor's
service, employed all the force of his enterprising spirit, and his
great talents for war, to the prejudice of his native country. A
league was formed among Henry, Charles, and Bourbon, for the
conquest: and partition of France.  Provence, Dauphine, Auvergne, and the Bourbonnais, were to be erected into a kingdom
for Bourbon; Burgundy, Languedoc, Champagne, and Picardy,
were to be given to the emperor; and the King of England was
to have the rest of France (1525).  The Duke of Suffolk led an
English army into France, and, though he advanced within sight
of Paris, he returned to Calais without effecting any thing of more
importance than the Earl of Surrey in the preceding year.
~ 10. The year 1525 was marked by a memorable event in the
war. Francis had been expelled from Italy in the preceding year;
and the imperialists had invaded the south of France and laid
siege to Marseilles.  But upon the approach of the French king
with a numerous army they found themselves under a necessity
of raising the siege; and they led their forces, weakened, baffled,
and disheartened, into Italy. Francis, notwithstanding the advanced season, pursued them into that country, and penetrated to
Pavia, to which he laid siege; but after it had been invested several months the imperial generals came to its relief. Francis's
forces were put to the rout, and he himself, surroumnded by his enM




266                       HENRY VIII.                 CHAP. XIV.
emies, after fighting with heroic valor, was at last obliged to surrender himself prisoner (Feb. 24, 1525). Almost the whole army,
full of nobility and brave officers, either perished by the sword, or
were drowned in the river.
H-Ienry was at first inclined to take advantage of the French
monarch's nmisfortune.  He pressed the emperor to invade France
next summer from the south, while he himself entered it on the
north; he anticipated  that they mlight meet at Paris, when,
after being crowned King of France, hle would assist Charles to
recover Burgundy, and accompany him to Rome for his coronation.  And if the emperor fulfilled his contract to marry the
Princess BMary, he held out the prospect that he or his posterity
might eventually succeed to the crown of France, and even of
England itself.  But Charles -was in no humor to let HTenry reap
the chief benefit from his success, or to seekl, by an invxasion of
France, advantages which the captivity of Francis afforded an opportunity to extort.  He therefore refused to invade France, or to
put Francis in H-lenry's hands in return for Mary; and H-lenry consequently determined to abandon his r'lliance for t.hat of France.
H-le therefore concluded a treaty with the amother of Francis, the
Regent of France, and engaged to procure her son his liberty on
reasonable conditions; the regent acknowledged the kingdom
I-lenry's debtor for 1,800,000 crowns, to be discharged in halfyearly payments of 50,000 crowns; after nNwhich I-enry was to receive, during life, a yearly pension of 100,000.  A large present
of 100,000 crowns Nwas also made to Wolsey for his good offices,
but covered utnder the pretense of arrears due on the pension
grlanted him for relinquishing the administration of Tournay.
~ 11. Meanwhile, Henry, foreseeing that this treaty with France
mlight involve him in a war with the emperor, was determined to
fill his treasury by impositions upon his own subjects, and resolved
to make use of his prerogative alone for that purpose.  The people, displeased with the amount of the exaction, and farther disgusted with the illegal method of imposing it, broke out in murmurs and complaints; and their refractory disposition threatened
a general insurrection.  But as they were not headed by any considerable person, it was easy for the Duke of Suffbolk, and the Earl
of Surrey, now Duke of Norfolk, by employing persuasion and authority, to induce the ringleaders to lay down their arms and surrener themselves prisoners.  The king, finding it dangerous to
pubnish criminals engaged in so popular a cause, was determined,
notwithstanding his v-iolent, imperious temper, to grant them a
general pardon; and he prudently imputed their guilt, not to their
want of loyalty or affection, but to their poverty.
Early in 1526 the French king recovered his liberty in accord



A.D. 1525-1527. THE KING'S MAT RIMONIAL SCRUPLES.      267
ance with a treaty concluded at Madrid; the principal condition
of which was the restoring of Francis's liberty, and the delivery
of his two eldest sons as hostages to the emperor for the cession
of Burgundy. If any difficulty should afterward occur in the execution of this last article, from the opposition of the states, either
of France or of that province, Francis stipulated that in six weeks'
time he should return to his prison, and remain there till the full
performance of the treaty. But at the very moment of signing
the treaty Francis entered a secret protest against it, and declared
that he would not observe it; and when he returned to France
he openly showed his resolution to evade its performance, in which
he was encouraged by the English court.  War was therefore renewed between Francis and Charles.  In the following year
(1527), Bourbon, who commanded the Imperialists in Italy, finding it difficult to support his army, determined to lead it to Rome,
which was taken by storm; but the duke himself was slain in
the assault. Pope Clement was taken captive, and the city was
exposed to all the violence and brutality of a licentious soldiery.
The sack of Rome and the captivity of the Pope caused general
indignation among all the Catholics of Europe. A new treaty was
concluded between Henry and Francis, with a view of expelling
the Imperialists from Italy, and restoring the Pope to liberty.
Henry agreed finally to renounce all claims to the crown of
France; claims which might now indeed be deemed chimerical,
but which often served as a pretense for exciting the unwary
English to wage war upon the French nation.  As a return for
this concession, Francis bound himself and his successors to pay
forever 50,000 crowns a year to Henry and his successors; and
that greater solemnity might be given to this treaty, it was agreed
that the Parliaments and great nobility of both kingdoms should
give their assent to it.
~ 12. About this time Henry began to entertain some doubts
respecting the lawfulness of his marriage with Catherine of Aragon, his brother's widow, though he had been united to her 17
years. There were several causes which tended to render his
conscience more scrupulous. The queen was older than the king
by no less than six years; and the decay of her beauty, together
with particular infirmities and diseases, had contributed, notwithstanding her blameless character and deportment, to render her
person unacceptable to him. Though she had borne him several
children, they all died in early infancy except one daughter; and
he was the more struck with this misfortune, because the curse
of being childless is the very threatening contained in the Mosaical law against those who espouse their brother's widow. The
succession, too, of the crown was a consideration that occurred




268                    HENRY VIII.               CHAP. XIV.
to every one whenever the lawfulness of Henry's marriage was
called in question; and it was apprehended that, if doubts of
Mary's legitimacy concurred with the weakness of her sex, the
King of Scots, the next heir, would advance his pretensions, and
might throw the kingdom into confusion. The king was thus
impelled, both by his private passions and by motives of public
interest, to seek the dissolution of his inauspicious, and, as it was
esteemed, unlawful marriage with Catherine. Wolsey also fortified the king's scruples, with a view to marry him to a French
princess. But Henry was carried forward, though perhaps not
at first excited, by a motive more forcible than even the suggestions of that powerful favorite. Anne Boleyn, who lately appeared at court, had been appointed maid of honor to the queen; and
having had frequent opportunities of being seen by Henry, and
of conversing with him, she had acquired an entire ascendant over
his affections. This young lady, whose grandeur and misfortunes
have rendered her so celebrated, was daughter of Sir Thomas Boleyn, and, through her mother, granddaughter of the Duke of Norfolk. Anne herself, though then in very early youth, had been
carried over to Paris by the king's sister, when the princess espoused Louis XII. of France; and she remained several years at
the French court.  Henry, finding the accomplishments of her
mind nowise inferior to her exterior graces, even entertained the
design of raising her to the throne. As every motive, therefore,
of inclination and policy seemed thus to concur in making the
king desirous of a divorce from Catherine, he resolved to make
applications to Clement, and he sent Knight, his secretary, to Rome
for that purpose. The Pope, who was then a prisoner in the hands
of the emperor, and had no hopes of recovering his liberty on any
reasonable terms, except by the efforts of the league which HIenry
had formed with Francis and the Italian powers, in order to oppose the ambition of Charles, had the strongest motives to embrace
every opportunity of gratifying the English monarch. When the
English secretary, therefore, solicited him in private, he received
a very favorable answer, and a dispensation was forthwith promised to be granted to his master. -Soon after, the march of a
French army into Italy obliged the Imperialists to restore Clement
-to his liberty, and he retired to Orvieto.
Clement, having now recovered his liberty, and unwilling to
offend either the emperor or the English king, adopted a temporizing policy.  At length, after much negotiation, he granted a
commission in 1528 to Cardinals Wolsey and Campeggio to try
the validity of the marriage. Charles, meanwhile, promised Catherine, his aunt, his utmost protection; fnd in all his negotiations
with the Pope he made the recall of the commission which




A.D. 1527-1529      FALL OF WOLSEY.                    269
Campeggio and Wolsey exercised in England a fundamental article.
The two legates opened their court at London, May 31, 1529,
and cited the king and queen to appear before it. They both presented themselves, and the king answered to his name when called; but the queen, instead of answering to hers, rose from her seat
and, throwing herself at the king's feet, made a very pathetic harangue, which her virtue, her dignity, and her misfortunes rendered the more affecting. And she concluded by declaring that
she would not submit her cause to be tried by a court whose dependence on her enemies was too visible ever to allow her any
hopes of obtaining from them an equitable or impartial decision.
Having spoken these words, she rose, and making the king a low
reverence, she departed from the court, and never would again appear in it. The trial was spun out till the 23d of July, and Campeggio chiefly took on him the part of conducting it. The king
was every day in expectation of a sentence in his favor; when, to
his great surprise, Campeggio, on a sudden, without any warning,
and upon very frivolous pretenses, prorogued the court till the 1st
of October. A few days afterward the king and queen received
a citation from the Pope to appear either in person or by proxy
at Rome. This measure, which the emperor had extorted from
the timidity of Clement, put an end to all the hopes of success
which the king had so long and so anxiously cherished.
~ 13. Wolsey had long foreseen this measure as the sure forerunner of his ruin. He had employed himself with the utmost
assiduity and earnestness to bring the affair to a happy issue; he
was not, therefore, to be blamed for the unprosperous event whichl
Clement's partiality had produced. Anne Boleyn, also, who was
prepossessed against him, had imputed to him the failure of her
hopes. The high opinion itself which Henry entertained of the
cardinal's capacity tended to hasten his downfall; while he imputed
the bad success of that minister's undertakings, not to ill fortune or
to mistake, but to the malignity or infidelity of his intentions. On
the 18th of October the great seal was taken from him, and delivered by the king to Sir Thomas )More, a man who, besides the
ornaments of an elegant literature, possessed the highest virtue, in:
tegrity, and capacity. Wolsey was ordered to depart from York
Place, a palace which he had built in London, and which, though
it really belonged to the See of York, was seized by Henry, and
became afterward the residence of the kings of England, by the
title of Whitehall.  All his furniture and plate were also seized:
their riches and splendor befitted rather a royal than a private
fortune. The cardinal tvas ordered to retire to Esher, a country
seat which he possessed near Hampton Court. The world, that




270                    HENRY VI1I.               CHAP. XIV
had paid him such abject court during his prosperity, now entirely deserted him on this fatal reverse of all his fortunes.
Upon the meeting of Parliament, which had not been summoned for seven years, the House of Lords voted a long charge against
Wolsey, consisting of 44 articles, and accompanied it with an application to the king for his punishment and his removal from all
authority. The articles were sent down to the -louse of Commons, where Thomas Cromwell, formerly a servant of the cardinal's, and who had been raised by him from a very low station,
defended his unfortunate patron with such spirit, generosity, and
courage as acquired him great honor, and laid the foundation of
that favor which he afterward enjoyed with the king.  Wolsey's
enemies, finding that either his innocence or his caution prevented
them from having any just ground of accusing him, had recourse
to a very extraordinary expedient. An indictment was laid against
him, that, contrary to a statute of Richard II., commonly called
the statute of provisors, or prwamunire,' he had procured bulls from
IRome, particularly one investing him with the legatine power.
Sentence was pronounced against him, " That he was out of the
king's protection; his lands and goods forfeited; and that his person might be committed to custody." But this prosecution of Wolsey was carried no farther.  Henry even granted him a pardon
for all offenses, left him in possession of the sees of York and Winchester, restored him part of his plate and furniture, and still continued from time to time to drop expressions of favor and compassion toward him.
~ 14. The general peace established this summer in Europe by
the treaty of Cambray (Aug. 5, 1529) left Henry full leisure to
prosecute his divorce.  Amid the anxieties with which he was
agitated, he was often tempted to break off all connections with
the court of Rome.  He found his prerogative firmly established
at home; and he observed that his people were in general much
disgusted with clerical usurpations, and disposed to reduce the powers and privileges of the ecclesiastical order. But, notwithstanding these inducements, Henry had strong motives still to desire a
good agreement with the sovereign pontiff. HIe apprehended the
danger of such great innovations; he dreaded the reproach of heresy; he abhorred all connections with the Lutherans, the chief
opponents of the papal power; and having once exerted himself
with such applause, as he imagined, in defense of the Romish communion, he was ashamed to retract his former opinions, and betray from passion such a palpable inconsistency.  While he was
agitated by these contrary motives, an expedient was proposed,
which, as it promised a solution of all difficulties, was embraced
by him with the greatest joy and satisfaction.
* See p. 199.




A.D. 1529, 1530.   DEATH OF WOLSEY.                    271
Dr. Thomas Cranmer, fellow of Jesus College in Cambridge,
fell one evening by accident into company with Gardiner, now secretary of state, and Fox, the king's almoner; and as the business
of the divorce became the subject of conversation, he observed that
the readiest way, either to quiet Henry's conscience, or extort the
Pope's consent, would be to consult all the universities of Europe
with regard to this controverted point; if they agreed to approve
of the king's marriage with Catherine, his remorse would naturally cease; if they condemned it, the Pope would find it difficult
to resist the solicitations of so great a monarch, seconded by the
opinion of all the learned men in Christendom.  When the king
was informed of the proposal, he was delighted with it, and swore,
with more alacrity than delicacy that Cranmer had got the right
sow by the ear; he sent for that divine, engaged him to write in
defense of the divorce, and immediately, in prosecution of the
scheme proposed, employed his agents to collect the judgments of
all the universities in Europe. Several of these gave verdict in
the king's favor; not only those of France, Paris, Orleans, Bourges,
Toulouse, Angers, which might be supposed to lie under the influence of their prince, ally to Henry; but also those of Italy,Venice, Ferrara, Padua, even Bologna itself, though under the immediate jurisdiction of Clement. Oxford alone, and Cambridge,
alarmed at the progress of Lutheranism, made some difficulty.
Their opinion, however, conformable to that of the other universities of Europe, was at last obtained, though not without the use
of threats.
Meanwhile the enemies of Wolsey, and Anne Boleyn in particulala, had persuaded Henry to renew the prosecution against his
ancient favorite. The cardinal had, by the king's command, removed to his see of York, and had taken up his residence at Cawood, in Yorkshire, where he rendered himself extremely popular in the neighborhood by his affability and hospitality.  Iere
he was arrested on a charge of high treason by the Earl of Northumberland, who had received orders to conduct him to London
in order to his trial. The cardinal, partly from the fatigues of
his journey, partly from the agitation of his anxious mind, was
seized with a disorder which turned into a dysentery; and he
was able, with some difficulty, to reach Leicester Abbey. When
the abbot and the monks advanced to receive him with much respect and reverence, he told them that he was come to lay his
bones among them; and he immediately took to his bed, whence
he never rose more. A little before he expired he said, among
other things, to Sir William Kingston, Constable of the Tower,
who had him in custody, " Had I but served God as diligently as
I have served the king, he would not have given me over in my




272                    HENRY Qll1.               CHAPS. XIV.
gray hairs. Let me advise you," he added, " if you be one of the
privy-council, as by your wisdom you are fit, take care what you
put into the king's head; for you can never put it out again."
Thus died this famous cardinal (Nov. 29, 1530), whose character
seems to have contained as singular a variety as the fortune to
which he was exposed.  "Haughty beyond comparison," says
Mr. Hlallam (Conbstitutional Histosry, i., 22), "negligent of the duties and decorums of his station, profuse as well as rapacious,
obnoxious alike to his own order and to the laity, his fall had long
been secretly desired by the nation and contrived by his adversaries. His generosity and magnificence seem rather to have dazzled succeeding ages than his own. But, in fact, his best apology
is the disposition of his master. The latter years of Henry's reign
were far more tyrannical than those during which he listened to
the counsel of Wolsey; and though this was principally owing
to the peculiar circumstances of the latter period, it is but equitable to allow some praise to a minister for the mischief which he
may be presumed to have averted."




Gold Medal of Henry VIII.
Obverse: IIENRICVS. OCTA. ANGLIzE. FRANCI. ET. 1IB. REX. FIDEI. DEFENSOR PT.
Vl. TERR. ECCLE. ANGII. ET. HIBE  SVB'. CHRIST. CAPVT. SVPFREMVI. For Reverse,
see next page.
CHAPTER XV.
HENRY VIII. CONTINUED.  FROM5 THE DEATH OF WOLSEY TO THE DEATH
OF THE KING.  A.D. 1530-1547.
~ 1. Proceedings against the Clergy and the Court of Rome.  Henry's
Marriage with Anne Boleyn. Catherine divorced. ~ 2. The Reformation.  Establishment of the Succession and Committal of Fisher and
More. The King declared supreme Head of the Church. ~ 3. State of
Parties.  Tyndale's Bible.  Persecutions.  The Holy Maid of Kent.
~ 4. Execution of Fisher and More.  Henry excommunicated. Death
of Queen Catherine.  ~ 5. Suppression of the lesser Monasteries. Trial
and Execution of Queen Anne. Henry marries Jane Seymour. Settlement of the Succession. ~ 6. Discontents and Insurrections. Pilgrimage
of Grace. Birth of Prince Edward and Death of Queen Jane.  Suppression of the greater Monasteries.  ~ 7. The Pope publishes his Bull
of Excommunication.  Cardinal Pole.  ~ 8. Law of the Six Articles.
Servility of the Parliament and Tyranny of the King. ~ 9. Henry marries Anne of Cleves.  ~ 10. Fall and Execution of Cromwell. Henry's
Divorce from Anne of Cleves and Marriage with Catherine Howard.
Religious Persecutions.  Execution of the Countess of Salisbury. ~ 11.
Marriage, Trial, and Execution of Queen Catherine Howard. ~ 12. War
with Scotland and Death of James V. Henry's Marriage with Catherine
Parr.  War with France.  Peace concluded.  ~ 13. Scotch Affairs.
Theological Dogmatism of Henry. His Queen in Danger. ~ 14. Attainder of the Duke of Norfolk and Execution of the Earl of Surrey. Death
and Character of the King.
~ 1. IN 1531 a new session of Parliament was held, together
with a convocation; and the king here gave strong proofs of l:is




274                      HENRY VIII.                  CHAP. XV.
everse of gold medal of H-lenry VIIL. Inscription in Helrew and Greek of the
same purport as on the obverse.
extensive authority, as well as of his intention to turn it to the
depression of the clergy.  The same law under which Wolsey had
been prosecuted was now turned against the ecclesiastics. It was
pretended that every one who had submitted to the legatine court,
that is, the whole Church, had violated the statute. ofprovisors, and
been guilty of the offense of pr~emunire, and the attorney general
accordingly brought an indictment against them. The convocation
knew that it would be in vain to oppose reason or equity to the
king's arbitrary will. They therefore threw themselves on the
mercy of their sovereign, and they agreed to pay ~118,840 for a
pardon. A confession was likewise extorted from them that the
king was the protector and the supreme head of the Church and clergy of England, though some of them had the dexterity to get a
clause inserted which invalidated the whole submission, and which
ran in these terms: in so far as is permitted by the law of Christ.
By this strict execution of the statute of provisors, a great part
of the profit, and still more of the power, of the court of Rome
was cut off, and the connections between the Pope and the English
clergy were in some measure dissolved. The next session found
both king and Parliament in the. same dispositions.  An act was
passed against levying the annates or first-fruits.* The better to
keep the Pope in awe, the king was intrusted with a power of regulating these payments, and of confirming or infringing this act at
his pleasure; and it was voted that any censures which should be
* These were a year's annual income of their sees, given by all bishops
and archbishops to the Pope, upon presentation to their preferments. They
were one of the main sources of the papal revenue.




A.D. 1534. HENRY'S MARRIAGE WITH ANNE BOLEYN.    275
passed by the court of Rome on account of that law should be entirely disregarded, and that mass should be said, and the sacraments administered, as if no such censures had been issued. After the prorogation, Sir Thomas More, the chancellor, foreseeing
that all the measures of the king and Parliament led to a breach
with the Church of Rome, and to an alteration of religion, with
which his principles would not permit him to concur, desired leave
to resign the great seal; and he descended from his high station
with more joy and alacrity than he had mounted up to it. The
king, who had entertained a high opinion of his virtue, recieved his
resignation with some difficulty; and he delivered the great seal
soon after to Sir Thomas Audley (1532).
During these transactions in England the court of Rome was not
without solicitude; and she entertained just apprehensions of losing entirely her authority in England. Yet the queen's appeal was
received at Rome; the king was cited to appear; and several
consistories were held to examine the validity of their marriage.
Henry declined to plead his cause before this court, and, in order to
add greater security to his intended defection from Rome, he pronured an interview with Francis at Boulogne and Calais, where he
renewed his personal friendship as well as public alliance with that
monarch, and concerted all measures for their mutual defense.
And being now fully determined in his own mind, as well as resolute to stand all consequences, he privately celebrated his marriage
with Anne Boleyn (Jan. 25, 1533), whom he had previously created
Marchioness of Pembroke.  In the next Parliament an act was
made against all appeals to Rome in causes of matrimony, divorces,
wills, and other suits cognizant in ecclesiastical courts. Cranmer,
now created Archbishop of Canterbury on the death of Warham,
opened his court at Dunstable for examining the validity of Catherine's marriage. Catherine, who resided at Ampthill, six miles
distant, refused to appear either in person or by proxy.  Cranmer
pronounced sentence, by which he annulled the king's marriage
with Catherine as unlawful and invalid from the beginning (May
23). By a subsequent sentence he ratified the marriage with Anne
Boleyn, who soon afterward was publicly crowned queen, with all
the pomp and dignity suited to that ceremony. To complete the
king's satisfaction on the conclusion of this intricate and vexatious
affair, she was safely delivered of a daughter (Sept. 7, 1533), who
received the name of Elizabeth, and who afterward swayed the
sceptre with such renown and felicity. The Pope, on the other
hand, formally pronounced the judgment of Cranmer to be illegal,
and declared Henry to be excommunicated if he adhered to it.
~ 2. The quarrel between Henry and the Pope was now irreconcilable, and the year 1534 may be considered as the era of the




276                      HENRY VIII.                 CHAP. XV.
separation of the English Church fiom Rome.  By several acts of
Parliament passed in this year the papal authority in England
was annulled; and persons paying any regard to it incurred the
penalties of prcemunire.  Monasteries were subjected to the visitation and government of the king alone; bishops were to be appointed by a conge d'elire from the crown, or, in case of the dean
and chapter's refusal, by letters patent; and no recourse was to
be had to Rome for palls, bulls, or provisions; the law which had
been formerly made against paying annates or first-fruits, but
which had been left in the king's power to suspend or enforce,
was finally established; and a submission was exacted from the
clergy, by which they acknowledged that convocations ought to be
assembled by the king's authority only. The ecclesiastical courts,
however, were allowed to subsist. Another act regulated the succession to the crown; the marriage of the king with Catherine was
declared invalid; the primate's sentence annulling it was ratified;
the marriage with Queen Anne was established and confirmed;
and the crown was appointed to descend to the issue of this marriage.  All persons were liable, at the king's pleasure, to be called upon to swear to this act; and whosoever refused to do so was
held to be guilty of misprision of treason.'
The oath regarding the succession was generally taken throughout the kingdom.  Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, and Sir Thomas
Mfore, were the only persons of note that entertained scruples with
regard to its legality, and both were committed prisoners to the
Tower. The Parliament, being again assembled at the close of the
year, declared the king " the only supreme head in earth of the
Church of England," which title had been conferred on him by convocation three years previously. In this memorable act the Parliament granted him power, or rather acknowledged his inherent
power, "to visit, repress, redress, reform, order, correct, restrain,
and amend all errors, heresies, contempts, and enormities which
fell under any spiritual authority or jurisdiction."  This act was
followed by another declaring all persons to be guilty of treason
who refused to give this title to the king.
~ 3. Though Henry had disowned the authority uf the Pope, he
still valued himself on maintaining the Catholic doctrines, and on
guarding, by fire and sword, the imagined purity of his tenets. His
ministers and courtiers were of as motley a character as his con* " Misprisions (a term derived from the old French?aespris, a neglect or
contempt) are, in the acceptation of our law, generally understood to be all
such high offenses as are under the degree of capital, but nearly bordering
thereon.... The punishment of misprision of treason is loss of the profits
of land during life, forfeiture of goods, and imprisonment during life."Kerr's Blackstone, iv., 121, 122.




A D. 1534.          STATE OF PARTIES.                 277
duct, and seemed to waver, during his whole reign, between the ancient and the new religion. The queen, engaged by interest as
well as inclination, favored the cause of the reformers; Cromwell,
who was created secretary of state, had embraced the same views;
and Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, had secretly adopted the,
Protestant tenets.  On the other hand, the Duke of Norfolk adhered to the ancient faith; and by his high rank, as well as by his
talents both for peace and war, he had great authority in the
king's council; Gardiner, lately created Bishop of Winchester,
had enlisted himself in the same party. All these ministers, while
they stood in the most irreconcilable opposition of principles to one
another, were obliged to disguise their particular opinions, and to
pretend an entire agreement with the sentiments of their master.
Cromwell and Cranmer still carried the appearance of a conformity to the ancient speculative tenets, but they artfully made use
of Henry's resentment to widen the breach with the see of Rome.
The Duke of Norfolk and Gardiner feigned an assent to the
king's supremacy and to his renunciation of the sovereign pontiff,
but they encouraged his passion for the Catholic faith, and instigated him to punish those daring heretics who had presumed to
reject his theological principles. The ambiguity of the king's conduct, though it kept the courtiers in awe, served, in the main, to
encourage the Protestant doctrine among his subjects. The books
composed by Tyndale and other reformers, who had fled to Antwerp, having been secretly brought over to England, began to make
converts every where; but it was a translation of the New Testament published by Tyndale at Antwerp in 1526 that was esteemed the most dangerous to the established faith. The bishops gave
private orders for buying up all the copies that could be found at
Antwerp, and burned them publicly in Cheapside. By this silly
measure they supplied Tyndale with money, and enabled him to
print a new and correct edition of his work.
Though Henry neglected not to punish the Protestant doctrine,
which he deemed heresy, his most formidable enemies, he knew,
were the zealous adherents to the ancient religion, chiefly the
monks, who, having their immediate dependence on the Roman
pontiff; apprehended their own ruin to be the certain consequence
of abolishing his authority in England.  Several were detected
in a dangerous conspiracy. Elizabeth Barton, of Aldington, in
Kent, commonly called the holy Maid of lKent, had been subject
to hysterical fits, which threw her body into unusual convulsions;
and having produced an equal disorder in her mind, made her utter strange sayings, which silly people in the neighborhood imagined to be supernatural. Richard Masters, vicar of the parish,
having associated with him -Dr. Bocking, a canon of Canterbury,




278                    HENRY VIII.                CHAP. XY.
resolved to take advantage of this delusion.  They taught their
penitent to declaim against the new doctrines, which she denominated heresy; against innovations in ecclesiastical government;
and against the king's intended divorce from Catherine.  Many
monks throughout England entered into the scheme; and even
Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, though a man of sense and lealning,
was carried away by an opinion so favorable to the party which
he had espoused. The Maid of Kent had been allowed for some
years to continue her course; but, after the king's marriage with
Anne Boleyn, she predicted his death, and pronounced him to be
in the condition of Saul after his rejection. Henry at last began
to think the matter worthy of his attention; and Elizabeth herself, Masters, Bocking, and others, suffered for their crime (1534).
~ 4. Fisher had lain in prison above a twelvemonth, when
Paul IIT., who had now succeeded to the papal throne, willing to
recompense the sufferings of so faithful an adherent, created him
a cardinal. This promotion of a man merely for his opposition to
royal authority roused the indignation of the king. Fisher was indicted for high treason because he refused to acknowledge the
king's supremacy; was tried, condemned, and beheaded (June 22,
1535). More was condemned for the same offense, and was executed on July 6. HIe had long expected this fate, and needed no
preparation to fortify him against the terrors of death. Not only
his constancy, but even his cheerfulness, nay, his usual facetiousness, never forsook him; and he made a sacrifice of his life to his
integrity, with the same indifference that he maintained in any ordinary occurrence. When he was mounting the scaffold, he said
to one, " Friend, help me up; when I come down again, I can shift
for myself." The executioner asked him forgiveness; he granted
the request, but told him, " You will never get credit by beheading
me, my neck is so short." Then laying his head on the block, he
bade the executioner stay till he put aside his beard; c" for." said
he, "it never committed treason."  Nothing was wanting to the
glory of this end except a better cause.
The execution of Fisher, a cardinal, was regarded by the Pope
as so capital an injury, that he immediately drew up his celebrated
bull of interdict and deposition. The bull was suspended for a
time through the interference of the French king, and was not isSued till three years afterward. Meantime an incident happened
in England which promised a more amicable conclusion of those
disputes, and seemed even to open the way for a reconciliation between Henry and Charles. Queen Catherine was seized with a
lingering illness, which at last brought her to her grave. She died
at Kimbolton, in the county of Huntingdon, in the 50th year of
her age (Jan. 7, 1536). A little before she expired, she wrote a




A.D. 1534-1536.  DEATH OF QUEEN CATHERINE.            279
very tender letter to the king. She told him that, as the hour of
her death was now approaching, she laid hold of this last opportu.
nity to inculcate on him the importance of his religious duty, and
the comparative emptiness of all human grandeur and enjoyment;
that she forgave him all past injuries, and hoped that his pardon
would be ratified in heaven; and that she had no other request to
make, than to recommend to him his daughter, the sole pledge of
their loves; and to crave his protection for her maids and servants. She concluded with these words: " I make this vow, that
mine eyes desire you above all things." The king was touched,
even to the shedding of tears, by this last tender proof of Catherine's affection; but Queen Anne is said to have expressed her joy
for the death of a rival beyond what decency or humanity could
permit.  After this event the emperor did indeed send proposals
to Hrenry for a return to their ancient amity.  Charles was now
engaged in a desperate war with France; but an invasion which
he made in person into Provence, and another on the side of the
Netherlands, were repulsed; and Henry, finding that his own tranquillity was fully insured by these violent wars and animosities on
the Continent, was the more indifferent to the advances of the
emperor.
~ 5. Immediately after the execution of AMore the king proceeded
to execute a design he had formed to suppress the monasteries, and
to put himself in possession of their ample revenues, a practice of
which Wolsey had first set the example, by suppressing some religious houses, in order to found with the money so obtained Cardinal College, Oxford, now Christ Church. Cromwell, secretary
of state, had been appointed vicar general, or vicegerent; a new office, by which the king's supremacy, or the absolute uncontrollable
power assumed over the Church, was delegated to him; and he
employed commissioners, who carried on, every where, a rigorous
inquiry with regard to the conduct and deportment of the friars
and nuns. They made a report, charging the religious houses with
all kinds of immorality, and this report, commonly called the Black
Book, was laid upon the table of the House of Commons in 1536.
The larger monasteries, which had not been guilty of such gross
immorality, were allowed to remain; but the Parliament passed
an act suppressing the lesser monasteries, which possessed revenues
below ~200 a year. By this act 376 monasteries were suppressed,
and their revenues, amounting to ~32,000 a year, were granted to
the king, besides their goods, chattels, and plate, computed at
~100,000 more.
This Parliament completed the union of Wales with England;
the separate jurisdiction of several great lords, or marchers, as they
were called, which obstructed the course of justice in Wales, and




280                    HENRY VIII.               CHAP; XV.
encouraged robbery and pillaging, was abolished; and the authority of the king's courts was extended every where (1536). This
Parliament, which had sat from 1529-the first Parliament of the
lReformation- was now dissolved.
The same year was marked by the tragic fate of the new queen.
She had been delivered of a det,:d son; and Henry's extreme fond.
ness for male issue being tbihts, for the present, disappointed, his
temper, equally violent and superstitious, was disposed to make the
innocent mother answerable for the misfortune. But the chief
means which Anne's enemies employed to inflame the king against
her was his jealousy; and the Viscountess of Rochfort, in particular, who was married to the queen's brother, but who lived on bad
terms with her sister-in-law, insinuated the most cruel suspicions
in the king's mind. Henry's love, too, was transferred to another
object. Jane, daughter of Sir John Seymour, and maid of honor
to the queen, a young lady of singular beauty and merit, had obtained an entire ascendant over him, and he was determined to
sacrifice every thing to the gratification of this new appetite. The
queen was sent to the Tower on MIay 2, and four of her alleged
paramours, Norris, -Brereton, Weston, and Smeton, gentlemen
about the court, were tried and executedl, though no legal evidence
was produced against them. Smeton was prevailed on, by the
vain hopes of life, to confess a criminal correspondence with the
queen; but even her enemies expected little advantage from this
confession, for they never dared to confront him with her. Her
own brother, the Viscount Rochfort, was accused of a criminal connection with her. The queen and her brother were tried by a jury
of peers, over which their uncle, the Duke of Norfolk, presided as
high steward. Upon what proof or pretense the crime of incest
was imputed to them is unknown, but judgment was given against
both. Henry, not satisfied with this cruel vengeance, was resolved
entirely to annul his marriage with Anne Boleyn, and to declare
her issue illegitimate. And on the ground that before the marriage of the king she had been contracted to Lord Percy, then the
Earl of Northumberland, Cranmer pronounced the marriage null
and invalid.  The queen now prepared for suffering the death to
which she was sentenced.  She sent her last message to the king,
and acknowledged the obligations which she owed him in his uniformly continuing his endeavors for her advancement; from a private gentlewoman, she said, he had first made her a marchioness,
then a queen, and now, since he could raise her no higher in this
world, he was sending her to be a saint in heaven. She then renewed the protestations of her innocence, and recommended her
daughter to his care. Before the Lieutenant of the Tower, and
all who approached her, she made the like declarations; and con



A.D. 1536.     EXECUTION OF ANNE BOLEYN.                  281
tinned to behave herself with her usual serenity, and even with
cheerfulness.  "The executioner," she said to the lieutenant, "is,
I hear, very expert, and my neck is very slender;" upon which she
grasped it in her hand, and smiled.  She was executed May 17.
The innocence of this unfortunate queen can not reasonably be
called in question.*  But the king made the most effectual apology for her by marrying Jane Seymour on the third day after her
execution.  The trial and conviction of Queen Anne, and the subsequent events, rendered it necessary for the king to summon a
new Parliament, by which his divorce from Anne Boleyn was ratiflied; the issue of both his former marriages were declared illegitimate; the crown was settled on the king's issue by Jane Seymour,
or any subsequent wife; and, in case he should die without children, he was empowered, by his will or letters patent, to dispose
of the crown: an enormous authority, especially when intrusted
to a prince so violent and capricious in his humor.
In the same year (1536) the first complete copy of the ENGLISH
BIBLE was printed, dedicated to Henry VIII., by whom it was
ordered to be placed in every parish church in England.  It was
based upon Tyndale's translation, and was executed by MSiles
Coverdale.
~ 6. rThe late innovations, particularly the dissolution of the
smaller monasteries, and the imminent danger to which the rest
were exposed, had bred discontent among the people, and had disposed them to revolt. The first rising was in Lincolnshire, and
was put down without much difficulty.  A subsequent insurrection in the northern counties was more formidable, and was joined
by about 40,000 men. One Aske, a gentleman of Doncaster, had
taken the command of them, and he possessed the art of governing the populace.  Their enterprise they called the Pilgrimage of
Grace; some priests marched before in the habits of their order,
carrying crosses in their hands; in their banners was woven a crucifix, with the representation of a chalice, and of the five wounds
of Christ. They all took an oath that they had entered into the
pilgrimage of grace from no other motive than their love to God,
their desire of driving base-born persons from about the king, of
restoring the Church, and of suppressing heresy.  The rebels prevailed in taking both Hull and York, as well as Pomfret Castle,
into which the Archbishop of York and Lord Darcy had thrown
*' Lingard, Sharon Turner, and, more recently, lMr. Froude, have maintained the guilt of Anne Boleyn; but Mr. Hallam's authority (Constit. IIist.,
i., 31) may be quoted on the other side. Mr. Froude seems to think that
the verdicts of the juries and the decision of the peers settle the question;
but eve have too much evidence of their subserviency to the court during the
reigns of the Tudors to attach much weight to their authority.




282                    HENRY VIII.                CHAP. XV.
themselves; and the prelate and the nobleman, who secretly wished success to the insurrection, seemed to yield to the force imposed
on them, and joined the rebels. They were, however, at length dispersed, partly by the negotiations of the Duke of Norfolk, who had
been sent against them, and partly by the swelling of a small river,
which prevented them from attacking the king's forces. Norfolk,
by command from his master, spread the royal banner, and, wherever he thought proper, executed martial law in the punishment
of offenders. Besides Aske, several noblemen and gentlemen were
thrown into prison, and most of them condemned and executed.
Lord Darcy, though he pleaded compulsion, and appealed for his
justification to a long life spent in the service of the crown, was
beheaded on Tower Hill (1537). Soon after this prosperous success, an event happened which crowned Henry's joy-the birth of
a son, who was baptized by the name of Edward (Oct. 12). Yet
was not his happiness without alloy: the queen died a few days
after (Oct. 24).
Henry's success in putting down the great rebellion in the north
strengthened him in his determination of suppressing the larger
monasteries. The abbots and monks knew the danger to which
they were exposed, and having learned, by the example of the
lesser monasteries, that nothing could withstand the king's will,
they were most of them induced, in expectation of better treatment,
to make a voluntary resignation of their houses. WVhere promises
failed of effect, menaces, and even extreme violence, were employed; and, on the whole, the design was conducted with such success that in less than two years the king had got possession of all
the monastic revenues. The better to reconcile the people to this
great innovation, stories were propagated of the detestable lives of
the friars in many of the convents. The relics also, and other superstitions, which had so long been the object of the people's veneration, were exposed to their ridicule; and the religious spirit,
now less bent on exterior observances and sensible objects, was encouraged in this new direction.  Of all the instruments of ancient
superstition, no one was so zealously destroyed as the shrine of
Thomas'a Becket, commonly called St. Thomas of Canterbury.
HIenry not only pillaged the rich shrine dedicated to St. Thomas;
he ordered his name to be struck out of the calendar; the office
for his festival to be expunged firom all breviaries; his bones to be
burned, and the ashes to be thrown into the air.  On the whole,
the king at different times suppressecl 645 monasteries, of which
28 had abbots that enjoyed a seat in Parliament; 90 colleges
were demolished in several counties, 2374 chantries and free chapels, 110 hospitals. The whole revenue of these establishments
amounted to ~161,100. Henry settled pensions on the abbots




A.D. 1536-1539.    HENRY. EXCOMMUNICATED.                 283
and priors proportioned to their former revenues or to their merits; he erected six new bishoprics-Westminster, Oxford, Peterborough, Bristol, Chester, and Gloucester-of which five subsist
at this day; and. he made a gift of the revenues of some of the
convents to his courtiers and favorites, or sold them at low prices.
Besides the lands possessed by the monasteries, the regular clergy
enjoyed a considerable part of the benefices of England, and of the
tithes annexed to them; and these were also at this time transferred to the crown, and by that means passed into the hands of laymen.
~ 7. It is easy to imagine the indignation with which the intelligence of all these acts of violence was received at Rome. The
Pope was at last incited to publish the bull which had been passed
against the king; and in a public manner he delivered over his soul
to the devil, and his dominions to the first invader (1538). Henry's
kinsman, Cardinal Reginald Pole,* published a treatise of the Unity of the C/hurch, in which he inveighed against the king's supremacy, his divorce, his second marriage; and he even exhorted the
emperor to revenge on him the injury done to the imperial family
and to the Catholic cause. Henry seized all the members of Pole's
family in England, together with other persons of high rank.
They were accused of treason; and several were executed, among
whom was Lord Montague, the cardinal's brother, and the Aarquis of Exeter, the grandson of Edward IV. t (1539). Others were
attainted without trial, which was the fate of the Countess of Salisbury, the aged mother of the cardinal.
~ 8. Although Henry had gradually been changing the tenets of
that theological system in which he had been educated, he was no
less positive and dogmatical in the few articles which remained to
him than if the whole fabric had continued entire and unshaken.
I-Ie attached particular importance to the doctrine of the real presence; and he informed the Parliament, summoned in 1539, that
he was anxious to extirpate from his kingdom all diversity of
opinion on matters of religion. The Parliament, subservient as
usual to the wishes of the king, passed an act for this purpose,
usually called Th/e,Statute of the Six Articles, or the bloody bill, as
the Protestants justly termed it. In this law the doctrine of the
* Reginald Pole was the second son of the Countess of Salisbury, daughter of the Duke of Clarence executed by Edward IV. Her only brother,
the Earl of Warwick, was put to death by Henry VII. (See p. 250.) She
was made Countess of Salisburyv in her own right, a title which descended
to her from her grandfather, the Earl of Warwick and Salisbury, the celebrated king-maker. After her brother's death she married Sir Richard
Pole, a relation of Henry VII.
t He was the son of the Earl of Devon, and of Catherine, a daughter of
Edward IV.




284                    HENRY VIII.                CHAP. XV.
real presence was established, the communion in one kind, the per,
petual obligation of vows of chastity, the utility of private masses,
the celibacy of the clergy, and the necessity of auricular confession.
Whoever denied these articles of faith was subject to be burned, or
to other severe and cruel punishments. This law was a great
blow to Cranmer and the Protestant party. Cranmer had had the
courage to oppose the bill in the House; and though the king de.
sired him to absent himself, he could not be prevailed on to givo
this proof of compliance. He was;, however, now obliged, in obedience to the statute, to dismiss his wife; and Henry, satisfied
with this proof of submission, showed him his former countenance
and favor. The Parliament, having thus resigned all their religious liberties, proceeded to an entire surrender of their civil; and,
without scruple or deliberation, they made by one act a total subversion of the English Constitution.  They gave to the king's
proclamation the same force as to a statute enacted by Parliament;
and to render the matter worse, if possible, they framed this law
as if it were only declaratory, and were intended to explain the
natural extent of royal authority.
As soon as the act of the Six Articles had passed, the Catholics
were extremely vigilant in informing against offenders, and no less
than 500 persons were in a little time thrown into prison.  Lat-.
imer and Shaxton, the Protestant bishops, were also imprisoned,
and compelled to resign their bishoprics; but Cromwell, who had
not had interest to prevent that act, was able for the present to
elude its execution. Seconded by the Duke of Suffolk and Chancellor Audley, as well as by Cranmer, he remonstrated against the
cruelty of punishing so many delinquents, and he obtained permission to set them at liberty. The uncertainty of the king's humor gave each party an opportunity of-triumphing in its turn.
_No sooner had H1-enry passed this law, which seemed to inflict so
deep a wound on the Reformers, than he granted a general permission for every one to have the new translation of the Bible in
his family-a concession regarded by that party as an important
victory.
~ 9. Immediately after the death of Jane Seymour, the most
beloved of all his wives, Henry began to think of a new marriage.
Cromwell, who was anxious to connect Henry with the Protestant
princes on the Continent, proposed to him Anne of Cleves, whose
father, -the duke of that name, had great interest among the Lutherans, and whose sister Sibylla was married to the Elector of
Saxony, the head of the Protestant league. A flattering picture
of the princess by Hans. Holbein determined Henry to apply to
her father; and, after some negotiation, the marriage was concluded, and Anne was sent over to England. The king, impatient




A.D. 1539, 1540.   FALL OF CROMWELL.                   285
to be satisfied with regard to the person of his bride, came privately to Rochester and got a sight at her.  He found her utterly destitute both of beauty and grace, very unlike the pictures
and representations which he had received, and he swore he never could possibly bear her any affection.  The-matter was worse
whlen he found that she could speak no language but Dutch, of
which he was entirely ignorant, and that the charms of her conversation were not likely to compensate for the homeliness of her
person. It was the subject of debate among the king's counselors whether the marriage could not yet be dissolved, and the princess be sent back to her own country; but, as a cordial union had
taken place between the emperor and the King of France, and as
their religious zeal might prompt them to fall with combined arms
upon England, an alliance with the German princes seemed now
more than ever requisite for Henry's interest and safety; and he
knew that, if he sent back the Princess of Cleves, such an affront
would be highly resented by her friends and family.  He was
therefore resolved, notwithstanding his aversion to her, to complete
the marriage, and he told Cromwell that, since matters had gone
so far, he must put his neck into the yoke (Jan. 6, 1540). He
continued, however, to be civil to Anne; he even seemed to repose his usual confidence in Cromwell, who received soon after
the title of Earl of Essex, and was installed Knight of the Garter, but, though he exerted this command over himself, a discon.
tent lay lurking in his breast, and was ready to burst out at the
first opportunity.
~ 10. The fall of Cromwell was hastened by other causes. All
-the nobility hated a man who, being of such low extraction, had
not only mounted above them by his station of vicar general, but
had engrossed many of the other considerable offices of the crown.
The people were averse to him as the supposed author of the violence on the monasteries, establishments which were still revered
and beloved by the commonalty. - The Catholics regarded him as
the concealed enemy of their religion; the Protestants, observing
his exterior concurrence with all the persecutions exercised against
them, were inclined to bear him as little favor, and reproached
him with the timidity, if not treachery, of his conduct. The
Duke of Norfolk, who had long been at enmity with Cromwell,
obtained a commission from the king to arrest him at the council-table, on an accusation of high treason, and to commit him to the
Tower. Immediately after a bill of attainder was framed against
him, and passed by both houses.  Cromwell was accused of heresy and treason; but the proofs of his treasonable practices are
utterly improbable, and even absolutely ridiculous. He endeavored to soften the king by the most humble supplications, but all to




286                    HENRY VIII.               CHAP. XV.
no purpose; and he was executed on July 28, 1540. He was a
man of prudence, industry, and abilities worthy of a better master
and of a better fate.
The measures for divorcing Henry from Anne of Cleves were
carried on at the same time with the bill of attainder against
Cromwell. The convocation soon afterward solemnly annulled
the marriage between the king and queen, chiefly on the futile
ground of a pre-contract between Anne and the Marquis of Lorraine, when both were children; the Parliament ratified the decision of the clergy; and the sentence was soon after notified to
the princess. Anne was blessed with a happy insensibility of temper, and willingly hearkened to terms of accommodation.  When
the king offered to adopt her as his sister, to give her place next
the queen and his own daughter, and to make a settlement of
~3000 a year upon her, she accepted of the conditions, and gave
her consent to the divorce.*
~ 11. Henry's marriage with Catherine Howard, the niece of
the Duke of Norfolk, followed soon afterward (July 28, 1540),
and was regarded by the Catholics as a favorable incident to their
party. The king's councils being now directed by Norfolk and
Gardiner, a furious persecution commenced against the Protestants, and the law of the Six Articles was executed with rigor.
While Henry was exerting his violence against the Protestants,
he spared not the Catholics who denied his supremacy; and a foreigner at that time in England had reason to say that those who
were against the Pope were burned, and those who were for him
were hanged. The king even displayed in an ostentatious manner this tyrannical impartiality, which reduced both parties to
subjection; and Catholics and Protestants were carried on the
same hurdles to execution. In the following year an inconsiderable rebellion broke out in Yorkshire, but was soon suppressed.
The rebels were supposed to have been instigated by the intrigues
of Cardinal Pole; and the king instantly determined to make the
Countess of Salisbury, who had been attainted two years previously, suffer for her son's offenses. This venerable matron, the descendant of a long race of monarchs, was executed on the green
within the Tower on May 27, 1541.
The king thought himself very happy in his new marriage: the
agreeable person and disposition of Catherine had entirely captivated his affections, and he made no secret of his devoted attachment to her; but he discovered shortly afterward that she had
led a dissolute life before her marriage, and he strongly suspected
that she had been guilty of incontinence since. Two of her par* Anne of Cleves continued to live in England, and died at Chelsea in
1557.




A.D. 1540-1543.   WAR WITH SCOTLAND.                  287
amours were tried and executed; and a bill of attainder for treason was forthwith passed against the queen and the Viscountess
of Rochfort, who had conducted her secret amours.  They were
both beheaded on Tower Hill, Feb. 12, 1542. As Lady Rochfort was known to be the chief instrument in bringing Anne B3oleyn to her end, she died unpitied. The guilt of Queen Catherine
both before and after her marriage can not admit of doubt.
~ 12. Toward the close of this year (1542) a war broke out
between England and Scotland. James V., King of Scots, was
under the influence of the Catholic party, and encouraged his subjects to make depredations upon the English border. Henry proclaimed war against James, and appointed the Duke of Norfolk,
whom he called the scourge of the Scots, to the command. It
was too late in the season to make more than a foray; and the
Duke of Norfolk, after laying waste to the Scottish border, returned to Berwick. James sent an army of 10,000 men into Cumberland to revenge this insult; but they were without organization,
and being suddenly attacked by a small body of English, not exceeding 500 men, near the Solway (Nov. 25, 1542), a panic seized
them, and they immediately took to flight.  Few were killed in
this rout, for it was no action, but a great many were taken prisoners, and some of the principal nobility.  The King of Scots,
hearing of this disaster, was astonished; and being naturally of a
melancholic disposition, he abandoned himself wholly to despair.
His body was wasted by sympathy with his anxious mind; he had
no male issue living; and hearing that his queen was safely delivered, he asked wliether she had brought him a male or a female
child.  Being told the latter, he turned himself in his bed: " The
crown came with a woman," said he, " and it will go with one."
A few days after he expired (Dec. 14, 1542), in the flower of his
age.
Henry was no sooner informed of the death of his nephew than
he projected the scheme of uniting Scotland to his own dominions
by marrying his son Edward to James's infant daughter,. the heiress of that kingdom, afterward celebrated as Mary, Queen of Scots.
A treaty was nearly concluded with the regent, the Earl of Arran, to this effect; but shortly afterward the Cardinal Beaton, the
head of the Catholic party in Scotland, caused Henry's offer to be
rejected, and entered into a close alliance with France.  This confirmed Henry in the resolution which he had already taken of'
breaking with France, and of uniting his arms with those of the
emperor. A league was formed by which the two monarchs
agreed to enter Francis's domninions with an army each of 25,000
men (Feb. 11, 1543). This league seemed favorable to the Roman Catholic party; but, on the other hand, Henry soon after



288                    HENRY VlII.               C11AP. XV
ward (July 12) married Catherine Parr, widow of Lord Latimer,
a woman of virtue, and somewhat inclined to the new doctrine;
and thus matters remained still nearly balanced between the factions.  But this confederacy between Henry and Charles led to
no important results. The share taken by the English in the campaign of 1543 was quite inconsiderable. In the following year
the two princes agreed to invade lFrance with large armaments,
and to join their forces at Paris. Accordingly, Henry landed at
Calais with 30,000 men, who were joined by 14,000 Flemings,
while the emperor invaded the northeastern frontiers of France
with an army- of 60,000 men; but nothing important was effected. Henry, instead of marching to Paris, wasted his time in besieging Boulogne and Mlontreuil, while- Charles, who had employed himself in capturing some towns on the Meuse aid the Marne,
subsequently advanced toward Paris.  The season was thus
wasted; both princes reproached each other with a breach of engagement.; the emperor concluded a separate peace with Francis
at Crepy, in which the name of his ally was not even mentioned;
and Henry was obliged to retire into England, with the small success of having captured Boulogne. The war was-prolonged two
years between England and France. In 1545 the French made
great preparations for the invasion of England. A French fleet
appeared off St. Helen's, in the Isle of Wight, but returned to
their own coasts without effecting any thing of importance. In
1546 Henry sent over a body of troops to Calais, and some skirmishes of small moment ensued. But both parties were now
weary of a war from which neither could entertain much hope of
advantage, and on the 7th of June a peace was concluded. The
chief conditions were that Henry should retain Boulogne during
eight years, or till the debt due byFrancis should be paid: thus
all that he obtained was a bad and chargeable security for a debt
that did not amount to a third part of the expenses of the war.
~ 13. Francis took care to comprehend Scotland in the treaty.
In that country the indolent and unambitious Arran had gone over
to Beaton's party, and even reconciled himself to the Romish communion. The cardinal had thus acquired a complete ascendant;
the opposition was now led by the Earl of Lenox, who was regarded by the Protestants as the head of their party, and who, after
an ineffectual attempt to employ force, was obliged to lay down
his arms and await the arrival of English succors. In 1543 Henry dispatched a fleet and army to Scotland.  Edinburgh was
taken and burned, and the eastern parts of the country devastated.
The Earl of Arran collected some forces; but, finding that the
English were already departed, he turned them against Lenox,
who, after making some resistance, was obliged to fly into En



A.D. 1543,1544 HENRY'S THEOLOGICAL DOGMATISM.          289
gland. In 1544 and 1545 the war with Scotland was conducted
feebly and with various success, and was signalized on both sides
rather by the ills inflicted on the enemy than by any considerable
advantage gained by-either party.  Thus Henry was by no means
indisposed to conclude a peace with that country also.
The king, now freed from all foreign wars, had leisure to give
his attention to domestiC: affairs, particularly to the establishment
of uniformity in opinion, on which he was so intent. Though he
allowed an English translation of the Bible, he had hitherto been
very careful to keep the mass in Latin; but in 1544 he ordered
that the Litany, a considerable part of the service, should be celebrated in the vulgar tongue; and in the following year he added
a collection of English prayers for morning and evening service,
to be used in the place of the Breviary.  By these innovations
he excited anew the hopes of the Reformers; but the pride and
peevishness of the king, irritated by his declining state of health,
impelled him to punish with fresh severity all who presumed to
entertain a different opinion from himself, particularly in the capital point of the real presence. Anne Ascue, a young woman of
merit as well as beauty, accused of dogmatizing on that delicate
article, was condemned to be burned alive; and others were sentenced for the same crime to the same punishment. The queen
herself, being secretly inclined to the principles of the Reformers,
and having unwarily betrayed too much of her mind in her conversations with Henry, fell into great danger. At the instigation
of Bishop Gardiner, seconded by the religious bigotry of'the Chancellor Wriothesley, articles of impeachment were actually drawn
up against her;: but Catherine, having by some means learned
this proceeding, averted the peril by her address.  Henry having
renewed his theological arguments, the queen gently declined the
conversation, and remarked that such profound speculations were
ill suited to the imbecility of her sex; that the wife's duty was
in all cases to adopt implicitly the sentiments of her husband;
and as to herself, it was doubly her duty, being blessed with a husband who was qualified, by his judgment and learning, not only
to choose principles for his own family, but for the most wise and
knowing of every nation.'"Not so! by St. Mary," replied the
king; "you are now become a doctor, Kate, and better fitted to
give than receive instruction." She meekly replied that she was
sensible how little she was entitled to these praises, and declared
that she had ventured sometimes to feign a contrariety of sentiments merely in order to give him the pleasure of refuting her.' And is it so, sweetheart?" replied the king; " then are we perfect friends again." He embraced her with great affection, and
sent her away with assurances of his protection and kindness.
N




290                     HENRY VIII.                CRAP. XV.
When the chancellor camne the next day to convey her to the
Tower, the king dismissed him with the appellations of knave, fool,
and beast.*
~ 14. Henry's tyrannical disposition, soured by ill health, vented
itself soon afterward on the Duke of Norfolk, and his son, the Earl
of Surrey, chiefly through the prejudices which he entertained
against the latter, on the pretext that they were meditating to
seize the crown. Surrey was a young man of the most promising
hopes, and had distinguished himself by every accomplishment
which became a scholar, a courtier, and a soldier.  His spirit and
ambition were equal to his talents and his quality, and he did not
always regulate his conduct by the caution and reserve which his
situation required. The king, somewhat displeased with his conduct as Governor of Boulogne, had sent the Earl of Hertfordt to
command in his place, and Surrey was so imprudent as to drop
some menacing expressions against the ministers on account of
this affront which was put upon him. And as he had refused to
marry Hertford's daughter, and even waived every other proposal
of marriage, Henry imagined that he had entertained views of espousing the Lady Mary; and he was instantly determined to repress, by the most severe expedients, so dangerous an ambition.
Private orders were given to arrest Norfolk and Surrey, and
they were on the same day confined in the Tower.  Surrey being a commoner, his trial was the more expeditious; he was condemned for high treason, and the sentence was soon after executed upon him (Jan. 19, 1547). The innocence of the Duke of
Norfolk was still, if possible, more apparent than that of his son,
and his services to the crown had been greater; yet the House
of Peers, without examining the prisoner, without trial or evidence,
passed a bill of attainder against him, and sent it down to the
Commons. -The king was now approaching fast toward his end;
and fearing lest Norfolk should escape him, he sent a message to
the Commons, by which he desired them to hasten the bill; and
having affixed the royal assent by commission, issued orders for the
execution of Norfolk on the morning of January 28, 1547.  But
news being carried to the Tower that the king himself had expired
that night, the lieutenant deferred obeying the warrant, and it was
not thought advisable by the council to begin a new reign by the
death of the greatest nobleman in the kingdom, who had been condemned by a sentence so unjust and tyrannical.
Shortly before his death the king desired that Cranmer might
* It should be observed, however, that this well-known tale rests on the
authority of Fox, and is not mentioned by any contemporary authority.
t Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertford, was the brother of Jane Seymour,
Henry's third wify.




A.D. 1546-1547. DEATH AND CHARACTER OF THE KING.   291
-be sent for; but before the prelate arrived he was speechless,
though he still seemed to retain his senses.  Cranmer desired him
to give some sign of his dying in the faith of Christ: he squeezed
the prelate's hand, and immediately expired, -after a reign of 37
years and 9 months, and in the 56th year of his age. In January,
1544, the king had caused the Parliament to pass a law declaring
the Prince of Wales, or any of his male issue, first and immediate
heirs of the crown, and restoring the two princesses, MIary and
Elizabeth, to their right of succession; and he left a will confirming this destination. The act of Parliament had made no arrangement in case of the failure of issue by Henry's children; but the
king, by his will, provided that the next heirs to the crown were
the descendants of his sister Mary, the late Duchess of Suffolk,
passing over entirely the Scottish line.
It is difficult to give a just summary of this prince's qualities:
he was so different from himself in different parts of his reign,
that, as is well remarked by Lord Herbert, his history is his best
character and description.  He possessed great vigor of mind,
which qualified him for exercising dominion over men; courage,
intrepidity, vigilance, inflexibility; and, though these qualities lay
not always under' the guidance of a regular and solid judgment,
they were accompanied with good parts and an extensive capacity; and every one dreaded a contest with a man who was known
never to yield or to forgive, and who, in every controversy, was
determined either to ruin himself or his antagonist. A catalogue
of his vices would comprehend many of the worst qualities incident to human nature: violence, cruelty, profusion, rapacity, injustice, obstinacy, arrogance, bigotry, presumption, caprice; but
neither. was he subject to all these vices in the most extreme degree, nor was he at intervals altogether destitute of virtue: he was
sincere, open, gallant, liberal, and capable at least of a temporary
friendship and attachment. It may seem a little extraordinary
that, notwithstanding his cruelty, his extortion, his violence, his
arbitrary administration, this prince not only acquired the regard
of his subjects, but never was the object of their hatred; he seems
even, in some degree, to have possessed to the last their love and
affection. His exterior qualities were advantageous, and fit to
captivate the multitude, while his magnificence and personal bravery rendered him illustrious in vulgar eyes.
Henry, as he possessed himself some talent for letters, was an
encourager of them in others.  He founded Trinity College in
Cambridge, and gave it ample endowments. Wolsey founded
Christ Church in Oxford, and intended to call it Cardinal College; but upon his fall, which happened before he had entirely
finished his scheme, the king seized all the revenues, which, how



292                              HENRY VIII.                           CHAP. XV.
ever, he afterward restored, and only changed the name of the college. The cardinal founded in Oxford the first chair for teaching Greek. The countenance given to letters by this king and
his ministers contributed to render learning fashionable in England. Erasmus speaks with great satisfaction of the general regard paid by the nobility and gentry to men of knowledge.
CHRONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE EVENTS.
A.D.                                       A.D.
1513. Battle of Flodden Field.             1536. Wales incorporated with England and
1515. Wolsey cardinal and chancellor.             subjected to the English laws. Anne
1520. Interview between Henry and Francis         Boleyn  executed.  Henry marries
I. at the Field of the Cloth of Gold.      Jane Seymour.
1521. The king receives the title of "De- 1537. Birth of Edward VI.
fender of the Faith."               1539. Law of the Six Articles passed.
1529. Trial of Henry's suit for a divorce  1540. Henry marries Anne of Cleves. Atfrom Catherine of Aragon.                  tainder and execution of Cromwell.
1530. Death of Cardinal Wolsey.                  Divorce of Anne of Cleves. Henry
1533. Henry marries Anne Boleyn. Cran-           marries Catherine Howard.
iner pronounces the king's divorce  1542. Catherine Howard executed.
from Catherine of Aragon. Birth of 1543. The king marries Catherine Parr.
Queen Elizabeth.                    1544. Capture of Boulogne.
1534. The papal power abrogated in England.  1547. Execution of Surrey. Death of the
1535. Execution of Bishop Fisher and Sir         king.
Thomas More.




Shilling of Edward VI.
Obv.: EDWARD. VL D. G. AGL. FRA. Z. 1SB. REX. Bust to right.
Rev.: TIMOR I)OMINI: FONs: VITE [Sic] M DI. XLIX. Arms of England. In field E x
CHAPTER XVI.
EDWARD VI. A.D. 1547-1553.
1. State of the Regency. Hertford Protector. ~ 2. Reformation established.  Gardiner's Opposition.  ~ 3. War with Scotland. Battle of
Pinkie. ~ 4. Proceedings in Parliament. Progress of the Reformation.
Affairs of Scotland.  ~ 5. Cabals of Lord Seymour.  His Execution.
~ 6. Ecclesiastical Affairs.  Protestant Persecutions.  Joan Bocher.
~ 7. Discontents of the People. Insurrections in Devonshire and Norfolk. War with Scotland and France. ~ 8. Factions in the Council.
Somerset resigns the Protectorship. ~ 9. Peace with France and Scotland. Ecclesiastical Affairs. ~ 10. Ambition of Northumberland. Trial
and Execution of Somerset. ~ 11. Northumberland changes the Succession. Death of the King.
~ 1. THE late king had fixed the majority of the prince at the
completion of his 18th year; and as Edward was then only in
his 10th year, he appointed 16 executors, to whom, during the minority, he intrusted the government of the king and kingdom.
Among them were Cranmer,.Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord
Wriothesley, chancellor, and the Earl of Hertford, chamberlain.
With these executors, to whom  was intrusted the whole regal
authority, were appointed 12 counselors, who possessed no immediate power, and could only assist with their advice when any affair
was laid before them.  But the first act of the executors and counselors was to depart from the destination of the late king by appointing a Protector. The choice fell of course on the Earl of
Hertford, who, as he was the king's maternal uncle, was strongly
interested in his safety; and, possessing no claims to inherit the
crown, could never have any separate interest which might lead
him to endanger Edward's person or his authority. All those
who were possessed of any office resigned their former commissions, and accepted new ones in the name of the young king.
The bishops themselves were constrained to make a like submission.  Care was taken to insert in their new commissions that




:294                  EDWARD VI.                 CHAP. XVL
they held their offices during pleasure; and it is there expressly
affirmed that all manner of authority and jurisdiction, as well ecclesiastical as civil, is originally derived from the crown.
The late king had intended, before his death, to make a new
creation of nobility, in order to supply the place of those peerages
which had fallen by former attainders or the failure of issue; and
accordingly, among other promotions, Hertford was now created
Duke of Somerset, marshal, and lord treasurer; and Wriothesley
Earl of Southampton. The latter was the head of the Catholic
party, and had always been opposed to Somerset. One of the
first acts of the Protector was to procure the removal of Southampton, on the ground that he had, on his own private authority, put the great seal in commission; a fine was also imposed
upon him, and he was confined to his own house during pleasure.
Somerset was not content with this advantage. On pretense that
the vote of the executors, choosing him Protector, was not a sufficient foundation for his authority, he procured a patent from the
young king, by which he entirely overturned the will of Henry
VIII., named himself Protector with full regal power, and appointed a council consisting of all the former counselors, and all
the executors except Southampton.  He reserved a power of naming any other counselors at pleasure, and he was bound to consult
with such only as he thought proper. This was a plain usurpation, which it is impossible by any arguments to justify; but no
objections were made to his power and title.
~ 2. The Protector had long been regarded as a secret partisan
of the Reformers; and being now freed from restraint, he scrupled not to discover his intention of correcting all abuses in the
ancient religion, and of adopting still more of the Protestant innovations. He took care that all persons intrusted with the king's
education should be attached to the same principles. After Southampton's fall few members of the council seemed to retain any
attachment to the Romish communion, and most of the counselors
appeared even sanguine in forwarding the progress of the Reformation. The riches which most of them had acquired from the
spoils of the clergy induced them to widen the breach between
England and Rome; and by establishing a contrariety of speculative tenets, as well as of discipline and worship, to render a coalition with the mother church altogether impracticable. The Protector, in his schemes for advancing the Reformation, had always
recourse to the counsels of Cranmer, who, being a man of moderation and prudence, was averse to all violent changes, and determined to bring over the people, by insensible innovations, to
that system of doctrine and discipline which he deemed the most
pure and perfect.




A.D. 1547.        WAR WITH SCOTLAND.                   295
The Protector, having suspended, during the interval, the jurisdiction of the bishops, appointed a general visitation to be made in
all the dioceses of England.- The visitors consisted of a mixture
of clergy and laity, and had six circuits assigned them. The chief
purport of their instructions was, besides correcting immoralities
and irregularities in the clergy, to abolish the ancient superstitions,
and to bring the discipline and worship somewhat nearer the practice of the Reformed churches. In order to check the abuse of
preaching, orders were given to the clergy, and especially to the
monks, to restrain the topics of their sermonss: twelve homilies
were published, which they were enjoined to read to the people;
and all of them were prohibited, without express permission, from
preaching any where but in their parish churches. The person
who opposed, with greatest authority, any farther advances toward
reformation, was Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester, who, though he
had not obtained a place in the Council of Regency on account of
late disgusts which he had given to Henry, was entitled, by his
age, experience, and capacity, to the highest trust and confidence
of his party.  But this opposition drew on him the indignation of
the council, and he was sent to the Fleet, where he was used with
some severity.
~ 3. The Protector of England, as soon as the state was brought
to some composure, made preparations for war with Sco~land;
and he was determined to execute, if possible, that project, of uniting the two kingdoms by marriage, on which the late king had been
so intent, and which he had recommended with his dying breath to
his executors. The Reformation had now made considerable progress in Scotland. Cardinal Beaton had been assassinated (May
28, 1546) in revenge for the burning of Wishart, a zealous Protestant preacher; and Henry had promised to take the perpetrators
under his protection.  Somerset levied an army of 18,000 men,
and equipped a fleet of 60 sail, with which he invaded Scotland.
A well-contested battle was fought at Pinkie, near MIusselburgh
(Sept. 10, 1547), in which the Scots were defeated with immense
slaughter. Had Somerset prosecuted his advantages, he might
have imposed what terms he pleased on the Scottish nation; but
he was impatient to return to England, where he heard that some
counselors, and even his own brother, Lord Seymour, the admiral, were carrying on cabals against his authority. Shortly after
his return the infant queen of Scotland was sent to France and betrothed to the dauphin.
~ 4. -'The Protector deserves great praise on account of the laws
passed this session, by which the rigor of former statutes was much
mitigated, and some security given to the freedom of the Constitution. All laws were repealed which extended the crime of trea



296                     EDWARD VI.                 CHAP. XVI
son beyond the statute of the 25th of Edward III.; all laws enacted during the late reign extending the Crime of felony; all the former laws against Lollardy or heresy, together with the statute of
the Six Articles. A repeal also passed of that law, the destruction of all laws, by which the king's proclamation was made of
equal force with a statute. Acts were also passed to secure the
king's supremacy. In the following year (1548) farther reformations were made in religion.  Orders were issued by council that
candles should no.longer be carried about on Candlemas-day, ashes
on Ash-Wednesday, palms on Palm-Sunday; and that all images
should be removed from the churches.  As private masses were
abolished by law, it became necessary to compose a new communion service; and the council went so far, in the preface which
they prefixed to this work, as to leave the practice of auricular
confession wholly indifferent.
~ 5. The Protector's attention was now wholly engrossed by the
cabals of his brother, Lord Seymour, the Admiral of England.
By his flattery and address he had so insinuated himself into the
good graces of the queen-dowager, that, forgetting her usual prudence and decency, she married him immediately upon the demise
of the late king. Upon her death in childbirth he made his addresses to the Lady Elizabeth, then in the 16th year of her age.
lHe openly decried his brother's administration, and by promises
and persuasion he brought over to his party many of the principal
nobility.  The Earl of Warwick* was an ill instrument between
the brothers, and had formed the design, by inflaming the quarrel,
to raise his own fortune on the ruins of both. The Duke of Somerset, finding his own power in serious peril, committed his brother to the Tower; the Parliament passed a bill of attainder against
him, and he was executed on Tower Hill (March 20, 1549).
~ 6. All the considerable business transacted this session, besides
the attainder of Lord Seymour, regarded ecclesiastical affairs.'The mass, which had always been celebrated in Latin, was translated into English; and this innovation, with the retrenching of
prayers to saints, and of some superstitious ceremonies, was the
chief difference between the old mass and the new Liturgy. The
doctrine of the real presence was tacitly condemned by the neWv
communion service, but still retained some hold in the minds of
men. The Parliament established this form of worship ini all the
churches, and ordained a uniformity to be observed in all the rites
* The Earl of Warwick was the son of Dudley, the minister of Henry
VII., who had been attainted and beheaded in the reign of Henry VIII.
He was restored to his honors, and created Lord Lisle by Henry VIII.,
and had been made Earl of Warwick at the beginning of the reign of Edward VI.




A.D. 1547-1549.      INSURRECTIONS.                      297
and ceremonies.  They also enacted a law permitting the marriage
of priests. Thus the principal tenets and practices of the Catholic religion were now abolished, and the Reformation, such as it
is enjoyed at present, was almost entirely completed in England.
But, though the Protestant divines had ventured to renounce
opinions deemed certain during many ages, they regarded, in their
turn, the new system as so certain, that they were ready to burn,
in the same flames from which they themselves had so narrowly
escaped, every one that had the assurance to differ from them. A
commission, by act of council, was granted to the primate and
some others, to examine and search after all Anabaptists, heretics,
or contemners of the Book of Common Prayer.  Some tradesmen
in London were brought before the commissioners, were prevailed
on to abjure their opinions, and were dismissed. But there was a
woman accused of heretical pravity, called Joan Bocher, or Joan of
Kent, who was so pertinacious that the commissioners could make
no impression upon her, and it was resolved to commit her to the
flames.* Some time after, a Dutchman, called Van Paris, accused
of the heresy which has received the name of Arianism, was condemned to the same punishment.
~ 7. These reforms excited considerable discontent, which was
aggravated by other causes. The new proprietors of the confiscated abbey-lands demanded exorbitant rents, and often spent the
money in London. The cottagers were reduced to misery by the
inclosure of the commons on which they formerly fed their cattle.
The ge-neral increase of gold and silver in Europe after the discovery of the West Indies had raised the price of commodities: and
the debasement of the coin by Henry VIII., and afterward by tho
Protector, had occasioned a universal distrust and stagnation of
commerce. A rising began at once in several parts of England as
if a universal conspiracy had been formed by the commonalty.  In
most parts the rioters were put down, but the disorders in Devonshire and Norfolk threatened more dangerous consequences (1549).
In Devonshire the rioters were brought into the form of a regular
army, which amounted to the number of 10,000.  Their demands
were, that the mass should be restored, half of the abbey-lands resumed, the law of the Six Articles executed, holy water and holy
bread respected, and all other particular grievances redressed.
Lord Russell,t who had been dispatched against them, drove them
* The common story that the young king long refused to sign the warrant for the execution of Joan Bocher, and was only prevailed upon to do
so by Cranmer's importunity, is shown by Mr. Bruce, in the Preface to
Roger Hutchinson's works (Parker Society, 1842), to be apocryphal. Mr.
Hallam (Const. Hist., i., 96) is also of opinion that the tale ought to vanish
from history.
t Lord Russell had been created a peer in 1539, and received large grants
N 2




298                    EDWARD VI.                CHAP. XVI.
from all their posts, and took many prisoners. The leaders were
sent to London, tried, and executed, and many of the inferior sort
were put to death by martial law.
The insurrection in Norfolk rose to a still greater height, and
was attended with greater acts of violence. One Ket, a tanner,
had assumed the government of the insurgents, and he exercised
his authority with the utmost arrogance and outrage.  The Earl
of Warwick, at the head of 6000 men, levied for the wars against
Scotland, at last made a general attack upon the rebels, and put
them to flight. Two thousand fell in the action and pursuit; Ket.
was hanged at Norwich Castle, and the insurrection was entirely
suppressed. To guard against such disturbances in future, lords
lieutenant were appointed in all the counties. These insurrections
were attended with bad consequences to the foreign interests of
the nation.  The forces of the Earl of Warwick, which might have
made a great impression on Scotland, were diverted from that enterprise, and the French general had leisure to reduce that country
to some settlement and composure. The King of France also took
advantage of the distractions among the English, and made an attempt to recover Boulogne; but nothing decisive took place. As
soon as the French war broke out the Protector endeavored to
fortify himself with the alliance of the emperor, who, however,
eluded the applications of the embassadors. Somerset, despairing
of his assistance, was inclined to conclude a peace with France
and Scotland; but he met with strong opposition from his enemies
in the council, who, seeing him unable to support the war, were
determined, for that very reason, to oppose all proposals for a pacification.
~ 8. The factions ran high in the court of England, and matters
were drawing to an issue fatal to the authority of the Protector.
After obtaining the patent investing him with regal authority, he
no longer paid any attention to the opinion of the other executors
and counselors; and, while he showed a resolution to govern every
thing, his capacity appeared not in any respect proportioned to his
ambition. He had disgusted the nobility by courting the people,
yet the interest which he had formed with the latter was in no degree answerable to his expectations. The Catholic party, who retained influence with the lower ranks, were his declared enemies;
the attainder and execution of his brother bore an odious aspect;
and the palace which he was building in the Strand served, by its
magnificence, to expose him to the censure of the public, especially
as he had desecrated several churches in order to complete it. All
of Church lands. He was made Earl of Bedford in 1550, and was the ancestor of the present Duke of Bedford. The title of duke was first created
in 1694, in the reign of William III.




A.D. 1549, 1550.   FACTIONS IN THE COUNCIL.            299
these imprudences were remarked by Somerset's enemies, who resolved to take advantage of them. Lord St. John, president of
the council, the Earls of Warwick, Southampton, and Arundel,
with five members more, assuming to themselves the whole power
of the council, began to act independently of the Protector, whom
they represented as the author of every public grievance and misfortune. Somerset, finding that no man of rank, except Cranmer
and Paget, adhered to him, that the people did not rise at his
summons, that the city and Tower had declared against him, that
even his best friends had deserted him, lost all hopes of success,
and began to apply to his enemies -for pardon and forgiveness.
-Ie was, however, sent to the Tower, with some of his friends and
partisans, among whom was Cecil, afterward so much distinguished. Somerset was prevailed on to confess, on his knees before
the council, all the articles of charge against him; and the Parliament passed a vote by which they deprived him of all his offices, and fined him ~2000 a year in land. Lord St. John was
created treasurer in his place, and Warwick earl marshal. The
prosecution against him was carried no farther. His fine was
remitted by the king; he recovered his liberty; and W~arwick,
thinking that he was now sufficiently humbled, readmitted him
into the council, and even agreed to an alliance between their
families by the marriage of his own son, Lord Lisle, with the
Lady Jane Seymour,. daughter of Somerset.  The Roman Catholics were extremely elated with this revolution; and as they had
ascribed all the late innovations to Somerset's authority, they
hoped that his fall would prepare the way for the return of the
ancient religion.  But Warwick, who now bore chief sway in the
council, took care very early to express his intentions of supporting the Reformation; and in the following year (1550), Bishop
Gardiner, who had already lain two years in prison, was deprived
of his bishopric on the most arbitrary charges.
~ 9. -When Warwick and the Council of Regency began to exercise their power, they found themselves involved in the same
difficulties that had embarrassed the Protector. The wars with
France and Scotland could not be supported by an exhausted exchequer; seemed dangerous to a divided nation; and were now
acknowledged not to have any object which even the greatest and
most uninterrupted success could attain. Although the project
of peace entertained by Somerset had served them as a pretense
for clamor against his administration, yet they found themselves
obliged to negotiate a treaty with the King of France. Henry
offered a sum for the immediate restitution of Boulogne, and
100,000 crowns were at last agreed on, one half to be paid immediately, the other in August following. Six hostages were.




300                     EDWARD V1.                 CHAP. XVI.
given for the performance of this article, and Scotland was comprehended in the treaty.
The theological zeal of the council, though seemingly fervent,
went not so far as to-make them neglect their own temporal concerns, which seem to have ever been uppermost in their thoughts.
Several Catholic bishops were deprived, and some were obliged to
seek protection by sacrificing the most considerable revenues of
their see to the rapacious courtiers. Though every one besides
yielded to the authority of the council, the Lady Mary could never be brought to compliance; and she still continued to adhere to
the mass, and to reject the new Liturgy. It was with difficulty
that the young king, who had deeply imbibed the principles of the
Reformation, could be prevailed on to connive at his sister's obstihacy. The Book of Common Prayer suffered in England a new
revisal, and some rites and ceremonies, which had given offense,
were omitted. The doctrines of religion were also reduced to 42
articles.  These were intended to obviate farther divisions and
variations.
~ 10. Warwick, not contented with the station which he had
attained, carried farther his pretensions, and had gained partisans
who were disposed to second him in every enterprise. The last
Earl of Northumberland died without issue; and as Sir Thomas
Percy, his brother, had been attainted, the title was at present extinct, and the estate was vested in the crown. Warwick now procured to himself a grant of those ample possessions, and he was
dignified with the title of Duke of Northumberland (1551).  But
these new possessions and titles he regarded as steps only to farther acquisitions. Finding that Somerset still enjoyed a considerable share of popularity, he determined to ruin the, man whom
he regarded as the chief obstacle to his ambition.  Somerset was
therefore accused of high treason and felony: he was acquitted
on the former charge, but condemned on the latter.  He was
brought to the scaffold on Tower Hill (Jan. 22, 1552) amid great
crowds of spectators, who bore him such sincere kindness that
they entertained, till the last moment, the fond hopes of his pardon.  His virtues were better calculated for private than for public life; and by his want of penetration and firmness he was ill
fitted to extricate himself from those cabals and violences to which
that age was so much addicted.* Several of Somerset's friends
were also brought to trial, condemned, and executed; great injustice seems to have been used in their prosecution.
~ 11. The declining state of the young king's health opened out
* He was the ancestor of the present duke. The title, forfeited by his
attainder, was restored to his great-grandson on the accession of Charles II.
(1660).




A.D. 1550-1553.   DEATH OF THE KING.                  301
to Northumberland a vaster prospect of ambition. He endeavored to persuade Edward to deprive his two sisters of the succession on the ground of illegitimacy.  He represented that the certain consequences of his sister Mary's succession, or that of the
Queen of Scots, was the re-establishment of the usurpation and
idolatry of the Church of Rome; that, though the Lady Elizabeth
was liable to no such objection, her exclusion must follow that of
her elder sister; that, when these princesses were excluded by
such solid reasons, the succession devolved on the Marchioness of
Dorset, elder daughter of the French queen and the Duke of Suffolk; that the next heir of the marchioness was the Lady Jane
Gray; a lady every way worthy of a crown; and that, even if her
title by blood were doubtful, which there was no just reason to
pretend, the king was possessed of the same power that his father
enjoyed, and might leave her the crown by letters patent. Nortlhumberland, finding that his arguments were likely to operate on
the king, began to prepare the other parts of his scheme. The
dukedom  of Suffolk being extinct, the Marquis of Dorset was
raised to this title; and the new Duke of Suffolk and the duchess
were persuaded by Northumberland to give their daughter, the
Lady Jane, in marriage to his fourth son, the Lord Guilford Dudley. The languishing state of Edward's health, who was now in
a confirmed consumption, made Northumberland the more intent
on the execution of his project.  He removed all except his own
emissaries from about the king, and prevailed on the young prince
to give his final consent to the settlement projected.  The judges
hesitated to draw up the necessary deed, but were at length
brought to do so by the menaces of Northumberland, and the promise that a pardon should immediately after be granted them for
any offense which they might have incurred by their compliance.
After this settlement was made Edward visibly declined every
day. To make matters worse, his physicians were dismissed by
Northumberland's advice and by an order of council, and he was
put into the hands of an ignorant woman, who undertook in a little time to restore him to his former state of health. After the
use of her medicines, all the bad symptoms increased to the most
violent degree; and he expired at Greenwich (July 6, 1553), in
the 16th year of his age, and the 7th of his reign. All the English historians dwell with pleasure on the excellent qualities of
this young prince, whom the flattering promises of hope, joined to
many real virtues, had made an object of tender affection to the
public.




302                            EDWARD VI.                            CHAP. XVI.
CHRONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE EVENTS.
A.D.                                      A.D.
1547. Hertford (afterward Duke of Somerset)      the Protector's brother, beheaded.
Protector. Battle of Pinkie.              The Protector deposed.
1548. Proclanation for the removal of im- 1550. Earl of Warwick (afterward Duke of
ages, etc.                                Northumberland) Protector.
1549. The Liturgy reformed. Lord Seymour, 1552. Somerset beheaded.
1553. Death of Edward VL




Medal of Fhilip and Mary.
Obv.: rmHLIr.  ).  uesp. rEx. z. Bust of Philip to right. Rev.: MARIA I REG.
ANGI. FRANC. ET. Iiils. z. Bust of Mary to left.
CHAPTER XVII.
tMARr.  A.D. 1553-1558.
~ 1. Lady Jane Gray proclaimed. Mary acknowledged Queen. ~ 2. Northumberland executed.  Roman Catholic Religion restored.  ~ 3. The
Spanish Match. Wyatt's Insurrection. ~ 4. Imprisonment of the Princess Elizabeth. Execution of Lady Jane Gray. ~ 5. Mary's Marriage
with Philip of Spain. England reconciled with the See of Rome. ~ 6.
Persecutions. Execution of Cranmer. ~ 7. War with France. Loss of
Calais. ~ 8. Death and Character of the Queen.
~ 1. NORTHUMBERLAND, sensible of the opposition which he
must expect, had carefully concealed the destination made by the
king; and in order to bring the Princess Mary into his power,
desired her to attend on her dying brother..Mary had already
reached Hoddesden, within half a day's journey of the court, when
the Earl of Arundel sent her private intelligence both of her brother's death and of the conspiracy formed against her. She immediately retired to Suffolk, and dispatched a message to the council, requiring them immediately to give orders for proclaiming her
in London.  Northumberland found that farther dissimulation
was fruitless: he went to Sion House, accompanied by the Duke
of Suffolk, the Earl of Pembroke, and others of the nobility; and
lie approached the Lady Jane, who resided there, with all the respect usually paid to the sovereign.  Jane was, in a great measure,
ignorant of these transactions; and it was with equal grief and
surprise that she received intelligence of them. She was a lady
of an amiable person, an engaging disposition, and accomplished
parts.  She had attained a familiar knowledge of the Roman and
Greek languages, besides modern tongues; had passed most of
her time in an application to learning; and expressed a great indifference for other occupations and amusements usual with her




304                      MARY.                  CHAP. XVII.
sex and station. Roger Ascham, tutor to the Lady Elizabeth,
having one day paid her a visit, found her employed in reading
Plato, while the rest of the family were engaged in a party of hunting in the park. The intelligence of her elevation to the throne
was nowise agreeable to her. She even refused to accept of the
present; pleaded the preferable title of the two princesses; but,
overcome at last by the entreaties rather than the reasons of her
father and father-in-law, and above all of her husband, she submitted to their will, and was prevailed on to relinquish her own judgment. Orders were given by the council to proclaim Jane
throughout the kingdom; but these orders were executed only in
London and the neighborhood. No applause ensued; the people
heard the proclamation with silence and concern, and some even
expressed their scorn and contempt. The people of Suffblk, meanwhile, paid their attendance on Mary, and the nobility and gentry
daily flocked to her and brought her re-enforcement. Northumberland, hitherto blinded by ambition, saw at last the danger gather round him, and knew not to what hand to turn himself. - At
length he determined to march into Suffolk; but he found his
army too weak to encounter the queen's. He wrote to the council, desiring them to send him a re-enforcement; but the counselors agreed upon a speedy return to the duty which they owed to
their lawful sovereign. The mayor and aldermen of London were
immediately sent for, who discovered great alacrity in obeying the
orders they received to proclaim Mary. The people expressed
their approbation by shouts of applause. Suffolk, who commanded in the Tower, finding resistance fruitless, opened the gates and
declared for the queen; and even Northumberland, being deserted
by all his followers, was obliged to proclaim Mary. The people
every where, on the queen's approach to London, gave sensible ex,
pressions of their loyalty and attachment. And the Lady Eliza,
beth met her at the head of a thousand horse, which that princess
had levied in order to support their joint title against the usurper.~ 2. The Duke of Northumberland was taken into custody; at
the same time were committed the Duke of Suffolk, Lady Jane
Gray, Lord Guilford Dudley, and several of the nobility. As the
counselors pleaded constraint as an excuse for their treason, Mary
extended her pardon to most of them. But the guilt of Northumberland was too great, as well as his ambition and courage too
dangerous, to permit him to entertain any reasonable hopes of life.
When brought to his trial he attempted no defense, but pleaded
guilty.  At his execution he made a profession of the Catholic
religion, and told the people that they never would enjoy tranquillity till they returned to the faith of their ancestors; whether such
were his real sentiments, which he had formerly disguised from




A.D. 1553.   NORTHUMBERLAND EXECUTED.                   305
interest and ambition, or that he hoped by this declaration to render the queen more favorable to his family. Sir Thomas Palmer
and Sir John Gates suffered with him (Aug. 23, 1553); and this
was all the blood spilled on account of so dangerous and criminal
an enterprise against the rights of the sovereign.  Sentence was
pronounced against the Lady Jane and Lord Guilford, but without any present intention of putting it in execution.
All Mary's acts showed that she was determined to restore the
Roman Catholic religion. Gardiner, Bonner, Tonstal, and others,
who had been deprived in the preceding reign, were reinstated in
their sees. On pretense of discouraging controversy, she silenced,
by an act of prerogative, all the preachers throughout England,
except such as should obtain a particular license. Holgate, Archbishop of York, Coverdale, Bishop of Exeter, Ridley of London,
and Hooper of Gloucester, were thrown into prison, whither old
Latimer- also was sent soon after. The zealous bishops and priests
were encouraged in their forwardness to revive the mass, though
contrary to the present laws. The primate had reason to expect
little favor during the present reign, but it was by his own indiscreet zeal that he brought on himself the first violence and persecution. A report being spread that, in order to pay court to the
queen, he had promised to officiate in the Latin service, Cranmer,
to wipe off this aspersion, published a manifesto in his own defense,
in which he attributed some of the popish rites to the invention of
the devil, and characterized the mass as replete with horrid blasphemies.  On the publication of this inflammatory paper Cranmer
was thrown into prison, and was tried for the part which he had
acted in concurring with the Lady Jane, and opposing the queen's
accession. Sentence of high treason was pronounced against him,
but the execution of it did not follow; and the primate was reserved for a more cruel punislhment. In opening the Parliament
the- court showed a contempt of the laws by celebrating, before
the two houses, a mass of the Holy Ghost, in the Latin tongue,
attended with all the ancient rites and ceremonies. The first bill
passed by the Parliament was of a popular nature, and abolished
every species of treason not contained in the statute of Edward
III., and every species of felony that did not subsist before the first
of Henry VIII. The Parliament next declared the queen to be
legitimate, ratified the marriage of Henry with Catherine of Aragon, and annulled the divorce pronounced by Cranmer. All the
statutes of King Edward with regard to religion were repealed by
one vote.  The attainder of the Duke of Norfolk, who had been
previously liberated from the Tower, and admitted to Mary's confidence and favor, was reversed. The queen also sent assurances
to the Pope, then Julius III., of her earnest desire to reconcile
herself and her kingdoms to the Holy See.




306                       MARY.                  CHAP. XVII.
~ 3. No sooner did the Emperor Charles hear of the death of
Edward and the accession of his kinswoman Mary to the crown
of England, than he sent over an agent to propose his son Philip
to her as a husband. Philip was a widower; and, though he
was only 27 years of age, 11 years younger than the queen, this
objection, it was thought, would be overlooked, and there was no
reason to despair of her still having issue; Norfolk, Arundel, and
Paget gave their advice for the match; but Gardiner, who was
become prime minister, and who had been promoted to the office
of chancellor, opposed it. The Commons, alarmed to hear that
she was resolved to contract a foreign alliance, sent a committee
to remonstrate in strong terms against that dangerous measure,
and to prevent farther applications of the same kind, the queen
thought proper to dissolve the Parliament. A Convocation had
been summoned at the same time with the Parliament; and the
majority here also appeared to be of the court religion. After
the Parliament and Convocation were dismissed, the new laws
with regard to religion were still more openly put in execution;
the mass was every where re-established; marriage was declared
to be incompatible with any spiritual office; and a large proportion of the clergy were deprived of their livings. This violent
and sudden change of religion inspired the Protestants with great
discontent, while the Spanish match diffused universal apprehensions for the liberty and independence of the nation. To obviate
all clamor, the articles of marriage were drawn as favorable as
possible for the interest and security, and even grandeur of England; and, in particular, it was agreed that, though Philip should
have the title of king, the administration should be entirely in the
queen; and that no foreigner should be capable of enjoying any
office in the kingdom. But these articles gave no satisfaction to
the nation, and some persons determined to resist the marriage
by arms. Sir Thomas Wyatt purposed to raise Kent; Sir Peter
Carew, Devonshire; and they engaged the Duke- of Suffolk, by
the hopes of recovering the crown for the Lady Jane, to attempt
raising the midland counties.  The attempts of the last two were
speedily disconcerted, but Wyatt was at first more successful.
Having published a declaration at Maidstone, in Kent, against the
queen's evil counselors, and against the Spanish match, without
any mention of religion, the people began to flock to his standard.
He forced his way into London; but his followers, finding that
no person of note joined him, insensibly fell off, and he was at last
seized near Temple-bar by Sir Maurice Berkeley. Sixty or seventy persons suffered for this rebellion; four hundred more were
conducted before the queen with ropes about their necks, and,
falling on their knees, received a pardon and were dismissed.
Wyatt was condemned and executed.




A D. 1554.    LADY JANE GRAY BEHEADED.                307
~ 4. The Lady Elizabeth had been, during some time, treated
with great harshness by her sister, though she had found it prudent to conform, outwardly at least, to the Roman Catholic worship. Mary, seizing the opportunity of this rebellion, and hoping
to involve her sister in some appearance of guilt, sent for her under a strong guard, committed her to the Tower, and ordered her
to be strictly examined by the council. But the princess made so
good a defense that the queen found herself under a necessity of
releasing her. In order to send her out of the kingdom, a marriage was offered her with the Duke ofSavoy; and when she declined the proposal, she was committed to custody under a strong
guard at WVoodstock. But this rebellion proved'fatal to the Lady
Jane Gray, as well as to her husband; the Duke of Suffolk's guilt
was imputed to her, and both she and her husband were beheaded
(Feb. 12, 1554). On the scaffold she made a speech to the bystanders, in which the mildness of her disposition led her to take
the blame wholly on herself, without uttering one complaint against
the severity with which she had been treated. She then caused
herself to be disrobed by her women, and with a steady, serene
countenance submitted herself to the executioner.  The Duke of
Suffolk was tried, condemned, and executed soon after. The queen
filled the Tower and all the prisons with nobility and gentry,
whom their interest with the nation, rather than any appearance
of guilt, had made the objects of her suspicion.
~ 5. Philip of Spain arrived at Southampton on July 20, 1554,
and a few days after he was married to Mary at Winchester (July
25). H-laving made a pompous entry into London, where Philip
displayed his wealth with great ostentation, they proceeded to
Windsor, the palace in which they afterward resided. The prince's
behavior was ill calculated to remove the prejudices which the
English nation had entertained against him. He was distant and
reserved in his address; took no notice of the salutes even of the
most considerable noblemen; and so intrenched himself in form
and ceremony that he was in a manner inaccessible.  The zeal
of the Catholics, the influence of Spanish gold, the powers of prerogative, the discouragement of the gentry, particularly of the
Protestants-all these causes, seconding the intrigues of Gardiner,
had at length procured a House of Commons which was in a
great measure to the queen's satisfaction.  Cardinal Pole, whose
attainder had been reversed, came over to England as legate
(Nov. 14); and, after being introduced to the king and queen, h.e
invited the Parliament to reconcile themselves and the kingdom
to the apostolic see, from which they had been so long and so unhappily divided. This message was taken in good part; and both
houses voted an address to Philip and Mary, acknowledging that




308                       MARY.                  CHAP. XVIL.
they had been guilty of a most horrible defection from the true
Church, and declaring their resolution to repeal all laws enacted
in prejudice of the Church of Rome. The legate, in the name of
his holiness, then gave the Parliament and kingdom  absolution,
freed them from all censures, and received them again into the
bosom of the Church. But, though the jurisdiction of the ecclesiastics was for the present restored, their property, on which their
power much depended, was irretrievably lost, and no hopes remained of recovering it.
The Parliament revived the old sanguinary laws against heretics; they also enacted several statutes against seditious words
and rumors; and they made it treason to imagine or attempt the
death of Philip during his marriage with the queen.  But their
hatred against the Spaniards, as well as their suspicion of Philip's
pretensions, still prevailed; and, though the queen attempted to
get her husband declared. presumptive heir to the crown, and to
have the administration put into his hands, she failed in all her
endeavors, and could not so much as procure the Parliament's
consent to his coronation. Philip, sensible of the prepossessions
entertained against him, endeavored to acquire popularity by procuring the release of several prisoners of distinction; but nothing
was more agreeable to the nation than his protecting the Lady
Elizabeth from the spite and malice of the queen, and restoring
her to liberty. This measure was not the effect of any generosity
in Philip, a sentiment of which he was wholly destitute, but of a
refined policy, which made him foresee that, if that princess were
put to death, the next lawful heir was the Queen of Scots, whose
succession would forever annex England to the crown of France.
~ 6. The benevolent disposition of Pole led him to advise a toleration of the heretical tenets which he highly blamed, while the
severe manners of Gardiner inclined him *to support by persecution that religion which, at the bottom, he regarded with great in-'
difference.  The advice of Gardiner was in accordance with the
cruel bigotry of Philip and iSMary, and it was determined to let
loose the laws in their full vigor against the Reformed religion.
England was soon filled with scenes of horror, which have ever
since rendered the Roman Catholic religion the object of general
detestation, and which prove that no human depravity can equal
revenge and cruelty covered with the mantle of religion. Rogers,
prebendary of St. Paul's; Hooper, Bishop of Gloucester; Taylor,
parson of Hadleigh; and others, were condemned to the flames
(1555).  The crime for which almost all the Protestants were
condemned was their refusal to acknowledge the real presence.
Gardiner, who had vainly expected that a few examples would
strike a terror into the Reformers, and whose religious principles




A;D. 1554-1555.    RELIGIOUS PERSECUTIONS.             309
were too easy to render him a violent bigot, finding the work daily
multiply upon him, devolved the invidious office on others, chiefly
on Bonner, Bishop of London, a man of a brutal character, who
seemed to rejoice in the torments of the unhappy sufferers. It is
needless to be particular in enumerating the cruelties practiced in
England during the course of three years that these persecutions
lasted; the savage barbarity on the one hand, and the patient constancy on the other, are so similar in all those martyrdoms, that
the narrative, little agreeable in itself; would never be relieved by
any variety. It is computed that in that time 277 persons were
brought to the stake, besides those who were punished by imprisonments, fines, and confiscations.  Among those who suffered by
fire were 5 bishops, 21 clergymen, 8 lay gentlemen, 84 tradesmen,
100 husbandmen, servants, and laborers, 55 women, and 4 children. Ridley, Bishop of London, and Latitner, formerly Bishop
of Worcester, two prelates celebrated for learning and virtue,
perished together in the same flames at Oxford, and supported
each other's constancy by their mutual exhortations.  Latimer,
when tied to the stake, called to his companion, "Be of good
cheer, brother; we shall this day kindle such a torch in England
as; I trust in God, shall never be extinguished." The persons
condemned to these punishments were not convicted of teaching
or dogmatizing contrary to the established religion; they were
seized merely on suspicion, and, articles being offered them to subscribe, they were immediately, upon their refusal, condemned to
the flames. These instances of barbarity, so unusual in the nation, excited horror; the constancy of the martyrs was the object
of admiration; and as men have a principle of equity engraven in
their minds, which even false religion is not able totally to obliterate, they were shocked to see persons of probity, of honor, of
pious dispositions, exposed to punishments more severe than were
inflicted on the greatest ruffians for crimes subversive of civil society. Each martyrdom, therefore, was equivalent to a hundred
sermons against popery; and men either avoided such horrid spectacles, or returned from them full of a violent, though secret indignation against the persecutors.
The court, finding that Bonner, however shameless and savage,
would not bear alone the whole infamy, soon threw off the mask;
and the unrelenting temper of the queen, as well as of the king,
appeared without control. A bold step was even taken toward
introducing the Inquisition into England. As the bishops' courts,
though extremely arbitrary, an4 not confined by any ordinary
forms of law, appeared not to be invested with sufficient power, a
commission~ of 21 persons was appointed, by authority of the
queen's prerogative, more effectually to extirpate heresy. The




310                       MARY.                  CHAP. XVII.
commissioners were armed with extraordinary powers, and were
enjoined to torture such obstinate persons as would not confess.
Secret spies also and informers were employed, according to the
practice of the Inquisition. These persecutions were now become
extremely odious to the nation, and the execution of Cranmer rendered the government still more unpopular. The primate had
long been detained in prison. The queen bore a personal hatred
to him on account of the part he had taken in dissolving her
mother's marriage; and in order the more fully to satiate her
vengeance, she now resolved to punish him for heresy rather than
for treason, and also to seek the ruin of his honor and the infamy
of his name. Persons were employed to tamper with him in his
prison at Oxford by representing the dignities to which his character still entitled him, if he would merit them by a recantation.
Overcome by the fond love of life, terrified by tile prospect of those
tortures which awaited him, he allowed, in an unguarded hour,
the sentiments of nature to prevail over his resolution, and he
agreed to subscribe the doctrines of the papal supremacy and of
the real presence. The court, equally perfidious and cruel, were
determined that this recantation should avail him nothing; and
they sent orders'that he should be required to acknowledge his
errors in church before the whole people, and that he should
thence be immediately carried to execution.  Cranmer, whether
that he had received a secret intimation of their design, or had repented of his weakness, surprised the audience by a contrary declaration. HI-e said that there was one miscarriage in his life, of
which, above all others, he severely repented-the insincere declaration of faith to which he had the weakness to consent, and
which the fear of death alone had extorted from him; and that,
as his hand had erred by betraying his heart, it should first be
punished by a severe but just doom, and should first pay the forfeit of its offenses.  H-e was thence led to the stake, amid the insults of the Roman Catholics; and, having now summoned up all
the force of his mind, he bore their scorn, as well as the torture
of his punishment, with singular fortitude. He stretched out his
hand, and without betraying, either. by his countenance or motions,
the least sign of weakness, or even of feeling, he held it in the
flames till it was entirely consumed. His thoughts seemed wholly
occupied with reflections on his former fault, and he called aloud
several times, "This hand has offended."  Satisfied with that
atonement, he then discovered a serenity in his countenance; and
when the-fire attacked his body, he seemed to be quite insensible
of his outward sufferings, and by the force of hope and resolution
to have collected his mind altogether within itself,- and to repel
the fury of the flames. His martyrdom took place at Oxford,




A.D. 1555-1558.      LOSS OF CALAIS.                  311
Milarch 18, 1556. After Cranmer's death, Cardinal Pole, who had
now taken priest's orders, was installed in the see of Canterbury,
and was thus, by this office, as well as by his commission of legate, placed at the head of the Church of England.
~ 7. The temper of Mary was soured by ill health, by disappointment in not having offspring, and by the absence of her husband, who, tired of her importunate love and jealousy, and finding
his authority extremely limited in England, had laid hold of the
first opportunity to leave her, and had gone over to the emperor
in Flanders. But her affection for Philip was not cooled by his
indifference, and she showed the greatest anxiety to consult his
wishes and promote his views. Philip, who had become master
of the wealth of the New World, and of the richest and most extensive dominions in Europe, by the abdication of the Emperor
Charles V., was anxious to engage England in the war which was
kindled between Spain and France. His views were warmly seconded by Mary; but Cardinal Pole, with many other counselors,
openly and zealously opposed this measure. -  ary's importunities
and artifices at length succeeded; forced loans and subsidies were
extorted; and by these expedients, assisted by the power of pressing, she levied an army of 10,000 men, which she sent over to the
Low Countries, under the command of the Earl of Pembroke
(1557). The King of Spain had assembled an army which, after
the junction of the English, amounted to above 60,000 men, conducted by Philibert, Duke of Savoy, one of the greatest captains
of the age. Little interest would attend the narration of a campaign in which the English played only a subordinate part, and
which resulted in their loss and disgrace. By Philibert's victory
at St. Quentin the whole kingdom of France was thrown into consternation; and had the Spaniards marched to the capital, it could
not have failed to fall into their hands. But Philip's caution was
unequal to so bold a step, and the opportunity was neglected. In
the. following wintei the DIuke of Guise succeeded in surprising.and taking Calais, deemed in that age an impregnable fortress
(Jan. 7, 1558). Calais was surrounded with marshes, which, during'the winter, were impassable, except over a dike guarded by
two castles, St. Agatha and Newnam Bridge; and the English were
of late accustomed, on account of the lowness of their -finances, to
dismiss a great part of the garrison at the end of autumn, and to
recall them in the spring, at which time alone they judged their
attendance necessary. It was this circumstance that insured the
success of the French; and thus the Duke of Guise in eight days,
during the depth of winter, made himself master of this strong
fortress, that had cost Edward III. a siege of eleven months, at
the head of a numerous army, which had that very year been vic



312                         MARY.                    CHAP. XVII.
torious in the battle of Crecy. The English had held it above
200 years; and as it gave them an easy entrance into France, it
was regarded as the most important possession belonging to the
crown. They mul;mured loudly against the improvidence of the
queen and her council, who, after engaging in a fruitless war for
the sake of foreign interests, had thus exposed the nation to so
severe a disgrace.
~ 8. The queen had long been in a declining state of health;
and having mistaken her dropsy for a pregnancy, she had made
use of an improper regimen, and her malady daily augmented.
Every reflection now tormented her. The consciousness of being
hated by her subjects, the prospect of Elizabeth's succession, apprelihensions of the danger to which the Catholic religion stood exposed, dejection for the loss of Calais, concern for the ill state of
her affairs, and, above all, anxiety for the absence of her husband,
preyed upon her mind, and threw her into a lingering fever, of
which she died, after a short and unfortunate reign of 5 years
(Nov. 17, 1558). The nation were thus delivered from their fears
respecting the succession, for there can be little doubt that a plot
had been formed to transfer the kingdom to Philip. It is not necessary to employ many words in drawing the character of this
princess. She possessed few qualities either estimable or amiable,
and her person was as little engaging as her behavior and address.
Obstinacy, bigotry, violence, cruelty, malignity, revenge, tyranny
-every circumstance of her character took a tincture from her
bad temper and narrow understanding. Amid that complication of
vices which entered into her composition, we shall scarcely find any
virtue but sincerity, to which we may add that in many circumstances of her life she gave indications of resolution and vigor of
mind, a quality which seems to have been inherent in her family.
Cardinal Pole died the same day with the queen. The benign
character of this prelate, the modesty and humanity of his deportment, made him universally beloved.
A passage to Archangel had been discovered by the English
during the last reign, and a beneficial trade with Muscovy had
been established.  A  solemn embassy was sent by the Czar to
Mary, which seems to have been the first intercourse which that
empire had with any of the western potentates of Europe.
CHRONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE EVENTS.
A.D.                            A.D.
1563. Lady Jane Gray proclaimed queen. 1554. Wyatt's rebellion. Execution of Lady
Queen Mary's title acknowledged.  Jane Gray.
Northumberland executed.  The 1555. The Marian persecution. Burning of
Roman Catholic religion re-estab-  Hooper, Ridley, and Latimer.
lished.                   1556. Cranmer burned.
1558. Calais lost. Death of Queen Mary.




Queen Elizabeth.
Ornament formed of bust of Queen Elizabeth, cut from a medal and inclosed in a border
of goldsmith's work representing Lancaster, York, and Tudor roses.
CHAPTER XVIII.
ELIZABETII. FROM HER ACCESSION TO TI-IHE DEATII OF /MARY QUEEN OF
SCOTS.  A.D. 1558-1587.
I 1. Accession of the Queen.  Re-establishment of Protestantism.  ~ 2.
Peace with France. The Reformation in Scotland. Supported by Elizabeth. ~ 3. French Affairs. Arrival of Mary in Scotland. Her Administration.  ~ 4. Wise Government of Elizabeth.  Proposals of Marriage.  ~ 5. Civil Wars of France.  Elizabeth assists. the Huguenots.
~ 6. The Thirty-nine Articles.  Scotch Affairs.  The Queen of Scots
marries Darnley. Hostility and Duplicity of Elizabeth. ~ 7. Murder of
Rizzio.  Murder of Darnley.  Bothwell marries the Queen of Scots.
Battle of Carberry Hill. ~ 8. Mary confined in Lochleven Castle. Murray Regent. James VI. proclaimed. Mary's Escape and Flight to England. ~ 9. Proceedings of the English Court. ~ 10. Duke of Norfolk's
Conspiracy. Elizabeth excommunicated by the Pope. ~ 11. Rise of the
Puritans.  Their Proceedings in Parliament.  ~ 12. Foreign:Affairs.
France and the Netherlands. ~ 13. New Conspiracy and Execution of
the Duke of Norfolk. ~ 14. Massacre of St. Bartholomew. Civil war in
France. Affairs of the Netherlands. ~ 15. Elizabeth's prudent Government. Naval Enterprises of Drake.  ~ 16.- Negotiations of Marriage
with the Duke of Anjou. ~ 17. Conspiracies in England. The High
Commission Court. Parry's Conspiracy. ~ 18. Affairs of the Low
Countries. - Hostilities with Spain. Battle of Zutphen and Death of Sidney.  ~ 19.. Babington's Conspiracy.  ~ 20. Trial and Condemnation of
()~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~




314                     ELIZABETH.               CHAP. XVIII.
the Queen of Scots. ~ 21. Her Execution. ~ 22. Elizabeth's affected
Sorrow. She apologizes to James.
~ 1. ELIZABETH was at Hatfield when she heard of her sister's
death; and after a few days she went thence to London, through
crowds of people, who strove with each other in giving her the
strongest testimony of their affection. With a prudence and
magnanimity truly laudible, she buried all offenses in oblivion,
and received with affability even those who had acted with the
greatest malevolence against her.  When the bishops came in a
body to make their obeisance to her, she expressed to all of them
sentiments of regard, except to Bonner, from whom she turned
aside as from a man polluted with blood, who was a just object
of horror to every heart susceptible of humanity.
Philip, who still hoped, by means of Elizabeth, to obtain dominion over England, immediately made proposals of marriage to
the queen, and he offered to procure from Rome a dispensation for
that purpose; but Elizabeth saw that the nation had entertained
an extreme aversion to the' Spanish alliance during her sister's
reign. She was sensible that her affinity with Philip was exactly
similar to that of her father with Catherine of Aragon, and that
her marrying that monarch was in effect declaring herself illegitimate, and incapable of succeeding to the throne. She therefore
gave him an obliging though evasive answer; and he still retained such hopes of success that he sent a messenger to Rome with
orders to solicit the dispensation.
The queen, not to alarm the partisans of the Catholic religion,
had retained eleven of her sister's counselors; but, in order to
balance their authority, she added others who were known to be
inclined to the Protestant communion, among whom were Sir
Nicholas Bacon, whom she created lord keeper, and- Sir William
Cecil, secretary of state. With these counselors, particularly Cecil, she frequently deliberated concerning the expediency of restoring the Protestant religion, and the means of executing tblat
great enterprise. She resolved to proceed by gradual and secure
steps, but at the same time to discover such symptoms of her intentions as might give encouragement to the Protestants, so much
depressed by the late violent persecutions.  She immediately recalled all the exiles, and gave liberty to the prisoners who were
confined on account of religion. She published a proclamation,
by which she inhibited all preaching without a special license;
and she also suspended the laws, so far as to order a great part
of the service —the Litany, the Lord's prayer, the Creed, and the
Gospels-to be read in English; and, having first published injunctions that all the churches should conform themselves to the
practice of her own chapel, she forbade the host to be any more
elevated in her presence.




A.D. 1559.   PROTESTANTISM RE-ESTABLISHED.             315
The bishops, foreseeing with certainty a revolution in religion,
refused to officiate at her coronation, and it was with some difficulty that the Bishop of Carlisle was at last prevailed on to perform the ceremony (Jan. 13, 1559). The Parliament, which met
soon after, began the session by a unanimous declaration of the
validity of the queen's title to the throne. They then passed a
bill for suppressing the monasteries lately erected, and for restoring the tenths and first-fruits to the queen; and another for restoring to the crown the supremacy in ecclesiastical affairs.  In
order to exercise this authority, the queen, by a clause of the act,
was empowered to name commissioners, either laymen or clergymen, as she should think proper; and on this clause was founded
the Court of High Commission, which assumed large discretionary, not to say arbitrary powers, totally incompatible with any
exact boundaries in the Constitution.  Whoever refused to take
an oath acknowledging the queen's supremacy was incapacitated
from holding any office; whoever denied the supremacy, or attempted to deprive the queen of that prerogative, forfeited, for
the first offense, all his goods and chattels; for the second, was
subjected to the penalty of a premunire; but the third offense
was declared treason. Lastly, an act was passed re-enacting all
the laws of King Edward concerning religion, and prohibiting any
minister, whether beneficed or not, to use any but the established
Liturgy, under pain for the first offense of forfeiting goods and
chattels, for the second of a year's imprisonment, and for the third
of imprisonment during life. And thus in one session, without
any violence, tumult, or clamor, was the whole system of religion
altered. The laws enacted with regard to religion met with little
opposition from any quarter. The Liturgy was again introduced
in the vulgar tongue, and the oath of supremacy was tendered to
the clergy. The bishops had taken such an active part in the
restoration of popery under iMary, that, with the exception of the
Bishop of Llandaff, they all felt themselves bound to refuse the
oath, and were accordingly degraded from their sees by the Court
of High Commission; but of the inferior clergy through all England, amounting to nearly 10,000, only about 100 dignitaries
and 80 parochial priests sacrificed their livings to their religious
principles. The Archbishopric of Canterbury, which was vacant
by the death of Cardinal Pole, was conferred upon Parker.
The two statutes above mentioned, usually called the Acts of
Supremacy and Uniformity, were the great instruments of oppressing the Catholics during this and many subsequent reigns.
The House of Commons, at the conclusion of the session, made
the queen an important but respectful address that she should fix
her choice of a husband. She told the speaker that she could




316                    ELIZABETH.               CHAP. XVIII.
not take offense at the address, or regard it otherwise than as a
new instance of their affectionate attachment to her; but that
farther interposition on their part would ill become either them
to make as subjects, or her to bear as an independent princess;
that she was resolved to live and die a virgin; and that, for her
part, she desired that no higher character or fairer remembrance
of her should be transmitted to posterity than to have this in*scription engraved on her tomb-stone: " Here lies Elizabeth, who
lived and died a maiden queen."
~ 2. The negotiations for a peace with France, which were in
progress at the time of Mary's death, were concluded in the first
year of Elizabeth. Calais remained in the hands of the French
monarch, who promised to restore it at the end of eight years-a
stipulation, however, which was never intended nor expected to
be executed. A peace with Scotland was a necessary consequence
of that with.:France. But, notwithstanding this peace, there soon
appeared a ground of quarrel of the most serious nature, and which
was afterward attended with the most important consequences.
The next heir to the English throne was Mary, Queen of Scots,
now married to the dauphin; and the King of France, at the persuasion of the Duke of Guise and his brothers, ordered his son
and daughter-in-law to assume openly the arms as well as title of
King and Queen of England, and to quarter these arms on all
their equipages, furniture, and liveries.  When the English embassador complained of this injury, he could obtain nothing but
an evasive answer; and Elizabeth plainly saw that the King of
France intended on the first opportunity; to dispute her legitimacy and her title to the crown. Alarmed at the danger, she
thenceforth conceived a violent jealousy against the Queen of
Scots, and was determined, as far as possible, to incapacitate Henry from the execution of his project.  The sudden death of that
monarch, who was killed in a tournament at Paris while celebrating the espousals of his sister with the Duke of Savoy, altered not
her views. Being informed that his successor, Francis II., the
husband of Mary, still continued to assume, without reserve, the
title of King of England, she began to consider him and his queen
as her mortal enemies; and- the present situation of affairs in Scotland afforded her a favorable opportunity both of revenging the
injury and providing for her own safety.
Since the murder of Cardinal Beaton the Reformation had been
proceeding with rapid steps in Scotland. Some of the leading reformers, observing the danger to which they were exposed, and
desirous to propagate their principles, entered privately, in 1557,
into a bond or association, and called themselves the Congregation
of the Lord, in contradistinction to the Established Church, which




A.D. 1560.    THE REFORMATION IN SCOTLAND.            317
they denominated the Congregation of Satan. The zeal and fury
of this league was farther stimulated by the arrival of John Knox
from Geneva, where he had passed some years in banishment, and
where he had imbibed, from his commerce with Calvin, the sternness of his secd. Many acts of violence were committed upon the
clergy, as well as upon the monasteries and churches, which produced an open civil war. At length the leaders of the Congregation, encouraged by the intelligence received of the sudden death
of Henry II., passed an act, from their own authority, depriving the
queen dowager of the regency, and ordering all the French troops
to evacuate the kingdom. They collected forces to put their edict
in execution against them, and solicited succors from Elizabeth.
The wise council of Elizabeth did not deliberate long in agreeing
to this request; and though the Scotch Presbyterians, and especially their leader, Knox, were hateful to the, queen, Cecil at length
persuaded her to support, by arms and money, the affairs of the
Congregation in Scotland. She concluded a treaty of mutual defense with them, and she promised never to desist till the French
had entirely evacuated Scotland. The appearance of Elizabeth's
fleet in the Frith of Forth (Jan. 15, 1560) disconcerted the French
army, who shut themselves up in Leith; while the English army,
re-enforced by 5000 Scots, sat down before the place. The French
were obliged to capitulate; and plenipotentiaries from France
signed a treaty at Edinburgh with Cecil and Dr. Wotton, whom
Elizabeth had sent thither for that purpose. It was there stipulated that the French should instantly evacuate Scotland, and that
the King and Queen of France and Scotland should thenceforth
abstain from bearing the arms of' England, or assuming the title
of that kingdom (July 6, 1560). The subsequent measures of the
Scottish Reformers tended still more to cement their union with
England. Being now entirely masters of the kingdom, they made
no farther ceremony or scruple in fully effecting their purpose.
Laws were passed abolishing the mass and the papal jurisdiction
in Scotland; and the Presbyterian form of discipline was settled,
leaving only at first some shadow of authority to certain ecclesiastics whom they called superintendents.
~ 3. Elizabeth soon found that the house of Guise, notwithstanding their former disappointments, had not laid aside the design of contesting her title and subverting her authority. But the
progress of the Reformation in France, as well as the sudden death
of the king, Francis II., interrupted the prosperity of the Duke
of Guise.  Catherine de Medicis, the queen mother, was appointed regent to her son, Charles IX., now in his minority; and the
King of Navarre, who was favorable to the Protestants, was named
lieutenant general of the kingdom. Catherine de Medicis, who




318                    ELIZABETH.              CHAP. XVLII.
imputed to MIary all the mortifications which she had met with
during Francis's lifetime, took care to retaliate on her by like injuries; and the Queen of Scots, finding her abode in France disagreeable, resolved to return to Scotland, and landed at Leith,
Aug. 19, 1561. This change of abode and situation was very
little agreeable to that princess. It is said that after she had embarked at Calais she kept her eyes fixed on the coast of France,
and never turned them from that beloved object till darkness fell
and intercepted it from her view. She then ordered a couch to
be spread for her in the open air; and charged the pilot that, if
in the morning the land were still in sight, he should awake her,
and afford her one parting view of that country in which all her
affections were centred. The weather proved calm, so that the
ship made little way in the nighttime, and Mary had once more
an opportunity of seeing the Frenclh coast.  She sat up on her
couch, and, still looking toward the land, often repeated these
words: " Farewell, France, farewell! I shall never see thee more!"
The first aspect, however, of things in Scotland was more favorable, if not to her pleasure and happiness, at least to her repose
and security, than she had reason to apprehend. *No sooner did
the French galleys appear off Leith than people of all ranks, who
had long expected their arrival, flocked toward the shore with
an earnest impatience to behold and receive their young sovereign. She had now reached her 19th year; and the bloom of
her youth and the amiable beauty of her person were farther recommended by the'affability of her address, the politeness of her
manners, and the elegance of her genius.  The first measures
which Mary embraced confirmed all the prepossessions entertained in her favor; she bestowed her confidence entirely on the leaders of the Reformed party, who had great influence over the people, and who, she found, were alone able to support her government. But there was one circumstance which blasted all these
promising appearances. She was still a papist; and though she
published, soon after her arrival, a proclamation enjoining every
one to submit to the established religion, the preachers and their
adherents could neither be reconciled to a person polluted with so
great an abomination, nor lay aside jealousies of her future conduct. It was with great difficulty she could obtain permission for
saying mass in her own chapel; she was soon exposed to every
kind of contumely. The clergy, and the preachers in particular,
took a pride in villifying her even to her face. The ringleader in
these insults on the queen was John Knox, who possessed an uncontrolled authority in the Church, and even in the civil affairss of
the nation, and who triumphed in the contumelious usage of his
sovereign. His usual appellation for the queen was Jezebel; and




'A.D. 1561.   ELIZABETH'S ADMINISTRATION.              319
though she endeavored, by the most gracious condescension, to
win his favor, all her insinuations could make no impression on
his obdurate- heart. MIary, whose age, condition, and education
invited her to liberty and cheerfulness, was curbed in all amusements by the absurd severity of those Reformers; and she found
every moment reason to regret her leaving that country from
whose manners she had in her early youth received her first impressions.
~ 4. lMeanwhile, Elizabeth employed herself in regulating the
affairs of her own kingdom. She made some progress in paying
those great debts which lay upon the crown; she regulated the
coin, which had been much debased by her predecessors; she introduced into the kingdom the art of making gunpowder and brass
cannon; fortified her frontiers on the side of Scotland; made frequent reviews of the militia; promoted trade and navigation; and
so much increased the shipping of her kingdom, both by building
vessels of force herself, and suggesting like undertakings to the
merchants, that she was justly styled the Restorer of Naval Glory
and the Queen of the Northern Seas. It is easy to imagine that
so great a princess, who enjoyed such singular felicity and renown,
would receive proposals of marriage from several foreign princes
— as the Archduke Charles, second son of the emperor; Casimer,
son of the elector palatine; Eric, King of Sweden; Adolph, Duke
*of Holstein; and the Earl of Arran, heir to the crown of -Scotland. Even some of her own subjects, though they did not openly
declare their pretensions, entertained hopes of success. Among
the latter, the person most likely to succeed was a younger son of
the late Duke of Northumberland, Lord Robert Dudley, who, by
means of his exterior qualities, joined to address and flattery, had
become in a manner her declared favorite, and had great influence
in all her councils. But the queen gave all these suitors a gentle
refusal, which still encouraged their pursuit; and she thought that
she should the better attach them to her interests if they were still
allowed to entertain hopes of succeeding in their pretensions.
~ 5. The progress of the Reformation in France threatened not
only to involve that country in a civil war, but also to embroil
other nations in the quarrel. The change produced in the political parties of that country by the death of Francis II. has been
already mentioned. The queen regent had formed the project of
governing both parties by playing one against the other; for,
though religion was the pretense, ambition and the love of power
were the real motives of the leaders. But faction, farther stimulated by religious zeal and hatred, soon grew too violent to be controlled. The Constable Montmorency joined himself to the Duke
of Guise; the King of Navarre embraced the same party; and




320                    ELIZABETH,               CHA'P, X Vii
Catherine, finding herself depressed by this combination, had re.
course to Conde and the Huguenots,* as the French Protestants
were called, who gladly embraced the opportunity of fortifying
themselves by her countenance and protection. Conde, Coligny,
and the other Protestant leaders, assembled their friends and flew
to arms;. Guise and Montmorency got possession of the king's
person, and constrained the queen regent to embrace their party;
fourteen armies were levied and put in motion in different parts
of France; and each province, each city, each family, was agitated
with intestine rage and animosity. The Prince of Conde applied
to Elizabeth for assistance, and offered to put Havre into the hands
of the English. This offer was accepted by Elizabeth. An English army took possession of the town, and rendered important
service to the Huguenots. But the captivity of Condcl and Montmorency, who were soon afterward taken prisoners in battle, and
the assassination of the Duke of Guise, made both parties anxious
for peace; and the Huguenots accordingly concluded a treaty with
the queen mother without consulting Elizabeth.  The English
queen, however, refused to surrender Havre, and she sent orders
to the Earl of Warwick, the commander of the town, to prepare
himself against an attack from the now united power of the French
monarchy. The plague, however, crept in among the English
soldiers; and being increased by their fatigue and bad diet, it
made such ravages that Warwick found himself obliged to capitulate, and to content himself with the liberty of withdrawing his
garrison. To increase the misfortune, the infected army brought
the plague with them into England, where it swept off great multitudes, particularly in the city of London. About 20,000 persons there died of it in one year. Elizabeth was now glad to compound matters; and as the queen regent desired to obtain leisure,
in order to prepare measures for the extermination of the Huguenots, a treaty of peace was concluded between the two countries.
~ 6. In the convocation which assembled in 1563, the last hand
was put to the Reformation in England by the establishment of
the'39 Articles in the form in which they now exist. The peace
still continued with Scotland; and even a cordial friendship seemed to have been cemented between Elizabeth and Mary. These
princesses made profession of the most entire affection, wrote
amicable letters every week to each other, and had adopted, in all
appearance, the sentiments as well as style of sisters. But Mary's
close connection with the house of Guise was the ground of just
and insurmountable jealousy to Elizabeth. She always told the
* This word is a corruption of the German Eidgenosscn, i. e.," bound to
gethler by oath."




i.D. 1561-1565.     SCOTCH AFFAIRS.                     321
Queen of Scots that nothing would satisfy her but her espousing
some English nobleman; and she at last named Lord Robert Dudley, now created Earl of Leicester, as the person on whom she desired that Mary's choice should fall.  The Earl of Leicester, the
great and powerful favorite of Elizabeth, possessed all those exterior qualities which are naturally alluring to the fair sex: a
handsome person, a polite address, and insinuating behavior; and
by means of these accomplishments he had been able to blind even
the penetration of Elizabeth, and conceal from her the great defects, or rather odious vices, which attended his character.  He
was proud, insolent, interested, ambitious; without honor, without generosity, without humanity; and atoned not for these bad
qualities by such abilities or courage as could fit him for that high
trust and confidence with which she always honored him. Her
constant and declared attachment to him had naturally emboldened him to aspire to her hand; and, in order to make way for these
nuptials, he was universally believed to have murdered, in a barbarous manner, his wife, the heiress of one Robsart. The proposal of espousing Mary was by no means agreeable to him; and
he always ascribed it to the contrivance of Cecil, his enemy. The
queen herself had not any serious intention of effecting this marriage; the Earl of Leicester was too great a favorite to be parted
with; and when Mary seemed at last to hearken to Elizabeth's
proposal, this princess receded from her offers. After two years
had been spent in evasions and artifices, Mary's subjects and counselors, and probably herself, began to think it full time that some
marriage was concluded; and Lord Darnley, son of the Earl of
Lenox, was the person selected for her consort.  He was Mary's
cousin-german by the Lady Margaret Douglas, niece to Henry
VIII., and was, after Mnary, next heir to the crown of England.*
He had been born and educated in England, where the Earl of
Lenox had constantly resided since he had been banished by the
prevailing power of the house of I-Iamilton.  Elizabeth used all
her efforts to prevent this marriage.  She ordered Darnley immediately, upon his allegiance, to return to England; threw the
Countess of Lenox and her second son into the Tower, where they
suffered a rigorous confinement; seized all Lenox's English estate; and, though it was impossible for her to assign one single
reason for her displeasure, she menaced, and protested, and complained, as if she had suffered the most grievous injury in the
world.  The marriage was celebrated on July 29, 1565.  It also
gave great offense to the Scottish Reformers, because the family
of Lenox was believed to adhere to the Catholic faith; and though
Darnley, who now bore the name of King Henry, went often to
* See the genealogical table, p. 241.
02




322                    ELIZABETH.               CHAP. XV.&II
the Established Church, he could not, by his exterior compliance,
gain the confidence and regard of the ecclesiastics.  The Earl of
Murray, the half-brother of DMary, being an illegitimate son of
James V., and other Scottish lords, being secretly encouraged by
Elizabeth, had recourse to arms.  But the nation was in no disposition for rebellion. The king and queen advancing to Edinburgh at the head of their army, the rebels found themselves under a necessity of abandoning their country, and of taking shelter
in England. Elizabeth, when she found the event so much to disappoint her expectations, thought proper to disavow all connections with the Scottish malcontents; and it was only by a sudden
and violent incident, which, in the issue, brought on the ruin of
Mary herself, that they were saved from the rigor of the law.
~ 7. The marriage of the Queen of Scots with Lord Darnley
was so natural and so inviting in all its circumstances that it had
been precipitately agreed to by that princess and her council; and
while she was allured by his youth, and beauty, and exterior accomplishments, she had at first overlooked the qualities of his
mind, which nowise corresponded to the excellence of his outward figure.  She had loaded him with benefits and honors; but,
having leisure afterward to remark his weakness and vices, she
began to see the danger of her profuse liberality, and was resolved
thenceforth to proceed with more reserve in the trust which she
should confer upon him.  His resentment against this prudent
conduct served but the more to increase her disgust; and the
young prince, enraged at her imagined neglects, pointed his vengeance against every one whom he deemed the cause of this change
in her measures and behavior.. There was in the court one David
Rizzio, who had of late obtained a very extraordinary degree of
confidence and favor with the Queen of Scots- He was a Pied.
montese of mean birth, son of a teacher of music. Mary's secre
tary for French dispatches having incurred her displeasure, slki
promoted Rizzio to' that office, which gave him frequent oppor
tunities of approaching her person and insinuating himself int(
her favor. The favorite was of a disagreeable figure, but was no,
past his youth; and though the opinion of his criminal corre
spondence with Mary might seem of itself unreasonable, if not ab.
surd, a suspicious husband could find no other means of account
ing for that lavish and imprudent kindness with which she lion
ored him.
Rizzio, who had connected his interests with the Roman Cath.
olics, was the declared enemy of the banished lords; and by pro.
moting the violent prosecutions against them, he had exposed
himself to the animosity of their numerous friends and retainers,
Morton, the chancellor, insinuating himself into Darnley's confi




A.D. 1565, 1566.   MURDER OF RIZZIO.                   323
dence, employed all his art to inflame the discontent and jealousy
of that prince; and he persuaded him that the only means of
freeing himself from the indignities under which he labored was
to bring the base stranger to the fate which he had so well merited. George Douglas, natural brother to the Countess of Lenox,
the Lords Ruthven and Lindesey, and even the Earl of Lenox,
the king's father, concurred in the same advice. A messenger
was dispatched to the banished lords, who were hovering near
the borders, and they were invited by the king to return to their
native country. The design, so atrocious in itself, was rendered
still more so by the circumstances which attended its execution.
Mary, who was in the sixth month of her pregnancy, was supping
in private (March 9, 1566) with Rizzio and others of her servants.
The king entered the room by a private passage, and stood at the
back of Mary's chair; Lord Ruthven, George Douglas, and other
conspirators, being all armed, rushed in after him; and the Queen
of Scots, terrified with the appearance, demanded of them the
reason of this rude intrusion. They told her that they intended
no violence against her person, but meant only to bring that villain, pointing to Rizzio, to his deserved punishment.  Rizzio,
aware of the danger, ran behind his mistress, and, seizing her by
the. waist, called aloud to her for protection, while she interposed
in his behalf with cries, and menaces, and entreaties.  The impatient assassins, regardless of her efforts, rushed upon their prey.
Douglas, seizing Henry's dagger, stuck it in the body of Rizzio,
who, screaming with fear and agony, was torn from Mary by the
other conspirators, and pushed into the antechamber, where he
was dispatched with fifty-six wounds. The unhappy princess,
informed of his fate, immediately dried her tears, and said she
would weep no more, she would now think of revenge. -The insult,.indeed, upon her person; the stain attempted to be fixed on
her honor; the danger to which her life was exposed on account
of her pregnancy, were injuries so atrocious and so complicated
that they scarcely left room for pardon, even fiom the greatest
lenity and mercy.
Mary shortly afterward brought forth a son in the castle of
Edinburgh (June 19). This event caused the English Parliament
again to press Elizabeth for some settlement of the succession, at
which she expressed her high displeasure, and eluded the application. It also gave additional zeal to the English party which
favored Mary's claims. The friends of the Queen of Scots multiplied every day; and most of the considerable men in England,
except Cecil, seemed convinced of the necessity of declaring her
the successor. But all these flattering prospects were blasted by
the subsequent incidents; where Mary's egregious indiscretions,




324                    ELIZABETH.              CHAP. XVIII.
or rather atrocious crimes, threw her from the height of her prosperity, and involved her in infamy and ruin.
The Earl of Bothwell, of a considerable family and power in
Scotland, but a man of profligate manners, had of late acquired
the favor and entire confidence of Miary, and all her measures were
directed by his advice and authority.  Reports were spread of
more particular intimacies between them, and these reports gained
ground from the continuance or rather'increase of her hatred toward her husband. That young prince was reduced to such a
state of desperation by the neglects which he underwent from his
queen and the courtiers, that he had once resolved to fly secretly
into France or Spain, and had even provided a vessel for that
purpose.  Suddenly, however, Mary pretended to be reconciled to
him after his recovery from a dangerous illness.  She lived in the
palace of Holyrood House, but for some reason an apartment was
assigned him in a solitary house at some distance, called the Kirk
of Field. Mary here gave him marks of kindness and attachment; she conversed cordially with him, and she lay some nights
in a room below his; but on the 9th of February (1567) she told
him that she would pass that night in the palace, because the marriage of one of her servants was there to be celebrated in her presence. About two o'clock in the morning the whole town was
much alarmed at hearing a great noise, and was still more aston.
ished when it was discovered that the noise came from the king's
house, which was blown up by gunpowder; that his dead body
was found at some distance in a neighboring field; and that no
marks, either of fire, contusion, or violence, appeared upon it.
No doubt could be entertained but Henry was murdered; and
general conjecture soon pointed toward the Earl of Bothwell as
the author of the crime. But, as his favor with Mary was visible, and his power great, no one ventured to declare openly his
sentiments. Mary's subsequent conduct justified these suspicions.
The Earl of Lenox demanded speedy justice on his son's assassins.
Mary took his demand very literally, assigned only 15 days for
the examination of the matter, and cited Lenox to appear and
prove his charge. But that nobleman was afraid to trust himself in Edinburgh; and as neither accuser nor witness appeared
at the trial, Bothwell was acquitted.  In the Parliament which
met two days after, he was the person chosen to carry the royal
sceptre'; and no notice was taken of the king's murder. On its
dissolution, several of the nobility signed a paper promising to
support Bothwell, and recommending him to' the queen as her
husband. Shortly afterward, Mary having gone to Stirling to
pay a visit to her son, Bothwell assembled a body of 800 horse on
pretense of pursuing some robbers dn the borders, and, having




A.D. 1566,1567. MARY CONFINED IN LOCHLEVEN CASTLE. 325
waylaid her on her return, he seized her person near Edinburgh
and carried her to Dunbar, with an avowed design of forcing her
to yield to his purpose. Sir James Melvill, one of her retinue,
was carried along with her, and says not that he saw any signs
of reluctance or constraint; he was even informed, as he tells us,
by Bothwell's officers, that the whole transaction was managed in
concert with her.  Bothwell was married to a sister of the Earl
of Huntley; but a suit for a divorce between Bothwell and his
wife was opened at the same instant in two different or rather
opposite courts-one being Popish, the other Protestant; was
pleaded, examined, and decided in four days; and a sentence of
divorce pronounced. The marriage was solemnized by the Bishop
of Orkney (May 15), a Protestant, who was afterward deposed by
the Church for his scandalous compliance.
The Protestant teachers, who had great authority, had long
borne an animosity to Mary, and the opinion of her guilt was, by
that means, the more widely diffused, and made the deeper impression on the people.  Some attempts made by Bothwell, and,
as is pretended, with her consent, to get the young prince into his
power, excited the most serious attention; and the principal nobility met at Stirling, and formed an association for protecting the
prince, and punishing the king's murderers. Having levied an
army, they met the forces of the queen and Bothwell at Carberry
Hill, about six miles from Edinburgh.  3Mary soon became sensible that her own troops disapproved of her cause, and she saw
no resource but that of putting herself, upon some general promises, into the hands of the confederates. - She was conducted to
Edinburgh amid the insults of the populace, who reproached her
with her crimes, and even held before her eyes a banner on which
were painted the murder of her husband and the distress of her
infant son. MIeanwhile, Bothwell fled unattended to Dunbar, and
eventually made his escape to Denmark.
~ 8.'The Queen of Scots was sent under a guard to the castle
of Lochleven, situated in the lake of that name.  Elizabeth seemed- touched with compassion toward the unfortunate queen, and
sent Sir Nicholas Throgmorton embassador to Scotland, in order
to remonstrate both with Mary and the associated lords. He was
instructed to express to her Elizabeth's high dissatisfaction at her
conduct, but at the same time to declare that the late events hadl
touched Elizabeth's heart with sympathy, and that she was determined not to see her oppressed by her rebellious subjects. At
the same time, he was to demand that the punishment of Darnley's assassins should be intrusted to Elizabeth, and that Mary's
infant son should be sent into England to be educated.  But the
associated lords were determined to proceed with severity, and




32G                    ELIZABETH.               CHAP. XVIII.
they thought proper, after several affected delays, to refuse the
English embassador all access to Mary. Some were even of opinion that the captive queen should be publicly tried and impris.
oned for life, or capitally punished.  Having selected the Earl of
Murray for regent, who possessed the confidence of the more zealous Reformers, three instruments were sent to Mary, by one of
which she was to resign the crown in favor of her son, by another
to appoint Murray regent, by the third to make a council which
should administer the government until his arrival in Scotland.
The Queen of Scots, seeing no prospect of relief, was prevailed on,
after a plentiful effusion of tears, to sign these three instruments;
and, in consequence of this forced resignation, the young prince
was proclaimed king by the name of James VI. He was soon
after crowned at Stirling (July 29, 1567), and the Earl of Morton took, in his name, the coronation oath, in which a promise to
extirpate heresy was not forgotten. The Earl of MIurray arrived
soon after from France, and took possession of his high office. He
paid a visit to the captive queen, in which he treated her with
great harshness; and the Parliament which he assembled, after
voting that she was undoubtedly an accomplice in her husband's
murder, condemned her to imprisonment, ratified her resignation
of the crown, and acknowledged her son for king, and Murray for
regent. But many of the principal nobility from various motives,
and all who retained any propensity to the Roman Catholic religion, formed a party in favor of the queen. Meanwhile, Mary
had engaged, by her charms and caresses, a young gentleman,
George Douglas, brother to the Laird of Lochleven,. to assist her
in escaping. He conveyed her in disguise into a small boat, and
himself rowed her ashore (May 2, 1568).  She hastened to Hamilton, where her adherents had already assembled, and in a few
days an army of 6000 men was ranged under her standard. The
regent also made haste to assemble forces; and, notwithstanding
that his army was inferior in number to that of the Queen of
Scots, he took the field against her. A battle was fought at Langside, near Glasgow (May 13), which was entirely decisive in favor of the regent, and was followed by a total dispersion of the
queen's party. That unhappy princess fled southward from the
field of battle with great precipitation, and at last embraced the
resolution of taking shelter in England.  She embarked on board
a fishing-boat in Galloway, and landed the same day at Workington, in Cumberland, about thirty miles from Carlisle, whence she
immediately dispatched a messenger to London, notifying her arrival, desiring leave to visit Elizabeth, and craving her protection,
in consequence of former professions of friendship made her by
that princess.




A.D. 1568.    PROCEEDINGS OF ENGLISH COURT.             327
~ 9. Elizabeth now found herself in a situation when it was
become necessary to take some decisive resolution with regard to
her treatment of' the Queen of Scots; and, upon the advice of
Cecil, it was determined that Mary should be detained in custody,
and brought to trial for her husband's murder.  A message was
accordingly sent to her at Carlisle, expressing the queen's sympathy with her in her late misfortunes, but stating that her request
of being allowed to visit Elizabeth could not be complied with till
she had cleared herself of her husband's murder, of which she was
so strongly accused.  So unexpected a check threw Mary into
tears; and the necessity of her situation extorted from her a declaration that she would willingly justify herself to her sister from
all imputations, and would submit her cause to the arbitration of
so good a friend.  This concession, which Mary could scarcely
avoid without an acknowledgment of guilt, was the point expected
and desired by Elizabeth;- she immediately dispatched a message
to the regent of Scotland, requiring him both to desist from farther prosecution of his queen's party, and to send some persons to
London to justify his conduct with regard to her. Murray might
justly be startled at receiving a message so violent and imperious;
but, as his domestic enemies were numerous and powerful, and
England was the sole ally which he could expect among foreign
nations, he found, it prudent to reply that he would willingly submit the determination of his cause to Elizabeth.
As the Queen of Scots had subsequently, as well as before, discovered great aversion to the trial proposed, and as Carlisle, by
its situation on the borders, afforded her great opportunities of'
contriving her escape, she was removed to Bolton, a seat of Lord
Scrope's, in Yorkshire. The commissioners appointed by the
English court for the examination of this great cause were the
Duke of Norfolk,* the Earl of Sussex, and Sir Ralph Sadler. It
would be impossible within our limits to enter into details of this
important trial. After it had proceeded some time, it was transferred to Hampton Court; and Sir Nicholas Bacon, lord-keeper,
the Earls of Arundel and Leicester, Lord Clinton, admiral, and
Sir WV. Cecil, secretary, were added to the English commissioners.
The regent Murray, alarmed at first by reports of Elizabeth's
partiality for the Queen of Scots, had kept back the most grievous part of the accusation against her; but, being encouraged by
the assurances of Elizabeth, at length accused her in plain terms
of being an accomplice with Bothwell in the assassination of the
king; the Earl of Lennox too appeared before the commissioners,
and, imploring vengeance, repeated Murray's charge.  To this
public and distinct accusation Mary's commissioners refused to
* Son of the Earl of Surrey executed by Henry VIII.




328                    ELIZABETH.               CHAP. XVIll
reply, and they grounded their silence on very extraordinary reasons. They had orders, they said, from their mistress, if any
thing were advanced that might touch her honor, not to make any
defense, as she was a sovereign princess, and could not be subject
to any tribunal; and they required that she should previously be
admitted to Elizabeth's presence, to whom, and to whom alone,
she was determined to justify her innocence. As if the conferences had been begun with any other end than to clear her from
the accusations of her enemies! But Elizabeth's ministers, not
satisfied with this evasion, and desirous to have proofs of Mary's
guilt, summoned Murray before them, and reproved him in the
queen's name, for the atrocious imputations which he had the temerity to throw upon his sovereign.  Murray, thus urged, made
no difficulty in producing the proofs of his charge against the
Queen of Scots; and anlong the rest, some love-letters and sonnets of hers to Bothwell, written all in her own hand, and two
other papers, one written in her own hand, another subscribed by
her and written by the Eail of Huntley, each of which contained
a promise of marriage with Bothwell made before the pretended
trial and acquittal of that nobleman.  These papers, which had
been intercepted when the associated lords were besieging the castle of Edinburgh, contained incontestable proofs of Mary's criminal correspondence with Bothwell, of her consent to the king's
murder, and of her concurrence in the violence which 3Bothwell
pretended to commit upon her. The objections made to their authenticity are, in general, of small force; but were they ever so
specious, they can not now be hearkened to, since Mary, at the
time when the truth could have been fully cleared, did, in effect,
ratify the evidence against her by recoiling from the inquiry at the
very critical moment, and refusing to give an answer to the accusation of her enemies. Her commissioners, as soon as;Murray
opened his charge, endeavored to turn the conference from an inquiry into a negotiation, and never would make any reply.
Elizabeth, though she had seen enough for her own satisfaction,
was determined that the most eminent persons of her court should
also be acquainted with these transactions, and should be convinced of the equity of her proceedings. She ordered her privy
council, together with some of the principal nobility, to be assembled; all the proceedings were laid before them; and, on the
whole, Elizabeth told them that, as she had from the first thought
it improper that Mary, after such horrid crimes were imputed to
her, should be admitted to her presence before she had in some
measure justified herself from the charge, so now, when her guilt
was confirmed by so many evidences, and all answer refused, she
must, for her part, persevere more steadily in that resolution.




A.D. 1568.    DUKE OF NORFOLK'S CONSPIRACY.           329
iElizabeth next told the Queen of Scots' commissioners that she
must regard Mary's resolution of making no reply at all as the
strongest confession of guilt; nor could they ever be deemed her
friends who advised her to that method of proceeding. The Queen
of Scots had no other subterfuge than still to demand a personal
interview with Elizabeth, a concession which, she was sensible,
would never be granted. Orders were now given for removing
the Queen of Scots from Bolton, a place surrounded with Catholics,
to Tutbury, in the county of Stafford, where she was put under
the custody of the Earl of Shrewsbury. Elizabeth promised to
bury every thing in oblivion provided Mary would agree either
voluntarily to resign her crown, or to associate her son with her
in the government; the administration to remain, during his minority, in the hands of the Earl of Murray. But that high-spirited
princess refused all treaty upon such terms, and declared that her
last words should be those of a Queen of Scotland.
~ 10. Soon after the trial of the Queen of Scots, the ambition
and imprudence of the Duke of Norfolk engaged him in a scheme
for marrying her, which is said to have been suggested to him by
the regent Murray. Mary expressed no aversion to the proposal;
but, as the opposition of Elizabeth was anticipated, Norfolk, previously to applying for her consent, gained the approbation of the
most considerable of the nobility to his scheme. Even the Earl
of Leicester, Elizabeth's declared favorite, pretended to enter zealously into Norfolk's interests, and wrote a letter to Mary, which
was also signed by several of the first rank, recommending Norfolk for her husband, and stipulating conditions for the advantage
of both kingdoms. Mary returned a favorable answer to this application, and Norfolk employed himself with new ardor in the
execution of his project. And though Elizabeth's consent was
always supposed as a previous condition to the finishing of this
alliance, it was apparently Norfolk's intention, when he proceeded
such lengths without consulting her, to render his party so strong
that it should no longer be in her power to refuse it. She was
acquainted with the conspiracy through Leicester, and frequently
warned the duke to beware on what pillow he reposed his head;
but he never had the prudence or the courage to open to her his
full intentions.
Norfolk was a Protestant; but among the nobility and gentry
that seemed to enter into his views there were many who were
zealously attached to the Catholic religion, and who would gladly,
by a combination with foreign powers, or even at the expense of
a civil war, have placed Mary on the throne of England. The
Earls of Northumberland and Westmoreland, who possessed great
power in the north, were leaders of this party, and with other no



;330                   ELIZABETH.               CHAP. XVIIh.
blemen formed a plan for liberating Mary. Norfolk discouraged,
and even in appearance suppressed, these conspiracies; and, in
order to repress the surmises spread against him,' spoke contemptuously to Elizabeth of the Scottish alliance. But the suspicions
of the government being awakened, he was committed to the
Tower, under the custody of Sir Henry Nevil; and several other
noblemen were taken into custody. The Queen of Scots herself
was removed to Coventry; all access to her was, during some
time, more strictly prohibited; and Viscount Hereford was joined
to the Earls of Shrewsbury and JIuntingdon in the office of
guarding her.
The Earls of Northumberland and ~Westmoreland now attempted a rising, which was put down without striking a blow; and the
leaders fled into Scotland. Great severity was exercised against
such as had taken part in this rash enterprise. But the queen
was so well pleased with Norfolk's behavior, who, though in confinement, had raised levies for her service, that she released him
from the Tower, allowed him to live, though under some show of
confinement, in his own hbuse, and only exacted a promise from
him not to proceed any farther in his negotiations with the Queen
of Scots.
Elizabeth now found that she had reason to expect little tranquillity so long as the Scottish queen remained a prisoner in her
hands, and she entered into a negotiation with Murray respecting
her liberation. It is probable that she would have been pleased,
on any honorable or safe terms, to rid herself of a prisoner who
gave her so much disquietude. But all these projects vanished
by the sudden death of the regent, who was assassinated, in revenge of a private injury, by a gentleman of the name of Hamilton
(Jan. 23, 1570).  By the death of the regent Scotland relapsed
into anarchy. Mary's party assembled themselves together, and
made themselves masters of Edinburgh; but Elizabeth dispatched
an army into Scotland to check their progress.  Her subsequent
policy was full of duplicity. She played one party against another, and seemed sometimes to favor Mary, sometimes the party
which had set up the young king, and allowed them to choose his
grandfather, Lenox, as regent. The Queen of Scots could not
but perceive Elizabeth's insincerity; and, finding all her hopes
eluded, was more strongly incited to make, at all hazards, every
possible attempt for her liberty and security.  An incident also,happened about this time which tended to widen'the breach between Mary and Elizabeth, and to increase the vigilance and
jealousy of the latter princess. Pope Pius V., who had succeeded Paul, issued a bull of excommunication against Elizabeth, deprived her of all title to the crown, and absolved her subjects




A.D. 1568-1570.   RISE OF THE PURITANS.                 331
from their oaths of allegiance (April 25, 1570).  John Felton
affixed this bull to the gates of the Bishop of London's palace;
and, scorning either to fly or deny the fkct, he was seized and
condemned, and received the crown of martyrdom, for which he
seems to have entertained so violent an ambition.
~ 11. It was at this period that the sect of the Puritans, who
were afterward to play so great a part in the affairs of England,
first began to make themselves considerable.  It is computed
that during the Marian persecutions 800 Protestants sought an
asylum in Germany and Switzerland.  Among them were many
who, like Hooper, had been desirous of carrying reforms in the
Church' of England, especially in the matter of ceremonies and
vestments, farther than Cranmer had done, and disputes upon
these points broke out in 1554 among the Marian exiles settled
at Frankfort.'-The exiles carried their quarrels back with them
into England after the accession of Elizabeth, where they were
the origin of dissent, or " the separation."   These controversies
had already excited such ferment among the people, that in some
places they refused to frequent the churches where the habits and
ceremonies were used; would not salute the conforming clergy;
and proceeded so far as to revile them in the streets, to spit in
their faces, and to use them with all manner of contumely.  But
there was another set of opinions adopted by these innovators,
which rendered them in a peculiar manner the object of Elizabeth's aversion. The same bold and daring spirit which accompanied them in their addresses to the Divinity appeared in their
political speculations; and the principles of civil liberty, which
during some reigns had been little avowed in the nation, and
which were totally incompatible with the present exorbitant prerogative, had been strongly adopted by this new sect. Indeed, so
absolute was the authority of the crown, that the precious spark
of liberty was kindled and preserved by the Puritans alone, and it
is to them that the English owe the whole freedom of their Constitution. Elizabeth neglected no opportunity of depressing those
zealous innovators; and while they were secretly countenanced
by some of her most favored ministers, Cecil, Leicester, Knolles,
Bedford, Walsingham, she was never, to the end of her life, reconciled to their principles and practices.
~ 12. The affairs of religion were in that age not only the cause
of internal seditions and rebellions in various states, but also played a great part in the foreign policy of kingdoms.  The cause of
the Queen of Scots was identified with that of the Roman Catholic party in Europe, and was secretly favored by the courts of
* For an account of the " Troubles of Frankfort" and origin of dissent in
the English Church, see Dyer's Life of Calvin, ch. xii.




332                    ELIZABETH.               CHA P. X VII.
France and Spain, and Elizabeth, therefore, could not regard with
indifference the events that were passing in those countries.  In
France the wars of religion had already broken out, and the respective heads of the Roman Catholic and Huguenot parties had
fallen in the open field; the Constable Montmorency on the plains
of St. Denis, the Duke of Conde at the battle of Jarnac. But
their places were supplied by leaders of equal zeal and ability.
The young Duke of Guise was destined to eclipse the fame of his
father; while, on the other side, the indomitable Admiral Coligny
had placed the young Conde and the Prince of Navarre, then only
16, at the head of the Huguenots. To the latter party Elizabeth
had secretly lent assistance; but in 1570 the court of' France
concluded a hollow peace with them, which was only intended to
lure them to a surer and more fatal destruction. Among the
other artifices employed to lull the Protestants into a fatal security, Charles IX. of France affectedcl to enter into close connection
with Elizabeth. The better to deceive her, proposals of marriage
were made her with the Duke of Anjou; terms of the contract
were proposed, difficulties started and removed; and the two
courts, equally insincere, though not equally culpable, seemed to
approach every day nearer to each other in their demands and
concessions.  The queen had several motives for dissimulation.
Besides the advantage of discouraging Mary's partisans by the
prospect of an alliance between France and England, her situation with Philip demanded her utmost vigilance and attention;
and the violent authority established in the Low Countries made
her desirous of fortifying herself even with the bare appearance
of a new confederacy.
Philip had left the Duchess of Parma governess of' tie Low
Countries; and the plain good sense and good temper of that princess, had she been intrusted with the sole power, would have preserved the submission of those opulent provinces, which were lost
from that refinement of treacherous and barbarous politics on which
the King of Spain so highly valued himself.  The cruelties exercised in the name of religion, anid the establishment of the Inquisition, had excited a disposition to revolt; and Philip determined
to lay hold of the popular disorders as a pretense for entirely abolishing the privileges of the Low Country provinces, and for ruling
them thenceforth with military and arbitrary authority. In the
execution of this violent design he employed the Duke of Alva, a
proper instrument in the hands of such a tyrant. All the privileges
of the provinces, the gift of so many princes, and the inheritance
of so many ages, were openly and expressly abolished by edict; ar-:bitrary and sanguinary tribunals erected; the Counts Egmont and
]horn, in spite of their great merits and past services, brought to




A.D. 1570-1572.    EXECUTION OF NORFOLK.              333
the scaffold; multitudes of all ranks thrown into confinement, and
thence delivered over to the executioner; and, notwithstanding
the peaceable submission of all men, nothing was heard of but
confiscation, imprisonment, exile, torture, and death. Elizabeth
-gave protection to all the Flemish exiles who took shelter in her
dominions; and as many of these were the most industrious inhabitants of the Netherlands, and had rendered that country celebrated for its arts, she reaped the advantage of introducing into
England some useful manufactures which were formerly unknown
in that kingdom. She also seized some Genoese vessels which
were carrying a large sum of money to Alva, and which had been
obliged to take refuge in Plymouth and Southampton.  These
measures led to retaliations; but nothing could repair the loss
which so well-timed a blow inflicted on the Spanish government
in the Low Countries.
~ 13. Alva resolved to revenge the insult by exciting a rebellion in England, and procuring the marriage of the Duke of Norfolk with.the Queen of Scots. Norfolk, finding that he had lost
the confidence and favor of Elizabeth, was tempted to violate his
word, and to open anew his correspondence with the Queen of
Scots. A promise of marriage was renewed between them, and
the duke was induced to give his consent to enterprises still more
criminal. It was agreed that the Duke of Alva should land with
a large body of troops at Harwich, where the Duke of Norfolk
was to join them with all his friends; should thence march directly to London, and oblige the queen to submit to whatever
terms the conspirators slhould please to impose upon her. The
conspiracy, however, was discovered by means of a servant of
Norfolk's, who, being intrusted with a bag of gold and a letter for
transmission to Scotland, became suspicious, and carried the letter to Cecil (now Lord Burleigh). Three of the duke's agents
were arrested, and confessed the whole truth when tortured. The
duke was brought to trial, and was condemned of treason by a
jury of 26 peers. The queen long hesitated to sign his death-warrant, but at last, at the instance of the Commons, he was executed (June 2, 1572). The Earl of Northumberland, being delivered
up to the queen by the regent of Scotland, was also, a few months
after, brought to the scaffold for his rebellion.
The Queen of Scots was either the occasion or the cause of all
these disturbances;: but, as she was a sovereign princess, Elizabeth
durst not, as yet, form any resolution of proceeding to extremities
against her. The Parliament was so enraged against her that the
Commons made a direct application for immediate trial and execution. Elizabeth, however, satisfied with showing Mary the disposition of the nation, sent to the House her express commands




334                     ELIZABETH.               CHAP. XVIII
not to deal any farther at present in the affair of the Scottish
queen.
~ 14. Shortly afterward there was perpetrated at Paris (Aug.
24, 1572) that inhuman slaughter of the Protestants which, from
the day of its execution, has been called the Massacre of St. Bartholomew. The Admiral Coligny, together with about 500 noblemen and gentlemen, and nearly 10,000 persons of inferior rank,
were butchered on this occasion. Charles, in order to cover this
Medal of Pope Gregory XIII. commemorating the Massacre of St. Bartholomew. Obv.:
wREGORIVS - XII.'ONT. MAX. AN. I: bust to left. Rev.: vGONOTTORVY. sTRAGES. 1572:.,n angel slaying the Huguenots.
barbarous perfidy, pretended that a conspiracy of the Huguenots
to seize his person had been suddenly detected, and that he had
been necessitated, for his own defense, to proceed to this severity
against them. I-e sent orders to Fe'nelon, his embassador in England, to ask an audience, and to give Elizabeth this account of the
late transaction. r'he'queen heard his. apology without discovering any visible symptoms of indignation. She blamed the conduct
of Charles, but, being sensible of the dangerous situation in which
she now stood, she did not think it prudent to reject all commerce
with him.  She therefore allowed even the negotiations to be renewed for her marriage with the Duke of AlenQon, Charles's third
brother; those with the Duke of Anjou had already been broken
off. The nobility and gentry of England, indeed, were roused to
such a pitch of resentment, that they offered to levy an army of
22,000 foot and 4000 horse, to transport them into France, and
to maintain them six months at their own charge; but Elizabeth,
who was cautious in her measures, and who feared to inflame farther the quarrel between the two religions by these dangerous crusades, refused her consent, and moderated the zeal of her subjects.
But Elizabeth's best security lay in the strength of the Huguenots
themselves. The sect which Charles had hoped at one blow to
exterminate had soon an army of 18,000 men on foot, and possessed in different parts of France above 100 cities, castles, or
fortresses. By the death of Charles (May 30, 1574) without issue,




A.D. 1572-1577. AFFAIRS OF THE NETHERLANDS.            335
at the age of 25, the crown devolved to his brother, the Duke of
Anjou, now Henry III.; but his counsels were directed by the
Duke of Guise and his family. Henry was desirous of increasing
his power by acting as umpire between the two parties. Guise,
however, having formed the famous League, which, without paying any regard to the royal authority, aimed at the entire suppression of the Huguenots, the king was forced to declare himself the
head of it. Elizabeth secretly supported the Huguenots; but it
was some years before any important transactions took place between her and France.
The affairs of the Netherlands were in as disturbed a state as
those of France. In 1572 the provinces of Holland and Zealand
revolted from  the Spaniards and the tyranny of Alva. The
Prince of Orange, who had been declared a rebel, and whose ample possessions in the Low Countries had been confiscated, emerged
from his retreat in Germany to put himself at the head of the insurgents; and, by uniting the revolted cities in a league, lie laid
the foundation of that illustrious commonwealth, the offspring of
industry and liberty, whose arms and policy long made so signal
a figure in every transaction of Europe. The history of the memorable struggle of the Prince of Orange against the Duke of Alva
and his successors can not be related in this place. The Hollanders, anxious to secure the assistance of Elizabeth, offered her
the possession and sovereignty- of their provinces if she would
exert her power in their defense. But as an open war with the
Spanish monarchy was the apparent consequence of her accepting
this offer, she refused, in positive terms, the. sovereignty proffered
her; and she at present confined her efforts in their favor to an
attempt at a mediation with Philip.  But a few years afterward,
Elizabeth, seeing from the union of all the provinces a fair prospect of their making a long and vigorous defense against Spain,
no longer scrupled to embrace the protection of their liberties;
she concluded -a treaty with them, in which she stipulated to assist them  with 5000 foot and 1000 horse, and to lend them
~100,000 on receiving the bonds of some of the most considerable towns of the Netherlands for repayment within the year
(1577).
~ 15. During these years, while Europe was almost every where
in great commotion, England enjoyed a profound tranquillity,
owing chiefly to the prudence and vigor of the queen's administration, and to the wise precautions which she employed in all her
measures. By means of her rigid economy, she paid all the debts
which she found on the crown, with their full interest, though
some of these debts had been contracted even during the reign of
her father.  Some loans, which she had exacted at the commence



336                    ELIZABETH.              CHAP. XVII1.
ment of her reign, were repaid by her —a practice in that age
somewhat unusual. During this peaceable and uniform government England furnishes few materials for history; and, except
the small part which Elizabeth took in foreign transactions, there
scarcely passed any occurrence which requires a particular detail.
Philip, though he had not yet come to an open rupture with the
queen, was every day, both by the injuries which he committed and
suffered, more exasperated against her. That he might retaliate
the assistance which she gave to his rebels in the Low Countries,
he had sent, under the name of the Pope, a body of troops into
Ireland for the purpose of fomenting a rebellion (1579). When
the English embassador made complaints of this invasion, he was
answered by like complaints of the piracies committed by Francis
Drake, a bold seaman, who had assaulted the Spaniards in the
place where they deemed themselves most secure, in the New
World. Drake, with the queen's consent and approbation, set sail
fiom Plymouth in 1577 with four ships and a pinnace, on board
of which were 164 able sailors. He passed into the South Sea by
the Straits of Magellan, and, attacking the Spaniards, who expected no enemy in those quarters, he took many rich prizes, and
prepared to return with the booty which he had acquired. Apprehensive of being intercepted by the enemy if he took the same
way homeward by which he had reached the Pacific Ocean, he attempted to find a passage by the north of California; and failing
in that enterprise, he set sail for the East Indies, and returned
safely by the Cape of Good Hope. He was the first Englishman
who sailed round the globe, and the first commander-in-chief; for
Magellan, whose ship executed the same adventure, died in his
passage. His name became celebrated on account of so bold and
fortunate an attempt; but many, apprehending the'resentment of
the Spaniards, endeavored to persuade the queen that it would be
more prudent to disavow the enterprise, to punish Drake, and to
restore the treasure.  But Elizabeth, who admired valor, and was
allured by the prospect of sharing in the booty, determined to
countenance that gallant sailor: she conferred on him the honor
of knighthood, and accepted of a banquet from him at Deptford,
on board the ship which had achieved so memorable a voyage.
~16. The Duke of Alenqon, now created Duke of Anjou, had
never entirely dropped his pretensions to Elizabeth; and that
princess, though her suitor wias nearly 25 years younger than herself, and had no knowledge of her person but by pictures ori descriptions, was still pleased with the image which his addresses
afforded her of love and tenderness.  The Duke of Anjou, encouraged by the accounts sent him of the queen's prepossessions in his
fttvor, paid her secretly a visit at Greenwich; and, after some con



A.D.1577-1582.   NEGOTIATIONS OF MARRIAGE.            337
ference with her, the purport of which is not known, he departed
(1579). It appeared that, though his figure was not advantageous,
he had lost no ground by being personally known to her; and
soon after she commanded her ministers to draw up the terms of
a contract of marriage, which was to be celebrated six weeks after
the ratification of the articles. Elizabeth, however, though she
had proceeded thus far, betrayed a constant vacillation of purpose;
and not only the court of France, but Walsingham himself, Burleigh, and all her wisest ministers, were in amazement, doubtful
where this contest between inclination and reason, love and ambition, would at last terminate.'The States of the Netherlands
chose the Duke of Anjou their governor; and having been successful in raising the siege of Cambray, he put his army into winter-quarters, and came over to England, in order to prosecute his_
suit to the queen. The reception which he met with made him
expect entire success. In the midst of the pomp which attended
the anniversary of her accession (Nov. 17, 1581), she was seen,
after long and intimate discourse with him, to take a ring from
her own finger, and put it upon his; and all the spectators concluded that in this ceremony she had given him a promise of marriage, and was even desirous of signifying her intentions to all
the world. But the combat of her sentiments was not entirely
over; her ambition, as well as prudence, rousing itself by intervals,
still filled her breast with doubt and hesitation; and she was observed to pass several nights without any sleep or repose. At last
her settled habits of prudence and ambition prevailed over her
temporary inclination; and having sent for the Duke of Anjou,
she had a long conference with him in private, where she was
supposed to have made him apologies for breaking her former engagements. He expressed great disgust on his leaving her; threw
away the ring which she had given him, and uttered many curses
on the mutability of women and of islanders (1582).
~ 17. Several conspiracies in which the Jesuits were active,
some real, others imaginary, had excited the suspicion and vigilance of the government, and were imputed to the intrigues of the
Queen of Scots; and, as her name was employed in all of them,
the council thought that they could not use too many precautions
against the danger of her claims, and the restless activity of her
temper. An association was set on foot by the Earl of Leicester
and other courtiers, to defend the queen, to revenge her death, or
any injury committed against her, and to exclude from the throne
all claimants by whose suggestion, or for whose behoof, any violence
should be offered to her majesty. The Queen of Scots was sensible that this association was leveled against her; and, to remove
all suspicion from herself, she also desired to subscribe it. ElizaP




338                    ELIZABETH.               CHAP. XVIII.
beth, that she might the more discourage malcontents, by showing
them the concurrence of the nation in her favor, summoned a new
Parliament, and she met with that dutiful attachment which she
expected (Nov. 23, 1584). The association was confinned byParliament, and a clause was added, by which the queen was empowered to name commissioners for the trial of any pretender to the
crown who should attempt or imagine any invasion, insurrection,
or assassination against her; and for the greater security, a council of regency, in case of the queen's violent death, was appointed
to govern the kingdom, to settle the succession, and to take vengeance for that act of treason. A severe law was also passed that
all Jesuits and popish priests should depart the kingdom within
40 days; and the exercise of the Catholic religion, which had
formerly been prohibited under lighter penalties, and which was
in many instances connived at, was totally suppressed. In 1568
a popish seminary for refugee priests had been established at
Douay, under the auspices of Philip, and directed by the Jesuits,
whence the priests were continually passing into England, to keep
alive the expiring faith, and sometimes to excite sedition. Thus
Parsons and Campion, two Jesuits, had made themselves busy in
England in 1581, respecting Pope Pius's bull of excommunication;
and the latter, having been detected in treasonable practices, was
publicly executed. Hence the necessity for these new laws.
But the most material subject agitated in this session was the
Court of Ecclesiastical Commission, and the oath ex officio, as it
was'called, exacted by that court. This is a subject of such importance as to merit some explanation. The first primate after
the queen's accession was Parker, a man rigid in exacting conformity to the established worship, and in punishing,.by fine or
deprivation, all the Puritanical clergymen who attempted to innovate any thing in the habits, ceremonies, or Liturgy of the Church.
He died in 1575, and was succeeded by Grindal, who, as he himself was inclined to the new sect, was with great difficulty brought
to execute the laws against them, or to punish the nonconforming
clergy. He declined obeying the queen's orders for the suppression of prolhesyings, or the assemblies of the zealots in private
houses; and for this offense she had,-by an order of the Star
Chamber, sequestered him from his archiepiscopal functions, and
confined him to his own house. Upon his death, which happened
in 1583, she determined not to fall into the same error in her next
choice; and she named WVhitgift, a zealous churchman, who had
already signalized his pen in controversy, and who, having in vain
attempted to convince the Puritans by argument, was now resolved
to open their eyes by power and by the execution of penal statutes. - By his advice, the queen issued a new commission more ar



.A.D. k582-1585.    HIGH COMMISSION COURT.             339
bitrary than any of the former, and conveying more unlimited au,
thority. She appointed 44 commissioners, 12 of whom were bishops; 3 commissioners made a quorum, and the jurisdiction of the
court extended over the whole kingdom, and over all orders of
men, though more particularly directed against the clergy. The
commissioners were empowered to visit and reform all errors,
heresies, schisms; and they were directed to make inquiry, not
only by the legal methods of juries and witnesses, but by all other
means and ways which they could devise. Where they found
reason to suspect any person, they might administer to him an oath
called ex oqicio, by which. he was bound to answer all questions,
and might thereby be obliged to accuse himself or his most intimate friend.  In a word, this court was a real Inquisition, except
that it could not employ torture. Censure and deprivation were
its usual punishments; and sometimes it resorted to fine and imprisonment; but these, as well as the whole constitution of the
court, were always regarded as illegal by the courts of law. In a
speech from the throne at the end of the session the queen reproved the Commons for touching upon this grievance in their
petition; and, so far from yielding to the displeasure of the Parliament, granted, before the end of her reign, a new commission,
in which she enlarged, rather than restrained, the powers of the
commissioners. The act against Jesuits and seminary priests
was violently opposed by one Parry, who had received the queen's
pardon for a crime by which he was exposed to capital punishment. Having obtained permission to travel, he retired to Milan,
where, according to his own confession, he was persuaded by a
Jesuit that he could not perform a more meritorious action than
to take away the life of his sovereign and benefactress; and his
design, having been communicated to the Pope through Cardinal
Como, received the approbation of the holy father. On his return
to England Parry communicated his intention to Neville, by whom
it was betrayed to the ministers, and he was condemned and executed as a traitor (1585).
~18. These bloody designs now appeared every where as the
result of that bigoted spirit by which the two religions, especially
the Roman Catholic, were at this time actuated. About the same
time, Baltazar Gerard, a Burgundian, undertook and executed the
same design against the Prince of Orange; and that great man
perished at Delft by the hands of a desperate assassin. The
States of the Netherlands now renewed their offer to Elizabeth of
acknowledging her for their sovereign on condition of obtaining
her protection and assistance. Elizabeth declined this proposal;
but being determined not to permit, without opposition, the total
subjection of the revolted provinces, she accepted the protectorate,




340                    ELIZABETH.               CHAP. XVIII.
and agreed to send over an army to their assistance (1585). The
Earl of Leicester was sent over to Holland at the head of the English auxiliary forces. Elizabeth, finding that an open breach
with Philip was unavoidable, resolved not to leave him unmolested in America. A fleet of 20 sail was equipped to attack the
Spaniards in the West Indies, of which Sir Francis Drake was
appointed admiral. They made several conquests; and, sailing
along the coast of Virginia, they found the small remains of a colony which had been planted there by Sir Walter Raleigh, and
which had gone extremely to decay. This was the first attempt
of the English to form such settlements; and though they have
since surpassed all European nations, both in the situation of their
colonies, and in the noble principles of liberty and industry on
which they are founded, they had here been so unsuccessful that
the miserable planters abandoned their settlements, and prevailed
on Drake to carry them with him to England. He returned with
so much riches as encouraged the volunteers, and with such accounts of the Spanish weakness in those countries as served extremely to inflame the spirits of the nation to future enterprises.
Leicester's operations were much less successful than those of
Drake. This man possessed neither courage nor capacity equal
to the trust reposed in him by the queen; and as he was the only
bad choice she made for any considerable employment, men naturally believed that she had here been influenced by an affection
still more partial than that of friendship. He gained, indeed, advantages at first, but failed in an attempt which he made upon
Zutphen.  In a skirmish under the walls of this town Sir Philip
Sydney was mortally wounded, and soon after died (Sept. 22,
1586). This person is described by the writers of that age as the
most perfect model of an accomplished gentleman that could be
formed even by the wanton imagination of poetry or fiction. Virtuous conduct, polite conversation, heroic valor, and elegant erudition, all concurred to render him the ornament and delight of
the English court; and as the credit which he possessed with the
queen and the Earl of Leicester was wholly employed in the encouragement of genius and literature, his praises have been transmitted with advantage to posterity. No person was so low as
not to become an object of his humanity. After this last action,
while he was lying on the field mangled with wounds, a bottle of
water was brought him to relieve his thirst; but, observing a soldier near him in a like miserable condition, he said, " This man's
necessity is greater than mine;" and resigned to him the bottle of
water.
~ 19. Some priests of the English seminary at Rheims had
wrought themselves up to a high pitch of rage and animosity




A.D. 1585, 1586.    BABINGTON'S CONSPIRACY.            341
against the queen.  Intoxicated with admiration of the divine
power and infallibility of the Pope, they revered his bull, by which
he excommunicated and deposed her. The assassination of heretical sovereigns, and of that princess in particular, was represented
as the most meritorious of all enterprises; and they taught that
whosoever perished in such pious attempts, enjoyed, without dispute, the glorious and never-fading crown of martyrdom. By such
doctrines they instigated John Savage, a man of desperate courage, who had served some years in the Low Countries, to attempt
the life of Elizabeth; and this assassin, having made a vow to
persevere in his design, was sent over to England, and recommended to the confidence of the more zealous Catholics. About
the same time, John Ballard, a priest of that seminary, when on a
mission in England and Scotland, had observed a spirit of mutiny
and rebellion to be very prevalent among the Roman Catholic
devotees in these countries, and had founded on that disposition
the project of dethroning Elizabeth, and of restoring, by force of
arms, the exercise of the ancient religion. M'endoza, the Spanish
embassador at Paris, strongly encouraged Ballard to hope for succors. He accordingly returned to England in the disguise of a
soldier, and assumed the name of Captain Fortescue; and he bent
his endeavors to effect at once the project of an assassination, an
insurrection, and an invasion (1586). With this view he addressed himself to Anthony Babington, a young gentleman of a good
family and fortune, who bad discovered an excellent capacity, and
was accomplished in literature beyond most of his years or station. Babington had before been engaged with one Morgan in a
secret correspondence with the Queen of Scots; but after she was
put under the custody of Sir Amias Paulet, and reduced to a more
rigorous confinement, he had desisted from every attempt of that
nature.  When Ballard began to open his intentions to Babington, he found his zeal suspended, not extinguished; his former ardor revived on the mention of any enterprise which seemed to
promise success in the cause of Mary and of the Catholic religion.
Ballard proceeded to discover to him the design undertaken by
Savage, and was well pleased to observe that, instead of being
shocked with the project, Babington only thought it not secure
enough when intrusted to one single hand; and proposed to join
five others with Savage in this desperate enterprise.  In prosecution of these views, 1abington employed himself in increasing the
number of his associates, as he aimed at the deliverance of the
Queen of Scots at the very same instant when Elizabeth should
be assassinated; and he secretly drew into the conspiracy many
Catholic gentlemen discontented with the present government.
These desperate projects had not escaped the vigilance of Eliza



342                     ELIZABETH.               CHAP. XVIII.
beth's council, particularly of Walsingham, secretary of state, who,
by means of spies, had got a hint of the designs entertained by the
fugitives. But the bottom of the conspiracy was never fully
known till Gifford, a seminary priest, came over, and made a tender of his services to' Walsingham. - By his means the discovery
became of the utmost importance, and involved the fate of Mary,
as well as of those zealous partisans of that princess. Babington
and his associates employed Gifford to communicate their design
to the Queen of Scots, and Gifford immediately applied to Walsingham, that the interest of tliat minister might forward his secret correspondence with Miary. Gifford found a brewer who
supplied Paulet's family with ale, and bribed him to convey letters to the captive queen. The letters, by Paulet's contrivance,
were thrust through a chink in the wall, and answers were returned by the same conveyance.  Ballard and Babington were at
first diffident of Gifford's fidelity; and, to make trial of him, they
gave him only blank papers made up like letters; but finding by
thE answers that these had been faithfully delivered, they laid aside
all farther scruple, and conveyed to Mary by his hands the particulars of the whole conspiracy.  Mary replied that she approved
highly of the design; that the gentlemen might expect all the rewards which it should ever be in her power to confer; and that
the death of Elizabeth was a necessary circumstance, before any
attempts were made, either for her own deliverance or an insurrection. These and other letters were carried by Gifford to Secretary WValsingham, and copies taken of them. At length Ballard
was seized; and Babington, observing that he was watched, made
his escape, and gave the alarm to the other conspirators. They
all took to flight, covered themselves with several disguises, and
lay concealed in St. John's Wood apd other places, but were soon
discovered and thrown into prison. In their examinations they
contradicted each other, and the leaders were obliged to make a
full confession of the truth.  Fourteen were condemned and executed, of whom seven acknowledged the crime on their trial; the
rest were convicted by evidence.
~ 20. The lesser conspirators being dispatched, measures were
taken, after much deliberation, for the trial and conviction of the
Queen of Scots. She was conducted to Fotheringay Castle in the
county of Northampton, which it was determined to make the last
stage of her trial and sufferings.  IIer two secretaries, Nau, a
Frenchman, and Curle, a Scot, were immediately arrested; her
papers were sent up to the council, among which were found many
letters from persons beyond sea, and several too from English noblemen, containing expressions of respect and attachment. It was
resolved to try Mary, not by the common statute of treasons, but




~.D. 1586.           TRIAL OF MARY.                    343
by an act which had passed the former year with a view to this
very event; and the queen, in terms of that act, appointed a commission, consisting of 47 noblemen and privy counselors, and empowered them to examine and pass sentence on Mary, whom she
denominated the late Queen of Scots, and heir to James V. of
Scotland. Mary at first refused to answer, pleading her royal dignity, but the commissioners would not admit this objection; and
at length, by a well-timed speech by Sir Christopher Hatton, the
vice-chamberlain, she was persuaded to answer before the court,
though, on her first appearance before the commissioners, she renewed her protestation against the authority of her judges.  The
only part of the charge which Mary positively denied was her concurrence in the design of assassinating Elizabeth. This article,
indeed, was the most heavy, and the only one that could fully justify the queen in proceeding to extremities against her. In order
to prove the accusation, there was produced the following evidence:
copies taken in Secretary Walsingham's office of the intercepted
letters between her and Babington, in which her approbation of
the murder was clearly expressed; the evidence of her two secretaries, NNan and Curle, who had confessed, without being put to
any torture, both that she had received these letters from Babington, and that they had written the answers by her order; the confession of Babington that he had written the letters and received
the answers; and the confession of Ballard and Savage that Babington had shown them these letters of Mary written in the cipher which had been settled between them.  Her reply consisted
chiefly of her own denial, and an insinuation of forgery against
Walsingham, which was indignantly repelled, and which she afterward withdrew.  Such a defense can not weigh against so overwhelming a weight of testimony; nor is it probable that she should
have been partially made acquainted with the nature of the conspiracy. Having finished the trial, the commissioners adjourned
from Fotheringay Castle, and met in the Star Chamber at London,
where they pronounced sentence of death upon the Queen of Scots,
and confirmed it by their seals and subscriptions (Oct. 25, 1586).
The queen had now brought affairs with Mary to that situation
which she had long ardently desired; but she foresaw the invidious colors in which this example of uncommon jurisdiction would
be represented by the numerous partisans of Mary, and the reproach to which she herself might be exposed with all foreign
princes, perhaps with all posterity.  She therefore pretended the
utmost reluctance to proceed to the execution of the sentence;
affected the most tender sympathy with her prisoner; displayed
all her scruples and difficulties; rejected the solicitation of her
courtiers and ministers; and affirmed that, were she not moved




344                    ELIZABETH.               CHAP. XVIIJ
by the deepest concern for her people's safety, she would not hesitate a moment in pardoning all the injuries which she -herself had
received from the Queen of Scots. That the voice of her people
might be more audibly heard in the demand of justice upon Mary,
she summoned a new Parliament; and she knew, both from the
usual dispositions of that assembly, and from the influence of her
ministers over them, that she should not want the most earnest
solicitations to consent to that measure which was so agreeable to
her secret inclinations.  The event answered her expectations;
the sentence against Mary was unanimously ratified by both
houses; and an application was voted to obtain Elizabeth's consent to its publication and execution. - She gave an answer, ambiguous, embarrassed; full of real artifice and seeming irresolution; and she begged them to think once again whether it were
possible to find any expedient, besides the death of the Queen of
Scots, for securing the public tranquillity.  The Parliament, in
obedience to her commands, took the affair again under consideration, but could find no other possible expedient. The queen then
published the sentence by proclamation; and this act seemed to
be attended with the unanimous and hearty rejoicings of the people (Dec. 6). When the sentence was notified to her, Mary was
nowise dismayed at the intelligence; and as she was told that
her death was demanded by the Protestants for the establishment
of their faith, she insisted that she was really a martyr to her religion, and was entitled to all the merits attending that glorious
character. In her last letter to Elizabeth, which was full of dignity, without departing from that spirit of meekness and of charity which appeared suitable to this concluding scene of her unfortunate life, she preferred no petition for averting the fatal sen*tence; on the contrary, she expressed her gratitude to Heaven for
thus bringing to a speedy period her sad and lamentable pilgrimage. She merely desired to be buried in France, and made some
requests in favor of her servants. The King of France sent an
embassador to intercede for the life of Mary, but without success.
The interposition of the young King of Scots, though not able to
change Elizabeth's determination, seemed, on every account, to
merit more regard. As soon as James heard of the trial and condemnation of his mother,'he sent Sir William Keith, a gentleman
of his bed-chamber, to London, and wrote a letter to the. queen,
in which he remonstrated, in very severe terms, against the indignity of the procedure. Soon after, James sent the Master of Gray
and Sir Robert Melvil to enforce the remonstrances of Keith, and
to employ with the queen every expedient of argument and menaces. Elizabeth, however, still retained her resolution of executing the sentence against Mary; and it is believed that the Master




A.D. 1586.         EXECUTION OF MARY.                   345
of Gray, gained by the enemies of that princess, secretly gave his
advice not to spare her, and undertook, at all events, to pacify his
master. 
~ 21. When Elizabeth thought that as many importunities had
been used and as much delay interposed as decency required, she
at last determined to carry the sentence into execution; but even
in this final resolution she could not proceed without displaying a
new scene of duplicity and artifice. In order to alarm the vulgar,
all sorts of rumors were dispersed respecting invasions from
France, Spain, and Scotland, and of attempts and projects against
the queen's life. Elizabeth, affecting to be in terror and perplexity, was observed to sit much alone, pensive and silent, and sometimes to mutter to herself half sentences importing the difficulty
and distress to which she was reduced.  She ordered Secretary
Davison privately to draw a warrant for the execution of the
Queen of Scots, but next day she enjoined him to delay; and when
Davison told her that the warrant had already passed the great
seal, she seemed to be somewhat moved, and blamed him for his
precipitation; but the council persuaded him to send off the warrant, and promised to justify his conduct, and to take on themselves the whole blame of this measure. The warrant was accordingly dispatched to the Earls of Shrewsbury and Kent, and some
others, ordering them to see the sentence executed upon the Queen
of Scots.
The two earls came to Fotheringay Castle, and, being introduced to Mary, informed her of their commission, and desired her
to prepare for death next morning at eight o'clock.  She seemed
nowise terrified, though somewhat surprised, with the intelligence.
She said, with a cheerful and even a smiling countenance, that she
did not think the queen, her sister, would have consented to her
death,-or have executed the sentence against a person not subject
to the laws and jurisdiction of England.  "But as such is her
will," said she, " death, which puts an end to all my miseries, shall
be to me most welcome; nor can I esteem that soul worthy the felicities of heaven which can not support the body under the horrors
of the last passage to these blissful mansions." When the earls
had left her she ordered supper to be hastened, that she might have
the more leisure after it to finish the few affairs-which remained to
her in this world, and to prepare for her passage to another. She
supped sparingly, as her manner usually was, and her wonted cheerfulness did not even desert her on this occasion.  She comforted
her servants under the affliction which overwhelmed them, and
which was too violent for them to conceal it from her. Toward
morning she arose and dressed herself in a rich habit of silk and
velvet, the only one which she had reserved to herself. Having
P 2




846                     ELIZABETH.              CHAP. XVIII.
passed into the hall, where was erected the scaffold covered with
black, she saw with an undismayed countenance the executioners
and all the preparations of death.  Here her old servant, Sir Andrew Melvil, took an affecting leave of her.  The warrant for her
execution was thenf read to her; and during this ceremony she
was silent, but showed in her behavior an indifference and unconcern as if the business had nowise regarded her. Before the executioners performed their office, the Dean of Peterborough stepped forth, and though the queen frequently told him that he needed
not concern himself about her, that she was settled in the ancient
Catholic and Roman religion, and that she meant to lay down her
life in defense of that faith, he still thought it his duty to persist
in his lectures and exhortations. She now began, with the aid of
her two women, to disrobe herself, and the executioner also lent
his hand to assist them. She smiled, and said that she was not
accustomed to undress herself before so large a company, nor to
be served by such valets. Her servants, seeing her in this condition ready to lay her head upon the block, burst into tears and
lamentations.  She turned about to them, put her finger upon her
lips as a sign of imposing silence upon them, and, having given
them her blessing, desired them to pray for her. One of her
maids, whom she had appointed for that purpose, covered her eyes
with a handkerchief; she laid herself down without any sign of
fear or trepidation, and her head was severed from her body Xt
two strokes by the executioner. He instantly held it up to tLA
spectators, streaming with blood and agitated with the convulsion s
of death. The Dean of Peterborough alone exclaimed, " So pei.
ish all Queen Elizabeth's enemies!"  The Earl of Kent alone re,
plied " Amen 1"  The attention of all the other spectators was fix.
ed on the melancholy scene before them, and zeal and flattery alike
gave place to present pity and admiration of the expiring princess
(Feb. 8, 1587).
Thus perished, in the 45th year of her age and 19th of her captivity in England, Mary Queen of Scots, a woman of great accomplishments both of body and mind, natural as well as acquired, but
unfortunate in her life, and during one period very unhappy in her
conduct. In order to form a just idea of her character, we must
set aside one part of her conduct, while she abandoned herself to
the guidance of a profligate man, and must consider these faults,
whether we admit them to be imprudences or crimes, as the result
of an inexplicable though not uncommon inconstancy in the human mind, of the frailty of our nature, of the violence of passion,
and of the influence which situations, and sometimes momentary
incidents have on persons whose principles are not thoroughly con-.
firmed by experience and reflection. An enumeration of her qual



A. D. 1587.    ELIZABETH'S AFFECTED SORROW.            347
ities might carry the appearance of a panegyric; an account of her
conduct must in some parts wear the aspect of severe satire and
invective.
~ 22. When the queen was informed of Miary's execution she
affected the utmost surprise and indignation.  She put herself in
deep mourning, and she was seen perpetually bathed in tears, and
surrounded only by her maids and women. None of her ministers
or counselors dared to approach her; or, if any had such temerity,
she chased them from her with the most violent expressions of
rage and resentment; they had all of them been guilty of an unpardonable crime in putting to death her dear sister and kinswoman, contrary to her fixed purpose, of which they were sufficiently
apprised and acquainted.  No sooner was her sorrow so much
abated as to leave room for reflection than she wrote a letter of
apology to the Kiing of Scots; and, in order the better to appease
him, she committed Davison to prison, and ordered him to be tried
in the Star Chamber for his misdemeanor.  He vwas condemned
to imprisonment during the queen's pleasure, and to pay a fine of
~10,000. He remained a long time in custody; and the fine,
though it reduced him to beggary, was rigorously levied upon him.
James discovered the highest resentment, and refused to admit
Elizabeth's envoy into his presence.'He recalled his embassadors
from England, and seemed to breathe nothing but war and vengeance. The States of Scotland, being assembled, took part in
his anger, and professed that they were ready to spend their lives
and fortunes in revenge of his mother's death, and in defense of
his title to the crown of England. But the judicious representations made to him by Walsingham, joined to the peaceable, unambitious temper of the young prince, prevailed over his resentment,
and he fell gradually into a good correspondence with the court
of England.  It is probable that the queen's chief object in her
dissimulation with regard to the execution of Mary was that she
might thereby afford James a decent pretense for renewing his
friendship with her, on which their mutual interests so much depended.




:ntch medal on the overthrow of the Armada. Obv.: FLATIT.  r.  SS. IsrP
SVNT. 15t:S the Armada advancing in order.
CHAPTER XIX.
ELIZABETH CONTINUED.  FRO.MI THIE EXECUTION OF TIIE QUEEN OF SCOTS
TO THE DEATH OF ELIZABETH.  A.D. 1587-1603.
~1. Preparations of Philip for an Invasion of England. The Invincible
Armada. ~ 2. Defeat of the Spanish Armada. ~ 3. Expedition against
Portugal.  ~ 4. French Affairs. Elizabeth assists Henry IV.' Naval
Enterprises against Spain. ~ 5. Elizabeth's Proceedings with her Parliament. ~ 6. Affairs of France. Raleigh's Expedition to Guiana. ~ 7.
Expeditions to Cadiz and Ferrol. The Earl of Essex. Death of Burleigh and of Philip II. ~ 8. Affairs of Ireland. Tyrone's Rebellion.
Essex Lord-lieutenant of Ireland. Disgrace of Essex. ~ 9. His Insurrection. His Trial and Execution.  ~ 10. Death and Character of Elizabeth. ~ 11. General Reflections on the Period of the Tudors. Power
of the Crown under that Dynasty. ~ 12. The Constitution intact in Theory. Benevolences.  Monopolies.  ~ 13. Relations of the Crown and
Commons. ~ 14. Administration of Justice. ~ 15. Consequences of the
Reformation. Court of High Commission. ~ 16. General State of the
Nation.
~ 1. WIiuLE Elizabeth insured tranquillity from  the attempts
of her nearest neighbor, she was not negligent of more distant dangers.  She knew that Philip, eager for revenge and zealous to exterminate heresy, had formed, with the sanction and co-operation
of the Pope and of the Guises in France, the ambitious project of
subduing England, and was secretly preparing a great navy to attack her.  Accordingly, she sent Sir Francis Drake with a fleet,
soon after Mary's death (1587), to pillage the Spanish coast and
destroy the shipping. Drake burned more than 100 ships off Cadiz, and destroyed a vast quantity of stores which had been col



A.D. 1587.        THE SPANISH ARMADA.                   349
Reverse of medal on preceding page: ALLIIDOR. NON. *iEDOR: the church on a rock in the
lidst of a stormy sea.
lected for the invasion of England.  Meanwhile Philip continued
his preparations with the greatest energy; every part of his vast
empire resounded with the noise of armaments; and all his ministers, generals, and admirals were employed in forwarding the
design. Vessels of uncommon size and force were built; vast armies were assembled; nor were any doubts entertained but such
vast preparations, conducted by officers of consummate skill, must
finally be successful; and the Spaniards, ostentatious of their power, and elated with vain hopes, had already denominated their
navy the Invincible Armada.  Elizabeth meantime made preparations for resistance; nor was she dismayed with that power by
which all Europe apprehended she must of necessity be overwhelmed. Her force, indeed, seemed very unequal to resist so potent
an enemy. All the sailors in England amounted at that time to
about 14,000 men. The size of the English shipping was in general so small, that, except a few of the queen's ships of war, there
were not four vessels belonging to the merchants which exceeded 400 tons. The royal navy consisted of only 34 sail, many of
which were of small size; none of them exceeded the bulk of
our largest frigates, and most of them deserved rather the name
of pinnaces than of ships. The only advantage of the English
fleet consisted in the dexterity and courage of the seamen. All
the commercial towns of England were required to furnish ships
for re-enforcing this small navy; and the citizens of London, in
order to show their zeal in the common cause, instead of 15 vessels which they were commanded to equip, voluntarily fitted out
double the number. The gentry and nobility hired, and armed,




350                    ELIZABETH.               CHAP. XIX.
and manned 43 ships at their own charge; and all the loans of
money which the queen demanded were frankly granted by the
persons applied to. Lord Howard of Eflingham, a man of courage and capacity, was admiral, and took on him the command of'
the navy; Drake, Hawkins, and Frobisher, the most renowned
seamen in Europe, served under him. On land three large armies
were assembled; but the men were raised in haste, and such raw
levies were much inferior to the Spaniards in discipline and reputation. The queen did every thing in her power to animate her
soldiers and excite the martial spirit of the nation. She appeared
on horseback in the camp that was formed at Tilbury; and, riding
through the lines, discovered a cheerful and animated countenance,
exhorted the soldiers to remember their duty to their country and
their religion, and professed her intention, though a woman, to
lead them herself into the field against the enemy, and rather to
perish in battle than survive the ruin and slavery of her people.
~ 2. The sailing of the Spanish Armada was delayed by the
death of the admiral and vice-admiral; and Philip appointed the
Duke of Medina Sidonia to the command, a nobleman of great
family, but entirely unacquainted with sea affairs. The Armada
at last set sail from Lisbon (May 29, 1588), but, being dispersed
by a storm, was obliged to put into the Groine (Corunna) to refit.
When this was accomplished, the Spaniards with fresh hopes set
out again to sea, in prosecution of their enterprise. The fleet consisted of 130 vessels, of which nearly 100 were galleons, and were
of greater size than any ever before used in Europe. It carried
on board 20,000 soldiers. The plan formed by the King of Spain
was that the Armada should sail to Dunkirk, and, having taken
on board the Spanish troops in the Netherlands under the command of the Duke of Parma, should thence make sail to the
Thames, and, having landed the whole Spanish army, thus complete at one blow the entire conquest of England.  On the 19th
of July the Spaniards were descried off the Lizard, and Effingham
had just time to get out of Plymouth when he saw the Armada
coming full sail toward him, disposed in the form a crescent, and
stretching the distance of seven miles from the extremity of one
division to that of the other. He gave orders not to come to close
fight with the Spaniards, where the size of the ships and the numbers of the soldiers would be a disadvantage to the English, but
to cannonade them at a distance, and to wait the opportunity
which winds, currents, or various accidents must afford him of
intercepting some scattered vessels of the enemy. Nor was it long
before the event answered expectation.  A great ship of Biscay,
on board of which was a considerable part of the Spanish money,
took fire by accident; and. while all hands were employed in ex



A.D. 1587, 1588.    DEFEAT OF THE ARMADA.             351
tinguishing the flames, she fell behind the rest of the Armada;
the great galleon of Andalusia was detained by the springing of
her mast; and both these vessels were taken, after some resistance, by Sir Francis Drake. As the Armada advanced up the
Channel, the English hung upon its rear, and still infested it with
skirmishes; while, the alarm having now reached the coast of
England, the nobility and gentry hastened out with their vessels
from every harbor, and re-enforced the admiral. The Armada
cast anchor before Calais, in expectation that the Duke of Parma,
who had received intelligence of their approach, would put to sea
and join his forces to them. The English admiral practiced here
a successful stratagem upon the Spaniards.  IIe took eight of his
smaller ships, and, filling them with all combustible materials,
sent them one after another into the midst of the enemy. The
Spaniards fancied that they were fire-ships of the same contrivance with a famous vessel which had lately done so much execution in the Scheldt, near Antwerp, and they immediately cut their
cables, and took to flight with the greatest disorder and precipitation. The English fell upon them next morning while in confusion; and, besides doing damage to other ships, they took or
destroyed about 12 of the enemy,
By this time it was become apparent that the intention for
which these preparations were made by the Spaniards was entirely frustrated. The Duke of Parma positively refused to leave
the harbor; and the Spanish admiral, finding that in many rencounters, while he lost so considerable a part of his own navy, he
had destroyed only one small vessel of the English, prepared to
return homeward; but, as the wind was contrary to his passage
through the Channel, he resolved to sail northward, and, making
the tour of the island, reach the Spanish harbors by the ocean.
The English fleet followed him durinDg some time; and, had not
their ammunition fallen short, by the negligence of the officers in
supplying them, they had obliged the whole Armada to surrender
at discretion. A violent tempest overtook the Armada after it
passed the Orkneys, and many of the ships were miserably wrecked. Not a half of the navy returned to Spain; and the seamen
as well as soldiers who remained were so overcome with hardships and fatigue, and so dispirited by their discomfiture, that
they filled all Spain with accounts of the desperate valor of the
English, and of the tempestuous violence of that ocean which
surrounds them. Such was the miserable and dishonorable conclusion of an enterprise which had been preparing for three years,
which had exhausted the revenue and force of Spain, and which
had long filled all Europe with anxiety and expectation.
~ 3. The discomfiture of the Armada had begotten in the nation




352                    ELIZABETH.               CHAP. XIX.
a kind of enthusiastic passion for enterprises against Spain; and
-a design was formed in the following year (1589) to conquer the
kingdom of Portugal for Don Antonio, an illegitimate branch of
the royal family of that country.  Sir Francis Drake and Sir
John Norris were the leaders in this romantic enterprise, which
was afterward joined by the Earl of Essex; but the queen only
allowed six of her ships of war to attend the expedition.  The
English gained several advantages over the Spaniards, and even
got possession of the suburbs of Lisbon; yet, their ammunition
and provisions being exhausted, and the army wasted by fatigue
and intemperance, it was found necessary to make all possible
haste to re-embark. They sailed thence to Vigo, which they took
and burned, and, having ravaged the country around, they set sail
and arrived in England. It is computed that 1100 gentlemen
embarked onl board the fleet, and that only 350 survived the multiplied disasters to which they had been exposed through fatigue,
famine, sickness, and the sword.
~ 4. Meanwhile a revolution was in progress in France which
finally engaged Elizabeth to take a part in the affairs of that country. Henry III., to disembarrass himself of the tyranny of the
league, had caused its leaders, the Duke of Guise and his brother
the cardinal, to be assassinated; and, having entered into a confederacy with the Huguenots and the King of Navarre, was himself
murdered by Jaques Clement, a Dominican friar (Aug. 9, 1589).
The King of Navarre, next heir to the crown, assumed the government by the title of Henry IV.; but the league governed by the
Duke of Mayenne, brother to Guise, gathered new force, and the
King of Spain entertained views either of dismembering the French
monarchy or of annexing the whole to his own dominions.  In
these distressful circumstances Henry addressed himself to Elizabeth, who made him a present of ~22,000, and sent him a reenforcement of 4000 men under Lord Willoughby (1590). In
the following year she sent over, at two different times, a large
body of men to the assistance of Henry, with the view of expelling the leaguers from Normandy. The Earl of Essex was appointed general of these forces, a young nobleman who, by many
exterior accomplishments, and still more real merit, was daily advancing in favor with Elizabeth, and seemed to occupy that place
in her affections which Leicester, now deceased, had so long enjoyed.  During these military operations in France Elizabeth
employed her naval power against Philip, and endeavored to intercept his TWest Indian treasures, the source of that greatness
which rendered him so formidable to all his neighbors. This
war did great damage to Spain, but it was attended with considerable expense to England.




A.D. 1588-1595.   AFFAIRS OF FRANCE.                  353
~ 5. Elizabeth summoned therefore a Parliament in order to
obtain a supply of money (1593); but, far from making any concessions in return, there never was any Parliament whom she
treated in a more haughty manner, whom she made more sensible of their own weakness, or whose privileges she more openly
violated. She sent Peter Wentworth to the Tower for moving
a petition for the settlement of the succession; committed Sir
Thomas Bromley, who had seconded him, to the Fleet Prison,
together with Stevens and Welsh, two members to whom Sir
Thomas had communicated his intention.  Morrice, chancellor
of the duchy, and attorney of the Court of Wards, having made a
motion for redressing the abuses in the bishops' courts, but, above
all, in the High Commission, was seized in the House itself by a
sergeant-at-arms, discharged from his office, incapacitated from
any practice in his profession as, a common lawyer, and kept
some years prisoner in Tilbury Castle. *The queen expressly
pointed out both what the House should and should not do, and
the Commons were as obsequious to the one as to the other of her
injunctions. They accordingly passed a law against recusants,
entitled "An Act to retain her majesty's subjects in their due
obedience," by which an obstinate and prolonged refusal to attend
public worship was made a capital felony. This law bore equally hard upon the Catholics and the Puritans. Nevertheless, the
Commons not only voted a subsidy, but even enlarged it at the
instance of the Peers.
~ 6. Meanwhile Henry IV., moved by the necessity of his affairs, had resolved to renounce the Protestant religion, and was
solemnly received by the French prelates of his party into the
bosom of the Church (July 25, 1593). Elizabeth pretended to be
extremely displeased with this abjuration of Henry; and she
wrote him an angry letter, reproaching him with this interested
change of his religion. Sensible, however, that the league and
the King of Spain were still their common enemies, she hearkened
to his apologies, continued her succors both of men and money,
and formed a new treaty, in which they mutually stipulated never
to make peace but by common agreement. She assisted Henry in
finally breaking the force of the league, which, after the conversion of that monarch, went daily to decay, and was threatened
with speedy ruin and dissolution. The English forces rendered
Henry considerable assistance till he made peace with Spain in
1598.
This was the age of naval enterprises, and several were undertaken about this time by Sir John Hawkins and his son Richard
Hawkins, Sir Francis Drake, and others.  In 1595, Sir Walter
]Raleigh, who had been thrown into prison for an intrigue with a




354                    ELIZABETH.               CHAP. XIXmaid of honor, no sooner recovered his liberty than he was push.
ed by his active and enterprising genius to attempt some great action. It was imagined that in the inland parts of South America, called Guiana, a country as yet undiscovered, there were
mines and treasures far exceeding any which Cortez or Pizarro
had met with. Raleigh, whose turn of mind was somewhat romantic and extravagant, undertook, at his own charge, the discovery of this wonderful country. Having taken the small town of
St. Joseph, in the isle of Trinidad, where he found no riches, he
left his ship and sailed up the River Oronoco in pinnaces, but
without meeting with any thing to answer his expectations.
~ 7. In 1596 the English attempted the Spanish dominions in
Europe, where they heard Philip was making great preparations
for a new invasion of England. A powerful fleet was equipped
at Plymouth, in which were embarked near 7000 soldiers.  The
land forces were commanded by the Earl of Essex; the navy by
Lord Effingham, high admiral. The fleet set sail on the 1st of
June, and bent its course to Cadiz, which place was taken chiefly
through the impetuous valor of Essex, who disregarded the more
cautious counsels of Effingham. The admiral was afterward created
Earl of Nottingham, and his promotion gave great disgust to Essex. In the preamble of the patent it was said that the new dignity was conferred on him on account of his good services in takling
Cadiz, a merit which Essex pretended solely to belong to himself.
Next year the queen, having received intelligence that the. Spaniards were preparing a squadron in order to make a descent upon
Ireland, equipped a large fleet, in which she embarked about 6000
troops, and appointed the Earl of Essex commander-in-clief both
of the land and sea forces. The design was to attack Ferrol and
the Groine, where the Spanish expedition was preparing; but the
English fleet having been dispersed and shattered by a storm, and
their provisions much spent, Essex confined his enterprise to the
intercepting of tile Indian fleet; but the Spaniards contrived to
get to Terceira, and Essex intercepted only three ships, which,
however, were so rich as to repay all the charges of the expedition.
The Earl of Essex continued daily to increase in the queen's
favor, but his lofty spirit could ill submit to that implicit deference which her temper required, and which she had ever been accustomed to receive from all her subjects. Being once engaged'in a dispute with her about the choice of a governor for Ireland,
he was so heated in the argument that he entirely forgot the rules
both of duty and civility, and turned his back upon her in a contemptuous manner. Her anger, naturally prompt and violent,
rose at this provocation; and she instantly gave him a box on the




A.D. 1595-1598.   AFFAIRS OF IRELAND.                  355
ear, adding a passionate expression suited to his impertinence.
Instead of recollecting himself, and making the submissions due to
her sex and station, he clapped his hand to his sword, and swore
that he would not bear such usage were it from Henry VIII. himself; and he immediately withdrew from court. Yet the queen's
partiality reinstated him in his former favor, and her kindness to
him appeared rather to have acquired new force from this short
interval of anger and resentment. The death. of Lord Burleigh,
who had always opposed Essex, which happened about the same
time (1598), seemed to insure him constant possession of the queen's
confidence, and nothing, indeed, but his own indiscretion could
thenceforth have shaken his well-established credit. Soon after
the death of Burleigh, the queen, who regretted extremely the loss
of so wise and faithful a minister, was informed of the death of
her capital enemy, Philip II., who, after languishing under many
infirmities, expired in an advanced age at Madrid (Sept. 13).
~ 8. About this time Elizabeth's attention was called to the
affairs of Ireland. Though the dominion of the English over that
country had been established above four centuries, their authority
hitherto had been little more than nominal. A body of 1000 men
was supported there, which, on extraordinary emergencies, was
augmented to 2000. No wonder that such a force was unable to
control the half-civilized Irish, and that their ancient animosity
against the tyranny of the English, now farther inflamed by religious antipathy, should have broken out in several dangerous rebellions. Hugh O'Neale, nephew to Shan O'Neale, or the Great
O'Neale, had been raised by the queen to the dignity of Earl of
Tyrone; but, having murdered his cousin, son of that rebel, and
being acknowledged head of his clan, he preferred the pride of
barbarous license and dominion to the pleasures of opulence and
tranquillity, and lie fomented all those disorders by which lie hoped
to weaken or overturn the English government. He entered into
a correspondence with Spain; he procured thence a supply of
arms and ammunition; and, having united all the Irish chieftains
in a dependence upon himself, he began to be regarded as a formidable enemy.  Tyrone defied and eluded for some years the
arms of Sir John Norris, the English commander, and defeated his
successor, Sir Henry Bagnal, in a pitched battle at Blackwater,
Where 1500 men, together with the general himself, were left dead
upon the spot.  This victory, so unusual to the Irish, roused their
courage, supplied them with arms and ammunition, and raised the
reputation of Tyrone, who assumed the character of the deliverer
of his country and patron of Irish liberty.  The English council,
sensible that the rebellion of Ireland was now come to a dangerous head, resolved to push the war by more vigorous measures;




356                    ELIZABETH.                CHAP. XIX.
and Essex prevailed upon the queen to appoint him governor of
Ireland by the title of lord lieutenant; and to insure him of success, she levied an army-of 1.8,000 men. Essex landed at Dublin in April (1599); but, instead of bringing the war to an end,
as had been expected, he found himself, at the end of the campaign,
unable to effect any thing against the enemy. By long and tedious marches, and by sickness, his numbers were reduced to 4000
men. Essex hearkened, therefore, to a message sent him by Tyrone, who desired a conference, and a cessation of arms was agreed
upon. Essex also received from Tyrone proposals for a peace, in
which that rebel had inserted many unreasonable and exorbitant
conditions; and there appeared afterward some reason to suspect
that he had here commenced a very unjustifiable correspondence
with the enemy.
So unexpected an issue of an enterprise, the greatest and most
expensive that Elizabeth had ever undertaken, provoked her extremely against Essex.  She took care to inform him of her dissatisfaction, but commanded him to remain in Ireland till farther
orders. Essex, however, dreading that, if he remained any longer
absent, the queen would be totally alienated from him, immediately set out for England; and, making speedy journeys, he arrived
at court before any one was in the least apprised of his intentions.
Though besmeared with dirt and sweat, he hastened up stairs to
the presence chamber, thence to the privy chamber, nor stopped
till he was in the queen's bed-chamber, who was newly risen, and
was sitting with her hair about her face. He threw himself on
his knees, kissed her hand, and had some private conference with
her, where he was so graciously received that on his departure he
was heard to express great satisfaction, and to thank God that,
though he had suffered much trouble and many storms abroad, he
found a sweet calm at home. But- this placability of Elizabeth
was merely the result of her surprise, and of the momentary satisfaction which she felt on the sudden and unexpected appearance
of her favorite.  ~When Essex waited on her in the afternoon, he
found her extremely altered in her carriage toward him. She ordered him to be confined to his chamber; to be twice examined
by the counicil; and, though his answers were calm and submissive, she committed him to the custody of Lord Keeper Egerton,
and held him sequestered from all company, even from that of his
countess. The vexation of this disappointment, and of the triumph gained by his enemies, preyed upon his haughty spirit, and
he fell into a distemper which seemed to put his life in danger.
When Elizabeth heard of his sickness, she was not a little alarmed with his situation, and sent him word that, if she thought such
a step consistent with her honor, she would herself pay him a visit.




A.D. 1598,1599.    DISGRACE OF ESSEX.                     357
Essex rapidly recovered; but a belief was instilled into Elizabeth
that his distemper had been entirely counterfeit, in order to move
her compassion, and she relapsed into her former rigor against
him. There were several incidents which kept alive the queen's
anger. Every account which she received from Ireland convinced
her more and more of his misconduct in that government, and of
the insignificant purposes to which lie had employed so much force
and treasure.  The comparison of his successor Mountjoy's vigorous and successful administration with that of Essex contributed
to alienate Elizabeth from her favorite; and she received additional disgust from the partiality of the people, who, prepossessed
with an extravagant idea of Essex's merit, complained of the injustice done him by his removal from court and by his confinement.  Elizabeth had often expressed her intentions of having
him tried in the Star Chamber; but her tenderness for him prevailed at last over her severity, and she was contented to have him
only examined by the privy council. Essex pleaded in his defense with great humility; but the council deprived him of all his
public offices, and sentenced him to return to his own house, there
to continue a prisoner till it should please her majesty to release
this and all the rest of his sentence. Sir Robert Cecil, the younger son of Burleigh,* who was now secretary, used all his influence
to ruin Essex..Bacon, so much distinguished afterward by his
high offices, and still more by his profound genius for the sciences, pleaded against him before the council; although Essex,
who could distinguish merit, and who passionately loved it, had
entered into an intimate friendship with Bacon; had zealously attempted, though without success, to procure him the office of solicitor.general; and, in order to comfort his friend under the disappointment, had conferred on him a present of land to the value
of ~1800.
~ 9. All the world expected that Essex would soon be reinstated in his. former credit when they saw that, though he was
still prohibited from appearing at court, he was continued in his
office of master of horse, and was restored to his liberty. But
Elizabeth, though gracious in her deportment, was of a temper
somewhat haughty and severe; and being continually surrounded
with Essex's enemies, means were found to persuade her that his
lofty spirit was not sufficiently'subdued, and that he must undergo
a farther trial before he could again be safely received into favor.
* The eldest son, Thomas Cecil, succeeded his father as Lord-Burleigh
in 1598. He was created Earl of Exeter in 1605, and from him the present
Marquis of Exeter is descended. Robert Cecil, mentioned above, was made
Earl of Salisbury in 1605, and is the ancestor of the present Marquis of
Salisbury.




358                    ELIZABETH.                CHAP. XIX.
He possessed a monopoly of sweet wines; and as his patent was
near expiring, he patiently expected that the queen would renew
it, and he considered this event as the critical circumstance of his
life, which would determine whether he could ever hope to be reinstated in credit and authority; but she denied his request, and
even added, in a contemptuous style, that an ungovernable beast
must be stinted in his provender. This rigor, pushed one step too
far, proved the final ruin of this young nobleman, and was the
source of infinite sorrow and vexation to the queen herself. Being
now reduced to despair, he gave entire reins to his violent disposition, and threw off all appearance of duty and respect. Intoxicated with the public favor which he already possessed, he practiced anew every art of popularity. He secretly courted the confidence of the Catholics; but his chief trust lay in the Puritans,
whom he openly caressed, and whose manners he seemed to have
entirely adopted. He engaged the-:most celebrated preachers of
that sect to resort to Essex House, he had daily prayers and sermons in his family, and he invited all the zealots in London to
attend those pious exercises. He also indulged himself in great
liberties of speech, and was even heard to say of the queen that
she was now grown an old woman, and was become as crooked in
her mind as in her body. These stories were carried to Elizabeth,
who was ever remarkably jealous on this head; and, though she
was now approaching to her 70th year, she allowed her courtiers,
and even foreign embassadors, to compliment her upon her beauty;
nor had all her good sense been able to cure her of this preposterous vanity. Essex even made secret applications to the King of
Scots, and assured him that he was determined to use every expedient for extorting an immediate declaration in favor of that
monarch's right of succession.: James willingly hearkened to this
proposal, but did not approve of the violent methods by which
Essex intended to carry it out.
But Essex now resorted to more desperate counsels.  A select
council of malcontents was formed, by whom it was agreed that
Essex should seize the palace, should oblige the queen to assemble
a Parliament, and should, with.common consent, settle a new plan
of government. While these desperate projects were in agitation,
many reasons of suspicion were carried to! the queen, and Essex
received a summons to attend the council, which met at the treasurer's house. While he was musing on this circumstance a private note was conveyed to him, by which he was warned to pro-.
vide for his own safety. He concluded that all his conspiracy was
discovered, at least suspected, and he immediately dispatched messages to his more intimate confederates, requesting their advice
and assistance in the present critical situation of his affairs.




A.D. I599-1601. ESSEX'S INSURRECTION AND TRIAL.        359
Flight was proposed, but rejected by Essex; to seize the palace
seemed impracticable, without more preparations; there remained,
therefore, no expedient but that of raising the city, which was immediately resolved on, but the execution of it was delayed till next
day; and emissaries were dispatched to all Essex's friends, informing them that Cobham and Raleigh had laid schemes against
his life, and entreating their presence and assistance.
Next day (Feb. 8, 1601) there appeared at Essex House the
Earls of Southampton and Rutland, the Lords Sandys and Monteagle, with about 300 gentlemen of good quality and fortune, and
Essex informed them of the danger to which he pretended the
machinations of his enemies exposed him. The queen, being informed of these designs, sent some of the chief officers of state to
Essex IHouse to learn the cause of these unusual commotions.
Essex detained them prisoners in his house, and proceeded to the
execution of his former project. He sallied forth with about 200
attendants, armed only with walking-swords, and in his passage
to the city was joined by the Earl of Bedford and Lord Cromwell.  Ile cried aloud, " For the queen! for the queen! a plot
is laid for my life!" and then proceeded to the house of Smith,
the sheriff, on whose aid he had great reliance. -The citizens
flocked about him in amazement, but no one showed a disposition
to join him. The sheriff; on the earl's approach to his house,
stole out at the back door, and made the best of his way to the
mayor. Essex meanwhile, observing the coldness of the citizens,
after in vain attempting to force his way through the streets, retired toward the river, and, taking boat, arrived at Essex House.
He was now reduced to despair, and surrendered in the evening
to the Earl of Nottingham.
The queen soon gave orders for the trial of the most considerable of the criminals, and the Earls of Essex and Southampton
were arraigned before a jury of 25 peers, by whom they were
found guilty. Bacon, though he was none of the crown lawyers,
yet did not scruple, in order to obtain the queen's favor, to be active in bereaving of life his friend and patron, whose generosity
he had often experienced. After Essex had passed some days in
the solitude and reflections of a prison, his proud heart was at
last subdued, not by the fear of death, but by the sentiments of
religion, a principle which he had before attempted to make the
instrument of his ambition, but which now took a more firm hold
of his mind, and prevailed over every other motive and consideration.  He made a full confession of his disloyalty, in which he
spared not even his most intimate friends.
The present situation of Essex called forth all the queen's
tender affections, and kept her in the most real agitation and ir



360                   ELIZABETH.                CHAP. XIX.
resolution. She signed the warrant for his execution; she countermanded it; she again resolved on his death; she felt a new
return of tenderness. What chiefly hardened her heart against
him was his supposed obstinacy in never making, as she hourly
expected, any. application to her for mercy; and she finally gave
her consent to his execution. He discovered at his death symptoms rather of penitence and piety than of fear, and willingly acknowledged the justice of the sentence by which he suffered. The
execution was private, in the Tower, agreeably to his own request
(Feb. 25). The Earl of Essex was but 34 years of age when his
rashness, imprudence, and violence brought him to this untimely
end. Some of Essex's associates were tried, condemned, and executed. Southampton's life was saved with great difficulty, but
he was detained in prison during the remainder of this reign.
~ 10. The remaining transactions of this reign are neither
numerous nor important. The war was continued against the
Spaniards with success; and in 1602 Tyrone appeared before
Mountjoy, and made an absolute surrender of his life and fortunes to the queen's mercy. But Elizabeth was now incapable
of receiving any satisfaction from this fortunate event.  She had
falleninto a profound melancholy, which all the advantages of her
high fortune, all the glories of her prosperous reign, were unable
in any degree to alleviate or assuage. Her dejection has been
ascribed to various causes, and particularly to compunction for
the fate of Essex, but it was probably the natural result of disease
and old age.  Her anxious mind at last had so long preyed on
her frail body that her end was-visibly approaching; and the
council, being assembled, sent the keeper, admiral, and secretary
to know her will with regard to her successor. She answered,
with a faint voice, that; as she had held a regal sceptre, she desired no other than a royal successor. Cecil requesting her to
explain herself more particularly, she subjoined that she would
have a king to succeed her; and who shliuld that be but her
nearest kinsman, the King of Scots? Being then advised by the
Archbishop of Canterbury to fix her thoughts upon God, she replied that she did so, nor did her mind in the least wander from
him. Her voice soon after left her; her senses failed; she fell
into a lethargic slumber, which continued some hours; and she
expired gently, without farther struggle or convulsion, in the 70th
year of her age and 45th of her reign (March 24, 1603).
So dark a cloud overcast the evening of that day which had
shone out with a mighty lustre in the eyes of all Europe. There
are few great personages in history who have been more exposed
to the calumny of enemies and the adulation of friends than Queen
Elizabeth, and yet there is scarcely any whose reputation has been




A.D. 1601-1603. REFLECTIONS ON THE TUDOR PERIOD.   361
more certainly determined by the almost unanimous consent of
posterity. Her vigor, her constancy, her magnanimity, her penetration, vigilance, address, are allowed to merit the highest praises,
and appear not to have been surpassed by any person that ever
filled a throne; a conduct less rigorous, less imperious, more sincere, more indulgent to her people, would have been requisite to
form a perfect character. By the force of her mind she controlled all her more active and stronger qualities, and prevented
them from running into excess; her heroism was exempt from
temerity, her frugality from avarice, her active temper from turbulency and a vain ambition; she guarded not herself with equal
care or equal success from lesser infirmities: the rivalship of
beauty, the desire of admiration, the jealousy of love, and the sallies of anger.
~ 11. The many arbitrary acts of power exercised by the Tudor
princes have, by some historians, been ascribed to an actual increase of the prerogative, nor can it be justly doubted that the
crown gained an accession of strength under that dynasty. To be
persuaded of this, we need only advert to the succession of the
crown. Under the early Plantagenets the notion was not altogether obsolete that the sovereign was in a certain degree elective,
and the invariable right of succession in the eldest branch was
not completely established till the reign of Edward I. But under
Henry VIII. an act was passed empowering that monarch to bequeath the crown to whomsoever he pleased, even to one not of
the blood royal. So, too, an alteration was made in the coronation oath of Edward VI.; and that prince was crowned, as the
rightful and undoubted heir, before he had sworn to preserve the
liberties of the realm, and without the consent of the people having been asked to his accession.
This augmented power of the crown under the Tudors was not
supported by military force, and seems to have rested mainly upon
public opinion. Such a state of opinion was a natural consequence
of the long and bloody wars of the Roses, which, being carried on
merely for the choice of a sovereign, must have filled the public
mind with an exaggerated idea of his personal importance. The
same wars, however, undoubtedly added to the material, as well
as to the ideal, power of the crown. The great nobility were nearly exterminated by them, who had hitherto been the chief support
of the people in their struggles with the throne. The nobles were
farther overawed and depressed by several severe and unjust executions, as those of the Earl of Warwick, the Earl of Suffolk, and
the Duke of Buckingham, under Henry VIII., and of several others
in the subsequent reigns.  On the other hand, the dissolution of
the monasteries, and various encroachments upon the property of
Q




362                      ELIZABETH.                   CIAP. XIX.
the Church, supplied Henry and his successors with funds to purchase the affection of the nobles, and to attach them by the grateful bonds of self-interest.
~ 12. Yet in theory at least the Constitution remained intact,
however it might sometimes be violated in practice.  This is evident from several works,* written in the reign of Elizabeth, which
represent the English Constitution as a monarchy limited by law.
The two chief privileges of Parliament, that of legislation and that
of taxation, were regarded as indisputable. Henry VIII. procured
indeed a statute to enable the king, on attaining the age of 24, to
repeal any acts passed since his accession, and another to give his
proclamations the force of laws. Yet here the Constitution is acknowledged in the very breach and suspension of it, for the king
does not assume these powers, but has them conferred upon him
by Parliament. On the other hand, the parliamentary right of
taxation was sometimes evaded, or attempted to be evaded, by
the crown.  One of the devices for this purpose was called a Benevolence, which, under the pretense. of a free gift, was in reality
an extortion of money from those who could afford to contribute.
In this sense,t the first clear precedent for a benezolence was that
extorted by Edward IV. in 1474. His successor passed an act (1
Rich. III., c. 2) declaring. such a method. of raising money illegal.
Nevertheless, Henry VII. levied a benevolence in 1491, but appears
not to have succeeded in obtaining the money till he had procured
an act a few years afterward (11 I-Ienry VII., c. 10).  In 1505,
however, he levied a benevolence without any fresh act.  Henry
VIII. seems to have made two similar attempts, in 1525. and 1544.
The first of these was abandoned from the appearance of symptoms of rebellion, and for the second he seems to have been ultimately compelled to come to Parliament for an act.  These are
the only instances of such attempts under the Tudors.  But Elizabeth exercised an act of great arbitrary power.  Read, an alderman of London, who had refused to contribute, was enrolled as a
foot-soldier, and sent to the wars in Scotland, where he was taken
prisoner.  Henry VIII. sometimes also resorted to forced loans,
fiom the obligation of which he in one case procured the Parliament to release him. Elizabeth also raised compulsory loans, but
she was punctual in repaying them.
The sovereigns of this period still continued to derive an income
* Such are Aylmer's Harborowe for faithlful Subjects; Hooker's Eccl.
Polity; Sir T. Smith's Connmonwealth, etc. Compare a letter of Henry VIII.
himself to the Pope, quoted by Mr. Froude, Hist. of'Jng., i., 187.
t It should be borne in mind that the term benevolence was also applied
to the supply constitutionally granted by Parliament, as in the ordinary
formula of assent: Le roy remercie ses loyazlx szjets, accepte leur b6ndvolence,
etc.;. but. this is quite a different thing.




CH:AP. XIX.   THE CROWN AND THE COMMONS.                  363
from some feudal rights, as escheats, purveyance, etc.  Another
source of income was the sale of pardons, and sometimes of bishoprics.  The sovereign also enjoyed the means of rewarding his
favorites and adherents by the erection of monopolies; that is, the
granting of patents for the exclusive sale of certain articles. -Toward the close of Elizabeth's reign this abuse had reached an intolerable height, and some of the most necessary articles of life, as
salt, iron, calf skins, train oil, vinegar, sea coals, lead, paper, and
a great many more, were in the hands of patentees.  T'he Parliament was at length aroused, and some stormy debates ensued on
the subject in the session of 1601. Elizabeth was obliged to promise that the monopolies complained of should be abolished, but it
does not appear that her word was very strictly kept.
~ 13. The narrative will have conveyed some idea of the haughty
manner in which the Tudor sovereigns treated the Commons.
Elizabeth prescribed to them what subjects they should debate,
reprimanded unruly members, and committed some of them to the
Tower. But, though they submitted to this treatment; we are not
to suppose that they were ignorant of their privileges, or disposed
to surrender them. There was little or no public opinion to support them  in resisting the crown; their debates were hardly
known, and met with but little sympathy out of doors; and the
press was under a censorship. Yet instances are not wanting in
which the Commons boldly asserted their privileges. In the debate on a subsidy in 1601, Mr. Sergeant Heyle having observed
that the queen might take it at her pleasure, and that she had as
much right to their land and goods as to any revenue of the crown,.
Mr. Montague replied that it would be found firom former grants
that subsidies were a free gift.  "And though," he observed, " her
majesty requires this at our hands, yet it is in us to give, not in her
to exact of duty.""  And Speaker Onslow, in his address to the
queen herself; at the close of the session of 1566, plainly pointed
out the limits of her prerogative. " By our common law," he said,
" although there be for the prince provided many princely prerogatives and royalties, yet it is not such as the prince can take money
or other things, or do as he will at his own pleasure, without order, but quietly to suffer his subjects to enjoy their own, without
wrongful oppression; wherein other princes, by their liberty, do
take as pleaseth them."t
The Commons gained ground as the Tudor dynasty proceeded.
In the reign of Henry VIII. they ventured to throw out only one
bill recommended by the crown; but there are many instances
* DI'Ewes' Journal, p. 663. Hume's whole account of this debate (in the
note) is very garbled; and though he gives Sergeant Heyle's speech, he
omits Montague's answer.                   t D'Ewes, p. 115.




364                     ELIZABETH.                 CHAP. XIX.
under his successors of their doing so.  On the other hand, the
crown did not scruple to reject bills which had passed both houses;
and in 1597 Elizabeth refused no fewer than 48.  The interference of the crown in elections shows the opinion entertained
of the power of the Commons; and the same fact is evident from
the creation of what we should now call rotten boroughs. In the
short reign of Edward VI. 22 boroughs were created or restored;
in that of IMary, 14; while Elizabeth added no fewer than 62
members to the House, of whom a large proportion sat for petty
boroughs under the influence of the crown. Thus a great many
placemen, officers of the court, and lawyers on the look-out for
promotion, were introduced into the House, a circumstance which,
together with the manners of the times, accounts for the occasionally servile tone of the debates.
~ 14. Turning from the Legislature to the executive and the
administration of justice, we shall find, in like manner, that the
liberty of the subject, though secure in legal theory, was frequently
violated in practice.  The law forbade any man to be thrown into
prison without legal warrant, or to be kept there without being
speedily brought to trial, or to be condemned without a trial by his
peers; yet, in fact, all these things were frequently done. Even
under the Plantagenets the king's ordinary council sometimes
exercised an arbitrary jurisdiction, depriving an accused person of
trial byjury, or punishing jurors whose verdict had displeased them
by fine and imprisonment. Under the Tudors these illegal proceedings were still farther aggravated by means of the same council, or rather a committee of it, called the court of Star Chamber.*
The most flagrant violations of justice were naturally displayed
in political trials, which, Mr. Hallam has not scrupled to say, " rendered our courts of justice little better than the caverns of murderers."t  The state trials conducted in Parliament were no better than those in the ordinary courts of law.  Cromwell, the minister of Henry VIII., introduced the precedent of condemning an
accused person without hearing him in his defense; but, by a just
retribution, he himself was one of the first to fall by his own invention.
~ 15. The reforms of the Church introduced by Henry VIII.
proceeded little beyond the abolishment of the papal jurisdiction in
England; those of Edward VI. went a great way in the direction
of Calvinism. Elizabeth was inclined to the Lutheran rites; and
these might seem the fairest compromise between Protestant and
papist, in the uniformity of worship which she had determined to
establish.  Of course the zealots of neither sect were satisfied, and
thus she raised up two political as well as religious parties against
* See Notes and Illustrations-the Star Chamber..  i Const. Hist., i., 231.




CHAP. XIX.    GENERAL STATE OF THE NATION.             365
her, both of which occasioned her great trouble. In her first year
two important acts were passed, that of supremacy and that of uniformity; by the latter of which the use of any but the established
Liturgy was prohibited under severe penalties. In order to enforce this law, a new court, called the Court of High Commission,
was erected, with powers hitherto unknown to the Constitution,
of which an account has been already given (p. 338). The courts
of law regarded this tribunal from the first as illegal, and frequently
granted prohibitions against its acts. On one occasion the judges
refused to entertain a charge of murder against a man who had
killed one of the pursuivants of the commissioners while attempting to enter his house by virtue of their warrant. Under the Stuarts, however, when the judges had been rendered more dependent
and servile, we shall find this court emancipated from all control
of the laws.
~ 16. If we turn our attention from constitutional questions to
the general state of the nation, we must, on the whole, pronounce
the period of the Tudors to have been one of advancement and improvement.  The arms and negotiations of Henry VIII., though
not always well directed, extended English influence on the Continent; and though this advantage was lost in the short but inglorious reign of Mary, which threatened to make England a Spanish province, it was more than recovered under Elizabeth. In
her reign England first became a great maritime power; and
some of the sea-fights and expeditions which then took place, especially the destruction of the Spanish Armada, were as brilliant
and glorious exploits as any that can be found in our naval annals.
Nor was the aid which her land forces lent to the Huguenots in
France, and to the nascent liberties of the Dutch, wanting in glory,
though rather. perhaps, from the cause in which they were engaged,
than from the feats actually performed.  The enterprising voyages
of maritime discovery by Drake, Cavendish, and others, likewise
shed a lustre on her reign, and prepared the way for that extens,
ive colonization which has proved one of the chief sources of
England's greatness.
It is a remarkable fact, evident from the whole tenor of European history, that a bigoted devotion to the Roman See and its
doctrines is wholly incompatible with true enlightenment and social progress. We see this truth illustrated in English history in
the early dawn of the Reformation under Edward III., and still
more so in its final establishment under the Tudors.  Learning
and science then began to revive; and the annals of Elizabeth are
adorned with some of the greatest names of English literature.
The majesty of English prose was formed by the hand of I-looker;
the harmony of English verse flowed fiom the lips of Spenser.




366                              ELIZABETH.                           CHAP. XIX.
The drama, the surest proof of an advanced civilization, had then
its first beginnings, and was perfected by the immortal genius of
Shakspeare; while Bacon opened up a new  method of philosophy,
whose practical fruits we may be said even now to gather.
CHRONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE EVENTS.
A.D.                                       A.D.
1569. Coronation of Queen Elizabeth. Res-         Philip Sydney.  Babington's contoration of the Protestant worship.        spiracy.  Mary Queen of Scots tried
1511. Queen Mary returns to Scotland.             and condemned.
157T. Murder of Darnley and marriage" of  157. The Queen of Scots executed (Feb. 8).
Mary to Bothwell.                          Defeat of the Spanish Armada.
1538. Mary escapes into England; is brought 1596. Expedition to Cadiz.
to trial and detained a prisoner.   1599..The Earl of Essex appointed lo/'d-lienu
1572. The Duke of Norfolk tried and exe-          tenant of Ireland to put down Tycuted for treason. Massacre of St.         rone's rebellion.
Bartholomew.                        1601. Conspiracy and execution of Essex.
1534. Act against Jesuits and seminary  1602. Tyrone submits.
priests.                            1603. Death of Elizabeth.
1580. Battle of Zutphen an1 death of Sir
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
the 13th year of Elizabeth, cite the proceedA. TH1E COURT OF STAR CHAMBER.  ings of this court under the name of the Star
The origin of this court is derived from the  Chamber (Plowden's Convmenstarie.s, 393).
most remote antiquity. It was originally  Yet that appellation does not appear to have.
composed of all the members of the king's  been given to it either in the statute by
consiliornt ordinariuns or ordinary council, which it was erected, or in another passed in
and its jurisdiction embraced both civil and  the 21st year of Henry VIII., by which the
criminal causes. Its title was derived from  president of the council was added to the
the camera stellata or Star Chamber, an  number of the judges.
apartment in the king's palace at Westmin-    The fiact just mentioned, however, shows
ster in which it held its sittings; and we find  that the tribunal erected by HIenry VII. con" the lords sitting in Star Chamber" used as  tinued to exist as a distinct court friom the
a well-known phrase in the records of Ed- ordinary council till a late period of the reign
ward IlI. The name was continued long  of Henry VIII. It was chiefly designed to
after the locality of the court was changed.  restrain and punish illegal combinations,
In the time of Edward III. the jurisdiction  such as the giving of liveries, etc., the parof the court had become, so oppressive, that  tiality of sheriffs in forming panels and makvarious statutes were made to abridge and  ing untrue returns, the taking of money by
restrain it; and after this period its power,  juries, riots, and unlawful assemblies; and
though not wholly extinct, appears to have  it had the power to punish offenders, just as
gradually declined till the time of the Tu-  if they had been convicted in due course of
dors. Henry VII., in the third year of his  law. But toward the close of Henry VIII.'s
reign, erected a new court on the ruins of  reign the jurisdiction of the ancient Star
the old. It consisted of the chancellor, the  Chamber was revived, and the court of lIentreasurer, and the lord privy seal, as j udges, ry VII. became gradually merged in it. The
together with a bishop, a temporal lord of  precise period of this revival can not be asthe council, and the two chiefjustices, or, in  certained. By some it is ascribed to Cardinal
their absence, two other justices, as assist- Wolsey; and, at allevents, the ancient court
ants. This court was not therefore, strictly  was again in activity in the 31st year of Henspeaking, the Court of Star Chamber; still ry VIII., as the celebrated act of that year
less are we to look upon it, as some writers concerning proclamations ordains that ofhave done, as the original of that famous fenders against it may be tried before the
court. Yet as most of, if not all, the mem- StarChamber. Sir Thomas Smith, who wrote
bers who composed it were also members of his Commonowealth of Egrland il Elizabeth's
the ordinary council, it may be regarded as reign, knows nothing of Henry VIT.'s court:
a sort of committee of the ancient court of it had then become merged in the general
Star Chamber; and both Lord Coke (Foturth  council.
Instituse, p. 62) and Lord Hale (Jurisdiction  The judges of the revived court, however,
of thes Lords' House, ch. v., p. 35) consider continued to be the same, viz., the lord challnit as only a -modification of that tribunal. cellor, or lord keeper, as president, the treasSo'also the judges of the King's Bench, in  urer, the privy seal, and the president of the




CHAP. XIX.    NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.                                               367
council; but with these were associated the  grave's Essay upton the original Authority
members of the council, and all peers of the  of the Kilng's Council; and the article
realm who chose to attend.  Under the Ta-  " Star Chamber" in the Penny C'c'opcedia.
dors the number of judges often amounted to
30 or 40; but under James I. and Charles I.   1. AUTIOPRITIES FOR THIE PERIOD
only such peers seem to have been summon-                 OF THE TUDORS.
ed as were also members of the privy council. The bishops also ceased to attend.         The works of several of the chroniclers
The civil jurisdiction of the Star Chamber  which serve for the period of the Plantageembraced disputes between English and alien  nets extend also into that of the Tudors, as
merchants, questions of maritime law, testa-  those of Fabian, Hall, Grafton, Polydore,
mentary causes, suits between corporations,  Virgil, Hollingshed, Stowe, etc.
etc.; but these were gradually transferred to    The History of the reign of Henry VII.
the Admiralty Court, the Court of Chancery,  has been, written by Lord Bacon; that of
and the common law courts. It was the  Henry VIII. by Lord Herbert of Cherbury;
criminal jurisdiction  which  rendered  the  that of Edward VI. by Hayward; that of
Star Chamber most powerfuland most odious.  Elizabeth by Camden.  Edward VI. le.t a
The offenses of which it took cognizance  journal of some of the occurrences of his
were peljutry, forgery, riot, maintenance, reign.
fraud, libel, and conspiracy; and generally,    Subsidiary works for this period are Fidall misdemeanors, especially of a public kind, des' Life of W'olsey; Le Grand, Hist. deu
which could not be broughlt:under the law.  Divorce; Froude's History of England, 4
TPle regular course of proceeding was by in- vols., containing the period from the fall of
formation at the suit of the attorney general,  Wolsey to the death of henry VIII.; Sir
or sometimes of a private person. Deposi- Simon D'Ewes' Journal of Queen Eiizabeth's
tions of witnesses were taken in writing and  Parliaments;  Birch's Mlettoirs; Winwood's
read in court. But occasionally the process Memorials;  Miss Aiken's Memoirs of the
was summary. The accused was privately ex-  Court of Queen Elizabeth; Ellis's Originatlamined, sometimes tortured, and, if thought  Letters;  Murdon's State Papers; the State
to have confessed enough, was sentencedl  lsicals, State Papers, Hardwicke Papers, etc.
without any formal trial.  The court had    For a view of the Constitution during this
power to pronounce any sentence short of  period, see Hallham's Constituttio},al Historyj,
death. Fines and imprisonment were the  vol. i. The 2d chapter of Brodie's Hist. of
usual punishments, and the fines were fre- the Eritifh Empire is useful respecting the
quently so enormous as to be ruinous.  To- reign of Elizabeth.
ward a later period the Star Chamber sen-    For the Scotch affairs of the perio-l should
tenced to the pillory, whipping, cutting off  be consulted George Bachanan's Dost. of
the ears, etc.  It exercised an illegal control Scotlandl (translated byBond); Drumnmond's
over the ordinary courts of justice.  In the  Hist. of Scotland; the Memoirs of Melvil,
reigns of James I. and Charles 1. its juris- Keith, Forbes; Robertson's  Ilist. of Scotdiction became very tyrannical and offensive  land; Tytler's Hist. qf Scotland.
as a means of asserting the royal preroga-    For ecclesiastical affairs and the history
tive; and the court was at length abolished  of the Reformation, Strype's Eccl. i&&Memoby the Long Parliament in the reign of the  rial., A nnals of the li:formation, and Lives
latter monarch (16 Chas. I., c. 10), as will be  of Parker. Grindal, Whityift, and A  lner;
related in its proper place.                  Burnet's Hist. of the IReformation; Collier's
For farther information  respecting  the  Eccl. Historys Heylyn's H/st. of the ReforStar Chamber, see Hallam's Con.stitstionEl   rnufiont; Foxe's A cAs asnd fMoinenents; Neal's
History, ch. i. and ch. viii.; Sir F. Pal-  li t. of the I'uritsans, etc.
Sardonyx ring, with cameo head of Queen Elizabeth, in the possession
of Rev. Lordl John Thynne.
This is said to be the identical ring given by Queen Elizabeth to Essex. It has descended from Lady
Frances Devereutx, Essex's daughter, in unbro!len succession from mother and daughter to the present possessor.
The ring is gold, the sides engraved, and the inside of blue enamel.-Lasart,, Arts of the Middle Ages, p. is.




GENEALOGICAL TABLE OF THE HOUSE OF STUART.
JAMES I,
(son of Mary, Queen of Scots, and Darnley, and great-grandson of
Margaret, daughter of Henry VII., married.to James IV. of Scotland. See
Genealogical Table, p. 241).
b. June 19, 1566. d. March 27, 1625.                                                         O
m. Anne of Denmark.
* fI                           I                                              II
Henry.                      CHARLES I.                                       Elizabeth.               Robert and Mary,        t
d. 1612.          b. Nov. 19, 1600. d. Jan. 30, 1649.            b. Aug. 19, 1596. d. Feb. 13, 1662.     died young.,
m. Henrietta Maria of France.                  m. Frederick, elector palatine.
I..a
CHARLES II.          JM     H.                                                                          I     o        I          Sohie.
CHARLES If.  JFAM,    II.          Henry,                     1IMary.         3 other     Rupert.       Maurice.       Sop
b. May 29, 1630.    b. Oct. 15, 1633.   Duke of Gloucester.         b. 1631. d. 1660.  daughters.                              m. Elector of   O
d. Feb. 6, 1]685.      deposed            b. July 8, 1640.         m. Prince William                                            Hanover.        J
m. Catherine of         1688.             d. Sept. 13, 1660.           of Nassau.
Braganza.           d. 1701.                                                                                                GEORGE I.
m. 1. Anne Hyde —2. Mary d'Este of Modena.         WILLIAM  II. 
l"" l              ~m. his cousin Queen Mary.
[                             Ii                                 I                                                                o
bMARY.                           ANNE.                  James Francis Edward           5 daughters,
b. April 30, 1662. d. Dec. 8, 1694.   b. Feb. 6, 1665. d. Aug. 1, 1T14.   (the elder pretender).     died young.
m. William, Prince of Orange          m. George of Denmark,                 b. 16S8.
(WILLIAM IIL.).                                                      d. 1T65.                                                               C
Charles Edward Stuart                 Henry Benedict,                                           -3
(the younger pretender),               Cardinal York,                                            (
b. 1721. d. 1T8S.                  d. at Rome 1807,                                           p
the last representative of tho 
royal house of Stuart.




~ebverse of medal of James I.  Ac: I. TOTIVS. INS: BRYT. IMP: ET. FRANC. T, IZ
REX. (The title Imperator is to be noted.) Bust of king, facing.
BOOK  V.
THE HOUSE OF STUART, TO THE ABDICATION OF JAMES II.
A.D. 1603-1688.
CHAPTER XX.
JAMES I. A.D. 1603-1625.
~ 1. Introduction. ~ 2. Accession of James. ~ 3. Conspiracy in favor of
Arabella Stuart. Conference at Hampton Court. ~ 4. Proceedings of
Parliament. Peace with Spain. ~ 5. The Gunpowder Plot. ~ 6. Struggles with the Parliament. Assassination of Henry IV. of France. ~. 7.
State of Ireland, and Settlement of Ulster. Death of Prince Henry, and
Marriage of the Princess Elizabeth. ~ 8. Rise of Somerset. Murder of
Sir Thomas Overbury. ~ 9. Somerset's Fall and Rise of Buckingham.
~ 10. English Colonization. RIaleigh's Expedition to Guiana. His Execution. ~ 11. Negotiations for the Spanish Match. Affairs of the Palatinate. ~ 12. Discontent of the English. A Parliament. Impeachments.
Fall of Lord Bacon. ~ 13. Rupture between the King and Commons.
~ 14. Progress of the Spanish Match. Prince Charles and Buckingham
visit Madrid. ~ 15. The Marriage Treaty broken by Buckingham. Trilumph of the Commons.  ~ 16. Rupture with Spain, and Treaty with
France. Mansfeldt's Expedition. Death and Character of the King.
~ 1. IN the preceding narrative we have seen the liberties of
the nation commenced and founded under the Plantagenets,
eclipsed but not extinguished under the Tudors; in the present
book we shall behold them tending through many dangers to their
secure establishment. The reformation having been completed
under the Tudor dynasty, the nation had more leisure to devote
Q2




370                       JAM:IES 1.               CHAP. XX.
their attention to their political condition; while the same movement had awakened in a large party not only a desire for farther
ecclesiastical reforms, but also for an extension of civil freedom.
Fortunately for the people, the sceptre had passed into the hands
of a weak sovereign, whose vanity and presumption continually led
him to parade that opinion of his absolute sovereignty which he
had neither the means nor the ability successfully to assert.
Thus, to the ruin of his son and successor, but to the everlasting
benefit of the English nation, he provoked and pr.ecipitated the
decision of the question as to what were the privileges of the crown
and what were the constitutional liberties of the people.  With
the history of the progress of this great debate the following book
will be chiefly occupied, for its engrossing nature left comparatively little leisure for other transactions.
~ 2. The crown of England was never transmitted from father
to son with greater tranquillity than it passed from the family of
Tudor to that of Stuart, in spite of the will of Henry VIII., sanctioned by act of Parliament, by which the succession had been
settled on the house of Suffolk, the descendants of his younger
sister Mary.  Queen Elizabeth, on her death-bed, had recognized
the title of her kinsman James, and the whole nation seemed to dispose themselves with joy and pleasure for his reception. Great
were the rejoicings, ind loud and hearty the acclamations, which
resounded from all sides. But James, though sociable and familiar with his friends and courtiers, hated the bustle of a mixed
multitude; and though far fiom disliking flattery, yet was he
still fonder of tranquillity and ease.  He issued, therefore, a proclamation, forbidding the resort of people, on pretense of the scarcity
of provisions and other inconveniences, which, he said, would necessarily attend it; and by his repulsive, ungainly manners, as well
as by symptoms which he displayed of an arbitrary temper, he had
pretty well lost his popularity even before his arrival in London.
James, at his accession, was 36 years of age, and had by his
queen, Anne of Denmark, two sons, Henry and Charles, and one
daughter, Elizabeth.  His education having been conducted by the
celebrated George Buchanan, he had acquired a considerable'stock
of learning, but at the same time an immeasurable conceit of his
own wisdom.  He took every occasion to make a pedantic display
of his acquirements both in conversation and in writing, for he
was an author, and had published, fbr the use of his son, a book
called Basilikon Doron (BaoLXAKulo Bpov) or Royal Gift, besides
works on demonology and other subjects. These qualities led the
Duke of Sully to characterize him as the most learned fool in
Christendom, while his courtiers and flatterers gave him the name
of the British Solomon.




A.D. 1603, 1604.  ACCESSION OF JAMES I.                  371
James signalized his accession by distributing a profusion of
titles; and in three months after his entrance into the kingdom he
is computed to have bestowed knighthood on no fewer than 700
persons. He had brought with him, to what he called the "Land
of Promise," great numbers of his Scottish courtiers, many of
whom were immediately added to the English privy council. Yet
he left almost all the chief offices in the hands of Elizabeth's ministers, and trusted the conduct of political concerns, both foreign
and domestic, to his English subjects. Among these, Secretary
Cecil, afterward created Earl of Salisbury, was always regarded
as his prime minister and chief counselor. The secret correspondence into which he had entered with James, and which had sensibly contributed to the easy reception of that prince in England,
had laid the foundation of Cecil's credit.
~ 3. Shortly after the. accession of James a double conspiracy to
subvert the government was discovered. One of these plots, called the Mllair, is said to have been chiefly conducted by Sir WValter.Raleigh and Lord Cobham, and consisted of a plan to place Ara,
bella Stuart, the cousin of the king," on the throne, with the assistance of the Spanish government. The other plot, called the
Bye, the SXlpr ise, or the Surprising Treason, was led by Broke,
brother of Lord Cobham, and by Sir Griffin Markham, and was a
design to suhrprise and imprison the king, and to remodel the government.  Broke was engaged in both plots, and formed the connecting link between them. In this wild undertaking men of all
persuasions were -enlisted; as Lord Grey, a Puritan, Watson and
Clarke, two Roman: Catholic priests, and others.  Their designs
came to the ears of Secretary Cecil, and the conspirators were arrested. - The two priests and Broke were executed; Cobham,
Grey, and Markham were pardoned after they had laid their heads
upon the block.  Raleigh too was reprieved, not pardoned; and
he remained in confinement many years afterward.  His guilt
rested on the evidence of Cobham; and there are good reasons for
thinking that he was entirely innocent.
I'he religious disputes between the Church and the Puritans induced James to call a conference at Hamnpton Court, on pretense
of finding expedients which might reconcile both parties.  The
Church of England had not yet abandoned the rigid doctrines of
grace and predestination; the Puritans had not yet separated
thenmselves firom the Church, nor openly renounced episcopacy.
The conference was opened Jan. 14, 1604. The demands of the
Puritans were for purity of doctrine, good pastors, a reform in
church government and in the book of Common Prayer.  The
* She was the daughter of the Duke of Lenox, the brother of Lord Darnley, the king's father. See genealogical table, p. 241.




372                      JAMES I.                CHAP. XX.
king, from the beginning of the conference, showed the strongest
propensity to the Established Church, and frequently inculcated
the maxim, No BISHOP, NO KING. The bishops, in their turn,
were very liberal of their praises toward the royal disputant; and
after a few alterations in the Liturgy had been agreed to, both
parties separated with mutual dissatisfaction. James was glad of
this opportunity to display his learning, and boasted mightily of
his performance.
~ 4. Upon the'assembling of the Parliament the Commons
granted the king tonnage and poundage,* but they demurred to
vote him a supply when the question was brought before them by
some members attached to the court. In order to cover a disappointment which might bear a bad construction both at home and
abroad, James sent a message to the House, in which he told them
that he desired no supply; and he was very forward in refusing
what was never offered him. Soon after, he prorogued the Parliament, not without discovering, in his speech, visible marks of
dissatisfaction. The struggle between the Stuarts and the Commons was already begun.
This summer a peace with Spain was finally concluded, and was
signed by the Spanish ministers at London.
~ 5. The Roman Catholics had expected great favor and indulgence on the accession of James, and it is pretended that he
had even entered into positive engagements to tolerate their religion as soon as he should mount the throne of England. Very
soon they discovered their mistake, and were at once surprised
and enraged to find James, on all occasions, express his intention
of strictly executing the laws enacted against them, and of persevering in all the rigorous measures of Elizabeth. Catesby, a gentleman of good parts and of an ancient family, first thought of a
most extraordinary method of revenge, and he opened his intention to Percy, a descendant of the illustrious house of Northumberland.  The scheme was, to destroy, at one blow, the king, the
royal family, the Lords, and the Commons, when assembled on the
first meeting of the Parliament, by blowing them up with gunpowder. Percy was charmed with this project of Catesby; and
they agreed to communicate the matter to a few more, and among
the rest to Thomas Winter, whom they sent over to Flanders in
quest of Fawkes, an officer in the Spanish service, with whose
zeal and courage they were all thoroughly acquainted. When
they enlisted any new conspirator, in order to bind him to secrecy,
they always, together with an oath, employed the sacrament, the
* These, which are the origin of our custom-house duties, consisted chiefly of a duty of 3s. upon every tun of wine imported, and of is. in the pound
on other articles.




A.). 1G34, 1605.   GUNPOWDER PLOT.                     373
most sacred rite of their religion.  All this passed in the spring
and summer of the year 1604, when the conspirators also hired, in
Percy's name, the vault below the House of Lords. Thirty-six
barrels of powder were lodged in it, the whole covered up with
fagots and billets, the doors of the cellar boldly flung open, find
every body admitted, as if it contained nothing dangerous.
The dreadful secret, though communicated to above 20 persons,
had been religiously kept during the space of nearly a year and a
half.  But Catesby's money being exhausted, he was compelled
to seek the means of proceeding with the conspiracy by enlisting
other persons; and particularly Sir Everard Digby, of' Gothirst,
in Buckinghamshire, and Francis Tresham, of Rushton, in Northamptonshire, two opulent Catholic gentlemen. It is suspected
that the plot was revealed by the latter. Ten days before the
meeting of Parliament, Lord Monteagle, a Catholic, son to Lord
Morley, and brother-in-law of Tresham, received the following
letter, which had been delivered to his servant by an unknown
hand.  "  My lord, out of the love I bear to some of your friends,
I have a care of your preservation; therefore I would advise you,
as you tender your life, to devise some excuse to shift off your attendance at this Parliament; for God and man have concurred
to punish the wickedness of this time. And think not slightly of
this advertisement, but retire yourself into your country, where
you may expect the event in safety; for, though there be no appearance of any stir, yet, I say, they will receive a terrible blow
this Parliament, and yet they shall not see who hurts them."
Monteagle communicated it to Lord Salisbury, and he to the king,
who conjectured, from the serious, earnest style of the letter, that
it implied something dangerous and important. A terrible blow,
and yet the authors concealed, seemed to denote some contrivance
by gunpowder; and it was thought advisable to inspect all the
vaults below the Houses of Parliament. This care belonged to
the Earl of Suffolk, lord chamberlain, who purposely delayed the
search till the day before the meeting of Parliament. HIe remarked those great piles- of wood and fagots which lay in the
vault under the Upper House, and he cast his eye- upon Fawkes,
who stood in a dark corner, and passed himself for Percy's servant.  These circumstances appeared suspicious, and it was resolved that a more thorough inspection should be made. About
midnight, Sir Thomas Knevet;, a justice of peace, was sent with
proper attendants; and before the door of the vault finding
Fawkes, who had just finished all his preparations, he immediately seized him, and, turning over the fagots, discovered the powder
(Nov. 5). The matches,.and every thing proper for setting fire to
the train, were taken in Fawkes's pocket, who, finding his guilt




374                      JAMES I.                  CfAP. XX.
now apparent, and seeing no refuge but in boldness and despair,
expressed the utmost regret that he had lost the opportunity of
firing the powder at once, and of sweetening his own death by
that of his enemies.  Before the council he displayed the same
intrepid firmness; and though he was put to the rack in the
Tower, he does not appear to have disclosed the names of his associates till they had already risen in arms.
Catesby, Percy, and the other criminals, hearing that Fawkes
was arrested, hurried down to Warwickshire, where Sir Everard
Digby, thinking himself assured that success had attended his confederates, was already in arms in order to seize the Princess Elizabeth.  Hence they proceeded to Holbeach in Staffordshire; and
they were obliged to put themselves on their defense against the
country, who were raised from all quarters and armed by the
sheriff. The conspirators, with all their attendants, never exceeded the number of 50 persons, and, being surrounded on every side,
could no longer entertain hopes either of prevailing or escaping.
Having therefore confessed themselves and received absolution,
they boldly prepared for death, and resolved to sell their lives as
dearly as possible to the assailants. But even this miserable consolation was denied them.  Some of their powder took fire, and
disabled them for defense.. The people rushed in upon them.
Percy and Catesby were killed by one shot. Digby, Rookwood,
Thomas Winter, and others, being taken prisoners, were tried, confessed their guilt, and died by the hands of the executioner, as well
as Garnet, superior of the Jesuits in England, who was privy to
the conspiracy. Tresham was committed to the Tower, where he
died on the 27th December.  On the meeting of Parliament,
James, in his opening speech, declared that he would only punish
those who were actually concerned in the plot, but the Parliament passed some new statutes of an oppressive character against
the' Catholics.
~ 6.. The little concern which James took in foreign affairs renders the domestic occurrences, particularly those of Parliament,
the most interesting of his reign. A new session was held this
spring (1610), the king full of hopes of receiving supply, the Commons of circumscribing his prerogative.  The Earl of Salisbury
laid open the king's necessities, first to the- Peers, then to a committee of the Lower House.. The Commons, not to shock the
king with an absolute refusal, granted him one subsidy and one fifteenth, which would scarcely amount to ~100,000.. The king
sought to indemnify himself by raising the customs rates payable
upon commodities; but a spirit of liberty had now taken possession of the House; the leading members, men of an independent
genius and large views, began to regulate their opinions more by




A.D.t605-1612. DEATH OF HENRY PRINCE OF WALES.    375
the future consequences which they foresaw than by the former
precedents which were set before them. Though expressly forbidden by the king to touch his prerogative, they passed a bill
abolishing these impositions, which was rejected by the House of
Lords.  They likewise discovered, some discontent against the
king's proclamations, against the practice of borrowing on privy
seals, and other abuses; and they made remonstrances ag-ainst the
proceedings of the High Commission Court, with which, however,
James refused compliance.  But the business which chiefly occupied them during this session was the abolition of wardships and
purveyance, prerogatives which had been more or less touched on
every session during the whole reign of James. They offered tha
king a settled revenue as an equivalent for the powers which he
should part with, and the king was willing to hearken to terms;
but the session was too far advanced to bring so difficult a matter
to a full conclusion. We know not exactly the reason of this
failure; it only appears that the king was extremely dissatisfied
with the conduct of the Parliament, and soon after dissolved it.
This was his first Parliament, and it sat nearly seven years.
This year was distinguished by the murder of the French
monarch, Henry IV., by the poniard of the fanatical Ravaillac.
In England the antipathy to the Catholics was increased by this
tragical event; and some of the laws which had formerly been
enacted in order to keep these religionists in awe, began now to
be executed with greater rigor and severity.
~ 7.: About this time the king brought to a conclusion the institutions which he had framed to civilize the Irish, and to render
their subjection durable and useful to the crown of England.
James proceeded in this: work by a steady, regular, and wellconcerted plan. In particular, the whole province of Ulster having fallen to the crown by the attainder of rebels, a company was
established in London for planting new colonies in that fertile
country; the property was divided into moderate shares, the
largest not exceeding 2000 acres; tenants were brought over
from Englancld and Scotland; and by these means Ulster, from
being the most wild and disorderly province of all Ireland, soon
became the best cultivated and most civilized.  On this settlement the Earl of Salisbury founded a financial scheme. On pretense of raising money for its defense, a new order of nobility,
called baronetcy, was invented, and the patents sold for ~1095
apiece. Hence baronets bear on their shields the arms of Ulster,
a bloody hand.
The sudden death of -Henry, Prince of Wales (Nov. 6, 1612),
diffused a universal grief througlhout the nation.  It is with peculiar fondness that historians mention him, and in every respect




376                      JAMES I.                 CHIAP. XX.
his merit seems to have been extraordinary.  He had not reached
his 18th year, and he already possessed more dignity in his behavior, and commanded more respect, than his father, with all
his age, learning, and experience. The marriage of the Princess
Elizabeth with Frederick, elector palatine, was finished some time
after the death of the prince (Feb. 14, 1613), and served to dissipate the grief which arose on that melancholy event; but this
marriage, though celebrated with great joy and festivity, ultimately proved itself an unhappy event to the king, as well as to his
son-in-law, and had ill consequences on the reputation and fortunes of both.
~ 8. About the end of 1609, Robert Carr, a youth of 20 years
of age, and of a good family in Scotland, arrived in London, after
having passed some time in his travels. All his natural accomplishments consisted in good looks, all his acquired abilities in an
easy air and graceful demeanor. He had letters of recommendation to his countryman, Lord Hay, and that nobleman assigned
him the office, at a match of tilting, of presenting to the king his
buckler and device. The king became strongly attached to him,
taught himleven the elements of the Latin grammar, and determined to initiate him into all the profound mysteries of government, on which the monarch set so high a value.  The favorite
was not at first so intoxicated with advancement as not to be sensible of his own ignorance and inexperience.  He had recourse to
the assistance and advice of a friend, and he was more fortunate
in his choice than is usual with such pampered minions. In Sir
Thomas Overbury he met with a judicious and sincere counselor,
who, building all hopes of his own preferment on that of the young
favorite, endeavored to instill into him the principles of prudence
and discretion. But an event soon happened which proved the
ruin both of the tutor and his pupil. Carr had succeeded to
Salisbury's power on the death of that able minister in 1612,
and had been created Viscount Rochester in the preceding year.
Having entertained an illicit passion for the wife of the Earl of
Essex,* Rochester had even formed the project of espousing her
by procuring a divorce from her husband. Overbury, to whom
he communicated the scheme, strongly opposed it; and, in order
to get him out of the way, Rochester, instigated by the countess,
persuaded the king to send him on an embassy into Russia.
Having declined this proposal, Overbury was committed to the
Tower. This obstacle being removed, the lovers pursued their
purpose, and the king himself entered zealously into the project
of procuring the countess a divorce from her husband. As Essex
himself made no opposition, the sentence was speedily pronounced;
* Essex had been restored to the honors of his father in 1603.




A.D.1612-1615. SOMERSET'S FALL-RISE OF BUCKINGHAM. 377
and, to crown the scene, the king, solicitous lest the lady should
lose any rank by her new marriage, bestowed on his minion the
title- of Earl of Somerset.  Notwithstanding this success, the
Countess of Somerset was not satisfied till she should farther
satiate her revenge on Overbury; and she engaged her husband,
as well as her uncle, the Earl of Northampton, in the atrocious
design of taking him off secretly by poison.  Fruitless attempts
were reiterated by weak poisons, but at last they gave him one
so sudden and violent that the symptoms were apparent to every
one who approached him (Sept..15, 1613). His interment was
hurried on with the greatest precipitation; and, though a strong
suspicion immediately prevailed among the public, the full proof
of the crime was not brought to light till some years afterward.
~ 9. But the favorite had not escaped that still voice which
can make itself heard amid all the hurry and flattery of a court.
Conscious of the murder of his friend, Somerset received small
consolation from the enjoyments of love, or the utmost kindness
and indulgence of his sovereign.  The graces of his youth gradually disappeared, the gayety of his manners was obscured, his
politeness and obliging behavior were changed into sullenness
and silence; and the king, whose affections had been gained by
these superficial accomplishments, began to estrange himself from
a man who no longer contributed to his amusement. The sagacious courtiers observed the first symptoms of this disgust. Somerset's enemies seized the first opportunityr, and offered a new minion to the king. George Villiers, a youth of one-and-twenty,
younger brother of a good family, returned at this time (1615)
from his travels, and was remarked for the advantages of a handsome person, genteel air, and fashionable apparel. At a comedy
he was purposely placed full in James's eye, and immediately engaged the attention, and, in the same instant, the affections of
that monarch. After some manceuvres to save appearances, James
bestowed the office of cup-bearer on young Villiers. The whole
court was now thrown into two parties between the two minions,
while the king himself, divided between inclination and decorum,
increased the doubt and ambiguity of the courtiers; but the discovery of Somerset's guilt in the murder of Overbury at last decided the controversy, and exposed him to the ruin and infamy
which he so well merited. An apothecary's apprentice, who had
been employed in making up the poisons, having retired to Flushing, began to talk very freely of the whole secret, and the affair
at last came to the ears of the king's envoy in the Low Countries.
By this means Sir Ralph Winwood, secretary of state, was informed, and he immediately carried the intelligence to James.
Sir Edward Coke was employed to unravel the labyrinth df guilt.




378                      JAMES I.                  CHAP. XX.
All the accomplices in Overbury's murder were brought to trial,
and received the punishment due to their crime; but the king bestowed a pardon on the principals, Somerset and the countess.
To soften the rigor of their fate, after some years' imprisonment,
he restored them to their liberty, and conferred on them a pension, with which they retired, and languished out old age in infamy and obscurity. Their guilty loves were turned into the most
deadly hatred; and they. passed many years together in the same
house, without any intercourse or correspondence with each other.
From the conduct of James to the guilty pair, as well as from the
improbability that the countess'should have procured Overbury's
murder merely out of revenge for his having dissuaded Somerset
from marrying her, we are irresistibly led to infer that there was
some dark and unrevealed secret connected with this event in
which the king himself was implicated.*
The fall of Somerset, and his banishment fiom court, opened
the way for Villiers to mount up at once to the full height of fiLvor, of honors, and of riches. In the course of a few years James
created him Viscount Villiers, Earl, Marquis, and Duke of Buckingham, and conferred upon him some of the highest offices in the
kingdom, and thus the fond prince, by loading his favorite with
premature and exorbitant honors, took an infallible method to
render him rash, precipitate, and insolent.
~ 10. The commencement of English colonization dates from the
reign of James. In that of Elizabeth, Raleigh endeavored to plant
a colony in North America, in the district called after the queen,
Virginia; but it proved a failure.  Toward the close of Elizabeth's reign, and the beginning of that of James, several discoveries and surveys were made in North America; and in 1606
James granted charters to two companies-the London or South
Virginia Company, and the Plymouth Company-for planting
colonies in that quarter; in consequence of which, Jamestown,
in the Bay of Chesapeake, was founded in the following year, and
was kept from perishing by the courage and fortitude of James
Smith. In 1610 Lord Delaware proceeded thither as Governor
of Virginia, with a new body of emigrants, who were again reenforced in the following year, and from this time the colony flourished and increased.  In 1610 a charter was also granted for the
colonization of Newfoundland.  At the same time the trade to
the east was fostered and encouraged by the government. On the
31st Dec., 1600, the East India Company was established by a
charter of Elizabeth for 15 years, which was renewed by James
* See Amos, " Geat Oyer of Poisoning; Trial of the Earl of Somerset
for poisoning Sir Thomas Overbury in the Tower of London:" London,
1846.




A.D. 1615-1618.  RALEIGH'S EXPEDITION.                 379
in 1609 for an unlimited period; and in 1612 the first English
factory was established at Surat.
But the man who had given the first impulse to British colonization was still languishing in prison.  The long sufferings of
Raleigh had worn out his unpopularity. People forgot that he
had been the bitter enemy of their great favorite, the Earl of Essex, and were struck with the extensive genius of the man who,
being educated amid naval and military enterprises, had surpassed
in the pursuits of literature even those of the most recluse aid
sedentary lives. They admired his unbroken magnanimity, which
at his age and under his circumstances could engage him to undertake and execute so great a work as his  History of the
World."  To increase these favorable dispositions, on which he
built the hopes of recovering his liberty, he spread the report of
a gold mine in Guiana, a country discovered by him about 23
years before, and which was sufficient, according to his representation, not only to enrich all the adventurers, but to afford immense
treasures to the nation. The king released Raleigh from the
Tower, and conferred on him authority over his fellow-adventurers, though he still refused to grant him a pardon. Raleigh maintained that the English title to the whole of Guiana, by virtue of
its discovery, remained certain and indefeasible; but it happened
in the mean time that the Spaniards, not knowing or not acknowledging this claim, had taken possession of a part of Guiana, had
formed a settlement on the River Oronoco, had built a little
town called St. Thomas, and were there working some mines of
small value. Gondomar therefore, the Spanish embassador, complained of Raleigh's preparations; but the latter protested the innocence of his intentions, and James assured Gondomnar that he
should pay with his head for any hostile attempt. Raleigh bent
his course to St. Thomas; and remaining himself at tie mouth
of the river with five of the largest ships, he sent up the rest to
St. Thomas, under the command of his son and a Captain Keymis,
a person entirely devoted to him.  The Spaniards, who had expected this invasion, fired on the English at their landing, were
repulsed and pursued into the town; but young Raleigh received
a shot, of which he immediately expired.  This dismayed not
Keymis and the others. They carried on the attack; got possession of the town, which they afterward reduced to ashes; and
fbund not in it any thing of value. But Keymis, being unable to
penetrate to the real or supposed mine, returned to Raleigh with
the melancholy intelligence of his son's death and the ill success
of the enterprise; and then, stung with the reproaches of Raleigh,
retired to his cabin, and put an end to his own life. The other
adventurers now concluded that they were deceived by Raleigh,




380                     JAMES I.                 CHAP. XrX.
and thought it safest to return immediately to England, and carry
him along with them to answer for his conduct. The Spanish
embassador demanded the execution of Raleigh; and James, in
order to please the Spanish court, made use of that power which
he had purposely reserved in his own hands, and signed the warrant for his execution upon his former sentence.
Raleigh, finding his fate inevitable, collected all his courage.'Tis a sharp remedy," he said, "but a sure one for all ills,"
when he felt the edge of the axe by which he was to be beheaded.
With the utmost indifference he laid his head upon the block, and
received the fatal blow; and in his death there appeared the same
great mind which during his life had displayed itself in all his
conduct and behavior (Oct. 29, 1618). No measure of James's
reign was attended with more public dissatisfaction.  It was regarded as a piece of complaisance toward Spain, with which country James was now meditating more intimate connections.
~ 11. Gondomar, the Spanish embassador, had made offer of the
second daughter of Spain to Prince Charles; and, that he might
render the temptation irresistible to the necessitous monarch, he
gave hopes of an immense fortune which should attend the princess. The court of Spain, though determined to contract no alliance with a heretic, entered into negotiations with James, which
they artfully protracted; and the transactions in Germany, so important to the Austrian greatness, became every day a new motive
for this duplicity of conduct. The States of Bohemia, which were
in open revolt against the Emperor Ferdinand II. for the defense
of their religious liberties, had elected Frederick, elector palatine,
for their king, since, in addition to his own forces, he was son-inlaw to the King of England, and nephew to Prince Maurice, whose
authority was become almost absolute in the United Provinces.
They hoped that these princes, moved by the connections of blood,
as well as by the tie of their common religion, would interest
themselves in all the fortunes of Frederick, and would promote
his greatness. On the other hand, all the Catholic princes of the
empire had embraced Ferdinand's defense; and, above all, the
Spanish monarch, deeming his own interest closely connected with
that of the younger branch of his family, prepared powerful succors from Italy and from the Low Countries.
The news of these events no sooner reached England than the
whole kingdom was on fire to engage in the quarrel; but James,
besides that his temper was too little enterprising for such vast
undertakings, was restrained by another motive which had a
mighty influence over him: he refused to patronize the revolt of
subjects against their sovereign, and from the very first denied to
his son-in-law the title of King of Bohemia.  After much irreso



A.D. 1618-1621.   FALL OF LORD BACON.                  381
lution, he resolved to defend the hereditary dominions of the palatine, but to leave the King of Bohemia to his fate. Meanwhile,
affairs every where hastened to a crisis. Almost at one time it
was known in England that Frederick, being defeated in the great
and decisive battle of Prague, had fled with his family into Holland, and that Spinola, the Spanish commander, had invaded the
palatinate, and, meeting with no resistance, except from some
princes of the union, and from one English regiment of 2400 men,
commanded by the brave Sir Horace Vere, had in a little time
reduced the greater part of that principality (1620).
~ 12. High were now the murmurs and complaints against the
king's neutrality and inactive disposition:  but the only attention
James paid to this feeling was to make it a pretense for obtaining
money. IIe first tried the expedient of a benevolence; but the
jealousy of liberty was now roused, and the nation regarded such
expedients as real extortions, contrary to law, and dangerous to
freedom. A Parliament was found to be the only resource which
could furnish any large supplies; and writs were accordingly issued for summoning that great council of the nation (Jan. 30,
1621). In this Parliament, although there appeared at first nothing but duty and submission on the part of the Commons, there
were first regularly formed, though without acquiring these denominations, the parties of court and country. The Commons,
being informed that the king had remitted several considerable
sums to the palatine, without a negative voted him two subsidies.
Afterward they proceeded to the examination of grievances. They
found that patents had been granted to Sir Giles Mompesson for
licensing inns and ale-houses, and for gold and silver thread, which
he made of a baser metal. The Commons proceeded against hitn
by way of impeachment —a revival of a practice they had sometimes adopted under the Lancastrian kings, but of which there
lhad been no instance under the Tudors. Encouraged by this success, the Commons carried their scrutiny into other abuses of importance, and sent up an impeachment to the Peers against the
celebrated Bacon, now Viscount St. Albans and chancellor.  His
want of economy and his indulgence to servants had involved him
in necessities; and, in order to supply his prodigality, he had been
tempted to take bribes, by the title of presents, and that in a very
open manner, from suitors in chancery. The chancellor, conscious
of guilt, deprecated the vengeance of his judges, and endeavored,
by a general avowal, to escape the confusion of a stricter inquiry.
The Lords insisted on a particular confession of all his corruptions.
He acknowledged 28 articles, and was sentenced to pay a fine of
~40,000, to be imprisoned in the Tower during -the king's pleasure, to be forever incapable of any office, place, or employment, and




382                       JAMES I.                CHAP. XX.
never again to sit in Parliament, or come within the verge of the
court.  In consideration of his great merit, the king released him
in a little time from the Tower, remitted his fine, as well as all the
other parts of his sentence, conferred on him a pension of ~1800
a year, and employed every expedient to alleviate the weight of
his age and misfortunes. And that great philosopher at last acknowledged with regret that he had too long neglected the true
ambition of a fine genius, and, by plunging into business and affairs which require much less capacity, but greater firmness of
mind than the pursuits of learning, had exposed himself to such
grievous calamities.
~ 13. The Commons were proceeding with the reformation of
abuses when they were adjourned by the king's commission, who
was displeased to see his prerogative too nearly touched. Before
separating they passed a unanimous resolution to spend their lives
and fortunes in defense of their religion and of the palatinate,
"lifting up their hats in their hands so high as they could hold
them, as a visible testimony of their unanimous consent, in such
sort that the like had scarce ever been seen in Parliament." This
solemn protestation and pledge was recorded in the Journals.
During the recess of Parliament the king had been so imprudent
as to commit to prison Sir Edwin Sandys, without any known
cause except his activity and vigor in discharging his duty as a
member of Parliament; and, above all, the transactions in Germany, joined to the king's cautions, negotiations, and delays, inflamed that jealousy of honor and religion which prevailed throughout the nation. This summer the ban of the empire had been
published against the elector palatine, and the execution of it was
committed to the Duke of Bavaria. The upper palatinate was in
a little time conquered by that prince, and the progress of the
Austrian arms was attended with rigors and severities exercised
against the professors of the Reformed religion. The zeal of the
Commons immediately moved them, upon their reassembling
(Nov. 14), to take all these transactions into consideration. They
framed a remonstrance against the growth of popery, adverting
particularly to the contemplated Spanish match and to the conquest of the palatinate. As soon as the king heard of the intended remonstrance, he wrote a letter to the speaker, in which he
sharply rebuked the House for openly debating matters far above
their reach and capacity; and he strictly forbade them to meddle
with any thing that regarded his government or deep matters of
state. By this violent letter the Commons were inflamed, not
terrified. In a new remonstrance they insisted on their former
remonstrance and advice; and they maintained, though in respectful terms, that they were entitled to interpose with their counsel




A.D. 1621.    RUPTURE WITH THE COMMONS.                   383
in all matters of government, and to possess entire freedom of
speech in their debates.  So vigorous an answer was nowise calculated to appease the king. It is said, when the approach of the
committee who were to present it was notified to him, he ordered
twelve chairs to be brought, for that there were so many kings a
coming. In his answer he commented on the unfitness of the
House to enter on affairs of government, and told them that their
privileges were derived from the grace and permission of his ancestors, but that, as long as they contained themselves within the
limits of their duty, he would be careful to maintain and preserve
their lawful liberties and privileges.
This open pretension of the king's naturally gave great alarm
to the House of Commons.  They therefore framed a protestation, in which they repeated all their former claims for freedom
of speech, and an unbounded authority to interpose with their advice and counsel; and they asserted " that the liberties, franchises,
privileges, and jurisdictions of Parliament are the ancient and undoubted birthright and inheritance of the subjects of England."
The king, being informed of this proceeding, sent immediately for
the jourhals of' the Commons, and with his own hand, before the
council, he tore out this protestation, and ordered his reasons to
be inserted in the council-book.  He then prorogued the Parliament, and soon after dissolved it by proclamation.  Several of tle
leading members of the House, among whom  was Sir Edward
Coke,# were committed to prison; and others, as a lighter punishment, were sent to Ireland, in order to execute some business.
~ 14. Meanwhile, the efforts made by Frederick for the recovery of his dominions were vigorous but unsuccessful. Count Tilly
defeated his armies; and though James negotiated for him with
the emperor, he neglected to give him any material support. At
length he persuaded his son-in-law to disarm, under color of duty
and submission to the emperor. James's eyes were now entirely
turned toward Spain; and he doubted not, if he could effect his
son's marriage with the infanta, but that, after so intimate a con:
junction, the restoration of the palatine could easily be obtained.
A dispensation from Rome was requisite for the marriage of the
inf:tnta with a Protestant prince; and the King of Spain, having
undertaken to procure that dispensation, had thereby acquired the
means of retarding at pleasure or of forwarding the marriage, and
at the same time of concealing entirely his artifices from the court
* Sir Edward Coke, the rival and enemy of Bacon, and the most eminent
lawyer of those times, had -been created chief justice of the King's Bench in
1613; but, having lost the favor of James by his opposition to the illegal
exercise of the royal prerogative, he was deprived of his seat upon the
Bench in 1616, and was returned to Parliament in 1621.




384                      JAMES I.                 CHAP. XX.
of England. In order to soften the objection on the score of religion as much as possible, James issued public orders for discharging all popish recusants who were imprisoned; and it was
daily apprehended that he would forbid, for the future, the execution of the penal laws enacted against them. By this concession,
as well as by the skillful negotiations of the Earl of Bristol,
James's embassador to Philip IV., matters seemed to have been
nearly brought to a successful conclusion, when all these flattering
prospects were blasted by the temerity of a man whom the king
had fondly exalted from a private condition to be the bane of himself, of his family, and of his people.  Buckingham represented to
the Prince of Wales that a journey to Madrid would be an unexpected gallantry which would equal all the fictions of Spanish romance, and must immediately introduce him to the princess under
the agreeable character of a devoted lover and daring adventurer.
The mind of the young prince was inflamed by these generous and
romantic ideas; and having with difficulty obtained the consent
of the king, the prince and Buckingham, with three attendants,
passed disguised and undiscovered through France, under the
names of John and Thomas Smith. They even venture'd into a
court ball at Paris, where Charles saw the Princess Henrietta,
whom he afterward espoused, and who was at that time in the
bloom of youth and beauty. In eleven days after their departure
from London they arrived at Madrid (March 7, 1623), and surprised every body by a step so unusual among great princes. The
Spanish monarch, by the most studious civilities, showed the respect which he bore to his royal guest.  He gave him a golden
key which opened all his apartments, that the prince might, without any introduction, have access to him at all hours; and he introduced him into the palace with the same pomp and ceremony
that attends the kings of Spain on their coronation.  The infanta,
however, was only shown to her lover in public, the Spanish ideas
of decency being so strict as not to allow of any farther intercourse till the arrival of the dispensation. A treaty was soon
concluded, in which nothing could reasonably be found fault with
except one article, in which the king promised that the children
should be educated by the princess till ten years of age. This
condition could not be insisted on but with a view of seasoning
their minds with Catholic principles; and, though so tender an
age seemed a sufficient security against theological prejudices, yet
the same reason which made the Pope insert that article should
have induced James to reject it.. But, besides the public treaty,
there were separate articles, privately sworn to by the king, in
which he promised to suspend the penal laws enacted against
Caxtholics, to procure a repeal of them in Parliament, and to grant




A.D. 1621-1623.   MARRIAGE TREATY BROKEN.              385
a toleration for the exercise of the Catholic religion in private
houses. But meanwhile Gregory XV., who granted the dispensation; died, and Urban VIII., his successor, delayed sending a new
dispensation, in hopes of extorting fresh concessions. The King
of England, as well as the prince, became impatient. On the first
hint Charles obtained permission to return, and Philip graced his
departure with all the circumstances of elaborate civility and respect which had attended his reception. But Buckingham's behavior, composed of English familiarity and French vivacity, his
sallies of passion, his indecent freedoms with the prince, his dissolute pleasures, his arrogant, impetuous temper, which he neither
could nor cared to disguise, had disgusted the Spaniards. Sensible how odious he was become to them, and dreading the influence which that nation would naturally acquire after the arrival
of the infanta, he resolved to employ all his credit in order to prevent the marriage. His impetuous and domineering character had
acquired, what it ever after maintained, a total ascendant over
the temper of Charles; and when the prince left Madrid he was
firmly determined, notwithstanding all his professions, to break
off the treaty with Spain.
~ 15. A rupture with Spain, the loss of two millions, were prospects little agreeable to the pacific and indigent James; but, finding his only son bent against a match which had always been opposed by his people and his Parliament, he yielded to difficulties
which he had not courage or strength of mind sufficient to overcome. Buckingham assumed entirely the direction of the negotiations; and Bristol received positive orders not to deliver the
proxy, which had been left in his hands, or to finish the marriage,
till security were given for the full restitution of the palatinate.
Philip understood this language; but, being determined to throw
the blame of the rupture entirely on the English, he delivered into
Bristol's hand a written promise, by which lie bound himself to
procure the restoration of the palatine, either by persuasion or by
every other possible means; and when he found that this concession gave no satisfaction, lie ordered the infanta to lay aside
the title of Princess of Wales, which she bore after the arrival of
the dispensation from Rome, and to drop the study of the English
language; and, thinking that such rash counsels as now governed
the court of England would not stop at the breach of the marriage treaty, he ordered preparations for war immediately to be
made throughout all his dominions.
The king, having broken with Spain, was obliged to concert new
measures; and without the assistance of Parliament no effectual
step of any kind could be taken.  It might be hoped that, the
Spanish alliance, which gave such umbrage, being abandoned, the
R




386                     JAMES I.                  CHAP. XX.
Commons would ncw'e better satisfied with the king's administration. In his speech to the houses (Feb. 19, 1624) James dropped some hints of his cause of complaint against Spain, and he graciously condescended to ask the advice of Parliament, which he had
ever before rejected, with regard to the conduct of so important
an affair. Buckingham delivered to a committee of Lords and
Commons a long narrative, which he pretended to be true and
complete, of every step taken in the negotiations with Philip;
but, partly by the suppression of some facts, partly by the false
coloring laid on others, this narrative was calculated entirely to
mislead the Parliament, and to throw on the court of Spain the
reproach of artifice and insincerity. The Prince of' Wales, who
was present, vouched for its truth; and the king himself lent it,
indirectly, his authority, by telling the Parliament that it was by
his orders B3uckingham laid the whole affair before them. Such,
on the threshold of manhood, was Charles's initiation in insincerity. The narrative concurred so well with the passions and prejudices of the Parliament that no scruple was made of immediately
adopting it, and they immediately advised the king to break off
both treaties with Spain, as well that which regarded the marriage as that for the restitution of the palatinate. The people
displayed their triumlph by public bonfires and rejoicings, and by
insults on the Spanish ministers, and Buckingham became the favorite of the public and of the Parliament. The Commons voted
a sum of ~300,000, which, at the king's own proposition, was paid
to a committee of Parliament, and issued by them, without being
intrusted to his management. Advantage was also taken of the
present juncture to pass the bill against monopolies, which had
formerly been encouraged by the king, but which had fiiled by
the rupture between him and the last House of Commons; and
the Commons corroborated their newly-revived power of impeachment by preferring one against the Earl of Middlesex, the treasurer, who was found guilty of accepting presents and of other misdemeanors.
~ 16. All James's measures, and all the alliances into which lie
entered, were now founded on the system of enmity to the Austrian
family, and of war to be carried on for the recovery of the palatinate. An army of 6000 men was levied in England and sent
over to Holland, which had renewed the war with the Spanish
monarchy. A treaty was entered into with France, which included a marriage between Charles and the Princess: Henrietta;
and as the prince, during his abode in Spain, had given a verbal
promise to allow the infanta the education of her children till the
age of thirteen, this article was here inserted in the treaty. In
the spring of 1625 James was seized with a tertian ague, and aft



A.D. 1623-1625. DEATH AND CHARACTER OF JAMES.                      387
er some fits expired on the 27th of March, after a reign over England of 22 years and some days, and in the 59th year of his age.
His reign over Scotland was almost of equal duration with his life.
No prince was ever so much exposed to the opposite extremes of
calumny and flattery, of satire and panegyric. His generosity
bordered on profusion, his learning on pedantry, his pacific disposition on pusillanimity, his wisdom on cunning, his friendship on
light fancy and boyish fondness. His capacity was considerable,
but fitter to discourse on general maxims than to conduct any intricate business. Awkward in his person and ungainly in his
manners, he was ill qualified to command respect; partial and
undiscerning in his affections, he was little fitted to acquire general love.  Never had sovereign a higher notion of the kingly dignity, never was any less qualified by nature to sustain it.  He
spent much of his time in hunting, and in the coarse and vulgar
sports of cock-fighting and baiting bulls and bears; and the manners of his court were disgraced by buffoonery, drunkenness, and
debauchery.
CHRONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE EVENTS.
A.D.                                A.D.
1603. Accession of James I. A conspiracy to  convicted of the murder of Sir Thomplace Arabella Stuart on the throne.  as Overbury.
1604. Hampton-court conference.     1618. Sir Walter Raleigh executed after his
1605. The Gunpowder Plot.                 unfortunate expedition to Guiana.
160T. Jamestown in Virginia founded.  1621. Rupture between the king and the
1611. Ulster colonized by Londoners and   Commons.
others.                       1623. Prince Charles and Buckingham pro1616. The Earl and Countess of Somerset   ceed to Madrid.
1625.- Death of James I., MIarch 21.




Obverse of pattern for a Broad of Charles I. CAROLVS. D: G: MAG BRIT: FR: T.
III: Bmx. Bust of king to left.
CHAPTER, XXI.
CHARLES I.-FROM. HIS ACCESSION TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE
CIVIL WAR. A.D. 1625-1642.
~ 1. Accession of Charles. Proceedings in Parliament. ~ 2. Expedition
against Spain. Second Parliament. Impeachment of Buckingham. ~ 3.
Illegal Taxation. War with France. Expedition to the Isle of Rhd.
~ 4. Third Parliament. Petition of Right. Struggle between the King
and Commons. ~ 5. Assassination of Buckingham. Surrender of Rochelle. ~ 6. New Session. Tonnage and Poundage. Religious Disputes. Dissolution of Parliament. ~ 7. Peace with France and Spain.
The King's Advisers. Laud's Innovations in the Church. Arbitrary
and illegal Government. ~ 8. Ship-money. Trial of Hampden. ~ 9.
Discontents in Scotland. The Covenant. Episcopacy abolished. Scotch
Wars.  ~ 10. Fourth English Parliament.  Riots in London.  ~ 11.
Scotch War. -Rout at Newburn, and Treaty of Ripon. Council at York,
and Summoning of the Long Parliament.  ~ 12. Meeting of the Long
Parliament. Impeachment of Strafford. Great Authority of the Commons. Triennial Bill. ~ 13. Strafford's Trial. His Attainder and Execution. ~ 14. Court of High Commission and Star Chamber abolished.
King's Journey to Scotland. ~ 15. Irish Rebellion. ~ 16. Meeting of
the English Parliament.  The Remonstrance.  Impeachment of the
Bishops. ~ 17. Accusation of Lord Kimbolton and the five Members.
The King leaves London. The Militia Bill. The King arrives at York.
~ 18. Preparations for a Civil War. The King erects his Standard at
Nottingham.
~ 1. SOON after his accession, Charles, now in his 25th year,
completed his marriage with the French princess Henrietta. He
had espoused her by proxy at Paris, and on the 22d of June, 1625,
Buckingham conducted her to England. On the 18th of that
month a new Parliament assembled at Westminster, and Charles
niot unnaturally expected that at the commencement of his reign
they would display their affection by granting him supplies adequate to conduct a war which had been undertaken with the apparent approbation of the people. But the House of Commons
was almost entirely governed by a set of men of the most uncom



A.D. 1625.   PROCEEDINGS IN PARLIAMENT.              389
mon capacity and the largest views: men who were now formed
into a regular party, and united, as well by fixed aims and projects, as by the hardships which some of them had undergone in
prosecution of them. Among these we may mention the names
of Sir Edward Coke, Sir Edwin Sandys, Sir Robert Philips, Sir
Francis Seymour, Sir Dudley Digges, Sir John Eliot, Sir Thomas
Wentworth, TMr. Selden, and Mr. Pym. Animated with a warm
regard to liberty, these generous patriots saw with regret an unbounded power exercised by the crown, and were resolved to seize
the opportunity which the king's necessities offered them of reducing the prerogative within more reasonable compass. The
end they esteemed beneficent and noble, the means regular and
constitutional. To grant or refuse supplies was the undoubted
privilege of the Commons; and with these views they voted only
two subsidies (about ~140,000) to meet the expenses of the
formidable war into which Charles was about to plunge. Not
discouragedl, however, by this failure, Charles, though he was
constrained to adjourn the Parliament by reason of the plague,
which at that time raged in London, immediately reassembled
them at Oxford, and made a new attempt to gain from them
some supplies. But, though he laid bare to them all his necessities-though he showed that upward of a million a year was
necessary for the conduct of the war and for the defense of Ireland, and even condescended to use entreaties, the Commons remained inexorable.  Besides all their other motives, they had
made a: discovery which inflamed them against the court and
against the Duke of Buckingham.  The FIrench:court, not without the connivance, it was suspected, of Charles and his ministers, had attempted to employ against the Huguenots of Rochelle
some English vessels which had been sent to D)ieppe on pretense
of serving against the Genoese. When, on discovery of his destination, Pennington, the commander, had sailed with his squadron
to England, B3uckingham, lord admiral, had compelled him to return; and the contemplated enterprise was frustrated only by the
mutiny and desertion of the crews. The king, finding that the
Parliament was resolved to grant him no supply, took advantage
of the plague, which began to appear at Oxford, and on that pretense immediately dissolved them (Aug. 12). To supply the want
of parliamentary aids, Charles issued privy seals for borrowing
money from his subjects. The advantage reaped by this expedient
was a small compensation for the disgust which it occasioned:
by means, however, of that supply, and by other expedients, he
was, though with difficulty, enabled to equip his fleet, which consisted of 80 vessels, and carried on board an army of  Q0,000 men,
under Sir Edward Cecil, lately created Viscount Wimbledon.




390                    CHARLES I.               CHAP. XXI.
~ 2. Cecil undertook an expedition against Cadiz, which proved
a complete failure, and increased the complaints against the court.
A little prudence might have discovered to Charles the folly of
persisting in hostilities which he had not the means of carrying
on without the surrender of his dearest pretensions, and from
which he had an opportunity to escape, as war was not actually
declared against Spain till after the dissolution of his first Parliament. But his evil genius, and the violent counsels of Buckingham, urged him on to his destruction.  The abortive attempt
upon Cadiz increased his necessities, and obliged him to call a
new Parliament (Feb. 6, 1626). But the views of the last Parliament were immediately adopted by this, as if the same men had
been every where elected, and no time had intervened since their
meeting. The inadequate supplies which they voted were coupled
with the condition that they were to proceed in regulating and
controlling every part of government which displeased them, to
which the king's urgent necessities obliged him to submit. The
Duke of Buckingham, who became every day more unpopular,
was obliged to sustain two violent attacks this session, one from
the Earl of Bristol, another from the House of Commons. The
Earl of Bristol had mortally offended Buckingham in the affair of
the Spanish marriage, and was consequently obnoxious to Charles.
WVhen the Parliament was summoned, Charles, by a stretch of
prerogative, had given orders that no writ, as is customary, should
be sent to Bristol. That nobleman applied to the House of Lords
by petition, and craved their good offices with the king for obtaining what was his due as a peer of the realm. His writ was sent
him, but accompanied with a letter fiom the Lord Keeper Coventry, commanding him, in thie king's name, to absent himself from
Parliament.  This letter Bristol conveyed to the Lords, and asked advice how to proceed in so delicate a situation. The king's
prohibition was withdrawn, and Bristol took his seat. Provoked
at these repeated instances of vigor, which the court denominaved
contumacy, Charles ordered his attorney general to enter an accusation of high treason against him. By way of recrimination,
Bristol accused Buckingham of high treason, and proved that he
was the author of the war with Spain. The lower House- also,
after having voted that common fame was a sufficient ground of
accusation by the Commons, proceeded to frame regular articles
against Buckingham. They accused him of having united many
offices in his person; of neglecting to guard the seas, insomuch
that many merchant ships had fallen into the hands of the enemy; of delivering ships to the French king in order to serve
against the Huguenots; of being employed in the sale of honors
and offices; of accepting extensive grants from the crown; of




A.D. 1625,1626.    ILLEGAL TAXATION.                    391
procuring many titles of honor for his kindred; and cf administering physic to the late king without acquainting his physicians.
It is probable that several of these articles were well founded;
but,: as the Commons called for no evidence, it is impossible to
give a decided opinion upon them.  The Parliament was dissolved. before any of these impeachments was brought to a termination; but Bristol recorded a satisfactory answer on the journals; while, the fact that Buckingham made none at all to that in
the Lords renders his course very suspicious.
~ 3. Having thus failed in obtaining a grant, certain new counsels, with which Charles had threatened the Parliament, were now
to be tried, in order to supply his necessities. A commission was
openly granted to compound with the Catholics, and agree for dispensing with the penal laws enacted against them. From the nobility he desired assistance; from the city he required a loan of
~100,000. The former contributed slowly; but the latter, covering themselves under many pretenses and excuses, gave him at
last a flat refusal. Each of the maritime towns was required,
with the assistance of the adjacent counties, to arm so many vessels as were appointed them. The city of London was rated at
20 ships.  This is the first appearance, in Charles's reign, of
ship-money; a taxation which had once been imposed by Elizabeth, but which afterward, when carried some steps fartlhcr by
Charles, created such violent discontents.  But after the news of
the battle of Luttern, between the King of Denmark and Count
Tilly, the imperial general, in which the former was totally defeated, money, more than ever, became necessary, in order to support a prince who was so nearly allied to Charles. After some
deliberation, an act of council was passed, importing that, as the
urgency of affairs admitted not the way of Parliament, the most
speedy, equal, and convenient method of supply was by a GENERAL
LOAN from the subject, according as every man was assessed in
the rolls of the last subsidy. Commissioners, invested with an
almost inquisitorial power, were appointed to levy the money.
That religious prejudices might support civil authority, sermons
were preached by Sibthorpe and Mainwaring in favor of the general loan; and the court industriously spread them over the
kingdom. Passive obedience was there recommended in its full
extent, the whole authority of the state was represented as belonging to the king alone, and all limitations of law and a Constitution were rejected as seditious and impious. Throughout
England many refused these loans; some were even active in encouraging their neighbors to insist upon their common rights and
privileges.  By warrant of the council these were thrown into
prison.




392                    CHARLES I.               CHAP. XXI.
Great was at this time the surprise of all men when Charles,
baffled in every attempt against the Austrian dominions, embroiled with his own subjects, unsupplied with any treasure but what
he extorted by the most invidious and most dangerous measures,
as if the half of Europe, now his enemy, were not sufficient for
the exercise of military prowess, wantonly attacked France. This
war is commonly ascribed to a personal pique between Buckingham and Richelieu; but it can scarcely be doubted that there
were other motives for it: on the part of France, disgust, fanned
by the Pope, at the non-fulfillment of the articles of the marriage
treaty; on that of England, disappointment at having received no
assistance in the German war. Buckingham had persuaded Charles
to dismiss at once all his queen's French servants, contrary to the
articles of the marriage treaty, and encouraged the English ships
of war and privateers to seize vessels belonging to French merchants. But, finding that all these injuries produced only remonstrances and embassies, or at most reprisals, on the part of France,
he resolved to undertake at once a military expedition against
that kingdom. Buckingham sailed first to Rochelle with a fleet
of nearly 100 sail and an army of 7000 men; but, though Rochelle
was in possession of the Huguenots; and was then besieged by
Cardinal Richelieu, the inhabitants, mistrusting the English commander, refused to admit him. Buckingham then bent his course
to the isle of Rhe; but all his measures were so ill concerted, that
in a few months he returned to England, having lost two thirds
of his land forces-totally discredited both as an admiral and a
general, and bringing no praise with him but the vulgar one of'
courage and personal bravery (Oct., 1627).
~ 4. Meanwhile the money levied, or rather extorted, under
color of prerogative, had come in very slowly, and had left such
ill-humor in the nation that it appeared dangerous to renew the
experiment, and the absolute necessity of supply forced the king
to call a third Parliament. WVhen the Commons assembled (March
17, 1628) they appeared to be men of the same independent spirit
with their predecessors, and possessed of such riches that their
property was computed to surpass three times that of the House
of Peers. Many of the members had been cast into prison, an5.
had suffered by the measures of the court; yet, notwithstanding
these circumstances, which might prompt them to embrace violent
resolutions, they entered upon business with perfect temper and
decorum. The king told them in his first speech that, if they
should not do their duties in contributing to the necessities of the
state, he must, in discharge of his conscience, use those other
means which God had put into his hands.  "Take not this for a
threatening," added the king, "' for I scorn to threaten any but




A.D. 1626-1628.    PETITION OF RIGHT.                  393
my equals; but as an admonition from him who, by nature and
duty, has most care of your preservation and prosperity."  The
lord keeper, by the king's direction, added a speech to the same,effect; but these haughty and unwise rebukes made no impression
upon the Commons.  After some excellent speeches firom Sir
Francis Seymour, Sir Robert Philips, Sir Thomas Wentworth,
and others, in favor of liberty, a vote was passed without opposition against arbitrary imprisonments and forced loans. And the
spirit of liberty having obtained some contentment by this exertion, the reiterated messages of the king, who pressed for supply,
were attended to with more temper. Five subsidies were voted
him, with which, though much inferior to his wants, he declared
himself well satisfied. The supply, though voted, was not as yet
passed into a law, and the Commons resolved to employ the interval in providing some barriers against the violation of their rights
and liberties. /Forced loans, benevolences, taxes without consent
of Parliament, arbitrary imprisonment, the billeting of soldiers,
martial law-these were the grievances complained of; and against
these an eternal remedy was to be provided. The Commons pretended not, as they affirmed, to any unusual powers or privileges;
they aimed only at securing those which had been transmitted
from their ancestors; and their law, which provided against all
these abuses, and which was founded on Magna Charta and other
ancient statutes, they resolved to call a PETITION OP RIGUT, as implying that it contained a corroboration or explanation of the ancient Constitution, not any infiringement of royal prerogative or
acquisition of new liberties.
The king attempted to elude the bill by persuading the House
of Lords to induce the Commons so to modify it that a saving
clause should still be left for his sovereign power. But the Commons, who saw through these artifices, sent the bill in its original
state to the upper House, and the Peers passed the petition without any material alteration, and nothing but the royal assent was
wanting to give it the force of a law. The king accordingly came
to the House of Peers, sent for the Commons, and, being seated
in his chair of state, the petition was read to him. Great was
now the astonishment of all men when, instead of the usual concise and clear form by which a bill is either confirmed or rejected,
Charles said, in answer to the petition, "The king willeth that
right be done according to the laws' and customs of the realm, and
that the statutes be put into execution; that his subjects may have
no cause to complain of any wrong or oppression contrary to their
just rights and liberties, to the preservation whereof he holds
himself in conscience as much obliged as of his own prerogative."
The result might have been foreseen. The Commons returned in
R 2




394                    CHARLES I.                CHAr. XXI.
very ill humor, which they vented by impeaching Dr. Mainwaring. They next proceeded to censure the conduct of Buckingham,
whose name hitherto they had cautiously forborne to mention.
After some abortive attempts to divert the tempest that was ready
to burst on the duke, the king thought proper, upon a joint application of the Lords and Commons, to-come to the House of Peers,
and, by pronouncing the usual form of words, "Let it be law as
is desired," to give full sanction and authority to the petition.*
The Commons, nevertheless, continued to carry their scrutiny
into every part of government, and resumed their censure of Buckingham's conduct, to whomthey attributed all their grievances.
They also complained that the levying of tonnage and poundage,
without- consent of Parliament, was a palpable violation of the
ancient liberties of the people, and an open infringement of the
Petition of Right, so lately granted. The king, in order to prevent the finishing and presenting this remonstrance, came suddenly to the Parliament, and ended this session by a prorogation
(June 26).
~ 5. But the object of the displeasure of the Commons was soon
after removed in a sudden and unexpected manner. The Duke
of Buckingham repaired to Portsmouth to superintend the preparations for an expedition to relieve Rochelle. Here he engaged
in conversation with Soubise and other French gentlemen, after
which he drew toward the door; and in that passage, turning
himself to speak to Sir Thomas Fryar, a colonel in the army, he
was, on a sudden, over Sir Thomas's shoulder, struck upon tho
breast with a knife. Without uttering other words than "The
villain has killed me," in the same moment pulling out the knife,
he breathed his last (Aug. 23). Soon after, a man without a hat
was seen walking very composedly before the door. One crying
out, " Here is the fellow who killed the duke," every body ran to
ask, " Which is he?"  The man very sedately answered, " I am
he."  HIe was now known to be one Felton, who had served under the duke in the station of lieutenant. His captain being killed
in the retreat at the isle of Rhe, Felton had applied for the company; and when disappointed he threw up his commission, and
retired in discontent from the army. When asked at whose instigation he had performed the horrid deed, he replied that the
resolution proceeded only from himself and the impulse of his own
conscience, and that his motives would appear if his hat were
found; for that, believing he should perish in the attempt, he had
there taken care to explain them. The king urged that Felton
should be racked in order to extort from him a discovery of his
* This celebrated PETITION OF RIGHT, which is the second great charter
cf English liberties, is printed in extenso in Notes and Illustrations, p. 420.




A.D. 1628, 1629.    TONNAGE AND POUNDAGE.              395
accomplices; but the judges declared that practice altogether illegal; so much more exact reasoners, with regard to law, had they
become, from the jealous scruples of the House of Commons.
Felton was soon afterward executed for the murder.
Meanwhile, the distress of Rlochelle had risen to the utmost extremity. After Buckingham's death the command of the fleet and
army was conferred on the Earl of Lindesey, who, arriving before
Rochelle, made some attempts to break through the mole erected
across the harbor by Richelieu; but, by the delays of the English, that work was now fully finished and fortified, and the inhabitants, finding their last hopes fail them, were reduced to surrender at discretion, even in sight of the English admiral (Oct. 18,
1628).
~ 6. The failure of an enterprise in which the English nation,
from religious sympathy, so much interested themselves, could not
but diminish the king's authority in the Parliament during the
approaching session (Jan. 20, 1629); but the Commons, when assembled, found many other causes of complaint. All the copies
of the Petition of Right which were dispersed had, by the king's
orders, annexed to them the'first answer, which had given so little
satisfaction to the Commons.  Selden also complained in the
House that one Savage, contrary to the Petition of Right, had
been punished with the loss of his ears by a discretionary or arbitrary sentence of the Star Chamber.  But the great article on
which the House of Commons broke with the king was their claim
with regard to tonnage and poundage.
The duty of tonnage and poundage, in more ancient times, had
been commonly a temporary grant of Parliament; but it had been
conferred on Henry V. during life, with the special proviso, however, that the grant was not to form a precedent; and though the
grant for life had been renewed under subsequent sovereigns, yet
it was clearly in the power of Parliament to withhold it. -In
Charles's first Parliament the Commons had voted it only for a
year; but the Peers rejected this bill; and as a dissolution of
Parliament followed soon after, no attempt seems to have been
made for obtaining tonnage and poundage in any other form.
Charles, meanwhile, continued still to levy this duty by his own
authority, and the nation was so accustomed to that exertion of
royal power that no scruple was at first entertained of submitting
to it.  But the Commons now insisted that the king should at
once entirely desist from levying these duties; after which they
were to take it into consideration how far they would restore him
to the possession of a revenue of which he had clearly divested
himself. Charles was not disposed to comply with this condition; yet he contented himself, for the present, with soliciting the




396                     C            CHARLES i.  CPHA. XXI..House by messages and speeches. But the Commons, instead of
hearkening to his solicitations, proceeded to carry their scrutiny
into his management of religion, which was the only grievance to
which, in their opinion, they had not, as yet, by their Petition of
Right, applied a sufficient remedy.
Amid that complication of disputes in which men were then involved, we may observe that the appellation Puritan stood for
three parties, which, though commonly united, were yet actuated
by very different views and motives. There were the political
Puritans, who maintained the highest principles of civil liberty;
the Puritans in discipline, who were averse to the ceremonies and
episcopal government of the Church; and the doctrinal Puritans,
who rigidly defended the speculative system of the Swiss reformers. In opposition to all these stood the court party, the hierarchy,
and the Arminians; only with this distinction, that the latter sect,
being introduced a few years before, did not, as yet, comprehend
all those who were favorable to the Church and to monarchy.
Till toward the end of James's reign the tenets of the Church of
England had been Calvinistic. James himself, in the pride of his
theological learning, had been a rigid opponent of Arminius, the
champion of free-will. In 1611 he had condescended to procure
from the Dutch the banishment of Vorstius, a professor of divinity and disciple of Arminius, and had even given them a hint that
he was worthy of the flames; and the divines whom he sent to
the Synod of Dort in 1618 assisted to procure the condemnation of
the Arminians in Holland. But soon after this he changed his
opinion; the clergy were forbidden to preach the doctrine of predestination; and Laud, Howson, and Corbet, notorious Arminians,
were advanced to bishoprics. These men, and their disciples aid
successors, were the strenuous preachers of passive obedience, and
of entire submission to princes; and if these could once be censured, and be expelled the Church and court, the Commons concluded that the hierarchy would receive a mortal blow, the ceremonies be less rigidly insisted on, and the king, deprived of his
most faithful friends, be obliged to abate those high claims of prerogative on which at present he insisted. But Laud had -unfortunately acquired a great ascendant over Charles; and as all those
prelates, obnoxious to the Commons, were regarded as his chief
friends and most favorite courtiers, he was resolved not to disarm
and dishonor himself by abandoning them to the resentment of
his enemies.
The inquiries and debates concerning tonnage and poundage
went hand in hand with these theological or metaphysical controversies. Sir John Eliot framed a remonstrance against levying
those duties without consent of Parliament, and- offered it to the




A.D. 1629.    DISSOLUTION OF PARLIAMENT.              397
clerk to read. It was refused. He read it himself. The question being then asked for, the speaker, Sir John Finch, said, " That
he had a command from the king to adjourn, and to put no question." Upon which he rose and left the chair. The whole House
was in an uproar. The speaker was pushed back into the chair,
and forcibly held in it by Hollis and Valentine, till a short remonstrance was framed, and was passed by acclamation rather
than by vote. Papists and Arminians were declared capital enemies to the Commonwealth. Those who levied tonnage and
poundage were branded with the same epithet. And even the
merchants who should voluntarily pay these duties were denominated betrayers of English liberty, and public enemies. The
doors being locked, the gentleman usher of the House of Lords,
who was sent by the king, could not gain admittance till this re,
monstrance was finished.- By the king's order, he took the mace
from the table, which ended their proceedings, and a few days
after the Parliament was dissolved (March 10, 1629).  Several
members were committed to prison on account of the' last tumult
in the House, which was called sedition; nor were they released
without great difficulty, and after several delays. Sir John Eliot,
IJollis, and Valentine were summoned to their trial in the King's
Bench for seditious speeches and behavior in Parliament; but,
refusing to answer before an inferior court for their conduct as
members of a superior, they were condemned to be imprisoned
during the king's pleasure, to find sureties for their good behavior,
and to be fined, the two former ~1000 apiece, the latter ~500.
But they unanimously refused to find sureties, and disdained to
accept of deliverance on such terms. Sir John Eliot died while
in custody; a great clamor was raised against the administration,
and he was universally regarded as a martyr to the liberties of
England.
~ 7. Charles, being destitute of all supply, and having resolved
to call no more Parliaments till he should see greater indication
of a compliant disposition in the nation, was necessarily reduced
to make peace with the two crowns against which he had hitherto
waged a war, entered into without necessity, and conducted without glory. After the death of Buckingham, who had somewhat
alienated Charles from the queen, she is to be considered as his
chief friend and favorite. His ministers he began to choose from
the popular leaders: a sure proof that a secret revolution had
happened in the constitution, and had necessitated the prince to
adopt new maxims of government. But the views of the king
were at this time so repugnant to those of the Puritans, that the
leaders whom he gained lost from that moment all interest with
their party, and were even pursued as traitors with implacable




398                     CHARLES I.                 CHAP. XXI.
hatred and resentment. This was the case with Sir Thomas
Wentworth, whom the king created, first a baron, then a viscount,
and afterward Earl of Strafford; made him president of the council of York,- and deputy of Ireland; and regarded him as his
chief minister and counselor. Sir Dudley Digges was about the
same time created master of the rolls; Noy, attorney general;
Littleton, solicitor general.  All these had likewise been Parliamentary leaders, and were men eminent in their profession. In
all ecclesiastical affairs, and even in many civil, Laud, Bishop of
London, acquired a great ascendant over Charles, and led him,
by the facility of his temper, into a conduct which proved fatal to
himself and to his kingdom.  Laud, and the other prelates who
embraced his measures, by adopting many of those religious sentiments which prevailed during the fourth and fifth centuries, could
not fail of giving the English faith and Liturgy some resemblance
to the Catholic superstition, which the kingdom in general, and
the Puritans in particular, held in the greatest horror and detestation. Alterations were made in the ritual. The communion
table was removed from the centre of the churches, placed at the
east end, railed in; and called the altar; the use of copes, pictures,
crucifixes, etc., was restored; in short, those usages were introduced which characterize the party called Hig1h-Clhurch.  Hence
not only the discontented Puritans believed the Church of England to be relapsing fast into IRomish superstition, the court of
Rome itself entertained hopes of regaining its authority in this
island; and, in order to forward Laud's supposed good intentions,
an offer was twice made him, in private, of a cardinal's hat, which
he declined accepting. In return for Charles's indulgence toward
the Church, Laud and his followers took care to magnify, on every
occasion, the regal authority, and to treat with the utmost disdain
or detestation all puritanical pretensions to a frees and independent constitution. The principles which exalted prerogative were
not entertained by the king merely as soft and agreeable to his
royal ears; they were also put in practice during the time that he
ruled without Parliaments.  He levied money either by the revival of obsolete laws, or by violations, some more open, some
more disguised, of the privileges of the nation; -and he gave way
to'severities in the Star Chamber and High Commission, which
seemed necessary in order to support the present mode of administration, and repress the rising spirit of liberty throughout the
kingdom.  He issued a proclamation, from which it was generally inferred that during this reign no more Parliaments were intended to be summoned. Tonnage and poundage continued to be
levied by the royal authority alone.  Compositions were openly
made with recusants, and the popish religion became a. regular




A.D. 1629-1634.  ARBITRARY MEASURES.                   399
part of the revenue. Under a law of Edward II., persons possessed of ~40 a year and upward in land were summoned to receive knighthood, or compound for their neglect. Commissioners
were appointed for fixing the rates of composition, and instructions
were given to these commissioners not to accept of a less sum
than would have been due by the party upon a tax of three sub-:
sidies and a half. Monopolies were revived, and many other lilegal methods of raising money were resorted to.
The court of Star Chamber extended its authority, and it was
matter of complaint that it encroached upon the jurisdiction of
the other courts, imposing heavy fines and inflicting severe punishment beyond the usual course of justice.  One case may be
mentioned by way of example.  Prynne, a barrister of Lincoln's
Inn, had written an enormous quarto of a thousand pages, which
he called Histrio-Mastix. Its professed purpose was to decry stageplays, comedies, interludes, music, dancing; but the author likewise took occasion to declaim against hunting, public festivals,
Christmas-keeping, bonfires, and maypoles. It was thought somewhat hard that general invectives against plays should be interpreted into satires against the king and queen, merely because
they frequented these amusements, and because the queen sometimes acted a part in pastorals and interludes which.were represe.nted at court. Yet Prynne was indicted in the Star Chamber
as a libeler; was condemned to be put from the bar; to stand in
the pillory in two places, Westminstei and Cheapside; to lose
both his ears, one in each place; to pay ~5000 fine to the king;
and to be imprisoned during life (1633). To mortify the Puritans, Charles renewed his father's edict for allowing sports and
recreations on Sunday to such as attended public worship; and
he ordered his proclamation for that purpose to be publicly read
by the clergy after divine service. Those who were puritanically
affected refused obedience, and were punished by suspension or
deprivation.  Some encouragement'and protection which the king
and the bishops gave to wakes, church-ales, bride-ales, and other
cheerful festivals of the common people, were the objects of like
scandal to the Puritans.
~ 8. Several years were passed in the quiet endurance of these
and other illegal proceedings. In 1634 a new grievance was introduced, that of ship-money. The first writs of this kind had
been directed to sea-port towns only; but ship-money was at this
time levied on the whole kingdom, and each county was rated at
a particular sum, which was afterward assessed upon individuals.
The tax seems to have been moderately and equitably assessed,
and the money to have been expended on the navy; but the imposition was entirely arbitrary; by the same right'any other tax




400                    CHARLES I.                CHAP. XXI.
might be imposed; and men thought a powerful fleet, though very
desirable both for the credit and safety of the kingdom, but an unequal recompense for their liberties, which, they apprehended, were
thus sacrificed to the obtaining of it.
It would be endless to recount all the acts of tyranny exercised
at this period by the crown and the Star Chamber, as well as by
the ecclesiastical supremacy of Laud, now Archbishop of Canterbury. The Puritans, restrained in England, shipped themselves
off for America, and laid there the foundations of a government
which possessed all the liberty, both civil and religious, of which
they found themselves bereaved in their native country. The
charter of Massachusetts Bay had been obtained from the crown
in 1629, and about 350 Nonconformists, chiefly of the independent sect, sailed with the first fleet. At last, in 1637, John Hampden acquired, by his spirit and courage, universal popularity
throughout the nation, and has merited great renown with posterity for the bold stand which he made in defense of the laws and
liberties of his country. Hampden, having been rated at 20 shillings, as ship-money, for an estate which he possessed in the county of Buckingham, resolved, rather than tamely submit to so illegal an imposition, to stand a legal prosecution, and expose himself to all the indignation of the court. The case was argued
during twelve days in the Exchequer Chamber, before all the
judges of England, and the nation regarded with the utmost anxiety every circumstance of this celebrated trial. The event was
easily foreseen; the prejudiced judges, two excepted, gave sentence
in favor of the crown as to the general right of levy, though three
others also decided for Hampden on merely technical grounds relating to his particular case. Hampden, however, obtained by the
trial the end for which he had so generously sacrificed his safety
and his quiet; the people were roused from their lethargy, and
became sensible of the dangers to which their liberties were exposed. These national questions were canvassed in.every company;.and the more they were examined, the more evidently did
it appear to many that liberty was totally subverted, and an unusual and arbitrary authority exercised over the kingdom..
~ 9. But, notwithstanding the discontents in England, affairs
might long have continued on the same footing there had they not
been influenced by the proceedings in Scotland.  Charles, from
his love of prelacy, which order he considered best fitted to inculcate obedience and loyalty among the people, had raised many of
the Scotch prelates to the chief dignities of the state. The Scotch
nobility, whose power was great, and whose connection with the
king had been much loosened by his long absence, were disgusted
to find the prelates superior to themselves in power and influence.




A.D. 1634-1638.   DISCONTENTS 1N SCOTLAND.             401
The inferior ranks of the Scotch clergy themselves equaled, if not
exceeded, the nobility in their prejudices against the court, against
the prelates, and against episcopal authority. The people, under
the influence of the nobility and clergy, could not fail to partake
of their discontents, and were imbued with the same horror against
popery with which the English Puritans were possessed. Yet, in
spite of these symptoms, the king's great aim was to complete the
work begun by his father; to establish discipline in Scotland upon
a regular system of canons, to introduce a Liturgy into public
worship, and to render the ecclesiastical government of all his
kingdoms regular and uniform.
The Liturgy which the king, from his own authority, imposed
on Scotland, though he was not by law the head of the Scottish
Church, was copied, with a few alterations, from that of England,
and due notice was given of the intention to commence the.use
of it on Sunday, July 23, 1637. On that day, accordingly, in the
cathedral church of St. Giles, the Dean of Edinburgh, arrayed in
his surplice, began the service, the bishop himself and many of
the privy council being present. But no sooner had the dean
opened the book than the people, clapping their hands, cursing,
and crying out, " A pope! a pope! antichrist! stone him!" raised
such a tumult, that it was impossible to proceed with the service.
The bishop, mounting the pulpit in order to appease-the populace,
had a stool thrown at him; the council was insulted; and it was
with difficulty that the magistrates were able, partly by authority,
partly by force, to expel the crowd, and to shut the doors against
them. The tumult, however, still continued without; and the
bishop, going home, was attacked, and narrowly escaped from: the
hands of the enraged multitude.
Farther riots ensued; yet Charles continued inflexible, though
to so violent a combination of a whole kingdom he had nothing
to oppose but a proclamation (Feb. 15, 1638), in which he pardoned all past offenses, and exhorted the people to be more obedient for the future, and to submit peaceably to the use of the
Liturgy. This proclamation was instantly encountered with a
public protestation, presented by the Earl of Hume and Lord
Lindesey; and this was the first time that men of quality had appeared in any violent act of opposition. But this proved a crisis.
The insurrection, which had been advancing by a gradual and
slow progress, now blazed up at once. No disorder, however, attended it.  On the contrary, a new order immediately took place.
Four tables, as they were called, were formed in Edinburgh. One
consisted of nobility, another of gentry, a third of ministers, a
fourth" of burgesses. The table of gentry was divided into many
subordinate tables, according to their different counties. In the




402                    CHARLES I.                CHAP. XXI.
hlands of the four tables the whole authority of the kingdom was
placed. Orders were issued by them, and every where obeyed
with the utmost regularity. And among the first-acts of their
government was the production of the COVENANT. This famous
deed consisted first of a renunciation of popery, formerly signed
by James in hlis youth, followed by a bond of union, by which the
subscribers obliged themselves to resist religious innovations, and
to defend one another against all opposition whatsoever. The
people, without distinction of rank or condition, of age or sex,
flocked to the subscription of this covenant, and even the king's
ministers and counselors themselves were, most of them, seized by
the general contagion. The king now began to apprehend the
consequences, and sent the Marquis of Hamilton as commissioner,
with authority to treat with the Covenanters.  He required the
Covenant to be renounced and recalled; but the popular leaders
told Hamilton they would sooner renounce their baptism. Charles,
who wanted both decision and sincerity, made concessions, and
was at last willing entirely to abolish the canons, the Liturgy, and
the High Commission coumet, and even to limit extremely the power
of the bishops. These successive concessions of the king, which
yet came still short of the rising demands of the malcontents, discovered his own weakness and gave no satisfaction. Without
waiting for the consent of the crown, they elected a general assembly, which met at Glasgow, Nov. 21, 1638.  Episcopacy, the
High Commission, the canons, and the Liturgy, were abolished
and declared unlawful; and the whole fabric which James and
Charles, in a long course of years, had been rearing with so much
care and policy, fell at once to the ground. The Covenant likewise was ordered to be signed by every one, under pain of excommunication.
Preparations were now openly made for war. Cardinal Richelieu, in revenge for Charles's opposition to his designs upon
Flanders, carefully fomented the first commotions in Scotland,
and secretly supplied the Covenanters with money and arms.
The Earl of Argyle, though he long seemed to temporize, at
last embraced the Covenant, and became the chief leader of that
party. Forces were regularly enlisted and disciplined; arms were
commissioned. and imported from foreign countries; and the whole
country, except a small part where the Marquis of Huntley still
adhered to the king, being in the hands of the Covenanters, was
in a very little time put in a tolerable posture of defense. On
the other hand, Charles's fleet was formidable, and had 5000 land
forces on board, under the Marquis of Hamilton, who.had orders
to sail to the Firth of Forth, and to -cause a diversion in the
forces of the malcontents. An army was levied of nearly 20,000.




A.D. 1638-1640.    PARLIAMENT SUMMONED.                403
foot and above 3000 horse,' and. was put under the command of
the Earl of Arundel. The king himself joined the army, and he
summoned all the peers of England to attend him. The whole
had the appearance of a splendid court rather than a military
armament; and in this situation, carrying more show than real
force with it, the camp arrived at Berwick.   Here. Charles coneluded a sudden pacification, in which it was stipulated that he
should withdraw his fleet and army;.that within 48 hours the
Scots should dismiss their forces; that the king's forts should be
restored to him, his authority be acknowledged, and a general asseinbly and a Parliament be immediately summoned, in order.to
compose all differences (June 18, 1639). The king, whose character was neither vigorous nor decisive, seems to have adopted
this measure from observing in his army symptoms of sympathy
with the Scots. HI-e agreed: not only to confirm his former concessions of abrogating the canons, the Liturgy, and the High
Commission, but also to abolish the order itself of bishops, for
which he had so zealously contended. But the Scotch Parliament, which met soon after, having advanced pretensions which
tended to diminish the civil power of the monarch, the war was
renewed with great advantages on the side of the Covenanters,
and disadvantages on that of the king; for no sooner had Charles
concluded the pacification than the necessities of his affairs and
his want of money obliged him to disband his army; while the
more prudent Covenanters, in dismissing their troops, had warned
them to be ready on the first summons.
~ 10. The king, with great difficulty, found means to draw together an army, but soon discovered that, all savings being gone,
and great debts contracted, his revenue would be insufficient to
support them. An English Parliament, therefore, formerly so
unkind and intractable, must now, after above eleven years' intermission, after.the king had tried many irregular methods of
taxation, after multiplied disgusts given to the Puritanical party,
be summoned to assemble amid the most pressing necessities of
the crown. The time appointed for the meeting of Parliament
was purposely late (April 13, 1640), and very near the time allotted for opening the.campaign' against the Scots; and hence
Charles took occasion to press them for an immediate grant, before they proceeded to offer him petitions for the redress of their
grievances, promising that as much as was possible of this season
should afterward be allowed them for that purpose. But, by
means of the Scottish insurrection, and the general discontents in
England, affairs were drawn so near to a crisis, that the leaders
of the House, sagacious and penetrating, began to foresee the consequences, and to hope that the time so long wished for was now




-404                    CHARLES I.               CHa P. XX1.
come, when public liberty must acquire a full ascendant. The
Commons, instead of taking notice of the king's complaints against
his Scottish subjects, or his applications for supply, entered immediately upon grievances.  They began with examining the behavior of the speaker the last day of the former Parliament, when
he refused, on account of the king's command, to put the question; and they declared it a breach of privilege. They proceeded next to inquire into the imprisonment and prosecution of Sir
John Eliot, Hollis, and Valentine; the affair of ship-money was
canvassed; and plentiful subject of inquiry was suggested on all
hands.  Charles, in order to bring the matter of supply to some
issue, solicited the House by repeated messages, and offered to
abolish ship-money in return for a supply of 12 subsidies, about
~600,000, payable in three years. But to this the Commons
objected that, by bargaining for the remission of that duty, they
would, in a manner, ratify the authority by which it had been
levied; at least, give encouragement for advancing new pretensions of a like nature, in hopes of resigning them on like advantageous conditions. The king was in great doubt and perplexity.
He saw that his friends in the House were outnumbered by his
enemies. Where great evils lie on all sides, it is difficult to follow the best counsel; nor is it any wonder that the king, whose
capacity was not equal to situations of such extreme delicacy,
should hastily have formed and executed the resolution of dissolving this Parliament; a measure, however, of which he soon
after repented (May 5). This abrupt and violent dissolution naturally excited discontents among the people, and these were increased when some of the members were imprisoned and otherwise ill treated.  An attack was made during the night upon
Laud, in his palace of Lambeth, by above 500 persons; and a
multitude entered St. Paul's, where the High Commission then
sat, tore down the benches, and cried out, "No bishop, no High
Commissimn." All these instances of discontent were presages of
some great revolution, had the court possessed sufficient skill to
discern the danger, or sufficient power to piovide against it.
~ 11. The king, having raised money by several illegal and arbitrary expedients, was enabled, though with great difficulty, to
march his army, consisting of 19,000 foot and 2000 horse. The
Scottish army, though somewhat superior, were sooner ready than
the king's. The Covenanters still preserved the most pathetic
and most submissive language, and entered England, they said,
with no other view than to obtain access to the king's presence,
and lay their humble petition at his royal feet. At Newburnupon-Tyne they were opposed by a detachment of 4500 men under Conway, who seemed resolute to dispute with them the pas



A.D. 1640.      THE LONG PARLIAMENT.                   405
sage of the river. The Scots first entreated them, with great civility, not to stop them in their march to their gracious sovereign,
and then attacked them with great bravery, killed several, and
chased the rest from their ground. The English forces at Newcastle now retreated into Yorkshire, and the Scots took possession of Newcastle. Hence they dispatched messengers to th'e king,
who was arrived at York; and they took care, after the advantage which they had obtained, to redouble their expressions of
loyalty, duty, and submission to his person, and they even made
apologies, full of sorrow and contrition, for their late victory. In
order to prevent their advance, the king agreed to a treaty, and
named 16 English noblemen, who met with 11 Scottish commissioners at Ripon.
An army newly levied, undisciplined, frightened, seditious, ill
paid, and governed by no proper authority, was very unfit for withstanding a victorious and high-spirited enemy, and retaining in
subjection a discontented and zealous nation; and Charles, in despair of being able to stem the torrent, at last determined to yield.
to it. He had summoned a great council of the peers at York
(Sept. 24), but, foreseeing that they would advise him to call a
Parliament, he told them in his first speech that he had already
taken this resolution. They agreed to pay the Scots a weekly
subsidy of'~5600, to be levied on the four northern counties;
and the negotiation of the treaty was transferred from Ripon to
London.
~ 12. The elections, as might have been expected, ran in favor
of the popular party.  The Parliament, memorable as the LoNG
PARLIAMENT, met on Nov. 3, 1640. The first act of the Commons was to choose Lenthall for their speaker, in opposition to
Charles's views, who had intended to advance Gardiner, Recorder
of London, to that important dignity. Without any interval they
entered upon business, and they immediately struck a blow which
may in a manner be regarded as decisive, by impeaching the Earl
of Strafford, who was considered as chief minister.  Strafford,
sensible of the load of popular prejudices under which he labored
would gladly have declined attendance in Parliament; but Charles,
who had entire confidence in the earl's capacity, thought that his
counsels would be extremely useful during the critical session
which approached. And when Strafford still insisted on the danger of his appearing amid so many enraged enemies, the king, little apprehensive that his own authority was so suddenly to expire,
promised his protection, and assured him that not a hair of his
head should be touched by the Parliament.  The debate respecting Strafford was conducted with locked doors; his impeachment
was unanimously voted, and Pym was chosen to carry it up to




403                    CHARLES I.               CHAP. XXL.
the Lords. Most of the house accompanied him on so agreeable
an errand; and Strafford, who had just entered the House of
Peers, and who little expected so speedy a prosecution, was immediately, upon this general charge, ordered into custody (Nov.
11). After a deliberation which scarcely lasted half an hour, an
impeachment of high treason was also voted against Laud, who
was immediately, upon this general charge, sequestered from Parliament, and committed to custody. The Lord-keeper Finch, and
Sir Francis Windebank, the secretary, a creature of Laud's, apprehending a similar attack, fled to the Continent. Thus, in a few
weeks, this House of Commons, not opposed, 4,4rather seconded,
by the Peers, had produced such a revolution in the government
that the two most powerful and most favored ministers of the king
were thrown into the Tower, and daily expected to be tried for
their life; while two other ministers had, by flight alone, saved
themselves from a like fate. The Commons, not content with the
authority which they had acquired by attacking these -great ministers, were resolved to render the most considerable bodies of the
nation obnoxious to them. All persons who had assumed powers not authorized by statute were declared delinquents.  This
term was newly come into vogue, and expressed a degree or species of guilt not exactly known or ascertained. It would comprehend all the sheriffs, and all those who had been employed in
assessing ship-money; all the farmers and officers of the customs,
who had been engaged during so many years in levying tonnage
and poundage; and all those who had concurred in the arbitrary
sentences of the courts of Star Chamber and High Commission.
No minister of the king, no member of the council, but found himself exposed. by this decision. And almost all the bench of bishops, and the most considerable of the inferior clergy, who had
voted in the late Convocation, were involved, by these new principles, in the imputation of delinquency. The whole sovereign
power being thus in a manner transferred to the Commons, the
popular leaders seemned willing for some time to suspend their active vigor, and to consolidate their authority, ere they proceeded
to any violent exercise of it. This was the time when genius and
capacity of all kinds, freed from the restraint of authority, and
nourished by unbounded hopes and projects, began to exert themselves and be distinguished by the public. Then was celebrated
the sagacity of Pym; the mighty ambition of Hampden; then,
too, were known the dark, ardent, and dangerous character of St.
John, the impetuous spirit of Hollis, and the enthusiastic genius
of young Vane. Even men of the most moderate tempers, and
the most attached to the Church and monarchy, exerted themselves with the utmost vigor in the redress of grievances, and in




A.D. 1640.  GREAT AUTHORITY OF THE COMMONS.           407
prosecuting the authors of them; the lively and animated Digby,
the firm and undaunted Capel, the modest and candid Palmer.
In this list, too, of patriot Royalists are found the names of Hyde
and Falkland. Though in their ultimate views and intentions
these men differed widely from the former, in their present actions
and discourses an entire concurrence and unanimity were observed.
The harangues of members were now first published and dispersed; the pulpit and the press were delivered from the long silence and constraint in which they had been retained by the authority of Laud and the High Commission. The sentence which
had been executed against Prynne, as well as against two other
Puritans; Bastwick and Burton, now suffered a revisal from Parliament, and they were released from their prisons in Scilly and
the ChannelIslands. When the prisoners landed in England they
were received and entertained with the highest demonstrations of
affection, were attended by a mighty confluence of company, their
charges were borne with great magnificence, and liberal presents
bestowed on them. The invasion of the Scots had evidently been
the cause of assembling the Parliament; the presence of their
army reduced the king to that total subjection in which he was now
held; and the Commons, for this reason, openly professed their
intention of retaining these invaders. Eighty thousand pounds a
month was requisite for the subsistence of the Scotch and English
armies, a sum much greater than the subject had ever been accustomed, in any former period, to pay to the public. And though
several subsidies, together with a poll-tax, were from time to time
voted to answer the charge, the Commons still took care to be in
debt, in order to render the continuance of the session the more
necessary.
The zeal of the Commons was particularly directed against the
bishops and the Established Church. They introduced a bill for
prohibiting all clergymen the exercise of any civil office, as a consequence of which the bishops were to be deprived of their seats
in the House of Peers. But the bitter and intolerant spirit displayed by the Puritans was now beginning to alienate many of
the lords; and the bill was rejected by a large majority. Among
other acts of regal executive power which the Commons were every day assuming, they issued orders for demolishing all images,
altars, crucifixes. It was now that the zealous Sir Robert Harley, to whom the execution of these orders was committed, removed the beautiful crosses at Cheapside and Charing Cross. A
committee was elected as a court of inquisition upon the clergy,
and was commonly denominated the committee of scandalous min4sters. The proceedings of this famous committee, which continued




408                     CHARLES [.                CHAP. XXIL
for several years, were cruel and arbitrary, and made great havoc
both on the Church and the universities. They began with harassing, imprisoning, and molesting the clergy, and ended with sequestrating and ejecting them. Charles, who was now aware of
the uselessness of resistance, yet opposed, as long as he could, the
bill for assembling a Parliament at least once in three years (1641).
By a statute passed during the reign of Edward III. it had been
enacted that Parliaments should be held once every year, or more
frequently if necessary; but, as no provision had been made in
case of failure, this statute had been dispensed with at pleasure.
The defect was supplied by those vigilant patriots who now assumed the reins of government. It was enacted that, if the chancellor failed to issue writs by the 3d of September in every third
year, any 12 or more of the peers should be empowered to exert
this authority; in default of the peers, that the sheriffs, mayors,
bailiffs, etc., should summon the voters; and in their default, that
the voters themselves should meet and proceed to the election for
members, in the same manner as if writs had been regularly issued
from the crown.  Nor could the Parliament, after it was assembled, be adjourned, prorogued, or dissolved without their own consent, during the space of 50 days.  Nothing could be more necessary than such a statute for completing a regular plan of law
and liberty.
~ 13. Immediately after Strafford was sequestered from Parliament and confined in the Tower, a joint committee of the Lords
and Commons were appointed to investigate his case, and were
bound to secrecy by an oath. To bestow the greater solemnity on
this important trial, scaffolds were erected in Westminster Hall,
where both houses sat, the one as accusers, the other as judges.
Besides the chair of state, a close gallery was prepared for the
king and queen, who attended during the whole trial. The articles of impeachment against Strafford were 28 in number, and regarded his conduct as president of the council of York, as deputy
or lieutenant of Ireland, and as counselor or commander in England.  From a cumulation of charges it was endeavored to establish a constructive one of treason. The principal articles were
the billeting of soldiers on the Irish in order to make them submit to his illegal demands, advising the king to employ the army
raised in Ireland to subject England, and the taxing of the people
of Yorkshire for the maintenance of his troops. -The: remaining
charges were for hasty and imperious expressions and tyrannous
acts toward individuals. In order to strengthen the case of the
impeachment, Pym produced a paper, found by Sir Henry Vane in
his father's cabinet, purporting to be notes of a debate. in council
after the dissolution of the last Parliament, in which Strafford was




A.D. 1640, 1641.    STRAFFORD'S TRIAL.                    409
represented as advising the -king that, having tried the affections
of his people, he was absolved and loose from all rules of government, and might do what power would admit.  And it was pre-;ended that the circumstance of this paper having been seen by
Pym, who had copied it, and by young Sir Henry Vane, was equivalent to the testimony of two witnesses, the number required by
law in cases of treason. Strafford is allowed, on all hands, to
have made a noble defense, which is thus characterized by Whitelock, the chairman of the committee which conducted the impeachment: " Certainly never any man acted such a part, on such a
theatre, with more wisdom, constancy, and eloquence, with greater
reason, judgment, and temper, and with a better grace in all his
words and actions, than did this great and excellent person; and
he moved the hearts of his auditors, some few excepted, to remorse
and pity."
It was evident that Strafford had gained many fiiends by the
manly modesty of his demeanor and the eloquence of his defense.
The result appeared doubtful if the trial proceeded in Westminster Hall; and some of the leaders of the popular party therefore
resolved to adopt one of the worst precedents of the reign of
Henry VIII., and to proceed against Strafford by bill of attainder.*
This course, however, was opposed by Pym and Hampden, who
still believed that they could support the charge of treason by impeachment; but these great leaders were outvoted, and the bill
of attainder was brought into the Lower House.  It is a curious
fact that Hyde and Falkland, who were shortly afterward the
mainstay of the Royalist party, were eager supporters of the attainder, and consequently are chiefly answerable for the death of
Strafford.t  The bill of attainder passed the Commons with only
~59 dissenting votes.  A  new discovery, made. about this time,
served to throw every thing into still greater flame and combustion.
Some principal officers concerted a form of a petition to the king
and Parliament, to be subscribed by the army, in which they offered to come up and guard the Parliament.  The draught of this
petition being conveyed to the king, he was prevailed on to countersign it himself as a mark of his approbation. An officer named
Goring betrayed the secret to the popular leaders.  The alarm
* The student should bear in mind the difference between an impqeachment
and a bill of attainder. In an impeachment the Commons are the accusers,
and the Lords alone the judges. In a bill of attainder the Commons are
the judges as well as the Lords; it may be introduced in either House; it
passes through the same stages as any other bill; and when agreed to by
both houses, it receives the assent of the crown.
t The opposition of Hampden to Straffbrd's attainder, and Hyde's support of it, have been proved for the first time by Mr. Forster (" Historical
and Biographical Essays," i., p. 252, foll., London, 1858).
S




410                    CHARLES I.                CHAP. XXI.
may easily be imagined which this intelligence conveyed.  Tile
Commons voted a protestation, to be signed by the whole nation,
declaring that the subscribers would defend their religion and liberties. About 80 peers had constantly attended Strafford's trial;
but such apprehensions were entertained on account of the popular tumults, that only 45 were present when the bill of attainder
was brought into the House. Yet of these, 19 had the courage to
vote against it. The opinion of the judges had been taken, and was
read to the House previously to the division. It was not very decidedly expressed, and did not state that the prisoner was guilty
of treason, but that'"they are of opinion, upon all that which
their lordships have voted to be proved, that the Earl of Strafford
doth deserve to undergo the pains and forfeitures of high treason
by law."  The bill was then passed (May 7, 1641).  On the following day the populace flocked about Whitehall, and accompanied their demand of justice with the loudest clamors and most
open menaces. All the king's servants, consulting their own safety
rather than their master's honor, declined interposing with their
advice between him and his Parliament. Juxon alone, Bishop of
London, whose courage was. not inferior to his other virtues, ventured to advise him, if in his conscience he did not approve of the
bill, by no means to assent to it.  Some plans for the earl's escape were devised, but abandoned; and Strafford, hearing of
Charles's irresolution and anxiety, took a very extraordinary step:
he wrote a letter, in which he entreated the king, for the sake of
public peace, to put an end to his unfortunate, however innocent,
life, and to quiet the tumultuous people by granting them the request for which they were so importunate.  After the most violent anxiety and doubt, Charles at last granted a commission to
four noblemen to give the royal assent, in his name, to the bill.
Secretary Carleton was sent by the king to inform Strafford of
the final resolution which necessity had extorted from him. The
earl seemed surprised, and, starting up, exclaimed, in the words of
Scripture, " Put not your trust in princes, ndr in the sons of men;
for in them there is no salvation."  Hle was soon able, however,
to collect his courage; and he prepared himself to suffer the fatal
sentence. Only three days' interval was allowed him. The king,
who made a new effort in his behalf, and sent, by the hands of the
young prince, a letter addressed to the Peers, in which he entreated them to confer with the Commons about a mitigation of Strafford's sentence, and begged at least for some delay, was refused in
both requests.
Strafford, in passing from his apartment to Tower Hill, where
the scaffold.was erected, stopped under Laud's windows, with
whom he had long lived in intimate friendship, and entreated the




A.D. 1641.      EXECUTION OF STRAFFORD.                  411
assistance of his prayers in those awful moments which were approaching. His discourse on the scaffold was full of decency and
courage; and with one blow a period was put to his life by the
executioner (May 12, 1641).  Thus perished, in the 49th year of
his age, the Earl of Strafford, one of the most eminent personages
that has appeared in England. That he was legally convicted
may well admit of a question; that he was an enemy of his country can not be doubted.  His aim was to establish an absolute
monarchy by means of a military force; a scheme to which, in his
correspondence with Laud, he gives the significant name of the
Thorough. Men of different tempers will estimate differently the
severity of his sentence; but the sentiments of the age should be
taken into the account, and we should endeavor to place ourselves
in the situation of those actually engaged in that arduous and violent struggle. It is to be considered that revolutions of government can not be effected by the mere force of argument and reasoning, and that, factions being once excited, men can neither so
firmly regulate the tempers of others, nor their own, as to insure
themselves against all exorbitances. Of the conduct of Charles
there can hardly be but one opinion; and it is certain that strong
compunctions for his consent to Strafford's execution attended him
during the remainder of his life.
~ 14. On the same day that the king gave his assent to the execution of Strafford he likewise sanctioned a bill, which had been
rapidly carried through both houses, that the Parliament should
not be dissolved, prorogued, or adjourned without their own consent. A bill was also passed to abolish the courts of' High Commission and Star Chamber,* and in them to annihilate the principal and most dangerous article of the king's prerogative. By
the same bill the jurisdiction of the king's council was regulated
and its authority abridged.  Several other minor reforms were
also effected. The Parliament then adjourned to the 20th of
October; and a committee of both houses, a thing unprecedented,
was appointed to sit during the recess with very ample powers.
A small committee of-both houses was appointed to attend the
king on his journey into Scotland, in order, as was pretended, to
see that the articles of pacification were executed, but really to be
spies upon him, and extend still farther the ideas of parliamentary
authority, as well as eclipse the majesty of the king. Besides the
large pay voted to the Scots for lying in good quarters during a
twelvemonth, the English Parliament conferred on them a present
of ~300,000 for their brotherly assistance. In the articles of
pacification they were declared to have ever been good subjects;
* For the history of the Star Chamber, see Notes and Illustrations, p.
366.




112                      CHARLES I.                 CHAP. XXI.
and their military expeditions were approved of, as enterprises
calculated and intended for his majesty's honor and advantage.
In Scotland as in England, the king was obliged to strip himself
of his most valued prerogatives. Several of the Covenanters were
sworn of the privy council; and the king, while in Scotland, conformed himself entirely to the Established Church, assisting with
great gravity at the long prayers and longer sermons with which
the Presbyterians endeavored to regale him.
~ 15. While the king was employed in pacifying the commotions.in Scotland, he received intelligence of a dangerous rebellion
which broke out in Ireland, with circumstances of the utmost
horror, bloodshed, and devastation. Strafford had raised the army
in Ireland fiom 3000 to 12,000 men, with the secret design of employing them to assert Charles's power in England.  The Parlianent insisted on their being reduced to the original number; nor
would they forward the king's plan of enlisting 4000 of these disbanded troops in the Spanish service in Flanders, whence indeed
they might have been easily diverted to a different object.  By
this means, however, not only was the standing army in Ireland
greatly reduced, but a large body of discontented papists, trained
to the use of arms, was suddenly turned loose on society.  The
old Irish remarked these false steps of the English, and resolved
to take advantage of them.  A  gentleman  called Roger SMore,
much celebrated among his countrymen for valor and capacity,
formed the project of expelling the English, and engaged all the
heads of the native Irish in the conspiracy, especially Sir Phelim
O'Neale, the representative of the Tyrone family, and Lord Maguire.  The commencement of the revolt was fixed on the approach of winter, that there might be more difficulty in transporting forces from England.  An attempt to surprise Dublin Castle
was betrayed and failed; but O'Neale and his confederates had
already taken arms in Ulster.  The Irish, every where intermingled with the English, needed but a hint from their leaders and
priests to begin hostilities against a people whom they hated on
account of their religion, and envied for their richles and prosperity.  The houses, cattle, goods, of the unwary English were first
seized.  After rapacity had fully exerted itself, a universal massacre commenced. NIo age, no sex, no condition was spared. But
death was the slightest punishment inflicted by those rebels; all
the tortures which wanton cruelty could devise, all the lingering
pains of body, the anguish of mind, the agonies of despair, could
not satiate the revenge of the Irish.  Amid all these enormities,
the sacred name of Religion resounded on every side. The English, as heretics abhorred of God and detestable to all holy men,
were marked out by the priests for slaughter and, of all actions,




A.D. 1641.          IRISH REBELLION.                     413
to rid the world of these declared enemies to Catholic faith and
piety was represented as the most meritorious. The English colonies were totally annihilated in the open country of Ulster,
whence the flames of rebellion diffused themselves in an instant
over the other three provinces of Ireland. In all places death and
slaughter were not uncommon, though the Irish, in these other
provinces, pretended to act with moderation and humanity. But
cruel and barbarous was- their humanity! Not content with expelling the English their houses, with despoiling them  of their
goodly manors, with wasting their cultivated fields, they stripped
them of their very clothes, and turned them out, naked and defenseless, to all the severities of the season. The heavens themselves, as if conspiring against that unhappy people, were armed
with cold and tempest unusual to the climate, and executed what
the merciless sword had left unfinished. The saving of Dublin
alone preserved in Ireland the remains of the English name. The
number of those who perished by all these cruelties is variously
estimated at from 40,000 to 200,000. The English of the Pale,
or ancient English planters, who were all Catholics, were probably not at first in the secret, and pretended to blame the insurrection, and to detest the barbarity with which it was accompanied.  By their protestations and declarations they engaged the
justices to supply them.with arms, which they promised to employ in defense of the government; but in a little time the interests of religion were found more prevalent over them than regard
and duty to their mother country.  They chose Lord Gormanstone their leader; and, joining the old Irish, rivaled them in every
act of violence toward the English Protestants.
~ 16. The king, to whom the Scots could grant no farther aid
than to dispatch a small body to support the Scottish colonies in
Ulster, sensible of his utter inability to subdue the Irish rebels,
found himself obliged, in this exigency, to have recourse to the
English Parliament, and depend on -their assistance for supply.
The Parliament discovered, in every vote, the same dispositions
in which they had separated; but the Irish rebellion had increased their animosity against the papists, and many believed,
what the Irish rebels pleaded, that they had the king's commission for all their. acts of violence; but, though that is altogether
incredible, it does not seem improbable that Charles had been
privy to the design of seizing Dublin Castle, in order to procure
the arms deposited there, with the view of reorganizing the Irish
army and using it against the Parliament.  The Commons assumed the whole management of Irish affairs; -but, while they
pretended the utmost zeal against the insurrection, they took no
steps toward its suppression, but such as likewise tended to give




414                    CHARLES I.                CHAP. XXI.
them the superiority in those commotions which they foresaw'
must so soon be excited in England.  They levied money under
pretense of the Irish expedition, but reserved it for purposes which
concerned them more nearly; they took arms from the king's
magazines, but still kept them, with a secret intention of employing them against himself.  To vindicate their conduct, and to
show that their distrust of the king was well founded, the leaders
of the popular party thought proper to frame a general REMONSTRANCE on the state of the nation. This memorable document
was not addressed to the king, but was openly declared to be an
appeal to the people. Whatever invidious, whatever suspicious,
whatever tyrannical measure had been embraced by the king,
from the commencement of his reign, is insisted on with merciless
rhetoric: the unsuccessful expeditions to Cadiz and the isle of
Rhe; the sending of ships to France for the suppression of' the
H-uguenots; the forced loans; the illegal confinement of men foinot obeying illegal commands; the violent dissolution of four Parliaments; the arbitrary government which alwvays succeeded; the
questioning, fining, and imprisoning of members for their conduct in the I-louse; the levying of taxes without consent of the
Commons; the introducing of superstitious innovations into the
Church without authority of law; in short,-every thing which
had given offense during the course of 15 years, from the accession of the king to the calling of the present Parliament. And
all their grievances, they said, which amounted to no less than a
total subversion of the Constitution, proceeded entirely from the
formed combination of a popish faction, who had ever swayed the
kingr's counsels, who had endeavored, by an uninterrupted effort,
to introduce their superstition into England and Scotland, and
who had now at last excited an open and bloody rebellion in Ireland. But the opposition which the remonstrance met with in
the House of Commons was great. For above 14 hours the debate was warmly managed, and the vote was at last carried by a
small majority of 11 (Nov. 22). Some time after the remonstrance was ordered to be printed and published, without being
carried up to the HI-ouse of Peers for their assent and concurrence.*  In this memorable debate, Hyde and Falkland, who had
previously acted with the popular party, were the chief leaders in
opposition to the Remonstrance.
Every measure pursued by the Commons, and still more every
attempt made by their partisans, was full of the most inveterate
hatred against the hierarchy, and showed a determined resolution
* The best, and, indeed, the only full and impartial account of the Remonstrance is given by Mr. Foster in his "Historical and Biographical Essays," vol. i., London, 1858.




A.D. 1642.   IMPEACHMENT OF-THE BISHOPS.                 415
of subverting the whole ecclesiastical establishment.  The majority of the Peers, who-had hitherto supported the Commons, now
adhered to the king, though a few, as the Earl of Northumberland, the Earl of Essex, and Lord Kimbolton (soon after the Earl
of Manchester), still took the popular side. The Commons professed to be alarmed for their personal safety.  The pulpits were
called in aid, and resounded with the dangers which threatened
religion, from the desperate attempts of papists and malignants.
Multitudes flocked toward Westminster, insulted the prelates and
such of the lords as adhered to the crown, and threw out insolent
menaces against Charles himself.  Several reduced officers and
young gentlemen of the inns of court, during this time of disorder
and danger, offered their service to the king.  Between them andthe populace there passed frequent skirmishes, which ended not
without bloodshed.  By way of reproach, these gentlemen gave
the rabble the appellation of Roundclheads, on account of the shortcropped hair which they wore; the latter called the others Cavaliers; and thus the nation, which was before sufficiently provided
with religious as well as civil causes of quarrel, was also supplied
with party names, under which the factions might rally and signalize their mutual hatred.
The bishops, being prevented from attending Parliament by the
dangerous insults to which they were particularly exposed, drew
up a protestation to the king and House of Lords, in which they
protested against all laws, votes, and resolutions, as null and invalid, which should pass during the time of their constrained absence.  The opportunity was seized with joy and triumph by the
Commons.  An impeachment of high treason was immediately
sent up against the bishops, as endeavoring to subvert the fundamental laws, and to invalidate the authority of the Legislature.
They were, on the first demand, sequestered from Parliament and
committed to custody.
~ 17. A few days after the king was betrayed into an indiscretion to which all the ensuing disorders and civil wars ought immediately and directly to be ascribed.  This was the impeachment of Lord Kimbolton and the five members. On Jan. 3, 1642,
Herbert, attorney general, appeared in the House of Peers, and in
his majesty's name entered an accusation of high treason against
Lord Kimbolton and five members of the Commons-Hollis, Sir
Arthur  -lazlerig, Hampden, Pym, and Strode.  Mlen had not
leisure to wonder at the indiscretion of this measure before a sergeant at arms, in the king's name, demanded of the House of
Commons the five menbers, and was sent back without any positive answer.  MIessengers were employed to search for them and
arrest them.  Their trunks, chambers, and studies were sealed




416                    CHARLES I.                CHAP. XXI.
and locked. The House voted all these acts of violence to be
breaches of privilege, and commanded every one to defend the liberty of the members. The king, irritated by all this opposition,
came next day in person to the House. He was accompanied by
his ordinary retinue, to the number of above 200, armed as usual,
some with halberts, some with walking-swords.  The king left
them at the door, and he himself advanced alone through the hall,
while all the members rose to receive him. The speaker withdrew from his chair, and the king took possession of it. He then,
in a short speech, demanded the accused members, who, having
received private intelligence, had absented themselves, and he
asked the speaker, who stood below, whether any of these persons
were in the I-louse. The speaker, falling on his knee, prudently
replied, " I have, sir, neither eyes to see, nor tongue to speak, in
this place, but as the House is pleased to direct me, whose servant
I am; and I humbly ask pardon that I can not give any other
answer to what your majesty is pleased to demand of me." The
king then said he observed the birds were flown; but he expected
the House should send them to him, as they were guilty of foul
treason, and he assured them that they should have a fair trial.
The Commons were in the utmost disorder; and, when the king
was departing, some members cried aloud, so as he might hear
them, " Privilege! privilege!"  And the House immediately adjourned till next day. By this act of violence the king alienated
many who had begun to think more favorably of him.  That
evening the accused members, to show the greater apprehension,
removed into the city, which was their fortress. The citizens
were the whole night in arms.
Next morning Charles, attended only by three or four lords,
went to Guildhall, and made a speech to the common council containing many gracious expressions; but he departed without receiving the applause which he expected. In passing through the
streets he heard the cry, " Privilege of Parliament! privilege of
Parliament!" resounding from all quarters.  One of the populace, more insolent than the rest, drew nigh to his coach, and threw
in a paper on which was written, " To your tents, 0 Israel!" the
words employed by the mutinous Israelites when they abandoned::
Rehoboam, their rash and ill-counseled sovereign.
When the House of Commons met they affected the greatest
dismay; and, adjourning themselves for some days, ordered a committee to sit in Merchant Tailors' Hall in the city. The committee made an exact inquiry into all circumstances attending the
king's entry into the House; and an intention of offering violence
to the Parliament, and of murdering all who should make resistance, was inferred.




A.D. 1642.     TIHE KING LEAVES LONDON.               417
The House again met, and, after confirming the votes of their
committee, instantly adjourned, as if exposed to the most imminent
perils from the violence of their enemies. On the appointed day
the accused members were conducted by water to the House.
The river was covered with boats and other vessels laden with
small pieces of ordnance, and prepared fdr fight; and on landing,
the members were received by 4000 horsemen, who had come up
from Buckinghamshire to testify their devotion to Hampden.
When the populace, by land and by water, passed Whitehall, they
asked, with insulting shouts, " What has become of the king and
his Cavaliers? and whither are they fled?"  For the king, apprehensive of danger from the enraged multitude, had retired to
Hampton Court, deserted by all the world, and overwhelmed with
grief, shame, and remorse for the fatal measures into which he had
been hurried. His distressed situation he could no longer ascribe to the rigors of destiny or the malignity of enemies; his own
precipitancy and indiscretion must bear the blame of whatever
disasters should henceforth befall him.
13y the flight, or terror, or despondency of the king's party, an
unidisputed majority remained every where to their opponents;
and the bill against the votes of the bishops in Parliament, which
had hitherto stopped with the Peers, now passed, and was presented for the royal assent. The king had attempted to proceed in
his purpose of prosecuting the five members, but found himself
obliged first to abandon it, then to pardon the members, and-finally
to offer the House any reparation for the breach of privilege which
he had committed. Petitions of the most threatening and seditious kind were presented to the Commons, among which were
some signed by many thousands, from the apprentices, from the
porters, and from decayed tradesmen. The very women were
seized-with the same rage. A brewer's wife, followed by many
thousands of her sex, brought a petition to the H-louse, in which
they expressed their terror of the:papists and prelates, and the
dread of like massacres, rapes, and outrages with those which: had
been committed upon their sex in Ireland. The king's authority
was reduced to the lowest- ebb. The queen too, being secretly
threatened with an impeachment, and finding no resource in her
husband's protection, was preparing to retire into Holland.
The Commons were now sensible that the sword alone could
guard their acquired power. A large magazine of arms being
placed in the town of Hull, they dispatched thither Sir John Hotham, a gentleman of considerable fortune in the neighborhood,
and of an ancient family, and they gave him the authority of governor. They sent orders to Goring, Governor of Portsmouth, to
obey no commands but such as he should receive from the ParS2




418                    CHARLES I.                CHAP. XXI.
liament.  They never ceased soliciting the king till he had bestowed the command of the Tower on Sir John Conyers, in whom
alone, they said, they could repose confidence; and after making
a fruitless attempt, in which the Peers refused their concurrence,
to give public warning that the people should put themselves in
a posture of defense against the enterprises of pacpists and other illaffected persons, they now resolved to seize. at once the whole power of the sword, and to confer it entirely on their own creatures
and adherents by means of the militia. A bill was introduced and
passed the two houses which restored to lieutenants of counties
and their deputies the same powers of which the votes of the Commons had bereaved them at the beginning of this Parliament;
but, at the same time, the names of' all the lieutenants were inserted in the bill, and these consisted entirely of men in whom
the Parliament could confide; and for their conduct they were accountable, by the express terms of the bill, not to the king, but to
the Parliament.
When this demand was made, Charles was at Dover, attending
the queen and the Princess of Orange in their embarkation. Ile
at first attempted to postpone and evade the bill; but the Commons pressed it upon him, and asserted that, unless he speedily
complied with their demands, they should be constrained, for the
safety of prince and people, to dispose of the militia by the authority of both houses, and were resolved to do it accordingly; and
while they thus menaced the king with their power, they invited
him to fix his residence at London.  Charles replied by a remonstrance; and, lest violence should-be used to extort his consent to
the militia-bill, he removed by slow journeys to York, taking with
him the Prince of Wales and the Duke of York.
~ 18. The king here found marks of attachment beyond what he
had before expected.  From all quarters of England the prime
nobility and gentry, either personally or by messages and letters,
expressed their duty toward him, and exhorted him to save himself and them from that ignominious slavery with which they were
threatened. Charles, finding himself supported by a considerable
party in the kingdom, began to speak in a firmer. tone, and persisted in refusing the bill; while the Commons proceeded to frame an
ordinance, in which, by the authority of the two houses, without
the king's consent, they named lieutenants for all the counties,
and conferred on them the command of the whole military force,
of all the guards, garrisons, and forts of the kingdom.  Charles
issued proclamations against this manifest usurpation; and the
Commons, inventing a distinction, hitherto unheard of, between
the office and the person of the king, proceeded to levy, in his
name and by his authority, those very forces which they employed
agan~t him.




A.D. 1612.    PREPARATIONS FOR A CIVIL WAR.            419
Charles entertained hopes that, if he presented himself at Hull
before the commencement of hostilities, Hotham, overawed by his
presence, would admit him with his retinue, after which he might
easily render himself master of the place; but the governor was
on his guard.  He shut the gates'and refused to receive the king,
who desired leave to enter with 20 persons only.
Tlhe county of York levied a guard for the king of 600 men,
which the two houses immediately voted a breach of' the trust reposed in himn by the people, contrary to his oath, and tending to
a dissolution of the government. The armies, which had been
every where raised on pretense of the service in Ireland, were
henceforth more openly enlisted by the Parliament for their own
purposes, and the command of them was given to the Earl of Essex. In London no less than 4000 men enlisted in one day.
Wiqtin ten days vast quantities of plate were brought to their
treasurers. Such zeal aninmated the partisans of the Parliament,
especially in the city! The women gave up all the plate and ornaments of their houses, and even their silver thimbles and bodkins,
in order to support the good cause against the malignants.  On the
other hand, the queen, by disposing of the crown jewels in Holland, had been enabled to purchase a cargo of arms and ammunition. Part of these reached the king.
The Parliament now sent the conditions on which they were
willing to come to an agreement.  They required that no man
should remain in the council who was not agreeable to Parliament;
that no deed of the king's should have validity unless it passed the
council, and was attested under their hand; that all the officers
of state and principal judges should be chosen with consent of
Parliament, and enjoy their offices for life; that none of the royal
family should marry without consent of Parliament or council;
that the laws should be executed against Catholics; that the votes
of popish lords should be excluded; that the reformation of the
Liturgy and church government should have place according to
advice of Parliament; that that the ordinance with regard to the militia be submitted to; that the justice of Parliament pass upon all
delinquents; that a general pardon be granted, with such exceptions as should be advised by Parliament; that the forts and castles be disposed of by consent of Parliament; and that no peer Be
made but with consent of both houses.  War on any terms was
esteemed by the king and all his counselors preferable to so ignominious a peace.  Collecting, therefore, some forces, Charles advanced southward;' and at Nottingham he erected his royal standard, the open signal for discord and civil war throughout the kingdom (Aug. 22, 1642).




420                  NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.                         CHAP. XXI.
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
PETITION OF RIGHT.               any manner destroyed, but by the lawful
3 CAs TIx. G.1            Ijudgment of his peers, or by the law of the
*7   *  ~~land.
The petition exhibited to his majesty by the   IV. And in the eight-and-twentieth year
Lords spiritual and temporal, and Con- of the reign of King Edward III. it was demons, in this present Parliament assem- clared and enacted by authority of Parliabled, concerning divers rights and liberties ment that no man, of what estate or condiof the subjects, with the king's majesty's tion that he be, should be put out of his land
royal answer thereunto in full Parliament. or tenements, nor taken, nor imprisoned, nor
disinherited, nor put to death, without being
To the king's most excellent majesty:   brought to answer by due process of law.
Humbly show unto our sovereign lord the   V. Nevertheless, against the tenor of the
king, the lords spiritual and temporal, and  said statutes, and other the good laws and
commons, in Parliament assembled, that statutes of your realm to that end provided,
whereas it is declared and enacted by a stat- divers of your subjects have of late been
ate made in the time of the reign of King imprisoned without any cause showed; and
Edward I., commonly called,Statutum  de when for their deliverance they were brought
tallagio non concedendo, that no tallage or before your justices by your majesty's writs
aid shall be laid or levied by the king or his of habeas corpus, there to undergo and reheirs in this realm without the good-will and ceive. as the court should order, andltheir
assent of the archbishops, bishops, earls, bar- keepers commanded to certify the caulses of
ons, knights, burgesses, and other the free- their detainer, no cause was certified, but
men of the commonalty of this realm; and that they were detained by your majesty's
by authority of Parliament holden in the special command, signified by the lords of
five-and-twentieth year of the reign of King your privy council, and yet were returned
Edward III., it is declared and enacted that back  to  several prisons, without being
from thenceforth no person should be com- charged with any thing to which they might
pelled to make any loans to the king against make answer according to the law..
his will, because such loans were against   VI. And whereas of late great companies
reason and the franchise of the land; and of soldiers and mariners have been dispersed
by other laws of this realm it is provided that into divers counties of the realm, and the innone should be charged by any charge or habitants against their wills have been comimposition called a benevolence, nor by such pelled to receive them into their houses, and
like charge; by which statutes before men- there to suffer them to sojourn, against -he
tioned, and other the good laws and statutes laws and customs of this realm, and to tlla
of this realm, your subjects have inherited  great grievance and vexation of the people.
this freedom, that they should not be com-   VII. And whereas also by authority of Parpelled to contribute to any tax, tallage, aid, liament, in the five-and-twentieth year of
or other like charge not set by common con- the reign of King Edward III., it is declared
sent in Parliament.                       and enacted that no man should be foreII. Yet nevertheless of late divers com- judged of life or limb against the form of the
missions directed to sundry commissioners Great Charter and the law of the land; and
in several counties, with instructions, have by the said Great Charter, and other the
issued, by means whereof your people have laws and statutes of this your realm, no man
been in divers places assembled, and required ought to be adjudged to death but by the
to lend certain sums of money unto your laws established in this your realm, either
majesty, and many of them, upon their re- by the customs of the same realm, or by acts
fiusal so to do, have had an oath administer- of Parliament; and whereas no offender of
ed unto them not warrantable by the laws what kind soever is exempted from the proor statutes of this realm, and have been con- ceedings to be used, and punishments to be
strained to become bound to make appear- inflicted by the laws and statutes of this
ance and give utterance before your privy  your realm; nevertheless, of late time divers
council and in other places, and others of commissions under your majesty's great seal
them have been therefore imprisoned, con- have issued forth, by which certain persons
fined, and sundry other ways molested and  have been assigned and appointed commisdisquieted; and divers other charges have sioners with power and authority to proceed
bMen laid and levied upon your people in sev- within the land, according to the justice of
eral counties by lord lieutenants, deputy martial law, against such soldiers or marilieutenants, commissioners for musters, jus- ners, or other dissolute persons joining with
tices of peace, and others, by command or them, as should commit any murder, robdirection from your majesty, or your privy  bery, felony, mutiny, or other outrage or
council, against the laws and free customs misdemeanor whatsoever, and by such sumof the realm.                             mary course and order as is agreeable to
III. And whereas also by the statute call- martial law, and as is used in armies in time
ed "The Great Charter of the Liberties of of war, to proceed to the trial and condemnaEngland," it is declared and enacted that no tion of such offenders, and them to cause to
freeman may be taken or imrip:isoned, or be be executed and put to death according to
disseised of his freehold or liberties, or his the law martial.
fire customs, or be outlawed or exiled, or in    VIII. By pretext whereof some of your




CHAP. XXI.           NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.                                 421
majesty's subjects have been by some of the  would be pleased to remove the said soldiers
said commissioners put to death, when and  and mariners, and that your people may not
where, if by the laws and statutes of the  be so burdened in time to come; and that
land they had deserved death, by the same the aforesaid commissions for proceeding by
laws and statutes also they might, and by  martial law may be revoked and annulled;
no other ought to have been judged and. ex- and that hereafter no commissions of like
ecuted:                                   nature may issue forth to any person or perIX. And also sundry grievous offenders, sons whatsoever to be executed as aforesaid,
by color thereof claiming an exemption, have lest by color of them any of your majesty's
escaped the punishments due to them by the  subjects be destroyed or put to death conlaws and statutes of this your realm, by rea- trary to the laws and franchise of the land.
son that divers of your officers and ministers   XI. All which they most humbly pray of
of justice have unjustly refused or forborne  your most excellent majesty as their rights
to proceed against such offenders according  and liberties, according to the laws and statto the same laws and statutes, upon pretense  utes of this realm; and that your majesty
that the said offenders were punishable only  would also vouchsafe to declare that the
by martial law, and by authority of such  awards, doings, and proceedings, to the prejcommissions as aforesaid; which commis- udice of your people in any of the premises,
sions, and all other of like nature, are wholly  shall not be drawn hereafter into conseand directly contrary to the said laws and  quence or example; and that your majesty
statutes of this your realm.              would be also graciously pleased, for the farX. They do therefore humbly pray your ther comfort and safety of your people, to
most excellent majesty that no man hereaf- declare your royal will and pleasure that in
ter be compelled to make or yield any gift, the things aforesaid all your officers and
loan, benevolence, tax, or such like charge, ministers shall serve you according to the
without common consent by act of Parlia- laws and statutes of this realm, as they tenment; Eind that none be called to make an- der the honor of your majesty and the prosswer, or to take such oath, or to give attend- perity of this kingdom.
ance, or be confined, or otherwise molested    Qu4 qeidenr petitione lectd et plenitus inor disquieted concerning the same, or for re- tellectd per dictum dorinurm regem taliter
fusal thereof; and that no freeman, in any  est responstur ins pleno pclrliasnento, viz.
such manner as is before mentioned, be im- Soit droit fait comme est desiri.
prisoned or detained; and that your majesty




"Oxford Crown" of Charles I.
Obv.: CAROLVS. D: G: MAG: BRIT: FRAN: ET. 1IBER. REX. The king mounted, to
left. Beneath his horse a view of Oxford, with the name OXON and the letter R, the initial of the name of the artist, Rawlins. Rev.: EXVRGAT DaEV DI)IsSIPENTVR INIMICI.
Across the field RELIG. PROT. LEG ANG. LIBER. PARL: above, v, for the value and
below, 1644 oxoN.
CHAPTER XXII.
CIIARLES I. CONTINUED. FROM THE COMMENCEMENT OF TIE CIVIL WAR
TO THE TRIAL AND EXECUTION OF THIE KING. A.D. 1642-1649.
1~. Commencement of the Civil War.  State of the Kingdom.  ~ 2. Battie of Edge Hill. Negotiation at Oxford. ~ 3. Campaign of 1643. Death
of Hampden. Siege of Gloucester.  Waller's Plot. Battle of Newbury.
Actions in the North. ~ 4. Proceedings in Scotland. The solemn League
and Covenant.  Troops sent from Ireland.  ~ 5. Parliaments at Westminster and Oxford.  Campaign of 1644.  Battle of Marston Moor.
Second Battle of Newbury. ~ 6. Independents and Presbyterians. Cromwell accuses the Earl of Manchester. The self-denying Ordinance.  ~ 7.
Execution of Laud. ~ 8. Campaign of 1645. Montrose's Victories. The
"'New Model." Battle of Naseby. Surrender of Bristol and other Places.
~ 9. Negotiations with the Parliament. Glamorgan's Commission in Ireland.  The King flies to the Scottish Camp. He is delivered up by the
Scots.  ~ 10. Mutiny of the Army.  The King seized by Joyce.  ~ 11.
The Army subdue the Parliament.  The King flies to the Isle of Wight.
~ 12. Cromwell restores the Discipline of the Army. Deliberations respecting the King. ~ 13. Displeasure of the Scots. Commotions in England. Treaty of Newport. CivilWars. ~ 14. Pride's "Purge."  Trial
of the King.  ~ 15. Execution and Character of the King.
~ 1. WHEN two names so sacred in the English Constitution as
those of KING and PARLIAMENT were placed in oppdsition, no wonder the people were divided in their choice, and were agitated with
the most violent animosities and factions.  The nobility and more
considerable gentry, dreading a total confusion of rank from  the
fury of the populace, enlisted themselves in defense of the monarch, from whom they received, and to whom they communicated,




A.D. 1642.   COMMENCEMENT OF TIIE CIVIL WAR.           423
their lustre. The city of London, on the other hand, and most
of the great corporations, took part with the Parliament, and
adopted with zeal those democratic principles on which the pretensions of that assembly were founded.  The devotees of Presbytery became, of course, zealous partisans of the Parliament; the
friends of the Episcopal Church valued themselves on defending
the rights of monarchy; but, though the concurrence of the Church
undoubtedly increased the- king's adherents, it may safely be affirmed that the high monarchical doctrines, so much inculcated by
the clergy, had never done him any real service. The bulk of
that generous train of nobility and gentry who now attended the
king in his distresses breathed the spirit of liberty as well as of
loyalty; and in the hopes alone of his submitting to a legal and
limited government were they willing, in his defense, to sacrifice
their lives and fortunes; and all those who aspired to nothing but
an easy enjoyment of life, amid the jovial entertainment and social intercourse with their companions, flocked to the king's standard, where they breathed a freer air, and were exempted from that
rigid preciseness and melancholy austerity which reigned among
the Parliamentary party.  On the whole, however, the torrent of
general affection ran to the Parliament. The neighboring states
of Europe, being engaged in violent wars, little interested themselves in these civil commotions; and this island enjoyed the singular advantage (for such it surely was) of fighting out its own
quarrels without the interposition of foreigners. The king's condition, when he appeared at Nottingham, was not very encouraging to his party.. His artillery, though far from numerous, had
been left at York for want of horses to transport it. Besides the
trained bands of the county, raised by Sir John Digby, the sheriff,
he had not got together above 300 infantry. 1-Iis cavalry, in which
consisted his chief strength, exceeded not 800, and were very ill
provided with arms.  The forces of the Parliament lay at Northampton, within a few days' march of him, and consisted of above
6000 men, well armed and well appointed.  Had these troops advanced upon him, they must soon have dissipated the small force
which he had assembled, and perhaps forever prevented his collecting an army; but the Earl of Essex, the Parliamentary general, had not yet received any orders from his masters. In this
situation, by the unanimous desire of Charles's counselors, the
Earl of Southampton, with Sir John Colepeper and Sir William
Uvedale, was dispatched to London with offers of a treaty. Both
houses replied that they could admit of no treaty with the king
till he took down his standard and recalled his proclamations, in
\vhich the Parliament supposed themselves to be declared traitors.
A second attempt at negotiation had no better success.




424                    CHARLES I.               CHAP. XXII.
The courage of the Parliament was increased both by their
great superiority of force and by two recent events which had happened in their favor. They had obtained possession of Portsmouth, the best fortified town in the kingdom, through the negligence of Goring, the governor (Sept. 20); and the 3Marquis of
Hertford, a nobleman of the greatest quality and character in the
kingdom, who had drawn together some appearance of an army in
Somersetshire, had been obliged to retire into Wales on the approach of the Earl of Bedford with the Parliamentary forces. All
the dispersed bodies of the Parliamentary army were now ordered
to march to Northampton; and the Earl of Essex, who had joined them, found the whole amount to 15,000 men.  The king,
sensible that he had no army that could cope with so formidable
a force, thought it prudent to retire to Derby, and thence to
Shrewsbury. At Wellington, a day's march from Shrewsbury, he
made a solemn declaration before his army, in which he promised
to maintain the Protestant religion, to observe the laws, and to
uphold the just privileges and freedom of Parliament. On the
appearance of commotions in:Englandcl, the Princes lRupert and
Maurice, sons of the unfortunate palatine, had offered their service
to the king; and the former at that time commanded a body of
horse which had been sent to Worcester to watch the motions of
Essex. Here Prince Rupert began the civil wars by routing a
body of cavalry near that city. The rencounter, though in itself
of small importance, mightily raised the reputation of the Royalists, and acquired for Prince Rupert the character of promptitude
and courage, qualities which he eminently displayed during the
whole course of the war.
The king, on mustering his army, found it amount to 10,000
men. The Earl of Lindsay, who in his youth had sought experience of military service in the Low Countries, was general; Prince
Rupert commanded the horse, Sir Jacob Astley the foot, Sir Arthur Aston the dragoons, Sir John Heydon the artillery.
~ 2. With this army the king left Shrewsbury, and directed his
march toward the capital, with the intention of bringing on an
action. He fell in with the Parliamentary forces at Edge Hill,
near Kineton, in the county of Warwick (Oct. 23, 1642).  Though
the day was far advanced, the king resolved upon the attack.
After a desperate struggle, in which great mistakes were committed on both sides, the battle ended without either party obtaining
any decisive advantage.  All night the two armies lay under arms,
and next morning found themselves in sight of each other. General, as well as soldier, on both sides, seemed averse to renew the
battle. Essex first drew off, and retired to Warwick.  The king
returned to his former- quarters. About 1200 men are said to




A.D. 1642, 1643.    CAMPAIGN OF 1643.                 425
have fallen; and the loss of the two armies, as far as we can judge
by the opposite accounts, was nearly equal. Lindsay, the general,
was mortally wounded and taken prisoner.
The king, except the taking of Banbury a few days after, had
few marks of victory to boast of. He continued his march, and
took possession of Oxford, the only town in his dominions which
was altogether at his devotion. Hence he proceeded to Reading,
of which Martin was appointed governor by the Pailiament. Both
governor and.garrison were seized with panic, and fled with precipitation to London. The Parliament, alarmed at the near approach of the royal army, while their own forces lay at a distance,
voted an address for a treaty, and the king named Windsor as the
place - of conference.  Meanwhile Essex, advancing by hasty
marches, had arrived at London; but neither the presence of his
army, nor the precarious hope of a treaty, retarded the king's approaches. Charles attacked at Brentford three regiments quartered there, and after a sharp action beat them from that village, and
took about 500 prisoners (Nov. 12). The city trained-bands joined the army under Essex, which now amounted to above 24,000
men, and was much superior to that of the king. After both armies had faced each other for some time, Charles drew off and retired to Reading, and thence to Oxford.
During the winter negotiations for a treaty were continued at
Oxford. The king insisted on the re-establishment of the crown
in its legal powers, and on the restoration of his constitutional prerogative. The Parliament required, besides other concessions,
that the king should abolish episcopacy, and acquiesce in their settlenment of the militia. But the conferences went no farther than
the first demand on each side. The Parliament, finding that there
was no likelihood of coming to any agreement, suddenly recalled
their commissioners.
~ 3. The campaign of 1643 was opened by the taking of Reading by the Earl of Essex (April 27). In the north, where Lord
Fairfax commanded for the Parliament, and the Earl of Newcastle for the king, the latter nobleman united in a league for Charles
the counties of Northumberland, Cumberland, Westmoreland, and
the bishopric, took possession of York, and established the king's
authority in all the northern provinces. In the south and west,
Sir William Waller, who now began to distinguish himself among
the generals of the Parliament, took Winchester, Chichester, Hereford, and Tewkesbury; but, on the other hand, all Cornwall was
reduced by Sir Ralph Hopton to peace and to obedience under the
king.
Essex, finding that his army fell continually to decay after the
siege of Reading, was resolved to remain upon the defensive; and




426                    CHARLES I.               CHAP. XXII.
the weakness of the king, and his want' of all military stores, had
also restrained the activity of the royal army. No action had happened in that part of England, except one skirmish at Chalgrave
Field in Bedfordshire, which of itself was of no great consequence,
and was rendered memorable only by the death of the famous
Hampden.  He was seen riding off the field before the action was
finished, his head hanging down, and his hands leaning upon his
horse's neck. He was shot in the shoulder with a brace of bullets, and the bone broken; and some days after he died, in exquisite pain, of his wound (June 24); nor could his whole party, had
their army met with a total overthrow, have been struck with
greater consternation. The king himself so highllly valued him,
that, either from generosity or policy, he intended to have sent
him his own surgeon to assist at his cure.
The west now became the principal scene of action. The king
sent thither the Marquis of Hertford and Prince Maurice with a
re-enforcement of cavalry, who, having joined the Cornish army,
soon overran the county of Devon, and, advancing into that of'
Somerset, began to reduce it to obedience.  On the other hand,
the Parliament having supplied Sir William Waller with a complete army, dispatched him westward  After some skirmishes, a
pitched battle was fought at Lansdown, near Bath (July 5), with
great loss on both sides, but without any decisive event; and
shortly after another near Devizes (July 13), in which Waller was
completely defeated, and forced to retire to Bristol. This city
surrendered to Prince Rupert a few dacys afterward (July 27);
and Charles having now joined the army in the west, Gloucester
was invested on the 10th of August.
The rapid progress of the Royalists threatened the Parliament
with immediate subjection; the factions and discontents among
themselves, in the city, and throughout the neighboring counties,
prognosticated some dangerous division or insurrection. In the
beginning of this summer a conspiracy had been discovered to
oblige the Parliament to accept of reasonable conditions, and restore peace to the nation. Edmund Waller, the celebrated poet,
and a member of the House of Commons, was at the head of it,
with Tomkins, his brother-in-law, antd Chaloner, his friend.  Being seized, and tried by a court-martial, they were all three condemned, and the two latter executed on gibbets erected before
their own doors. Waller saved his life only by his abject and almost frantic submission, but was fined ~10,000.
The news of the siege of Gloucester renewed the cry for peace,
and the Parliament seemed disposed to consent to more moderate
terms; but the zealous Puritans redoubled their efforts, and the
P'arliament was persuaded to make preparations for the relief of




A.). 1643.       ACTIONS IN THE NORTH.                 427
this city. Essex, carrying with him a well-appointed army of
14,000 men, took the road of Bedford and Leicester, and on his
approach to Gloucester the king was obliged to raise the siege;
but, being deficient in cavalry, Essex would willingly have avoided an engagement, and therefore proceeded toward London; but
when he reached Newbury, in Berkshire, he was surprised to find
that the king, by hasty marches, had arrived before him. An action was now unavoidable, and was fought on both sides with
desperate valor and a steady bravery (Sept. 20).  The militia
of London especially, though utterly unacquainted with action,
equaled on this occasion what could be expected from the most
veteran forces.  W~hile the armies were engaged with the utmost
ardor, night put an end to the action, and left the victory undecided. Next morning Essex proceeded on his march, and reached
London in safety. In the battle of Newbury fell, among others
on the king's side, Lord Falkland, secretary of state.  Falkland
had at first stood foremost in all attacks on the high prerogatives
of the crown, and displayed that masculine eloquence and undaunted love of liberty which, from his intimate acquaintance
with the sublime spirits of antiquity, he had greedily imbibed;
but when civil convulsions proceeded to extremities, and it became requisite for him to choose his side, he embraced the defense of those limited powers which remained to monarchy, and
which he deemed necessary for the support of the English Constitution. From the commencement of the war his natural clheerfulness and vivacity became clouded; and among his intimate
friends, often, after a deep silence and frequent sighs, he would
with a sad accent reiterate the word "Peace."  On the morning
of the battle he had observed,'" I am weary of the times, and
foresee much misery to my country, but believe that I shall be
out of it ere night." The loss sustained on both sides in the battle of Newbury, and the advanced season, obliged the armies to
retire into winter quarters.
In the north, during the summer, appeared two men on whom
the event of the war finally depended, and who began about this
time to be remarked for their valor and military conduct. These
were Sir Thomas Fairfix, son of the lord of that name, and Oliver
Cromwell, son of a gentleman of Huntingdon.  The former gained a considerable advantage at Wakefield over a detachment of
Royalists; the latter obtained a victory at Gainsborough over a
party commanded by the gallant Cavendish, who perished in the
action; but both these defeats of the Royalists were more than
sufficiently compensated by the total rout of Lord Fairfax at
Atherton Moor, near Bradford, and the dispersion of his army..After this victory the Marquis of Newcastle, with an army of




428                    CHARLES I.               CHAP.:XXII;
15,000 men, sat down before Hull, but was ultimately obliged to
abandon the siege. Hotham was no longer governor of this place.
That gentleman and his son, being detected in a conspiracy.to deliver it to Newcastle, were arrested and sent prisoners to London,
where, without any regard to their former services, they were executed.
~ 4. While the military enterprises were carried on with vigor
in England, and the event became every day more doubtful, both
parties cast their eye toward the neighboring kingdoms.  The
Parliament had recourse to Scotland, the king to Ireland.  The
Scots beheld with the utmost impatience a scene of action of
which they could not deem themselves indifferent spectators.
The struggle in England was the topic of every conversation
among them; and the famous curse of Meroz, that curse so
solemnly denounced and reiterated against neutrality and moderation resounded from all quarters.  Charles having refused to
assemble a Scottish Parliament, the conservators of the peace, an
office newly erected in Scotland, resolved to summon, in the king's
name, but by their own authority, a convention of states, an assembly which, though it meets with less solemnity, has the same
authority as a Parliament in raising money and levying forces.
The English Parliament, which was at that time fallen into great
distress by the progress of the royal arms, gladly sent to Edinburgh
commissioners with ample powers to treat of a nearer union and
confederacy with the Scottish nation. In this negotiation the man
chiefly trusted was Vane, who, in eloquence, address, capacity, as
well as in art and dissimulation, was not surpassed by any one,
even during that age so famous for active talents. By his persuasion was framed at Edinburgh that SOLTEMN LEAGUE AND COVENANT which effaced all former protestations and vows taken in
both kingdoms, and long maintained its credit and authority. In
this covenant the subscribers, besides engaging mutually to defend
one another against all opponents, bound themselves to endeavor,
without respect of persons, the extirpation of popery and prelacy,
superstition, heresy, schism, and profaneness; to maintain the
rights and privileges of Parliaments, together with the king's authority; and to discover and bring to justice all incendiaries and
malignants.  The English Parliament,   having first subscribed it
themselves, ordered it to be received by all who lived under their
authority (Sept. 25); and the Scots, having received ~100,000
from England, and having added to their other forces the troops
which they had recalled from Ireland, were ready about the end
of the year to enter England, under the command of their old
general the Earl of Leven, with an army of above 20,000 men.
The king, foreseeing this tempest which was gathering upon.




A:D. 1644. PARLIAMENTS AT WESTMINSTER AND OXFORD. 429
him, cast his eye toward Ireland.  The army in that country, by
re-enforcements fiom England and Scotland, now amounted to
50,000 men. The justices and council of Ireland had been engaged, chiefly by the interest and authority of Ormond, the commander-in-chief, to support the king's cause; and a committee of
the English House of Commons, which had been sent over to
Ireland in order to conduct the affairs of that kingdom, had been
excluded the council. Ormond now sent over to England considerable bodies of troops, most of which continued in the king's
service; but a small part, having imbibed in Ireland a strong
animosity against the Catholics, and hearing the king's party universally reproached with popery, soon after deserted to, the Parliament.
~ 5. The king, that he might make preparations during winter
for the ensuing campaign, summoned to Oxford all the members
of either House who adhered to his interests; and endeavored to
avail himself of the name of Parliament, so passionately cherished
by the English nation. The House of Peers was pretty full, and
contained more members than that which sat at Westminster.
The I-louse of Commons amounted not to above half of the other
House of Commons.  The Parliament at Westminster having
voted an excise on beer, wine, and other commodities, those at Oxford imitated the example, and conferred that revenue on the king.
This impost had been hitherto unknown in England.  This winter the famous Pym died, a man as much hated by one party as
respected by the other. He had been so little studious of improving his private fortune in those civil wars of which he had been
one principal author, that the Parliament thought themselves
obliged, from gratitude, to pay the debts which he had contracted.
The military operations were carried on with vigor in several
places, notwithstanding the severity of the season. The forces
brought from Ireland were landed at Mostyn, in North Wales,
and reduced Cheshire; but Fairfax, by an unexpected attack, defeated and captured a great part of them at Nantwich (Jan. 25,
1644), and the Parliamentary party revived in those northwest
counties of England.  The invasion from Scotland was attended
with consequences of much greater importance. The Marquis of:Newcastle at first succeeded in keeping the Scots at bay; but Sir
Thomas Fairfax, returning from  Cheshire with his victorious
forces, routed Colonel Bellasis and a considerable body of troops
at Selby, in Yorkshire. Afraid of being inclosed between two
armies, the  Marquis of Newcastle, the commander of the royal
forces in the north, retreated; and Leven having joined Lord
Fairfax, they sat down before York, to which the army of the
Royalists had retired.  On the whole, the winter campaign had




430                    CHARLES I.                CHAP. XXII.
been unfavorable to the king in all quarters.  On the approach
of summer, the Earl of Manchester, having taken Lincoln, united
his army to that of Leven and Fairfax; and York was now closely besieged by their combined forces. That town, though vigorously defended by Newcastle, was reduced to extremity, when on
a sudden Prince Rupert advanced to its relief with an army of
20,000 men. The Scottish and Parliamentary generals raised
the siege, and, drawing up on fMarston Moor, purposed to give
battle to the Royalists. Prince Rupert approached the town by
another quarter, and, interposing the River Ouse between him and
the enemy, safely joined his forces to those of Newcastle.  The
marquis endeavored to persuade him not to hazard an engagement; but the prince, having positive orders fiom the king, im.n
rmediately issued orders for battle, and led out the army to Marston
AMoor (July 2). Prince Rupert, who commanded the right wing
of the Royalists, was opposed to Cromwell, who conducted the
choice troops of the Parliament, inured to danger, animated by
zeal, and confirmed by the most rigid discipline. After a sharp
combat the cavalry of the Royalists gave way, and such of the infantry as stood next them were likewise borne down and put to
flight. Newcastle's regiment alone, resolute to conquer or to per.
ish, obstinately kept their ground, and maintained, by their dead
bodies, the same order in which they had at first been ranged.
Lucas, who commanded the Royalists on the other wing, made a
furious attack on the Parliamentary cavalry, threw them into dis.
order, pushed them upon their own infantry, and put that whole
wing to rout.  When ready to seize on their carriages and baggage, he perceived Cromwell, who was now returned from pursuit
of the other wing.  Both sides were not a little surprised to find
that they must again renew the combat for that victory which
each of them thought they had already obtained. The front of
the battle was now exactly counterchanged, and each army occupied the ground which had been possessed by the enemy at the
beginning of the day. - This second battle was equally furious and
desperate with the first; but, after the utmost efforts of courage
by both parties, victory wholly turned to the side of the Parliament. - The prince's train of artillery was taken, and his whole
army driven off the field of battle.
This event was in itself a mighty blow to the king, but proved
more fatal in its consequences. The Marquis of Newcastle, either
disgusted with the rejection of his advice, or despairing of the
king's cause, went to Scarborough, where he found a vessel which
carried him beyond sea. During the ensuing years, till the Restoration, he lived abroad in great necessity, and saw with indifference his opulent fortune sequestered by those who assumed the




A.D. 1644..INDEPENDENTS AND PRESBYTERIANS.           431
government of England. Prince Rupert, with equal precipitation,
drew off the remains of his army, and retired into Lancashire.
York surrendered a few days afterward; and Fairfax, remaining
in the city, established his government in that whole county.
The town of Newcastle was taken by the Scottish army on October 29.
While these events passed in the north, the king's affairs in the
south were conducted with more success and greater abilities.
Ruthven, a Scotchman who had been created Earl of Brentford,
acted under the king as general. Waller was routed by the Royalists at Cropredy Bridge, near Daventry (June 29), and pursued
with considerable loss. Stunned and disheartened with this blow,
his army decayed and melted away by desertion; and the king
thought he might safely leave it, and march westward against Essex. That general, having retreated into Cornwall, and being surrounded on all sides by the Royalists, escaped in a boat to Plymouth. Balfour, with his horse, passed the king's outposts in a
thick mist, and got safely to the garrisons of his own party; but
the foot, under Skippon, were obliged to surrender their arms, artillery, baggage, and ammunition. The Parliament, however, soon
collected another army, which they placed under the command of
the Earl of Manchlester, who gained a victory, though not of a very
decisive kind, over Charles at Newbury (Oct. 27), and compelled
him to retire to Oxford.
~ 6. During these operations contests had arisen among the
Parliamentary generals, which were renewed in London during
the winter season. There had long prevailed in the Parliamentary party a secret distinction, which now began to discover itself
with high contest and animosity.  The INDEPENDENTS, who had
at first taken shelter and concealed themselves under the wings
of the PRESBYTERIANS, now evidently appeared a distinct party,
and betrayed very different views and pretensions. The Independents rejected all ecclesiastical establishments, and would admit of no spiritual courts, no government among pastors, no interposition of the magistrate in religious concerns, no fixed encouragement annexed to any system of doctrines or opinions. According to their principles, each congregation, united voluntarily
and by spiritual ties, composed within itself a separate church,
and exercised'a jurisdiction, but one destitute of temporal sanctions, over its own pastor and its own members. - Of all Christian sects, this was the first which, during its prosperity as well
as its adversity, always adopted the principle of toleration. Popery and prelacy alone, whose genius seemed to tend toward superstition, were treated by the Independents with rigor. The political system of the Independents kept pace with their religious.




432                    CHARLES I.               CHI-AP. XXII
They aspiled to a total abolition of the monarchy, and even of the
aristocracy, and projected an entire equality of rank and order in
a republic quite free and independent.  In consequence of this
scheme, they were declared enemies to all proposals for peace, except on such terms as they knew it was impossible to obtain; and
they adhered to that maxim, which is in the main prudent and
political, that whoever draws the sword against his sovereign
should throw away the scabbard.  Sir Harry Vane, Oliver Cromwell, Nathaniel Fiennes, and Oliver St. John, the solicitor general, were regarded as the leaders of the Independents. In the
Parliament a considerable majority, and a much greater in the
nation, were attached to the Presbyterian party; and it was only
by cunning and deceit at first, and.afterward by military violence,
that the Independents could entertain any hopes of success.
Cromwell, in the public debates, accused the Earl of Manchester
of having willfully neglected at Dennington Castle, after Charles's
retreat from Newbury, a favorable opportunity of finishing the
war by refusing him permission to charge the king's army in their
retreat. Manchester, by way of recrimination, informed the Parliament that at another time, Cromwell having proposed some
scheme to which it seemed improbable that Parliament would
-agree, he insisted and said, "My lord, if you will stick firm to
honest men, you shall find yourself at the head of an army which
shall give law to both king and Parliament." So full, indeed, was
Cromwell of these republican projects, that, notwithstanding his
habits of profound dissimulation, he could not so carefully guard
his expressions but that sometimes his favorite notions would escape him. Cromwell was persuaded that the only mode of carrying them out was by remodeling the army, but how to effect
this project was the difficulty. The authority as well as merits
of Essex were very great with the Parliament. Mianchester, Warwick, and the other commanders had likewise great credit with
the public; nor were there any hopes of prevailing over them but
by laying the plan of an oblique and artificial attack, which would
conceal the real purpose of their antagonists. Accordingly, at the
instance of Cromwell, a committee was chosen to frame what was
called the " Self-denying Ordinance," by which the members of
both houses were excluded from all civil and military employments, except a few offices which were specified. After great debate it passed the House of Commons; the Peers, though the
scheme was in part leveled against their order, and though they
even ventured once to reject it, durst not persevere in their opposition. The ordinance, therefore, having passed both houses (Apri.l
3, 1645), Essex, Warwick, Manchester, Denbigh, Waller, Brereton, and many others, resigned their commands, and received the




A.D. 1644, 1645. THE SELF-DENYING ORDINANCE.           433
thanks of Parliament for their good services. A pension of~10,000
a year was settled on Essex.
It was agreed to recruit the army to 22,000 men, and Sir
Thomas Fairfax was appointed general. It is remarkable that
his commission did not run, like that of Essex, in the name of the
king and Parliament, but in that of the Parliament alone; and
the article concerning the safety of the king's person was omitted.
Cromwell, being a member of the lower House, should have been
discarded with the others; but he was saved by that political craft
in which he was so eminent. At the time when the other officers
resigned their commissions, care was taken that he should be sent
into the west with a body of horse; and shortly afterward, at the
earnest entreaty of Fairfax, who represented his services as indispensable, his commission was renewed for a short period, and ultimately for the whole campaign. Thus the Independents, though
the minority, prevailed by art and cunning over the Presbyterians,
and bestowed the whole military authority, in appearance, upon
Fairfax-in reality upon Cromwell.
Obverse of medal of Sir Thomas Fairf ax. GENE. TIO: FAIRFAX  MILES. MILIT  PA:
DVX. Bust to left.
Nevertheless, a conference between the king and the Parliament
was opened at Uxbridge, June 30, 1645. The subjects of debate
were the three important articles, religion, the militia, and Ireland;
but it was soon found impracticable to come to any agreement
with regard to any of them. In the summer of 1643, an assembly at Westminster, consisting of 121 divines and 30 laymen, had
alteired the Thirty-nine Articles, and instead of the Liturgy had
established a new directory for worship, by which, suitably to the
spirit of the Puritans, the utmost liberty, both in praying and
preaching, was indulged to the public teachers. By the Solemn
League and Covenant episcopacy was abjured as destructive of all
true piety, and the king's commissioners were not therefore surprised to find the establishment of Presbytery and the directory
positively demanded, together with the subscription of the Covenant both by the king and kingdom; but Charles, though willing
T




134                    CHARLES I.               CHAP. XXII
to make some concessions, was not disposed to go such lengths;
and, as the Parliament would abate nothing, the negotiations on
this head fell to the ground.  Still less could parties now in a
state of open warfare agree upon a militia-bill, by which the power of the sword must necessarily have been transferred to one of
them.
~ 7. A little before the enactment of the Self-denying Ordinance, Archbishop Laud, the most favorite minister of the king,
was brought to the scaffold. From the time that Laud had been
committed, the House of Commons, engaged in enterprises of great
moment, had found no leisure to finish his impeachment; but they
now resolved to gratify their vengeance in the punishment of this
prelate. He was accused of high treason in endeavoring to subvert the fundamental laws, and of other high crimes and misdemeanors. After a long trial, and the examination of above 150 witnesses, whose evidence, however, the Commons had not heard, they
found so little likelihood of obtaining a judicial sentence against
him that they were obliged to have recourse to their legislative authority, and to pass an ordinance for taking away the life of this
aged prelate. Notwithstanding the low condition into which the
House of Peers was fallen, there appeared some intention of rejecting this ordinance; and the popular leaders were again obliged
to apply to the multitude, and to extinguish, by threats of new
tumults, the small remains of liberty possessed by the upper HIouse.
Seven peers alone voted in this important question; the rest,
either from shame or fear, took care to absent themselves. Laud,
who had behaved during his trial with the spirit and vigor of gent
ius, sunk not under the horrors of his execution; but, though he
had usually professed himself apprehensive of a violent death, he
found all his fears to be dissipated before that superior courage by
which he was animated.  "No one," said he, " can be more willing to send me out of life than I am desirous to go."  He quietly
laid his head on the block, and it was severed from the body at
one blow (Jan. 10, 1645). Sincere he undoubtedly was, and, however misguided, actuated by pious motives in all his pursuits; and
it is to be regretted that he had not entertained more enlarged
views, and embraced principles more favorable to the general happiness of society.
~ 8. While the king's affairs declined in England, the numerQus victories of the Earl of Montrose in Scotland seemed to, promise him a more prosperous issue of the quarrel. That young nobleman had entirely devoted himself to the king's service, and
with the aid of a few adherents, and a small body of troops
brought over from Ireland, achieved on a small scale a series of
brilliant victoiries over the- Covenanters in the north of Scotland.




A.D. 1645.          CAMPAIGN OF 1645.                 435
Meanwhile, in  England, Fairfax, or, more properly speaking,
Cromwell, under his name, introduced at last the new model into
the army. From the same men new regiments and new companies were formed, different officers appointed, and the whole military force put into such hands as the Independents could rely on.
At the same time a new and more exact plan of discipline was
introduced. Never surely was a more singular army assembled.
To the greater number of the regiments chaplains were not appointed; the officers assumed the spiritual duty, and united it
with their military functions. The private soldiers, seized with
the same spirit, employed their vacant hours in prayer, in perusing the Holy Scriptures, and in spiritual conferences, where they
compared the progress of their souls in grace, and mutually stimulated each other to farther advances in the great work of their
salvation. When they were marching to battle the whole field
resounded as well with psalms and spiritual songs adapted to the
occasion as with the instruments of military music, and every man
endeavored to drown the sense of present danger in the prospect
of that crown of glory which was set before them. The forces assembled by the king at Oxford, in the west, and in other places,
were equal, if not superior, in number to their adversaries, but
actuated by a very different spirit. That license which had been
introduced by want of pay had risen to a great height among
them, and rendered them more formidable to their friends than to
their enemies.
The English campaign of 1645 also opened with some advantage to the Royalists. In the west, the Parliamentarians, indeed,
under Weldon succeeded in relieving Taunton, but were afterward
shut up in that place by Granville. Farther north the king in
person gained more distinguished successes. After compelling the
army of the Parliament to raise the siege of Chester, he assaulted
and took Leicester, a garrison of the Parliament's, on his march
back to Oxford. Meanwhile, the last town, exposed by the king's
absence, had been invested by Fairfax; but, alarmed at Charles's
success, Fairfax abandoned the siege, and marched toward the
king with an intention of offering him battle. The king was advancing toward Oxford in order to raise the siege, which he apprehended was now begun; and both armies, ere they were aware,
had advanced within six miles of each other. The boiling ardor
of Prince Rupert persuaded an engagement; and at Naseby, near
Market Harborough, in Northamptonshire, was fought, with forces
nearly equal, a decisive and well-disputed action between the king
and Parliament. The main body of the Royalists was commanded by the king himself, who displayed all the conduct of a pru-c
dent general and all the valor of a stout soldier.  The battle was




436                    CHARLES I.               CHAP. XXIL
chiefly lost through a mistake of Prince Rupert, who, having rout.
ed the enemy's left wing under Ireton, was so inconsiderate as to
lose time in summoning and attacking the artillery of the enemy,
which had been left with a good guard of infantry. Meanwhile,
the Royalists were hard pressed by the valor and conduct of Fairfax and Cromwell; and when Rupert rejoined the king he found
the infantry totally discomfited. Charles exhorted this body of
cavalry not to despair, and cried aloud to them, " One charge
more, and we recover the day." But the disadvantages under
which they labored were too evident, and they could by no means
be induced to renew the combat. Charles was obliged to quit the
field, and leave the victory to the enemy. The Parliament lost
1000 men; Charles not above 800; but Fairfax made 500 officers prisoners, and 4000 private men; took all the king's artillery
and ammunition, and totally dissipated his infantry, so that scarcely any victory could be more complete than that which he obtained. Among the other spoils was seized the king's cabinet, with
the copies of his letters to the queen, which the Parliament afterward ordered to be published.
After the battle the king retreated with that body of horse
which remained entire, first to Hereford, then to Abergavenny,
and remained some time in Wales, from the vain hope of raising a
body of infantry in those harassed and exhausted quarters. In
the beginning of the campaign he had sent the Prince of Wales,
then 15 years of age,- to the west, with the title of general, and had
given orders, if he were pressed by the enemy, that he should make
his escape into a foreign country, and save one part of the royal
family from the violence of the Parliament. Prince Rupert had
thrown himself into Bristol with an intention of defending that
important city, while Goring was besieging Taunton. Thither
Fairfax directed his march, on whose approach the Royalists
raised the siege and retired to Lamport, an open town in the
county of Somerset. Fairfax, having beaten them from this post,
and taken successively Bridgewater, Bath, and Sherborne, laid
siege to Bristol. Much was expected from the reputation of
Prince Rupert, but a poorer defense was not made by any town
during the whole war. No sooner had the Parliamentary forces
entered the lines by storm than the prince capitulated, and surrendered the city to Fairfax (Sept. 10). Charles, who was forming schemes and collecting forces for the relief of Bristol, was astonished at so unexpected an event, which was little less fatal to
his cause than the defeat at Naseby. Full of indignation, he instantly recalled all Prince Rupert's commissions, and sent him a
pass to go beyond sea.
The king's affairs now went fast to ruin in all quarters. Tlhe




A.D. 1645.   NEGOTIATIONS WITH PARLIAMENT.             437
Scots, having made themselves masters of Carlisle after an obstinate siege, marched southward and laid siege to Hereford, but
were obliged to raise it on the king's approach; and this was the
last glimpse of success which attended his arms. Having marched to the relief of Chester, which was anew besieged by the Parliamentary forces, he was defeated, with the loss of 600 slain and
1000 prisoners. The king, with the remains of his broken army,
fled to Newark, and thence escaped to Oxford, where he shut himself up during the winter season. Before the expiration of the
winter Fairfax reduced all the west, and completely dispersed the
king's army in that quarter, while Cromwell brought all the middle
counties of England to obedience under the Parliament.  The
Prince of Wales, in pursuance of the king's orders, retired to
Scilly, and thence to Jersey, whence he joined the queen at Paris.
News too arrived that Montrose himself, after some more successes, was at last routed at Philip-haugh, near Selkirk, and this
only remaining hope of the royal party finally extinguished.
~ 9. The condition of the king during this whole winter was to
the last degree disastrous and melancholy. The Parliament deigned not to make the.least reply to several of his messages, in which
he desired a passport for commissioners to treat of peace. At
last, after reproaching him with the blood spilled during the war,
they told him that they were preparing bills for him, and his passing them would be the best pledge of his inclination toward peace;
in other words, he must yield at discretion. He desired a personal treaty, and offered to comee o London upon receiving a safe.
conduct for himself and his attendants; they absolutely refused'
him admittance, and issued orders for the guarding-that is, the
seizing of his person in case he should attempt to visit them.  A
new incident which happened in Ireland served to inflame the
minds of men.  The king being desirous of concluding a fir.al
peace with the Irish rebels, and obtaining their assistance in England, accordingly authorized Ormond, the lord lieutenant, to
promise them an abrogation of all the penal laws enacted against
Catholics; but, as the Irish might probably demand farther concessions than could be openly granted them, the king privately
gave to the Earl of Glamorgan a commission to levy men and to
coin money, and employ the revenues of the crown for their support, and engaged to ratify any treaty he might make, even if
contrary to law.  But the commission was purposely drawn up
and sealed in an informal manner, in order that the king might
have a pretense to disclaim it if necessary, which indeed took place.
Glamorgan concluded a peace with the rebels, and agreed, in the
king's name, that they should enjoy all the churches of which
they had ever been in possession since the commencement of their




438                    CHARLES I.               CHAP. XXII.
insurrection on condition that they should assist the king in England with a body of 10,000 men. The articles of the treaty
were found among the baggage of the titular Archbishop of Tuam,
who was killed by a sally of the garrison of Sligo, and were immediately published every where, and copies of them sent over to
the English Parliament. The discovery of this treaty tended
much to render abortive the king's negotiations with the Parliament. To save appearances, Glamorgan was thrown into prison,
but soon released.
The king seemed to be now threatened with immediate destruction. Fairfax was approaching with a powerful and victorious
army, and was taking the proper measures for laying siege to Oxford, which must infallibly fall into his hands.  In this desperate
extremity, Charles began to entertain thoughts of leaving Oxford,
and flying to the Scottish army, which at that time lay before
Newark.  He considered that the Scottish nation had been fully
gratified in all their demands, and had no farther concessions to
exact from him, while, on the other hand, they were disgusted
with the English Parliament.  The progress of the Independents
gave them great alarm, and they were scandalized to hear their
beloved Covenant spoken of every day with less regard and reverence. The king hoped, too, that in their present disposition
the sight of their native prince flying to them in this extremity
of distress would rouse every spark of generosity in their bosoms,
and procure him their favor and protection. With these views
he left Oxford in the night of April 26, 1646, accompanied by
none but Dr. Hudson and Mr. Ashburnham, and went out of that
gate which leads to London. He rode before a portmanteau, calling himself Ashburnham's servant, and arrived at the Scottish
camp before Newark (May 5). The Scottish general and com-:
missioners affected great surprise on the appearance of the kings
and though they paid him all the exterior respect due to his dignity, they instantly set a guard upon him, under color of protection, and made, him, in reality, a prisoner. They informed the
English Parliament of this unexpected incident, and assured them
that they had entered into no private treaty with the king; but,
hearing that the Parliament laid claim to the entire disposal of
the king's person, they thought proper to retire northward, and
to fix their camp at Newcastle.  Charles had very little reason
to be pleased with his situation. The Scots required him to issue
orders to Oxford, and all his other garrisons, commanding their
surrender to the Parliament; and the king, sensible that their resistance was to very little purpose, immediately complied. Or
mond, having received like orders, delivered Dublin and other
forts into the hands of the Parliamentary officers.




A.D. 1645-1647. THE KING DELIVERED UP BY THE SCOTS. 439
The Parliament and the Scots laid their proposals before the
king, which were little worse than what were insisted on before
the battle of Naseby. The power of the sword, instead of 10
years, which the king now offered, was demanded for 20, together
with a right to levy whatever money the Parliament should think
proper for the support of their armies. The other conditions were
in the main the same with those which had formerly been offered
to the king, and he was peremptorily required to give his consent
or refusal in 10 days. The Parliament now entered into negotiations with the Scots.  The Scottish commissioners resolved to
keep the king as a pledge for those arrears which they claimed
from England. After many discussions, it was at last agreed
that, in lieu of all demands, they should accept of ~400,000, one
half to be paid instantly, another in two subsequent payments.
Great pains were taken by the ScotA (and the English complied
with their pretended delicacy) to make this estimation and payment of arrears appear a quite different transaction from that for
the delivery of the king's person, but common sense requires that
they should be regarded as one and the same. Thus the Scottish
nation incurred the reproach of betraying their prince for money.
The king, being delivered over by the Scots to the English commissioners (Jan. 30, 1647), was conducted under a guard to -Iolmby, in Northamptonshire.  On his journey the whole ccuntry
flocked to behold him, moved partly by curiosity, partly by compassion and affection. The commissioners rendered his confinemnent at Holmby very rigorous, dismissing his ancient servants,
Aind cutting off all communication with his friends or family.
The Parliament, though earnestly applied to by the king, refused
to allow his chaplains to attend him, because they had not taken
the Covenant. During the time that the king remained in the
Scottish army at Newcastle died the Earl of Essex, the discarded
but still powerful and popular general of the Parliament.  The
Presbyterian or the moderate party among the Commons found
themselves considerably weakened by his death, and the small remains of authority which still adhered to the House of Peers were
in a manner wholly extinguished.
~ 10. The dominion of the Parliament was of short duration.
No sooner had they subdued their sovereign than their own servants rose against them, and tumbled them from their slippery
throne. Soon after the retreat of the Scots, the Presbyterians,
seeing every thing reduced to obedience, began to talk of diminishing the army; and on pretense of easing the public burdens,
they leveled a deadly blow at the opposite faction. They purposed to embark a strong detachment for the service of Ireland,
and they openly declared their intention of making a great reduc



440                    CHARLES 1.               CuAP. XXII.
tion of the remainder. Considerable arrears were due to the army;
and many of the private men, as well as the officers, had nearly
a twelvemonth's pay still owing them; and, as no plan was pointed out by the Commons for the payment of arrears, the soldiers
dreaded that, after they should be disbanded or embarked for Ireland (a most unpopular service), their enemies, who predominated
in the two houses, would entirely defraud them of their right, and
oppress them with impunity.  On this ground or pretense did the
first commotions begin in the army. Combinations were formed,
and petitions handed about; and few could be found to enlist for
Ireland. Their petition to Parliament bore a very imperious air;
in a word, they felt their power, and resolved to be masters. The
expedient which the Parliament now made use of was the worst
imaginable. They sent Skippon, Cromwell, Ireton, and Fleetwood, to the head-quarters at Saffron Walden, in Essex, and empowered them to make offers to the army, and inquire into the
cause of its distempers. These very generals, at the least the last
three, were secretly the authors of all the discontents, and failed
not to foment those disorders which they pretended to appease.
By their suggestion, a council of the principal officers was appointed, after the model of the HIouse of Peers, and a more free representative of the arlny was composed by the election of two private
men or inferior officers, under the title of adjatators, afterward
called agitators, from each troop or company. This terrible court,
when assembled, having first declared that they found no disteonpers in the army, but many grievances, under which it labored, immediately voted the offers of the Parliament unsatisfactory; and
they presently struck a blow which at once decided the victory in
their favor. A party of 500 horse appeared at Holmby, conducted by one Joyce, who had once been a tailor by profession, but
was now advanced to the rank of a cornet, and was an active agitator in the army (June 4). Joyce came into the king's presence
armed with pistols, and told him that he must immediately go
along with him.  "Whither?" said the king.  " To the army,"
replied Joyce. Charles appointed to meet him at the door at six
o'clock the next morning, where the troopers were drawn up; and
in answer to his repeated inquiries for his authority, Joyce pointedt
to the soldiers, tall, handsome, and well accoutred. " Your warrant," said Charles, smiling, " is written in fair characters, legible without spelling;" and yielding himself up, was safely conducted to the army, who were hastening to their rendezvous at
Triplow Heath, near Cambridge. The Parliament were thrown
into the utmost consternation.  Fairfax himself, to whom this
bold measure had never been communicated, was no less surprised
at the king's arrival. The Parliamentary leaders, having discoy



A.D. 1647.       MUTINY OF THE ARMY.                  441
ered that the most active officers and agitators were entirely Cromwell's creatures, secretly resolved that next day, when he should
come.to the House, an accusation should be entered against him,
and he should be sent to the Tower. Being informed of this design,
Cromwell hastened to the camp, where he was received with acclamation, and was instantly invested with the supreme command,
both of general and army. Without farther deliberation, he advanced the army upon the Parliament, and arrived in a few days
at St. Alban's. But London still retained a strong attachment to
Presbyterianism; and its militia, which had by a late ordinance
been put into hands in which the Parliament could entirely confide, was now called out, and ordered to guard the lines which
had been drawn round the city in order to secure it against. the
king. On farther reflection, however, it was thought more prudent to submit. The declaration by which the military petitioners had been voted public enemies was erased from the journalbook. This was the first symptom which the Parliament gave
of submission, and the army rose every day in their demands.
Having obtained the sequestration of eleven of the chief Presbyterian members, the army, in order to save appearances, removed,
at the desire of the Parliament, to a greater distance from London, and fixed their head-quarters at Reading. They carried the
king along with them in all their marches, who now found himself
in a better situation than at Holmby. All his friends had access
to his presence; his correspondence with the queen was not interrupted; his chaplains were restored to him, and he was allowed
the use of the Liturgy; his children were once allowed to visit
him, and they passed a few days at Caversham, where he then resided. Cromwell, as well as the leaders of all parties, paid court
to him; and fortune, notwithstanding all his calamities, seemed
again to smile on him.
~ 11. The impatience of the Londoners brought matters to a
crisis between the Parliament and army. At the instance of the
latter, the Parliament had voted that the militia of London should
be changed, the Presbyterian commissioners displaced, and the
command restored to those who, during the course of the war, had
constantly exercised it. A petition against this alteration was
carried to Westminster, attended by the apprentices and seditious
multitude, who besieged the door of the House of Commons, and,
by their clamor, noise, and violence, obliged them to reverse that
vote which they had passed so lately. No sooner was intelligence
of this tumult conveyed to Reading than the army was put in motion, to vindicate, they said, against the seditious citizens, the invaded privileges of Parliament. In their way to London they
were drawn up on Hounslow Heath —a formidable body 20,000
T 2




442                    CHARLES I.               CHAP. XXII.
strong, and determined to pursue whatever measures their generals should dictate to them. Here the most favorable event happened to quicken and encourage their advance. The speakers of
the two houses, Manchester and Lenthal, attended by eight peers
and about sixty commoners, having secretly retired from the city,
presented themselves, with their maces and all the ensigns of their
dignity, and, complaining of the violence put upon them, applied
to the army for defense and protection. They were received with
shouts and acclamations; respect was paid to them as to the'Parliament of England; and the army, being provided with so plausible a pretense, advanced to chastise the rebellious city, and to reinstate the violated Parliament. Without experiencing the least
resistance, the army marched in triumph through the city, but
preserved the greatest order, decency, and appearance of humility
(Aug. 6). They conducted to Westminster the two speakers, who
took their seats as if nothing had happened. The eleven impeachled members were expelled; seven peers were impeached;
the mayor, one sheriff; and three aldermen sent to the Tower;
several citizens and officers of the militia committed to prison;
every deed of the Parliament annulled, from the day of the tumult
till the return of the speakers; the lines about the city leveled;
the militia restored to the Independents; and, the Parliament being reduced to a regular formed servitude, a day was appointed
of solemn thanksgiving for the restoration of its liberty.
The leaders of the army, having established their dominion over
the Parliament and city, ventured to bring the king to Hampton
Court, and he lived for some time in that palace with an appearance of dignity and freedom. He entertained hopes that his negotiations with the generals would be crowned with success. It
appears that Cromwell and Ireton really desired to save the king,
but that Charles's insincerity and duplicity at last convinced them
that they could put no trust in his promises. Charles now took
suddenly a resolution of withdrawing himself, and, attended only
by three persons, he privately left Hampton Court (Nov. 11). His
escape was not discovered till nearly an hour after, when those
who entered his chamber found on the table some letters directed
to the Parliament, to the general, and to the officer who had attended him. All night he traveled through the forest, and arrived
next day at Titchfield, a seat of the Earl of Northampton's, where
the countess dowager resided, a woman of honor to whom the king
knew he might safely intrust his person. The king could not
hope to remain long concealed at Titchfield. He took refuge with
Colonel Hammond, the governor of the Isle of Wight, who was
nephew to Dr. Hammond, the king's favorite chaplain. By Hammond he was conducted to Carisbrooke Castle, where, though re



A.D. 1647.  DISCIPLINE OF THE ARMY RESTORED.           443
ceived with great demonstrations of respect and duty, he was, in
reality, au prisoner.
~12. Cromwell, being now entirely master of the Parliament
and of the king, applied himself seriously to quell those disorders
in the army which he himself had so artfully raised. A party
had sprung up in the army called Levelers, who were not only in
favor of abolishing royalty and nobility, but of leveling all ranks
of men. The saints, they said, were the salt of the earth; an entire parity had place among the elect; and, by the same rule that
the apostles were exalted from the most ignoble professions, the
meanest sentinel, if enlightened by the Spirit, was entitled to
equal regard with the greatest commander. In order to wean the
soldiers from these licentious maxims, Cromwell had issued orders for discontinuing the meetings of the agitators; but the Levelers, having experienced the sweets of dominion, would not so
easily be deprived of it. They secretly continued their meetings;
they asserted that their officers, as much as any part of the Church
or state, needed reformation. But this distemper was soon cured
by the rough but dexterous hand of Cromwell. He chose the
opportunity of a review, that he might display the greater boldness and spread the terror the wider. He seized the ringleaders
before their companions, held in the field a council of war, shot
one mutineer instantly, and struck such dread into the rest that
they presently threw down the symbols of sedition which they had
displayed, and thenceforth returned to their wonted discipline and
obedience.
At the suggestion of Ireton, Cromwell then secretly called, at
Windsor, a council of the chief officers, in order to deliberate concerning the settlement of the nation, and the future disposal of the
king's person.  In this conference, which commenced with devout
prayers, poured forth by Cromwell himself and the other officers,
was first opened the daring counsel of bringing the king to justice.
Charles had offered, by a message sent from Carisbrooke Castle/
to resign, during his own life, the power of the militia and the
nomination to all the great offices, provided that, after his demise,
these prerogatives should revert to the crown. At the instigation
of the Independents and army, the Parliament neglected this offer,
and framed four proposals, which they sent him as preliminaries:
1. To invest the Parliament with the military power for 20 years;
2. To recall all his proclamations and declarations against the
Parliament; 3. To annul all the acts, and void all the patents of
peerage, which had passed the great seal since it had been carried
from London by Lord Keeper Littleton, and to renounce for the
future the power of making peers without consent of Parliament;
4. To give the two houses power to adjourn as they thought proper.




444                    CHARLES I.               CHAP. XXII.
The king having refused his consent to these proposals, it was
voted by the Parliament that no more addresses should be made
to him, nor any letters or messages received from him; and that
it should be treason for any one, without leave of the two houses,
to have any intercourse with him (Jan. 13, 1648). By this vote
of non-addresses (so it was called) the king was in reality dethroned, and the whole constitution formally overthrown; and, it
having been discovered that the king had attempted to escape
from Carisbrooke Castle, Hammond, by orders from the army, removed all his servants, cut off his correspondence with his friends,
and shut him up in close confinement.
~ 13. The Scots, however, were much displeased with the proceedings adopted toward the king, as well as with the contempt
which the Independents displayed for the Covenant, which was
profanely called in the H4ouse of Commons an almanac out of
date. They sent commissioners to London to protest against the
four propositions that had been offered to the king; and when
they accompanied the English commissioners to the Isle of Wight,
they secretly formed a treaty with the king for arming Scotland
in his favor.  The Duke of Hamilton obtained a vote from the
Scottish Parliament to arm 40,000 men in support of the king's
authority, and to call over a considerable body under 3Monro, who
commanded the Scottish forces in Ulster; and, though he openly
protested that the Covenant was the foundation of all his measures, he secretly entered into correspondence with the English
Royalists, Sir Marmaduke Langdale and Sir Philip 5Musgrave,
who had levied considerable forces in the north of England.
While the Scots were making preparations for the invasion of
England, every part of that kingdom was agitated with tumults,
insurrections, conspiracies, discontents. The general spirit of discontent had'seized the fleet. Seventeen ships, lying in the mouth
of the river, declared for the king, and, putting their admiral
ashore, sailed over to Holland, where the Prince of Wales took
the command of them.
Cromwell and the military council prepared themselves with
vigor for defense, and the revolts which had broken out in various
parts of England were soon either checked or subdued. A new
fleet was manned and sent out, under the command of Warwick,
to oppose the revolted ships. But, while the forces were employed in all quarters, the Parliament regained its liberty, and the
Presbyterian party recovered the ascendant which it had formerly
lost. The vote of non-addresses was repealed; and commissioners (five peers and ten commoners) were sent to Newport, in the
Isle of Wight, in order to treat with the king (Sept. 18). When
Charles presented himself to this company, a great and sensible




A.D. 1648.      INVASION OF THE SCOTS.                445
alteration was remarked in his aspect. The moment his servants
had been removed, he had allowed his beard and hair to grow,
and to hang disheveled and neglected. His hair had become almost entirely gray; and his friends, perhaps even his enemies, beheld with compassion that "gray and discrowned head," as he
himself terms it in a copy of verses, which the truth of the sentiment, rather than any elegance of expression, renders very pathetic. As these negotiations produced no result, it is unnecessary to enter into particulars. Religion was the chief obstacle;
and so great was the bigotry on both sides, that they were willing
to sacrifice the greatest civil interests rather than relinquish the
most minute of their theological contentions.  The treaty was
spun out to such a length that the invasions and insurrections
were every where subdued, and the army had leisure to execute
their violent and sanguinary purpose.
Hamilton, having entered England with a numerous though undisciplined army, durst not unite his forces with those of Langdale,
because the English Royalists had refused to take the Covenant;
and the Scottish Presbyterians, though engaged for the king, refused to, join them on any other terms. Cromwell, though his
forces were not half so numerous as those of the allies, attacked
Langdale by surprise, near Preston, in Lancashire. Hamilton was
next- attacked, put to rout, and pursued to Uttoxeter, where he
surrendered himself prisoner (Aug. 20). Cromwell followed his
advantage, and, marching into Scotland with a considerable body,
joined Argyle, who was also in arms; and having suppressed the
moderate Presbyterians, he placed the power entirely in the hands
of the violent party. The ecclesiastical authority, exalted above
the civil, exercised the severest vengeance on all who had a share
in Hamilton's engagement, as it was called. Never in this island
was known a more severe and arbitrary government than was
generally exercised by the patrons of liberty in both kingdoms.
The capture of Colchester by Fairfax (Aug. 28), and the barbarous execution of Sir Charles Lucas and Sir George Lisle, who had
bravely defended it, terminated the last struggle for the king.
~ 14. The catastrophe was now approaching. A remonstrance
was drawn by the council of general officers and sent to the Parliament. They complained of the treaty with the king, demanded his punishment for the blood spilled during the war, and required a dissolution of the present Parliament. The foremost
men in this measure were Colonel Ludlow and Ireton.  Fairfax
disapproved of it, but had not the courage to oppose it. The Parliament lost not courage, notwithstanding the danger with which
they were so nearly menaced. Hollis, the present leader of the
Presbyterians, was a man of unconquerable intrepidity, and many




446                    CHARLES I.               CHAP. XXIL
others of that party seconded his magnanimous spirit. It was
proposed by them that the generals and principal officers should,
for their disobedience and usurpations, be proclaimed traitors by
the Parliament. But the Parliament was dealing with men who
would not be frightened by words, nor retarded by any scrupulous
delicacy. The generals, under the name of Fairfax (for he still
allowed them to employ his name), marched the army to London,
aid surrounded the Parliament with their hostile armaments.
The Parliament nevertheless proceeded to close their treaty with
the king; and, after a violent debate of three days, it was carried,
by a majority of 129 against 83, in the House of Commons, that
the king's concessions were a foundation for the houses to proceed
upon in the settlement of the kingdom. Next day (Dec. 5), when
the Commons were to meet, Colonel Pride, formerly a drayman,
had environed the House with two regiments; and, directed by
Lord Grey of Groby, he seized in the passage 52 members of the
Presbyterian party, and sent them to a low room which passed by
the appellation of hell, whence they were afterward carried to several inns. Above 160 members more were excluded; and none
were allowed to enter but the most determined of the Independents, and these exceeded not the number of 50 or 60. This invasion of the Parliament commonly passed under the name of
Colonel Pride's Purge.  Cromwell was at this time on his way
from Scotland. The remains of the Parliament (often called the
Rump) instantly reversed the former vote, and declared the king's
concessions unsatisfactory; they renewed their former vote of
non-addresses, and they committed to prison several leaders of
the Presbyterians.
These sudden and violent revolutions held the whole nation in
terror and astonishment. To quiet the minds of men, the generals, in the name of the army, published a declaration in which
they expressed their resolution of supporting law and justice; and
the council of officers took into consideration a scheme called the
agreement of the people, being the plan of a republic, to be substituted'in the place of that government which they had so violently
pulled in pieces. To effect this, nothing remained but the public
trial and execution of their sovereign. In the House of Commons a committee was appointed to bring in a charge against the
king. On their report a vote passed, declaring it treason in a
king to levy war against his Parliament, and appointing a HIGH
COURT OF JUSTICE to try Charles for this newly-invented treason.
The House of Peers, which assembled to the number of sixteen,
without one dissenting voice, and almost without deliberation,
instantly rejected the vote of the lower House, and adjourned
themselves for ten days, hoping that this delay would be able to




A.D. 1648,1649.    TRIAL OF THE KING.                  447
retard the furious career of the Commons; but the Commons were
not to be stopped by so small an obstacle. Having declared that
the people are the origin of all just power, that the Commons of England are the supreme authority of the nation, and that whatever
is enacted by them hath the force of law, without the consent of
king or House of Peers, the ordinance for the trial of Charles
Stuart, King of England (so they called him), was again read, and
unanimously assented to (Jan. 6, 1649); after which Colonel Harrison, the most furious enthusiast in the army, was sent with a
strong party to conduct the king to London. He had been transferred fiom Carisbrooke to Hurst Castle, on the coast of Hampshire, on Nov. 30, and was conducted to St. James's, Dec. 22.
From thence he was transferred to Windsor Castle, and was conducted to Whitehall on Jan. 19.
The high court of justice assembled in Westminster Hall on
Jan. 20. It consisted of 133 persons, as named by the Commons,
but there scarcely ever sat above 70. Cromwell, Ireton, Harrison,'and the chief officers of the army were members, together
with some of the lower I-ouse, and some citizens of London. T'he
judges were at first appointed in the number; but as they had
affirmed that it was contrary to law to try the king for treason,
their names, as well as those of some peers, were struck out. Bradshaw, a lawyer, was chosen president. Cook was appointed solicitor for the people of England. In calling over the court, when
the crier pronounced the name of Fairfax, which had been inserted in the number, a voice came from one of the spectators, and
Fried, " He has more wit than to be here."  When the charge
was read against the king, " In the name of the people of England," the same voice exclaimed, "Not a tenth part of them."
Axtell, the officer who guarded the court, giving orders to fire
into the box whence these insolent speeches came, it was discowvered that Lady Fairfax was there, and that it was she who had
had the courage to utter them.
The pomp, the dignity, the ceremony of this transaction, corresponded to the greatest conception that is suggested in the annals of human kind'the delegates of a great people sitting in
judgment upon their supreme magistrate, and trying him for his
misgovernment and breach of trust. The solicitor, in the name
of the Commons, represented that Charles Stuart, being admitted
King of England, and intrusted with a limited power, yet, nevertheless, from a wicked design to erect an unlimited and tyrannical government, had traitorously and maliciously levied war
against the present Parliament, and the people whom they represented, and was therefore impeached as a tyrant, traitor, murderer, and a public and implacable enemy to the Commonwealth.




448                     CHARLES I.              CA 1P. XXII.
The king was then called on for his answer. Though long detained a prisoner, and now produced as a criminal, Charles sustained, by his magnanimous courage, the majesty of a monarch.
With great temper and dignity he declined to submit himself to
the jurisdiction of the court, on the ground that he was their native hereditary king; nor was the whole authority of the state,
though free and united, entitled to try him, who derived his dignity from the Supreme Majesty of Heaven.  Three times was he
produced before the court, and as often declined their jurisdiction.
On the fourth, the judges having examined some witnesses, by
whom it was proved that the king had appeared in arms against
the forces commissioned by the Parliament, they pronounced sentence against him. Hle seemed very anxious at this time to be
admitted to a conference with the two houses, and it was supposed that he intended to resign the crown to his son, but the
court refused compliance.
It is confessed that the king's behavior during this last scene
of his life does honor to his memory, and that in all appearances
before his judges he never forgot his part, either as a prince or as
a man. The soldiers, instigated by their superiors, were brought,
though with difficulty, to cry aloud for justice.  "Poor souls!"
said the king to one of his attendants, " for a little money they
would do as much against their commanders."  One soldier,
seized by contagious sympathy, having demanded from Heaven a
blessing on oppressed and fallen majesty, his officer, overhearing
the prayer, beat him to the ground in the king's presence. "The
punishment, methinks, exceeds the offense." This was the reflection which Charles formed on that occasion.
The Scots protested against the proceedings; the Dutch interceded in the king's behalf; the Prince of'Wales sent a blank
sheet of paper, subscribed with his name and sealed with his arms,
on which his father's judges might write what conditions they
pleased as the price of his life.  Solicitations were found fruitless
with men whose resolutions were fixed and irrevocable.
~ 15. Three days were allowed the king between his sentence
and his execution.  This interval he passed with great tranquillity, chiefly in reading and devotion. All his family that remained in England were allowed access to him. It consisted only of
the Princess Elizabeth and of Prince Henry, afterward Duke of
Gloucester, for the Duke of York had made his escape.  The
palace of Whitehall was destined for the execution; for it was
intended, by choosing his own palace, to display more evidently
the triumph of popular justice over royal majesty. The scaffold
was erected in front of the central window of the banqueting'-hall;
and when Charles stepped out of the window upon the scaffold,




A.D. 1649. EXECUTION AND CHARACTER OF CHARLES.  449
he found it so surrounded with soldiers that he could not expect
to be heard by any of the people: he addressed, therefore, his
discourse to the few persons who were about him; justified his
own innocence in the late fatal wars, though he acknowledged the
equity of his execution in the eyes of his Maker; and observed
that an unjust sentence, which he had suffered to take effect, was
now punished by an unjust sentence upon himself. When he was
preparing himself for the block, Bishop Juxon, who had been allowed to attend him, called to him,'"There is, sir, but one stage
more, which, though turbulent and troublesome, is yet a very short
one. Consider, it will soon carry you a great way; it will carry
you from earth to heaven; and there you shall find to your great
joy, the prize to which you hasten, a crown of glory."  " I go,"
replied the king, "from a corruptible to an incorruptible crown,
where no disturbance can have place." At one blow was his
head severed from his body. A man in a vizor performed the
office of executioner; another, in a like disguise, held up to the
spectators the head streaming with blood, and cried aloud, "This
is the head of a traitor!" (Jan. 30, 1649).
Charles was of a comely presence; of a sweet, but melancholy,
aspect. His face was regular, handsome, and well-complexioned;
his body strong, healthy, and justly proportioned; and being of a
middle stature, he was capable of enduring the greatest fatigues.
He excelled in horsemanship and other exercises, and possessed
all the exterior as well as many of the essential qualities which
form an accomplished prince. The greatest blemish in his character was a want of sincerity: " a fault," says Mr. Hallam (Const.
list., ii., 229), "1 that appeared in all parts of his life, and from
which no one who has paid the subject any attention will pretend
to exculpate him."
In a few days the Commons passed votes to abolish the House
of Peers and the monarchy, and they ordered a new great seal to
be engraved, on which their house was represented, with this
legend, ON THE FIRST YEAR OF FREEDO{M, BY GOD'S BLESSING, RESTORED, 1648. The forms of all public business were changed
from the king's name to that of the keepers of the liberties of
England. And it was declared high treason to proclaim, or any
otherwise acknowledge, Charles Stuart, commonly called Prince
of Wales. The Duke of Hamilton, as Earl of Cambridge in England, Lord Capel, and the Earl of Holland, were condemned and
executed for treason.




450                  NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.    CHAP. XXIL
CHRONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE EVENTS.
A.D.                                     I A.n.
1625. Accession of Charles I. and marriage  1640. Impeachment of Strafford.
with Henrietta of France.           1641. Triennial act. Attainder and execu"  First Parliament.                           tion of Strafford. The Star Chamber
1626. Second Parliament.                         and High Commission Court abolish162T. Buckingham's expedition to the Isle        ed. Irish rebellion. The "Remonof Rh6.                                   strance.'
1628. Third Parliament.                   1642. Accusations of Lord Kimbolton and
"   Petition of Right.                         the five members. The king sets up
"  Buckingham assassinated by Felton.          his standard at Nottingham.
1637. Trial of Hampden for refusing to pay    "  Battle of Edge Hill.
ship-money.                        1643. Hampden killed at Chalgrave Field.
1638. The Covenant established in Scotland. 1644. Battle of Marston Moor.
1639. War with the Scots.                 1645. Archbishop Laud executed.
1640. Fourth Parliament, after 11 years' ces-   "  Battle of Naseby.
sation.  Meets April 13, dissolved  1647. The king given up by the Scots.
May 5.                             1648. Colonel Pride "' purges" the House of
"  The Scots invade England. Battle of         Commons.
Newburn.                           1649. Trial and execution of the king.
Meeting of theLongParliament, Nov. 3.
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
that the "Icon" is not the work of King
ICON BASILIKE.                 Charles, but of Dr. Gauden, a clergyman of
Shortly after the execution of Charles I. Bocking, and author of a Life of Hooker.
appeared a work entitled " Icon Basilik6 Lord Anglesey left a memorandum  in his
(eLKdv iasrXdK;1, kingly image), or a Portrait. handwriting that he was told in 1675, both
ure of His Sacred Majesty in his Solitude by Charles II. and by the Duke of York, that
and Sufferings," which made a great im- the work was not written by their father
pression on the public, and is said by Lord  (Wagstaff's Vindicationr of King Charles,
Shaftesbury (Characteristics, i., 193) to have p. 3). Burnet was also told by James, in
contributed in no small degree to obtain for 1673, that the book was the composition of
Charles the titles of saint and martyr. It Dr. Gauden (Works, vol. i., p. 76). It is reconsists of meditations or soliloquies on the markable, too, that Lord Clarendon, in his
king's calamities, and was generally believed  long and labored panegyric of King Charles,
at the time to be the composition of Charles says not a word about this production; and
himself.  Hence it met with a great sale, it would seem, from a passage in his correand in the middle of last century it was com- spondence, that he was aware it was not
puted that 41 editions, or 4S,500 copies, had  genuine.  After the Restoration, Dr. Gaubeen issued (Jos. Ames, in London Magazine den made known at court his claims to the
for 1T56). In 1649, Milton was commission- authorship of the book, and received as the
ed by the Parliament to answer it, which he plrice of his secrecy, first the bishopric of Exdid in a treatise called "Iconoclastes" (EdKo- eter, and afterward that of Worcester. NevvoKXuiTrc, the image breaker). In this piece ertheless, Dr. C. Wordswo-th has undertaken
Milton treats the "L Icon Basilik6" as a gen- to vindicate the authorship of King Charles,
nine work, though in the preface he inti- in a work published in 1824, entitled, W/ho
mates a doubt respecting its authorship. wrote Eikon Basilike?  Those who desire to
Charles appears, at all events, to have seen  enter more fully into this subject of literary
the work in manuscript when a prisoner in controversy are referred to that work, and
Carisbrooke Castle, and to have revised some to Harris, Life of Charles I., ii., 124; Linpassages of it with his own hand; but the gard, l1ist. of England, viii., app. R. R. R.;
revised copy is not that which has been  Hallam's Constitutional History, ii., 239).
printed. It is now pretty generally allowed




Pattern for a crown of the Protector Oliver Cromwell. Oby.: OLIVAR. ). G. R. r.
ANG. SCO. IIas &C P1c0. Bust of Protector to left. Rev.: PAS. QVARITVR. BELLO.
Crowned shield with arms of England, Scotland, and Ireland, and the coat of Cromwell
in an escutcheon of pretense; above, 1658.
CHAPTER XXIII.
TIIE COMM3ONWEALTH.  1649-1.660.
~ 1. State of England, Scotland, and Ireland. ~ 2. Cromwell's Campaign
in Ireland.  ~ 3. Charles II. in Scotland.  Cromwell's Campaign in
Scotland. Battle of Dunbar. ~ 4. Charles crowned at Scone. IIe advances into England. Battle of Worcester. Flight and Escape of Charles.
~ 5. Settlement of the Commonwealth.  ~ 6. Dutch War.  Blake and
Van Tromp. ~ 7. Cromwell expels the Parliament. ~ 8. Barebone's
Parliament. Cromwell Protector. ~ 9. Defeat of the Dutch and Peace
with Holland. ~ 10. Cromwell's Administration.  His first Parliament.
Royalist Insurrection.  War with Spain. ~ Il. Blake's naval Exploits.
Jamaica conquered.  Death of Blake.  ~ 12. Cromwell's vigorous Government. Ilis Character. ~ 13. His second -Parliament. He refuses
the Crown. The " humble Petition and Advice."  ~ 14. Dunkirk taken.
Discontents and Insurrections. ~ 15. Cromwell's Sickness, Death, and
Character: ~ 16. Richard Cromwell Protector. His Deposition. ~ 17.
Long Parliament restored and expelled.  Committee of Safety.  ~ 18.
General Monk declares for the Parliament.  The Parliament restored.
Monk enters London.  Long Parliament dissolved.  ~ 19. A new Parliament. The Restoration.
~ 1. THE death of the king was followed by a dissolution of all
authority, both civil and ecclesiastical. Every man had framed
the model of a republic; every man had adjusted his own system
of religion.  The-Millenarians, or Fifth Monarchy men, required
that government itself should be abolished, and all human powers
be laid in the dust, in order to pave the way for the dominion of
Christ, whose second coming they suddenly expected. One party
declaimed against tithes and a hireling priesthood; another inveighed against the law and its professors.  The Royalists, consisting of the nobles and more considerable gentry, were inflamed




452              THE COMMONWEALTH.             CHAP. XXIII
with the highest resentment and indignation against those ignoble
adversaries who had reduced them to subjection. The Presbyterians, whose credit at first supported the arms of the Parliament, were enraged to find that, by the treachery or superior cunning of their associates, the fruits of all their successful labors
were ravished from them. The young king, poor and neglected,
living sometimes in Holland, sometimes in France, sometimes in
Jersey, comforted himself amid his present distresses with the
hopes of better fortune.
The only solid support of the Republican independent faction
was an army of nearly 50,000 men. But this army, formidable
from its discipline and courage as well as its numbers, was actuated by a spirit that rendered it dangerous to the assembly which
had assumed the command over it.  Cromwell alone was able to
guide and direct all these unsettled humors. But, though he retained for a time all orders of men under a seeming obedience to
the Parliament, he was secretly paving the way to his own unlimnited authority.
The Parliament began gradually to assume more the air of a
legal power. They admitted a few of the excluded and absent
members, but on condition that they should sign an approbation
of whatever had been done in their absence with regard to the
king's trial. They issued some writs for new elections in places
where they hoped to have interest enough to bring in their own
friends and dependents. They named an executive council of
state, 38 in number; and as soon as they should have settled the
nation, they professed their intention of restoring the power to the
people, from whom they acknowledged they had entirely derived
it.
The situation alone of Scotland and Ireland gave any immediate disquietude to the new republic.  After the successive defeats of Montrose and Hamilton, and the ruin. of their parties, the
whole authority in Scotland fell into the hands of Argyle and the
rigid Churchmen. Though invited by the English Parliament to
model their government into a republican form, they resolved still
to adhere to monarchy, which, by the express terms of their cov
enant, they had engaged to defend. After the execution, therefore, of the king, they immediately proclaimed his son and successor Charles II. (Feb. 5), but upon condition of his strict observance of the Covenant. The affairs of Ireland demanded more
immediate attention. When Charles I. was a prisoner among the
Scots, he sent orders to Ormond, if he could not defend himself,
rather to submit to the English than the Irish rebels; and accordingly, the lord lieutenant, being reduced to extremities, delivered up Dublin, Drogheda, Dundalk, and other garrisons, to




A.D. 1649.    -   AFFAIRS IN IRELAND.                 453
Colonel Jones, who took possession of them in the name of the
English Parliament. Ormond himself went over to England, and
after some time joined the queen and the Prince of Wales in
France. Meanwhile, the Irish Catholics, disgusted with the indiscretion and insolence of Rinuccini, the papal nuncio, and dreading the power of the English Parliament, saw no resource or safety
but in giving support to the declining authority of the king. The
Earl of Clanricarde secretly formed a combination among the
Catholics; he attacked the nuncio, whom he chased out of the
island; and he sent to Paris a deputation, inviting the lord lieutenant to return and take possession of his government.
Ormond, on his arrival in Ireland, had at first to contend with
many difficulties.  But in the distractions which attended the final struggle in England, the Republican faction totally neglected
Ireland, and allowed Jones, and the forces in Dublin, to remain in
the utmost weakness and necessity. The lord lieutenant, having
at last assembled an army of 16,000 men, advanced upon the Parliamentary garrisons.  Dundalk, Drogheda, and several other
towns surrendered or were taken. Dublin was threatened with
a siege; and the affairs of the lieutenant appeared in so prosperous a condition, that the young king entertained thoughts of coming in person into Ireland.
When the English commonwealth was brought to some tolerable settlement, men began to cast their eyes toward the neighboring island. After the execution of the king, Cromwell himself began to aspire to a command where so much glory, he saw,
might be won, and so much authority acquired; and he was appointed by the Parliament lord lieutenant and general of Ireland.
~ 2. The new lieutenant immediately applied himself; with his
wonted vigilance, to make preparations for his expedition. He
sent a re-enforcement of 4000 men to Colonel Jones, who unexpectedly attacked Ormond near Dublin; chased his army off the
field; seized all their tents, baggage, ammunition; and returned
victorious to Dublin, after killing 1000 men, and taking above
2000 prisoners (Aug. 2). This loss, which threw some blemish
on the military character of Ormond, was irreparable to the royal
cause. Cromwell soon after arrived with fresh forces in Dublin,
where he was welcomed with shouts and rejoicings (Aug. 18). He
hastened to Drogheda, which, though well fortified, was taken by
assault, Cromwell himself, along with Ireton, leading on his men.
A cruel slaughter was made of the garrison, orders having been
issued to give no quarter (Sept. 12). Cromwell pretended to retaliate, by this severe execution, the cruelty of the Irish massacre;
but he well knew that almost the whole-garrison was English;
and his justice was only a barbarous policy, in order to terrify all




45 1             THE COMMONWEALTH.             CHAP. XXI1L
other garrisons from resistance. His policy, however, had the desired effect. Wexford was taken, and the same severity exercised
as at Drogheda. Every town before which Cromwell presented
himself now opened its gates without resistance. Next spring,
having received a're-enforcement from England, he made himself
master of Kilkenny and Clonmel, the only places where he met
with any vigorous resistance. Ormond soon after left the island,
and delegated his authority to Clanricarde, who found affairs so
desperate as to admit of no remedy. The Irish were glad to embrace banishment as a refuge. Above 40,000 men passed into
foreign service; and Cromwell, well pleased to free the island
from enemies who never could be cordially reconciled to the English, gave them full liberty and leisure for their embarkation.
~ 3. While Cromwell proceeded with such uninterrupted success in Ireland, which in the space of nine months he had almost
entirely subdued, fortune was preparing for him a new scene of
victory and triumph in Scotland. Charles, by the advice of his
friends, who thought it ridiculous to refuse a kingdom merely from
regard to Episcopacy, had been induced to accept the crown of
Scotland on the terms offered by the commissioners of the Covenanters. But what chiefly determined him to comply was the
account brought him of the fate of Montrose, which blasted all his
hopes of recovering his inheritance by force. That gallant but
unfortunate nobleman, having received some assistance from a few
of the northern powers, had landed in the Orkneys with about
500 men, most of them Germans. He armed several of the inhabitants of the Orkneys, and carried them over with him to
Caithness, but was disappointed in his hopes that affectioni to the
king's service, and the fame of his former exploits, would make
the Highlanders flock to his standard.  Strahan, one of the generals of the Covenanters, fell unexpectedly on Montrose, who had
no horse to bring him intelligence. The Royalists were put to
flight, all of them either killed or taken prisoners, and Montrose
himself, having put on the disguise of a peasant, was perfidiously
delivered into the hands of his enemies by a friend to whom he
had intrusted his person. In this disguise he was carried to Edinburgh, amid the insults of his enemies, when he was tried and condemned by the Parliament, and hanged with every circumstance
of ignominy and cruelty (May 21, 1650).
The king, after the defeat of Montrose, assured the Scotch Parliament that he had forbidden his enterprise, though there can be
no doubt that he had sanctioned it. HI-e then set sail for Scotland, but before he was permitted to land he was required to sign
the Covenant; and many sermons and lectures were made him,
exhorting him to persevere in that holy confederacy. lie soon




A.D. 1649, 1650.    CAMPAIGN IN SCOTLAND.             455
found that he was considered as a mere pageant of state, and that
the few remains of royalty which he possessed served only to draw
on him the greater indignities. He was constrained by the Covenanters to issue a declaration, wherein he desired to be deeply
humbled and afflicted in spirit because of his father's opposing the
Covenant and shedding the blood of God's people throughout his
dominions; lamented the idolatry of his mother, and the toleration of it in his father's house; and professed that he would have
no enemies but the enemies of the Covenant. Still, the Covenanters and the clergy were diffident of his sincerity; and he
found his-authority entirely annihilated, as well as his character
degraded. He was consulted in no public measure; and his favor was sufficient to discredit any pretender to office or advancement.
As soon as the English Parliament found that the treaty between the king and the Scots would probably terminate in an accommodation, they made preparations for a war, which, they saw,
would in the end prove inevitable. Cromwell, having broken the
force and courage of the Irish, was sent for, and he left the command of Ireland to Ireton. It was expected that Fairfax, who
still retained the name of general, would continue to act against
Scotland. But he entertained insurmountable scruples against
invading the Scots, whom he considered as united to England by
the sacred bands of the Covenant; and he accordingly resigned
his commission, which was bestowed on Cromwell, who was declared captain general of all the forces in England. Cromwell
crossed the Tweed on July 16, and entered Scotland with an army
of 16,000 men. Lesley, the Scotch general, intrenched himself
in a fortified camp between Edinburgh and Leith, and took care
to remove every thing from the country which could serve for the
subsistence of the English army. Cromwell, having advanced to
the Scottish camp, and vainly endeavored to bring Lesley to a
battle, began to be in want of provisions, which reached him only
by sea. He therefore retired to Dunbar. Lesley followed him,
and he encamped on Down Hill, which overlooked that town.
There lay many difficult passes between Dunbar and Berwick,
and of these Lesley had taken possession. The English general
was reduced to extremities. He had even embraced a resolution
of sending by sea all his foot and artillery to England, and of
breaking through, at all hazards, with his cavalry. The madness
of the Scottish ecclesiastics saved him from this loss and dishonor.
Night and day the ministers had been wrestling with the Lord in
prayer, as they termed it, and they fancied that the sectarian and
heretical army, together with Agag, meaning Cromwell, was delivered into their hands.  Upon the faith of these visions, they




456               THE COMMONWEALTH.            CHAP. XXIIL
forced their general, in spite of his remonstrances, to descend into
the plain, with a view of attacking the English in their retreat.
Cromwell, looking through a glass, saw the enemy's camp in motion, and foretold, without the help of revelations, that the Lord
had delivered them into his hands. He gave orders immediately
for-an attack (Sept. 3). The Scots, though double in number to
the English, were soon put to flight, and pursued with great
slaughter. No victory could be more complete. About 3000 of
the enemy were slain, and 9000 taken prisoners. Cromwell pursued his advantage, and took possession of Edinburgh and Leith.
The remnant of the Scottish army fled to Stirling. The approach
of the winter season, and an ague which seized Cromwell, kept
him from pushing the victory any farther.
~ 4. The defeat of the Scots was regarded by the king as a fortunate event, as the vanquished were now obliged to give him
more authority, and apply to him for support. He was crowned
at Scone Jan. 1, 1651, with great pomp and solemnity.  But,
amid all this appearance of respect, Charles remained in the
hands of the most rigid Covenanters, and was little better than a
prisoner. As soon as the season would permit, the Scottish army
was assembled under Hamilton and Lesley, and the king was allowed to join the camp before Stirling. Cromwell, having failed
to bring the Scottish generals to an engagement, crossed the frith,
and took Perth, the seat of government.
Charles now embraced a resolution worthy of a young prince
contending for empire. IHaving the way open, he resolved immediately to march into England, and persuaded most of the generals to enter into the same views. But Argyle obtained permission to retire to his own home. The army, to the number of
14,000 men, rose from their camp, and advanced by great journeys toward the south. Cromwell was surprised at this movement of the royal army; but he quickly repaired his oversight by
his vigilance and activity, and, leaving Monk with 7000 men to
complete the reduction of Scotland, he followed the king with all
the expedition possible.
Charles found himself disappointed in his expectations of increasing his army. The Scots, terrified at the prospect of so hazardous an enterprise, fell off in great numbers. The English
Presbyterians and Royalists, having no warning given them of
the king's approach, were not prepared to join him. When he
arrived at Worcester he found that his fbrces, extremely harassed
by a hasty and fatiguing march, were not more numerous than
when he rose from his camp at Stirling. With an army of about
30,000 men, Cromwell fell upon Worcester, and, attacking it on
all sides, after a desperate resistance of four or five hours, broke




A.D. 1651.    FLIGHT AND ESCAPE OF CHARLES.            457
in upon the disordered Royalists (Sept. 3). The streets of the
city were strewed with dead.  The whole Scottish army was
either killed or taken prisoners. The country people, inflamed
with national antipathy, put to death the few that escaped from
the field of battle.
The king left Worcester at six o'clock in the afternoon, and,
without halting, traveled about 26 miles, in company with 50 or
60 of his friends. To provide for his safety, he thought it best to
separate himself from his companions, and he left them without
communicating his intentions to any of them. By the Earl of
Derby's directions, he went to Boscobel, a lone house in the borders of Staffordshire, inhabited by one Penderell, a farmer. To
this man Charles intrusted himself.  The man had dignity of
sentiments much above his condition; and, though death was denounced against all who concealed the king, and a great reward
promised to any one who should betray him, he professed and
maintained unshaken fidelity.* He took the assistance of his four
brothers, equally honorable with himself, and, having clothed the
king in a garb like their own, they led him into the neighboring
wood, put a bill into his hand, and pretended to employ themselves in cutting fagots. Some nights he lay upon straw in the
house, and.fed on such homely fare as it afforded.  F]or a better
concealment, he mounted upon an oak, where he sheltered himself among the leaves and branches for twenty-four hours.  He
saw several soldiers pass by. All of them were intent in search
of the king, and some expressed, in his hearing, their earnest
wishes of seizing him. This tree was afterward denominated the
Royal Oak, and for many years was regarded by the neighborhood
with great veneration. Charles passed through many other adventures, assumed different disguises, in every step was exposed
to imminent perils, and received daily proofs of uncorrupted fidelity and attachment. The sagacity of a smith, who remarked that
his horse's shoes had been made in the north, not in the west, as
he pretended, once detected him, and he narrowly escaped. At
Shoreham, in Sussex, a vessel was at last found, in which he
embarked, and, after 41 days' concealment, he arrived safely at
Fedcamp, in Normandy (Oct. 17). No fewer than 40 men and
women, had, at different times, been privy to his concealment
and escape.
~ 5. Notwithstanding the late wars and bloodshed, and. the
present factions, the power of England had never, in any period,
appeared so formidable to the neighboring kingdoms as it did at
this time, in the hands of the Commonwealth. The power of
* Two of the descendants of this family still receive pensions for their
services on this occasion.
U




458              THE COMMONWEALTH.             CHAP, XXIII.
peace and war was lodged in the same hands with the power of
imposing taxes; a numerous and well-disciplined army was on
foot; and excellent officers were formed in every branch of service.
The confusion into which all things had been thrown had given
opportunity to men of low stations to break through their obscurity, and to raise themselves by their courage to commands which
they were well qualified to exercise, but to which their birth could
never have entitled them. Blake, a man of great courage and a
generous disposition, who had defended Lyme and Taunton with
unshaken obstinacy against the late king, was made an admiral;
and though he had hitherto been accustomed only to land-service,
into which, too, he had not entered till past fifty years of age, he
soon raised the naval glory of the nation to a greater height than
it had ever attained in any former period. A fleet was put under
his command, with which he chased into the Tagus Prince Rupert,
to whom the king had intrusted that squadron which had'deserted
to him. The King of Portugal having refused Blake admittance,
and aided Prince Rupert in making his escape, the English admiral made prize of twenty Portuguese ships richly laden; and
he threatened still farther vengeance. -The King of Portugal,
dreading so dangerous a foe to his newly-acquired dominion,
made all possible submission to the haughty republic, and was at
last; admitted to negotiate the renewal of his alliance with England.
All thle settlements in America, except New England, which
had been planted entirely by the Puritans, adhered to the royal
party, even after the settlement of the republic, but were soon
subdued.'With equal ease were Jersey, Guernsey, Scilly, and
the Isle of Man brought under subjection to the republic; and
the sea, which had been much infested by privateers from these
islands, was rendered safe to English commerce. The Countess
of Derby defended the Isle of Man, and with great reluctance
yielded to the necessity of surrendering to the enemy.  Ireton,
the new deputy of Ireland, at the head of an army 30,000 strong,
prosecuted the work of subduing the revolted Irish;'and he defeated them in many rencounters, whicli, though of themselves -of
no great moment, proved fatal to their declining cause. He died
of the plague at Limerick, after he had captured that town by a
vigorous siege. The command of the army in Ireland devolved
on Lieutenant General Ludlow. The civil government of the
island was intrusted to Commissioners.
The successes which attended Monk in Scotland were no less
decisive. After taking Stirling Castle' (whence the national records and regalia were conveyed to London), and gaining other advantages, he carried Dundee by assault; and, following the ex



A.D. 1651.            DUTCH WAR.                       459
ample and instructions of Cromwell, put all the inhabitants to
the sword, in order to strike a general terror into the kingdom.
Warned by this example, Aberdeen, St. Andrew's, Inverness, and
other towns and forts, yielded, of their own accord, to the enemy.
Argyle made his submissions to the English Commonwealth; and
Scotland, which had hitherto, by means of its situation, poverty,
and valor, maintained its independence, was reduced to total subjection. The English Parliament sent Sir Harry Vane, St. John,
and other Commissioners to settle that kingdom.
~ 6. By the total reduction and pacification of the British dominions, the Parliament had leisure to look abroad, and to exert
their vigor in foreign enterprises.  The Dutch were the first that
felt the weight of their arms. After the death (in 1650) of William, Prince of Orange, who had married an English princess, and
whose policy had been favorable to the royal cause, the Parliament thought that the time had arrived for cementing a closer
confederacy with the Dutch Republican party, which had now
gained the ascendant. St. John, chief justice, who was sent over
to the Hague, had entertained the idea of forming a kind of coalition between the two republics; but the States offered only to
renew the former alliances with England; and the haughty St.
John, disgusted with this disappointment, as well as incensed at
many affronts which had been offered him with impunity by the
retainers of the palatine and Orange families, and indeed by the
populace-in general, returned into England, and, by his influence
over Cromwell, determined the Parliament to change the purposed alliance into a furious war against the United Provinces.
To cover these hostile intentions, the Parliament embraced such
measures as they knew would give disgust to the States. They
framed the famous Act of Navigation, which prohibited all nations
from importing into England in their bottoms any commodity
which was not the growth and manufacture of their own country.
By this law the Dutch were principally affected, because they subsisted chiefly by being the general carriers and factors of Europe.
Letters -of reprisal were granted to several merchants, who complained of injuries, and above 80 Dutch ships were made prizes.
Tromp, an admiral of great renown, with a fleet of 42 sail, being
forced by stress of'weather, as he alleged, to take shelter in the
road of Dover, there met with Blake, who commanded an English
fleet much inferior in number.  Who was the aggressor in the
action which ensued between these two admirals, both of them
men of such prompt and fiery dispositions, it is not easy to determine. Blake, though his squadron consisted of only 15 vessels, re-enforced, after the battle began, by eight under Captain
Bourne, maintained the fight with bravery for five hours, and sunk




460              THE COMMONWEALTH.            CHAP. XXIII.
one ship of the enemy, and took another (May 19, 1652). Night
parted the combatants, and the Dutch fleet retired toward the
coast of Holland. The Dutch dispatched their Pensionary PawLA
to conciliate matters; but the imperious Parliament would hearken to -no explanations or remonstrances. They demanded that,
without any farther delay or inquiry, reparation should be made
for all the damages which the English had sustained; and when
this demanid was not complied with, they dispatched orders for
commencing war against the United Provinces (July 8). Several
naval engagements followed. Sir George Ayscue, though he commanded only 40 ships, engaged, near Plymouth, the famous De
Ruyter, who had under him 40 ships of war, with 30 merchantmen (Aug. 16). Night parted them in the greatest heat of the
action. De Ruyter next day sailed off with his convoy. The
English fleet had been so shattered in the fight that it was not
able to pursue.  Near the coast of Kent, Blake, seconded by
Bourne and Penn, met a Dutch squadron nearly equal in numnbers, commanded by De Witt and De Ruyter (Sept. 28). A battle was fought, much to the disadvantage of the Dutch. Their
rear admiral was boarded and taken. Two other vessels were
sunk, and one blown up. The Dutch next day made sail toward
Holland. On Nov. 28, Tromp, seconded by De Ruyter, met, near
the Goodwins, with Blake, whose fleet was inferior to the Dutch,
but who had resolved not to decline the combat. In this action
the Dutch had the advantage, and Blake himself was wounded.
After this victory, Tromp, in a bravado, fixed a broom to his mainmast, as if he were resolved to sweep the sea entirely of all English
vessels.
Great preparations were made in England in order to wipe off
this disgrace. A gallant fleet of 80 sail was fitted out. Blake
commanded, and under him Monk, who had been sent for from
Scotland. When the English lay off Portland (Feb. 18, 1.653),
they descried, near break of day, a Dutch fleet of 76 vessels sailing up the Channel, along with a convoy of 300 merchantmen.
Tromp, and under him De Ruyter, commanded the Dutch. This
battle was the most furious that had yet been fought between
these warlike and rival nations. Three days was the combat continued with the utmost rage and obstinacy; and Blake, who was
victor, gained not more honor than Tromp, who was vanquished.
The Dutch admiral made a skillful retreat, and saved all the merchant ships except 30. He lost, however, 11 ships of war, had
2000 men slain, and near 1500 taken prisoners. The English,
though many of their ships were extremely shattered, had but one
sunk. Their slain were not much inferior in number to those of
the enemy.




A.D. 1652, 1653.  THE PARLIAMENT EXPELLED.            461
~ 7. Meanwhile, a domestic revolution was preparing.  Cromwell saw that the Parliament entertained a jealousy of his power
and ambition, and were resolved to bring him to a subordination
under their authority. Without scruple or delay he resolved to
prevent them.  He summoned a general council of officers, in
which it was presently voted to frame a remonstrance to the Parliament. After complaining of the arrears due to the army, they
desired the Parliament to reflect how many years they had sat,
and that it was now full time for them to give place to others.
They therefore desired them to summon a new Plarliament, and
establish that fiee and equal government which they had so long
promised to the people. The Parliament took this remonstrance
in ill part, and much altercation ensued. At last Cromwell, being
informed that they had come to a resolution not to dissolve themselves, but to fill up the House by new elections, immediately
hastened to the House, and carried a body of 300 soldiers along
with him. Some of them he placed at the door, some in the lobby, some on the stairs. He first addressed himself to his friend
St. John, and told him that he had come with a purpose of doing
what grieved him to the very soul, and what he had earnestly,
with tears, besought the Lord not to impose upon him; but there
was a necessity, in order to the glory of God and good of the nation. He then sat down for some time and heard the debate. He
beckoned Harrison, and told him that he now judged the Parliament ripe for a dissolution.  " Sir," said Harrison, "c the work is
very great and dangerous; I desire you seriously to consider before you engage in it."  "You say well," replied the general;
and thereupon sat still about a quarter of an hour. When the
question was ready to be put, he said again to Harrison, " This is
the time: I must do it."  And suddenly starting up, he loaded
the Parliament with the vilest reproaches for their tyranny, ambition, oppression, and robbery of the public. Then stamping
with his foot, which was a signal for the soldiers to enter, " For
shame!" said he to the Parliament; "get you gone; give place
to honester men; to those who will more faithfully discharge their
trust.  You are no longer a Parliament; I tell you, you are no
longer a Parliament. The Lord has done with you: he has chosen
other instruments for carrying on his work."  Sir Harry Vane exclaiming against this proceeding, he cried with a loud voice,"  0
Sir Harry Vane! Sir Harry Vane!  The Lord deliver me from
Sir Harry Vane!"  Taking hold of 3Martin by the cloak, " Thou
art a whoremaster," said he. To another, "Thou art an adulterer."  To a third, " Thou art a drunkard and a glutton;" "and
thou an extortioner," to a fourth. He commanded a soldier to
seize the mace. "What shall we do with this bawble?  Here,




462               THE COMMONWEALTH.             CHAP. XXIII.
take it away. It is you," said he, addressing himself to the I-louse,
"that have forced me upon this.  I have sought the Lord night
and day, that he would rather slay me than put me upon this
work."  Having commanded the soldiers to clear the hall, he
himself went out the last, and, ordering the doors to be locked,
departed to his lodgings in Whitehall (April 20, 1653).
The indignation entertained by the people against such a manifest usurpation was not so violent as might naturally be expected. Congratulatory. addresses, the first of the kind, were
made to Cromwell by the fleet, by the army, even by many of
the chief corporations and counties of England, but especially by
the several congregations of saints dispersed throughout the kingdom.
~ 8. Cromwell, however, thought it requisite to establish something which might bear the face of a Commonwealth; and, without any more ceremony, by the advice of his. council of officers, he
sent summonses to 128 persons of different towns and counties of
England, to five of Scotland, to six of Ireland. HI-e pretended, by
his sole act and deed, to devolve upon these the whole authority
of the state. This legislative power they were to exercise during
15 months, and they were afterward to choose the same number
of persons who might succeed them in that high and important
office. In this assembly, which voted themselves a Parliament
(July 4), were many persons of the rank of gentlemen; but the
greater part were Fifth M1onarchy men, Anabaptists, and Independents. They began with seeking God by prayer.  They contemplated some extraordinary schemes of legislation, but had not
leisure to finish any, except that which established the legal solemnization of marriage by the civil magistrate alone. Among
the fanatics of the House there was an active member, much noted
for his long prayers, sermons, and harangues.  I-He was a leatherseller in London: his name, Plraise-God Barebone. This ridiculous name struck the fancy of the people, and they commonly
affixed to this assembly the appellation of Barebone's Parliament.
Another name for it was "' the Little Parliament."
Cromwell, finding this assembly not so obsequious as he expected, resolved to bring it to a close. Accordingly, on Dec. 13,
Sydenham, an Independent, suddenly proposed that the Parliament should, by a formal deed or assignment, resign its power into
the hands of Cromwell.  Rouse, the speaker, who was one of
Sydenham's party, forthwith left the chair, followed by several
members, and the few who remained in the House were ejected by
Colonel White, with a party of soldiers.  Cromwell at first refused the offer; but the resignation of their powers being signed
by the majority of the House, he accepted the trust, and a deed




A.D. 1653,1654.   CROMWELL PROTECTOR.                     463
was drawn up, called the Instrulment of Government, which received
the approval of the council of officers. By this instrument Cromwell received the title of " His Highness the Lord Protector," and
a council was-appointed of not more than 21, nor less than 13
persons, who were to -enjoy their office during life or good behavior.'The Protector was bound to summon a Parliament every three years, and allow them to sit five months without adjournment, prorogation, or dissolution.  The bills which they
passed were to be presented to the Protector for his assent; but
if within twenty days it were not obtained, they were to become
laws by the authority alone of Parliament. A standing army for
Great Britain and Ireland was established of 20,000 foot and
10,000 horse, and funds were assigned for their support. The
Protectofr was to enjoy his office during life, and on his death the
place was immediately to be supplied by the council.
~ 9. In spite of the distracted scenes which the civil gotvernment
exhibited in England, the military force was exerted with vigor,
conduct, and unamimity, and never did the kingdom appear more
formidable to all foreign nations.  The English fleet gained several victories over the Dutch, in the last of which, Van Tromp,
while gallantly animating his men, was shot through the heart
with a musket ball (July 31, 1653). Monk and Penn commanded
Medal given for service in the action with the Dutch, July 31, 1653. Obv.: a naval battle:
above, FOR EMINENT SERVICE IN SAVING Y TRIVMPII FIERED IN FIGOT WII Y DVCII IN IYLY
1653. Rev.: arms of the three kingdoms suspended on an anchor.
in this engagement, Blake being ill on shore.  The States, overwhelmed with the expense of the war, terrified by their losses, and
mortified by their defeats, were extremely desirous of an accommodation with an enemy whom they found, by experience, too
powerful for them; and a peace was at last signed by Cromwell
(April 5,1654).  A defensive league was made between the two
republics: the honor of the flag was yielded to the English.




464               THE COMMONWEALTH.            CHAP. XXIII.
~ 10. The new Parliament, summoned by the Protector, met on
Sept. 4, 1654. The elections had been conducted agreeably to the
Instrument of Government, in a method favorable to liberty. All
the small boroughs, places the most exposed to influence and corruption, had been deprived of the franchise. Of 400 members
which represented England, 270 were chosen by the counties.
The rest were elected by London and the more considerable corporations. The lower populace too, so easily guided or deceived,
were excluded from the elections. An estate of ~200 value was
necessary to entitle any one to a vote. Thirty members were returned from Scotland; as many from JIreland.
Cromwell soon found that he did not possess the confidence of
this Parliament.  Having heard the Protector's speech, three
hours long, and having chosen Lenthal for their speaker, they immediately entered into a discussion of the pretended instrument of
government, and of that authority which Cromwell, by the title of
Protector, had assumed over the nation. The greatest liberty was
used in arraigning this new dignity; and-even the personal character and conduct of Cromwell escaped not without censure. The
Protector, surprised and enraged at this refractory spirit, sent for
them to the painted chamber,.with an air of great authority inveighed against their conduct, and told them that nothing could be
more absurd than ibr them to dispute his title, since the same instrument of government which made them a Parliament had invested him with the Protectorship. He forbade them to dispute
the fundamentals of the new Constitution, among which the chief
was the government of the nation by a single person and a Parliament; he obliged the members to sign an engagement not to
propose or consent to any alteration; and he placed guards at the
door of the House, who allowed none but subscribers to enter.
Most of the members, after some hesitation, submitted to this
condition, but retained the same refractory spirit which they had
discovered in their first debates. Cromwell, therefore, dismissed
them in a tedious, confused, and angry harangue, on January 31,
1655.
The discontent discovered by this Parliament encouraged the
Royalists to attempt an insurrection, which, however, was soon put
down, and served only to strengthen Cromwell's government. He
issued an edict, with the consent of his council, for exacting the
tenth penny from the lRoyalists, in order, as he pretended, to make
them pay the expenses to which their mutinous disposition continually exposed the public. To raise this imposition, which
commonly passed by the name of decimation, the Protector instituted 11 major generals, and divided the whole kingdom of England into so many military jurisdictions.  These men, assisted




A.D. 1654, 1655.    WAR WITH SPAIN.                   465
by commissioners, had power to' subject whom they pleased to
decimation, to levy all the taxes imposed by the Protector and
his council, and to imprison any person who should be exposed
to their jealousy or suspicion; nor was there any appeal from
them but to the Protector himself and his council. In short, they
acted as if absolute masters of the property and person of every
subject.
Meanwhile, the resentment displayed by the English Parliament at the protection afforded by France to Charles induced that
court to change its measures. Anne of Austria had become regent of France in the minority of her son Louis XIV., and Cardinal MazaLrin had succeeded Richelieu in the ministry.  Charles
was treated by them with such affected indifference that he thought
it more decent to withdraw, and prevent'the indignity of being desired to leave the kingdom. He went first to Spa, thence he retired
to Cologne, where he lived two years on a small pension paid him
by the court of France, and on some contributions sent him by his
friends in England.
The French ministry deemed it still more necessary to pay deference to the Protector when he assumed the reins of government.
They were now at war with Spain, and wished to defeat the intrigues of that court, which, being reduced to greater distress
than the French monarchy, had been still more forward in their
advances to the prosperous Parliament and Protector. Cromwell
resolved for several reasons to unite his arms to those of France.
The extensive empire and yet extreme weakness of Spain in the
West Indies, the vigorous courage and great naval power of England, made him hope that he might, by some gainful conquest,
render forever illustrious that dominion which he had assumed
over his country. Should he fail of these durable acquisitions,
the Indian treasures, which must every year cross the ocean to
reach Spain, were, lie thought, a sure prey to the English: navy,
and would support his military force, without his laying new burdens on the discontented people. These motives of policy were
probably seconded by his religious principles; and as the Spaniards were more bigoted papists tlhan the French, and had refused
to mitigate on Cromwell's solicitation the rigors of the Inquisition,
he hoped that a holy and meritorious war with such idolaters
could not fail of protection from Heaven.
~ 11. Actuated by these motives, the Protector equipped two
considerable squadrons, one of which, consisting of 30 capital ships,
was sent into theMediterranean under Blake, whose fame was now
spread over Europe. Blake sailed to Algiers, and compelled the
dey to restrain his piratical subjects from farther violences on the
English. I-He then presented himself before Tunis, where, incensed
U2




466              THE COMMONWEALTH.              CHAP. XXIII.
by the insolence of the dey, lie destroyed the castles of Porto- Farino and Goletta, sent a numerous detachment of sailors in their
long-boats into the harbor, and burned every ship which lay there.
This bold action filled all that part of the world with the renown
of English valor.
The other squadron was not equally successful.  It was commanded by Penn, and carried on board 4000 men, under the command of Venables.  An attack upon St. Domingo was repulsed!
with loss and disgrace; but Jamaica surrendered to them without
a blow. Penn and Venables returned to England, and were both
of them sent to the Tower by the Protector, who, though commonly master of his fiery temper, was thrown into a violent passion
at this disappointment.  He had, however, made a conquest of
greater importance than he was himself at that time aware of;
and Jamaica has ever since remained in the hands of the English.
As soon as the news of this expedition, which was an unwarrantable violation of treaty, arrived in Europe, the Spaniards declared war against England, and seized all the ships and goods of
English merchants of which they could make themselves masters.
Blake, to whom Montague was now joined in command, prepared
himself for hostilities against the Spaniards, and lay some time off
Cadiz in expectation of intercepting the treasure-fleet, but was at
last obliged, for want of water, to make sail toward Portugal.
Captain Stayner, however, whom he had left on the coast with a
squadron of 7 vessels, took two ships, valued at nearly two millions of pieces of eight (Sept. 1656)..
The next action against the Spaniards was more honorable,
though less profitable to the nation. Blake pursued a Spanish
fleet of 16 ships to the Canaries, where he found them in the Bay
of Santa Cruz, defended by a strong -castle and seven forts. Blake
was rather animated than daunted with this appearance. TIhe
wind seconded his courage, and, blowing full into the bay, in a
moment brought liim among the thickest of his enemies. After a
resistance of four hours, the Spaniards yielded to English valor,
and abandoned their ships, which were set on fire, and consumed
with all their treasure. The wind, suddenly shifting, carried the
English out of the bay; where they left the Spaniards in astonishment at the happy temerity of their audacious visitors (April 20,
1657). This was the last and greatest action of the gallant Blake.
He was consumed with a dropsy and scurvy, and hastened home,
that he might yield up his breath in his native country, but expired within sight of land.   Never man, so zealous for a faction,
was so much respected and esteemed even by the opposite parties.
He was by principle an inflexible Republican; and the late usurpations, amid all the trust and caresses which he received from the




t.D. 1656, 1657. CROMWELL'S VIGOROUS GOVERNMENT.   467
ruling powers, were thought to be very little grateful to him. "It
is still our duty," he said to the seamen,'" to fight for our country, into what hands soever the government might fall." The Protector ordered him a pompous funeral at the public charge; but the
tears of his countrymen were the most honorable panegyric on his
memory.
~ 12. The conduct of the Protector inl foreign affairs was full
of vigor and enterprise, and drew a consideration to his country
which, since the reign of Elizabeth, it seemed totally to have lost.
It was his boast that he would render the name of an Englishman
as much feared and revered as ever was that of a Roman; and as
his countrymen found some reality in these pretensions, their nalional vanity, being gratified, made them bear with more patience
all the indignities and calamities under which they labored. And
the Protestant zeal which animated the Presbyterians and Independents was highly gratified by the haughty manner in which the
Protector so successfully supported the Vaudois, or persecuted
Protestants of Savoy, against whom the duke had commenced a
furious persecution.
The general behavior and deportment of Cromwell, who had
been raised from a private station, and who had passed most of
his youth in the country, was such as might befit the greatest
monarch. HI-e maintained a dignity without either affectation or
ostentation, and supported with all strangers that high idea with
which his great exploits and prodigious fortune had impressed
them. Among his ancient firiends he could relax himself; and by
trifling and amusement, jesting and making verses, he feared not
exposing himself to their most familiar approaches.. Great regularity, however, and even austerity of manners, were always maintained in his court; and he was careful never by any liberties
to give offense to the most rigid of the godly.  Some state was
upheld, but with little expense, and without any splendor. The
nobility, though courted by him, kept at a distance, and disdained
to intermix with those mean persons who were the instruments
of his government.
Cromwell had reduced Scotland and Ireland to a total subjection, and he treated them entirely as conquered provinces. The
civil administration of Scotland was placed in a council, consisting mostly of English. Justice was administered by seven judges,
four of whom were English.  A long line of forts and garrisons
was maintained throughout the kingdom, and an army of 10,000
men kept every thing in peace and obedience.  The Protector's
administration of Ireland was still more severe and violent. The
government of that island was first intrusted to Fleetwood, who
had married Ireton's widow; then to Henry Cromwell, second




468               TH-E COMMONWEALTH.           CHAP. XXII.
son of the Protector, a young man of an amiable, mild disposition,
and not destitute of vigor and capacity.
~ 13. In summoning a new Parliament in 1656, Cromwell used
every art in order to influence the elections, and fill the House
with his own creatures; yet, notwithstanding all these precautions,
he still found that the majority would not be favorable to him.
Accordingly, on their assembling (Sept. 17), he set guards at the
door, who permitted none to enter but such as produced a warrant
from his council; and the council rejected about 100, who either
refused a recognition of the Protector's government, or were on
other accounts obnoxious to him. These protested against so egregious a violence, subversive of all liberty; but every application
for redress was neglected both by the council and the Parliament.
The majority of the Parliament, by means of these arts and violences, was friendly to the Protector, who now began to aspire to
the crown; and, in order to pave the way to this advancement,
bhe resolved to sacrifice his major generals, whom he knew to be
extremely odious to the nation.  Colonel Jephson was employed
to sound the inclinations of the House on the subject; and the result appearing favorable, a motion in form was made by Alderman
Pack, one of the city members, for investing the Protector with
the dignity of king. This motion at first excited great disorder,
and divided the whole House into parties. The chief opposition
came from the usual adherents of the Protector, the major generals, and such officers as depended on them; and particularly Lambert, a man of deep intrigue, and of great interest in the army, who
had long entertained the ambition of succeeding Cromwell in the
Protectorship. But the bill, which was entitled An Ilumble Petition and Advice, was voted by a considerable majority, and a committee was appointed to reason with the Protector, and to overcome those scruples which he pretended against accepting so liberal an offer.  The conference lasted several days. The difficulty
consisted not in persuading Cromwell, whose inclination, as well
as judgment, was entirely on the side of the committee. The opposition which Cromwell most dreaded was that which he met
with in his own family, and from men who, by interest as well a~
inclination, were the most devoted to him. Fleetwood had married his daughter; Desborough his sister; yet these men, actuated
by principle alone, could by no persuasion, artifice, or entreaty,'be induced to consent that their friend and patron should be invested: with regal dignity.  Colonel Pride procured a petition
against the office of king, signed by a majority of the officers who
were in London and the neighborhood; and some sudden mutiny
in the army was justly dreaded. Cromwell, after the agony and
perplexity of long doubt, was at last obliged to refuse that crown




A.D. 1657, 1658.  "PETITION AND ADVICE.'"              469
which the representatives of the nation, in the most solemn manner, had tendered to him (May 8, 1657).  The provisions, however, of the HumblePetition and Advice were retained as the basis
of the Republican establishment, instead of the former Instrument
of Government.' By the new deed the Protector had the power of
nominating his successor; he had a perpetual revenue assigned
him; and he had authority to name another House, who should
enjoy their seats during life, and exercise some functions of the
bormer House of Peers.  Cromwell, as if his power had just
commenced from this popular consent, was anew inaugurated
ill Westminstee pHall, after the most solemn and most pompous
manner.
Richard, eldest son of the Protector, was now brought to court,
introduced into public business, and thenceforth regarded by many
as his heir in the Protectorship. Cromwell had two daughters
unmarried: one of them he now gave in marriage to the grandson and heir of his great friend the Earl of Warwick, with whom
he had, in every fortune, preserved an uninterrupted intimacy
and good correspondence. The other he married to the Viscount
Fauconberg, of a family formerly devoted to the royal party. The
Parliament assembled again on Jan. 20, 1658, consisting, as in
the times of monarchy, of two Houses. Cromwell had sent writs
to his HIouse of'Peers, which consisted of 60 members. They
were composed of five or six ancient peers, of several gentlemen
of fortune and distinction, and of some officers who had risen
fiom the meanest stations. None of the ancient peers, however.
though summoned by writ, would deign to accept of a seat which
they must share with such companions as were assigned' them.
B3ut Cromwell soon found that, by bringing so great a number of
his friends and adherents into the. other House, he had lost the
majority among the' national representatives; and, dreading combinations between them  and the malcontents in the army, he.
dissolved the Parliament with expressions of great displeasure
(Feb. 4).
~ 14. Cromwell still pursued his schemes of conquest and dominion on the Continent; and he sent over into Flandlers 6000
men under Reynolds, who joined the French army commanded
by Turenne. In 1658 siege was laid to Dunkirk; and when the
Spanish army advanced to relieve it the combined armies of
France and England marched out of their trenches, and fought
the battle of the Dunes, where the Spaniards were totally defeated. The valor of the English was much remarked on this
occasion (June 4). Dunkirk, being soon after surrendered, was
by agreement delivered to Cromwell. This acquisition was regarded by the Protector as the means only of obtaining, in con



470               THE COMMONWEALTH.             CHAP. XXIII.
cert with the French court, the final conquest and partition of the
Low Countries.
But the situation in which Cromwell stood at home kept him
in perpetual uneasiness and inquietude.  His military enterprises
had exhausted his revenue, and involved him illn considerable
debt. The Royalists, he heard, had renewed their conspiracies
for a general insurrection.  Ormond had come over to England,
and Lord Fairfax, Sir William Waller, and many heads of the
Presbyterians, had secretly entered into the engagement. Even
the army was infected with the general spirit of discontent, and
some sudden and dangerous eruption was every moment to be
dreaded from it. This conspiracy, however, was discovered, and
promptly suppressed. Ormond was obliged to fly, and he deemed
himself fortunate to have escaped so vigilant an administration.
Great numbers were thrown into prison. A high court of justice
was anew erected for the trial of those criminals-whose guilt was
most apparent, as the Protector could not as yet trust to an unbiased jury. Sir Henry Slingsby and Dr. Hewitt were condemned and beheaded.
The conspiracy of the Mlillenarians in the army struck Cromwell
with still greater apprehensions, and he lived in the continual dread
of assassination. The death of Mrs. Claypole, his favorite daughter, a lady endued with many humane virtues and amiable accomplishments, depressed his anxious mind, and poisoned all his
enjoyments. All composure of mind was now forever fled from
the Protector.  He never moved a step without strong guards attending him; he wore armor under his clothes, and farther secured himself by offensive weapons, a sword, falchion, and pistols,
which he always carried about him.  He returned from no place
by the direct road, or by the same way which he went. Every
journey he performed with hurry and precipitation.  Seldom he
slept above three nights together in the same chamber; and he never let it be known beforehand what chamber he intended to choose.
~ 15. Cromnwell's body also, from the contagion of his anxious
mind, began to be affected, and his health seemed sensibly to
decline. He was seized with a slow fever, which changed into a
tertian ague. For the space of a week no dangerous symptoms
appeared, and in the intervals of the fits he was able to walk
abroad.  At length the symptoms began to wear a more fatal
aspect, and the physicians were obliged to break silence, and to
declare that the Protector could not survive the next fit with which
he was threatened.  The council was alarmed.  A deputation
was sent to know his will with regard to his successor. His
senses were gone, and he could not now express his intentions.
They asked him whether he did not mean that his eldest son,




A.D. 1658. DEATH AND CHARACTER OF CROMWELL.             471
Richard, should succeed him in tlie Protectorship.  A simple affirmative was, or seemed to be, extorted from him.  Soon after,
on the 3d of September (1658), the very day on which he had
gained the victories of Dunbar and Worcester, and which he had
always considered as the most fortunate for him, he expired.
A violent tempest, which immediately succeeded his death, served
as a subject of discourse to the vulgar, his partisans and his enemies endeavoring by forced inferences to interpret it as a confirmation of their particular prejudices.
The administration of Cromwell, though it discovers great abilities, was conducted without any plan either of' liberty or arbitrary
power; perhaps his difficult situation admitted of neither.  The
great principle of his foreign policy was alliance with the Protestant states, and the support of Protestantism throughout Europe.
If we survey his moral character with that indulgence which is
due to the blindness and infirmities of the human species, we shall
not be inclined to load his memory with such violent reproaches
as those which his enemies usually throw upon it.  rihe murder
of the king, the most atrocious of all his actions, was to him covered under a mighty cloud of republican and religious illusions;
and it is not impossible but he might believe it, as many others
did, the most meritorious action that he could perform.  His subsequent usurpation was the effect of necessity, as well as of ambi.
tion; nor is it easy to see how the various factions could at that
time have been restrained without a mixture of military and arbitrary authority.  His'private deportment, as a son, a husband,
ai father, a friend, merits the highest praise.
Cromwell was in the sixtieth year of his age when he died.
I-e was of a robust frame of body, and of a manly, though not of
an agreeable aspect.  He left only two sons, Richard and Henry;
and three daughters —one married to general Fleetwood, another
to Lord Fauconberg, a third to Lord Rich.  His father died when
he was very young.  His mother lived till after he was Protector,
and, contrary to her orders, lie buried her with great pomp in
W~estminster Abbey.  To educate her numerous family she had
been obliged to set up a brewery at Huntingdon, which she managed to good advantage. Hence Cromwell, in the invectives of
that age, is often stigmatized with the name of the brewer.  She
was of a good family, of the name of Stuart, remotely allied, as
is by some supposed, to the royal family.
~ 16. When that potent hand was removed which conducted
the government, every one expected a sudden dissolution of the
unwieldy and ill-jointed fabric.  Cromwell's eldest son, Richard,
a young man of no experience, educated in the country, possessed
only the virtues of private life, which in his'situation were so




472               THE COMMONWEALTH.             CHAP. XXIII.
many vices; indolence, incapacity, irresolution, attended his facility and good-nature. The council, however, recognized the succession of Richard.  Fleetwood, in whose favor it was supposed
Cromwell had formerly made a will, renounced all claim or pretension to the Protectorship.  Henry, Richard's brother, who governed Ireland with popularity, insured him: the obedience of that
kingdom. MIonk, whose authority was well established in Scotland, being much attached to the family of Cromwell, immediately
proclaimed the new Protector. The army and the fleet acknowledged his title; and above ninety addresses, from the counties
and most considerable corporations, congratulated him on his accession, in all the terms of dutiful allegiance. A new Parliament
(Jan. 29, 1659) proceeded to examine the Hurnble Petition and Advice; and, after great opposition and many vehement debates, it
was at length, with much difficulty, carried by the court party to
confirm it.  On the other hand, the most considerable officere of
the army, and even Fleetwood, brother-in-law to the Protector,
were entering into cabals against him; and the whole Republican
party in the army, which was still considerable, united themselves
to that general.  Above all, the intrigues of Lambert inflamed
all those dangerous humors, and threatened the nation with some
great convulsion. Richard, who possessed neither resolution nor
penetration, was prevailed to give an unguarded consent for calling a general council of officers, who proposed that the whole military power should be intrusted to some person in whom they might
all confide.
The Parliament, no less alarmed than the Protector at the military cabals, voted that there should be no meeting or general
council of officers, except with the Protector's consent, or by his
orders. This vote brought affairs immediately to a rupture. The
officers hastened to Richard and demanded of him the dissolution
of the Parliament. Desborough threatened him if he should refuse compliance. The Protector wanted the resolution to deny,
and possessed little ability to resist. The Parliament was dissolved; and by the same act the Protector was, by every one, considered as effectually dethroned (April 22). Soon after he signed
his demission in form. Henry, the deputy of Ireland, though he
possessed more vigor and capacity than his brother Richbard, quietly resigned his command, and retired to England. Thus fell suddenly, and from an enormous height, but by a rare fortune without.any hurt or injury, the family -of the Cromwells.; Richard, after
the restoration, traveled abroad some years, and on his return to
England lived a peaceful and quiet life, and died in extreme old
age at the- latter end of Queen Anne's reign (1712).  Henry retired into Cambridgeshire, where he died in 1674.




A.D. 1659.    LONG PARLIAMENT RESTORED.                473
~ 17. The council of officers, now possessed of supreme authority, resolved, after much debate, on restoring the Long Parliament.
Its numbers were small, little exceeding 70 members; but, being
all of them men of violent ambition, some of theni men of experience and capacity, they were resolved, since they enjoyed the title of the supreme authority, not to act a subordinate part to those
who acknowledged themselves their servants.  They voted that
all commissions should be received from the speaker, and be assigned by him in the name of the House. These precautions gave
great disgust to thle general officers, and their discontent would
immediately have broken out in some resolution fatal to the Parliament had it not been checked by the apprehensions of danger
from the common enemy.
The dominion of the pretended Parliament had ever been to the
last degree odious to the Presbyterians as well as to the Royalists.
Al secret  reconciliation, therefore, was made between the rival
parties, and it was agreed that, burying former enmities in oblivion,
all efforts should be used for the overthrow of the Rump Parliament, as it was called. In many counties a resolution was
taken to rise in arms; but the plans of the Royalists were betrayed, and the only project which ever took effect was that of Sir
George Booth for the seizing of Chester. He was, however, soon
routed and taken prisoner by Lambert, and the Parliament had
no farther occupation than to fill all the jails with their bpen or
secret enemies. This success hastened the ruin of the Parliament.
Alarmed at the proceedings of Lambert and his faction, they voted
that they would have no more general officers. Thereupon Lambert and the other officers expelled the Parliament (Oct. 23), and
elected a committee of 23 persons, whom they invested with sovereign authority, under the name of a Committee of Safety.
Throughout the three kingdoms there prevailed nothing but the
melancholy fears, to the nobility and gentry, of a bloody massacre
and extermination; to the rest of the people, of perpetual servitude
beneath the military; while the condition of Charles seemed totally desperate. But amid all these gloomy prospects, fortune,
by a surprising revolution, was paving the way for the king to
mount in peace and triumph the throne of his ancestors.
~ 18. General Monk, as we have seen, held the supreme military
command in Scotland. After the army had expelled the Parliament, Monk protested against the violence, and resolved, as he pretended, to vindicafe their invaded privileges.  Deeper designs,
either in the king's favor or his own, were from the beginning
suspected to be the motive of his actions. How early he entertained designs for the king's restoration we know not with certainty. It is likely that as soon as Richard was deposed he foresaw




474               THE COMMONWEALTH.            CHAP. XXIII.
that,, without such an expedient, it would be impossible ever to
bring the nation to a regular settlement. But his conduct was
full of dissimulation, and no less was requisite for effecting the
difficult work which he had undertaken. All the officers in his
army of whom he entertained any suspicion he immediately cashiered; and, hearing that Lambert was marching northward with
a large army, he amused the committee with offers of negotiation.
Meanwhile these military sovereigns found themselves surrounded on all hands with inextricable difficulties. While Lambert's
forces were assembling at Newcastle, Hazlerig and Morley took
possession of Portsmouth, and declared for the Parliament.' The
city assumed a kind of separate government, and assumed the supreme authority within itself. Admiral Lawson, with his squadron, came into the river, and declared for the Parliament..  Hazelrig and Morley, hearing of this important event, left Portsmouth
and advanced toward London. The regiments near that city, being solicited by their old officers, who had been cashiered by the
committee of safety; revolted again to the Parliament. Lenthal,
the speaker, being invited by the officers, again assumed authority
and summoned together the Parliament, which twice before had
been expelled with so much reproach and ignominy (Dec. 26).
Monk-now advanced into England with his army. In all counties
through which he passed the gentry flocked to him with addresses,
expressing their earnest desire that he would be instrumental in
restoring the nation to peace and tranquillity.  He entered London without opposition (Feb. 3, 1660), was introduced to the
House, and thanks were given him by Lenthal for the eminent
services which he had done his country. IMonk's conduct was at
first ambiguous. He appeared ready to obey all the commands
of the Parliament, and marched into the city to seize several leading citizens who had refused obedience to the commands of the
House; but two days afterward he wrote a letter to the Parliament, requiring them, in the name of the citizens, soldiers, and
whole commonwealth, to issue writs within a week for the filling
of their House, and to fix the time for their own dissolution and
the assembling of a new Parliament.  The excluded members,
upon the general's invitation, went to the House, and immediately
appeared to be the majority; most of the Independents left the
place. The restored members renewed the general's commission,
and enlarged his powers; and, after passing some other measures
for the present composure of the kingdom, they dissolved themselves, and issued writs for the immediate assembling of a new
Parliament.  A council or state was established, consisting of men
of character and moderation, who conferred on Montague, a Royalist, in conjunction with Monk, the command of the fleet, and se



A.D. 1C60.   LONG PARLIAMENT DISSOLVED.                475
cured the naval as well as military force in hands favorable to the
public settlement. Notwithstanding all these steps, Mionk still
maintained the appearance of zeal for a commonwealth, and had
hitherto allowed no channel of correspondence between himself
and the king to be opened; but he now sent a verbal message by
Sir John Grenville, assuring the king of his services, giving advice
for his conduct, and exhorting him instantly to leave the Spanish
territories and retire into Holland.  He was apprehensive lest
Spain might detain him as a pledge for the recovery of Dunkirk
and Jamaica. Charles, who was at Brussels, followed these directions, and very narrowly escaped to Breda. I-lad he protracted his journey a few hours, he had certainly, under pretense of
honor and respect, been arrested by the Spaniards.
~ 19. The elections for the new Parliament went every where
in favor of the king's party.  The Presbyterians and the Royalists, being united, formed the voice of the nation, which, without
noise, but with infinite ardor, called for the king's restoration.
When the Parliament met (April 25)-which, from its not being
regularly summoned, was called the Convention Parliament-they
chose Sir Harbottle Grimstone speaker.  On the 27th of April a
motion for the restoration of the- king was made by Colonel King
and Mr. Finch.  On the 1st of Maiy Monk gave directions to Annesley, president of the council, to inform them that one Sir John
Grenville, a servant of the king's, had been sent over by his majesty, and was now at the door with a letter to the Commons. The
loudest acclamations were excited by this intelligence. Grenville
was called in; the letter, with a declaration, greedily read; without one moment's delay, and without a contradictory vote, a committee was appointed to prepare an answer; and, in order to
spread the same satisfaction throughout the kingdom, it was voted
that the letter and declaration should immediately be published.
It offered a general amnesty, without any exceptions -but such as
should afterward be made by Parliament; it promised liberty of
conscience; it submitted to the arbitration of the same assembly
the inquiry into all grants, purchases, and alienations; and it assured the soldiers of all their arrears, and promised them, for the
future, the same pay which they then enjoyed.  Such was the
celebrated declaration from Breda.
The Lords, perceiving the spirit by which the kingdom, as well
as the Commons, was animated, had hastened to reinstate themselves in their ancient authority, and to take their share in the
settlement of the nation.  Soon afterward the two Houses attended, while the king was proclaimed with great solemnity, in Palace
Yard, at Whitehall, and at Temple Bar (May 8, 1660). A committee of Lords and Commons was then dispatched to invite his




476                        THE COMMONWEALTH.                           CHAP. XXIII.
majesty to return and take possession of the government.   Charles
embarked at Scheveling on board a fleet commanded by the Duke
of York. At Dover he was met by Monk, whom he cordially
embraced. The king entered London on the 29th of May, which
was also his birthday.   The fond imaginations of men interpreted
as a happy omen the concurrence of two such joyful periods.
CHRONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE EVENTS.
A.D.                                        A.D.
1649. Charles II. proclaimed at Edinburgh.  1653. Defeat of the Dutch. Death of Van
"   England declared a commonwealth.              Tromp.
"   Cromwell's victories in Ireland.      1655. Peace with Holland. Cromwell's sec1650. Charles II. lands in Scotland.                ond Parliament.
Cromwell invades Scotland and gains    "  Naval expeditions of Blake. War with
the battle of Dunbar.                       Spain. Capture of Jamaica.
1651. Charles II. crowned at Scone.  I-e in- 1656. Cromwell's third Parliament.
vades England, is defeated at Wor-  165T. Cromwell refuses the crown.
cester, and escapes to France.       1658. Dunkirk taken. Death of Cromwell.
1652. War with HIolland.  Several actions          IIis son Richard declared Protector.
between Blake and Van Tromp and  1659. Committee of safety. Richard CromDe Ruyter.                                  well resigns the Protectorate.
1653. Long  Parliament expelled.  Crom- 1660. General Monk enters London. Con.
well's first Parliament (Barebone's         vention Parliament. RestorafIJn of
Parliament).                                Charles II.
" Cromwell made Protector.




Medal of Charles II. and Catherine, probably relating to the queen's dowry. Obv.: CAROLUS. ET. CATIARINA. REX.. E. REGINA. Busts of king and queen to right. Rev.:
IIFFVYSvs. IN. ORBE. 13RITANNVBS. 1670. A globe
CHAPTER XXIV.
CHARLES II.  FROM THE RESTORATION TO THE PEACE OP NiMEGUJEN.
A.D. 1660-1678.
~ 1. Character of Charles II. The Ministry. Act of Indemnity. Trial
of the Regicides. Disbanding of the Army. ~ 2. Chancellor Clarendon.
Prelacy restored.  Affairs of Scotland.  ~ 3. Conference at the Savoy.
Act of Uniformity.  ~ 4. Charles marries Catherine of Portugal.  Trial
and Execution of Vane.  ~ 5. Presbyterian Clergy ejected. iDunkirk
sold. Declaration of Indulgence. ~ 6. Triennial Act repealed. War.
with Holland.  Naval Victory.  Plague of London.  Five-mile Act.
~ 7. Great Sea-fight. Fire of London. Disgrace at Chatham. Peace
of Breda.  ~ 8. Fall of Clarendon.  ~ 9. The Cabal. The triple Alliance.  Secret Treaty of Dover.  ~ 10. 13lood's Crimes. The Duke of
York declares himself a Papist. ~ 11. The Bankers' Funds in the Exchequer seized. War with Holland. Battle of Southwohl Bay.  Successes of Louis XIV. Massacre of the De Witts.  Prince of Orange
Stadtholder.  ~ 12. The Test Act. Peace with Holland. ~ 13. Earl of
Danby Prime Minister. His Policy.  Parliamentary Struggles.  ~ 14.
The Continental War. Marriage of the Prince of Orange and Princess
Mary.  Peace of Nimeguen.
~ 1. CHARLES II., when he ascended the throne of his ancestors, was thirty years of age.  He possessed a vigorous constitutioI, a fine shape, a manly figure, a graceful air; and, though his
features were harsh, yet was his countenance in the main lively
and engaging.   To  a ready wit and quick comprehension he
united a just understerstanding and a general observation both of
men and things.  The easiest manners, the most unaffected politeness, the most engaging gayety accompanied his conversation
and address.   Accustomed during his exile to live among his
courtiers rather like a companion than a monarch, he retained,




478                      CHARLES II.               CHAP. XXIV.
even while on the throne, that open affability which was capable of reconciling the most determined Republicans to his royal
dignity.
Into his council were admitted the most eminent men of the
nation, without regard to former distinctions: the Presbyterians,
equally with the Royalists, shared this honor. The Earl of Manchester was appointed lord chamberlain, and Lord Say privy seal:
Calamy and Baxter, Presbyterian clergymen, were even made
chaplains to the king.  Admiral Montague, created Earl of Sandwich,* was entitled, from his recent services, to great favor, and
he obtained it.  Monk, created Duke of Albemarle,t had performed such signal services that, according to a vulgar and malignant
observation, he ought rather to have expected hatred and ingrati.
tude; yet was he ever treated by the king with great marks of
distinction.  But the king's principal ministers and favorites.were
chosen among his ancient friends and supporters. Sir Edward
Hyde, created Earl of Clarendon, was chancellor and prime minister; the Marquis, created Duke, of Ormond, was steward of the
household; the Earl of Southampton, high treasurer; Sir Edward
Nicholas, secretary of state.  Agreeable to the present prosperity
of public affairs was the universal joy and festivity diffused throughout the nation.  The melancholy austerity of the Puritans fell into
discredit, together with their principles. The Royalists, who had
ever affected a contrary disposition, found in their recent success
new motives for mirth and gayety; and it now belonged to them
to give repute and fashion to their manners.
One of the king's' first acts was to grant a general pardon and
indemnity; but he issued a proclamation declaring that such of
the late king's judges as did not yield themselves prisoners with.in fourteen days should receive no pardon.  Nineteen surrendered
themselves; some were taken in their flight; others escaped beyond sea.  Those who had an immediate hand in the late king's
death were excepted in the act of indemnity; even Cromwell,
Ireton, Bradshaw, and others now dead, were attainted, and their
estates forfeited. Vane and Lambert, though none of the regicides, were also excepted.  All who had sat in any illegal high
court of justice were disabled from bearing offices.
The Parliament voted that the settled revenue of the crown, for
all charges, should be ~1,200,000 a year, a sum greater than any
English monarch had ever before enjoyed.: They abolished the
feudal tenure of knights' service and its incidents, as marriage, re~ He was the ancestor of the present Earl of Sandwich.
t This title became extinct upon the death of the second duke in 1668.
The present Earl of Albemarle is a descendant of Keppel, created Earl of
Albemarle in 1696.




A.D. 1660.        AFFAIRS OF SCOTLAND.                  479
lief, and wardship (see p. 131, 132), and also purveyance, and in
lieu'theref settled upon the king an hereditary excise duty.* Indeed, it would have been impossible to restore these onerous bur(lens after their disuse during the time of the Commonwealth.
Tonnage and poundage were granted to the king during life.
During the recess of Parliament the object which chiefly interested the public was the trial and condemnation of the regicides.
They were arraigned before 34 commissioners appointed for the
purpose. Six of the late king's judges, Harrison, Scot, Carew,
Clement, Jones, and Scroope, were executed.  Axtel, who had
guarded the high court of justice; Hacker, who commanded on
the day of the king's execution; Cook, the solicitor for the people of England; and Hugh Peters, the fanatical preacher-all
these were tried and condemned, and suffered with the king's
judges. - On the anniversary of Charles I.'s execution, the bodies
of Cromwell, Ireton, and Bradshaw were disinterred, hanged on the
gallows at Tyburn, then decapitated, and the heads fixed on Westminster Hall.
After a recess of nearly two months the Parliament met; and
having dispatched the necessary business, the king, in a speech
full of the most gracious expressions, thought proper to dissolve
them (Dec. 29, 1660). By the advice of Clarendon the armywas
disbanded.  No more troops were retained than a few guards and
garrisons, about 1000 horse and 4000 foot.  This was the first
appearance, under the monarchy, of a regular standing army in
this island.
~ 2. Clarendon was now nearly allied to the royal family, his
daughter, Ann Hyde, having been married to the Duke of York
soon after the restoration. By his advice prelacy was restored.
Nine bishops still remained alive, and these were immediately
restored to their sees; all the ejected clergy recovered their livings; the Liturgy was again admitted into the churches; but, at
the same time, a declaration, containing a promise of some reforms,
was issued, in order to give contentment to the Presbyterians, and
preserve an air of moderation and neutrality.
Affairs in Scotland hastened with still quicker steps than those
in England toward a settlement and a compliance with the king.
The lords of articles were restored, with some other branches of
prerogative; and royal authority, fortified with more plausible
claims and pretenses, was in its full extent re-established in that
kingdom. The prelacy likewise, by the abrogating of every statute enacted in favor of Presbytery, was thereby tacitly restored.
* The principal excise duties were upon liquors and beer. Tea was also
an excisable article, but did not yield much to the revenue in the reign of
Charles II.




480                   CHARLES I[.              CHAP. XXIV.
Charles, though he had no such attachment to prelacy as had influenced his father and grandfather, had suffered such indignities
from the Scottish Presbyterians that he ever after bore them a
hearty aversion. He said to Lauderdale that Presbyterianism, he
thought, was not a religion for a gentleman, and he could not consent to its farther continuance in Scotland. Sharp, who had been
commissioned by the Presbyterians in Scotland to manage their
interest with the king, was persuaded to abandon that party, and,
as a reward for his compliance, was created Archbishop of St.
Andrew's. Charles had not promised to Scotland any such indemnity as he had insured to England by the declaration of Breda; and as some examples, after such a bloody and triumphant
rebellion, seemed necessary, the Marquis of Argyle, and one Guthry, a preacher, were pitched on Ias the victims. Two acts of in-.
demnity (one passed by the late king in 1641, another by the present in 1651) formed, it was thought, invincible obstacles to the
punishment of Argyle, and nothing remained but to try him for
his compliance with the usurpation, a crime common to him
with the whole nation.  Some letters of his to Monk were produced, which could not, by any equitable construction, imply
the crime of treason.  The Parliament, however, scrupled not
to pass sentence upon him, and he died with great ccn3tancy and
courage.
~ 3. Mleanwhile, in England prelacy and Presbytery struggled
for the superiority, and the hopes and fears of both parties kept
them in agitation. A conference was held in the Savoy (April
15-July 25, 1661) between 12 bishops and 12 leaders among
the Presbyterian ministers, with an intention, at least on pretense,
of bringing about an accommodation between the parties; but
they separated more inflamed than ever, and more confirmed in
their several prejudices.  The temper of the new Parliament,
which assembled in May, 1661, hastened the decision of the question.  Not more than 56 members of the Presbyterian party had
obtained seats in the lower House, and these were not able either
to oppose or retard the measures of the majority. The Covenant,
together with the act for erecting the high-court of justice, that
for subscribing the engagement, and that for declaring England a
commonwealth, was ordered to be burnt by the hands of the hangman. The bishops were restored to their seats in Parliament. A
few months afterward the Parliament formally renounced the
power of the sword, and acknowledged that neither one htuse, nor
both houses, independent of the king, were possessed of any military authority.  The preamble to this statute went so far as to
renounce all right even of defensive arms against the king. The
CORPORATION ACT passed in this session compelled all corporate




A.D. 1660-1662.  MARRIAGE OF THE KING,                 481
officers to receive the sacrament according to the rites of the
Church of England, to renounce the Covenant, and to take the
oath of Non-resistance.*
In the following year (1662) Ithe ACT OF' UNIFORMITY waS
passed. By this act it was required that every clergyman should
be re-ordained, if he had not before received episcopal ordination;
should declare his assent to every thing contained in the Book of
Common Prayer; should take the oath of canonical obedience;
should abjure the Solemn League and Covenant; and should renounce the principle of taking arms, on any pretense whatsoever,
against the king. This act, which received the royal assent on
May 19, and was to come into operation on St. Bartholomew's
clay (Aug. 24), reinstated the Church in the same condition in
which it stood before the commencement of the civil wars; and
as the old persecuting laws of Elizabeth still subsisted in their
full rigor, and new clauses of a "like nature were now enacted, all
the king's promises of toleration and indulgence to tender consciences were thereby eluded and broken.t  The Church party
added inisult to injury. The Puritans objected to saints' days and
to apocryphal lessons; the Church party added St. Barnabas to
the calendar, and inserted-among the daily lessons the apocryphal
story of Bel and the Dragon.
~ 4. On the king's restoration advances were made by Portugal
for the renewal of the alliance which the Protector had made with
that country; and, in order to bind the friendship closer, an offer
was made of the Portuguese princess, Catherine of Braganza, and
a portion of ~500,000, together with two fortresses, Tangiers in
Africa, and Bombay in the East Indies; and thus was concluded
(May 21, 1662) the inauspicious marriage with Catherine, a
princess of virtue, but who was never able, either by the graces
of her person or humor, to make herself agreeable to the king.
They were married' in a private room at Portsmouth, according
to the Roman Catholic rites.  The attention of the public was
much engaged at this time by the trial of two distinguished criminals, Lambeirt and Vane. These men, though none of the late
king's judges, had been excepted from the general indemnity, and
committed to prison. The indictment of Vane did not comprehend any of his actions during the war'between the king and
Parliament: it extended only to his behavior after the late king's
death, as member of the council of state, and secretary of the
navy, where fidelity to the trust reposed in him required his opposition to monarchy. Vane wanted neither courage nor capacity
to avail himself of this advantage.  He pleaded the famous statute
* For farther details, see Notes and Illustrations (A).
t For farther details, see Notes and Illustrations (B).
X




482                    CHARLES II.              CHAP. XXIV.
of Henry VII., in which it was enacted that no man should ever
be questioned for his obedience to the king de facto; urged that,
whether the established government were a monarchy or a coinmonwealth, the reason of the thing was still the same; and maintained that the Commons were the root, the foundation of all
lawful authority. But this bold defense only hastened his destruction. Vane's courage deserted him not upon his condemnation. Lest pity for a courageous sufferer should make impression
on the populace, drummers were placed under the scaffold, whose
noise, as he began to launch out in reflections on the government,
drowned his voice (June 14). By this execution Charles shamefully violated his promise to the last Parliament. Lambert, though
also condemned, was reprieved at the bar; and the judges declared
that, if Vane's behavior had been equally dutiful and submissive,
he would have experienced like lenity in the king. Lambert survived his condemnation nearly thirty years. He was confined to
the Isle of Guernsey, where he amused himself with painting and
botany. He died a Roman Catholic.
~ 5. The fatal St. Bartholomew approached (Aug. 24), the
day when the clergy were obliged, by the late law, either to relinquish their livings or to sign the articles required of them.
About.2000 of the clergy in one day relinquished their cures,
and, to the astonishment of the court, sacrificed their interest to
their religious tenets. Bishoprics were offered to Calamy, Baxter, and Reynolds, leaders among the Presbyterians; the last only
could be prevailed on to accept. Deaneries and other preferments
were refused by many.
The king, during his exile, had imbibed strong prejudices in
favor of the Catholic religion, and, according to the most probable accounts, had already been secretly reconciled in form to the
Church of Rome. His brother, the Duke of York, had zealously
adopted all the principles of Catholicism, though he had not yet
made an open declaration of his belief. The two brothers saw
with pleasure so numerous and popular a body of the clergy refuse
conformity, and it was hoped that, under shelter of their name,
the small and hated sect of the Catholics might meet with favor
and protection. Under pretense of mitigating the rigors of the
Act of Uniformity, a declaration- was issued on the 26th of December, 1663, in which the king mentioned the promises of liberty of conscience contained in the declaration of Breda; and he
notified that, with a view to carry them out, he should make it
his special care to incline the Parliament to concur with him in
making some such act for that purpose as might enable him to
exercise, with a more universal satisfaction, that power of dispensing with the penalties' of the law which he conceived to be




A.D. 1662-1664.    TRIENNIAL ACT REPEALED.                  483
inherent in him.* The declared intention of easing the Dissenters,
and the secret purpose of favoring the Catholics, were, however,
equally disagreeable to the Parliament; and the king did not think
proper, after a remonstrance which they made, to insist any farther
at present on the project of indulgence.
Notwithstanding the supplies voted to Charles, his treasury was
still very empty and very much indebted. The forces sent over
to Portugal, and the fleets maintained in order to defend it, had
already cost the king nearly double the money which had been
paid as the queen's portion. The time fixed for payment of his
sister's portion to the Duke of Orleans was approaching. Tangiers was become an additional burden to the crown, and Dunkirk cost ~120,000 a year.  Clarendon advised the accepting of
a sum of money in lieu of a place which he thought the king,
from the narrow state of his revenue, was no longer able to retain, and a bargain was at length concluded with France for
~400,000.  The artillery and stores were valued at a fifth of the
sum.  The impolicy of this sale consisted principally in its having
been made to France.
~ 6. At the instance of the king, the Parliament, next session
(March, 1664), repealed the Triennial Act; and, in lieu of all the
securities formerly provided, satisfied themselves with a general
clause, "that Parliaments should not be interrupted above three
years at the most." Before the end of Charles's reign the nation
had occasion to feel very sensibly the effects of this repeal.  By
the Act of Uniformity, every clergyman who should officiate without being properly qualified was punishable by fine and imprisonment; but this security was not thought sufficient for the Church,
and the CONVENTICLE ACT was accordingly passed, by which it
wvas enacted that, wherever five persons above those of the same
household should assemble in a religious congregation, every one
of them was liable, for the first offense, to be imprisoned three
months, or pay ~5; for the second, to be imprisoned six months,
or pay ~10; and for the third, to be transported seven years, or
pay ~100. The Commons likewise presented an address to the
king, complaining of the wrongs offered to the English trade by
the Dutch, and promising to assist the king with their lives and
fortunes in asserting the rights of his crown against all opposition
* The Dispensing and Suspending Powers, as they are called, wele claimed both by Charles II. and James II. The Dispensing Power consisted in
the exemption of particular persons, under special circumstances, from the
operation of penal laws; the Suspending Power in nullifying the entire operation of any statute or any number of statutes. (For details, see Amos,
"The English Constitution in the -Reign of Charles II.," p. 19, seqq.)
Charles II. made a second attempt in 1672 to suspend the penal laws
against Nonconformists. See below, p. 493.




484                      CHARLES II.                -CHAP. XXIV.
Medal of James, Duke of York, afterward James II., commemorating the naval victory
over the Dutch, June 3, 1665.
Obverse: IACOBVS. DV. EBOR. ET. ALBAN. DOM. MIAGN. ADMIRALLVS. ANGL.I. &o.
Bust to the right.
whatsoever.  This was the first open step toward the Dutch war.
The rivalship of commerce had produced among the English a violent enmity against the neighboring republic.  The English merchants had the mortification to find that all attempts to extend
their trade were still turned by the vigilance of their rivals to
their loss and dishonor, and their indignation increased when they
considered the superior naval power of England. The Duke of
York was eagerly in favor of the war with Holland.  He desired
an opportunity of distinguishing himself, and was at the head of a
new African company, the trade of which was checked by the
settlements of the Dutch.  The king yielded to the wishes of his
brother and the nation; and, after various acts of hostility, Parliament was called upon in the autumn to redeem the promise they
had made to the king.  They cheerfully responded to the appeal,
and voted two millions and a half, the largest supply that had
ever yet been given to a king of England.  This tax was imposed
alike on the clergy and laity.  Hitherto the clergy had taxed
themselves in convocation, which had usually sat at the same
time as the Parliament. By- reason of ecclesiastical preferments




A.D. 1664,1665.   WAR W1TH HOLLAND.                    483
Reverse:.mEcw MINO IN TERPIUS. A naval engagement: in front the admiral's ship; bee
neath, 3 IVuII, 1665.
which he could bestow, the king's influence over the Church was
more considerable than over the laity, so that the subsidies granted by the convocation were commonly greater than those which
were voted by Parliament. The Church, therefore, was not displeased to depart tacitly from the right of taxing herself, and allow the Commons to lay impositions on ecclesiastical revenues as
on the rest of the kingdom.
War was declared against HIolland, Feb. 22, 1665. The English fleet, consisting of 98 sail, was commanded by the Duke of
York, and under him by Prince Rulert and the Earl of Sandwich.
Opdam was admiral of the Dutch navy, of nearly equal force. A
battle was fought off the coast of Suffolk. In the heat of action,
when engaged in close fight with the Duke of York, Opdam's ship
blew up. This accident much discouraged the Dutch, who fled
toward their own coast. The vanquished had 19 ships sunk and
taken; the victors lost only one. In this war the method of
fighting in line was first introduced into naval tactics by the Duke
of York. The French monarch, alarmed lest the English should
establish an uncontrollable dominion over the sea and over commerce, resolved to support the Dutch in that unequal contest in




486                    CHARLES II.             CHAP. XXIV.
which they were engaged. The King of Denmark also declared
war against England.
In this year the plague broke out in London with great violence. In July the weekly deaths were 1100, in September they
increased to 10,000 a week; and not less than 100,000 persons
were computed to have perished in the course of the year. In
consequence of the plague the king summoned the Parliament at
Oxford, who voted him ~1,250,000, to be levied in two years by
monthly assessments. By the influence of the Church the FIVEMILE ACT was passed, by which it was enacted that any dissenting teacher who had not subscribed the declaration required' by
the Act of Uniformity, and also had not taken and subscribed a
specified oath of non-resistance, should not, except in traveling,
come within five miles of any corporate town, or of any place where
he had formerly preached. The penalty was a fine of ~40, and
six months' imprisonment. By ejecting the non-conforming clergy
from their churches, and prohibiting all separate congregations,
they had been rendered incapable of gaining any livelihood by
their spiritual profession; and now, under color of removing them
from places where their influence might be dangerous, an expedient was fallen upon to deprive them of all means of subsistence.
~ 7. After France had declared war England was evidently
over-matched in force. Louis had given orders to the Duke of
Beaufort, his admiral, to sail from Toulon, and the French squadron, under his command, consisting of above 40 sail, was now commonly supposed to be entering the Channel. The Duke of Albemarle and Prince Rupert commanded the English fleet, which
exceeded not 74 sail. Albemarle detached Prince Rupert with
20 ships in order to oppose the Duke of Beaufort. It had been
reported that the Dutch fleet was not ready for sea; but Albemarle, to his great surprise, descried off the North Foreland the
Dutch fleet of more than 80 sail, under De Ruyter and Tromp,
son of the famous admiral. Nevertheless, he gave orders to attack. The battle that ensued is one of the most memorable that
we read of in story, whether we consider its long duration or the
desperate courage with which it was fought (June 1-4, 1666).
Albemarle made here some atonement by his valor for the rashness of the attempt.  On the first day darkness parted the combatants before any decided result had been achieved.  On the second day 16 fresh ships joined the Dutch fleet during the action;
and the Englisli were so shattered that their fighting ships were
reduced to 28, and they found themselves obliged to retreat toward their own coast. Next morning the English were compelled
to continue their retreat. About 2 o'clock the Dutch had come
up and were ready to renew the fight, when a new fleet was de-,




A.D. 1665, 1666.    THE GREAT FIRE.                    487
scried from the south, crowding all sail to reach the scene of action. It was Prince Rupert's fleet; and Albemarle, who had
received intelligence of the prince's approach, bent his course toward him. Unhappily, the Prince Royal, a ship of 10) guns, the
largest in the fleet, ran on the Galloper Sands, and was obliged to
strike. Next morning the battle began afresh, with more equal
force than ever, and with equal valor. After long cannonading,
the-fleets came to a close combat, which was continued with great
violence till parted by a mist.  The English retired first into
their harbors, and it is somewhat uncertain who obtained the victory. It was the conjunction alone of the French that could give
a decisive superiority to the Dutch. In order to facilitate this
conjunction, De Ruyter, having repaired his fleet, posted himself
at the mouth of the Thames. The English, under Prince Rupert
and Albemarle, were not long in coming to the attack (July 25).
The numbers of each fleet amounted to about 80 sail; and the
valor and experience of the commanders, as well as of the seamen,
rendered the engagement fierce and obstinate. The battle ended
in the defeat of the Dutch; and De Ruyter, full of indignation at
yielding the superiority to the enemy, frequently exclaimed, " My
God! what a wretch am I! Among so many thousand bullets,
is there not one to put an end to my miserable life?"  All that
night and next day the English pressed upon the rear of the Dutch,
and it was chiefly by the redoubled efforts of De Ruyter that the
latter saved themselves in their harbors.  The English now rode
incontestable masters of the sea, and insulted the Dutch in their
harbors.
During this war a calamity happened in London which threw
the people into great consternation. A fire, breaking out in a
baker's house-near the bridge, spread itself on all sides with such
rapidity that no efforts could extinguish it till it had laid in ashes
a considerable part of the city.  Three days and nights did the
fire advance (Sept. 2-5), and it was only by the blowing up of
houses that it was at last extinguished. The king and duke used
their utmost endeavors to stop the progress of the flames, but all
their industry was unsuccessful.  About 400 streets and 13,000
houses were reduced to ashes. The causes of this calamity were
evident. The narrow streets of London, the houses built entirely
of wood, the dry season, and a violent east wind which blewthese were so many concurring circumstances which rendered it
easy to assign the reason of the destruction that ensued. But the
people were not satisfied with this obvious account.  As the papists were the chief objects of public detestation, the rumor which
threw the guilt on them was favorably received by the people.
No proof, however, or even presumption, after. the strictest in



488                   CHARLES II.              CHAP. XXIV.
quiry by a committee of Parliament, ever appeared to authorize
such a calumny; yet, in order to give countenance to the popular
prejudice, the inscription engraved by authority on the monument
ascribed this calamity to that hated sect. The fire proved in tho
issue beneficial both to the city and the kingdom. Care was taken
to make the streets wider and more regular than before, and London became much more healthy. The plague, which used to break
out with great fury twice or thrice' every century, and, indeed,
was always lurking in some corner or other of the city, has scarcely ever appeared since that calamity.
The fruitless and destructive nature of the war, combined with
the plague and fire, disposed the English cabinet to make advances
for a peace. Conferences were opened at Breda; and Charles,
anxious to save the last supply which the Parliament had voted
him, neglected to prepare a fleet. De Witt, who governed the
Dutch republic at this time, saw that it was a favorable opportunity of striking a blow which might at once restore to the Dutch
the honor lost during the war, and severely revenge those injuries
which lie ascribed to the wanton ambition and injustice of the
English. Accordingly, he protracted the negotiations at Breda,
and hastened the naval preparations. The Dutch fleet appeared
in the Thames under the command of De Ruyter. Sheerness was
soon taken. Having the advantage of a spring-tide and an easterly wind, the Dutch pressed on and broke the chain which had
been drawn across the MIedway, though fortified by some ships
which had been there sunk by orders of the Duke of Albemarle.
They burned three ships which lay to guard the chain; and after
damaing several vessels, advanced to Chatham, where they burned
several ships (June 12). The Dutch fell down the Medway without receiving any considerable damage; and it was apprehended
that they might next tide sail up the Thames, and extend their
hostilities even to London Bridge. INine ships were sunk at WToolwich, four at Blackwall; platforms were raised in many places,
furnished with artillery; the train-bands were called out; and
every place was in a violent agitation. The Dutch sailed next to
Portsmouth, where they made a fruitless attempt; they met with
no better success at Plymouth; they insulted Harwich; they sailed again up the Thames as far as Tilbury, where they were repulsed. The whole coast was in alarm; and, had the French
thought proper at this time to join the Dutch fleet and to invade
England, consequences the most fatal might justly have been apprehended. But Louis had no intention to push the victory to
such extremities; his interest required that a balance should be
kept between the two maritime powers, not that an uncontrolled
superiority should be given to either.




A.D. 1666, 1667.  THE "CABAL" MINISTRY.                489
The English government made no attempt to revenge this national disgrace, and a treaty of peace with the Dutch was signed
at Breda on July 10, 1667. The acquisition of New York was
the chief advantage which the English reaped from a war in which
the national character of bravery had shone out with lustre, but
where the misconduct of the government, especially in the conclusion, had been no less apparent.
~ 8. To appease the people by some sacrifice seemed requisite
before the meeting of Parliament, and the prejudices of the nation
pointed out the victim.  The sale of Dunkirk, the bad payment
of the seamen, the disgrace at Chatham, the unsuccessful conclusion of the war-all these misfortunes were charged on Clarendon,
the chancellor, who, though he had ever opposed the rupture with
Holland, thought it still his duty to justify what he could not prevent. The king himself, who had always more revered than loved
the chancellor, was now totally estranged from him. He found
in Clarendon, it is said, obstacles to his pleasures as well as to his
ambition. The great seal was taken from Clarendon, and given
to Sir Orlando Bridgeman, by the title of lord keeper. But the fall
of the chancellor was not sufficient to gratify the malice of his enemies: his total ruin was resolved on. The Duke of York in vain
exerted his interest in behalf of his father-in-law.  When the
Parliament met, an impeachment against him was opened in the
House of Commons by Mr. Seymour. Miany of the articles we
know to be either false or frivolous; but some could not be disproved, and show him unfit to govern a free country. Clarendon,
by command of Charles, retired to the Continent. At Calais he
addressed to the House of Lords a defense of his conduct. The
Lords transmitted this paper to the Commons under the appellation of a libel, and by a vote of both houses it was condemned to
be burned' by the hands of the hangman. The Parliament next
proceeded to exert their legislative power against Clarendon, and
passed an act of banishment, which received the royal assent. He
survived his banishment six years, living first at Montpellier and
afterward at Rouen; and he employed his leisure chiefly in reducing to order the History of the CivilWars, for which he had before
collected materials: a work of great eloquence, but deficient in
veracity.
~ 9. The ministry formed after the dismissal of Clarendon was
called the " Cabal," and is usually said to have derived its name
from the initial letters of the names of its five principal members:
Sir Thomas Clifford, afterward Lord Clifford; Lord Ashley, afterward Earl of Shaftesbury; the Duke of Buckingham; Lord Arlington, previously Sir Henry Bennett; and the Earl of Lauderdale. But this was not the origin of the name, since the word
X2




490                    CHARLES II.             CHAP. XXIV.
cabal was used at that period to signify any secret committee, and
is equivalent to the cabinet of the present day. These ministers,
who have-earned a disgraceful notoriety in English history, and
who sold their country to the French monarch, commenced their
career by a public measure which gained them and the king the
favor and approbation of the nation. The ignominious close of
the Dutch war, the fall of Clarendon, and the discontents of Parliament convinced them of the necessity of conciliating popular
feeling, and the policy which they now adopted equally surprised
and delighted the public.
Louis XIV., who now filled the throne of France, surpassed all
contemporary monarchs, as in grandeur, so likewise in fame and
glory.  His ambition, regulated by prudence, not by justice, carefully provided every means of conquest; and, before he put himself in motion, he seemed to have absolutely insured success. The
sudden decline and almost total fall of the Spanish monarchy
opened an inviting field to so enterprising a prince. Setting up a
claim to the Spanish Netherlands in right of his wife, Louis invaded the country with a powerful army; Lisle, Courtray, and
several other cities were immediately taken, and it was visible
that no force in the Netlierlands was able to stop or retard the
progress of the French arms.  Sir William Temple, the British
resident at Brussels, urged upon his government the importance
of forming a league with Holland in order to save the Netherlands, and received instructions to go secretly to the Hague, and
enter into negotiations with the States. He found in De Witt,
then the chief minister of the republic, a man of generous and enlarged sentiments; and in five days' time an alliance was formed
between England and Holland to check the ambitious schemes of
Louis. This league was joined by Sweden, and hence is known
by the name of the TRIPiE ALLIANCE (Jan. 13, 1668). Louis was
obliged to give way; the plenipotentiaries of all the powers met
shortly afterward at Aix-la-Chapelle, and a treaty was concluded
upon the terms agreed upon by Temple and De Witt, by which it
was arranged that Spain should resign to France all the towns
conquered by the French in the last campaign, but should be guaranteed in the possession of the rest of Flanders.
But the triple alliance, though so popular in England, had always been disliked by Charles. The English king wished to become independent of Parliament, and saw no other means of
accomplishing his object except by making himself dependent upon
France, and obtaining money and military aid from the French
king. Accordingly, soon after the conclusion of the triple: alliance, Charles began to make overtures to Louis, offering to abandon the alliance and join the French in making war upon the




A.D. 1667-1G 70.     BLOOD'S CRIMES.                   491
Dutch, provided lie obtained from the French court sufficient supplies of money to enable him to dispense with the Parliament.
The negotiations were chiefly carried on by the Duchess of Orleans, the sister of Charles, by whose means a secret treaty between England and France was signed at Dover on May 22,
1670. By this shameful treaty Charles engaged to make a public
profession of the Roman Catholic religion, and to assist Louis in
subjugating Holland, and in:maintaining the rights of the house
of Bourbon to the Spanish monarchy. Louis, in return, agreed to
pay Charles 3,000,000 of livres a year for the support of the fleet
so long as the war lasted, and to aid him with an army of 6000
men in case of an insurrection in England.  It was arranged,
however, that Charles should delay, for the present, making the
public, profession of Catholicism; and Cliffbrd and Arlington
were the only two members of the "Cabal": intrusted with the.secret.
Louis, who well knew Charles's character, resolved to bind him
by the ties of pleasure. The Duchess of Orleans brought with
her to England a young lady of the name of Querouaille, whom
the kino carried to London, and soon after created Duchess of
Portsmouth. He was extremely attached to her during the whole
course of his life, and she proved a great means of supporting his
connections with her native country.
The Parliament had no suspicions of the king's treachery and
perfidy; and,:accordingly, when they met in the autumn of this
year (1670), they voted him considerable supplies upon the representation of the ministers. As soon as the supplies had been
voted Parliament was prorogued, and the king and his ministers
set to work to carry into effect their nefarious compact- with
Louis.
It was in this session that the SECOND CONVENTICLE ACT was
passed, the first having been temporary. In the same year, however, an important provision was gained for the liberty of the subject by the decision of the Court of Common Pleas in the case of
Bushell, that juries are not liable to be fined for their verdicts.*
~ 10. About. this time Blood made himself memorable by his
daring and his crimes. He was a disbanded officer of the Protector'.s, and had been attainted for a conspiracy for raising an insurrection in Ireland. The daring villain meditated revenge upon
Ormond, the lord lieutenant.  Having by artifice drawn off the
duke's footmen, he attacked his coach in the nighttime as it drove
along St. James's Street in London, and made himself master of
his person. He might here have finished the crime had he not
meditated refinements in his vengeance; he was resolved to hang
See- Notes and Illustrations (C).




492                   CHARLES Il.              CHAP. XXIV.
the duke at Tyburn, and for that purpose bound him, and mounted him on horseback behind one of his companions. They were
advanced a good way into the fields, when the duke, making efforts for his liberty, threw himself to the ground, and brought
down with him the assassin to whom he was fastened. They
were. struggling together in the mire, when Ormond's servants,
whom the alarm had reached, came and saved him. Blood and
his companions, firing their pistols in a hurry at the duke, rode
off, and saved themselves by means of the darkness (Dec. 6, 1670).
Buckingham was at first, with some appearances of reason, suspected to be the author of this attempt; and Ossory, Ormond's
son, told him, in the king's presence, that, if his father came to a
violent end, he would pistol him, though he stood behind the king's
chair. A little after, Blood nearly succeeded in carrying off the
crown and regalia fiom the Tower.  He had bound and wounded
Edwards, the keeper of the jewel-office, and had got out of the
Tower with his prey, but was overtaken and seized, with some of
his associates (May 9, 1671).  One of them was known to have
been concerned in the attempt upon Ormond, and Blood was immediately concluded to be the ringleader.  When questioned, he
frankly avowed the enterprise, but refused to tell his accomplices.' The fear of death," he said, " should never engage him either
to deny guilt or betray a friend."  All these extraordinary circumstances made him the general subject of conversation; and
the king was moved by an idle curiosity to see and speak with a
person so noted for his courage and his crimes. Blood might now
esteem himself secure of pardon, and he wanted not address to improve the opportunity. He told Charles that he had been engaged with others in a design to kill him with a carabine above
Battersea, where his majesty often went to bathe; that when he
had taken his stand among the reeds, full of these bloody resolutions, he found his heart checked with an awe of majesty; and
be not only relented himself, but diverted his associates from their
purpose; and he warned the king of the danger which might attend his execution, saying that his associates had bound themselves by the strictest oaths to revenge the death of any of the
confederacy, and that no precaution or power could secure any
one from the effects of their desperate resolutions. Whether these
considerations excited fear or admiration in the king, they con-'firmed his resolution of granting a pardon to Blood.  But, not
content with pardoning him, he granted him an estate of ~500 a
year in Ireland, and he encouraged his attendance about his person. Another incident happened this year which infused a general displeasure, and still greater apprehensions, into all men.
The Duchess of York died, and in her last sickness she made open




A.D. 1670-1672.   WAR WITH HOLLAND.                   493
profession of the Roman religion, and finished her life in that communion. This put an end to that thin disguise which the duke
had hitherto worn, and he now openly declared his conversion to
the Church of Rome.
~ 11. Meanwhile, the English cabinet, by insults and contumelies, endeavored to draw on a war with the Dutch. Temple was
declared to be no longer embassador to the States; and Downing, whom the Dutch regarded as the inveterate enemy of their
republic, was sent over in his stead. But; before declaring war,
it was necessary to raise a large sum of money. The supplies
lately voted by the Commons were.nearly exhausted, and neither
Charles nor his ministers ventured as yet upon levying money
without consent of Parliament. In this difficulty either Clifford
or Ashley suggested the shameful expedient of seizing all the
money which the bankers had intrusted to the Exchequer. It
had been usual for the bankers to lend large sums of money to the
government upon the security of the taxes, and they were repaid
with interest as the latter came in. There were now about
~1,300,000 thus advanced to the Exchequer; and it was suddenly announced that the government did not intend to repay the
principal, but only the interest, to the depositors (Jan. 2, 1672).
A general confusion, and the ruin of many, followed this open
violation of public credit. Tlie bankers stopped payment; the
merchants could not meet their bills; distrust took place every
where, with a stagnation of commerce, by which the public was
universally affected. About the same time Charles adopted other
arbitrary and unconstitutional measures, though some of them
were not objectionable in themselves. Of these the most important
was a proclamation, which he issued by virtue of his supreme
power in ecclesiastical matters, suspending the penal laws enacted
against all nonconformists or recusants whatsoever, and granting
to the Protestant Dissenters the public exercise of their religion,
to the Catholics the exercise of it in private houses.
England and France declared war against Holland, March 17,
1672. The Dutch fleet, under the command of De Ruyter, sailed
against the combined English and French fleets, which lay in
Southwold Bay, on the coast of Suffolk. The English fleet was
commanded by the Duke of York. A desperate action ensued.
The French kept aloof; but both the English and Dutch fleets
suffered severely. The Earl of Sandwich, who led the English
van, was killed. The fight continued till night, when the Dutch
retired (May 28). On land Louis at first carried every thing before him. He crossed the Rhine at the head of an irresistible
army; city after city opened their gates to him, and three of the
United Provinces were overrun by his arms. The small army of




494                      CHARLES II.              CHAP. XXIV.
the republic was commanded by William, Prince of Orange (afterward William III. of England), then in the 22d year of his age.*
He gave strong indications of those great qualities by which his
life was afterward so much distinguished. Unable to stem the
torrent, he retired into the province of Holland, where he expected, from the natural strength of the country, since all human art
and courage failed, to be able to make some resistance. Amsterdam alone seemed to retain some courage; and the sluices being
opened, the neighboring country, without regard to the damage
sustained, was laid under water. All the provinces followed the
example, and scrupled not, in this extremity, to restore to the sea
those fertile fields which with great art and expense had been won
from it. In these unfortunate circumstances, the Dutch, with the
exception of Amsterdam, were prepared to make enormous sacrifices; and embassadors were dispatched to implore the pity of
the two combined monarchs. The terms proposed by each were
of the hardest and most insolent nature; and when both were
united they appeared absolutely intolerable, and reduced the
Dutch, who saw no means of defense, to the utmost despair.
What extremely augmented their distress were the violent factions
with which they continued to be every where. agitated. De Witt
still persevered'in opposing the repeal of the perpetual edict by
which the Prince of Orange was excluded from the stsadtholdership, and from all share in the civil administration. The people
rose in insurrection at Dort, and by force constrained their burgomasters to sign the repeal so much demanded.  This proved asignal for a general revolt throughout all the provinces. At Amsterdam, the Hague, Middlebourg, Rotterdam, the people flew to
arms, and, trampling under foot the authority of their magistrates,
obliged them to submit to the Prince-of Orange.  This movement
was followed by the massacre of the brothers De Witt by the populace (Aug. 4), who exercised on the deadlbodies of those virtuous
citizens indignities too shocking to be recited.  But the republic,
now firmly united under one leader, began to collect the remains
of its pristine vigor. W;Villiam, worthy of that heroic family from
which he sprang, adopted sentiments becoming the head of a brave
and free people. Those intolerable conditions demanded by their
insolent enemies he exhorted the States to reject with scorn, and
by his advice they put an end to negotiations which served only
to break the courage of their fellow-citizens and delay the assistance of their allies. The spirit of the -young prince infused itself
* His father had been stadtholder of the provinces, but upon his death in
1650, a few days before the birth of his son, the dignity remained in abeyance. Great jealousy was felf of the young prince, and the chief opponent
of his party was De Witt, the grand pensionary of the province of Holland.




A.D. 1672, 1673.  THE PRINCE OF ORANGE.                495
into his hearers. Those who lately entertained thoughts of yielding their necks to subjection were now bravely determined to resist the haughty -victor, and to defend those last remains of their
native soil, of which neither the irruptions of Louis nor the inundation of waters had as yet bereaved them. Should even the ground
fail them on which they might combat, they were still resolved not
to yield the generous strife, but, flying to their settlements in the
Indies, erect a new empire in those remote- regions. The combined princes, finding at last some appearance of opposition, bent
dll their efforts to seduce the Prince of.Orange, on whose valor
and conduct the fate of the commonwealth entirely depended;
but all these proposals were generously rejected.  When B1uckingham urged the inevitable destruction which hung over the
United Provinces, and asked him whether he did not see that the
commonwealth was ruined,  There is one certain means," replied
the prince, " by which I can be sure never to see my country's ruin
— I will die in the last ditch." Louis, findling that his enemies
gathered courage behind their inundations, and that no farther
success was likely for the present to attend his arms, retired to
Versailles.
~ 12. In February, 1673, the English Parliament met after prorogations continued for nearly two years. It was evident how
much the king dreaded their assembling; and the discontents universally'excited by the bold measures entered into, both in foreign
and domestic administration, had given but too just foundation for
his apprehensions.  Though unwilling to come to a violent
breach with the king, the Parliament would not express the least
approbation of the war. And they gave him the prospect of a
supply, only that they might have permission to proceed peaceably in the redress of the other grievances of' which they had such
reason to complain. Of these, none were more alarming, both on
account of the secret views from which it proceeded, and the consequences which might attend it, than the Declaration of Indulgence. A remonstrance was immediately framed against that exercise of prerogative. It is evident that Charles was now come
to that delicate crisis which he ought at first to have foreseen
when he embraced those desperate counsels, and his resolutions,
in such an event, ought long ago to have been entirely fixed and
determined. Besides his usual guards, he had an army encamped
at Blackheath, under the command of Marshal Schomberg, a foreigner; and his ally, the French king, he might expect would second him, if force became requisite for restraining his discontented
subjects. But the king was startled when he approached so dangerous a precipice as that which lay before him; and, after taking
the opinion of the House of Peers, who advised him to comply




496                     CHARLES II.             CHAP. XXIV.
with the Commons, he sent for the declaration, and with his own
hands broke the seals. But the Parliament, though satisfied with
the king's compliance, had not lost all those apprehensions to
which the measures of the court had given so much foundation.
A law was passed, known as the TEST AcT, which continued in
force till the reign of George IV.* By this act all persons holding any public office were compelled to take the oaths of allegiance
and supremacy, to receive the sacrament in the Established
Church, and to abjure all belief in the doctrine of transubstantiation. In consequence of this act, the Duke of York resigned all
his commands, and was succeeded in the command of the fleet by
Prince Rupert. He fought several battles with the Dutch this
summer, but the victory was generally doubtful. The French alliance, and the war against Holland, became more and more unpopular, and when the Parliament met in the autumn they discovered great symptoms of ill-humor. They expressed great indignation at the marriage of the Duke of York with a princess of
the house of MIodena, then in close alliance with France. They
voted the standing army a grievance, and declared that they would
grant no more supplies unless it appeared that the Dutch were
so obstinate as to refuse all reasonable conditions of peace. To
cut short these disagreeable attacks, the king prorogued the Parliament amid scenes of great confusion (Nov. 4).
The " Cabal" ministry was now at an end. JLord Shaftesbury,
foreseeing the coming storm, had deserted the court, and become
the. chief leader of the opposition.  Directly after the prorogation
he was dismissed from the office of chancellor, to which he had
been elevated in the preceding year.  The great seal was given
to Sir Heneage Finch, afterward Earl of Nottingham. The test
had incapacitated Cliflbrd, and the white staff was conferred on
Sir Thomas Osborne, soon after created Earl of Danby,t a minister of abilities, who had risen by his parliamentary talents. The
king's necessities soon obliged him again to assemble the Parlia.
ment (1674), and by some popular acts he paved the way for the
session. But all his efforts were in vain. The disgust of the
Commons was fixed in foundations too deep to be easily removed.
They made an attack on the remaining members of the Cabal, to
whose pernicious counsels they imputed all their present grievances. The king plainly saw that he could expect no supply from
the Commons for carrying on a war so odious to them, and that
he must defer to a more convenient time the execution of his se* For farther particulars, see Notes and Illustrations (A).
t He was created by William III. Marquess of Carmnarthen in 1689,
and Duke of Leeds in 1694, and from him the present duke is lineally descended.




A.D. 1673-1675. PEACE BETWEEN FRANCE AND HOLLAND. 497
cret treaty with Louis. He therefore. concluded a separate treaty
with the Dutch (Feb. 9, 1674). The honor of the flag was yielded to the English; all possessions were restored to the same condition as before the war; and the States agreed to pay to the king
nearly ~300,000. Charles, though obliged to make a separate
peace, still kept up connections with the French monarch. He
apologized for deserting his ally by representing to him all the
real, undissembled difficulties under which he labored, and Louis
admitted the validity of his excuses.
~ 13. Considerable alterations were about this time made in the
English ministry.  Buckingham was dismissed, who had long, by
his wit and entertaining humor, possessed the king's favor: he
now became, like Shaftesbury, a leader of the opposition. The
Earl of Danby, the lord treasurer, obtained the chief direction of
public affairs. He was a man of honor, and a declared enemy to
the French alliance; but he never possessed authority enough to
overcome the prepossessions which the king retained toward it,
and Charles continued to draw annual supplies from the French
court. But, while Danby scorned the idea of making the king absolute by the assistance of a foreign court, he had the highest notions of the king's prerogative, and endeavored to augment the
power of the crown. Accordingly, in 1675, he caused a bill to
be introduced into the House of Lords, by which all members of
either house, and all who possessed any office, were required to
swear that it was not lawful, upon any pretense whatever, to take
arms against the king; that they abhorred the traitorous position
of taking arms by his authority against his person; and that they
would not at any time endeavor to alter the Protestant religion,
or the established government either in Church or state. Great
opposition was made to this bill; during 17 days the debates were
carried on with much zeal, and it was carried only by two voices
in the House of Peers. The Parliament was prorogued before its
discussion by the House of Commons.
Meantime the war continued on the Continent.  The Prince of
Orange, supported by the emperor and the German states, continued manfully the struggle against Louis. The Earl of Danby and
the nation urged Charles to join the Dutch, and put an effectual
curb upon the ambition of the French monarch; but when Charles
seemed disposed to yield to the wishes of his minister and his subjects, and began to levy troops, the Commons took the alarm and
opposed the levy. Such was the distrust of the king, that the
Commons, though anxious for a war with France, feared to intrust
their sovereign with troops, lest he should employ them against
their own liberties. Nor was their distrust unfounded; for at the
very time that he pledged his royal word to the Commons to carry on war against France with the supplies which he begged of




4(98                            CHARLES It.                          CHA'P. XXIV.
them, he had signed a secret treaty with France, and had obtained a pension on the promise of his neutrality; a fact which renders his royal word, solemnly given to his subjects, one of the most
dishonorable and most scandalous acts that ever proceeded from
a throne.   But Charles was distrusted by Louis as well as by his
own subjects.   The French embassador entered into secret negotiations with the popular party; bribed even some of the popular
leaders to resist the war against France, and gave them  proofs of
the king's treachery. Charles, however, was sincerely anxious
for peace; for he was sensible that, so long as the war continued
abroad, he should never enjoy peace at home.   As a means to this
end, he was persuaded by the Earl of Danby and Sir William Temple to entertain proposals for marrying the Princess iMary, the
elder daughter of the Duke of York, to the Prince of Orange, who
came over to England at the close of the campaign of 1677. The
marriage was celebrated on Nov. 4, a.nd gave general satisfaction;
but it occasioned no  alteration  in the policy  of Charles, except
that he exerted himself more  vigorously in  arranging  the  terms
of a peace.   In  the  following  year (1678) peace was signed  at
Nimeguen between France and Holland.   Louis resigned the city
of MIaestricht to the Dutch, but retained possession  of FrancheComte, together with Valenciennes, Cambray, and other towns in
the Low  Countries.   The French king thus obtained considerable
accession of territory at the expense of Spain.  The King of Spain
and the emperor were indignant at this treaty, but were obliged
to accept of the terms prescribed to them.
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
A. TEST AND CORPORATION ACTS.   the Act is,'" An Act for preventing dangers
which may happen from Popish Recusants."
The Corporation Act was passed in 1661. Under the provisions of the act, all persons
In it a religious test was combined with a holding any office or place of trust, civil or
political test. All corporate officers were re- military, or admitted of the king's or Duke
quired to have taken the sacrament of the  of York's household, were to receive the sacLord's Supper, " according to the rites of the rament according to the usage of the Church
Church of England," within one year before of England, and to make and subscribe the
their elections, and, upon being elected, to  following declaration: "I, A. B., do declare
take the oaths of allegiance and of suprema- that I believe there is not any transubstancy, and the following oath: "I, A. B., do  tiation in the sacrament of the Lord's Supdeclare and believe that it is not lawful, per, or in the elements of bread and wine, at
upon any pretense whatsoever, to take arms or after the consecration thereof by any peragainst the king, and that I do abhor that son whatsoever." The Dissenters entertaintraitorous position of taking arms by his au- ed sucli fears of the papists that they activethority against his person, or against those ly supported the passing of this act, though
that are commissioned by him;" besides  it included them  not less than papists, by
subscribing a declaration against the Solemn  reason of the requisition of taking the sacraLeague and Covenant.  The Corporation  ment according to the rites of the Church of
Oath of non-sresistanece was abolished, not England.
indeed at the Revolution, though it most   The Parliamentfary Test was imposed in
probably became a dead letter at that epoch, the year 1678, five years after the first test.
but at the accession of the house of Bruns- In this interval, the alarm in the country of
wick, by the "' Act for quieting and estab- the designs of papists had been greatly inlishing Corporations."  (5 Geo. I., c. 6, s. 2.) creased by the discovery of the supposed
The Test Act was pagsed in 1673, with the  Popish Plot. The title of the act is "An
object of preventing political power being  Act for the more effectual preserving the
placed in the hands. of papists. The title of  King's p-rson and government, by disabling




CHAP. XXLV.    NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.                                         499
Papists fiom sitting in either HIouse of Par- that I do abhor that traitorous position of
li:unent."  Under the provisions of the act, taking arms by his authority against his'"No peer or member of the i-louse of Com- person, or against those that are commismons shall sit or vote without taking the  sionated by him; and that I will conform to
oaths of allegiance and supremacy, and a  the Liturgy of the Church of England as it
declaration repudiating the doctrine of tran- is now by law established."  This declarasubstantiation, the adoration of the Virgin, tion was required to be subscribed not only
and the sacrifice of the Mass.  Peers and  by every person in holy orders, but also by
members offending are to be deemed and  public and private schoolmasters, who were
adjudged PolJish Recusantets convict, and are likewise required to take out a license from
to forfeit ~500," besides suffering numerous the bishop of the diocese, under penalty of
disabilities. These acts were repealed in the  three months' imprisonment. The Declarareign of Geo. IV. The preceding account is tion, so far as it relates to non-resistance,
abridged from Amos, "'The English Consti- was abrogated at the Revolution (1 W. and
tution in the reign of Charles II.," p. 135, seq. M., c. 8). The license of private tutors continued, though latterly a dead letter, till it
B3. TI-HE  ACT OF UNIFORMITY.          was abolished by a statute of Victoria (9 and
This act is entitled "An Act for Uniform- 10 Vict., c. 59).
ity of Public Prayels, and administration of    A declaration, repudiating of the Solemn
Sacraments and other rites and ceremonies  League and Coveenant, was, by the Act of
and for establishing the form of making, or- Unifornity, to be taken until the 25th of
daining, and consecrating bishops, pr~iests,  March, 1682, a period allowed for the extinc —
and deacons in the Church of England." In  tion of Covenanters by the course of nature.
treating of the act, it will be convenient to   II. With respect to the pes-mt nenthclcases
notice, I., those persecuting clauses which  of the Act of Uniformity: these are, ist,
have been repealed; and, II., those clauses  the Declaltion  of assent  and consent to
touching assent and consent to the Book of the Book of Common Prayer; and, 2d, a
Common Prayer and episcopal ordination, provision requiring Episcopal Orrdilation.
which continue in force in the present day.   Ablidged from Amonn  " Thle English CponstiI. By the 34th section, all former statutes  tution in the reign of Charles II.," p. 81, seq.
relating to the uniformity of prayer and ad-      C. IMMUNITY OF JURIES.
ministration of the sacraments were re-enacted. The Act of Uniformity in force pre-   Previous to the year 16-0, juries were freviously to the statute of Charles II. was the  lquently fined if they gave a verdict contrary
1st of Elizabeth, c. 2, which incorporates, by  to the dictation of the judge. But in that
reference, penal clauses in the earlier Uni- year this pernicious practice was finally abolformlity Act of 5th and 6th Edward VI., c. 1, ished by the decision of Vaughan, chief juswhich, ag.in, incorporates by reference sim- tice of the Common Pleas. The Recorder of
ilar clauses in the Uniformity Act of the 2dLondon had set a fine of 40 marks upon each
and 3d Edward VI., c. 1. These obscure ref-of the jury who had acquitted the Quakers
erences will be found to include I" the declar-    and  M   ead on an indictment for an ining or speaking any thing in the derogation, lawful assembly. Bushell, the foreman, redepraving, or despising of the Book of Coom-     to pay, and being conmiitted to prison,
mon Prayer, or of any thing therein contain- obtained his writ of Habeas Corpus from the
ed, or any part thereof," the punishment of court of Common Pleas; and on the return
which, for the third offense, is forfeiture of made, that he had been committed for findgoods and chattels and imprisonmnent for ing a verdict against full and manifest evilife. Among other clauses included, by ref  dence, and against the direction of the court,
erence, in the Uniformity Act of Charles I., Chief Justice Vaughan held the ground to
are the compelling attendance at parish  be insufficient, and discharged  the prisone
churches, and the offense of whoever shall Erskine, in his famous speech for the Dean
" willingly and wittingly hear or be preseit of St. Asaph, observed that the country was
at anly other manner or form of Common  almost as nuch indebted to Bushell as to
Prayer than is mentioned and set forth in  IIampden in resisting ship-mnoney.
the Book of Common Prayer," provisions   In earlier times,. when juries were also
which have been repealed by statutes of Vic- witnesses [see p. 154], they were liable to be
toria (7 & 8 Vict., c. 102; 9 & 10 Vict., c. 59). punished by the terrible writ of Attaint* if
By the 14th section of the act, it is enacted  a second jury, consisting of 24 jurors, found' that no person shall presume to adrrnistes  them guilty of giving a false verdict. The
the holy sacleasment of the Lord's Supper be- ancient punishment was, in such a case,
fore such time as he shall be ordained priest, that the jurors should be deprived of all
according to the form and manner in and by  their property, be imprisoned, and become
the said book prescribed, unless lie have for- forever infamous; and that the plaintiff
mer'ly been made priest by episcopal ordina- should be restored to all lie had lost by reation, upon pain to forfeit for the said offense   of the unjust verdict. This odious prothe sum of ~100."  Thie ~100 penalty was ceeding, though obsolete even in the time of
repealed by the Toleration Act of Willianm f Elizabeth, was not abolished till the 5th of
andI Marly.                                G eorge IV. See I-Iallam's Constitutional HisThe 9th section of the act contained the  tor, iii., p. 9; Amos, EIlglish Constitution
following declaration: "I, A. B., do declare in the reign of Charles IT., p. 279, seq.;
that it is not lawful, on any pretense what- Kerr's Blackstone, it., p. 433.
goever, to take arms iagainst the king; and       *  ttinctue, stained or blackened.




Medal relating to the Rye House Plot. Obv.: PERIBVNT FVLMINIS ICTV 1683. The king
as Hercules menaced by a hydra-like monster, having seven human heads, which represent those of the supposed conspirators; above, a hand in the clouds holding a thunderbolt.
CHAPTER XXV.
CHARLES II. CONTINUED.  FROM THIE PEACE OF NIMEGUEN TO THE DEATH
OF TIIE IING. A.D. 1678-1685.
~ 1. The Popish Plot. Oates's Narrative. Godfrey's Murder. ~ 2. Zeal
of the Parliament. Bedloe's Narrative. Bill for a new Test. ~ 3. Accusation of Danby. Dissolution of Parliament.  ~ 4. Trial and Execution'of Coleman and others. The Duke of Monmouth.  ~ 5. A new
Parliament.'Danby's Impeachment.  New Council. ~ 6. The Exclusion Bill. Habeas Corpus Act. ~ 7. Prosecutions of Papists. Affairs
of Scotland. Murder of Archbishop Sharpe. ~ 8. Meal-tub Plot. Whig
and Tory. ~ 9. Violence of the new Parliament. Exclusion Bill rejected in the Lords. Trial and Execution of Lord Stafford. Parliament
dissolved. ~ 10. The new Parliament dissolved. Turn of the popular
Feeling. Court Prosecutions. ~ 11. Trial of Shaftesbury. London and
other Cities deprived of their Charters. ~ 12. Rye House Plot. Trial
and Execution of Lord Russell and Algernon Sidney. ~ 13. State of the
Nation. Monmouth banished. ~ 14. Marriage of Prince George of Denmark and the Princess Anne. The King's Indolence and Subserviency.
His Death and Character.
~ 1. THE  English nation, ever since the fatal league with
France, had  entertained violent jealousies against the'court.
Some mysterious design was still suspected in every enterprise
and profession.  Arbitrary power and popery were apprehended
as the scope of all projects. Each breath or rumor made the
people start with anxiety: their enemies, they thought, were in
their very bosom, and had gotten possession of their sovereign's
confidence.  While in this timorous, jealous disposition, the cry
of a plot all on a sudden struck their ears. They were wakened
from their slumber, and, like men affrilghted and in the dark,




A.D. 1678.          THE POPISH PLOT.                   501
Rev.: DEyS NOBIS ISC OTIA FECIT. A shepherd, the king, keeping his flock, in the midst
of which two wolves hanging: in the distance a view of London.
took every figure for a spectre. The terror of each man became
the source of terror to another; and a universal panic being diffused, reason, and argument, and common sense, and common humanity, lost all influence over them. From this disposition of
men's minds we are to account for the progress of the POPISH
PLOT, and the credit given to it; an exvent which would otherwise
appear prodigious and altogether inexplicable. On the 12th of
August, 1678, one Kirby, a chemist, accosted the king as he was
walking in the park: " Sir," said he, "keep within the company;
your enemies have a design upon your life, and you may be shot
in this very walk." Being asked the reason of these strange
speeches, he said that two men, called Grove and Pickering, had
engaged to shoot the king, and Sir George Wakeman, the queen's
physician, to poison him. This intelligence, he added, had been
communicated to him by Dr. Tonge, whom, if permitted, he would
introduce to his majesty. Tonge was rector of St. Michael's,Wood
Street; a man active, restless, full of projects, void of understanding. He brought papers to the king which contained information
of a plot, and were digested into 43 articles. Tonge said that
they had been secretly thrust under his door, and that, though he
suspected, he did not certainly know who was the author. The
king gave no credit to the story; but the Duke of York, hearing
that priests and Jesuits, and even his own confessor, had been
accused, was desirous that a thorough inquiry should be made by
the council into the pretended conspiracy. Kirby and Tonge were
inquired after, and were now found to be living in close connection with Titus Oates, the person who was said to have conveyed
the first intelligence to Tonge. Oates was a man of infamous
character. He had been originally an Anabaptist, had become a




502                    CHARLES II.              CHAP. XXV.
clergyman of the Established Church at the Restoration, and subsequently went abroad, pretending to be a convert to Romanism.
He had been expelled from the English college at St. Omer, where'he had become acquainted with the names of the leading Romanists. As this man expected more encouragement from the public
than from the king or his ministers, he thought proper, before he
was presented to the council, to go with his two companions to
Sir Edmondsbury Godfrey, a noted and active justice of peace,
and to give evidence before him of the conspiracy. The main
articles of this wonderful intelligence were, that the Pope had
delegated the sovereignty of Great Britain to the Jesuits, who had
proceeded to name a government and fill up the dignities of the
Church; that the king, whom they named " the Black Bastard,"
was to be put to death as a heretic; that Pelre la Chaise, the
celebrated confessor of Louis XIV., had remitted ~10,000 to London as a reward for the king's assassination, and other foreign
ecclesiastics had offered farther sums; that London was to be
fired in several places by means of fire-balls, which they called
Tewkesbury mustard-pills; the Protestants were to be massacred
all over the kingdom; the crown was to be offered to the duke on
condition of his receiving it as a gift from the Pope, and utterly
extirpating the Protestant religion; if he refused these conditions,
he himself was immediately to be poisoned or assassinated. To pot
James wust go, according to the expression ascribed by Oates to
the Jesuits.
Oates, when examined before the council, betrayed his impostures in the grossest manner. While in Spain, he had been carried, he said, to Don John, who promised great assistance to the
execution of the Catholic designs, The king asked him what
sort of a man Don John was: he answered, a tall, lean mandirectly contrary to truth, as the king well knew. He totally
mistook the situation of the Jesuits' college at Paris, and failed to
identify persons whom he pretended to know.
Notwithstanding these objections, the violent animosity which
had been excited against the Catholics in general made the public
swallow the grossest absurdities when they accompanied an accusation of those religionists; and the more diabolical any contrivance appeared, the better it suited the tremendous idea entertained of a Jesuit.  Danby, likewise, who stood in opposition to
the French and Catholic interest at court, was willing to encourage every story which might serve to discredit that party. By
his suggestion a warrant was signed for arresting Coleman, who
had been secretary to the late Duchess of York, and whom Oates
had implicated in his evidence. Coleman's papers were seized,
among which were copies of letters to Pere la Chaise and other




A.D. 1678.     ZEAL OF THE PARLIAMENT.                503
eminent foreign Catholics. These did indeed betray a scheme
for the conversion of the nation to popery; but, instead of the
king being murdered, he was to be bribed by the King of France,
and the design was altogether different from Oates's pretended discovery. Yet his plot and Coleman's were universally confounded together; and the evidence of the latter being unquestionable,
the belief of the former, aided by the passions of hatred and of
terror, took possession of the whole people. The murder of Godfrey completed the general delusion. The body of this magistrate
was found lying in a ditch at Primrose Hill; the marks of strangling were thought to appear about his neck, and some contusions
on his breast; his own sword was sticking in the body; he had
rings on his fingers, and money in his pocket; it was therefore inferred that he had not fallen into the hands of robbers. Without
farther reasoning, the cry rose that he had been assassinated by
the papists, on account of his taking Oates's evidence. The dead
body of Godfrey was carried into the city, attended by vast multitudes. The funeral pomp was celebrated with great parade.
Yet the murder of Godfrey, in all likelihood, had no connection,
one way or other, with the Popish Plot; and, as he was a melancholy man, there is some reason, notwithstanding the pretended
appearances to the contrary, to suspect that he fell by his own
hands.
~ 2. When the Parliament met (Oct. 21), Danby, who hated
the Catholics and courted popularity, opened the matter in the
House of Peers.  The king was extremely displeased with this
temerity, and told his minister that he had given the Parliament
a handle to ruin himself, and that he would surely live to repent
it. Danby had afterward sufficient reason to applaud the sagacity of his master. The cry of the plot was immediately echoed
from one house to the other. The authority of Parliament gave
sanction to that fury with which the people were already agitated.
A solemn fast was appointed; addresses were voted for the removal of popish recusants from London, and for appointing the
train-bands of London and Westminster to be in readiness. The
Catholic lords Powys, Stafford, Arundel, Petre, and Belasyse were
committed to the Tower, and were soon after impeached for high
treason; and both houses, after hearing Oates's evidence, voted
that there had been, and still is, a damnable and hellish plot.
Oates, though an infamous villain, was by every one applauded,
caressed, and called the savior of the nation; was recommended
by the Parliament to the king; was lodged in Whitehall, protect,
ed by guards, and encouraged by a pension of ~1200 a year. It
was not long before such bountiful encouragement brought forth
a new witness, William Bedloe, a man, if possible, more infamous




504                    CHARLES II.               CHAP. XXV.
than Oates. When he appeared before the council he gave intelligence of Godfrey's murder only, which, he said, had been perpetrated in Somerset House, where the queen lived, by papists, some
of them servants in her family. He at first pretended ignorance
of Oates's plot, but afterward gave a narrative of it, making it to
tally, as well as he could, with that of Oates, which had been published.  But, that he might make himself acceptable by new matter, he added some absurd circumstances of vast invasions projected by France and Spain.  Lord Carrington and Lord Brudenell,
with all other persons mentioned by Bedloe as concerned in the
conspiracy, were immediately committed to custody by the Parliament.
The king, though he scrupled not, wherever he could speak freely, to throw the highest ridicule on the plot, and on all who believed it, yet found it necessary to adopt the popular opinion. In
his speech to both houses, he told them that, provided the right
of succession were preserved, he would consent to any laws for restraining a popish successor; exhorted them to think of effectual
means. for the conviction of popish recusants; and highly praised
the duty and loyalty of all his subjects who had discovered such
anxious concern for his safety.
A bill for a PARLIAMENTARY TEST passed the Commons without much opposition; but in the upper I-ouse the Duke of York
moved that an exception might be admitted in his favor. With
great earnestness, and even with tears in his eyes, he told them
that he was now to cast himself on their kindness, in the greatest concern which he could have in tlhe world; and he protested
that, whatever his religion might be, it should only be a private
thing between God and his own soul, and never should appear in
his public conduct. Notwithstanding this strong effort in so important a point, he prevailed only by two voices.  By this bill no
peer or member of the House of Commons could sit or vote without making a declaration repudiating the doctrine of transubstantiation, the adoration of the Virgin, and the sacrifice of the Mass.
Trhus all Roman Catholics were excluded from both houses of
Parliament till the repeal of this act in the reign of George IV.*
Encouraged by this general fury, Oates and Bedloe were now
so audacious as to accuse the queen herself of entering into the
design against the life of her husband. The Commons, in an address to the king, gave countenance to this scandalous accusation;
but the Lords would not be prevailed with to join in the address.
Charles had the generosity to protect his injured consort. " They
think," said he, "I have a mind to a new wife; but for all that,
I will not see an innocent woman abused."
* See Notes and Illustrations, p. 498.




A.D. 1678, 1679.  DISSOLUTION OF PARLIAMENT.           505
~ 3. The present ferment and credulity of the nation engaged
even persons of rank and condition to become informers. Montague, the king's embassador at Paris, without obtaining or asking the king's leave, suddenly came over to England. Charles,
suspecting his intention, ordered his papers to be seized; but Montague had taken care to secrete two papers, which he laid before
the House of Commons. One was a letter from the Tr'l'easurer
Danby, written during the negotiations at Nimeguen. Montague
was there directed to make a demand of money from France; or,
in other words, the king was willing secretly to sell his good offices to Louis, contrary to the general interests of the confederates, and even to those of his own kingdoms. Danby'was so unwilling to engage in this negotiation, that the king, to satisfy
him, subjoined, with his own hand, these words: "This letter is
writ by my order, C. R."  The Commons were inflamed with this
intelligence against Danby, and immediately voted an impeachment of high treason against that minister. Danby made it appear to the House of Lords not only that Montague, the informer
against him, had all along promoted the money negotiations with
France, but that he himself was ever extremely averse to the in.
terests of that crown, which he esteemed pernicious to his master
and to his country. The Peers- plainly saw that Danby's crime
fell not under the statute of Edward III., and could not subject
him to the penalties annexed to treason. They refused, therefore,
to commit him; the Commons insisted on their demand; and a
great contest was likely to arise when the king prorogued, and
then dissolved the Parliament (Jan. 24, 1679). Thus came to an
end the Parliament which had sat during the whole course of this
reign.  Being elected during the joy and festivity of the restoration, it consisted almost entirely of Royalists, who were disposed
to support the crown by all the liberality which the habits of that
age would permit. Alarmed by the alliance with France, they
gradually withdrew their confidence from the king, and finding
him still to persevere in foreign interest, they proceeded to discover symptoms of the most refractory and most jealous disposition. The Popish Plot pushed them beyond all bounds of moderation; and before dissolution they seemed to be treading fast in
the footsteps of the last Long Parliament, on whose conduct they
threw at first such violent blame.
~ 4. During the sitting of the Parliament, and after its prorogation and dissolution, the trials of the: pretended criminals were
carried on, and the courts of judicature, places which, if possible,
ought to be kept more pure from injustice than even national assemblies themselves, were strongly infected with the same party
rage and bigoted prejudices. Coleman, the most obnoxious of the
Y




506                    CHARLES II.              CHAP. XXV.
conspirators, was first brought to his trial. His letters were produced. Oates and Bedloe deposed against him, and he was condemned and executed, persisting to the last in the strongest protestations of innocence. The same fate attended Grove, Pickering, and Father Ireland, who, it is pretended, had signed, together
with 50 Jesuits, the great resolution of murdering the king. All
these men, before their arraignment, were condemned in the opinion of the judges, jury, and spectators; and to be a Jesuit, or even
a Catholic, was of itself a sufficient proof of guilt.
Bedloe still remained a single evidence against the persons accused of Godfrey's murder; but at last means were found to complete the legal evidence.  One Prance, a silversmith and a Cath,
olic, had been accused by Bedloe of being an accomplice-inl the
murder; and, upon his denial, being thrown into prison, loaded
with heavy irons, and confined to the condemned hole, a place
cold, dark, and full of nastiness, was at length wrought upon, by
terrors and sufferings, to make a confession.  Upon his evidence,
three servants of the queen were condemned and executed for the
murder.
As the army could neither be kept up nor disbanded without
money, the king found himself obliged to summon a new Parliament. The Popish Plot had a great influence upon the elections,
and, in spite of the exertions of the government, all the zealots of
the former Parliament were rechosen; new ones were added; and
it was apprehended that the new representatives would, if possi..
ble, exceed the old in their refractory opposition to the court and
furious persecution of the Catholics. The king was alarmed when
he saw so dreadful a tempest arise from such small and unaccount..
able beginnings. In order to gratify and appease his'people and
Parliament, he desired the duke to withdraw beyond sea, that no
farther suspicion might remain of the influence of popish counsels. The duke complied, and retired to Brussels; but first required an order, signed by the king, lest his absenting himself
should be interpreted as a proof of fear or of guilt.  He also desired that his brother should satisfy him, as well as the public, by
a declaration of the illegitimacy of the Duke of Monmouth. That
person was the king's'natural son by Lucy Waters, and born about
ten years before the Restoration.  He possessed all the qualities
which could engage the affections of the populace; a distinguished valor, an affable address, a thoughtless generosity, a graceful
person.  But his capacity was mean, his temper pliant; so that,
notwithstanding his great popularity, he had never been dangerous, had he not implicitly resigned himself to the guidance of
Shaftesbury, a man of such a restless temper, such subtle wit, and
s-uch- -abandoned principles. That daring politician had flattered




A.D. 1679.       DANBY'S IMPEACHMENT.                  507
Monmouth with the hope of succeeding to the crown. The story
of a contract of marriage passed between the king and Monmouth's mother, and secretly kept in a certain black box, had been
industriously spread abroad, and was greedily received by the
multitude.
~ 5.- The new Parliament assembled March 6, 1679. The refractory humor of the lower House appeared in the first step
which they took. It had ever been usual for the Commons, in
the election of their speaker, to consult the inclinations of the sovereign, and even the Long Parliament in 1641 had not thought
proper to depart from so established a custom. The king now desired that the choice should fall on Sir Thomas Meres; but Seymour, speaker to the last Parliament, was instantly called to the
chair by a vote which seemed unanimous. The king, when Seymour was-presented to him-for-his approbation, rejected him, and
ordered the Commons to proceed to a new choice. A great contest ensued, till, by way of compromise, it was agreed to set aside
both candidates. Gregory, a lawyer, was chosen, and the election
was ratified by the king. It has ever since been understood that
the choice of the speaker lies in the House, but that the king retains the power of rejecting any person disagreeable to him. The
impeachment of Danby was revived. The king had beforehand
taken the precaution to grant a pardon to Danby; and, in order
to screen the chancellor from all attacks by the Commons, he had
taken the great seal into his own hands, and had himself affixed it
to the parchment. But the Commons maintained that no pardon
of the crown could be pleaded in bar of an impeachment, though
the prerogative of mercy had hitherto been understood to be altogether unlimited in the king; and James had remitted the sentence on Lord Bacon.  On the other hand, if such a principle
were allowed, there was an end of the pretended responsibility of
the advisers of the crown, and any minister might set the Parliament at defiance.* The Commons persisted, and the Peers ordered Danby to be taken into custody. Danby absconded; but
a bill having been- passed for his attainder in default of his appearance, he surrendered, and was immediately committed to the
Tower.
In order to allay the jealousy displayed by the Parliament and
people, the king, by the advice of Sir William Temple, laid the
plan of a new privy council, without whose advice he declared
himself determined for the future to take no measure of import* This question was not finally decided till the Act of Settlement in 1701
(13 Will. III., c. 2), which provides that no pardon under the Great Seal
can be pleaded in bar of an impeachment of the Commons.-Hallam, Const.
Hist., ii., 417.




508                     CHARLES II.               CHAP. XX,
ance. This council was to consist of 30 persons; 15 of the chief
officers of the crown were to be continued; and the other half was
to be composed either of men of character detached from the court,
or ef those who possessed chief credit in both houses. The Earl
of Essex, a nobleman of the popular party,.was created treasurer
in the room of Danby; the Earl of Sunderland, a man of intrigue
and capacity, was made secretary of state; Viscount Halifax, a
fine genius, possessed of learning, eloquence, industry, but subject
to inquietude and fond of refinements, was admitted into the
council. These three, together with Temple, who often joined
them, though he kept himself more detached from public business,
formed a kind of cabinet council, fiom which all affairs received
their first digestion. Shaftesbury was made president of the council, contrary to the advice of Temple, who foretold the consequence
of admitting a man of so dangerous a character into any part of
the public administration.
~ 6. As Temple foresaw, it happened.  Shaftesbury, finding
that he possessed no more than the appearance of court favor, was
resolved still to adhere to the popular party, by whose attachment
he enjoyed an undisputed superiority in the lower house, and possessed great influence in the other. By his advice the celebrated
Exclusion Bill was brought into Parliament, the object of which
was to exclude the Duke of York from the succession to the
throne.  It was carried by a majority of 79 votes in the House
of Commons, but its farther progress was stopped by the dissolution of Parliament (May 27). Before its dissolution, the king- had,
though reluctantly, given his consent to the Habeas Corpus Act, for
the enactment of which this Parliament is entitled to the gratitude
of posterity. The' great charter had provided against arbitrary
imprisonment, and the Petition of Right renewed and extended
the principle; but some provisions were still wanting to render it
complete, and prevent all evasion or delay from ministers and
judges. By the act of habeas corpus it is prohibited to send any
one to a prison beyond sea; no judge, under severe penalties, must
refuse to any prisoner a writ of habeas corpus, by which the jailer
was directed to produce in court the body of the prisoner (whence
the writ had its name), and to certify the cause of his detainer and
imprisonment; every prisoner must be indicted the first term after
his commitment, and brought to trial in the subsequent term; and
no man, after being enlarged by order of court, can be recommitted for the sama offense.*
~ 7. But even during the recess of Parliament there was no interruption to the prosecution of the Catholics accused of the plot.
Whitebread, provincial of the Jesuits, and four others of the same
* For farther details, see Notes and Illustrations, p. 522.




k.D. 1679.       AFFAIRS OF SCOTLAND.                 509
order, were condemned and executed. Langhorne, an eminent
lawyer, by whom all the concerns of the Jesuits were managed,
was the next victim.  Oates and Bedloe, as in the former cases,
were the chief witnesses against him. When the verdict was given
against the prisoner, the spectators expressed their savage joy by
loud acclamations. So high, indeed, had the popular rage mounted, that the witnesses for this unhappy man, on approaching the
court, were almost torn in pieces by the rabble. The first check
which the informers received was on the trial of Sir George Wakeman, the queen's physician, whom they accused of an intention to
poison the king. Oates, on his examination before the council,
had said that he knew nothing against Sir George, yet on the trial
positively deposed to his guilt. The chief justice himself, who had
hitherto favored the witnesses, gave a favorable charge to the
jury, for which Oates and Bedloe had the assurance to attack
him to his face, and even to accuse him of partiality before the
council.
During these transactions serious disturbances occurred in Scotland. Lauderdale had ruled that country with great severity, and
an incident at last happened which brought on an insurrection.
The Covenanters were much enraged against Sharpe, the primate,
whom they considered as an apostate from their principles, and
whom they experienced to be an unrelenting persecutor of all
those who dissented from the established worship. A body of
them falling in with him by accident on the road near St. Andrew's, dragged him from his coach, tore him from the arms of
his daughter, who interposed with cries and tears, and, piercing
him with redoubled wounds, left him dead on the spot, and immediately dispersed themselves (May 3). This atrocious action
served the ministry as a pretense for a more violent persecution.
The officers quartered in the west received strict orders to find
out and disperse all conventicles; and for that reason the Covenanters, instead of meeting in small bodies, were obliged to celebrate their worship in numerous assemblies, and to bring arms
for their security.  Graham  of Claverhouse having attacked a
great conventicle at Drumclog, near Loudon Hill, was repulsed
with the loss of 30 men. The Covenanters, finding that they,were unwarily involved in such deep guilt, pushed on to Glas-!gow, made themselves masters of that city, dispossessed the established clergy, and issued proclamations, in which they declared
that they fought against the king's supremacy, against popery and
prelacy, and against a popish successor. But, though they succeeded in raising an army of 8000 men, they were soon dispersed
by Monmouth, whom the king had sent against them, at the battle of Bothwell Bridge (June 22). In consequence of an illness




510                    CHARLES II.               CHAP XXV,
of the king, the Duke of York returned to England, and shortly
afterward went down to Scotland as lord high commissioner,
where he was guilty of the most atrocious cruelties upon the Covenanters. He sometimes assisted at their torture, and looked on
with tranquillity, as if he were considering some curious experiment.
~ 8. The plan of goverament recommended by Temple was now
abandoned.  Shaftesbury was dismissed from the presidency of
the council, and became more violent than ever in his opposition
to the court. Essex also quitted the ministry and joined the opposition. Temple withdrew to his books and his gardens. But
Halifax and Sunderland still continued in office, and the ministry
was recruited by two new men who afterward played a conspicuous part in public life.  These were Lawrence Hyde, the second
son of the Chancellor Clarendon, who succeeded Essex at the
treasury, and Sidney (todolphin.
]t was the favor an-e countenance of the Parliament which had
chiefly encouraged the rumor of plots; but the nation had got so
much into that vein of credulity, and every necessitous villain was
so much incited by the success of Oates and Bedloe, that even
during the prorogation the people were not allowed to remain in
tranquillity. There was one Dangerfield, a fellow who had been
burned in the hand for crimes, transported, whipped, pilloried four
times, fined for cheats, outlawed for felony, convicted of coining,
and exposed to all the public infamy which the laws could inflict
on the basest and most shameful enormities. The credulity of
the people and the humor of the times enabled even this man to
become a person of consequence.  Ile was the author of a new
incident called the jlieal-tub Plot, from the place where some papers
relating to it were found. The bottom of this affair it is difficult,
and not very material, to discover. It only appears that Dangerfield, under pretense of betraying the conspiracies of the Presbyterians, had been countenanced by some Catholics of condition,
and had even been admitted to the duke's presence and the king's;
and that, under pretense of revealing new popish plots, he had obtained access to Shaftesbury and- some of the popular leaders.
Which side he intended to cheat is uncertain, or whether he did
not rather mean to cheat both; but he soon found that the belief.
of tie nation was more open to a Popish than a Presbyterian plot,
and he resolved to strike in with the prevailing humor; but,
though no weight could be laid on his testimony, great clamor was
raised, as if the court, by way of retaliation, had intended to load
the Presbyterians with the guilt of a false conspiracy.
The country was in a state of the wildest excitement with the
elections. Every means was used, every nerve was strained by the




A.D. 1679, 1680. VIOLENCE OF THE NEW PARLIAMENT.      51i
two parties. The Duke of Monmoutl, whom the king had sent
abroad through the influence of the Duke of York, returned to England, and made a triumphant procession through many parts of
the kingdom, extremely caressed and admired by the people. The
people clamored for the Exclusion Bill. The elections went
against the court; and the king, seeing it hopeless to obtain a,
majority in the Commons, prorogued the Parliament on the very
day it should have met; and afterward, by repeated prorogations,
prevented its assembling for: a twelvemonth. Notwithstanding a
menacing proclamation from the king, petitions came from all
parts, earnestly insisting on a session of Parliament. The danger of popery and the terrors of the plot were never forgotten in
any of these addresses. The king was obliged to encounter them
by. popular applications of a contrary tendency. Wherever the
Church and court party prevailed, addresses were framed, containingo expressions of the highest regard to his majesty, the most entire acquiescence in his wisdom, the most dutiful submission to
his prerogative, and the deepest abhorrence of those who endeavored to encroach upon it by prescribing to him any time for assembling the Parliament.  Thus the nation came to be distinguished
into Petitioners and Abhorrers.  Besides these appellations, which
were soon forgotten, this year is remarkable for being the epoch of
the well-known epithets of WHIG and TonY. The court party
reproached their antagonists with their affinity to the fanatical
conventiclers in Scotland, who were known by the name of Whigs;
the country party found a resemblance between the courtiers and
the popish banditti in Ireland, to whom the appellation of Tory
was affixed; and after this manner these foolish terms of reproach
came into public and general use.
In order still to keep alive the zeal against popery, the Earl
of Shaftesbury appeared ir Westminster Hall, attended by several
persons of distinction, and presented to the grand jury of Middlesex reasons for indicting the Duke of York as a popish recusant.
While the jury were deliberating on this extraordinary presentment, the chief justice sent for them, and suddenly, even somewhat irregularly, dismissed them. Shaftesbury, however, obtained his end by showing to all his followers the desperate resolution
which he had embraced, never to admit of any accommodation
with the duke.
~ 9. The king at length opened the Parliament (Oct. 21, 1680)
with a speech containing many mollifying expressions; but the
Commons displayed the most violent and refractory disposition.
Great numbers of the Abhorrers, from all parts of England, were
seized by their order; and they renewed the vote of the former
Parliament, which affirmed the reality of the horrid Popish Plot.




512                    CHARLES II.              CHAP. XXV.
The whole tribe of informers they applauded and rewarded; and
their testimony, however frivolous or absurd, met with a favorable
reception; the king was applied to in their behalf for pensions
and pardons; and Dr. Tonge was recommended for the first considerable Church preferment which should become vacant. So
much were the popular leaders determined to carry matters to
extremities, that, in less than a week after the commencement of
the session, a motion was made for again bringing in the Exclusion Bill, and a committee was appointed for that purpose.
Shaftesbury and many considerable men of the party had rendered themselves irreconcilable with the duke, and could find their
safety no way but in his ruin. Mlonmouth's friends hoped that
the exclusion of that prince would make way for their patron, and
the country party expected that the king would at last be obliged
to yield to their demand. Though he had withdrawn his countenance from Maonmouth, he was known secretly to retain a great
affection for him. On no occasion had he ever been found to persist obstinately against difficulties and importunity; and as his
beloved mistress, the Duchess of Portsmouth, had been engaged
to unite herself with the popular party, this incident was regarded
as a favorable prognostic of their success. Sunderland, secretary
of state, who had linked his interest with that of the duchess, had
concurred in the same measure.  The debates were carried on
with great violence on both sides. In the House of Commons
the bill passed by a great majority. In the House of Peers the
contest was violent. Shaftesbury, Sunderland, and Essex argued
for it; Halifax chiefly conducted the debate against it, and displayed an extent of capacity and a force of eloquence which had
never been surpassed in that assembly. The king was present
during the whole debate, which was prolonged till 11 at night.
The bill was thrown out by a considerble majority. The Commons discovered much ill-humor at this disappointment.  The
impeachment of the Catholic lords in the Tower was revived;
and as Viscount Stafford, from his age, infirmities, and narrow
capacity, was deemed the least capable of defending himself, it
was determined to make him the first victim, that his condemnation might pave the way for a sentence against the rest. Tha
witnesses produced against the prisoner were Oates, Dugdale, and
Turberville. The prisoner made a better defense than was expected either by his friends or his enemies. With a simplicity
and tenderness more persuasive than the greatest oratory, he still
made protestations of his innocence, and could not forbear, every
moment, expressing the most lively surprise and indignation at
the audacious impudence of the witnesses. The Peers, after a
solemn trial of six days, gave sentence against him by a majority




A.D. 1680, 1681. THE NEW PARLIAMENT DISSOLVED.        513
of 24. Stafford received with resignation the fatal verdict.
" God's holy name be praised!" was the only exclamation which
he uttered. On the day of his execution, the populace, who had
exulted at Stafford's trial and condemnation, were melted into
tears at the sight of that tender fortitude which shone forth in
each feature, and motion, and accent of this aged noble. Their
profound silence was only interrupted by sighs and groans. With
difficulty they found speech to assent to those protestations of innocence which he frequently repeated.  " We believe you, my
lord!" "God bless you, my lord 1"  These expressions, with a
faltering accent, flowed from them. The executioner himself was
touched with sympathy. Twice he lifted up the axe with an intent to strike the fatal blow, and as often felt his resolution to
fail him. A deep sigh was heard to accompany his last effort,
which laid Stafford forever at rest. All the spectators seemed to
feel the blow; and when the head was held up to them with the
usual cry, " This is the headof a traitor!" no. clamor of assent
was uttered. Pity, remorse, and astonishment had taken possession of every heart, and displayed itself in every countenance
(Dec. 29). This was the last blood which was shed on account
of thePopish Plot. The execution of Stafford gratified the prejudices of the country party, but it contributed nothing to their
power and security; on the contrary, by exciting commiseration,
it tended still farther to increase that disbelief of the whole plot
which began now to prevail. As the violence of the Commons
still continued, the king soon afterward prorogued and then dissolved the Parliament (Jan. 10, 1681).
~ 10. A new Parliament was summoned in the spring; and in
order to remove it from the influence of the factious citizens, it
was appointed to meet at Oxford (Marlc 21, 1681). The leaders
of the Exclusionists came attended not only by their servants,
but by numerous bands of their partisans. The four city members in particular were followed by great multitudes, wearing ribbons, in which were woven these words, No Popery! no Slavery!
The king had his guards regularly mustered; his party likewise
endeavored to make a show of their strength; and, on the whole,
the assembly at Oxford rather bore the appearance of a tumultuous Polish diet than of a regular English Parliament.
The Commons were not overawed by the magisterial air of the
king's speech, who addressed them in a more authoritative manner than usual. They consisted almost entirely of the same members; they chose the same speaker; and they instantly fell into
the same measures, the impeachment of Danby, the inquiry into
the Popish Plot, and the Bill of Exclusion. So violent were
they on this last article, that, though one of the king's ministers
Y2




514                    CHARLES II.              CHAP. XXV.
proposed that the duke should be banished, during life, 500 miles
from England, and that on the king's demise the next heir should
be constituted regent with regal power, even this expedient, which
left the duke only the bare title of king, could not obtain the attention of the House. The past disappointments of the country
party, and the opposition made by the court, had only rendered
them more united, more haughty, and more determined.;No
method but their own of excluding the duke could give them any
satisfaction. As there were no hopes of a compromise, Charles
again dissolved the Parliament after it had sat only seven days.
This rigorous measure, though it might have been foreseen, excited such astonishment in the country party as deprived them of
all spirit and reduced them to absolute despair. They were sensible, though too late, that the king had finally taken his resolution,
and was determined to endure any extremity rather than submit
to those terms which they had resolved to impose upon him.
They found that he had patiently waited till affairs had come to
full maturity; and, having now engaged a national party on his
side, had boldly set his enemies at defiance. The violences of the
Exclusionists were every where exclaimed against and aggravated,
and even the reality of the plot, that great engine of their authority, was openly called in question. The clergy especially were
busy in this great revolution: they represented all their antagonists as sectaries and republicans, and rejoiced in escaping those
perils which they believed to have been hanging over them. Principles the most opposite to civil liberty were every where enforced
from the pulpit and adopted in numerous addresses.  The whole
gang of spies, witnesses, informers, suborners who had so long
been supported and encouraged by the leading patriots, finding
now that the king was entirely master, turned short upon their
old patrons, and offered their service to the ministers. To the
disgrace of the court and of the age, they were received with
hearty welcome, and their testimony, or rather. perjury, made use
of in order to commit legal murder upon the opposite party. One
College, a London joiner, who had become extremely. noted for
his zeal against popery, and who had been in Oxford, armed with
a sword and pistol during the sitting of the Parliament, was indicted in that city as being concerned in a conspiracy. The witnesses produced against him were Dugdale, Turberville, Haynes,
Smith, men who had before given evidence against the Catholics,
and whom the jury, for that very reason, regarded as the most
perjured villains.  College defended himself with courage, capacity, and presence of mind; yet did the jury, consisting entirely.
oC Royalists, after half an hour's deliberation, bring in a verdict
against him, and the inhuman spectators received the verdict with




A.D. 1681-1682.   TRIAL OF SHAFTESBURY.                   515
a shout of applause.  Thus the two parties, actuated by mutual
rage, but cooped up within the narrow limits of the law, leveled
with poisoned daggers the most deadly blows against each other's
breast, and buried in their factious divisions all regard to truth,
honor, and humanity.
~ 11. The court now aimed their next blow at Shaftesbury, and
Turberville, Smith, and others gave information of high treason
against their former patron. Shaftesbury was committed to prison, and his indictment was presented to the grand jury; but the
sheriffs of London were engaged deeply in the country party, and
they took care to name a jury devoted to the same cause.  As
far as swearing could go, the treason was clearly proved against
Shaftesbury; or rather so clearly as to merit no kind of credit or
attention. That veteran leader of a party, inured from his early
youth to faction and intrigue, to cabals and conspiracies, was
represented as opening without reserve his treasonable intentions
to these obscure banditti, and throwing out such violent and outrageous reproaches upon the king as none but men of low education, like themselves, could be supposed to employ. The grand
jury rejected the indictment, and the people who attended the
hall testified their joy by the loudest acclamations, which were
echoed throughout the whole city (Nov. 24, 1681).
Medal struck in commemoration of the acquittal of the Earl of Shaftesbury. Obv.: ANTONIO
COMITI DE SHAFTESVRY. Bust to right. Rev,: LaTAMMVR: a view of London, with the
sun appearing from behind a cloud: below, 24 Nov., 1681.
About the same time the Earl of Argyle was condemned in Scotland of high treason, at the instance of the Duke of York, for refusing to take an absurd and contradictory test without a qualification. He escaped from prison and succeeded in reaching Holland;
but his estate was confiscated and his arms reversed and torn.
In the following year (1682) the Duke of York paid a visit to
England. His credit was great at court. Though neither so




516                 - CHARLES II.               CHAP. XXV.
much beloved nor esteemed as the king, he was more dreaded,
and thence an attendance more exact, as well as a submission
more obsequious, was paid to him.  Charles, however, who loved
to maintain a balance in his counsels, still supported Halifax,
whom he created a marquis, ahd made privy seal, though ever
in opposition to the duke.  This man, who possessed the finest
genius and most extensive capacity of all employed in public affairs during the present reign, maintained a species of neutrality
between the parties, and was esteemed the head of that small body
known by the denomination of Trimmers. Sunderland, who had
promoted the Exclusion Bill, and who had been displaced on that
account, was again, with the duke's consent, brought into the ad,
ministration. Hyde, created Earl of Rochester, was first commis,
sioner of the treasury, and was entirely in the duke's interests. In
this year the court obtained the support of the mayor and sheriffs
of the city of London, and hence could reckon upon obtaining juries subservient to its views. But, though the court had obtained
so great a victory in the city, it was not quite decisive, and the
contest might be renewed every year at the election of magistrates. An important project, therefore, was formed, not only to
make the king master of the city, but by that precedent to gain
him uncontrolled influence in all the corporations in England. A
writ of quo warranto was issued against the city; that is, an inquiry into the validity of its charter. It was pretended that the
city had forfeited all its privileges because the magistrates had imposed a small toll on goods brought to market, in order to defray
the expense of rebuilding the market after the fire, and because
in the year 1679 they had addressed the lking against the prorogation of Parliament in terms which were pretended to contain a
scandalous reflection on the king and his measures. The case of
the crown evidently rested not on law, but reasons of state; yet
the judges condemned the city. The office of judge was at that
time held during pleasure, and it was impossible that any cause,
where the court bent its force, could ever be carried against it.
After sentence was pronounced, the city applied in an humble
manner to the king, and he agreed to restore their charter; but,
in return, they were obliged to agree that no mayor, sheriff, recorder, common sergeant, town clerk, or coroner, should be admitted to the exercise of his office without his' majesty's approbation, as well as to submit to other regulations. Most of the corporations in Englandl, having the example of London before their
eyes, were successively induced to surrender their charters into the
king's hands. Considerable sums were exacted for restoring the
charters, and all offices of power and profit were left at the disposal of the crown,




A.D. 1682.      MONMOUTH'S CONSPIRACY.                    517
~ 12. Every friend to liberty must allow that the nation, whose
constitution was thus broken in the shock of faction, had a right,
by every prudent expedient, to recover that security of which it
was so unhappily bereaved. There was, however, a party of malcontents who, even before this last iniquity, which laid the whole
constitution at the mercy of the king, had meditated plans of resistance. In the spring of 1681, when the king was seized with
a fit of sickness at Windsor, the Duke of Monmouth, Lord William Russell, andothers, instigated by the restless Shaftesbury, had
agreed, in case it should prove mortal, to rise in arms and to oppose the succession of the duke.  Charles recovered, but these
dangerous projects were not laid aside. Shaftesbury's imprisonmnent and trial put an end for some time to these machinations,
and it was not till the new sheriffs were imposed on the city that
they were revived. Besides the city, the gentry and. nobility in
several counties of England were solicited to rise in arms.. The
whole train was ready to take fire, but was prevented by the caution of Lord Russell, who induced MIonmouth to delay the enterprise.  Shaftesbury, in the mean time, was so much affected with
the sense of his danger that he left his house and secretly lurked
in the city, meditating all those desperate schemes which disappointed revenge and ambition could inspire, till, enraged at perpetual cautions and delays in an enterprise which he thought
nothing but courage and celerity could render effectual, he retired into Holland (1682), where he soon after died.
After Shaftesbury's departure the conspirators with some difficulty renewed the correspondence with the city malcontents, and
a regular project of an insurrection was again formed. A council
of six -was erected, consisting of Monmouth, Russell, Essex,* Lord
Howard, Algernon Sidney, and John Hampden, grandson of the
great Parliamentary leader. These men entered into an agreement with Argyle and the Scottish malcontents, and insurrections
were anew projected in Cheshire and the west, as well as in the
city. The conspirators differed extremely in their views. Sidney
and Essex were for a commonwealth.  Monmouth entertained
hopes of acquiring the crown for himself. Russell, as well as
Hampden, was much attached to the ancient constitution, and intended only the exclusion of the duke and the redress of grievances.. Lord Howard was a man of no principle, and was ready
to embrace any party which his immediate interest should recommend to him.  While these schemes were concerting among the
* The title of Earl of Essex became extinct on the death of the Parliamentary general in 1646. The Earl of Essex mentioned in the text was
the son of Lord Capel, beheaded in 1649 for his loyalty to Charles I. He
was created Earl of Essex in 1661, and is the ancestor of the present earl.




518                    CHARLES II.              CHAP. XXV.
leaders, there was an inferior order of conspirators who carried on
projects quite unknown to Monmouth and the cabal of six. Rumbold, an old Republican officer, was a maltster, and possessed a
farm called the Rye House, which lay on the road to Newmarket,
whither the king commonly went once a year for the diversion of
the races. A plan was formed by overturning a cart to stop at
that place the king's coach, while they might fire upon him from
the hedges, and be enabled afterward, through by-lanes and across
the fields, to make their escape. The whole, however, was little
more than loose discourse; and the scheme was disconcerted by
the king leaving Newmarket 8 days sooner than he intended (1683).
Some of the conspirators betrayed to the government the Rye
House Plot; and Colonel Rumford, who was acquainted with the
conspiracy of Monmouth and the others, also informed the government that the latter had been accustomed to hold their meetings at the house of Shephard, an eminent wine-merchant in the
city. Shephard was immediately apprehended, and had not courage to maintain fidelity to his confederates. Upon his information, orders were issued for arresting the great men engaged in
the conspiracy. Monmouth absconded; Russell was sent to the
Tower; Howard was taken while he concealed himself in a chimney, and, being a man of profligate morals as well as indigent circumstances, he scrupled not, in hopes of a pardon and a reward,
to reveal the whole conspiracy. Essex, Sidney, and -Iampden,
were immediately apprehended upon his evidence. Several of the
conspirators in the Rye House Plot, were condemned and executed;
and from their trial and confession it is sufficiently apparent that
the plan of an insurrection had been regularly formed, and that
even the assassination had been often talked of, and not without
the approbation of many of the conspirators.
Lord Russell was next brought to trial. The witnesses produced against the noble prisoner were Rumsey, Shephard, and
Lord Howard. On the whole, it was undoubtedly proved that
the insurrection had been deliberated on by the prisoner, and fully
resolved; a surprisal of the guards deliberated on, but not fully
resolved; and that an assassination-had never once been mentioned nor imagined by him. He contented himself with protesting
that he never had entertained any design against the life of the
king; but his veracity would not allow him to deny the conspiracy
for an insurrection.  The jury were men of fair and reputable
characters, but zealous Royalists: after a. short deliberation, they
brought in the prisoner guilty. Applications were made to the
king for a pardon; even money to the amount of ~100,000 was
offered to the Duchess of Portsmouth by the old Earl of Bedford,
father to Russell. The king was inexorable, and would go no




A.D. 1683.    EXECUTION OF ALGERNON SIDNEY.           519
farther than remitting the more ignominious part of the sentence,
which the law requires to be pronounced against traitors.  Russell's consort, a woman of virtue, daughter and heir of the good
Earl of Southampton, threw herself at the king's feet, and pleaded
with many tears the merits and loyalty of her father as an atonement for those errors into which honest, however mistaken, principles had seduced her husband; but, finding all applications vain,
she collected courage, and not only fortified herself against the
fatal blow, but endeavored by her example to strengthen the resolution of her unfortunate lord. With a tender and decent composure they took leave of each other on the day of his execution.
1" The bitterness of death is now passed," said he, when he turned
from her. The scaffold was erected in Lincoln's Inn Fields, in
order probably, by conducting Russell through so many streets, to
show the mutinous city their beloved leader exposed to the utmost rigors of the law. Without the least change of countenance
he laid his head on the block, and at two strokes it was severed
from his body (July 21, 1683).
On the day that Lord Russell was tried, Essex was found in
the Tower withli his throat cut. The coroner's jury brought in a
verdict of self-murder. Essex was subject to fits of deep melancholy; yet the murder was ascribed to the king and the duke,
who happened that morning to pay a visit to the Tower.
Algernon Sidney was next brought to his trial. This gallant
person, son of the Earl of Leicester, was in principle a Repub.
lican, and had entered deeply into the war against the late king.
HI-e had been named on the high court of justice which tried and
condemned that monarch, but he thought not proper to take his
seat among the judges, and had ever opposed Cromwell's usurpation with zeal and courage. After the restoration he went into
voluntary banishment; but in 1677, having obtained the king's
pardon, he returned to England. When the factions arising from
the Popish Plot began to run high, Sidney, full of those ideas of
liberty which he had imbibed from the great examples of antiquity,
joined the popular party; but his conduct was deficient in practical -good sense, and he labors under the imputation of accepting
French gold. The only witness who deposed against Sidney was
Lord Howard; but, as the law required two witnesses, the deficiency was supplied by producing some of his papers, in which
he maintained the lawfulness of resisting tyrants, and the preference of liberty to the government of a single person. The violent
and inhuman Jeffreys was now chief justice, and by his direction a
partial jury was easily prevailed on to give verdict against Sidney. His execution followed a few days after (Dec. 7); but he
had too much greatness of mind to deny those conspiracies with




2M0                    CHARLES II.              CHAP. XX V.
Monmouth and Russell in which he had been engaged. He-rather
gloried that he now suffered for that good old cause in which from
his earliest youth, he said, he had enlisted himself.
Howard was also the sole evidence against HIampden. He
was convicted only for a misdemeanor, but the fine imposed was
exorbitant-no less than ~40,000.
~ 13. Some other memorable causes were tried about this time.
Oates was convicted of having called the duke a popish traitor,
was condemned in damages to the amount of ~100,000, and was
adjudged to remain in prison till he should make payment. Sir
Samuel Barnardiston was fined ~10,000 because, in some private
letters, which had been intercepted, he had reflected on the government.
The Duke of Monmouth had absconded on the first discovery
of the conspiracy; but IHalifax, having discovered his retreat, prevailed on him to write two letters to the king, full of the tenderest and most submissive expressions. The king's fondness was
revived; he permitted Monmouth to come to court, and engaged
him to give a full account of the plot. Monmouth kept silence
till he had obtained his pardon in form; but finding that by taking this step he was entirely disgraced with his party, he instructed his emissaries to deny that he had ever made any such confession as that which was imputed to him, and the party exclaim.
ed that the whole was an imposture of the court. The king, provoked at this conduct, banished Monmouth his presence, and afterward ordered him to depart the kingdom.
~ 14. The king endeavored to increase his present popularity
by every art; and knowing that the suspicion of popery was of
all others the most dangerous, he judged it proper to marry his
niece, the Lady Anne, to Prince George, brother to the King of
Denmark.  The Duke of York nevertheless exercised great influence over the king. Through his mediation, Danby and the popish lords, who had so long been confined in the Tower, were admitted to bail; a measure just in itself, but deemed a great encroachment on the privileges of Parliament; and the duke, contrary to law, was restored to the office of high admiral without
taking the Test. But James's hasty counsels gave the king uneasiness; and he was overheard one day to say, "Brother, I am
too old to go again to my travels; you may,' if you choose it."
Charles was now resolved to govern without calling a Parliament;
and after the dismissal of the last one, had returned to his former
dangerous connections with Louis.
On the 2d February, 1685, Charles was seized with a sudden
fit, which resembled an apoplexy; and though he recovered from
it by bleeding, he languished only a few days, and expired on the




A.D. 1683-1685.        DEATH OF THE KING.                            521
6th, in the 55th year of his age and the 25th of his reign. He
was so happy in a good constitution of body, and had ever been
so remarkably careful of his health, that his death struck as great
a surprise into his subjects as if he had been in the flower of his
youth.  During the king's illness he received the sacrament from
a Roman Catholic priest, accompanied with the other rites of the
Romish Church.  Charles II. was in society the most amiable
and engaging of men. This, indeed, is the most shining part of
his character; and he seems to have been sensible of it,ifor he
was fond of dropping the formality of state, and of relapsing every moment into the companion.  His relations with the other
sex were in the highest degree immoral,* and hence his court became a school of vice and profligacy. Yet he was a friendly
brother, an indulgent father, and a good-natured master. As a
sovereign, his character was dangerous to his people and dishonorable to himself.  Negligent of the interests of the nation, careless of its glory, averse to its religion, jealous of its liberty, lavish
of its treasure, sparing only of its blood, he exposed it by his
measures, which, however, were often the result of mere indolence,
to the danger of a furious civil war, and even to the ruin and ignominy of a foreign conquest.  It has been remarked of Charles
that he never said a foolish thing, nor ever did a wise one; which
he explained by observing that his discourse was his own, his actions were the ministry's.
CHRONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE EVENTS.
A.D.                                  A.D.
1662. The Act of Uniformity passed. Charles 16T0. Secret treaty of Dover.
marries Catherine of Braganza.  1612. War declared against Hollaud.
1664. Conventicle Act.                1613. The Test Act.
1665. War declared against the Dutch.  1674. Peace with Holland.
"  Great Plague at London.           i' Earl of Danby prime minister.
"'  Five-mile Act.                  168S. Peace of Nimeguen.
1666. Great sea-fight.                 "  The Popish Plot.'  Fire of London.                  1619. The Habeas Corpus Act.
1667. The Dutch fleet under De Ruyter in-   "  The Exclusion Bill.
suits Chatham.                |"  Meal-tub Plot.
- "  Treaty of Breda.                1681. Trial and acquittal of Shaftesbury.'; Fall of Clarendon.               1,S3. Rye House Plot.
"  The new ministry, called the Cabal.  "  Trial and execution of Lord Willia;3
1668. Triple alliance between England, Hol-  Russell and Algernon Sidney.
land, and Sweden.               1685. Death of Charles II.
* Some of his illegitimate children were the ancestors of several of the
noblest families in the present peerage. His favorite son, the Duke of Monmouth, by Lucy Walters, was beheaded in the following reign; and left no
issue. By the Duchess of Cleveland (Barbara Villiers) he had three sons,
the Duke of Southampton, the Duke of Grafton (ancestor of the present
duke), and the Duke of Northumberland. The Duke of Richmond (the ancestor of the present duke) was his son by the Duchess of Portsmouth (Louise
de Querouaille); and the Duke of St. Alban's (also the ancestor of the
present duke) was his son by the actress Eleanor Gwynn.




522                   NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS,    CHAP. XXV.
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
HABEAS CORPUS ACT.                 to the distance, not exceeding in any case
31 CAR. II, c. 2 (A.D. 1609).       twenty days. 4. That officers and keepers
neglecting to make due returns, or not deThis celebrated statute did not introduce  livering to the prisoner or his agent within
any new principle, but only confirmed and  six hours after demand a copy of the war,
rendered more available a remedy which had  rant of commitment, or shifting the custody
long existed. " The writ of habeas corpus, of the prisoner from one to another without
requiring a return of the body imprisoned  sufficient reason or authority (specified in
and the cause of his detention, and hence the act), shall for the first offense forfeit
anciently. called corpus cum caussd, was in  ~100, and for the second offense ~200 to the
familiar use between subject and subject in  party grieved, and be disabled to hold his
the reign of Henry VI. Its use by a subject office.  5. That no person once delivered by
against the crown has not been traced during  habeas corpus shall be recommitted for the
the time of the Plantagenet dynasty; the  same offense, on penalty of ~500. 6. That
earliest precedents known being of the date  every person committed for treason or felony
of Henry VII."  (See Amos, "1 The English  shall, if he requires it, the first week of-the
Constitution in the reign of Charles II.," p. next term, or the first day of the next session
171, and the authorities there quoted.) The  of oyer and terminer, be indicted in that
privilege of habeas corpus was twice solemn- term or session, or else admitted to bail, unly confirmed in the reign of Charles I., first less the king's witnesses can not be produced
by the Petition of Right (1628), and second-  at that time;- and if acquitted, or not inly by the statute abolishing the Star Cham-  dicted and tried in the second term or sesber and other arbitrary courts (1640), which  sion, he shall be discharged from his impris,
contained a clause that any person imprison- onment for such imputed offense; but that
ed by_orders of the abolished courts, or by  no person, after the assizes shall be open for
command or warrant of the king or any of  the county in which he is detained, shall be
his council, should be entitled to a writ of  removed by habeas corpus till after the ashabeas corpus from  the courts of King's  sizes are ended, but shall be left to the jusBench or Common Pleas, without delay upon  tice of the judges of assize. 7. That any
any pretense whatsoever.  But as Charles such prisoner may move for and obtain his
II. and his ministers still found means to  habeas corpus as well out of the Chancery
evade these enactments, the celebrated stat-  or Exchequer as out of the King's Bench or
ute was passed in 16T9, known as the Habeas  Common Pleas; and the lord chancellor or
Corpus Act. Its principal author was Lord  judges denying the same on sight of the warShaftesbury, and it was for many years call- rant or oath that the same is refused, forfeits
ed "Lord Shaftesbury's Act."  It enacts:   severally to the party grieved the sum of
"1. That on complaint and request in  ~500. 8. That this writ of habeas cosrpsis
writing by or on behalf of any person com- shall run into the counties palatine, cinque
mitted and charged with any crime (unless  ports, and other privileged places, and the
committed for treason or felony expressed in  islands of Jersey and Guermsey. 9. That no
the warrant; or as accessory or on suspicion  inhabitant of England (except persons conof being accessory before the fact to any petit tracting or convicts praying to be transporttreason or felony; or upon suspicion of such  ed, or having committed some capital offense
petit treason or felony plainly expressed in  in the place to which they are sent) shall be
the warrant; or unless he is convicted or sent prisoner to Scotland, Ireland, Jersey,
charged in execution by legal process), the  Guernsey, or any places beyond the seas
lord chancellor, or any of the judges in va- within or without the king's dominions, or
cation, upon viewing a copy of the warrant i pain that the party committing, his advisers,
or affidavit that a copy is denied, shall (un-! alders, and assistants, shall forfeit to the
less the party has neglected for two terms party aggrieved a sum not less than ~500, to
to apply to any court for his enlargement) I be recovered with treble costs; shall be disaward a habeas corpus for such prisoner, re- j abled to bear any office of trust or profit;
turnable immediately before himself or any  shall incur the penalties of prcemunire; and
other of the judges; and upon the return  shall be incapable of the king's pardon."
made shall discharge the party, if bailable,   The Habeas Corpus Act was confined to
upon giving security to appear and answer  criminal cases, but by the 56 Geo. III., c.
to the accusation in the proper court of judi- 100, it was extended not only to cases of ilcature. 2. That such writs shall be-indorsed  legal restraint by subject on subject, but
as granted in pursuance of this act, and sign- also to those in which the crown has an in-.
ed by the person awarding them. 3. That terest, as in instances of impressment orthe writ shall be returned and the prisoner smuggling.  See Kerr's Blackstone, iii., 137;
brought up within a limited time according  Amos, ibid., p. 201.




Obverse of Medal of James II. and Mary oi Modena. IAc0Bvs H.  AT. MARIA. D. Q 
MAG. 131. FRAN,  iT. nI. REX  T. IE GINA. Busts of king and queen to right.
CHAPTER XXVI.
JA-MES IH  A.D. 1685, —1688..
1. Accession of James. His arbitrary Proceedings. Conviction and
Punishment of Titus Oates. ~ 2. Monmouth's Invasion, Defeat, and Execution. ~ 3. Cruelties of Kirke and Jeffreys. Invasion and Execution
of Argyle. ~ 4. A Parliament. Popish Measures.  ~ 5. Court of High
Commission revived.  Sentence against the Bishop of London. Penal
Laws suspended. Embassy to Rome. ~ 6. The King's violent Proceedings with Corporations.  Affair of Magdalen College.  Imprisonment
and Trial of the seven Bishops. ~ 7. Birth of the Prince of Wales. Conduct of the Prince of Orange. ~ 8. Coalition of Parties in his Favor.
The King retracts his Measures. ~ 9. The Prince of Orange lands at
Torbay.  The King deserted by the Army and by his Family. ~ 10.
The King's Flight. His Character. ~ 11. Convention summoned.  Debates.  Settlement of the Crown, ~ 12. Review of the Stuart Dynasty.
Principles of Government.  ~ 13. Foreign Affairs.  ~ 14, Internal State
of England. ~ 15. Revenue. Army and Navy. ~ 16. Colonies and
Commerce. ~ 17. Manners, Literature, Art, etc.
~ 1. THE first act of James's reign was to assemble the privy
council, where, after some praises bestowed on the memory of his
predecessor, he made professions of his resolution to maintain the
established government, both in Church and State. The first exercise of his authority, however, showed that either he was not
sincere in his professions of attachment to the laws, or that he
had entertained so lofty an idea of his own legal power, that even
his utmost sincerity would tend very little to secure the liberties
of the people.  Without waiting for a Parliament, he issued a




524                     JAMES II.              CHAP. XXVI.
proclamation, ordering the customs and excise to be paid as before; and this exertion of power he would not deign to qualify
by the least act or even appearance of condescension.  He likewise went openly, and with all the ensigns of his dignity, to mass,
an illegal meeting; and by this imprudence he displayed at once
his arbitrary disposition and the bigotry of his principles-those
two great characteristics of his reign and bane of his administration. Nevertheless, all the chief offices of the crown continued
still in the hands of Protestants. Rochester was made treasurer;
his brother Clarendon chamberlain; Godolphin chamberlain to
the queen; Sunderland secretary of state; Halifax president of
the council. On the 23d of April James and his queen were
crowned by the Archbishop of Canterbury in Westminster Abbey.
The communion anil a few minor ceremonies were omitted. The
Parliament assembled in May. The new House of Commons consisted almost entirely of zealous Tories and Churchmen, and were,
of consequence, strongly biased by their affections in favor of the
measures of the crown. In his opening speech the king plainly
intimated that he had resources in his prerogative for supporting
the government independent of their supplies, and that, so long as
they complied with his demands, he would have recourse to them;
but that any ill usage on their part would set him free from those
measures of government, which he seemed to regard more as voluntary than as necessary.  Yet the Commons, besides giving
thanks for the king's speech, voted unanimously that they would
settle on his present majesty, during life, all the revenue enjoyed
by the late king at the time of his demise.
A little before the meeting of Parliament Oates was convicted
of perjury on two indictments, was fined 1000 marks on each indictment, and sentenced to be whipped on two different days from
Aldgate to Newgate, and from Newgate to Tyburn, to be imprisoned during life, and to be pilloried five times every year. Though
the whipping was so cruel that it was evidently the intention of
the court to put him to death by that punishment, he was enabled,
by the care of his friends, to recover; and he lived to King William's reign.
~ 2. MIonmouth, when ordered to depart the kingdom during
the late reign, had retired to Holland, where he was well received
by the Prince of Orange; but, after the accession of James, the
prince thought it necessary to dismiss Monmouth and all his followers. He retired to Brussels; but was pushed on by his followers, and especially: the Earl of Argyle, contrary to his judgment as well as inclination, to make a rash and premature attack
upon England. He sailed fiom Holland with three ships, and
landed at Lyme, in Dorsetshire, with scarcely 100 followers; yet




A.D. 1685. INVASION AND DEFEAT OF MONMOUT-I.          525
so popular was his name that in four days he had assembled above
2000 horse and foot. They were, indeed, almost all of them the
lowest of the people; and the declaration which he published was
chiefly calculated to suit the prejudices of the vulgar, or the most
bigoted of the Whig party.  He called the king Duke of York,
and denominated him a traitor, a tyrant, an assassin, and a popish
usurper.  He imputed to him the fire in London, the murder of
Godfrey and of Essex, nay, the poisoning of the late king; and
he invited all the people to join in opposition to his tyranny.
Monmouth advanced without opposition to Taunton, where
twenty young maids of some rank presented him with a pair of colors of their handiwork, together with a copy of the Bible. Monnr-outh was here persuaded to take upon him the title of king, and
assert the legitimacy of his birth. His numbers had now increased
to 6000; and he was obliged every day, for want of arms, to dismiss
a great many who crowded to his standard.  He entered Bridgewater, Wells, Frome, and was proclaimed in all these places; but,
forgetting that such desperate enterprises can only be rendered
successful by the most adventurous courage, he allowed the expectations of the people to languish, without attempting any considerable undertaking.
The king's forces, under the command of Fevershamn and
Churchill, now advanced against him; and Monmouth, observing
that no considerable men joined him, finding that an insurrection
which was projected in the city had not taken place, and hearing
that Argyle, his confederate, was already defeated and taken, sunk
into such despondency that he had once resolved to withdraw himself, and leave his unhappy followers to their fate; but he was encouraged by the negligent disposition made by ]Feversham, to attack the king's army at: Sedgmoor, near Bridgewater, and would
at last have obtained a victory had not his own misconduct and
the cowardice of Lord Grey, who commanded his cavalry, prevented it. After a combat of three hours the rebels gave way, and
were followed with great slaughter (July 6); and thus was concluded, in a few weeks, this enterprise, rashly undertaken and feebly conducted. Monmouth fled from the field of battle above 20
miles, till his horse sank runder him. He then changed clothes
with a peasant in order to conceal himself. The peasant was discovered by the pursuers, who now redoubled the diligence of their
search. At last the unhappy Monmouth was found lying in the
bottom of a ditch, covered with fern; his body depressed with fatigue and hunger, his mind, by the memory of past misfortunes
and by the prospect of future disasters. He burst into tears when
seized by his enemies, and he seemed still to indulge the fond hope
and desire of life. H-e wrote James the most submissive letters,




526                     JAMES II.               CHAP. XXVI.
and conj ured him to spare the issue of a brother who had ever been
so strongly attached to his interest. James, finding such symptoms of depression and despondency in the unhappy prisoner, admitted him to his presence, in hopes of extorting a discovery of his
accomplices; but Monmouth would not purchase life, however
loved, at the price of so much infamy. Finding all efforts vain,
he assumed courage from despair, and prepared himself for death
with a spirit better suited to his rank and character. This favorite of the people was attended to the scaffold with a plentiful effusion of tears. He warned the executioner not to fall into the error which he had committed in beheading Russell, where it had
been necessary to repeat the blow. This precaution served only to
dismay the executioner.' He struck a feeble blow on Monmouth,
Mwho raised his head from the block and looked him in the face, as
if reproaching him for his failure. He gently laid down his head
a second time, and the executioner struck him again and again to
no purpose. He then. threw aside the axe, and cried out that he
was incapable of finishing the bloody office. The sheriff obliged
him to renew the attempt, and at two blows more the head wvas
severed from the body (July 15).
~ 3. Such arbitrary principles had the court instilled into all
its servants, that Feversham, immediately after the victory, hanged above 20 prisoners; but he was outdone by Colonel Kirke, a
soldier of fortune, who had long served at Tangiers and had contracted, from his intercourse with the 1Moors, an inhumanity less
known in European and in free countries. At his first entry into
Bridgewater he hanged 19 prisoners, without the least inquiry into
the merits of their cause. As if to make sport with death, he ordered a certain number to be executed while he and his company
should drink the king's health. Other actions of inhuman barbarity are related of him. His soldiery were let loose to live at
free quarters. 13y way of pleasantry he used to call them his
lanbs, from the device which they bore on their colors, an appellation which was long remembered with horror in the west of England..The violent Jeffreys succeeded after some interval, and showed
the people that the rigors of law-.:might equal, if not exceed, the
ravages of military tyranny.:This man, who wantoned in cruelty, had already given a specimen of his -character in many trials
where he presided, and he now set. out with a'savage joy, as to a
full harvest of death and destruction. He opened his court at
Dorchester, Exeter, Taunton, and Wells, and, on the whole, besides those who were butchered by the military commanders, 330
are computed to have fallen by the hand of justice. The whole
country was strewed with the heads and limbs of traitors. The




A.D. 1685.         POPISH MEASURES.                   527
convictions of Mrs. Gaunt, Lady Lisle, and Alderman Cornish,
were particularly cruel and unjust. The last two were reversed
after the Revolution. Nothing could satiate the spirit of rigor
which possessed the administration. Even those multitudes who
received pardon were obliged to atone for their guilt by fines which
reduced them to beggary; or where their former poverty made
them incapable of paying, they were condemned to cruel whippings,
or severe imprisonments. Some bought a pardon by bribing the
judge, who made a large sum of money by selling his protection.
Jeffreys, for those eminent services, was soon after vested by the
king with the dignity of chancellor.  The fate of Argyle, as already mentioned, was decided before that of Monmouth. Having
landed in Argyleshire, he collected and armed a body of about
2500 men; but his small and still decreasing army, after wandering about for a little time, was at last defeated and dissipated
without a battle. Argyle himself, in attempting to escape, was
seized and carried to Edinburgh, where, after enduring many indignities with a gallant spirit, he was publicly executed. The
Scotch Parliament showed the utmost servility to the government,
and. seemed to have made an entire surrender of its liberties.
~ 4. The king, elated with this continued tide of prosperity,
opened the English Parliament with a violent and impolitic speech,
in which he intimated his intention of maintaining a standing
army, and dispensing with the tests (Nov. 9).' The latter declaration struck a universal alarm throughout the nation; infused
terror into the Church, which had hitherto been the chief support
of monarchy; and even disgusted the army, by whose means alone
he could now purpose to govern. At the same time, the revocation, by Louis XIV., of the edict of Nantes, granted by Henry IV.
in favor of his Protestant subjects, tended mightily to excite the
animosity of the nation against the Roman Catholic communion.
Above half a million of the most useful and industrious subjects
deserted France; and exported, together with immense sums of
money, those arts and manufactures which had chiefly tended to
enrich that kingdom.  Near 50,000 refugees passed over into
England; and all men were disposed, from their representations,
to entertain the utmost horror against the projects which they
apprehended to be formed by the king for the abolition of the
Protestant religion. The smallest approach toward the introduction of popery must, in the present disposition of the people, have
afforded reason of jealousy. Yet was the king resolute to persevere in his purpose; and, having failed in bringing over the Parliament, he made an attempt, with more success, in establishing
his dispensing power by a verdict of the judges. For this purpose
a feigned action was instituted. Sir Edward Hales, a new pros



528                     JAMES II.               CHAP. XXV1,
elyte, had accepted a commission of colonel, and directions were
given to his coachman to prosecute him for the penalty of ~500,
which the law establishing the tests had granted to informers.
Before the cause was tried, four of the judges-Jones, Montague,
Charleton, and Nevil —were displaced. Sir Edward Herbert, the
chief justice, declared that there was nothing with which the king
might not dispense; and when the matter was referred to the
judges, 11 out of the 12 adhered to this decision. The nation
thought the dispensing power dangerous, if not fatal, to liberty.
But it was not likely that an authority which James had assumed
through so many obstacles would in his hands lie long idle and
unemployed. Four Catholic lords were brought into the privy
council-Powys, Arundel, Belasyse, and Dover. Halifax was dismissed, and the office of privy seal was given to Arundel. The
king was open as well as zealous in the desire of making converts,
and men plainly saw that the only way to acquire his affection
and confidence was by a sacrifice of their religion. Sunderland,
some time after, scrupled not to gain favor at this price. Rochester, the treasurer, though the king's brother-in-law, yet because
he refused to give this instance of complaisance, was turned out
of his office.'The treasury was put in commission, and 13elasyse
was placed at the head of it.  In Scotland James's zeal for pros,
elytism was still more successful.  In Ireland:;the mask was
wholly taken off. The Duke of Ormond was recalled, and the
whole power was lodged in the hands of Talbot, the general, soon
after created Earl of Tyrconnel; a man who, from the blindness
of his prejudices and fury of his temper, was transported with the
most immeasurable ardor for the Catholic cause. All the Protestants were disarmed on pretense of securing the public peace,
and keeping their arms in a few magazines for the use of the
militia.  Next the army was new-modeled; and a great number
of officers, and about 4000 or 5000 private soldiers, because they
were Protestants, were dismissed; and being stripped even of
their regimentals, were turned out to starve in the streets. When
Clareldon, who had been named lord lieutenant, came over, he
soon found that, as he had refused to give the king the. desired
pledge of fidelity by changing his religion, he possessed no credit
or authority; and he was even a kind of prisoner in the hands
of Tyrconnel. All judicious persons of the Roman Catholic communion were disgusted with these violent measures, and could
easily foresee the consequences.
~ 5. The proceedings of the court awakened the alarm of the
Established Church. Instead of avoiding controversy, according
to the king's injunctions, the preachers every where declaimed
against popery; and among the rest, Dr. Sharpe, a clergyman of




A.D. 1685-6. COURT OF ECCLESIASTICAL COMMISSION.  529
London, particularly distinguished himself.  His- discourses gave
great offense at court; and positive orders were issued to the
Bishop of London immediately to suspend Sharpe till his majesty's pleasure should be farther known. The prelate replied that
he was not empowered, in such a summary manner, to inflict any
punishment, even upon the greatest delinquent.  But neither
this obvious reason, nor the most dutiful submissions, both of the
prelate and Sharpe himself, could appease the court. The court
of High Commission had been abolished in the reign of Charles I.
by act of Parliament; and, although that act was partly repealed
after the Restoration, yet the clause was retained which prohibited the erection, in all future times, of that court, or any of a like
nature. Nevertheless, an ecclesiastical commission was anew issued, almost in the words which created the court under Elizabeth, by which seven commissioners were vested with full and
unlimited authority over the Church of England (July 14, 1686).
The Bishop of London was cited before the commissioners; and,
by a majority of votes, the prelate, as well as Sharpe, was suspended.
Almost the whole of this short reign consists of attempts, always imprudent, often illegal, sometimes both, against whatever
was most loved and revered by the nation.  The king, not content with granting dispensations to particular persons, assumed a
power of issuing a declaration of general indulgence, and of suspending at once all the penal statutes, by which a conformity was
required to the established religion. In this declaration he promised that he would maintain his loving subjects in all their properties and possessions, as well of Church and abbey lands as of
any other. MIen thought that if the full establishment of popery
were not at hand, this promise was quite superfluous; and they
concluded that the king was so replete with joy on the prospect of
that glorious event, that he could not, even for a moment, refrain
from expressing it. But what afforded the most alarming prospect was the continuance and even increase of the violent and
precipitate conduct of affairs in Ireland. The Catholics were put
in possession of the council-table, of the courts of judicature, and
of the bench of justices. The charters of Dublin and of all the corporations were annulled, and new charters were granted, subjecting the corporations to the will of the sovereign. The Protestant
freemen were expelled, Catholics introduced; and the latter sect,
as they always were the majority in number, were now invested
with the whole power of the kingdom. But the king was not content with discovering in his own kingdom the imprudence of his
conduct; he was resolved that all Europe should be witness of it.
Hie publicly sent the Earl of Castlemaine embassador extraordiz




530                     JAMES II.               CHAP. XXVI.
nary to Rome, in order to express his obedience to the Pope, and
to make advances for reconciling his kingdoms, in form, to the
Catholic communion. The Pope, in return, sent a nuncio to England; and, though any communication with the Pope was treason,
yet so little regard did the king pay to the laws that he gave the
nuncio a public and solemn reception at Windsor. Four Catholic
bishops were publicly consecrated in the king's chapel; the regular clergy of that communion appeared at court in the habits of
their order, and some of them were so indiscreet as to boast that
in a little time they hoped to walk in procession through the
capital.
~ 6. By the practice of annulling the charters, the king was become master of all the corporations, and could at pleasure change
every where the whole magistracy. The Church party, therefore,
was deprived of authority; and, by an unnatural and impolitic
coalition, the Dissenters were, first in London afid afterward in
every other corporation, substituted in their place.  Not content
with this violent and dangerous innovation, the king appointed
certain regulators to examine the qualifications of electors, and
directions were given them to exclude all such as adhered to the
test and penal statutes. He sought to bring over the chief public
functionaries to his views in private conferences which were then
called closetings. The whole power in Ireland had been committed to Catholics. In Scotland, all the ministers whom the king
chiefly trusted were converts to that religion. Every great office
in England, civil and military, was gradually transferred from the
Protestants.  Nothing remained but to open the door in the
Church and universities to the intrusion of the Catholics, and it
was not long before the king made this rash effort. Cambridge
successfully resisted the king's mandate to confer the degree of
master of arts on Father Francis, a Benedictine; but Parker, Bishop of Oxford, a man of loose character, and recommended only by
his willingness to change his religion, was forced upon the fellows
of Magdalen College as a new president. This act of violence, of
all those which were committed during the reign of James, is perhaps the most illegal and arbitrary: it not only attacked private
property, but poisoned the very fountains of the Church (1687).
The next measure of the court was an insult still more open on
the ecclesiastics. The king published a second declaration of indulgence, almost in the same terms with the former; and lie subjoined an order that, immediately after divine service, it should be
read by the clergy in all the churches (April, 1688).  Hereupon
six prelates-namely, Lloyd, Bishop of St. Asaph, Ken of Bath
and Wells, Turner of Ely, Lake of Chichester, White of Peterbor,
ough, and'rrelawney of Bristol-met privately with Sancroft the




A.D. 1686-1688. IMPRISONMENT OF THE SEVEN BISHOPS. 531
primate, and drew up a respectful petition to the king, in which
they represented that the Declaration of Indulgence being founded
on a prerogative formerly declared illegal by Parliament, they
could not, in prudence, honor, or conscience, make themselves
parties to the distribution of it, and besought the king that he
would not insist upon their reading it. The king immediately embraced a resolution of punishing the bishops for a petition so popular in its matter, and so
prudent and cautious in
the expression. He summoned them  before the
council; and when they
avowed the petition, an                K -
order was  immediately
drawn for their commitment to the Tower; and                  l \
the crown lawyers receiv-                          -
ed directions to prosecute
them for the seditious li-          /
bel which, it was pretend- 
ed, they had composed and
uttered. When the people beheld these fathers of
the Church brought fiom
court under the custody
of a guard, when they
saw them embark in vessels on the river and conveyed toward the Tower,
all their affection for liberty, all their zeal for religion, blazed up at once,
and they flew to behold
this - affecting  spectacle.
The whole shore was covered with crowds of prostrate spectators, who at
once implored the blessing of those holy pastors, Medal of Archbishop Sancroft and the seven bishops.
and addressed their peti-   Obv.: GVL. SANCROFT. ARaCIEPISC. CANlTUAR.
16 S3. Bust to right. Rev.: Busts of the seven
tions toward heaven for   bishops in circles, with their names.
protection during this extreme danger to which their country and their religion stood exposed. Even the soldiers, seized with the contagion of the same
spirit, flung themselves on their knees before the distressed prel



532                     JAMES II.              CHAP. XXVI.
ates, and craved the benediction of those criminals whom they
were appointed to guard. Their passage, when conducted to their
trial, was, if possible, attended by greater crowds of anxious spectators. Twenty-nine temporal peers (for the other prelates kept
aloof) attended the seven prisoners to Westminster Hall; and
such crowds of gentry followed the procession that scarcely was
any room left for the populace to enter. No cause, even during
the prosecution of the Popish Plot, was ever heard with so much
zeal and attention. The arguments of counsel in favor of the
bishops were convincing in themselves, and were heard with a
favorable disposition by the audience. The jury, however, from
what cause is unknown, took several hours to deliberate, and kept,
during so long a time, the people in the most anxious expectation. But when the wished-for verdict, not guilty, was at last pronounced, the intelligence was echoed through the hall, was conveyed to the crowds without, was carried into the city, and was
propagated with infinite joy throughout the kingdom (June 30).
The king had formed a standing army of about 16,000 men, which
encamped in summer on Hounslow Heath. It happened that the
very day on which the trial of the bishops was finished, James
had reviewed the troops, and had retired into the tent of Lord
Feversham, the general, when he was surprised to hear a great
uproar in the camp, attended with the most extravagant symptoms of tumultuary joy. He suddenly inquired the cause, and
was told by Feversham, " It was nothing but the rejoicing of the
soldiers for the acquittal of the bishops."  "Do you call that
nothing?" replied he. " But so much the worse for them."
~ 7. A few days before the acquittal of the bishops the queen
was delivered of a son (June 10, 1688), who was baptized by the
name of James. This blessing was impatiently longed for, not
only by the king and queen, but by all the zealous Catholics both
abroad and at home. - Vows had been offered at every shrine for
a male successor, and pilgrimages undertaken, particularly one to
Loretto, by the Duchess of Modena; and success was chiefly attributed to that pious journey. But the Protestant party went
so far as to ascribe to the king the design of imposing on the
world a supposititious child, who might be educated in his prin-.ciples, and after his death support the Catholic religion in his
dominions.
Although the king's conduct had entirely alienated the hearts
of his subjects, yet such is the influence of established government,
and so averse are men from beginning hazardous enterprises, that,
had not an attack been made from abroad, affairs might long have
remained in their present delicate situation. The Prince of
Orange, ever since his marriage with the Lady ~Mary, had main



A.D. 1688.  CONDUCT OF THE PRINCE OF ORANGE.           533
tained a very prudent conduct, agreeable to that sound understanding with which he was so eminently endowed. But when the arbitrary conduct of James had disgusted all his subjects, William
sent over Dykvelt as envoy to England, and gave him instructions
to apply in his name, after a proper manner, to every sect and denomination.  To the Church party he sent assurances of favor
and regard; while the Nonconformists were exhorted not to be
deceived by the fallacious caresses of a popish court, but to wait
patiently till laws, enacted by Protestants, should give them that
toleration which, with so much reason, they had long demanded.
Dykvelt executed his commission with such dexterity that all
orders of men cast their eyes toward Holland, and many of the
most considerable persons, both in Church and state, made secret
applications through him to the Prince of Orange. At last, when
~a son was born to the king, and the succession of William thus cut
off, both the prince and the English nation were reduced to despair,
and saw no resource but in a confederacy for their mutual interest. And thus the event which James had so long made the object of his most ardent prayers, and from which he expected the
firm establishment of his throne, proved the immediate cause of
his ruin and downfall.
Zuylestein, who had been sent over to congratulate the king on
the birth of his son, brought back to the prince invitations from
most of the great men in England, to assist them, by his arms, in
the recovery of their laws and liberties. Whigs, Tories, and Nonconformists, forgetting their animosity, secretly concurred in a design of resisting their unhappy and misguided sovereign. Even
Sunderland, the king's favorite minister, entered into correspondence with the prince; and, at the expense of his own honor and
his master's interests, secretly favored a cause which, he foresaw,
was likely soon to predominate.
~ 8. The prince was easily engaged to yield to the applications
of the English, and to embrace the defense of a nation which, during its present fears and distresses, regarded him as its sole protector. The time when he entered on his enterprise was well
chosen, as the people were then in the highest ferment on account
of the insult which the imprisonment and trial of the bishops had
put upon the Church, and, indeed, upon all the Protestants of the
nation. He had beforehand increased the Dutch navy, levied additional troops, and made such arrangements with his neighbors
and allies as should prevent any danger to Holland from his expedition.  So secret were the prince's counsels, and so fortunate
was the situation of affairs, that he could still cover his preparations under other pretenses. Yet all his artifices could not entirely conceal his real intentions from the sagacity of the French




534                     JAMES II.               CHAP. XXVI.
court. Louis conveyed the intelligence to James, and offered to
join a squadron of French ships to the English fleet, and to send
over any number of troops which James should judge requisite for
his security. But all the French king's proposals were imprudently
rejected. James was not, as yet, entirely convinced that his sonin-law intended an invasion upon England.  Fully persuaded,
himself, of the sacredness of his own authority, he fancied that a
like belief had made deep impression on his subjects; and, notwithstanding the strong symptoms of discontent which broke out
every where, such a universal combination in rebellion appeared
to him nowise credible.
James at last received a letter from his minister at the Hague
which informed him with certainty that he was soon to look for
a powerful invasion from Holland. Though he could reasonably
expect no other intelligence, he was astonished at the news: he
grew pale, and the letter dropped from his hand; his eyes were
now opened, and he found himself on the brink of a frightfuL precipice, which his delusions had hitherto concealed from him. His
ministers and counselors, equally astonished, saw no resource but
in a sudden and precipitate retraction of all those fatal measures
by which he had created to himself so many enemies, foreign and
domestic. He paid court to the Dutch, and offered to enter into
any alliance with them for common security; he replaced in all
the counties the deputy lieutenants and justices, who had been deprived of their commissions for their adherence to the Test and
the penal laws; he restored the charters of London and of all the
corporations; he annulled the court of ecclesiastical commission;
he took off the Bishop of London's suspension; he reinstated the
expelled president and fellows of Magdalen College; and he was
even reduced to caress those bishops whom he had so lately persecuted and insulted.  But all these measures were regarded as
symptoms of fear, not of repentance.
~ 9. Meanwhile the Prince of' Orange published a declaration,
which was dispersed over the kingdom, and met with universal
approbation. In this document he enumerated all the grievances
of the nation, and declared his intention of coming to England
with an armed force, in order to protect the liberties of the people,
to assemble a legal and a free Parliament, and to examine the
proofs of the legitimacy of the Prince of Wales. He set sail from
Helvoetsluys on Oct. 19, with a fleet of nearly 500 vessels, and
an army of above 14,000 men, and landed safely in Torbay on
the 5th of November, the anniversary of the gunpowder treason.
The Dutch army marched first to Exeter, and the prince's declaration was there published. That whole county was so terrified
vith the executions which had ensued on Monmouth's rebellion




A.D. 1688.        THE KING DESERTED.                  535
that no one for several days joined the prince.  But Sir Edward
Seymour made proposals fior an association, and by degrees the
Earl of' Abingdon, Mr. Russell, son of the Earl of Bedford, and
others, came to Exeter.  All England was in commotion, and
the nobility and gentry in various, counties embraced the same
cause.  
But the most dangerous symptom was the disaffection which
had crept into the army. The officers seemed all disposed to adhere to the interests of their country and of their religion, and
several of high distinction openly deserted. Among those was
Lord Churchill (afterward the celebrated Duke of Marlborough),
who had been raised from the rank of a. page, had been invested
with a high command in'the army, had been created a peer, and
had owed his whole fortune to the king's favor.  He carried
with him the Duke of Grafton, natural son of the late king,
Colonel Berkeley, and, some troop's of dragoons. The king had
arrived at Salisbury, the head-quarters of his army, when he received this fatal intelligence; and in the perplexity which it occasioned, he embraced a sudden resolution of drawing off his army
and retiring toward London-a measure which could only serve to
betray his fears and provoke farther treachery.
But Churchill had prepared a still more mortal blow for his dis'
tressed benefactor.  Hlis lady and he had an entire asccndant
over the family of Prince George of Denmark, and the'time now
appeared seasonable for overwhelming the unhappy king, who was
already staggering with the violent shocks which he had received.
Andover was the first stage of James's retreat toward London,
and there Prince George, together with the young Duke of Ormond, and some other persons of distinction, deserted him in the
nighttime, and retired to the prince's camp. No sooner had this
news reached London, than the Princess Anne, pretending fear
of the king's displeasure, withdrew herself in company with the
Bishop of London and Lady Churchill. She fled to Nottingham,
where the Earl of Dorset received her with great respect, and
the gentry of the county quickly formed a troop for her protection. The king burst into tears when the first intelligence of this
astonishing event was conveyed to him. "God help me," cried
he, in the extremity of his agony, "my own children have forsaken
me i" Unable to resist the torrent, he preserved not presence of
mind in yielding to it, but seemed in this emergency as much depressed with adversity as he had before been vainly elated by
prosperity.  Ie called a council of the peers and prelates who
were in London, and followed their advice in issuing writs for a
new Parliament, and in sending Halifax, Nottingham, and Godolphin as commissioners to treat with the Prince of Orange.




536                     JAMES 1I.               CHAP. XXVI.
~ 10. The Prince of Orange declined a personal conference with
James's commissioners, and sent the Earls of Clarendon and Oxford to treat with them: the terms which he proposed implied almost a present participation of the sovereignty, and he stopped
not a moment the march of his army toward London. The news
which the king received from all quarters served to continue the
panic into which he was fallen.   Impelled by his own fears and
those of others, he precipitately embraced the resolution of escaping into France, and he sent off beforehand the queen and the infant prince, under the conduct of Count Lauzun, an old favorite
of the French monarch. He himself disappeared in the nighttime, attended only by Sir Edward Hales, and made the best of
his way to a ship which waited for him near the mouth of the
river (Dec. 11). Nothing could equal the surprise which seized
the city, the court, and the kingdom upon the discovery of this
strange event. The more effectually to involve every thing in
confusion, the king threw the great seal into the river; and he
recalled all those writs which had been issued for the election of
the new Parliament.
By this temporary dissolution of government the populace were
masters; and there was no disorder which, during their present
ferment, might not be dreaded from them. They rose in a tumult and destroyed all the Catholic chapels. They even attacked and rifled the houses of the Florentine envoy and Spanish embassador, where many of the Catholics had lodged their most valuable effects. Jeffreys, the chancellor, who had disguised himself
in order to fly the kingdom, was discovered by them, and so abused
that he died a little after. To add to the disorder, Feversham,
the royal general, had no sooner heard of the king's flight than he
disbanded the troops in the neighborhood, and, without either disarming or paying them, let them loose to prey upon the country.
In this extremity, the bishops and peers who were in town thought
proper to assemble, and to interpose for the preservation of the
community.  They chose the Marquis of Halifax speaker; they
gave directions to the mayor and aldermen for keeping the peace
of the city; they issued orders, which were readily obeyed, to the
fleet, the army, and all the garrisons; and they made applications
to the Prince of Orange, whose enterprise they highly applauded,
and whose success they joyfully congratulated. The prince, on
his part, was not wanting to the tide of success which flowed in
upon him, and continued his march toward London.
While every one, from principle, interest, or animosity, turned
his back on the unhappy king, who had abandoned his own cause,
the unwelcome news arrived that he had been seized by the populace at Feversham, as he was making his escape in disguise. On




A.D. 1688.     JAMES RETIRES TO FRANCE.                537
his arrival in London, the populace, moved by compassion for his
unhappy fate, and actuated by their own levity, received him with
shouts and acclamations; but during his abode at Whitehall little
attention was paid to him by the nobility or any persons of distinction.  He himself showed not any symptom of spitrit, nor discovered any intention of resuming the reins of government which
he had once thrown aside.
Nothing remained for the now ruling powers but to deliberate
how they should dispose of his person. Besides that the prince
may justly be supposed to have possessed more generosity than to
think of offering violence to an unhappy monarch, so nearly related to him, he knew that nothing would so effectually promote
his own views as the king's retiring into France, a country at all
times obnoxious to the English. It was determined, therefore, to
push him into that measure, which, of himself, he seemed sufficiently inclined to embrace. Lord Feversham, whom he had sent
on a civil message to the prince, desiring a conference, was put in
arrest, under pretense of his coming without a passport; the Dutch
guards were ordered to take possession of Whitehall; and Halifax, Shrewsbury, and Delamere delivered a message to the king
in bed after midnight, ordering him to leave his palace next morning, and to depart for Ham, a seat of the Duchess of Lauderdale's.
He desired permission, which was easily granted, of retiring to
Rochester, a town near the sea-coast. Here he lingered some
days, under the protection of a Dutch guard, and seemed desirous
of an invitation still to keep possession of the throne. But, observing that the Church, the nobility, the city, the country, all
concurred in neglecting him, and leaving him to his own counsels,
he submitted to his melancholy fate; and, being urged by earnest
letters from the queen, he privately embarked on board a frigate
which waited for him (Dec. 23); and he arrived safely at Ambleteuse, in Picardy. Hence he hastened to St. Germain's, where
Louis received him with the highest generosity, sympathy, and
regard.
~ 11. It now remained to settle the government; and the prince,
finding himself possessed of the good-will of the nation, resolved
to leave them entirely to their own guidance and direction. The
peers and bishops, to the number of nearly 90, presented an address desiring him to summon a convention by circular letters,
and to assume, in the mean time, the management of public affairs.
The prince seemed still unwilling to act upon an authority
which might be deemed so imperfect; he was desirous of obtaining a more express declaration of the public consent. A judicious expedient was fallen on for that purpose. All the members
wvho had sat in the I-louse of Commons during any Parliament of'~ %~Z2




538                     JAMES II.              CHAP. XXVI.
Charles II. (the only Parliaments whose election was regarded as
free) were invited to meet; and to them were added the lord
mayor, aldermen, and 50 of the common council. This was regarded as the most proper representative of the people that could
be summoned during the present emergency. They unanimously
voted the same address with the Lords; and the prince, being
thus supported by all the legal authority which could possibly be
obtained in this critical juncture, wrote circular letters to the
counties and corporations of England; and his orders were universally complied with. The conduct of the prince with regard
to Scotland was founded on the same prudent and moderate maxims. He summoned all the Scotchmen of rank at that time in
London, who made an offer to the prince of the present administration, which he willingly accepted.
When the English convention assembled (Jan. 23,1689), thanks
were unanimously given by both houses to the Prince of Orange
for the deliverance which he had brought them; and the Commons sent up to the Peers the following vote for their concurrence: " That King James II., having endeavored to subvert the
constitution of the kingdom by breaking the original contract between king and people, and having, by the advice of Jesuits and
other wicked persons, violated the fundamental laws, and withdrawn himself out of the kingdom, has abdicated the government,
and that the throne is thereby vacant." This vote, when carried
to the upper House, met with great opposition, but after many
debates the Lords at length adopted the resolution of the Commons without any alteration.  The convention passed a bill in
which they settled the crown on the Prince and Princess of Orange,
the sole administration to remain in the prince; the Princess of
Denmark to succeed after the death of the Prince and Princess
of Orange; her posterity after those of Mary, but before those of
William by any other wife. The convention annexed to this settlement of the crown a Declaration of Rights, where all the points
which had, of late years, been disputed between the king and people, were finally determined, and the powers of royal prerogative
were more narrowly circumscribed and more exactly defined than
in any former period of the English government. This declaration
was subsequently confirmed and extended by the Bill of Rights,
as will be related in the following Book.
On Feb. 13, 1689, the Marquis of Halifax thereupon tendered
the crown to William and Mary, who accepted the offer, and were
proclaimed King and Queen of England, France, and Ireland.
~ 12. By the Revolution just recorded, the struggle between
king and people, which had lasted since the reign of John, was at
length decided. The sovereigns who preceded the Stuarts had




A.PD 1689.   REVIEW OF THE STUART DYNASTY.              539
contented themselves with practical triumphs over the Legislature; James L., adopting the maxim "a Deo rex, a rege lex,"
raised the abstract question of principle, and inculcated on his
subjects his own divine right, and their duty of passive obedience,
in which he was followed by his son and grandsons. But there
was already a large party which precisely reversed this maxim,
and before the expiration of a century they established their view
at the bitter expense of two of James's descendants.  Fortunately
for the nation, Charles I. and James II., two princes of' very similar character, possessed sufficient courage or sufficient obstinacy
to stake their lives and fortunes on the maintenance of what they
mistakingly considered a sacred principle, and thus to bring the
question to an issue, which James I. had avoided out of natural
timidity, and Charles II. partly from good sense and partly from
the careless indolence of his temper.
It is therefore the constitutional and parliamentary history of
the country that will chiefly engross the attention of the student
during the period of the Stuarts-a study for which there are ample materials, as indicated in a note appended to this book. Nor
was the age fertile alone in records and practical works on government.  The antagonistic theories of the divine right of kings,
and the indefeasible right of the people to govern themselves, pro-.voked a host of writers to treat on the fundamental principles of
government, and to examine the foundations on which all legislative and executive authority is built. The greatest names-Harrington, Sidney, Milton, Locke-are ranged on the side of popular
liberty; on the other, I-Iobbes, a profound and original thinker, is
the chief; a writer who affords a striking instance that the utmost fieedom and originality of philosophical speculation may
not be incompatible with the entertainment of servile and arbitrary political principles. Nothing can more strongly show how
generally the theory of government occupied the attention of reflecting men in the time of the Stuarts, than the solemn assertion by the convention of 1688 of an original contract between
prince and people; an hypothesis utterly incapable of proof, however wholesome in itself, and however useful as the postulate of a
political disquisition. Happily, however, the opposite principle
of divine right is not a whit better founded; and in the present
day, the question between the two would, be decided by more direct and practical, if less ingenious arguments.
~ 13. With regard to foreign affairs, the era of the first four
Stuarts presents almost a blank, and what little is to be noted is
for the most part discreditable to the nation. James I. added to
England the power of Scotland as well as that of pacified Ireland,
yet on the day of his accession, to use the words of Lord Macau



540                      JAMES II.              CHAP. XXVI.
lay, " our country descended from the rank which she had hitherto
held, and began to be regarded as a power.hardly of the second
order." The timidity of that sovereign restrained him from a
war to which he was summoned both by the ties of family interests and by the policy becoming a Protestant prince: his blind
subserviency to a favorite precipitated him, toward the close of his
reign, into another which helped to forward the ruin of his son.
The short effort of Charles I. in favor of the French Protestants
was equally inglorious and unsuccessful; and the domestic troubles
which occupied the remainder of his reign diverted his attention
from the affairs of the Continent. The energetic administration
of Cromwell revived for a while the tarnished lustre of the English arms. Under Charles II., the pensioner of France, England
reached its lowest depth of degradation as a member of the European system.
~ 14. Yet, in spite of all this misgovernment, these disturbances
at home, this dishonor abroad, the country went on steadily, though
slowly, advancing in wealth, in power, and in civilization. In the
time of Charles II. the population of England had increased to
about five millions and a quarter.  The addition was principally
in the southern counties; the district north of Trent still continued thinly peopled, and in a state of manners comparatively
barbarous, although the coal-beds which it contained were destined eventually to attract an immense increase of population by
making it the seat of manufacturing industry.  The archiepiscopal province of York, which at the time of the Revolution was
thought to contain only one seventh of the English population,
contained in 1841 two sevenths. In Lancashire the number of
inhabitants appears to have increased nine-fold.* But the means
of communication throughout the kingdom were wretched in the
extreme. Canals did not exist; the roads were execrable and infested with highwaymen.  Four horses, sometimes six, were required to drag the coaches through the mud; and the traveler
who missed the scarce discernible track over the heaths,. which
were then frequent and extensive, might wander lost and benight.
ed. Some improvement was effected by the introduction of posts
in the reign of Charles I., which were brought to more perfection
after the Restoration. In 1680 a penny post was established in
London for the delivery of letters and parcels several times a day.!The first law for erecting turnpikes was passed in 1662; but no
very considerable improvement in the roads took place till the
reign of George II.
~ 15. The annual revenue of James I. was estimated at about
~450,000, a great part of which arose from the crown lands, and
* lMacaulay, tHist. of England, i., 286.




A.D 1689.      REVENUE-ARMY AND NAVY.                   541
from purveyance and other feudal rights, which were abolished, as
before related, soon after the Restoration. The customs in the
reign of James I. never exceeded ~190,000, and were supposed -to
be an ad valorem duty of 5 per cent., both on exports and imports.
The excise was not established till the next reign, when both the
customs and the total amount of the revenue had more than
doubled; the income previous to the meeting of the Long Parliament being about ~900,000, of which the customs formed about
~500,000. During the Commonwealth the revenue was about
~2,000,000; yet it was exceeded by the expenditure. The average revenue of Charles II. was about ~1,200,000. The first Parliament of James II. put him in possession of ~1,900,000 per annum, though the country was at peace; to which his income as
Duke of York being added, made about two millions. The national debt at the time of the Revolution was only a little more
than a million.
These facts show a vast increase in the trade and resources of
the country. But the increased revenue was absorbed by augmented expenditure.  Fortunately, the first two Stuarts had no
standing army, or they might probably have succeeded in overthrowing the liberties of the country.  Regular troops were first
kept constantly on foot in the time of the Commonwealth. Charles
II. had a few regiments of guards, but James II. possessed a regular force of 20,000 men.  Taught by the errors of his predecessors, he no doubt contemplated employing more effectual means
for asserting his odious principles than had been at their disposal;
but in the moment of need he iound that his Protestant troops
were citizens as well as soldiers. The navy was also vastly augmented under the Stuarts. -In Elizabeth's reign the whole naval
force of the kingdom consisted of only 33 ships, besides pinnaces,
and the largest of them would not now equal a fourth rate. In
the reign of James I. was constructed a ship larger than had yet
been seen in the English navy, being of 1400 tons, and carrying
64 guns.'The navy increased considerably under Charles II.,
and still more under James II. The latter had an affection for
the service, showed considerable talent as an admiral, and was
the inventor of naval signals.! He was well seconded by Pepys,
the Secretary of the Admiralty. At the period of the Revolution
the fleet consisted of 173 vessels, manned by 42,000 seamen.
~ 16. The increase of revenue and of military power denoted
and was accompanied with a corresponding increase in wealtlrand
commerce. The first foundations of the North American colonies
were laid, as we have seen, in the reign of James I., when also
the Bermudas and the island of Barbadoes were planted. The
East India trade began to flourish, Greenland was discovered, and




542                    JAMES II.               CHAP. XXVI.
the whale-fishery begun. The population of the North American
colonies was considerably augmented in the reign of Charles I.
by the persecutions and intolerance of the High-Church party,
which drove many Puritans to New England, many Catholics to
Maryland. Under Charles II., New York and the Jerseys were
recovered or conquered, and Carolina and Pennsylvania settled.
The two Dutch wars, by disturbing the trade of that republic promoted the commerce of this island; and after Charles II. had
made a separate peace with the States, his subjects enjoyed unmolested the trade of Europe. The commerce and riches of England increased very fast from the Restoration to the Revolution,
and it is computed that during these 28 years the shipping of
England was more than doubled. Several new manufactures were
introduced, and especially that of silk, by the French Protestants
who took refuge here after the revocation of the edict of Nantes.
Sir Josiah Child, the banker, who wrote upon trade, states that in
1688 there were more men on'Change worth ~10,000 than there
were in 1650 worth ~1000.
~ 17. Never, perhaps, have the manners of any nation undergone a more sudden and violent revulsion than those of the English during this period. Under the first two Stuarts they were
marked by religious austerity; under the last two, by profligacy
and shamelessness. The gloomy enthusiasm of the earlier period
begat many religious sects, of which one of the most singular was
that of the Quakers, founded in the reign of Charles I. by George
Fox, a native of Drayton, in Lancashire.  Of this sect, Penn, the
founder of Pennsylvania was an eminent member. Each of these
two classes had its literature. The greatest genius among the
Puritans, and, indeed, one of the greatest among the English
poets, was Milton. The writers who succeeded the Restoration,
and who belonged to what may he called the Cavalier literature,
are more numerous, but less remarkable than their predecessors.
Their works, and especially those of the dramatists, though often
sparkling with wit, are for the most part disfigured by indecency.
The chief merit of these authors is their having moulded our language, and especially its prose, into that easy, perspicuous, and
equable flow which makes their writings still seem modern. The
principal refiners of our language and versification were Denham,
Waller, and Dryden: the prose of the last has seldom been equaled. No era can rival that of the Stuarts in the names of great
philosophers: it counts among others those of Bacon, Hobbes,
Locke, Boyle, Newton, and Harvey, the discoverer of the circulation of the blood. Indeed, notwithstanding the numerous men
of wit and learning who flourished after the Restoration, the reign
of Charles II. is, after all, more distinguished for science than




A.D. 1689       MANNERS, LITERATURE, ETC.                    543
for literature. The Royal Society was founded in 1660 by a
small circle of Oxford philosophers, and obtained the king's letters patent.
Charles I. encouraged the fine arts, and made collections; but
we can not yet be said to have had a school either of painting or
sculpture.  The artists employed were commonly foreigners, as
Vandyck, Verrio, Kneller, Lely, and others.  Cibber the sculptor
was a Dutchman.  Almost the only Englishmen eminent in art
at this period were Inigo Jones and Wren the architects.  The
former built Whitehall and several mansions of the nobility. The
great fire which swept away the wooden tenements of London
opened a noble field for the display of Wren's genius, which, however, was checked by the penury of government. Nevertheless,
we are indebted to him for St. Paul's Cathedral, as well as for
several of the finest churches in London.
Had there existed in the times of the Stuarts better vehicles
for the expression of public opinion, they might probably have
been saved from some of those schemes which proved so fatal to
themselves. Newspapers had indeed been established in the reign
of Charles I.; but even in that of his successor they were small
and unimportant, and appeared only occasionally.  Toward the
close of his reign Charles II. would allow only the London Gazette to be published.  Till 1679 the press in general was under
a censorship; but, though it was then emancipated for a short
period, till the censorship was revived by James, the liberty was
not extended to gazettes. In this state of things, the coffee-houses,
which were established in the reign of Charles II. —for tea, coffee,
and chocolate were first introduced about the time of the Restoration-were the chief places for the ventilation of political and
literary opinions. The government regarded these places of resort
with such uneasiness and suspicion that it once made an ineffectual attempt to close them.
CHRONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE EVENTS.
A.Dn.                            A.D.
1685. Accession of James II.     1S87. Attack upon the privileges of the uni-' Invasions, defeat, and execution of  versities.
Monmouth and Argyle.       1688. Trial of the seven bishops. Invasion
" Revocation of the Edict of Nantes by  of the Prince of Orange. Flight and
Louis XIV.                       abdication of the king.
1686. New Court of Ecclesiastical Commis- 1689. King William III. and Queen Mary
sion. Penal laws suspended.     proclaimed.




544                   NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.    CHAP. XXV1
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
AUTHORITIES FOR THE PERIOD OF   Ashburnham's Narrative; Lord Fairfax's
TIIE STUARTS.                  Memorials;  Sir T. Herbert's  Memoirs;
Slingsby's and Hodgson's Memoirs; BaxDuring this epoch the materials of history  ter's Life and Times; Bishop Hacket's Mebecome both more abundant and more an- morial of Archbishop  lWilliatms; Laud's
thentic. The following list does not pretend  liemains, ewith the History of his Troubles
to enumerate all that might be mentioned, and Trial; Carte's Life of Ormonde; Sir
but to give only the more important.        P. Warwick's 1Memoirs of King Charles I.;
For the reign of James I. the chief author- Denzil Lord Hollis's Memoirs (1641-1648);
ities are,Winwood's Mlemorials; Whitelock's  Bishop Hall's Hard Measure; Evelyn's Mle2Memorials; the Secret History of the Court moirs (1641-1T06): Sir Ed. Walker's Historof James I., by Osborne, Weldon, Heylin,  ical Discourses relative to King Charles I.;
and Peyton; Camden's Annals of King.Dr. John Walker's Nuember and Sufferings
Jazmes I., and Wilson's History of King  of the Clergy sequestered in the Great RebelJamres L. (both in Kennett); Dalrymple's  lion; Clement Walker's History of IndeMemorials and Letters, illustrative of the  pendency; Burton's Cronmwellian Diary;
reigns of James I. and Charles I.; Carleton's  Sir John Temple's History of the Irish ReLetters during his embassy in Holland;  bellion;  Oliver Cromwell's Letters and
Rushworth's Historical Collection  (1618-  Speeches, with elucidations by Thomas Car1648); Birch's Negotiations from  1592 to  lyle.
1617; Bacon's Wforks; King James's Works.    For the reigns of Charles II. and James
Stlly's Mdlnoires and Boderie's Anebassades   l.: Burnet's History of his oVn Tizmes;
ens Angleterre throw considerable light on  Reresby's Memoirs; Pepys' Diary (1659the state of James's foreign relations.     1669); Dalrymple's Memroirs of Great BritFor the reign of Charles I., Clarendon's  ain and Ireland, from  Charles II. to the
History of the Rebellion is the principal battle of La Hogue; Life of James II., colwork; a classical performance in regard to  lected out of Memoirs writ of his own hand,
style and historical description, especially  edited by Rev. J. S. Clarke; Correspondescs
the delineation of characters, but far from   of Henry and Lawrence Hyde, Earls of Clabeing always trustworthy, as the author was  rendon and Rochester; and Dicry of Lord
both prejudiced and careless. A genuine, Clarendon. The MdAmoires de Grammont ilunmutilated edition of this work was not lustrate the court and times of Charles II.
published till 1826. To this must be added  It is scarcely necessary to mention the reClarendon's Life and State Papers; WVhite- cent work of Lord Macaulay. The (Eeuvres
lock's Memorials (from Charles I. to the Res- de Louis XII. and the letters of Barillon
toration); Nalson's Collections (1639-1648); and D'Avaux show the relations of Charles
Scobell's Acts and Ordinances (1640-1656); II. and his brother with the French court.
Husband's Collection (1642-1646); Thurloe's    Other works which illustrate the whole peState Papers (1638-1660); May's History  riod are the Journals of the Lords and Comof the Losng Parliament; Strafford's Letters mons, the Parliamentary History, Howell's
and Dispatches; the Sydney State Papers;  State Trials, the Hardwicke Papers, Coke's
Dugdale's Short TView of the late Troubles; Detection of the Court and State of England
Robert Baillie's Letters and Journals (1637-,frorn James I. to Queen Anne, Harris's
1662); Ludlow's Memoirs; Lucy Hutchin-  Lives of the Stuarts, Neals History of the
son's Memoirs of her husband, Col. Hutch- Puritans, etc.
inson; Sir John Berkeley's Memoirs; John




Medal of William III. INVICTIsSIMYS GVILLELAIVS MAG. EllSt laureate to right.
BOOK VI.
FROM THE REVOLUTION OF 1688 TO THE
YEAR 1858.
CHAPTER XXVII.
WILLIAM AND MIARY, AND WILLIA}M III. A.D. 1689-1702.
~ 1. Introductory Remarks.  ~ 2. Character of William IIl.  His Ministry. Convention Parliament.  ~ 3. Discontents and Mutiny. Nonjurors. Toleration Act.  Settlement of Scotland. ~ 4. James lands in
Ireland.  Naval Action at Bantry Bay. Siege of Londonderry. Battle
of Newton Butler. ~ 5. Bill of Rights. Attainders reversed. Change
of Ministers. ~ 6. William proceeds to Ireland. Battle of the Boyne.
Siege of Limerick and Return of William. ~ 7. Action off Beachy Head.
Campaign in Ireland. Pacification of Limerick. ~ 8. Altered Views of
William.  Massacre of Glencoe.  ~ 9. Intrigues in Favor of James.
Marlborough sent to the Tower.  ~ 10. Battle of La Hogue. ~ 11. Attack on the Smyrna fleet. Growing Unpopularity of William. Expedition to Brest betrayed by Marlborough.  ~ 12. Bill for triennial Parliaments. Death of Queen Mary. ~ 13. General Corruption. Abolition
of the Censorship. Campaign in Flanders. ~ 14. Conspiracy against
the King. Loyal Association. Attainder of Sir J. Fenwick.  ~ 15.
Treaty of Ryswick.  ~ 16. Miscellaneous Transactions.  Negotiations
respecting the Spanish Succession. First Partition Treaty. ~ 17. William's Unpopularity. Dismissal of his Dutch Guards. Resumption cf
forfeited Estates in Ireland.  ~ 18. Second Treaty of Partition. William




546                 WILLIAM AND MARY.             CHAP. XXVII.
acknowledges the Duke of Anjou as King of Spain. ~ 19. The Cabinet
Council. ~ 20. Discontent of the Commons. The Grand Alliance.
Death of King James II. Preparations for War. Death of King William.
~ 1. THE preceding books comprehend the history of the establishment of the English Constitution; for whatever changes have
since been effected were merely developments of principles already
established either previous to or at the period of the Revolution.
In the following book, therefore, our attention will be chiefly directed to what may be called the outward history of the country;
that is, its progress in material wealth, in colonial dominion, and
in European influence. The vast strides that have been made in
these respects, unequaled by any other country on the face of the
earth, may in a great measure be referred to the solid foundations
of liberty laid in previous ages, which have enabled the natural
energy of the people to develop itself without restriction in the
manner best suited to its genius.
~ 2. William Henry, Prince of Orange, called to the throne by
the national voice in place of his uncle James, by the title of William III., was now in his 38th year.  In person he was of the
middle size, his shoulders round, his limbs slender and ill-shaped,
yet capable of sustaining considerable fatigue in hunting and other
athletic sports in which he delighted.  His ample forehead was
shaded by light brown hair; his nose was high and aquiline; a
penetrating and eagle eye lighted up a pale and careworn countenance, the expression of which indicated a degree of sullenness as
well as thought and resolution.  His manner was ungraceful and
taciturn, and little calculated to win love or popularity; and,
though he had the art'to conceal his designs, he could not always
suppress the manifestation of' his passions. Notwithstanding his
feeble health, he frequently indulged to excess in the pleasures
of the table.  He had no taste for literature and art, but he possessed some skill as a linguist, and knew enough of mathematics
to understand fortification.  In short, his acquirements were of
the useful order, and he especially devoted his attention to all
questions of politics.  Hence lie shone more on great occasions
than in the ordinary intercourse of society; and it was observed
that he was never more sprightly and animated than on the field
of battle.
In the choice of his ministers William seemed to have almost
forgotten personal as well as political animosities and predilections. The Earl of Nottingham, who had violently opposed his
elevation to the throne, as well as the Earl of Shrewsbury, who
had zealously promoted it, were both made secretaries of state;
Danby and Halifax, though bitter political rivals, took their seats




A.D. 1689.       CONVENTION PARLIAMENT;                     547
in the council, the former as its president, the latter as privy seal.
Tile great seal was intrusted to commissioners, with Sergeant
Maynard at their head.  rThe treasury was also put into commission, the chief commissioner being Lord Mordaunt, afterward Earl
of Peterborough; but that post was not then so important as it
subsequently became. At the same time William's Dutch favorites were not forgotten, much to the discontent of many Englishmen. Bentinck* was made privy councilor, privy purse, and
groom of the stole; Zuylesteint was appointed master of the robes;
Schomberg: was placed at the head of the ordnance; and Auverquerque~ became master of the horse. For himself William claimed the full and undivided authority of the crown. The name of
Mary, the heiress by blood, was indeed inserted with his own in
all the acts of government; yet, as her easy and unambitious temper disposed her to implicit obedience to her husband, she soon
Iappeared to sink into the position of a queen consort, and lost all
importance in the consideration of the people.
In order to avoid the excitement of an election under existingcircumstances, a bill to convert the Convention into a Parliament
passed through both houses, and received the royal assent on the
23d of February.  Many members of the opposition party in the
Commons retired, however, from an assembly which they declared
to be illegal, and even those who remained displayed the greatest
frugality in their votes for the public service. James II. had enjoyed a revenue of nearly two millions; but the Whigs would
grant William no more than ~1,200,000. They even established
the precedent, which has since been followed, of appropriating
the supplies, and determined that one half of the sum voted should
be applied to the public expenses, and the other half to the civil
list.  And when William represented the justice and necessity of
refunding the charge of ~700,000 incurred by the Dutch republic
for his expedition, they would vote only ~600,000. This frugality alienated the king's mind from the Whigs, and even made him
think of abandoning the government altogether.
~ 3. No sooner was William seated on the throne than he seem* Bentinck was created Earl of Portland in 1689. He died in 1709, and
was succeeded in the title by his son, who was created in 1716 Duke of
Portland, and was the ancestor of the present duke.
t Zuylestein was created in 1695 Earl of Rochford. The title became
extinct on the death of the 5th earl in 1830.
t Schomberg was created Duke of Schomberg in 1689. His son Charles,
the second duke, was killed at the battle of Marsaglia, 1693. Another son,
Meinhardt, third Duke of Schomberg, and first Duke of Leinster in Ireland, died 1719, when the title became extinct.
~ Auverquerque was created in 1698 Earl of Grantham. He died in
1754, when the title becanme extinct.




548                WILLIAM AND MARY.           CHAP. XXVII.
ed to have lost all his former popularity. The emissaries of James
were active, and even Halifax and Danby expressed their apprehension that, if he would only give securities for the maintenance
of the Protestant religion, nothing could prevent his restoration.
Symptoms of discontent having showed themselves in the army,
the king resolved to send the malcontent regiments to Holland,
and to supply their place at home with Dutch troops. The first
regiment of the line, chiefly composed of Scotchmen, which was
one of those ordered abroad, mutinied, and marched northward
with drums beating and colors flying, carrying with them four
pieces of artillery; but, being overtaken by three regiments of
Dutch dragoons under Ginkell, they were compelled to surrender
and proceed to their appointed destination. This affair occasioned
the Mutiny Bill. The soldier had been hitherto regarded only as
a citizen, and amenable to the civil tribunals; the army was now
placed under martial law, and the Mutiny Bill has since been continued from year to year.
The House of Commons, or such members as remained, did not
hesitate to take the oath of allegiance; but many of the temporal
peers as well as eight bishops, including the primate Sancroft, refused, and their example was afterward followed by about 400 of
the inferior clergy. The party that refused the oaths were designated by the title of nonjurors. The oaths were to be taken
by the beneficed clergy, and by those holding academical offices,
on the ensuing 1st of August. This opposition on the part of
the Church furnished the king with an opportunity to display his
predilection for the Dissenters, toward whom he was naturally inclined by his Calvinistic tenets. The bill known as the TOLERATrION ACT, to relieve Protestant dissenters from certain penalties,
was introduced this session, and passed on the 24th of May. Persons taking the new oaths of allegiance and supremacy, and making a declaration against transubstantiation, were thereby exempted
from the penalties incurred by absenting themselves from church,
or by frequenting unlawful conventicles.  Dissenters were restrained from meeting with locked doors; but, on the other hand,
a penalty was enacted against disturbing the congregation. The
ancient penal statutes remained, however, unrepealed, and persons
who denied the Trinity, as well as papists, were excluded from
the benefit of the new act. An attempt was also made to pass a
Comprehension Bill, in order to admit dissenters by altering the
Liturgy, and leaving certain ceremonies discretionary; but it failed, and has never since been renewed.
During the debates on these measures William and Mary were
crowned in Westminster Abbey, April 11 th; Sancroft, the primate,
declined to act, and the ceremony was performed by Compton, the




A.D. 1689.     jAMES LANDS IN IRELAND.                549
Bishop of London.'With regard to Scotland, it has been already
mentioned that the Prince of Orange was acknowledged in January by a sort of irregular convention of Scotch nobility and gentry
resident in London.  A more regular assembly was held at Edinburgh in March; and 50 malcontent members having deemed it
prudent to withdraw, it was unanimously decided that James had
forefaulted his right, and that the throne had become vacant.
There was, however, in Scotland, a strong party in favor of James,
headed by the Duke of Gordon, and supported by the Archbishop
of Glasgow, the Earl of Balcarras, Viscount Dundee (formerly
Graham of Claverhouse), and others. Dundee succeeded in raising between 2000 and 3000 Highlanders, with whom he defeated
at Killiecrankie, on Mlay 26th, the king's forces of double the
number; but Dundee received a mortal wound in the action, and
with him expired all James's hopes in Scotland. The Highlanders, dispirited by the loss of their leader, dispersed after a few
skirmishes, and the Duke of Gordon having surrendered Edinburgh Castle on June 13th, the whole country was reduced to
obedience. Episcopacy was abolished, and Presbyterianism established as the religion of the state.
~ 4. In Ireland Tyrconnel was still lord deputy. His government had been marked by violence toward the Protestants; many
towns were deprived of their charters, and the public offices were
filled with Roman Catholics. Alarmed, however, at William's
success, he had intimated his willingness to surrender Ireland to
any force respectable enough to justify the act; an offer which
William neglected by the advice apparently of Halifax, who represented to him that Ireland formed the only pretext for keeping
an army on foot, without which he might be expelled from England as easily as he had been established. While he was in this
state of doubt and alarm, Tyrconnel received a letter from James
announcing that he was preparing to sail from Brest with a powerful armament; whereupon the lord deputy exerted himself to
raise an immense force of half-wild, ill-armed, and worse disciplined Irish. James landed at Kinsale on the 12th of SMarch, and
was received with every demonstration of joy. Louis XIV. had
furnished him with 14 ships of the line, six frigates, and three
fire-ships; but the whole land-force which he brought with him
consisted of 1200 of his own subjects in the pay of France, and
100 French officers.
At Cork James was met by Tyrconnel, whom he raised to the
rank of duke. The view of the troops that were to fight for his
cause was not calculated to inspire him with any very sanguine
hopes of success. Scarcely two in a hundred were provided with
muskets fit for service; the rest were armed with clubs and sticks




550                WILLIAM AND MARY.          CHAP. XXVII.
tipped with iron. More than 100,000 of this rabble were on foot;
but he found himself obliged to disband the greater part of them,
and retained only 35 regiments of infantry and 14 regiments of
horse.  His whole artillery consisted of 12 field-pieces and four
mortars. After summoning a Parliament to meet at Dublin on
the 7th of May, James set out for his army in the north, where
Londonderry was invested. That place and Enniskillen, being inhabited by Protestants, were the only towns in Ireland that declared for King William. Lundy, the governor of Londonderry,
had sent a message to James's head-quarters, with assurances that
the place would be surrendered on the first summons; but his
treachery was fortunately discovered, and it was with difficulty
that he escaped with his life by letting himself down from the walls
iln the disguise of a porter. James, who had ridden up with his
staff to within a short distance of the gates, was saluted with a
cry of " No surrender," and at the same time a discharge fiom
the fortifications killed an officer by his side. The citizens, after
the flight of Lundy, chose Walker, a clergyman, and Major Baker,
for their governors, and resolved to hold out to the last extremity.
The army of James was ill provided with materials for a siege,
and after some fruitless assaults it was turned into a blockade.
James now returned to Dublin in order to meet the Parliament.
He was induced to pass several injudicious acts, especially one to
repeal all the acts of settlement, thus subverting at a blow all the
English property in the country; as well as a general bill of attainder, comprehending more than 2000 persons; and his scheme
of replenishing his coffers by an issue of base coin occasioned universal disgust.
In June Marshal de Rosen was appointed to take the command
of the besieging army at Londonderry.  The town being completely invested on the land side, and cut off from all relief' by sea
by means of a boom about a mile and a half down the Foyle, the
inhabitants were reduced to the last extremity of famine, and
obliged to subsist on horses, dogs, rats, starch, and other food of
the like revolting kind. The hopes of the garrison had been raised
and disappointed by the appearance of a small squadron in the
Lough, commanded by Kirke, of west of England notoriety, who
had been obliged to retire.  Toward the end of July, however, he
again appeared, and two merchantmen, the Mountjoy and the
Phoenix, covered by the Dartmouth frigate, succeeded on the 30th
in breaking the boom. The former was driven ashore by the
concussion, and was for some time.in danger of being captured by
the enemy; but the Phoenix easily forced a passage through the
broken spars. The season was wet; De Rosen's trenches were
filled with water; and the relief of the town determined him, as




A.D. 1689, 1690.    BILL OF RIGHTS.                   551
he had already contemplated, to abandon the siege. During the
31st of July his guns continued to play on the town, but on the
1st of August his army decamped after burning their huts. The
siege, one of the most memorable in the history of Britain, had
lasted 105 days, and the garrison had been reduced from 7000
effective men to about 3000.
On the same day that Londonderry was relieved Lord Mountcashel had been completely routed by the Protestants of Enniskillen at Newton Butler, and he himself wounded and taken prisoner. To add to James's misfortunes, Schomberg landed with
10,000 men near Donaghadee, on the coast of Down (Aug. 12th).
Carrickfergus surrendered to him after a short siege, and was treated with great cruelty. He then encamped in the neighborhood of
Dundalk, the Duke of Berwick, James's natural son, retiring on
his approach. James, having in vain endeavored to draw him to
a battle, closed the campaign of 1689 by retiring into winter quarters at Atherdee.
~ 5. While these things were passing in Ireland, the English
Parliament had been employed in some important measures. The
chief of these was the B1ILL OF RIGHTS, the third great charter of
English liberty, which embodied and confirmed the provisions of
the Declaration of Rights,* and which also included a settlement
of the crown in the manner already related in the preceding chapter. t The Parliament also reversed the attainders of Lord Russell, Algernon Sidney, Alderman Cornish, and Mrs. Lisle. TI-he
exorbitant fines imposed in the preceding reign were declared illegal, and the money extorted by Jeffreys was charged against his
estate, with interest. All these proceedings were unexceptionable; but the same can not be said of the reversal of the judgment on the peljured Oates, and the granting him a pension of
~300 a year.
William dissolved the Convention Parliament on February 6,
1690. Halifax was soon after removed from office; and Danby,
now Marquis of Caermarthen, appointed many of his own creatures to the higher offices of state. The new Parliament, which
met in M3arch, was composed chiefly of Tories. The king announced his intention of passing over into Ireland, and a supply
of ~1,200,000 was unanimously voted. The Commons also presented Marshal Schomberg with ~100,000.
~ 6. William arrived at Carrickfergus on June 14, 1690, and
proceeded to Schomberg's head-quarters at Lisburn. His army
amounted to about 36,000 men, variously composed of English,
* See p. 538.
t The Bill of Rights is printed at length in Notes and Illustrations, p.
569.




552                W[LLIAM AND MARY.           CHAP. XXVII.
Dutch, Germans, and other foreigners. On his approach the Irish
army retired to the south bank of the Boyne, which is steep and
hilly, and had been fortified with intrenchments.  When James
joined them there with 10,000 French troops under Lauzun, his
whole army amounted to about 30,000 men; and though his
force was thus considerably inferior to that of William, he was
induced, by the strength of the position, to hazard a battle.  On
the 30th of June both armies were in presence on either bank of
the river; and on the following morning (July 1) James drew up
his troops in two lines, his left being covered by a morass, while
in his rear was the village of Dromore, and three miles farther on
the narrow Pass of Duleek. William, who had been reconnoitring the enemy's position, was slightly wounded before the action
commenced by a cannon ball which grazed his shoulder.  He
ranged his army in three columns of attack.  The centre, led by
the Duke of Schomberg, was to ford the river in front of the enemy; the right, under Count Schomberg, his son, was to cross
near the bridge of Slane; while William himself headed the passage of the left, between the camp and the town of Drogheda.
The attack was successful at all points; the Irish horse alone
made some resistance; the foot fled without striking a blow;
James parted from his army at the Pass of Duleek, and made the
best of his way to Dublin. This engagement, celebrated as the
BATTLE OF THE BOYNE, decided the fate of James, though the loss
on both sides was -small, that of the Irish being about 1500, chiefly
cavalry, while that of William was only 500, but among them was
the Duke of Schomberg. Walker, the brave defender of Londonderry, also fell in -this engagement. James, having no army left
*-for the Irish had dispersed themselves in the night —abandoned
Dublin and hastened to Kinsale, where he got on board a French
frigate, and arrived at Brest on the 9th of July.
William arrived in Dublin a few days after his victory, and
treated the inhabitants with considerable harshness. He then
marched southward, took Wexford, Clonmel, Waterford, Duncannon, and laid siege to Limerick (Aug. 8-30); but, having been
repulsed in an assault, and the rains setting in, he found it necessary to raise the siege, and early in September he left Ireland for
London. Soon after his departure Marlborough landed near Cork
with 5000 men, and, having received some re-enforcements, captured the town after a short siege. He next took Kinsale after
i desperate resistance; and, as the winter was approaching, he
then returned to England, from which he had been absent only
five weeks.
~ 7. While William was in Ireland a naval engagement took
place off Beachy Head on the 30th of June, between the combined




A.D. 1690,1691.   PACIFICATION OF LIMERICK.            553
Dutch and English fleets, commanded by Admiral Herbert, now
created Earl of Torrington,* and the French fleet under Admiral
Tourville. Torrington, with a hardly justifiable policy, placed
the Dutch vessels in the van, which, in consequence, suffered severely. The victory remained with the French; and Torrington,
taking the disabled ships in tow, made for the Thames. London
was filled with consternation, as it was expected that the French
would sail up the river; but they made but little use of their victory. An invasion at this juncture would probably have been
successful, as the French had the command of the sea, and might
easily have embarked a large army, while there were not 10,000
regular troops in England; but all they attempted was the burning of Teignmouth. The danger which the nation had incurred
inflamed them against the Jacobites and nonjurors, and thus the
victory of the French proved on the whole injurious to the cause
of James.  William was incensed against Torrington on account
of the losses suffered by the Dutch, and denounced him to Parliament in the speech with which he opened the autumnal session.
Torrington was tried by a court-martial at Sheerness and honorably acquitted; but the king deprived himr of his command, and
forbade him his presence.
In the following year (1691) the campaign in Ireland was
brought to a close. That country was in a very distracted state.
Bodies of wild Irish, called Rapparees, from a species of pike witlt
which they committed their massacres, went roaming about the
country, and hung upon and infested the quarters of the Englisl
army, who in their turn committed great barbarities. Toward
the end of June, Ginkell, who commanded the English army, bomrn.
barded and took Athlone. It was a master-piece of audacity, as a
large army of Irish, commanded by St. Ruth, a Frenchman, lay
i)ehind the town, while the storming columns had to ford the Shannon, with the water breast-high, in order to gain the breach. St.
Ruth now took up a strong position at Aghrim, where Ginkell
did not hesitate to attack him.  For some time the battle raged
with doubtful fury, till, St. Ruth being killed by a cannon ball,
his army was seized with a panic, and fled in disorder toward
Limerick.  Ginkell sat down before that place on the 25th of
August; and, after a siege of six weeks, the Irish, much to the
discontent of the French, agreed to the very favorable terms which
lie offered for a general pacification. The chief articles of this
treaty, signed on October 3, and called the Pacification of Limerick,
were, that the Irish should enjoy the exercise of their religion as
* The title became extinct on the death of the first earl in 1716. The
present Viscount Torrington is descended from a son of Sir George Byng,
treated Viscount Torrington in 1721.
A




554               WILLIAM AND MARY.           CHAP. XXVII.
in the time of Charles II.; that all included in the capitulation
should remain unmolested in their estates and professions; and
that those who wished to retire to the Continent should be conveyed thither at the expense of the government. By virtue of
this last clause, Sarsfield and about 12,000 men were conveyed to
France, and entered the service of Louis XIV. Thus an end was
put in every part of the empire to the authority of James, who
had been de facto king in Ireland more than a year and a half
after his flight from England.
As Sancroft, the primate, and five of the bishops still refused to
take the Oath of Allegiance, they were deprived of their sees on
Feb. 1, 1691. Tillotson, Dean of St. Paul's, succeeded Sancroft
as Archbishop of Canterbury.
~ 8. William had. spent the greater part of the year in Holland
for the purpose of conducting the campaign against Louis XIV.
HIe had repaired thither in the middle of January; and, though
the weather was foggy, and the coast lined with ice, he attempted
to land in a boat. The steersman lost his way, and the king was
obliged to pass the night in the boat, covered up with a cloak.
The following day he succeeded in landing at Goree. The campaign was not marked by any important event, excepting the
taking of Mlons by Louis.  William paid a short visit to England in April, and finally returned in October to open the Parliament.  A bill was passed for facilitating the execution of the
Pacification of Limerick, though that treaty was not approved of
in England. Although William had been brought in by the
WVhigs, he was now chiefly supported by the Tories, and he seemed inclined to disregard those liberal principles which had placed
him on the throne. Thus he rejected a bill which had passed
both houses for making the judges independent of the crown; and
his reign was now sullied by an act of great barbarity-the infamous massacre of Glencoe. A pacification had been entered
into in August with the Scotch Highlanders, and an indemnity
offered to all who should take the oaths of allegiance to the king
and queen before the 31st of December, 1691. All the Jacobite
heads of clans had complied except M'Ian of Glencoe, the chief
of the M'Donalds, whose delay arose more from accident than design. He had repaired to Fort Augustus on the 31st of' December, where, to his surprise and alarm, he found nobody who could
administer the oath.  Colonel Hill, the commandant, directed him
to Inverary; but the season was rigorous, the country mountainous and covered with deep snow, so that SI'Ian did not arrive till
the 6th of January, 1692. After many entreaties, Sir Colin
Campbell, the sheriff of Argyle, consented to receive his oath; but
Sir John Dalrymple. the Master -of Stair, and secretary for Scot



A.D. 1691,1692.  MASSACRE OF GLENCOE.                 555
land, who bore a deadly hatred to the IM'Donalds, took advantage
of M'Ian's negligence to destroy him and his whole clan. Concealing from the king the fact of M'Ian's tardy submission, he
procured a warrant for the military execution of him and his
tribe. It is pretended that William either did not read or did not
understand the warrant.* These are poor excuses for a king of
such business-like habits; and they seem, moreover, to be contradicted by the facts that the warrant was signed with unusual care,
both at the top and bottom, and that subsequently those who had
been most active in the affair were favored and promoted.
3But, whatever blame may be attached to the king, the massacre of Glencoe will remain almost unparalleled in history for its
cold-blooded atrocity.  On the 1st of February, 1692, a body of
120 soldiers appeared in that lonely mountain glen, which lies
near Lochleven. They were commanded by Campbell of Glenlyon; and as Campbell was the uncle of young MI'Donald's wife,
they were welcomed with unsuspecting friendship. For nearly a
fortnight the troops enjoyed free quarters and hospitable entertainment. On the evening of the 13tlh the officers played at cards
in the house of MP'Ian; in the night Lieutenant Linclsay, with a
party of soldiers, appeared at his door and were instantly admitted. -They had come in the guise of friendship to act the part of
assassils. MI'Ian was shot in the back as he was rising from his
bed; his wife, who had already risen, was stripped, and the rings
torn from her fingers. T'he mnales, young and old, were muidered
without pity; and even some women fell in attempting to defend
their children. Ahout 60 persons were massacred, and as many
m1ore, chiefly women and children, who had escaped among the
mountains, perished there of cold and hunger. The massacre
would have been more complete had Lieutenant Colonel Hamilton, whom the Master of Stair had charged with the execution,
arrived at the appointed time. The severity of the weather delayed his arrival till the following day, and nothing remained for
him but to complete the inhuman deed by burning the houses,
driving off the cattle, and dividing the spoil. By this fortunate
delay 150 men were enabled to escape through the mountain
passes, which were not sufficiently guarded.
~ 9. This year (1692) William again embarked for Holland,
leaving the administration of affairs in England to Queen Mary.
He was not aware of all the danger that threatened his newlyacquired crown. Intrigues had been formed for the restoration
of James, and were entered into not only by nonjurors and Tories,
hut even by Whigs. One of the principal leaders in them was the
inconstant and treacherous Marlborough, who had induced the
See Macaulay, iv., 204.




556               WILLIAM AND MARY.           CHAP. XXVII.
Princess Anne to write a letter to her father, in which she penitently asked his forgiveness. Admiral Russell, commander of the
fleet, Lord Godolphin, and others, were also engaged in these intrigues. Marlborough invited James to invade England, and in
some degree pledged himself for the conduct of the English army.
A large body of Irish troops had been conveyed to France in 1690;
and by that impolitic article of the Pacification of Limerick which
allowed a free passage, their number had been swelled to nearly
20,000. These were at James's disposal, and Louis engaged to
add 10,000 French. A camp was formed in the Cotentin, near
La Hogue; and Marshal Bellefonds was appointed to command
the army of invasion, which was to be convoyed by 80 sail of the
line. Early in 1692 every thing was in a state of forwardness,
and James had even drawn up his manifesto. With his usual
infelicity of judgment, its tone was of the most impolitic kind, and
disgusted many who would have been prepared to serve him. He
already began to talk of punishing, and was, even mean enough to
advert to the poor fishermen who had insulted him at Sheerness.
The English ministry thought that they could not do him a greater
injury than to publish the document at full length, accompanied
with a biting commentary.
The government had received some vague information of a plot;
and the Earls of Marlborough, Huntingdon, and Scarsdale were
apprehended and sent to the Tower on the information of one
Younig, a man of infamous character, and actually in Newgate on
a charge of forgery. As the government suspected Marlborough,
they encouraged Young, paid his fine, and released him from prison; and Marlborough was detained some weeks in the Tower, till
Young's falsehood was discovered.
~ 10. The combined Dutch and English fleets, consisting of 90
sail of the line, together with many frigates and fire-ships, carrying 6000 guns and about 40,000 men, assembled at St. Helen's
in May. As the fidelity of the admiral himself, as well as many
of his officers, was suspected, lMary wrote a letter which Russell
was ordered to read to all the officers of the fleet assembled on
his quarter-deck. In it she stated that she had heard certain reports respecting their conduct, but that she regarded them as calumnies, and put entire confidence in their loyalty. This politic
step was attended with excellent effects. At the same time the
militia was called out, and a camp formed between Petersfield and
Portsmouth.
James was waiting at La IHogue for the arrival of Admiral
Tourville, who was to bring-44' ships from Brest. -About the middle of May,.Tourville's fleet was descried off the coast of Dorsetshire, whence it made for La Hogue, where the army of invasion




A.D. 1692-1694.    BATTLE OF LA HOGUE.                  557
was embarking. Russell also directed his course toward that
port; and on the 19th of Mlay, the haze having suddenly cleared
off, the hostile.fleets came unexpectedly in sight of each other.
Tourville, though much inferior in force, bore down upon the allies, in the expectation that several of the English ships would
come over to his side; but in this he was disappointed. Russell's
ship, the Britannia, of 100 guns, engaged that of the French admiral of 104; and the battle, which raged from 11 o'clock to
about 4, soon became general. The French admiral's ship was
disabled. Toward evening, a breeze having sprung up from the
east, and the haze having cleared a little, the French were descried running on all sides, and signal was given to chase; but the
pursuit was arrested by the flood tide and the approach of night.
Several of the smaller French ships escaped through the race of
Alderney into St. Malo; the larger ones sought refuge at Cherbourg and La Hogue. Many of the latter were destroyed the two
following days by a flotilla of sloops and boats commanded by Admiral Rooke, in the very sight of King James and the French. 
Altogether 16 French men-of-war, eight of which were three.
deckers, were sunk or burnt, besides several transports that were
cut out of the harbor. Russell's politics did not dispose him to
make so much of his victory as he might, but it sufficed to avert
the threatened invasion.  After the battle of La Hogue Qi-een
Mfary ordered the royal palace at Greenwich to be converted into
a hospital for disabled seamen."
~ 11. The campaign in Flanders was unfavorable to the arms
of William, both this year and the next, notwithstanding that he
displayed great courage and conduct.  I-He was defeated in 1692,
with great loss, at Steinkirk, while attempting to raise the siege
of Namur. The only important event at sea in 1693, was also
disastrous to the allies. Tlhe Smyrna fleet, consisting of about
400 English, Dutch, and Hamburg merchantmen, was intrusted, after passing Ushant, to the convoy of a detached squadron
of 23 English and Dutch men-of-war under Sir G. Rooke, while
the remainder of the combined fleet returned to Torbay. Tourville; with a far superior force, now issued from the Bay of Lagos; Rooke was obliged to fly, and signaled the merchantmen to
shift for themselves.  About 80 -of the latter were captured, as
well as three Dutch men-of-war; the rest escaped into Spanish
ports.
This disgrace, as well as 7Villiam's ill success in the Netherlands, tended to increase his unpopularity, and to encourage the
party of James (1694). The towns of Bristol, Exeter, and Bos* The first stone of the new building, the present Greenwich Hospital,
was not laid till 1696.




558                    WILLIAM Il1.           CHAP. XXVII.
ton signified their adherence to him; in the north several considerable bodies of horse were enlisted in his name; and many of
the nobility and gentry engaged for themselves, as well as for
different towns and counties with which they were connected.
The treacherous Sunderland had veered round again, and entered
into correspondence with James, who, however, naturally doubted
his sincerity.  The treason of Marlborough proved more useful
to him, and more disastrous to his own country. Marlborough
informed him of an expedition that was fitting out at Portsmouth,
under the command of the Earl of Berkely and General Talmash,
for an attack upon Brest. Berkely appeared off that port on the
5th of June, and 900 men were landed in Camaret Bay; but the
French were prepared to receive them, and they were all slain
bIut 100, T'almash himself receiving a mortal wound. Dieppe,
flavre, Calais, and Dunkirk were afterward bombarded, but without much effect. Nor was the campaign in Flanders marked by
any event of importance.
~ 12. The Parliament which met in November (1694) passed a
bill for triennial Parliaments, and, as they made it the condition
of a grant of supplies, William, though he had previously refused
his assent to a similar bill, was now obliged to yield. Ile had
also another motive. Mary lay dangerously ill with the smallpox, and, in the event of her death, which must naturally shake
his influence with the nation, he was unwilling to incur any farther
unpopularity. The queen, in fact, died on the 28th of December.
In person she was tail and well proportioned, and her countenance, though not regularly beautiful, was animated and pleasing.
Her manners were affable and agreeable, and procured her the
love of the people. She was a devoted and affectionate wife; but
her conduct toward her father and sister can hardly be reconciled
with the duties of those relations..Her death made no change
in the government; and Willlam, in accordance with the act for
settling the succession of the crown, became sole ruler. Tillotson
had died shortly before the queen (Nov. 22), and was succeeded
in the primacy by Tennison, B;shop of London.
WILLIAM III. — Anne had lived on bad terms with her sister
and brother-in-law; but now, at the instance of Sunderland, she
was induced to send a letter of condolence to William; and as she
was a greater favorite with the nation than himself, he thought it
politic to meet her advances, and even presented her with the
greater part of Mary's jewels.
~ 13. The session of 1695 was signalized by the discovery of
an almost universal corruption.  Sir John Trevor, speaker of the
House of Commons, having been detected in taking a bribe of
1000 guineas to procure the passing of the Orphans' Bill, had to




A.D. 1694,1695. AMENDMENT OF LAW OF TREASON.            559
endure the humiliation of putting the question for his own expulb
sion, but immediately withdrew on pretense of a colic. It was
farther discovered that the East India Company had distributed
large bribes in order to secure a new charter; ~10,000 were said
to be traced to the king himself, ~5000 to Danby (now Duke of
Leeds), and farther sums to other men in power. The Commons
impeached the Duke of Leeds; but the court connived at the escape of his Swiss servant, the only person who could establish his
guilt, and the case was put an end to by the prorogation of Parliament on  lay 3d.
This session is memorable for a silent revolution, which, in the
words of Lord Macaulay, I" has done more for liberty and civilization than the Great Charter or the Bill of Rights."  This was the
abolition of the censorship of the press, effected by the Commons
refusing to renew the last act for restraining unlicensed printing.
The authors of the abolition seem to have been hardly aware of
the important step they were taking.  None of their arguments
were based on the great principle of the freedom of the press, but
turned solely on matters of detail, such as the hardships occasioned to printers, booksellers, etc.; nor was the measure noticed in
any contemporary publication. The abolition of the censorship
was soon followed by the establishment of several newspapers.
The London Gazette was the only one previously published. This
session was also memorable for an excellent statute respecting the
law of treason. "It provides that all persons indicted for high
treason shall have a copy of their indictment delivered to them
five days before their trial, a period extended by a subsequent
act to ten days, and a copy of the panel of jurors two days before
their trial; that they shall be allowed to have their witnesses examined on oath, and to'make their defense by counsel.  It clears
up any doubt that could be pretended on the statute of Edward
VI., by requiring two witnesses, either both to the same overt
act, or the first to one, the second to another overt act of the
same treason (that is, the same kind of treason), unless the party
shall voluntarily confess the charge.  It limits prosecutions for
treason to the term of three years, except in the:case of an attempted assassination on the king.  It includes the contested
provision for the trial of peers by all who have a right to sit and
vote in Parliament. A later statute, 7 Anne, c. 21, which may
be mentioned here as the complement of the former, has added a
peculiar privilege to the accused, hardly less material than any
of the rest. Ten days before the trial a list of the witnesses intended to be brought for proving the indictment, with their professions and places of abode, must be delivered to the prisoner,
along with a copy of the indictment.  The operation of this




560                    WILLIAM III.           CHAP. XXVIL
clause was suspended till after the death-of the pretended Prince
of Wales."'
William passed over to Holland after the prorogation of the
Parliament, and distinguished himself this year, in the campaign
in the Low Countries, by one of his greatest military feats, the
taking of Namur in presence of a large force of the enemy. The
Marshal de Luxembourg was dead, and the French army was now
commanded by Marshal Villeroi and Marshal Boufflers; France
was becoming exhausted with the length of the war, and Louis
was anxious to conclude a peace on any decent terms, while WVilliam's reputation was rising in Europe.  His success abroad confirmed his power at home; for, though the Jacobite party was increasing in England, they could hardly hope to succeed without
the aid of France.
~ 14. A conspiracy against the throne and life of William was,
neverthless, formed and detected early in 1696. The principal
agent in it was Sir George Barclay, a Scotch officer, who received
a commission from James to attempt a general insurrection in his
favor.  One Crosby had also gone to St. Germain's to procuire
James's sanction to the assassination of William; but James, suspecting that a trap was laid for him, refused his consent. Barclay- arrived in London in January, and associated in his design
Harrison, a priest, Charnock, formerly a fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford, but now a captain, Sir John Friend, Sir Win. Perkins, Sir John Fenwick, a Captain Porter, and others. Their first
scheme was to seize William and carry him over to France; but,
as this seemed impracticable without taking his life, they resolved
to attack him in the midst of his guards between Brentford and
Turnham Green, through which places he passed every Saturday
to hunt in Richmond Park; and with this view they procured a
body of 40 armed men, and fixed the 15th of February for the
attempt. But the secret was betrayed to the Earl of Portland a
day or two previously by Captain Fisher, one of the conspirators,
and his information was soon after confirmed by an Irishman
named Prendergrass.  The king having consequently remained
at home on the 15th, and again on the 22d, to which day the conspirators had adjourned the execution of their plot, they were
seized with alarm; some of them fled, but others were captured
the next nicht' in their beds.
On the following day the king laid the whole plot before the
Parliament, and both houses responded with ajoint address, breathing the most zealous expressions of duty and affection. A loyal
association was formed in imitation of that in the reign of Elizabeth, which was signed the same day by 400 members of the House
* Hallam's Constitutional History, iii., 221.




A.D. 1695-1697.   TREATY OF RYSWICK.                 561
of Commons; and such members as were absent were required to
sign it by the 16th of March, or to notify their refusal. The as.
sociation was adopted, with very little alteration, by the House of
Lords; and of the whole Parliament, only 15 peers and 92 comrn
moners refused to put their names to it.  Shortly afterward an
act was passed to make the signing of the association imperative
on all holders of civil or military employments.
Five of the conspirators, namely, Charnock, King, Keys, Sir
John Friend, and Sir Winm. Perkins, were condemned and executed. On the execution of the two latter the celebrated Jeremy
Collier, the nonjuring divine, appeared on the scaffold, and publicly absolved them. T'he trial of Sir John Fenwick, who had been
captured at New Romney while endeavoring to escape to France,
did not come on till the autumn.  W~hile he lay in Newgate he
sought to procure a pardon by turning evidence, and accused the
Duke of Shrewsbury, the Earls of Bath and Marlborough, Lord
Godolphin, and Admiral Russell of corresponding and intriguing
with King James. But, though this information is now known
to be true, William refused to listen to it. As only one witness
could be produced against Fenwick, while the law required two in
cases of high treason, Admiral Russell brought in a bill of attainder against him, which was passed after considerable opposition. Fenwick was beheaded on Tower Hill on January 28,
1697.
~ 15. During the campaign of 1696 the French remained on
the defensive; nor did any thing of importance take place at sea.
All parties were looking forward to a peace; and on the 9th of
May a conference was opened between the belligerent powers, under the mediation of the King of Sweden, at Ryswick, a village
between Delft and the Hague. William had, as usual, gone over
to Holland. All that he desired was to fix a barrier to the French
power in Flanders, and to procure from Louis the acknowledgment of his title to the English throne; but the negotiations were
protracted by the Emperor of Germany and the King of Spain,
who were desirous of continuing the war. William, therefore,
while the hostile armies lay opposed to each other near Brussels,
caused a separate negotiation to be opened in July. between the
Earl of Portland on his part, and Marshal Bouffiers on that of
Louis.
The taking of Carthagena, in America, by a French squadron,
and the capture of Barcelona by a French army, inclined the
Spaniards to come to terms with, Louis, and the PEACE OF RYsWICK was signed on September 10, 1697. Louis resigned several
of his conquests, and recognized William as King, of England.
The peace of Ryswick seems to have been necessary in consequence
AA2




562                   WILLIAM III.             CHAP. XXVII.
of the defection of the Duke of Savoy, and of the bad state of public credit in England; but William foresaw that it could be no
more than a sort of armistice, and a fresh struggle must soon take
place on the subject of the Spanish succession.
~ 16. The Parliament, which met soon after the peace of iRyswick, voted that the army should be reduced to 7000 men, and
were with difficulty persuaded to increase it to 10,000; but, at
the same time, they granted the king the large sum of ~700,000
for the civil list.  William was exceedingly annoyed at the vote
for reducing the army; and before he repaired to Holland in the
spring (1698) he ventured to leave sealed orders that the army
should be raised to 16,000 men, which the ministers unconstitutionally obeyed. During his residence in Holland he negotiated a
treaty respecting the Spanish succession. Charles II. of Spain was
now supposed to be at the point of death; and, as he had no heirs
within the kingdom, the question of his succession threatened to
disturb the peace of Europe. Philip IV. of Spain had left three
children: one son, Charles II., and two daughters-the elder,
Maria Theresa, married to Louis XIV. of France, and the younger, Margaret Theresa, married to the Emperor Leopold I. Maria Theresa had renounced her pretensions to the Spanish succession on her marriage with the King of France. The younger sister, Margaret Theresa, had made no such renunciation on her
marriage with Leopold; but their only child, a daughter, who was
married to Maximilian Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria, was also
obliged, before her marriage, to abandon all claims to the Spanish throne. But both France and Bavaria maintained that these
princesses had no power to renounce the claims of their posterity;
Louis XVI. therefore demanded the Spanish throne for his son
the dauphin, and the Elector of Bavaria for his son the electoral
prince. A third claimant was the Emperor Leopold, who, by a
second nmarriage, had two sons, Joseph, Kiing: of the Romans, and
the Archduke Charles. - Leopcld claimed the* succession for his
son Charles on the ground that he was a lineal descendant of
Philip III; but Louis XIV. could make also the same claim for
his son, since both Louis and Leopold had married granddaughters
of Philip III.*
William would have been content to modify the claim of France
by conceding to her part of the Spanish dominions; and -Louis
was, or pretended to be, better..satisfied with this partial inheritance than to have to fight for the whole. The first treaty for the
partition of Spain was - -ccoirdingly negotiated in the summer at
Loo, and was signed on the 1st of October; according to which,
* The genealogical tablc oil tlh oppositea poe'xhibits the relationship
of the different claimants.




PmT P III., KI:NG OF SPAIN.
Philip IV.                                     Anne,                         Maria Anne,                                          3
in. Louis XIII.               m. Ferdinand III.,
of France.                      Emperor.                                           M
l]                    I |Louis XIV.                                      Leopold I. 
Charles II.,       Maria Theresa,            Margaret               of France,               m. 1. Margaret Theresa.
ob. 1700.         m. Louis XIV.             Theresa,          m. MariaTheresa.           m. 2. A Princess of Newberg.                                Z
of France.           m. Leopold I., 
Emperor.                                              I      -
By 1st wife.                  By 2d wife.
Louis, the Dauphin.       A daughter,                                             wife.                    By d wife
us. Maximilian
Emae. M ximilian                              Daughter m.          Joseph,      CuARLES, Archduko, 
Emanuel,                                         to Elector        King of           took the title
{cBavaria.                                      of Bavaria.        iomans.          of CHARLES III.      M
________________ria.~~~~~~~~~~~  ~of Spain.! I                             Inm
Louis, Duke of         Philip,      JosEPH 
Burgundy.           Duke of   FERDINAND,
Anjou;      Electoral
PIIILIP V.    Prince of
Louis XV.           of Spain.    Bavaria,
of France.                       ob. 1699.




564              -     WILLIAM IlI              CH fAP. XX VI.
on the death of Charles II., the- dauphin was to be put in possession of Naples and Sicily, the ports on the Tuscan shore, and
the marquisate of Final in Italy; while on the Spanish frontier
he was to have all the territory on the French side of the Pyrences, and of the mountains of Navarre, Alava, and Biscay.  The
son of the Elector of Bavaria was to inherit Spain, the Netherlands, and the Indies; and Milan was to be assigned to the Archduke Charles, second son of the emperor. It was intended to
keep this treaty a profound secret from the King of Spain, but it
tame to his ears and naturally roused his indignation; and, anx.
ious to preserve the integrity of the empire, he drew up a will ap.
pointing the Electoral Prince of Bavaria his universal heir, ac.
cording to the previous disposition of Philip IV.  But Charles
unexpectedly recovered, and the treaty was defeated by the de
raise of the electoral prince at Brussels, 8th of February, 1699.
~ 17. The new Parliament, which assembled in December, 1698,
exhibited strong symptoms of discontent; insisted on the reduction of the army to 7000 men, and also voted that these should
be natives of the British dominions.  This involved the dismissal
of the Dutch guards, the severest mortification which William
lhad ever experienced.  On this occasion he even condescended to
send a message to the Commons by Lord Ranelagh, entreating
them as a personal favor that his guards might be retained; and
when they refused to comply he burst into a violent passion, and
threatened to abandon the kingdom, a threat which he seriously
thought of carrying into execution.  All the debates of the Commons continued to be violent and hostile to the king. In the last
session they had appointed commissioners to inquire into the grants
of forfeited estates in Ireland; and the report being now brought
in, it appeared that no fewer than 3921 persons had been outlawed
in that country since February, 1689, and that more than 1,060,000
acres of land had been declared forfeited, the annual rent of which
was computed at ~211,623. It also appeared that large grants
of these lands had been made to foreigners, as Keppel,' Bentinck,
Ginkell, and Ruvigny, who had also obtained peerages in one of
the two kingdoms. But perhaps the most obnoxious grant of all
was that of King James's private estates, containing 95,000 acres,
and valued at ~25,995 per annum, to William's mistress, Elizabeth
Villiers, now Countess of Orkney. The Commons resolved unanimously that all these forfeitures should be applied to the public
use; and they even added that the grants which had been made
of them were a reflection upon the king's honor. To secure the
* Icppel was created Earl of Albemarle in 1696, and was the ancestor
of the present earl. Bentinck was created Earl of Portland, as already related (see p. 517); Ginkell, Earl of Athlone, and Ruvigny, Earl of Galway.




A.'D. 1697-17C0. DEATH OF THE KING OF SPAIN.          565
king's assent, the bill for the resumption of forfeitures was tacked
to the bill of supply.  Several amendments were proposed and
carried in the Lords, and some angry conferences ensued between
the two houses. The Commons threatened to impeach the Earls
of Portland and Albemarle, and resolved to address the king that
no foreigners, except Prince George of Denmark, should be admitted to the royal councils. William began to be alarmed, and
sent a private message to his friends in the Lords to withdraw
their opposition.  The bill having passed in its original state, the
king came to the House and gave his assent to it, and then suddenly prorogued the Parliament without any speech.
~ 18. The rapid decline of the King of Spain's health hastened
the conclusion of a second treaty of partition, which was signed
at London on the 21st of February, and at the Hague on the 14th
of March, 1700. William had spent great part of the preceding
summer and autumn at Loo in negotiating it, as he and the States
were desirous of bringing the emperor into their views; but in
October Leopold formally rejected any partition whatever. By
this new treaty the share formerly allotted to the electoral prince
was to be transferred to the Archduke Charles, and MIilan was to
be added to the dauphin's portion. To prevent the union of the
imperial crown with that of Spain, it was provided that the King
of the Romans should not succeed to the Spanish kingdom in case
of the archduke's death; and a like provision was made with regard to the King of France and the dauphin.
The long-expected death of Charles II. of Spain, which followed on the 1st of November, soon discovered how fruitless had been
all the pains bestowed on the partition treaties. The pride of the
Spanish nation was naturally wounded by the treaty, and Charles
especially was grievously offended by it. The French embassador
availed himself of this feeling to persuade Charles to make another
will, in favor of Philip, Duke of Anjou, the second son of the
dauphin; nor did Louis hesitate to accept this magnificent bequest
to his grandson. In case of his refusal, the Spanish throne was
to be tendered to the Archduke Charles. William found it prudent to acquiesce in''the new arrangement, and ultimately acknowledged the title of the Duke of Anjou.
~ 19. In the last year or two there had been several changes
in the ministry, and the king seemed to be ever approximating
more closely toward the Tory party, but trimmed between both
with a dexterity which rendered it difficult to say to which he
most inclined. In this year the Earl of Rochester, the leader
of the Tories and High-Church party, was appointed to the lord
lieutenancy of Ireland. The institution of a cabinet council-that
is, a select body of ministers with whom the king exclusively




566                   WILLIAM III.             cHAP. XXVIl.
consulted, and who prepared and digested the measures which were
subsequently laid before the general body of the privy council
rather as a matter of form than of necessity, was now regularly
established. Traces of a cabinet first began to appear under
Charles I., and became more frequent under Charles II., but it
was not till the reign of William that it became the regular mode
of government. In earlier times the sovereign was accustomed to
consult the whole body of the privy council, and was guided by
the opinion of the majority. The cabinet, therefore, was a sort of
silent revolution which crept in unobserved, and was never recognized by the Constitution.
In the new Parliament which assembled in February, 1701, the
Tories had the majority, and Robert Harley, one of their leaders,
was chosen speaker. As the death of the Duke of Gloucester,
which happened in the preceding July at the age of 11, left the
succession of the crown unprovided fcr after the demise of William and Anne, it became necessary to make a new settlement,
and the king recommended the subject to the consideration of the
Parliament. The next in blood, after the children of James II.,
was the Duchess of Savoy, daughter of Henrietta, Duchess of Orleans, and then the family of the Elector of the Palatinate, all of
whom, however, had abjured the Reformed faith, with the exception of his daughter Sophia, muarried to the Elector of Hanover;
to whom, therefore, as papists were excluded from the succession
by act of Parliament, it became necessary to revert. Nor was
William averse to her appointment, as he was desirous of securing
the accession of the Elector of Hanover to the grand alliance
which he was then meditating; and she; and the heirs of her body,
being Protestants, were declared next in succession to the king
after the Princess of Denmark and their respective heirs, by a bill
which passed- in the spring, and which is known by the name of
the A2CT OF SETTLEMENT.
The Commons took advantage of this settlement to supply some
deficiencies in the Bill of Rights, and therefore this act (12 and
13 William III., c. 2) became a most important one, and put, as it
were, the seal to the English Constitution. The Tory government
showed themselves on this occasion no less the friends of liberty
than the Whigs, and moved and carried certain resolutions as
preliminary to the settlement of the succession; to the following
effect; that whoever should hereafter come to the throne should
join the communion of the Church of England; that, in the case
of the "crown devolving to a foreigner, the nation should not be
obliged to enter into any foreign war, without the consent of Par,
liament; that no future sovereign should leave Great Britain or
Ireland without consent of Parliament; that all matters cognizable




AD..- 17031.       ACT OF SETTLEMENT.                      567
in the privy council should be transacted there, and all resolutions
taken be signed by such of the privy council as should consent to
them; that none but a person born of English parents should be
capable of holding office under the crown, or receiving a grant
from it, or being a member of Parliament; that no person in the
service of the crown, or receiving a pension, should be capable of
sitting in the House of Commons; that the commissions of the
judges should be irrevocable so long as they conducted themselves
properly (" quamdiu se bene gesserint"), but that they might be
removed on an address of both houses; and that no pardon under
the great seal should be pleaded to an impeachment of the Commons.
All these provisions, and especially the last two, were highly important safeguards to the liberty and welfare of the country.
That respecting placemen sitting in Parliament, being found inconvenient, was repealed in 1706; but it was provided at the same
time that any member of the Lower House accepting an office
should vacate his seat, and again offer. himself to his constituents;
and that no person holding any office created since October 25th,
1705, should be eligible at all. The article respecting the sovereign leaving the United Kingdom was repealed soon after the accession of George I.
~ 20. Both houses of Parliament expressed the highest disapprobation of the partition treaties, to which they ascribed. the will of
Charles II. in favor of the Duke of Anjou; the Commons addressed the king to remove the Earl of Portland, the Earl of Orford,*
Lord -I.alifax,t and Lord Somerst from his presence and councils
forever, and ordered them to be impeached at the bar of the Lords
on account of the steps they had taken in promoting the partition
treaties, as well as for other alleged illegal practices.  But an irreconcilable difference sprang.up between the two houses as to the
mode of proceeding; the Commons refused to appear on the day
appointed by the Peers, and the impeached ministers were consequently acquitted.
* The Earl of Orford was Admiral Russell, who received this title in
1697. It became extinct upon his death in 1727, but was revived in 1742
in favor of the celebrated Sir Robert Walpole.
t This Lord Halifax was Charles Montague, a grandson of the first Earl
of Manchester, and- was created Lord Halifax in 1700, and Earl of Halifax
in 1714. He was of a different family from the celebrated George Saville,
Marquis of Halifax (p. 516), who died in 1695, and was succeeded in the
title by his son, who died in 1700, when the title became extinct. -
-: Somers was lord chancellor, and had been dismissed from office in the
previous year (1700) in consequence of the attacks made upon him in Parliament. - The present Earl Somers is a descendant of the eldest sister of
the chancellor.




568                   WILLIAM III.            CHAP. XXVII.
Although William had acknowledged the new King of Spain,
he was by no means satisfied with that arrangement, especially as
it proved so distasteful to his subjects. During the summer,
which he spent in Holland, negotiations had been going on between him and D'Avaux, the French embassador; but these having utterly failed, William, about the beginning of August, set on
foot a treaty with the' emperor, who had already commenced the
WAR OF THIE SPANISH SuCCESSION by attacking the French in
Italy. William, however, would engage himself no farther than
for the recovery of Flanders and the Mianese, the former as a
barrier to Holland, the latter as a barrier to the empire; and he
likewise stipulated that England and Holland should retain whatever conquests they might make in both the Indies. On these
conditions, a treaty was signed on September 7th between the emperor, England, and the States, which afterward obtained the name
of the G-RAND ALLIANCE.
An event happened soon after which induced Louis immediately to declare himself.  On the 16th of Soptember King James II.
expired at St. Germain's. Ever since the peace of 1Ryswick,
which extinguished his hopes of regaining the English crown, he
had abandoned himself to all the austerities of his temper and his
religion, and some time before his decease he had fallen into a
kind of:lethargy.  Louis paid him a-visit as he lay on his deathbed, and in the presence of his attendants, whom he would not suffer to withdraw, and who wept at once for joy and grief, he declared his intention of acknowledging his son as King of Great
Britain and Ireland.  HIe then visited the young prince in state,
addressed him with the title of majesty, and caused him to be acknowledged by the French court and nation. William immediately remonstrated against these proceedings as infringing the treaty
of Ryswick; dismissed the French. embassador and recalled his
own; while both sides began to make preparations for war. The
French took possession of the towns on the Rhine; the Dutch entered Juliers in force; and William  arranged with the States a
campaign for the ensuing spring; but, notwithstanding the pressing solicitations of the emperor, he would not declare war till he
had assured himself of the support of the English Parliament, and
he left Holland in November for the purpose of opening that assembly.
The new Parliament met in December, when Harley was again
elected to the chair. The Commons, in their address to the king
on his speech, warmly conveyed their approbation of the course
he had pursued with regard to France, and expressed a hope that
no peace would be concluded till Louis had atoned for acknowledging the Pretender. A bill was brought in and passed for the




A.D. 1701, 1702.          DEATH  OF WILLIAM.                                 569
attainder of that prince, and  another for his abjuration  by all
persons holding employments in Church or State; and the Commons voted 40,000 men to act with the allies, and a like number
of seamen for the fleet. But, in the midst of all these great preparations, William met with an accident which, in his rapidly declining state of health, proved fatal.   On  the 21st of February,
1702, while riding from  Kensington to Hampton Court, his horse
fell with him, and he broke his collar-bone. It was at first anticipated that the accident would not be attended with any dangerous consequences, and on the 28th he was declared convalescent;
but on the 2d of March symptoms appeared which precluded all
hope of recovery, and on Sunday the 8th he expired, after receiving, the sacrament from  the Archbishop of Canterbury.
CHRONOLOGY OF REMSARKABLE EVENTS.
A.).                                     A.D.
1689. Accession of William and Mary.      1695. Censorship of the press abolished.
";  Bill of Rights.                     169T. Treaty of Ryswick.
1690. Battle of the Boyne.                1700. Death of Charles II. of Spain.
1691. Pacification of Limerick.           1701. Act of Settlement. Death of James
1692. Massacre of Glencoe.                      II.  The Grand Alliance.  Com"'  Battle of La Hogue.                        mencement of the War of theSpan1694. Bill for triennial Parliaments passed.    ish Succession.
Death of Queen Mary.               1T02. Death of William III.
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
AN ACT FOR DECLARING THE RIGHTS   3. By issuing and causing to be executed
AND  LIBERTIES OF THE SUBJEC'T, a commission under the great seal for erectAND SETTLING; THE  S`U(CCESSION  OF ing a court called the Court of Commissioners for Ecclesiastical Causes.
THIE CROVN (16S9).                       4. By levying money for and to the use of
Whereas the Lords spiritual and temporal, the crown, by pretense of prerogative, for
and Commons, assembled at Westminster, other time, and in other manner, than the
lawfully, fully, and freely representing all same was granted by Parliament.
the estates of the people of this realm, did,   5. By raising and keeping a standing army
upon the 13th day of February, in the year within this kingdom in time of peace, withof our Lord 1688, present unto their majes- out consent of Parliament, and quartering
ties, then called and known by the names soldiers contrary to law.
and style of William and Mary, Prince and   6. By causing several good subjects, being
Princess of Orange, being present in their Protestants, to be disarmed, at the same time
proper persons, a certain declaration in writ- when papists were both armed and employing, made by the said Lords and Commons, ed, contrary to law.
in the words following, viz.:              7. By violating the freedom of election of
Whereas the late king, James II., by the members to serve in Parliament.
assistance of divers evil counselors, judges,   8. By prosecutions in the Court of King's
and ministers employed by him, did endeav- Bench for matters and causes cognizable
or to subvert and extirpate the Protestant only in Parliament; and by divers other arreligion, and the laws and liberties of this bitrary and illegal courses.
kingdom:                                   9. And whereas of late years partial, cor1. By assuming and exercising a power of rupt, and unqualified persons have been redispensing with and suspending of laws, and turned and served on juries in trials, and
the execution of laws, without consent of particularly divers jurors in trials for high
Parliament.                              treason, which were not freeholders.
2. By committing and prosecuting divers   10. And excessive bail hath been required
worthy prelates for humbly petitioning to be of persons committed in criminal cases, to
excused from concurring to the said assumed elude the benefit of the laws made for the
power.                                   liberty of the subjects.




570                  NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.   CHAP. XXVII.
11. And excessive fines have been- im- bates or proceedings in Parliament, ought
posed, and illegal and cruel punishments in- not to be impeached or questioned in any
fHicted.                                   court or place out of Parliament.
12. And several grants and promises made    10. That excessive bail ought not to be re.
of fines and forfeitures, before any conviction  quired, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel
or judgment against the persons upon whom  and unusual punishments inflicted.
the same were to be levied.                  11. That jurors ought to be duly impanelAll which are utterly and directly con- ed and returned, and jurors which pass upon
trary to the known laws and statutes, and  men in trials for high treason ought to be
freedom of this realm.                     freeholders.
And whereas, the said late king, James II.,   12. That all grants and promises of fines
having abdicated the government, and the  and forfeitures of particular persons before
throne being thereby vacant, his highness  conviction are illegal and void.
the Prince of Orange (whom it hath pleased    13. And that, for redress of all grievances.
Almighty God to make the glorious instru-  and for the amending, strengthening, and
ment of delivering this kingdom from popery  preserving of the laws, Parliament ought to
and arbitrary power) did (by the advice of  be held frequently.
the Lords spiritual and temporal, and divers    And they do claim, demand, and insist
principal persons of the Commons) cause let-  upon all and singular the premises, as their
ters to be written to the Lords spiritual and  undoubted rights and liberties; and that no
temporal, being Protestants; and other let-  declarations, judgments, doings, or proceedters to the several counties, cities, universi-  ings, to the prejudice of'the people in any of
ties, boroughs, and cinque-ports, for the  the said premises, ought in any wise to be
choosing of such persons to represent them   drawnhereafter into consequence or example:
as were of right to be sent to Parliament, to    To which demand of their rights they are
meet and sit at Westminster upon the 22d  particularly encouraged by the declaration
day of January, in this year 1688, in order  of his highness the Prince of Orange, as beto such an establishment as that their reli-  ing the only means for obtaining a full region, laws, and liberties might not again be  dress and remedy therein:
in danger of being subverted; upon which    Having, therefore, an entire confidence
letters elections have been accordingly made.  that his said highness the Prince of Orange
And thereupon the said Lords'spiritual and  will perfect the deliverance so far advanced
temporal, and Commons, pursuant to their  by him, and will still preserve them from
respective letters and elections, being now  the violation of their rights, which they have
assembled in a full and fiee representation  here asserted, and from all other attempts
of this nation, taking into their most serious  upon their religion, rights, and liberties:
consideration the best means for attaining    II. The said Lords spiritual and temporal,
the ends aforesaid, do, in the first place (as  and Commons, assembled at Westminster,
their ancestors in like case have usually  do resolve, that William and Mary, Prince
done), for the vindicating and asserting their  and Princess of Orange, be, and be declared,
ancient rights and liberties, declare:     King  and Queen of England, France, and
1. That the pretended power of suspend-  Ireland, and the dominions thereunto being of laws, or the execution of laws, by re-  longing, to hold the crown and royal dignity
gal authority, without consent of Parliament,  of the said kingdoms and dominions to them
is illegal.                                the said prince and princess during their
2. That the pretended power of dispensing  lives, and the life of the survivor of them;
with laws, or the execution of laws, by regal  and that the sole and full exercise of the reauthority, as it hath been assumed and ex-  gal power be only in and executed by the
ercised of late, is illegal.               said Prince of Orange, in the names of the
3. That the commission for erecting the  said prince and princess, during their joint
late Court of Commissioners for Ecclesias-  lives; and after their deceases, the said
tical Causes, and all other commissions and  crown and royal dignity of the said kingcourts of like nature, are illegal and perni-  doms and dominions to be to the heirs of the
cious.                                     body of the said princess; and for default
4. That levying money for or to the use  of such issue, to the Princess Anne of Denof the crown, by pretense and prerogative,  mark and the heirs of her body; and for dewithout grant of Parliament, for longer time  fault of such issue, to the heirs of the body
or in other manner than the same is or shall of the said Prince of Orange. And the Lords
be granted, is illegal.                    spiritual and temporal, and Commons, do
5. That it is the right of the subjects to  pray the said prince and princess to accept
petition the king, and all commitments and  the same accordingly.
prosecutions for such petitioning are illegal.    III. And that the oaths hereafter men6. That the raising or keeping a standing  tioned be taken by all persons of whom the
army within the kingdom in time of peace, oaths of allegiance and supremacy might be
unless it be with consent of Parliament, is required by law, instead of them; and that
against law.                               the said oaths of allegiance and supremacy
7. That the subjects which are Protestants  be abrogated.
may have arms for their defense suitable to   I, A. B., do sincerely promise and swear
their conditions, and as allowed by law.   that I will be faithful and bear true alle8. That election of members of Parliament glance to their majesties King William and
ought to be free.                          Queen Mary: So help me God.
9. That the freedom of speech, and de-   I, A. B., do swear that I do from my heart




CUAP. XXVII.   NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.                                         571
abhor, detest, and abjure, as impious and  the dominions thereunto belonging, in and
heretical, that damnable doctrine and post- to whose princely persons the royal state,
tion that princes excommunicated or de- crown, and dignity of the said realms, with
prived by the Pope, or any authority of the  all honors, styles, titles, regalities, prerogaSee of Rome, may be deposed or murdered  tives, powers, jurisdictions, and authorities
by their subjects, or any other whatsoever. to the same belonging and appertaining, are
And I do declare that no foreign prince, per- most fully, rightfully, and entirely investel
son, prelate, state, or potentate hath, or and incorporated, united and annexed.
ought to have, any jurisdiction, power, su-   VIII. And for preventing all questions and
periority, pre-eminence, or authority, eccle- divisions in this realm, by reason of any presiastical or. spiritual, within this realm: So tended titles to the crown, and for preservhelp me God..     ing a certainty in the succession thereof, in
IV. Upon which their said majesties did  and upon which the unity, peace, tranquilli
accept the crown and royal dignity of the  ty, and safety of this nation doth, under
kingdoms of England, France, and Ireland, God, wholly consist and depend, the said
and the dominions thereunto belonging, ac- Lords spiritual and temporal, and Commons,
cording to the resolution and desire of the  do beseech their majesties that it may be
said Lords and Commons contained in the  enacted, established, and declared, that the
said declaration.                          crown and regal government of the said
V. And thereupon their majesties were  kingdoms and dominions, with all and sinpleased that the said Lords spiritual and  gular the premises thereunto belonging and
temporal, and Commons, being: the two  appertaining, shall be and continue to their
houses of Parliament, should continue to  said majesties, and' the survivor of them,
sit, and with their majesties' royal concur- during their lives, and the life of the survivrence make effectual provision for, the set- or of them.. And that the entire, perfect,
tlement of the religion, laws, and liberties  and full exercise of the regal power and govof this kingdom, so that the same for the fu- ernment be only in and executed by his
ture might not be in danger again of being  majesty, in the names of both their majessubverted; to which the said Lords spiritual ties during their joint lives; and after their
and temporal, and Commons, did agree and  deceases the said crown and premises shall
proceed to act accordingly.                be and remain to the heirs of the body of her
VI. Now, in pursuance of the premises, majesty; and for default of such issue, to her
the said Lords spiritual and temporal, and  royal highness the Princess Anne of DenCommons, in Parliament assembled, for the  mark and the heirs of her body; and for deratifying, confirming, and establishing the  fault of such issue, to the heirs of the body
said declaration, and the articles, clauses,  of his said majesty: And thereunto the said
matters, and things therein contained, by  Lords spiritual and temporal, and Commons,
the force of a law made in due form by au- do, in the name of all the people aforesaid,
thority of Parliament, do pray that it may  most humbly and faithfully submit thembe declared and enacted that all and singu-  selves, their heirs and posterities forever;
lar the rights and liberties asserted and  and do faithfully promise that they will
claimed in the said declaration are the true, stand to, maintain, and defend their said
ancient, and indubitable rights and liberties  majesties, and also the limitation and sucof the people of this kingdom, and so shall cession of the crown herein specified and
be esteemed, allowed, adjudged, deemed, contained, to the utmost of their powers,
and taken to be, and that all and every the  with their lives and estates, against all per.
particulars aforesaid shall be firmly and  sons whatsoever that shall attempt any
strictly holden and observed, as they are  thing to the contrary.
expressed in the said declaration; and all   IX. And whereas it hath been found by
officers and ministers whatsoever shall serve experience that it is inconsistent with the
their majesties and their successors accord- safety and welfare of this Protestant kinging to the same in all times to.come.      dom to be governed by a popish prince, or
VII. And the said Lords spiritual and tem- by any king or queen marrying a papist;
poral, and Commons, seriously considering  the said Lords spiritual and temporal, and
how it hath pleased Almighty God, in his Commons, do farther pray that it may be
marvelous providence and merciful goodness enacted that all and every person and perto this nation, to provide and preserve their sons that is, are, or shall be reconciled to, or
said majesties' royal persons most happily to  shall hold communion with, the See or
reign over us upon the throne of their an- Church of Rome, or shall profess the popish
cestors, for which they rendel unto Him  religion, or shall marry a papist, shall be exfrom the bottom of their hearts their hum- cluded, and be forever incapable to inherit,
blest thanks and praises, do truly, firmly, possess, or enjoy the crown and government
assuredly, and in the sincerity of their of this realm, and Ireland, and the dominhearts, think, and do hereby recognize, ac- ions thereunto belonging, or any part of the
knowledge, and declare, that, King James same, or to have, use, or exercise any regal
II. having abdicated the government, and  power, authority, or jurisdiction within the
their majesties having accepted the crown  same; and in all and every such case or
and royal dignity as aforesaid, their said  cases the people of these realms shall be and
majesties did become, were, are, and of right are hereby absolved of their allegiance; and
ought to be, by the laws of this realm, our the said crown and government shall from
sovereign liege lord and lady, KIing and  time to time descend to, and be enjoyed by,
queen of England, France, and Ireland, and  such person or persons, being Protestants,




572                   NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.   CHAP. XXViL
as should have inherited and enjoyed the  such king or queen shall have attained the
same in case the said person or persons so said age of twelve years.
reconciled, holding communion, or professing,   XI. All which their majesties are contentor marrying as aforesaid, were naturally  ed and pleased shall be declared, enacted,
dead.                                      and established by authority of this present
X. And that every king and queen of this Parliament, and shall stand, remain- and
realm who at any time hereafter shall come'be the law of this realm forever; and theto and succeed in the imperial crown of this  same are by their'said majesties, by and
kingdom shall, on the first day of the meet-'with the advice and consent of the Lords
ing of the first Parliament next after his or spiritual and temporal, and Commons, in
her coming to the crown, sitting in his or her Parliament assembled, and by the authority
throne in the Hlouse of Peers, in the presence  of the same, declared, enacted, or established
of the Lords and Commons therein assem-  accordingly.:
bled, or at his or her coronation, before such    XII. And be it farther-declared and enactperson or persons who shall administer the  cd by the authority aforesaid, that from and
coronation oath to him or her, at the time  after this present session of Parliament no
of his or her taking the said oath (which shall dispensation by non obstante of or to any'
first happen), make, subscribe, and audibly  statute, or any part thereof, shall be allowed,
repeat the declaration mentioned in the stat-  but that the same shall be held void and of
ste -made in the 13th year of the reign of  no effect, except a dispensation be allowed
King Charles II., intituled "An Act for the  of in such statute, and except in such cases
more effectual preserving the king's person  as shall be specially provided for by one or
and government, by disabling papists from  more bill or bills to be passed during this
sitting in either house of Parliament."  But present session of Parliament.
if it shall happen that such king or queen,    XIII. Provided that no charter, or grant,
upon his or her succession to the crown of  or pardon granted before the 23d day of Octhis realm, shall be under tie age of twelve  tober, in the year of our Lord 1689, shall be
years, then every such king or queen shall any ways impeached or invalidated by this
make, subscribe, and audibly repeat the said  act, but that the same shall be and remain
declaration at his or her coronation, or the  of the same force and effect in law, and no
first day of meeting of the first Parliament  other than as if this act had never been
as aforesaid, which shall first happen after  nmade.




\ Medalof eeanne i        e,
Medal of queen Anne, in honor of the U nion, striek at Leipzig.
Obv.: ANNA.. MA. ET..  UNITA BPIITYS. FRr. ET III;1. REGINS. Bust, crowned, to
left. Ilev.: ET EXTERIS ETIAM GRATA. Two female figures, standing, joining wreaths;
behind them, view of a city.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
QUE,EN, ANE. A.D. 1702-17L4.
~ 1. Accession and Coronation of Anne. Influence of the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough.: Campaign of 1702. Success at Vigo. ~ 2. Marlborough made a Duke. His Intrigues. State of Parties.  ~ 3. Campaigns of 1703 and 1704. Battle of Blenheim. Taking of Gibraltar.
~ 4. Campaigns of 1705 and 1706. Battle of Ramillies. ~ 5. Union
with Scotland. ~ 6. Campaigns of 1707, 1708, and 1709. Battles of
Oudenarde and Malplaquct. ~ 7. Decline of Marlborough's Influence.
~ 8. Trial of Dr. Sacheverell. Change of Ministry. Character of the
Times. ~ 9. New Parliament. Harley stabbed. Becomes Lord Treasurer and Earl of Oxford. Act against occasional Conformity and Schism
Act. ~ 10. Marlborough accused of Peculation, and censured by the
Commons. Proceedings in Flanders. The Duke of Ormond withdraws
the English Forces from the Allies.  ~ 11. Treaty of Utrecht.  ~ 12.
Manceuvres of the Jacobites and IIanoverians. -~ 13. Rupture between
Oxford and Bolingbroke. Oxford dismissed. The Duke of Shrewsbury
appointed Treasurer. Death and Character of the Queen.
~ 1. ON the demise of William, Anne, Princess of Denmark,
immediately ascended the throne by virtue of the act of 1689, and
was proclaimed on the 8th of March, 1702.  On the 12th of April
the late king was privately interred, and on the 23d the queen
was crowned in Westminster Abbey.  She had hitherto retained
William's ministers, but they were now dismissed in favor of Tories.  Somers, Halifax, and other Whig leaders were excluded
from  the new  privy council; the Marquis of Normanby- was
* John Sheffield, Marquis of NTormanby, was created Duke of Buckingham in 1702. The title became extinct on the death of his son in 1720.
The present Marquis of Normanby belongs to a different family.




574                       ANNE.               CHAP. XXVII[f
made privy seal; Lord Godolphin, lord high treasurer. MIarlborough, who had been the faithful friend of Anne when she was
of little account with the nation, received the most substantial
marks of htier favor. IIe was made a knight of the garter, and'
captain general of all the queen's forces; and toward the end of
March he had proceeded to Holland in the character of extraordinary embassador. Anne was entirely governed by Lady MIarlborough, who, though not a woman of a very superior understanding, ruled her through the ascendency which a strong mind naturally has over a weak one. In their confidential intercourse all
titles and ceremony were dropped; Anne became Mrs. Morley,
and Lady lMarlborough nMrs. Freeman-a name that expressed
the character of her influence, which was founded, not on flattery
and dissimulation, but on the uncourtier-like qualities of habitual
fiankness and frequent dictation. Prince George of Denmark,
who was even'weaker than his consort the queen, yielded without a struggle to all these arrangements, and Marlborough and
his wife might almost be regarded as the de facto sovereigns of
Enoland.
Soon after her <accession Anne had notified to her allies abroad
her determination to pursue the policy of the late king; and when
Marlborough returned from his embassy, war was at his instance
declared against France and Spain (May 4). In July Marlborough
aissumed the command of the allied army in Flanders; and, though
he was disappointed in bringing the enemy to a general engagement, he finished the campaign with reputation by reducing Venloo, Ruremonde, and the citadel of Liege, by which he obtained
command of the Meuse.
In Italy and- Germany the campaign was not marked by any
important event. At sea, the English and Dutch combined fleets,
under Sir G. Rooke, with 12,000 troops on board commanded by
the Duke of Ormond, after making an unsuccessful attempt upon
Cadiz, proceeded to Vigo, where the Spanish galleons had just
arrived under convoy of 30 French men-of-war. They lay up a
narrow inlet or strait, the entrance of which was secured with a
strong boom, while on one side it was defended with a castle, and.
on the other with a platform mounted with cannon.  Ormofid,
having landed some troops, took the castle; and Vice Admiral
Hopson, in the Torbay, having broken the boom and advanced
with his ships through a terrific fire, the French, seeing capture
inevitable, burnt some of their' ships. The allies, however, succeeded in capturing six vessels; seven were sunk, nine burnt.
All the galleons were either taken or destroyed; and, though the
greatest part of the treasure had been carried off, yet the English
and Dutch made a large booty. In the same summer Admiral




A.D. 1702.          STATE OF PARTIES.                  575
Benbow, commander of the English fleet in the West Indies, displayed the most distinguished valor in sustaining for five days,
when deserted by several of his captains, a fight against a French
fleet of much superior force. His own ship was reduced to a
mere wreck, he was wounded in the arm and face, and had his
leg shot away; but he contrived to get into Kingston, Jamaica,
where he died soon after of his wounds. He had ordered four of
his captains to be tried by a court-martial, two of whom were
condemned and shot, one was cashiered, and another died previously to his trial.
~ 2. The new Parliament met in October; and a committee of
the Commons presented Marlborough, who had now returned to
England, with the thanks of the House. The queen created him
a duke, and settled on him for life a pension of ~5000 a year,
payable out of the revenue of the post-office.  She likewise sent
to desire the Commons to settle the pension forever on the heirs
male of his body; but they received the message in silence and
astonishment, and, after a warm debate, the proposal was rejected.
MLarlborough, indeed, was highly unpopular, both from his avarice
and meanness and for his political delinquencies.  Notwithstanding his high post, he was still listehing to the intrigues of the court
of St. Germain's to obtain the repeal of the Act of Settlement;
and Anne herself was known not to be averse to the succession
of the Pretender. In order to stimulate Marlborough's exertions,
a marriage was proposed between the Prince of Wales and his
third daughter; while, on the other hand, the Hanoverians, having heard of this project, started a counter one of a marriage between the same lady and the electoral prince. There was, indeed,
at this period a very strong Jacobite faction in the kingdom; and
the court, the Tories, and the High-Church party were bent on
defeating the succession of the house of Brunswick. The House
of Lords were much more Whiggish than the Commons, although,
in order to support the court interests, Finch, Gower, Granville,
and Seymour, four violent Tories, had been made peers, and other
lords had been advanced to higher titles. The peers threw out a
bill to prevent occasional conformity, and amended a bill to grant
another year to those who had neglected to take the oath of abjuration,; both which measures were supported by the adherents
of the Pretender.  To the latter bill the peers added two clauses
which the Tory party dared not openly oppose, and which secured
the succession that the bill was intended to defeat. One of these
clauses declared it high treason to endeavor, either directly or indirectly, to alter the succession as limited by law; the other imposed the oath of abjuration on the whole -Irish nation, apoint
which had been neglected in the original bill.




576                       ANNE.              CHAP. XXVIII.
~ 3. In 1703, the defection of the Duke of Savoy, and of Peter
II., King of Portugal, who joined the Grand Alliance, proved a
great blow to the affairs of Louis, particularly as the latter event
opened a way for the allies into the heart of Spain. On the whole,
however, the campaign of this year went in favor of the French.
They gained several advantages in Germany, and their allies the
Bavarians pressed hard upon the Austrians.  Marlborough was
more fortunate. Bonn surrendered to him on the 15th of lay,
after a siege of 12 days; and he afterward took the fortresses of
-Iuy, Limburg, and Gueldres; but the numerous towns which
the French had garrisoned in the Low Countries having reduced
the strength of their army, they were cautious of taking the open
field, and all MIarlborough's endeavors to draw them into an engageement proved unsuccessful. Nothing decisive occurred in Italy, nor was any thing worth recording done at sea. In spite of
his ill success, the emperor, after renouncing in his own name and
in that of his eldest son, all pretension to the throne of Spain,
caused his second son to be crowned king of that country at Vienna, with the title of Charles III.  Toward the end of the year
the new-made monarch arrived at Spithead, and, after visiting
the queen at Windsor, proceeded on his way to Portugal.  Histitle was acknowledged by all the allies. A little previous to his
arrival (Nov. 26) England had been visited by the greatest storm
ever known in this country. WVhole forests were uprooted, and
the damage in London alone was estimated at ~1,000,000. At
sea 12 ships of the royal navy were cast away, besides a great
number of merchantmen, and 1500 men in the royal navy were
lost.
The campaign of the last-year having rendered the allies masters of the Meuse and of Spanish Guelderland, little danger was
to be apprehended to the frontiers of Holland; and Marlborough
conceived a bolder and more extensive plan of operations for that
of 1704. Leopold, hard pressed by the French and Bavarians,
and annoyed also by an insurrection in Hungary, sent urgent applications for relief for which purpose Marlborough concerted
some masterly arrangements with Prince Eugene. Directing his
march on IMaestricht, and thence through Juliers to Coblentz, he
crossed the Rhine at that place, and thence passing the Main and
Neckar, was joined by Prince Eugene at Mindelsheim.  Hence
the latter proceeded to Philipsburg, to take the command of the
army of the Upper Rhine; and Marlborough, pursuing his march
toward the Danube, formed a junction with the Imperialists under
Prince Louis of Baden at Winterstellen. The allied forces, consisting of 96 battalions of foot and 202 squadrons of horse and
dragoons, and having 48 pieces of cannon, encamped on the RIiver




A.D. 1703, 1704.  BATTLE OF BLENHEIM.                 577
BIrenz, June 28, within two leagues of the Elector of Bavaria's
array. The enemy's force was inferior, being only 88 battalions
and 160 squadrons; but they were much stronger in artillery,
having 90 guns and 40 mortars and howitzers. On the 2d of
July the allies attacked and took Donauwerth, thus separating
the enemy's forces on the Upper and Lower Danube, and securing a bridge over that river. The loss was great on both sides;
and the elector retreated toward Augsburg, followed by the allies.
Both armies, however, soon received an accession of force, the
Bavarians being joined by the French under Marshal Tallard, and
Marlborough by Prince Eugene, who had followed Tallard through
the Black Forest. The forces on both sides now amounted to
between 50,000 and 60,000 men, but the enemy were rather superior. They were encamped on a height near -Iochstadt, with
the Danube on their right; and the village of BLENHEIM, which
lies on the Danube, was a- little in front of their right wing.
Their left was covered by a thick wood, and considerably in advance of their front was a rivulet and morass. Notwithstanding
the strength of their position, Marlborough resolved to attack
them.  Marshal Tallard, who commanded the enemy's right, and
who was opposed to Marlborough at the head of the allied left,
conceiving that Blenheim would be the principal object of attack,
had occupied that village with 28 battalions and eight squadrons
of dragoons-a fatal error, by which he weakened the centre of
his line.  Marlborough passed the rivulet and morass without
opposition; and, directing some of his infantry to attack Blenheim
and another village which the enemy had occupied, led his cavalry
and.the remainder of his forces against Tallard.  The struggle
was long and desperate, but at length the enemy's right was completely routed, and numbers were put to the sword or driven into
the Danube. All the enemy's troops that had been thrown into
Blenheim, being cut off from the main body, were forced to surrender at discretion. Prince Eugene, who commanded the right
of the allies, could make no impression against the Elector of
Bavaria and Marshal Marsin till after the defeat of Tallard, when
the Bavarians made a speedy and skillful retreat in three columns.
The French and Bavarians lost nearly half their army in killed,
wounded, and prisoners; and Marshal Tallard himself was captured, together with the camp, baggage, and artillery. The loss
of the allies, however, was also very great, amounting to about
14,000 killed and wounded. The elector and Marshal Marsin
retreated on Ulm, whence they joined Marshal Villeroi on the
Rhine.
The consequences of this brilliant victory, which was gained on
August 13, were most important, and decided the fate of Ger-:B B




578.                      ANNE.               CHAP. XXVIIt
many. The Elector of Bavaria, whose troops had lately alarmed
Vienna itself, not only lost his conquests, but even. his own dominions fell into the hands of the emperor. The remains of the
vanquished army were obliged to cross the Rhine; and the victors also entered Alsace, and took the important fortresses of Landau and Traerbach. Marlborough himself repaired to Berlin, and
concluded a treaty with the King of Prussia, who engaged to assist the Duke of Savoy with 8000 men, and thence proceeding to
Hanover and the Hague, arrived in London in December, accompanied by Marshal Tallard and 26 other prisoners of distinction.
He received the thanks and congratulations of the queen, and of
both houses of Parliament; the royal manor of Woodstock was
granted to him, and a splendid mansion erected upon it, which
received the name of Blenheim Castle from the place of his victory.
On the other theatres of war nothing was done comparable to
these great achievements in Germany. In Flanders the campaign
was wholly defensive and unimportant; in Italy the balance of
success inclined for the French. -In the Spanish peninsula, Philip
V., the new King of Spain, obtained some advantages in an invasion of Portugal; while Charles III., who had landed in that
country in March with 8000 English and Dutch troops, was repulsed by the Duke of 13erwick in an attempt which he made
upon Castile, in conjunction with the King of P'ortugal.  But
the English fleet under Sir G. Rooke achieved a brilliant and unexpected success in that quarter by the capture of Gibraltar.
After landing Charles III. at Lisbon, and making an unsuccess-:
ful attempt upon Barcelona, Rooke determined to attack Gibraltar; and, through the negligence and cowardice of the Spaniards, this strong fortress, which might be defended by a few
hundred men against a whole army, was easily taken by his sailors and marines. Subsequently Rooke and the Dutch admiral
Culemberg fell in, off Malaga, with a French fleet of 52 ships
under the Count of Toulouse, which had been dispatched to assist
the Spaniards in recovering:Gibraltar. An obstinate combat ensued, which ended in a drawn battle, and Gibraltar remained in
the hands of the English.
~ 4. It was also in Spain that the campaign of the following
year (1705) was marked by any striking events. The Earl of
Peterborough, having embarked with a land force on board the
fleet of Sir Cloudesley Shovel, and being joined by a Dutch squadron under Admiral Allemonde, proceeded to the coast'of Catalonia. The fortresses of Lerida and Tortosa were taken without
a blow;'Barcelona capitulated after a siege;' and almost the
whole of Valencia and Catalonia then acknowledged Charles III.,




-AD. 1705,1706.   BATTLE OF- RAMILLIES.                  579
so that the land forces of the allies took up their winter quarters
in Spain.
In the Netherlands, Marlborough, at the request of the Dutch,
confined his operations to the defense of their frontier.  Leopold
died this year (May 5), and was succeeded by his son Joseph, who
had more talents and enterprise than his father, but found it difficult to inspire the Germanic body with his own spirit. Marlborough paid him a visit toward winter at Vienna, when the principality of Mindelsheim was conferred upon him, with the rank
of a prince of the empire. On the whole, the campaigns in Germany and Italy were favorable this year to the French.
Marlborough had formed larger plans for 1706, but was again
detained by the entreaties of the Dutch.  He compensated, however, for the inactivity of the preceding year by the brilliant victory of RIMILrLIES, near Tirlemont, gained over Marshal Villeroi;,
May 23. The forces were nearly equal on both sides; but the
French were totally defeated, with a loss of about 14,000 men,
killed, wounded, or prisoners, while the loss of tlie allies did not
amount to 3000.  Toward night the rout of the French became
complete, and they did not attempt to stand even at Courtray.
They lost about 120 colors, 100 pieces of artillery, and a vast
quantity of baggage. The consequence of this victory was the
conquest of Brabant, and almost all Spanish Flanders.  In return for these achievements the English Parliament perpetuated
Marlborougl-h's titles in the female as well as the male line, and
continued the pension of ~5000 granted by the queen to his family forever.
The French also sustained a terrible overthrow this year at
Turin from Prince Eugene and the Duke of Savoy, which put an
end to all the hopes of the Bourbons in Italy. In Spain: the
Anglo-Portuguese army,'under the Earl of Galway (Ruvigny) and
the Marquis de las Minas, penetrated to Madrid.  Philip V.
abandoned his capital and retired to Burgos; but Galway and.Las Minas, neglecting to pursue their advantages, were ultimately
driven from the Spanish capital by the Duke of Berwick, and
obliged to retire into Valencia. In the same year the English
fleet, under Sir John Leake, took Majorca and Ivica, and reduced
them under the authority of Charles HI.
~ 5. We must now revert for a while to the domestic affairs of
the country, where the important project of a UNION WITH SCOTL AND was in agitation.  That measure had occasionally attracted
the attention of statesmen ever since the accession of James I.;
but as the period approached when the succession to the crown
was to be diverted into a new line, the necessity for it became
urgent, and Anne, in her speech to her first Parliament, had rece




580                       ANNE.                CHAP. XXVIII.
ommended it as indispensable to the peace and security of both
kingdoms. William had neglected to provide for the succession
to the Scottish crown; and a large party in that country, headed
by the Duke of Hamilton, were in favor of the Stuarts. A bill
for the Hanoverian succession was rejected by the Scotch Parliament with every mark of anger and contempt; many were for
sending Lord Marchmont, its proposer, to the Castle of Edinburgh;
and it was carried by a large majority that all record of it should
be expunged from their proceedings. The same assembly passed
what they called an " Act of Security,". by which it was provided
that the Parliament should meet on the 20th day after the queen's
decease to elect a successor, who should not be the successor to
the crown of England, unless under conditions which might secure
the honor and independence of Scotland. The queen refused her
assent to this bill; but in the following year (Aug. 5, 1704) she
thought proper to allow another bill, to the same effect, to be
touched with the sceptre,.of which the main proviso was that the
successor to the crown should be a Protestant of the royal line of
Scotland, and at the same time not the successor to the English'
crown.  As the house of Hanover was thus excluded, the Duke
of Hamilton himself, the great promoter of the bill, seemed in a
fair way to obtain the crown.
This proceeding excited great alarm in England. The House
of Peers, in order to obviate its effects, resolved, that no Scotchmlen, not actually residing in England or Ireland, should enjoy the
privileges of Englishmen till a union of the two kingdoms should
be effected, or the succession made identical in Scotland and England; that the bringing of Scotch cattle into England, and of
English wool into Scotland, should be prohibited; and that the
fleet should have orders to seize all Scotch vessels trading with
France.  These resolutions, which were almost equivalent to a
declaration of war, were reduced into a bill; and another act was
passed to appoint commissioners to treat of a union. The Lords
also addressed the queen to fortify Newcastle, Tynemouth, Carlisle, and Hull, to call out the militia of the four northern counties, and to station an adequate number of regular troops on the
Scottish borders. The Commons rejected the proposed bill on the
ground that the fines levied by it rendered it a money bill; but
they passed another to the same effect (Feb. 3, 1705), which went
through the Lords without any amendment.
In the following session farther steps were taken to secure the
succession of the House of Hanover, and a regency bill was passed
in the evept of the queen's death. In April, 1706, Lord Halifax,
accompanied by Clarencieux, king-of-arms, was dispatched to Hanover to present the electoral prince with the order of the garter,




l.D. 1706,1707.  UNION WITH SCOTLAND.                 581
and to convey to his family an act of naturalization. About the
same time commissioners appointed by the queen met to consider
the articles of a union, and continued their discussions till July
23. The following were the more important among the articles
agreed upon: That the two kingdoms should be united under the
name of Great Britain; that the succession should be vested in
the Princess Sophia and her heirs, being Protestants; that there
should be but one Parliament of the united kingdom, to which 16
Scotch peers and 45 commoners should be elected; that there
should be a complete freedom of trade and navigation throughout
the united kingdom, and a reciprocation of all rights, privileges,
and advantages.
These articles were highly unpopular in Scotland; but, without
the succor of France, it seemed hopeless to resist them, and the
reverses of Louis in the war put it out of his power to assist the
Pretender. In the Parliament, indeed, where the Peers and Commons sat in one house, a spirited opposition was led by the Duke
of Hamilton and Fletcher of Saltoun, and during the progress of
the debates violent tumults occurred in Edinburgh. The lower
classes of the Scotch, and especially the Presbyterians of the West,
were almost universally opposed to the union, and offers were
made to Hamilton from various. quarters to march to Edinburgh
and disperse the Parliament.  But that nobleman, though loud in
debate, was timid in action. He would not listen to such vigorous counsels; and he even shrank from an agreement which he
had made with his adherents, to protest against the nleasure, and
quit the Parliament in a body. All the articles were eventually
adopted by a large majority, Jan. 16, 1707.
The ACT OF UNION was carried through the English Parliament with but trifling opposition, and received the royal assent
on March 6. The union was appointed to commence on May 1,
1707, which was made a day of thanksgiving; and the first Parliament of Great Britain was to meet on the 23d of the following
October.
~ 6. But to return to the war. The allies, flushed with their
good fortune, rejected all the French king's overtures for peace,
although so advantageous that it was made an argument against
receiving them, that they were too good to be lasting. In spite
of the distress to which he was reduced, Louis therefore bestirred
himself for a vigorous resistance; and the year opened for him
with a gleam of success by the recapture of Majorca by the Count
de Villars (Jan. 5, 1707). In Spain, also, Galway and Las Minas
were defeated by the Duke of Berwick at Almanza; Aragon was
again reduced under the authority of Philip V., and Charles III.
maintained himself only in Catalonia. But in Germany the French




582-                      ANNE.               CHAP. XXV III.
were eventually obliged to recross tbhe-Rhine; and by the capit-o
ulation of Milan, signed in March, they agreed to evacuate Italyo
The latter event left Prince Eugene and the Duke of Savoy at
liberty to invade France.  They accordingly passed the Var, and,
advancing along the coast of Provence, appeared before Toulon on -
the 26th of July, while, at the same time, Sir Cloudesley Shovel
blockaded it by sea. The French, however, had thrown 8000 men
into Toulon' a few hours before the arrival of Prince Eugene; and:
their vigorous defense, the-advance of the Duke of Burgundy with
a considerable force, and the ill condition of the invading army,
compelled the allies to abandon the enterprise.
A terrible fate overtook Sir Cloudesley Shovel and his fleet on
their return. That admiral sailed from Gibraltar on the 20th of
Sept. with a fleet of 15 sail of the line and some frigates. On.Oct. 22d they arrived in.the mouth of the Channel, when, by
some mistake in the course', the admiral's ship, the Association,
striking on some rocks to the west -of the Scilly Islands, foundered, and all on board perished.  The Eagle, the Romney, and
the Firebrand met with the same fate, except that the captain
and 24 of the crew of the last were saved.  Shovel had raised
himself by his abilities and courage from the station of a common
sailor.
The campaign in Flanders produced no remarkable action, and,
on the whole, the events of the year were of a checkered kind for
France.  Her counsels were no longer directed with the former
vigor. Louis XIV. was sinking into dotage, and had surrendered
himself to the government of Madame de Maintenon.  Yet the
resources of France were still able to inspire alarm. Early in
1708 a squadron of frigates and small ships of war was collected
at Dunkirkl; troops were marched thither from the surrounding
garrisons; and on the 6tlh of March the Pretender put to sea with
5000 men under his comnmand for the purpose of invading England. But his fleet was dispersed by Admiral Byng, and returned one by one to Dunkirk. The only evil occasioned by this attempt was the alarm that it created. There was a run upon the
Bank, loyal addresses were presented to the queen by both houses,
the Commons suspended the Habeas Corpus Act, and the country
was alive with military preparations.
Ghent and Bruges, disgusted with the extortions of the allies,
in which MIarlborough and Cadogan are said to have been impli-.
cated, opened their gates to the French, who then directed their
march toward Antwerp, and laid siege to OUDENARDE; but Marlborough, coming up, brought them to an engagement, and gavethem a signal defeat. ~ In this battle the electoral prince of Han-:
oover, afterward George II., gave distinguished proofs of valor, and




A.D. 1707-1710. OUDENARDE AND MALPLAQUET.              583
led his cavalry repeatedly to the charge.  The other more important operations of this campaign, regarded as one of Marlborough's most skillful ones, were the capture of Lisle, one of the:
strongest fortresses in Flanders, after a three months' siege, the
compelling the Elector of Bavaria to raise the siege of Brussels,
and the recovery of Bruges and Ghent. The Duke of Vendame,
who commanded the French army, was received so coldly by
Louis that he retired to one of his estates, being the fifth Marshal
of France who had been driven from the service by Marlborough's
successes.
Sardinia was also reduced this year by the fleet under Admiral
Leake without striking a blow, the inhabitants having been induced by the monks to declare for Charles III. Leake then took
Minorca.
The misfortunes of Louis prompted him to sue for peace, and in
1709 conferences were opened at the Hague. The Marquis de
Torcy, the French emnbassador, was instructed to offer almost any
terms, and he at last agreed that Philip should relinquish thle
whole of the Spanish succession, with the exception of Naples and
Sicily. But the allies would not leave him even these; and as
the terms which they demanded were as bad as any that could
be dreaded from a continuance of hostilities, the pride of the
French was roused, and they determined to resist to the utInost.
In June (1709) Marlborough assumed the command of the allied army in Flanders, amounting to about 110,000 men. After
taking Tournay, one of the strongest places in the Netherlands, the
allies threatened Mons; and in order to protect it, Marshal Villars intrenched himself at MALPLAQUET, a league from the town.,
From this post he was driven by the allies after a most sanguinary conflict, in which the latter lost about 20,000 men, while the
loss of the French did not exceed 8000.  The surrender of Mons,
Oct. 20, finished the campaign in Flanders.
Negotiations for a peace were again opened in March, 1710.
France was willing to make farther concessions, but the allies still
rose in their demands, and, not satisfied that Louis should renounce Spain for his grandson, insisted that he should actually
assist them to expel him.  These negotiations did not interrupt
the war, which was carried on with great vigor in Flanders.  The
allies took Douay, Bethune, St. Venant, and Aire, but with the
loss of 26,000 men.  In Spain Philip V. was defeated by Count
Staremberg at Almnenara, and still more decisively at Saragossa.
General Stanhope, with 5000 British troops, had a great share in
this victory. But as two French armies were entering Spain, it
was deemed prudent to retire into Catalonia.  Stanhope, who
brought up the rear, was overtaken at the village of lSrihuega by?n             in~' ""^^""" "




584                      ANNE.'CHAP. XXVIIL
the Duke of Vendome; and, though he defended himself with
great spirit, yet, being surrounded on all sides, he was obliged to
surrender at discretion.
~ 7. Marlborough's influence at court was now completely on
the wane, but his reputation stood too high to render safe his immediate dismissal. In order to explain this revolution, it will be
necessary to trace a few years back the intrigues of party.
During the period of the war Marlborough and Lord Godolphin,
the treasurer, directed the government. In 1704 they had moulded the ministry more to their liking, by appointing Harley secretary of state in place of the Earl of Nottingham, and making Henry St. John, a young man of great ability, secretary at war. At
the same time the general and the treasurer were obliged to pay
great deference to the Whigs, who formed a strong party led by
what was called the junto, consisting of the Lords Somers, Halifax, Wharton, Orford, and Sunderland. In Harley they had introduced an enemy who ultimately upset them. Harley began
his scheme for this purpose by undermining the Duchess of Marlborough's influence with the queen. The duchess had placed a
relative named Abigail Hill, the daughter of a bankrupt Turkey
merchant, about the queen's person in the capacity of a bedchamber woman. Abigail was also distantly related to Harley; and
a plan was formed between them to alienate the queen's favor
from the duchess, of whose domineering temper indeed she was
already weary. Byl assiduity and attention Abigail succeeded in
gaining Anne's good-will, of which the queen gave a signal proof
by being present at her marriage with Mr. Masham, an officer of
the royal household. This event opened the eyes of the Marlboroughs to the altered state of the queen's favor, and impressed them
with the necessity of making a struggle to retain their power. An
accident afforded an opportunity for an attack upon Harley. The
correspondence of Marshal Tallard, who was still a prisoner, passed through Harley's office; and as that minister did not understand French, it was read by Gregg, one of his clerks.  Gregg, a
needy Scotchman, took the'opportunity to inclose in a letter of
the marshal's one of his own, in which he made an offer to the
French minister to betray the secrets of the country for a valuable
consideration. The letter was intercepted, and Gregg was tried,
condemned, and hanged at Tyburn. Attempts were made before
his execution to procure his evidence against Harley; but he
fully acquitted that minister, who was, indeed, entirely innocent.
His reputation, however, suffered with the credulous and suspicious; Marlborough and Godolphin notified to the queen their
determination not to act with him, and absented themselves firom
the council. _After a short struggle Anne was obliged to give




A.D. 1710.      TRIAL OF SACHEVERELL.                 585
way; Harley retired from office, and was followed by St. John,
and Sir Simon Harcourt, the attorney general; and their places
were supplied by Mr. Boyle, MIr. Robert Walpole, and Sir James
MIontague. But this affair only served more to inflame the queen
against the Whigs.  Harley retained his secret influence, and
awaited the opportunity of a triumphant return to power, which
was prepared by an event that happened in 1709.
~ 8. Dr. Sacheverell, rector of St. Savior's, Southwark, a vain
and bitter man of little merit, being appointed to preach before
the lord mayor and aldermen at St. Paul's on the 5th of Nov.,
inveighed with great violence and indecency against the Dissenters and the moderate section of the Church of England, insisted
upon the doctrine of passive obedience, and reflected in severe
terms upon the government, and especially upon Godolphin, to
whom he gave the name, of Volpone, a character in one of Ben
Jonson's comedies. The majority of the court of aldermen, being
of the Low-Church party, refused to thank Sacheverell for his sermon; but the lord mayor, who was on the opposite side, encouraged Sacheverell to print it, and present it to him in a dedication
conceived in the same violent strain. The political passions of
the nation were excited to the highest pitch, and 40,000 copies
of the sermon were sold in a few weeks. The more violent of
the ministry, and especially Godolphin, who had been personally
attacked, were enraged against Sacheverell, and resolved to impeach him for certain doctrines promulgated in his sermon. Articles were accordingly exhibited against him, and he was brought
to trial in Westminster Hall, Feb. 27, 1710. The populace of
London was at that time Tory and High-Church, and kept up a
continual tumult during the trial. The mob escorted Sacheverell
every day from his lodgings in the Temple to Westminster with
vociferous cheering, pulled down several meeting-houses, and insulted those members of Parliament who took the most prominent
part against their favorite. The Lords, however, decreed that
Sacheverell should be suspended from preaching for a term of
three years, and that his sermon should be burned by the hands of
the common hangman; and they also sentenced to the same fate
the famous decree of the University of Oxford in 1683, on occasion of the Rye House Plot, which inculcated the doctrine of passive obedience and non-resistance.
The temper of the nation had been so plainly exhibited in this
trial that the queen and the Tory party no longer hesitated to attempt a change in the ministry; but it was slowly and cautiously
effected. MIarlborough, who pretended to the disposal of all military promotions, was offended by an attempt to promote Colonel
Hill, brother of Mrs. MIasham. without his approbation; and he
B B 2




586                       ANN E.                C HAP.: XX VIII.
retired into the country, thieatening to resign the command of
the army. By degrees changes began to be made in the ministry.:
In April (1710) the Duke of Shrewsbury, who had taken part
against the ministers in Sacheverell's case, was made lord chamberlain.  On'the 14th of June' the seals were taken from the Earl
of Sunderland, Marlborough's son-in-law,'and Lord Dartmouth
was made secretary of state in his place. On the 8th of August
Godolphin himself was ordered to break his staff as treasurer, and
the treasury was -put in commniission with Lord Powlett at the
head; Harley, however, who now became chancellor of the exchequer, possessed in reality'the greatest share of the queen's confidence.  But a thorough change'in the ministry was not effected
till September, when Lord Rochester superseded Lord Somers as
president of the council, St. John became a secretary of state instead of Mr. Boyle, Harcourt was made lord chancellor instead of
Lord Cowper, and the Duke of Ormonnd obtained the lieutenancy
of Ireland in place of the witty and' profligate Earl of Wharton.
Other minor'changes were effected, and the Dukes of Somerset'
and Newcastle. were the'only Whigs who retained office. Both:
HI-arley and St.. John, who now became'the leaders of the HighChurch party, had been bred up among the'Dissenters.  One of
the reasons for appointing the latter was, that he was the only
person about the court'who understood French, and might'therefore be useful in the-expected negotiations for a peace.
A striking characteristic of the period is the double dealing of
the leading men of all parties'. It can hardly be doubted that Harley was in favor of the Hanoverian succession, which he had zealously labored to establish; yet we find him at this time corresponding with Marshal Berwick, and treating for the restoration of the
Stuarts, on condition of Anne retaining the crown for life, and secuiity being given for the religion and liberties of England. - Marlborough, on the other hand, though in favor of the Stuarts and
himself corresponding: with the court of St. Germain's, does:not
scruple to address the Elector of Hanover' with assurances, of his
devotion, and to denounce Harley. and his associates as entertaining a- design to place the Pretender'on the throne.  St. John was
the most decided and'consistent Jacobite, and there were constant
feuds between him and Harley, which were sometimes composed
by the intervention of Swift.
~ 9. In the new Parliament which met in Nov., 1710, the Tory
party predominated. Sacheverell had made a sort of progress into
Wales, and was received by the mayors and corporations of various towns in great state. The people came to meet him with
White favors and sprigs of gilded laurel' in their hats, and the hedges
where he passed were decked'with flowers.  These were plain




A.D. 1710, 1711.    HARLEY LORD TREASURER.              587
symptoms of the popular se    ntiments, and in the ensuing elections
the Wqiigs were defeated wherever the popular voice was allowed
to prevail.  The queen, in her opening speech, though >she intimated a desire for peace, signified her resolution of prosecuting the
war with the utmost vigor. The Parliament responded with enthusiasm, and voted during the session the large sum of more than 14
millions. They instituted an inquiry into the conduct of the war in
Spain; a vote of censure was passed upon the late ministry; and
an attempted vote of thanks to Marlborough failed in the House
of Lords.  Marlborough, however, still retained, the command. of
the army; but he resigned all the places held. by his Duchess, absented himself from court, and in Feb., 1711, proceeded to Holland
to conduct the campaign.
AbonUtthis time,    an event that might have proved fatal to HIarley served only to further his promotion.  A French. adventurer,:
who assumed the title of the Marquis de Guiscard, had insinuated
himself into the favor of the preceding ministry by pretending that
he could raise an insurrection in France,'A congenial profligacy
had' recommended this man to the fiiendship of St. John, who, on
becoming minister, procured him'a pension of ~500 a year. But
Harley incurred the.hatred of Guiscard by reducing it to ~400,
and refusing to make it permanent.  Shortly afterward Guiscard
was detected in a-'treasonable correspondence with France, and,
on being brought before the council for examination, he stabbed
Harley with' a pocket-knife, the blade of which fortunately broke
by striking the breast-bone. Unaware of this circumstance, Guiscard redoubled his blows, till St. John and others'stabbed him in
several places with their swords; and being secured, he was carried to Newgate,' where he soon afterward expired of lhis wounds.
Harley's hurt was slight, but it procured him much sympathy..
The Commons addressed the queen in terms the most flattering'
to that minister, and when he next appeared in his seat he was
congratulated by the speaker in the name of the House on his fortunate'escape.  The queen gave him.more substantial marks of
favor by creating him Earl of Oxford and Mortimer, and shortly'
after she bestowed upon him.the'white staff of lord high treasurer.*,
As the Tories had a decided majority in the new Parliament,
Lord Nottingham, a vehement High-Churchman, easily persuaded
it to pass a bill to prevent occasional conformity, as it was call-:
ed, which was the compliance of the Dissenters with the provisions of the Test Act by receiving the sacrament according to:
the rites of the Church of England in order merely to qualify
* His son, Edward Harley, the second Earl of Oxford, was the collector
of the celebrated Harleian MSS. now in the British Museum.  The titlebecame extinct in 1853.




588                       ANNE.               CHAP. XXVIII.
themselves for holding office or entering into corporations (see p.
498). This bill was followed up by the Schism Act, which extended and confirmed one of the clauses in the Act of Uniformity,
which compelled all teachers to make before the bishop a declaration of conformity to the Established Church, and to obtain from
the bishop a license for exercising that profession.*
The new ministry were inclined to peace, as the most effectual
means of breaking the power of Marlborough; and the death of
the Emperor Joseph, which occurred this year, opened the prospect
of its attainment.  Charles III., the titular King of Spain, was
elected his successor, and thus the views of England with regard
to the war were entirely changed, since the union of Spain and
the empire would have revived the days of Charles V., while the
very object of the war was to prevent the accumulation of too
much power in the hands of a single family. The yearly campaign in Flanders, the last conducted by Marlborough, though a
skillful one, had proved almost wholly unimportant, as the French
stood on the defensive; nor did any thing of consequence occur
in other quarters. Before it had begun, communications were privately opened with the court of France; and the States, though
averse to a peace, were at length obliged to yield, and named
Utrecht as the place of conference. On hearing of these negotiations, the imperial embassador became so violent that he was
ordered to quit the kingdom.
~ 10. A report laid before the House of Commons by the commissioners of the public accounts on the 21st of Dec. contained
the deposition of Sir Solomon Medina, a Dutch Jew, charging the
Duke of MIarlborough, and Cardonnel his secretary, with various
peculations in the contracts for bread and bread-wagons for the
army in Flanders. The charge would probably never have been
heard of except for the violent part which IMarlborough took
against the ministry on tlfe subject of the peace. The Elector of
Hanover was for continuing the war, on the ground that the house
of Bourbon should not be allowed to retain Spain; and in November his envoy, the Baron de Bothmar, had come to London in
company with Marlborough, and, in the name of the elector, presented a memorial against the peace. The queen and the House
of Commons were indignant at this interference. The majority
of tile council were for apprehending Bothmar, and sending him
out of the kingdom in custody; but Oxford averted this violent
step. Marlborough, however, was supported by a majority of the
Peers in his views against the peace, and an amendment on the
* The act against occasional conformity, and the Schism Act, were repealed in the reign of George I. (1719). Hallam, Constitutional History,
iii., 333.




A.D. 1711-1713.    TREATY OF UTRECHT.                   589
address was carried. In order to overcome this opposition, Oxford persuaded the queen to create 12 new peers (31st Dec.).
They were received by the House with much derision, and the
Earl of Wharton, in allusion to their number, inquired of them
whether they voted individually or by their foreman. On the
previous day the queen had also dismissed Marlborough from all
his employments.
The Commons proceeded to pass a vote of censure upon Marlborough for unwarrantable and illegal practices in contracts, and
for taking 25- per cent. on the pay of the foreign troops in the' English service, and the attorney general was directed to prosecute
him; but this last step was never followed up.  The percentage
appears to halve been a voluntary payment by the allied princes,
and to have been expended in secret service; the profit on the
contracts had, long before Marlborough's time, been the usual perquisite of the commander-in-chief in the Netherlands. Toward
the close of the year Marlborough retired from England in disgust,
and took up his residence at Antwerp. Godolphin, his former
colleague, died in the preceding September-a useful and honest
minister, whose unobtrusive manners and constant assiduity
caused William to say of him that he was never in the way nor
out of the way.
Cardonnel, Marlborough's secretary, was expelled the House of
Commons on a similar accusation to that against his master.
Robert Walpole was also expelled and committed to the Tower
on a charge of taking a bribe of 1000 guineas on contracts for
forage made by him when secretary at war.
Although the conferences were opened at Utrecht on the 18th
of January, the allies, as usual, took the field in the spring. The
British forces in Flanders were now commanded by the Duke of
Ormond, who had received instructions to avoid a battle unless he
perceived a prospect of very great advantage. Shortly afterward
he separated his troops from the army of the allies, and received
from Louis the surrender of Dunkirk, which had been stipulated
as the condition of a cessation of arms.  After the withdrawal of
the British contingents Eugene was defeated by Marshal Villars
at Denain, and several other reverses followed, so that the good
fortune of-the allies seemed to have deserted them with the loss
of the English.
~ 11. Meanwhile, the negotiations were proceeding at Utrecht,
the plenipotentiaries for Great Britain being the Earl of Strafford
and the Bishop of Bristol, to whom Prior, the poet, was subsequently added; and a peace, known as the PEACE OF UTRECHT,
was at length signed on March 31st, 1713. The principal articles, as between France and England, were, that Louis should




590                       ANNE.               CHAP. XXVIII.
abandon the Pretender, acknowledge the queen's title -and theProtestant succession; should raze the fortifications- of Dunkirk,
and should cede Newfoundland, Hudson's Bay, and St. Christopher's. With regard to the general objects of the alliance, it was
agreed that the kingdom of Naples, the duchy of Milan, and the
Spanish: Netherlands should be assigned to the emperor; that the
Duke of Savoy should possess Sicily with the title of king; that
Sardinia should be. assigned to the Elector of Bavaria, with the
same title; that' the' States of Holland should receive Namur,
Charleroi, Luxembourg, Ypies, and Nieuport, in addition to their
other possessions in Flanders, but should restore:Lisle and its-dependencies; and that the King of Prussia should exchange Orange,
and the possessions belonging to that family.in Franche Compte,
for Upper Gueldres.  Great Britain. was left in possession of Gibraltar and Minorca. At the same time, a treaty of commerce between France and England was also signed.  Peace was not concluded between the emperor and France till the following year,
by the treaty of Rastadt.
As the treaty of Utrecht was only effected aftera violent struggle between the Whigs and Tories, its merits have generally. been
viewed through the medium of party prejudice.' It can hardly be
doubted that, friom the exhausted condition of France, more advantageous terms might have been exacted; they had, in fact, been
previously offered; and the great object for which the war had
been undertaken, the exclusion of the Bourbons from the throne
of Spain, was frustrated. Louis indeed undertook- that Philip
should renounce the throne of France, but at the same time acknowledged that such an act was legally invalid; while the recent
death of the dauphin, of his son, and eldest grandson, left only a
sickly infant between-Philip and the crown of France. The manner in which the peace was concluded:was perhaps more objectionable than the peace itself. England appeared selfishly to negotiate a clandestine treaty, and to abandon her allies in the midst
of a campaign, leaving their towns and armies.exposed to the fury
of the enemy. A still-.worse feature, perhaps, was the abandonment of the Catalans, who still contended heroically for their freedom. Philip, indeed, promised them an amnesty, but it was not
observed.  On the other hand it may be remarked that it would
have been almost as impolitic to continue the war in order to set
Charles upon the throne of Spain, after le had become emperor,
as to leave it in possession of Philip; that the Spaniards were
contented with the latter for their king, and that England had no
right to control their iniclinations; that the burden of the war,
which had cost England nearly 69 millions, was chiefly borne by
her, though she had not. so direct an interest in -it as the other




A.D. 1714.     OXFORD AND BOLINGBROKE.                 591
powers; and that, on the whole, the conditions exacted from
France were not disadvantageous.  In general the peace was popular in England, and, when proclaimed on the 5th of May, was
received with the acclamations of the populace.
~ 12. It became evident in the winter of this -year that the
queen's health was fast declining, and the near prospect of her dissolution animated the struggle between the Jacobites and the adherents of the house of Hanover.  The Whigs urged the elector to
a'step which gave great offense to the queen. Schutz, the Hanoverian envoy, demanded for the electoral prince a writ to take his
seat in the House of Lords, he having lately been created Duke
of Cambridge. The'queen was so enraged that she forbade Schutz
to appear again at Court; declared that she would suffer the last
extremities rather than permit any prince of the electoral family
to reside in England during her life, and wrote to the elector, to
the Princess Sophia, and to the electoral prince, expressing her
surprise at the step they had taken, and almost openly threatening
that it might endanger their succession.  Not long afterward (May
28th) the Princess Sophia died suddenly in the garden at Herrenhausen, aged 83.
~ 13. Oxford and St. John, now Viscount Bolingbroke, who had
long been irreconcilable enemies, came this year to an open rup-:
ture. Each accused the other of being a Jacobite, and both were
believed.  Bolingbroke, in conjunction with Marlborough, laid a
plot for the treasurer's ruin. Bolingbroke persuaded the queen
that Oxford had privately forwarded the demand of a writ for the
electoral prince, and on the 27th of July he was deprived of the
treasurer's staff; but permitted to retain his other offices. Thus
ended his course as a public man. He has no title to be called
a great minister; his policy was narrow, and he owed his rise to
private intrigue. -Ie had neither great natural ability nor much
acquired learning.  In temper he was reserved and distrustful;
in policy tenacious rather than resolute; in manner awkward and
undignified.
Bolingbroke had triumphed over his rival, and seemed on the
point of succeeding to his power. He was generally regarded as
the future prime minister; Marlborough hastened from the Continent to partake his triumph, when all his hopes were disappointed in a moment. The agitation of this political crisis had a fatal
effect on the queen's declining health. A discharge from her leg
suddenly stopped, and the gouty matter, making its way to the
brain, threw her into a lethargy. While she lay in this state, the
Duke of Shrewsbury,* who was both lord chamberlain and lord
lieutenant of Ireland, concerted with the Dukes of Argyle and
* He was the son of th2 11th Earl of Shrewsbury, and was created a




592                           ANNE.                  CHAP. XXVII1.
Somerset a plan for defeating the schemes of Bolingbroke and his
Jacobite confederates in the ministry.  Argyle and Somerset, without being summoned, suddenly appeared in the council (July 30th),
to offer, they said, their advice at this juncture.  Shrewsbury
thanked them; and after ascertaining from the physicians the dangerous state of the queen, they proposed that the Duke of Shrewsbury should be recommended to her without delay as treasurer.
The proposition was immediately submitted to the queen, who
had recovered some degree of consciousness; and she not only
gave him  the treasurer's staff, but also continued him in the offices of chamberlain and lord lieutenant.
On Sunday, August 1st, Anne expired at Kensington, in the
50th year of her age and 13th of her reign. She was of middle
stature, her hair and complexion dark, her features strongly marked, the expression of her countenance rather dignified than agreeable. She was not deficient in accomplishments, understood music and painting, and had some taste for literature. She was jealous of her authority, and sometimes sullen when offended; and
the good-nature and generosity which procured her the name of
the good Queen Anne seem to have sprung as much from the indolence of her temper and the weakness of her understanding as
from any active principle of benevolence. Her consort, Prince
George of Denmark, had died in 1708.
CHRONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE EVENTS.
A.D.                              A.D.
1702. Accession and coronation of Queen 1709. Battle of Malplaquet.
Anne.                       1710. Trial of Sacheverell.
" War of the Spanish Succession.  1711. Harley (Earl of Oxford) made lord
1704. Battle of Blenheim. Gibraltar taken.  treasurer. Marlborough deprived of
1706. Battle of Ramillies.             all his offices.
1707. Union with Scotland.        1713. Treaty of Utrecht.
1708. Battle of Oudenarde.        1714. Death of Queen Anne.
duke by William III. in 1694. The dukedom became extinct upon his
death in 1718, but his cousin succeeded to the earldom.




Medal Of George I.
Obv.: GEORG LVD. D  G.   MBRIT. FR. ET IHIB. REX DVX B & L. S.
R. 1. ELEC. Bust, laureate, to right. Rev.: ACCEDENS DIGNsVs DIVIsos OMBM
BRITANNOS. The horse of Brunswick running across the map of the northrwest of Europe. Below, VNYS NON SVFFICIT ORBIS.
CHAPTER XXIX.
HOUSE OF BRUNSWICK-GEORGE I. A.D. 1714-1727.
~ 1. Accession of George I. Character. New Ministry. ~ 2. Impeachment of Bolingbroke, Oxford, and Ormond. ~ 3. Mar's Rebellion. ~ 4.
The Pretender lands in Scotland. Rebellion quashed. Executions. Repeal of Triennial Act. ~ 5. Unpopularity of the King. His Favorites
and Mistresses. Treaty with France and Holland. ~ 6. Hanoverian
Politics. Sweden favors the Pretender. Change of Ministry. ~ 7. Designs of Alberoni. Quadruple Alliance. Defeat of the Spanish Fleet at
Cape Passaro.  ~ 8. Projected Spanish Invasion. Vigo taken. Walpole and Townshend join the Ministry. ~ 9. The South Sea Bubble.
~ 10. The South Sea Directors punished. Death of Marlborough. Atterbury's Plot. ~ 11. Disturbances in Ireland on Account of Wood's
Halfpence. Malt Tax in Scotland. Order of the Bath. ~ 12. Confederacy between the Emperor and Spain. Alliance with France and Prussia. Death of the King.
~ 1. GEORGE I. succeeded Queen Anne as quietly as if he had
been the undisputed heir to the throne. No sooner had the queen
expired than Kreyenberg, the Hanoverian resident, produced an
instrument in the handwriting of the elector, nominating 18 peers,
who, according to the Regency Bill, were to act as lords justices
till his arrival. The peers selected were mostly Whigs, including the Dukes of Shrewsbury, Somerset, and Argyle, Lords Cowper, Halifax, and Townshend; but it created some surprise that
neither Marlborough nor Somers was among the number.  Marlborough had landed at Dover on the very day of the queen's
death.  He was indignant to find himself excluded; but he was
0~~~~~~~~~~o:,'~:?17




594                     GEORGE I.               CHAP. XXIX.
in some- degree consoled by the reception he met with from the
citizens of London, where he made a sort of public entry. Then,
having taken the oaths in the House of Lords, he retired into the
country.
The new king was proclaimed, both in Dublin and Edinburgh,
without opposition or tumult.  On the 5th of August the lords
justices delivered a speech to the Parliament, recommending them
to provide for the dignity and honor of the crown; and loyal and
dutiful addresses were unanimously voted by both houses. George
was immediately acknowledged by Louis XIV. and the other European powers. A British squadron had been dispatched to wait
for him in Holland. IHe did not set out from lHanover till August
31, and landed at Greenwich on September 18, bringing with him
his eldest son.
The monarch who now ascendled the throne of Efngland was 54
years of age, heavy in look, awkward and undignified in manner
and address, without the slightest tincture of literature or science,
but possessing that taste for music which characterizes his country. He disliked pomp, and was even averse to popular applause;
and the societywhich he preferred was that of-buffoons and persons of- low intellect. His total ignorance both of the English
manners and language added to his other disadvantages in tlhe
new scene in which he was to appear. Yet his own subjects parted with him with regret, for he possessed some good qualities.
I-Je was honorable, benevolent, and sincere; economical even to
niggardliness; regular in the distribution of his time; possessing
both personal courage and military knowledge, yet a lover of'
peace.
Before the king landed he sent directions to remove Bolingbroke
from the office of secretary of state, and to appoint Lord Townshend in his place, who must now be considered as prime minister.
The Duke of Shrewsbury resigned his offices of treasurer and lord
lieutenant.  In the latter he was succeeded by Sunderland; the
treasury was put in commission, with Lord Halifax at the head,
andthe office of lord treasurer was never afterward revived. General Stanhope was made second secretary of state; Lord Cowper,
chancellor; the Earl of Wharton, privy seal  the Earl of Nottingham, president of the council; Mr. Pulteney secretary-at-war; the
Duke of Argyle, commander-in-chief for Scotland.:Marlborough
and the leading AVhigs were graciously received by the king, but
it was with difficulty that Oxford was permitted to kiss his hand.
3Marlborough was reinstated in his old offices of captain general
and master of the ordnance; and his three sons-in-law received
appointments.  His merits were too great to be overlooked, but
the court must have been well aware of his predilection for the




A.D. 1714,1715. BOLINGBROKE AND ORMOND ATTAINTED.    595
Stuarts, and he soon found that he was not trusted.  Indeed, it
appears that even now, when holding a high post under the house
of Brunswick, he sent a loan to the Pretender which probably assisted the rebellion of 1715. iThe Chevalier de St. George, as the
Pretender was frequently called, was still residing in Lorraine;
and having repaired to the, baths of Plonmbieres, he published
there, August 29, a manifesto asserting his right: to the English
crown.
~ 2. The Parliament, which met in March, 1715, was opened
by the king in person; but as he was unable to pronounce English, his speech was read by the chancellor. It soon appeared
that the ministers were determined to impeach their predecessors.
1Bolingbroke took alarm and fled to the Continent, where he entered the service of the Pretender as secretary of state; Oxford,
of a more phlegmatic temperament, calmly awaited the storm; the
Duke of Ormond, another of the compromised, the idol "of the
mob, behaved with bravado, and in his style of living vied with
the court itself. A secret committee was appointed by the Commons to inquire into the late negotiations; and when the report,
drawn up by Walpole, had been read, the three noblemen just
mentioned were impeached of high treason. Various articles were
alleged against them; but the charge most relied on was the procuring Tournay for the King of France, which it was endeavored
to bring under the statute of Edward III. as an adhering to the
queen's enemies.  Lord Strafford, one of the plenipotentiaries at
UJtrecht, was also accused of high crimes ~and misdemeanors, but
no notice was taken of his two colleagues. Ormond now fled to
France.  Before he went he visited Oxford in the Tower, and
counseled him to attempt his escape. The ex-treasurer refused,
and Ormond took leave of him with the words, "Farewell, Oxford without a head!"  To which the latter replied, " Farewell,
duke without a duchy!"  In fact, Ormond never returned, and
died abroad in 1745, at the age of 80. Bills of attainder against
him and Bolingbroke were passed without opposition. These impeachments were merely the results of party animosity, and evidently could not be maintained.  The peace had been approved
by two Parliaments; yet Oxford was detained two years in the
Tower, till Townshend and Walpole, his greatest enemies, had both
quitted office, when he was dismissed by a sort of collusion of the
two houses.
~ 3. The death of Louis XIV. (Sept. 1) was a severe blow to
the Pretender, who was meditating an invasion. The Duke of
Orleans, who now became regent in the minority of Louis XV.,
had different views from Louis. He could not, indeed, altogether
reject the claims of a kinsman, but he was unwilling to compro



596                     GEORGE I.               CHAP. XXIX
Medal of the elder Pretender and his wife.
Ob.: IACOBVS. III. D. G. I. B  F. ET. II. REX.  Bust armed, to right.
mise the peace with England, and would only promise secret assistance. Meanwhile the Earl of Mar began prematurely and unadvisedly an insurrection in Scotland. He dispatched letters to
the principal gentry, inviting them to meet him at a great hunt in
Aberdeenshire on August 27. When they were assembled he inveighed against the union, using other topics calculated to inflame
his audience; and on the 6th of September, though he had no
more than 60 followers, he raised the standard of the Pretender.
His force had swelled to about 5000 men when he entered Perth,
September 28.
This insurrection created great alarm. The Habeas Corpus
Act was suspended, and several noted Jacobites were arrested in
London, Edinburgh, and other places. As the number of regular
troops in England was but small, the Dutch contingent of 6000
men was sent for, as stipulated by an article of the guarantee of
snLccession. Argyle, who had been dispatched to support the
king's cause in Scotland, had at his disposal only about 1000 foot
and 500 horse; yet Mar, who had no military talent, remained
inactive. Serious symptoms of disaffection appeared in the northern counties, where Mr. Forster and the Earl of Derwentwater,
hearing that orders had been issued to arrest them, rose in arms
and proclaimed the Pretender at Warkworth. Lord Kenmuro
did the same at Moffat; and, being soon after joined by the Earls
of Nithisdale, Wintoun, and Carnwath, crossed the border and
joined, Forster. The united force, amounting to 500 or 600 horsemen, proceeded, by Mar's directions, to Kelso, where they were
joined (Oct. 22) by Brigadier M'Intosh with 1400 foot. Edinburgh, which lay between the forces of M'Intosh and M-wr, might




A.D. 1715,1716.      MAR'S REBELLION.                    597
Rev.: CLEMENTINA. BIAGNAE. ]BRITANNIAE. ET.. EG.  IBust to left.
easily have been taken; but no plan of a campaign had been
formed, and, after a senseless march along the Cheviots, M'Intosh
determined to proceed into Lancashire. Many of his men deserted, but he nevertheless entered Lancaster without resistance, and
proceeded to Preston, where Stanhope's regiment of dragoons and
a militia regiment retired on his approach. Here he received an
accession of 1200 men, but badly armed and disciplined; and when
General Carpenter arrived (Nov. 13) with 900 cavalry, Forster
surrendered almost without a blow. Among the prisoners made
on this occasion were Lords Derwentwater, INithisdale, Wintoun,
i(enmure, with many members of old northern families.
On the Tvery day of this disastrous affair a battle had been fought
between-Mar and Argyle at Sherriffmuir, near Stirling. The latter was now at the head of between 3000 and 4000 regular troops,
while Mar's forces had increased to 10,000 men, but badly armed
and disciplined.  The battle was singular, the right wing of each
army having defeated their opponents; but Argyle remained in
possession of the field, while Mar retired to Perth, and the weather
prevented any farther operations.
~ 4. The rebellion having been thus unadvisedly begun, the Pretender and the Duke of Ormond felt themselves called upon to
act, whatever might be the event. Ormond landed in Devonshire
with about 40 officers and men, but, finding nobody willing to join
him, returned to St. Malo. The Pretender sailed from Dunkirk
about the middle of December, in a small vessel of eight guns, and
landed at Peterhead on the 22d, accompanied by only six gentlemen disguised as French naval officers. Mar immediately proceeded to pay his respects to him, and was created a duke. On
January 6, 1716, the Pretender made his public entry into Dun



6598                    GEORGE I.              CHAP. XXIX.
dee on horseback, followed by a troop of nearly 300 gentlemen.
Thence he proceeded to Scone, performed several acts of state, and
appointed the 23d of January for his coronation. But James was
not the man for this conjuncture. In person he was tall and thin,
sparing of speech, calm and composed in his behavior. Instead
of encouraging his followers, he talked to them- of his misfortunes.
One of them says, " We saw nothing in him  that looked like
spirit. He never appeared with cheerfulness and vigor to animate
us. Our men began to despise him; some asked if he could speak."
On the advance of Argyle, Perth was pronounced untenable by
a council of the insurgent generals; and on the 30th of January,
a day of evil omen for the Stuarts, orders were issued to retreat
northward. Argyle entered Perth about 12 hours after the rebels had quitted it. The latter proceeded to Dundee, and thence
to Montrose, where James stole away on the evening of February
4, and, accompanied by Mar, embarked on board a small French
vessel lying in the Roads, while the rebel army gradually dispersed.
Such was the ignominious end of this ill-concerted expedition.
James landed at Gravelines after a passage of seven days; and
proceeded to St. Germain's.  On the 24th of February Lords
Derwentwater and Kenmure were executed on Tower Hill. Lord
Nithisdale, who had also been sentenced to death; escaped the
night before through the heroic devotion of his wife, who changed
clothes with him. Of inferior criminals about 26 were executed.
The repeal of the Triennial Act of 1694, and the enactment of
the SEPTENNIAmL ACT, was one of the immediate effects of this rebellion. In the present state of the nation it would have been
hazardous to dissolve the Parliament, as a Jacobite majority might
have been returned. The bill of repeal was originated in the Lords
by the Duke of Devonshire, and does not appear to have excited
any discontent among the public.
~ 5. In the summer the king proceeded to Hanover, for which
purpose the restraining clause in the Act of Settlement was repealed. He was so jealous of his son that he would not give him
the full authority of regent, but would only name him guardian
of the realm and lieutenant, an office unknown since the time of'
the Black Prince; and several restrictions were placed upon his
authority.  The king's foreign favorites, Bothmar, Bernsdorf, Robethon, were suspected of taking bribes for their good offices with
him; and his foreign' mistresses had also incurred a great share
of odium.  The principal one, the Baroness Schulenburg, was
made Duchess of Munster in Ireland, and Duchess of Kendal in
England. The Baroness Kilmanseck, another mistress, somewhat
younger and handsomer, was made Countess of Darlington. Both
were of unbounded rapacity, but neither had the smallest share




A.D. 1716.1717. TREATY WITH FRANCE AND HOLLAND.    599
of ability. During his absence in Hanover the king dismissedcl
Lord Townshend from his post of secretary of state,. and General
Stanhope was appointed in his place. Townshend's dismissal was
very unpopular. His offense was having encouraged the Prince
of Wales in opposition to his fhther's authority. However, the
lord lieutenancy of Ireland was offered to Townshend, which he
was at length induced to accept.
- The late rebellion made it very desirable to deprive the Pretender of all support from France. The Regent Orleans was not
averse to an English alliance. In case of the death of Louis XV.
he was next heir to the throne of France, Philip V. of Spain having renounced his pretensions; but as it was well known that
Philip did not mean to abide by that renunciation, the alliance of
England might be useful to the duke. Stanhope, who had accompanied the king abroad, entered into negotiations with the
Abbe (afterward Cardinal) Dubois, first at the Hague and then at
Hanover. They were subsequently prosecuted by Lord Cadoganl;
and on the 28th of November a treaty was signed between the
two countries. Earlier in the year, defensive alliances had been
concluded with the emperor and the Dutch. The latter subsequently acceded to the terms of the English and French alliance
(Jan. 4, -1717), when the instrument of the previous convention
between France and England was destroyed, in order that the
new arrangement might appear as a triple alliance.  In consequence of this treaty the Pretender was obliged to quit France,
and, resided sometimes at Rome, -sometimes at Urbino. He soon
after contracted a marriage with the Princess Clementina, granddaughter of John Sobieski, the late King of Poland; but, at the
instance of the British cabinet, she was arrested at Innsbriick on
her way to Italy, by the emperor's orders, and detained till 1719,
when her liberation was effected and the marriage consummated.
~ 6. One of the worst evils of the Hanoverian succession was
that it dragged England into the vortex of Continental politics,
and made her subservient to the king's views in favor of his electorate. The bishoprics of Bremen and Verden, formerly belonging
to Hanover, had been secularized at the peace of Westphalia, and
ceded to Sweden; but they had been conquered by Frederick IV.
of Denmark after the defeat of Charles XII. at Pultawa. The
return of that monarch, however, made the King of Denmark
tremble for his conquests; and in 1715 he ceded them to George,
as Elector of Hanover, on condition of his joining the coalition
against Sweden, and paying ~150,000. In order to carry out
these arrangements, a British squadron, under Sir John Norris,
was dispatched to the Baltic in the autumn of 1716. But this
was not the whole evil. Baron Gortz, Charles XII.'s minister;




600                     GEORGE I.               CHAP. XXIX.
concocted in retaliation a Jacobite conspiracy for the invasion
of Scotland with 12,000 Swedish soldiers.  Count Gyllenborg,
the Swedish embassador, in spite of his privileges as embassador, was arrested in London, when full proofs of his complicity
were discovered; but Charles XII. would neither avow nor disavow these practices. WValpole was suspected of being concerned
in them; and Townshend's adherents having voted against the
grant of supplies on account of the Swedish affair, that nobleman
was dismissed from the lord lieutenancy of Ireland; On the following morning Walpole resigned, and was followed by other ministers. General Stanhope now became first lord of the treasury
and chancellor of tile exchequer, and was shortly afterward raised
to the peerage with the title of Viscount Stanhope (1717).* Sunderland and Addison, the celebrated writer, were made secretaries
of state, and Craggs secretary-at-war,
~ 7. Spain was at this time governed by Cardinal Alberoni, the
son of a working gardener, who, solely by his great abilities, had
raised himself to that height of power and grandeur. Both he
and Philip found much cause of discontent in the state of Europe.
Philip's title had never been acknowledged by the emperor; while
the latter's alliance with England, and the triple alliance between
France, England, and Holland, seemed to isolate Spain in Europe.
The seizure of one of his ministers by the Austrians increased the
exasperation of Philip.  He resolved upon war, seized Sardinia,
and seemed to threaten Sicily.  At the same time, Alberoni was
intriguing with Charles XII. of Sweden, and with the Czar, in
favor of the Stuarts, was in correspondence with the Pretender at
Rome, and was employing agents to foment dissensions in England.
This state of things required vigorous counsels. In the summer
Stanhope proceeded to Paris, and succeeded in concluding a new
treaty with France and the emperor, which, after the accession of
the Dutch, was styled the Quadruple Alliance. Its avowed object
was the preservation of the peace of Europe. Stanhope then proceeded to Madrid, but did not succeed in overcoming the stubborn
hostility of Alberoni. Meanwhile the Spanish troops had landed
in Sicily (July 1), and taken Palermo and Messina, though the
citadel of the latter place held out. Admiral Byng,t with 20 ships
of the line, now made his appearance orn the coast of Sicily; and
on August 11 an- action, said to have been begun by the Spaniards,
took place off Cape Passaro, ending in their total defeat, and the
destruction of a great number of their ships.  Alberoni recalled
* He was created Earl Stanhope in the following year (1718), and was
the ancestor of the present earl.
t He was created Viscount Torrington in 1721, and was the ancestor of
the present viscount.




A.D. 1717-1,20.    SOUTH SEA BUBBLE.                   601
his minister from London, and seized all British goods and vessels
in Spanish ports; but no declaration of war was made till toward
the end of the year, and then by the French and British cabinets.
~ 8. In March, 1719, the Pretender repaired to Spain at the
invitation of Alberoni, and was received at Madrid with royal
honors; but toward the end of the year Alberoni was dismissed,
and Philip announced his accession to the Quadruple Alliance in
January, 1720, renewing his renunciation of the French crown,
and engaging to evacuate Sicily and Sardinia within six months.
After the death of Charles XII. the new Queen of Sweden yielded
Bremen and Verden to George I.
The Stanhope administration had been eminently successful.
Peace had been secured abroad, and the danger of domestic conspiracy and rebellion lessened by the banishment of the Pretender
from France.  Early in 1720 the ministry was strengthened by
the accession of Townshend and Walpole, who were induced to accept subordinate places-the former as president of the council,
the latter as paymaster of the forces.  Walpole had lately displayed distinguished ability in opposing and procuring the rejection of the Peerage Bill, intended to limit the royal prerogative
in the creation of peers by providing that their present number
should not be increased beyond six, except in favor of the blood
royal. WValpole succeeded in healing the breach between the king
and the Prince of Wales, which had proceeded to such an extent
that, during the king's visit to Hanover in the preceding year, the
prince had not even been mentioned in the regency, the governinent being vested in lords justices. Walpole now induced the
prince to write a submissive letter to his father, and a reconcilialion was effected.
~ 9. In 1711 Harley had established the South Sea Company
ras a means of relieving the public burdens. The debt was thrown
into a stock to pay six per cent. interest at the end of five years,
and the proprietors were to have the monopoly of a trade to the
coast of Peru. Little, however, was obtained from Spain except
the Asiento treaty, or contract for supplying negroes, the privilege
of annually sending one ship of less than 500 tons to the South
Sea, and of establishing some factories; and even these trifling
privileges were interrupted by the Spanish war.  Nevertheless,
the company flourished from other sources, and was regarded as a
sort of rival of the Bank of England. The government being desirous, toward the end of 1719, of getting rid of the unredeemable
annuities granted during the last two reigns, and amounting to
~800,000 per annum, these two corporations trompeted for the
purchase, and at last the South Sea Company offered the enormous
sum of 7' millions. They had the right of paying off the annuitants,
Cc




602                    GEORGE I.                CHAP. XXIX.
who accepted South Sea stock in lieu of their government stock;
and two thirds of them consented to the offer of 8r  years' purchase.
The example of Law's Mississippi scheme in Paris had created
quite a rage of speculation. Large subscriptions, opened by the
South Sea Company, rapidly filled; its trade was regarded as a
certain road to wealth; and in August the stock rose to 1000!
A third and fourth subscriptions, larger than the former, were
now opened, the directors engaging that after Christmas their
dividend should not be less than 50 per cent. At the same time
a variety of other bubbles were started, and the whole nation
seemed to be seized with a sort of madness. Men of all ranks,
ages, and professions-nay, women also, flocked; to'Change Alley;
and the very streets were lined with desks and clerks, and converted into counting-h.ouses. Among these bubbles were a fishery
of wrecks on the Irish coast, a scheme to make salt water fresh,
to make oil from sunflowers, to extract silver from lead, to make
iron from pit-coal, and many others of a like description. One
ingenious projector published "' an undertaking which shall in due
time be revealed," in shares of ~100, with a deposit of two guineas,
and in the evening decamped with the amount of 1000 subscriptions! The South Sea Company itself, by proceeding against some
of these bubble companies, gave the first alarm. The delusion was
exposed; but the public mind, being once aroused, turned its attention to the company's own affairs; holders of their stock became desirous to realize, and by the end of September it had fallen
from 1000 to 300. The news of the crash produced in Paris by
the failure of Law's scheme completed the panic. Thousands of
families were at once reduced to beggary; and on every side might
be heard execrations, not only against the company, but also against
the ministry, and even the royal family. The matter was taken
up in both houses, and may be said to have produced the death of
Stanhope. The young Duke of WVharton' having attacked him
with great virulence, Stanhope replied with such heat as to occasion an apoplexy, of which he expired the following day (Feb. 5,
1721).
~ 10. Lord Townshend now became secretary of state, and Aislabie resigned the chancellorship of the exchequer to Walpole.
A committee of the Commons, appointed to inquire into the affairs of the South Sea Company, brought to light a scene of infamous corruption. In order to procure the passing of their bill,
the directors had distributed large bribes to the Duchess of Ken* His father, the Earl of Wharton, a distinguished Whig, mentioned in
the reign of Queen Anne, was created a marquis in 1715, and died in the
same year. His son was created a duke in 1718, and died in 1731, when
the- title became extinct.




A.D. 1720-1724.    DEATH OF MARLBOROUGH.               603
dal, Madame de Platen (sister of the Countess of Darlington), and
to several of the ministers, as Secretary Craggs, Mr. Aislabie, and
others. The estates of the directors were confiscated, and applied
to the benefit of the sufferers by the speculation.
The death of Stanhope, Craggs, and Sunderland at this period,
and the expulsion of Aislabie, placed the chief power of the administration in the hands of Walpole, who continued to wield it
for a period of 20 years. The Duke of Marlborough, who had
long labored under a paralytic attack, expired on June 16, 1722.
IlHe was one of the greatest generals England ever produced; but,
though he possessed a solid understanding, a certain degree of
natural elocution, and a pleasing address, he was so illiterate that
he could not write or even spell his native language correctly.
Avarice was the great blemish of his character, which frequently
betrayed him into meanness.
This year a Jacobite plot was discovered, in which Atterbury,
Bishop of Rochester, and three or four peers, were concerned. It
was to be assisted by an invasion from Spain. On September 22
the Pretender published at Lucca a strange manifesto, to the effect that, if George would restore him to the throne, he, in return,
would make George King of Hanover! It was circulated in England, and ordered by both houses to be burnt by the hangman.
A bill of pains and penalties was brought into the Lords against
Atterbury, who was found guilty and sentenced to banishment.
At Calais he met Lord Bolingbroke, who had obtained a pardon
and was returning to England,
~11. In 1.724 a serious tumult was excited in Ireland by the
coinage called Wood's halfpence. A want of copper coin had long
been felt in that country, to remedy which a patent was granted
to William Wood, a considerable iron-master, for coining halfpence and farthings to the value of ~108,000. Wood, according
to the testimony of Sir Isaac Newton, then Master of the MIint,
appears faithfully to have executed his contract; but the Irish
privy council and Parliament set their faces against the new coinage; a popular clamor was raised; and Swift, who, had been living quietly the last ten years, seized the opportunity to exert his
unrivaled powers of sarcasm. It was on this occasion that he
wrote the Drapier's Letters, which, though pandering to the erroneous views of the Irish public, display astonishing' art and
vigor. In the midst of this storm, Lord Carteret, afterward Lord
Granville, the new lord lieutenant, landed in Ireland. He issued
a proclamation against the Drapier's Letters; offered a reward of
~300 for the discovery of the author; and caused Harding, the
printer of them, to be apprehended. But the grand jury threw
out the bill against him; and a second jury, so far from entertain



604                     GEORGE I.              CHAI. XXIX.
ing the charge, made a presentment, drawn up by Swift himself,
against all persons who should, by fraud or otherwise, impose
Wood's halfpence upon the public. Under these circumstances,
the ministry had no alternative but to withdraw Wood's patent,
granting him a pension of ~3000 as compensation.
About the same time the imposition of a new malt-tax in Scotlandcl occasioned serious riots in Edinburgh and Glasgow. It had
been carried through the corruption of the Scotch members, to
whom Walpole allowed 10 guineas a week during their stay in
London, telling them that they must' make good the cost out of the
Scotch revenue, or else "' tie up their stockings with their own
garters." It was an age of corruption. Lord Chancellor Mlacclesfield was this session found guilty of peculation in his high
office, and fined ~30,000.
In June, 1725, the king revived the order of the Bath, which
had lain in abeyance ever since the coronation of Charles IT.
Walpole and his son were made' knights; and in the following
year Sir Robert was invested with the garter, being the only com-moner, except Admiral Montague, who in modern times has at.
tained that honor.
~12. Such are the vicissitudes of political fiiendships that the
emperor and the King of Spain had now laid aside their quarrels,
and by the treaty of Vienna formed a close confederacy against
France and England. To obviate this confederacy, the English
court concluded at Hanover a defensive alliance with France and
l'russia (Sept. 3, 1725). No actual hostilities, however, occurred
till 1727, when the Spaniards made an unsuccessful attack upon
Gibraltar. A general war seemed now inevitable; but the Dutch
and Swedes had acceded to the treaty of Hanover; Russia had
receded from her engagements with the emperor; and the latter,
who felt his weakness, determined to abandon Spain, and on Mday
31, the preliminaries of a peace were signed at Paris.  Spain and
England remained in a state of semi-hostility.
George I. had, as usual, set out for Hanover this summer, acLompanied by Lord Townshend and the Duchess of Kendal. On
the road he was seized with an apoplexy; and being carried toward the residence of his brother, the prince bishop, at Osna-briick, expired in his coach before he arrived. His consort, So-:phia Dorothea of Zell, had died a few months before, after a:confinement of 32 years in the Castle of Ahlen for a suspected
adultery with Count Kdnigsmark, a Swede. It is said that in
her last illness she intrusted to a faithful attendant a letter addressed to the king, in which, after protesting her innocence, and
complaining of his ill usage, she summoned him to meet her within:a year and a, day before the tribunal of God, to answer for his
conduct.  This letter Awas put into the king's coach as he entered




A.D. 1724-1727.   NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.                                     60O
Germany, and so alarmed him  that he fell into the convulsion of
which he died.
CHRONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE EVENTS.
A.D.                                       A.D.
1714. Accession of George I.               1T18. The Spanish fleet defeated at Cape;'  Townshend prime minister.                   Passaro by Byng.
1715. Death of Louis XIV.                    "  War with Spain.
"L  Mar's rebellion.  The Pretender in  1719. Peace with Spain.
Scotland.                           1720. The South Sea bubble.
1716. The Septennial Act.                  1721. Death of Stanhope.  Walpole prime
1717. Stanhope prime minister.                    minister.
1718. Quadruple alliance between England, 1724. Wood's coinage in Ireland.  Sxvift's
France, Holland, and the emperor.          Drapier's Letters.
1T21. Death of the King.
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
TIHE COSNVOCATION OF THEE EN-    I Iter of property. This practice of ecclesiastical taxation was silently discontinued in
GLISII  CIIURCH.               1664, and from this time the clergy have
The Convocation virtually ceased to exist been taxed at the same rate and in the same
under George I.; and the following account manner with the laity. [See p. 4S5.] It was
of its history, abridged from HIallanm, will be  the natural consequence of this cessation of
useful to students. The convocation of the  all business that the convocation, after a few
province of Canterbury (for that of York  formalities, either adjourned itself or was
seems never to have been important) is sum-  prorogued by a royal writ; nor had it ever,
moned by the archbishop's writ, under the  with the few exceptions above noticed, sat
king's direction, along with every Parlin-  for more than a few days, till its supply could
ment, to which it bears analogy both in its  be voted.' But about the time of the Revo-.
constituent parts and in its primary func- lution of 1688 the party most adverse to the
tions. It consists (since the Reformation) new order sedulously propagated a doctrine
of the suffragan bishops, forming the upper  that the convocation ought to be advised
house; of the deans, archdeacons, a proctor  with upon all questions affecting the Church,
or proxy for each chapter, and two from each  and ought even to watch. over its interests
diocese, elected by the parochial clergy, who  as the Parliament did over those of the kingtogether constitute the lower house. In this  dom. The Commons had so far encouraged
assembly subsidies were granted, and eccle- this faction as to refer to the convocation the
siastical canons enacted. In a few instances  great question of a reform in the Liturgy for
under Henry VIII. and Elizabeth they were  the sake of comprehension; bklt it was not
consulted as to momentous questions affect- suffered to sit much during the rest of Wiling the national religion; the supremacy of  liam's reign.  The succeeding reign, howthe former was approved in 1533, the Arti- ever, began  inder Tory auspices, and the
cles of Faith were confirmed in 1562, by the  convocation was in more activity for some
convocation. But their power to enact fresh  years than at any former period. The lower
canons without the king's license was ex- house of that assembly distinguished itself
pressly taken away by a statute of Henry  by the most factious spirit, and especially by
VIII.; and, even subject to this condition,  insolence toward the bishops, who passed in
is limited by several later acts of Parliament general for Whigs, and whom, while pre(such as the acts of uniformity under Eliza- tending to assert the divine rights of episcobeth and Charles IL.; that confirming, and  pacy, they labored to deprive of that pre-emtherefore rendering unalterable, the Thirty- inence in the Anglican synod which the ecnine Articles; those relating to non-resi- clesiastical constitution of the kingdom had
deuce and other Church matters), and still bestowed on them.
more, perhaps, by the doctrine gradually    The government of George I. at first perestablished in Westminster Hall, that new  mitted the convocation to hold its sittings;
ecclesiastical canons are not binding on the  but, in corisequence of the attack which they
laity, so greatly that it will ever be impossi- made on Hoadly, Bishop of Bangor, a warm
ble to exercise it in any.effectual manner.  supporter of the principles of religious liberThe convocation accordingly, with the ex- ty,- and which gave rise to the celebrated
ception of 1603, when they established some Bangorian controversy, the convocation was
regulations, and of 1640 (an unfortunate pre- prorogued by government in 1117T, and never
cedent), when they attempted some more, sat again for business till the reign of Queen
had little business but to grant subsidies, Victoria, when the High-Church party prewhich, however, were from the time of lien- vailed upon government to allow convocation
ry VIII. always confirmed by an act of Par- to assemble for a few days at the beginning
liament; an intimation, no doubt, that the  of each session. — Hallam, Constitutional
Legislature did not wholly acquiesce in their Iistory, iii., 324, seq.
power even of binding the clergy in a mat



Medal of George II.
Ob.: GEO.GIVS. II. D: G: MAG. BI: FRA: ET. II: REX. F. i. Bust to right.
Below, L. NATTER. F.
CHAPTER XXX.
GEORGE II. AD. 1727-1760.
~ 1. Accession of George II. His Character. Ministry. ~ 2. Treaty of
Seville. The royal Family. Rupture with Spain. ~ 3. Rise of Pitt.
Decline of Walpole's Power.  ~ 4. Attack on Porto Bello and St. Jago.
Anson's Voyage. ~ 5. Resignation of Walpole. New Ministry. Inquiry
into Walpole's Administration.  ~ 6. War of the Austrian Succession.
Campaigns of 1742 and 1743.  Battle of Dettingen.  ~ 7. Pelham's
Ministry. Threatened Invasion of the Pretender. The French Fleet
dispersed. ~ 8. Ministerial Arrangements. War with France. Battle
of Fontenoy. ~ 9. The Pretender Charles Edward in Scotland.  His
Character. The Raising of the Standard and March to Edinburgh. ~ 10.
Battle of Preston. Pans.  March to Derby.  ~ ]1. Retreat of the Pretender. Battles of Falkirk Muir and Culloden. Flight of Prince Charles
and others. Executions. ~ 12. Change of Ministry. Treaty of Aix-laChapelle. ~ 13. Account of the Pretender. Halifax settled. Death of
Frederick, Prince of Wales.  ~ 14. Newcastle's Ministry.  Hostilities
between France and England. The French take Minorca. ~ 15. Trial
and Execution of Admiral Byng. Pitt Prime Minister. ~ 16. Expedition to Rochefort.  Seven Years' War.  Convention of Kloster Seven.
~ 17. Campaign of 1758. Conquest of Cape Breton.  Cherbourg destroyed. ~ 18. Campaign of 1759. Naval Victories. Battle of Minden.
Conquest of Canada. Death of General Wolfa. Death of George II.
~ 1. GEORGE; II. was 44 years of age at the time of his accession.  In temper he was not so shy and reserved as his father,
and he was subject to violent gusts of anger; but his ruling passion was avarice.  His mind was narrow  and little cultivated;
he had no taste for literature; in short, he had scarcely a royal




A.D. 1727.     CHARACTER OF GEORGE II.                 607
Rev.: OPTIMO PRINOCPI. Tetrastyle temple. Below, ciOIoccxxxxI.
quality, except that he loved justice and was personally courageous.
His habits of life were temperate and regular, but exceedingly dull
and monotonous. His speaking English with fluency gave him
an advantage over his father, who had been obliged to converse
with Walpole in Latin, which the latter had almost forgotten, and
which the king had never perfectly learnt. In 1705 G-eor;e II.
had married the Princess Caroline of Anspach, who at that time
possessed considerable beauty.  Her manners were graceful and
dignified, and her conduct marked with propriety and good sense.
Her influence over her husband was unbounded, and during ten
years she may be said to have ruled England. The issue of this
marriage were two sons (Frederick, Prince of Wales, born in
1707; William, Duke of Cumberland, born in 1721) and four
daughters.
When the news of his father's death reached the palace at Richmond, George II. had retired to bed for his customary afternoon's
doze. Sir Robert Walpole knelt down, kissed his hand, presented
Townshend's letter announcing his father's death, and, in the full
expectation that he should be retained in his office, inquired who
should draw the necessary declaration to the privy council. To
his surprise and mortification, the king selected Sir Spencer Compton, one of his favorites when Prince of Wales; but Compton was
so ignorant that he could do nothing without Walpole's advice
and assistance. Queen Caroline was in favor of Walpole, who in
a few days triumphed over the king's prejudices, and the old ministers were reappointed.
~ 2. The first ten or twelve years of George II.'s reign are marked by few events of importance. Walpole was employed in main



608                     GEORG 1 II.             CHAP. XXX..
taining his power by his skillful Parliamentary tactics, and the nation was peaceable and prosperous. In the spring of 1728 the
King of Spain notified his desire for peace; but the negotiations
were long protracted, and the treaty of Seville was not finally
concluded till November 9, 1729. By this a defensive alliance
was established between England, Spain, and France, to which
Holland subsequently acceded. The English trade to America
was placed on its former footing; all captures were restored, and
the Asiento confirmed to the South Sea Company. Gibraltar was
tacitly relinquished by Spain, and the strong lines of St. Roque
across the isthmus were now constructed. A few months after
this treaty Lord Townshend resigned, after an open rupture with
Walpole. The two secretaries of state were now Lord Harrington and the Duke of Newcastle.
When, by a residence of some years, Frederick, Prince of Wales,
had become acquainted with the English language and manners,
he began to cabal against his parents, as George II. had caballed
against George I. Though stubborn, he was weak and vain, and
easily led by flatterers. He affected to patronize literature, probably because his father despised and neglected it; and his residence was frequented by all the men of wit and genius, especially
by Bolingbroke, whose'" Patriot King" was composed in anticipation of his future reign, and as a sort of satire on that of his father.
In 1737 the difference between Frederick and his parents came
to an open rupture. The prince was ordered to leave St. James's,
and took up his residence at Norfolk House, St. James's Square;
and persons who visited there were forbidden to appear at court.
Frederick had now married (1736) the Princess Augusta ~of Saxe
Gotha. The separation of the royal family was followed in a few
weeks by the death of Queen Caroline (Nov. 20).  On his next
trip to Hanover George IT. brought over with him, as his mistress,
Sophia de Walmoden, who was created Countess of Yarmouth.
This is the last instance in England of a royal mistress being
raised to the peerage; but the quiet and retiring character of the
countess stripped it of much of its offensiveness.
Events were now rapidly tending to a war with Spain. The
Spaniards complained of infringements of the treaty of commerce;
the English cried out against the abuse of the right of search, and
the hardships endured in loathsome Spanish dungeons; and there
was likewise a question between the two countries respecting the
boundaries of Georgia, a new settlement in America named in honor of the king. The tale which most excited the public was that
which Burke afterward characterized as the fable of Jenkins's ears.
Jenkins was the master of a small trading sloop in Jamaica, which
seven years before had been overhauled by a Spanish guardacosta,




A.D. 1727-1739.   RUPTURE WITH SPAIN.                  609
the commander of which, finding nothing contraband, tore off one
of Jenkins's ears, bidding him carry it to King George, and tell
him that, had he ciught him, he would have served him in the
same manner. This ear (which, however, some affirmed he had
lost in the pillory) Jenkins carried about with him, wrapped up
in cotton. He was now produced at the bar of the House of
Commons, in order to excite the public indignation; and on being
asked by a member what were his feelings at the moment of the
outrage, Jenkins answered, " I recommended my soul to God, and
my cause to my country." These words ran through the nation
like a watchword.  Though averse to war, Walpole felt that
something must be done to appease the public feeling. A fleet
of 10 sail of the line was dispatched to the Mediterranean; letters
of marque and reprisal were issued; troops and stores were sent
to Georgia; and the British merchants in Spain, in case of a rupture, were recommended to register their goods before notaries.
These vigorous measures extorted from the Spaniards (Jan. 14,
1739) a convention, the terms of which appear to have been tolerably favorable, and which the king announced, in his opening
speech to the Parliament, " with great satisfaction."  But the nation was not satisfied. The compensation agreed to be paid by
Spain was deemed inadequate; above all, the obnoxious right of
search was still retained, and Walpole carried the address on the
king's speech only by a small majority.
~ 3. Among the ranks of the opposition, William Pitt, afterward
Lord Chatham, was now rising into eminence.  He was the
grandson of Thomas Pitt, Governor of Madras, and was born
in 1708.  William was educated at Eton and Trinity College,
Cambridge; but an hereditary gout compelled him to leave the
university without taking a degree. He was, nevertheless, an excellent scholar, and his education was completed by a tour on the
Continent.  Having obtained a cornetcy in the Blues, he entered
Parliament, as member for Old Sarum, in 1735, and joined the
opposition against Walpole.  His figure was tall and striking, his
features noble, his nose aquiline, his eye fiery and expressive, his
voice at once harmonious and powerful. IHis style of oratory
was grand and imposing, yet deficient in simplicity and ease, so
that his impromptu speeches were frequently the best. His conduct was disinterested, his views lofty and patriotic; but his temper, owing perhaps to his bad health, was sometimes causelessly
bitter, wayward, and impracticable.  His patrimony was but ~100
a year; his cornetcy. he lost through some ardent speeches against
the minister. He was then taken into the service of the Prince
of Wales, and continued to inveigh against Walpole.
Not only Pitt, but also nearly all the men of the greatest abilCc2




610                    GEORGE II.               CHAP. XXX.
ity, were on the side of the opposition. ~Walpole's best supporters
were in the House of Peers-the Duke of Newcastle, a ready debater, and Lord Chancellor Hardwicke; but even these were not
cordial with him on the Spanish question. King George himself
was for vigorous measures against Spain; and Walpole found it
necessary to choose between a war which he disapproved, and retirement from office. He determined on the former. The Spaniards having evaded the peremptory demands made upon them,
war was declared on October 19, 1739, and was received with
great public rejoicings.
~ 4. A squadron had already been dispatched to the West Indies
under Admiral Vernon, and on the 20th of November he appeared
off Porto Bello, in the Isthmus of Darien. The Spaniards were
unprepared, and the place was captured without much resistance;
but little treasure was found. In the following year Vernon was
re-enforced by a large armament commanded by Sir Chaloner
Ogle, with a military fbrce under Lord Cathcart. When the armament assembled at Jamaica, it was found to consist of 115 ships,
30 of which were of the line, carrying 15,000 sailors and 12,000
troops. Vernon resolved to attack Carthagena, the strongest Spanish settlement in America, having a garrison of 4000 men with
300 guns. It was not till March 4, 1741, that the British fleet
appeared before it. The harbor was entered -after considerable
resistance, and Vernon dispatched a ship to England to announce
his approaching victory. The troops were landed and a night assault planned, which, though conducted with determined bravery,
was repulsed with great loss. It is said that Vernon, out of jealousy, did not cordially co-operate with Wentworth, who had succeeded to the command of the troops on the death of Lord Cathcart. Shortly after a fatal sickness. broke out among the soldiers,
and in a few days their effective force was reduced to one half.
Under these circumstances it was resolved to return to Jamaica,
all the damage done to the Spaniards being the destruction of their
forts. Vernon afterward proceeded to St. Jago in Cuba, but on
reconnoitring thought it prudent to withdraw.
Another squadron, under Commodore Anson, had been dispatched in September, 1740, to sail round Cape Horn and attack
Peru. The sufferings and adventures of Anson and his crews on
this expedition, which lasted nearly four years, and in which he
circumnavigated the globe, having returned by the Cape of Good
Hope, and arrived. at Spithead in the Centurion, his only remaining ship, in June, 1744, have been detailed in a separate and wellknown narrative, and are too long to be here recorded. As far as
the war is concerned, the expedition resulted only in the capture,
plunder, and destruction of the town of Paita, and in the taking




A.D. 1739-1742.     WAR WITH SPAIN.                   611
of several prizes, of which the most important was one of the
great Manilla galleons, having on board silver coin and ingots
worth a million and a half.
~ 5. The elections of 1741 went against Walpole, and it soon
appeared that he would be in a minority in the House. He was
defeated in the election of a chairman of committees, and again.on the question of the Westminster election, where it was alleged
that the government candidates had been brought in through the
interference of the military.  Another defeat on the Chippenham
election petition determined him reluctantly to resign (1742). The
king parted with him with all the marks of the greatest regret,
and created him Earl of Orford.. The country had prospered and
grown rich under his long and peaceful administration. He never
afterward took much part in politics, and died in 1745.
The king now sent for Pulteney, one of the most distinguished
statesmen of that time, and, though not possessing the brilliant
abilities of Pitt, yet older and more experienced. Pulteney would
accept no place himself, but only a seat in the cabinet, and a peerage with the title of Earl of Bath. He consented that the king's
old favorite, Sir Spencer Compton, now Lord Wilmington, should
be at the head of the treasury; and he named MIr. Sandys chancellor of the exchequer, Lord Carteret secretary of state, and the
Marquis of Tweeddale as secretary for Scotland. Lord Hardwicke, the chancellor, and several other ministers, retained their
posts. Carteret was in reality the prime minister. Walpole had
endeavored to procure a promise from Pulteney that no proceedings should be instituted against him; but Pulteney refused, and,
before he proceeded to the House of Peers, supported a motion of
Lord Limerick's in March, 1742, for an inquiry into the last ten
years of Walpole's administration. The motion was carried by a
small majority, and a secret committee of 21 persons was named.
Yet, though all but two were opponents of Walpole, and some of
them inflamed by personal animosity, their discoveries did not
seem sufficiently important to form the foundation of a charge.
There can, however, be no doubt that Walpole was accustomed
to distribute large sums among the Commons from the secret
service money; but this practice was usual at that period, and
does not appear to have ceased till toward the close of the American war.
~ 6. Meanwhile England had taken part in the war of the Austrian succession. The Emperor Charles VI. had died October
20th, 1740. The succession of his daughter Maria Theresa to his
Austrian dominions was guaranteed by the Pragmatic Sanction,
to which England was a party, but it was also claimed by the
Elector of Bavaria, whose pretensions were supported by France,




612.    GEORGE II.              CHAP. XXX,
and consequently by the Bourbon king of Spain.  Frederick IL
of Prussia, known as Frederick the Great, resolved to profit' by
the conjuncture, and, entering Silesia at the head of 30,000 men,
defeated the Austrians at Molwitz (1741). A French army pour.
ed into Bavaria; and having inaugurated the elector as Duke of
Austria, he marched against Vienna, while Maria Theresa took
refuge among the Hungarians, who acknowledged her as their
queen. The English Parliament was zealous in the cause of MIaria Theresa, and voted her a subsidy of ~500,000, and a sum of
five millions for carrying on the war (1742). A body of 16,000
men, under the veteran Earl of Stair, was dispatched to co-operate
with the Dutch, and was re-enforced by 6000 Hessians, and subsequently by 16,000 Hanoverians, in British pay. It excited great
indignation that Hanover, though more interested in the war than
England, had contributed nothing to its expenses, and Pitt declared that this great kingdom had become a mere province of
that despicable electorate. The king, however, afterward furnished 6000 Hanoverians, paid by his electoral dominions.  But, owing to the sluggishness of the Dutch, nothing was done this year;
and Maria Theresa was obliged to propitiate the King of Prussia
by ceding Silesia.
In the following year (1743), the British army under Lord
Stair, which, after being joined by the Hanoverians and Hessians,
amounted to nearly 40,000 men, advanced into Germany, and
took up a position at Hochst, between MIentz and Frankfort.
Stair, who had never been a great general, was now falling into
dotage.  Having ascended the right bank of the-Main, with the
view of communicating with the Austrians, Marshal Noailles, by
seizing the principal fords on the Upper and Lower Main, not
only cut him off from his anticipated supplies in Franconia, but
also from his own magazines at HIanau. George II. had, as usual,
gone to Hanover in the spring, attended by his son, the Duke of
Cumberland, and by Lord Carteret. Thence he proceeded to the
army, which he joined on the 19th'of June, and found it in the
most critical position, cooped up in a'narrow valley between
Mount Spessart and the Main, extending from Aschaff'enburg, on
that river, to the village of Dettingen.  Forage was beginning
utterly to fail, and it was resolved to march back to Hanau, where
the magazines and re-enforcements were-a most dangerous operation in the face of a superior enemy.  On June 27th the army
began its march from Aschaffenburg in two columns, the king
bringing up the rear, which, from the supposed movements of the
enemy, was esteemed the post of danger. But meanwhile the
French had occupied in force a strong position at Dettingen, covered by. a morass and ravine, which was not discovered till the




A.D. 1742, 1743.  BATTLE OF DETTINGEN.                 613
advanced guard of the British was repulsed at that place. Aschaffenburg had been occupied by 12,000 French immediately it
was evacuated; and as the French batteries on the other side of
the Main began to play on the flank of the British, it became necessary to force a way through DETTINGEN at whatever risk. Fortunately Noailles had intrusted the force at that place to his
nephew the Duke de Grammont, who, burning to distinguish himself, and thinking that he had before him only part of the allied
army, quitted his vantage ground and crossed the ravine to give
battle-a movement which also compelled the French batteries to
suspend their fire, for fear of damaging their own fiiends.  The
king, who, as well as the Duke of Cumberland, displayed the highest courage, now put himself at the head of a dense mass of British and Hanoverian infantry, and, charging the enemy, soon put
them completely to the rout. The French lost about 6000 men,
the British only half that number; the latter then resumed their
march, and arrived safely at Hanau.  Thllis was the last battle in
which a king of England took a personal share. In consequence
of this victory, and of the advance of Prince Charles of Lorraine,
the French were obliged to evacuate Germany.
~ 7. Lord Wilmington having died in July of this year, the king
named Henry Pelham, brother of the Duke of Newcastle, first lord
of the treasury. Since the time of Walpole, who had for so long
a period exercised that office with absolute power, the head of the
treasury began to be regarded as prime minister. Previously the
chief authority had been enjoyed by one of the secretaries of state.
Pelham's abilities were only moderate, yet far superior to his
brother's.
Tlhe king lost all the popularity which his victory was calculated to procure by the partiality which he displayed for the Hanoverians. Lord Stair resigned, and the Duke of Marlborough and
many other English officers threw up their commissions. Even in
loyal companies the toast of " No Hanoverian king" was not unfrequent, and the very name of Hanoverian became a reproach. Yet
it was necessary to keep a large force on foot.'The French were
determined to act nro longer as mere auxiliaries, but to declare war
both against England and Austria, and to take the field with a
large army.  Cardinal Tencin, who had succeeded to the power
of the pacific Fleury, was a warm fiiend of the house of Stuart,
to whom he owed many obligations; and the discontents in England inspired the hope of effecting a successful Jacobite invasion.
Prince Charles Edward, grandson of James II., was to be the
hero of this enterprise, for age had deprived his father James even
of the little spirit that he ever possessed. The latter signed at
Rome a proclamation to be published on landing, and a commission declaring his son Charles regent in his absence.




614                     GEORGE II.               CHAP. XXX.
Prince Charles set out from Rome January 19, 1744, and proceeded to Gravelines, living in a private manner under the assumed
name of the Chevalier Douglas.  At Dunkirk 15,000 French veterans had been collected under the command of Marshal Saxe, as
Charles's lieutenant; transports had been prepared for them, and
18 sail of the line appointed for their convoy. They put to sea
in February, and neared the English fleet under Admiral Norris,
off Dungeness. As it was growing dark, Norris put off an engagement till the following day. But then a dreadful storm arose,
which committed frightful havoc on the French fleet.  Some of
the largest transports foundered with all on board; others were
wrecked on the coast of Flanders; the remainder of the armament
reached Dunkirk in a crippled state. In consequence of this misfortune the French ministry relinquished the expedition, and
Prince Charles returned to Paris.
~ 8. There was still a British resident in that capital, who loudly complained of the encouragement given to the Pretender. The
French replied by a declaration of war, couched in the most offensive terms (March 20th), and in May Louis XV. entered Flanders
in person, with 80,000 men commanded by Marshal Saxe. Frederick of Prussia, in open violation of his treaties with Maria Theresa, broke into Bohemia and Moravia; but, before the winter,
Maria Theresa, with the help of the Hungarians, drove the Prussians out of Bohemia.
In November of this year, Carteret, now become Earl Granville by the death of his mother, resigned his post of secretary of
state, and was succeeded by the Earl of Harrington.  Lord Winchelsea and other persons of inferior note also retired. Pelham
opened negotiations with Pitt; but he would accept no office except that of secretary at war, and the ministry were not yet prepared to part with Sir William Yonge. The king had a strong
aversion both to Pitt and Chesterfield.  The latter became Lord
Lieutenant of Ireland, as the king would not allow him to be made
a secretary of state. Pitt promised Pelham his support, whose
administration now became a very strong one. It fell, however,
into the same courtly or Hanoverian policy for which Granville
had been denounced. In January, 1745, a quadruple alliance was
formed by England, Holland, Austria, and Saxony; and the subsidy to the Queen of Hungary was increased to half a million, in
which Pitt and Chesterfield acquiesced. About the same time
the Emperor Charles VII. died at Munich, and thus one obstacle
to a peace was removed. In the following September the hus* This title became extinct in 1776. The present Earl Granville is the
son of the youngest son of the Marquis of Stafford, who was created Earl
Granville in 1833.




A.D. 1743-1745.   BATTLE OF FONTENOY.                   615
band of Maria Theresa was elected emperor with the title of
Francis I.
The most memorable event in the campaign of this year was
the battle of Fontenoy, May 11th.  The French army of 76,000
men under Marshal Saxe occupied a strong position near that
place; the allied army numbered only about 50,000, of whom
28,000 were English and Hanoverians. Nevertheless, the French
lines would have been carried by the British and Hanoverians;
under the Duke of Cumberland and Lord Ligonier, his military
tutor, but for the shameful flight of the Dutch. The British retreated in good order to Ath, and the French then took Tournay,
Ghent, Bruges, Oudenarde, Dendermond, and Ostend. In America the British arms were more successful, where Louisbourg, the
capital of Cape Breton, was taken from the French (June 15th)
after 49 days' siege.
~ 9. The defeat of the British at Fontenoy appeared to Prince
Charles to afford a favorable opportunity for renewing his attempt
at an invasion. Hlis friends in Scotland told him indeed that they
could do nothing for him unless he brought at least 6000 men
and 10,000 stand of arms, and those it was impossible to obtain,
for the French had abandoned their efforts in his cause. Yet
Charles determined to persevere, without the knowledge and sanction either of his father or of the French court. By pawning his
jewels and borrowing from his friends he raised the sum of 4000
louis d'or, with which he purchased arms and ammunition; and
he even contrived, by means of some English merchants settled at
Nantes, to procure the service of two French men-of-war. On
board one of these, the Elizabeth of 67 guns, he shipped his arms,
and he himself, disguised as a student of the Scotch college at
Paris, embarked in the other, the Doutelle, a fast-sailing brig of
18 guns (July 2, 1745). Four days after leaving Belleisle they
fell in with the I4on, a British man-of-war of 58 guns, when an
engagement ensuedl, in which the Elizabeth was so crippled that
she was obliged to put back.  The Doutelle, which had taken no
part in the action, pursued her voyage; and, though chased by
another man-of-war, Charles arrived safely in the Western Isles
of Scotland, and landed at Moidart, in Inverness-shire.  Several
of the HIighland chieftains remonstrated against his enterprise as
impracticable and insane; for his arms he had lost, and the only
adherents who landed with him were his tutor Sir Thomas Sheridan; the Marquis of Tullibardine; Sir John Macdonald, an officer in the Spanish service; Kelly, a nonjuring clergyman; Francis
Strickland, an English gentleman; JEneas Macdonald, a banker
in Paris; and Buchanan, who had been sent messenger to Rome
by Cardinal Tencin.  These were afterward called 5"the seven
men of Moidart."




616                     GEORGE II.               CHAP. XXX.
Charles, or, as he was called, the Chevalier, relied for success
on his captivating manners. In person he was tall, well formed,
and active; his face eminently handsome, his complexion fair; his
eyes blue; his hair fell in natural ringlets on his neck. His address, at once dignified and affable, was calculated to win attachment, yet his misfortunes had rendered him somewhat jealous of
his dignity. He possessed courage and a romantic sense of honor;
he was decisive and resolute, yet without much ability as a leader.
His letters breathe both energy and affection, but they were illspelled, and written in the scrawling hand of a schoolboy; for his
education had been shamefully neglected. In politics and religion
he retained all the bigoted notions of the Stuarts.  He thus possessed many of the qualities of a hero of romance; attractions
which, combined with a feeling of ancient loyalty, proved to many
irresistible, especially as he had adopted the Highland dress, and
learned a few words of Gaelic. Cameron of Lochiel was gained
over to his cause, though he plainly saw all the difficulties of the
attempt; and other chieftains followed.
Charles now began his march toward the desolate and seques.
tered vale of Glenfinnan, about 15 miles from Fort William, which
had been selected for the meeting of the clans and the raising of'
the royal standard.  He arrived early in the morning, accompanied by some of the MI'Donalds, but found the glen in its native
solitude.  At length Lochiel and the Camerons appeared, about
600 in number. They were badly armed, but they brought with
them a company or two of English soldiers, whom they had captured on their road. This omen of success gave animation to the
elevation of the standard, which was erected on a little knoll in
the midst of the vale, the Highlanders shouting and tossing up
their bonnets.  Other parties subsequently arrived, and when
Charles began his marchll on August 20th his little army amounted to about 1600 men.
On the samedlay Sir John Cope, the commander-in-chief in
Scotland, marched fiom Stirling with 1500 foot, which were more
than half of his whole disposable force; for the government was
ill-prepared anpl wholly uninformed of the Pretender's movemnents.  Cope directed his march toward Inverness, to join the
well-affected clans, in the- hope that the insurgents, with such a
force in their rear, would not venture to proceed southward. But
Charles descended into the lowlands, and at Blair Athol, where
he remained two days, was joined byseveral gentlemen of note.
Lord Lovat, to wrhom he had dispatched his patent as Duke of
Fraser, with pressing solicitations to join him, sent his prayers.
On September 3d Charles made his public entry into Perth amid
loud acclarnations.  Here he was joined by Drummond, titular




A.D. 1745.   INVASION OF THE PRETENDER.               617
Duke of Perth, and Lord George Murray.  The town presented
him with ~500, a welcome gift, as his last louis d'or was spent.
The march was now directed upon Edinburgh. At the dawn of
day one of the gates was surprised by the Camerons; and on September 17th Charles took possession of Holyrood House, where a
splendid ball was given in the evening.  The heralds were compelled to proclaim King James VIII., and to read the royal declaration and commission of regency. But the castle was still held by
King George's troops.
~ 10. Charles remained only a day at Edinburgh, and having
obtained an accession of force, as well as a supply of 1000 muskets
and other stores, he marched out to give Sir John Cope battle,
who had landed his forces at Dunbar, and was advancing toward
the capital.  Charles had now about 2500 men, but only 50 horse,
and a single iron gun, of no use except for signals. Cope had
about 2200 men and six pieces of artillery. The two armies met
near Preston Pans. The first day both remained inactive, being
separated by a morass; but a path having been discovered, Charles
approached the enemy during the night, and early in the morning
the Highlanders attacked, each clan separately, with terrific yells.
In the space of a few minutes Cope's artillery was captured, his
dragoons routed, and the line of his infantry broken.  Of the latter only about 170 escaped, the rest being either slain or made
prisoners. The loss on the side of the insurgents was only about
100 killed and wounded.  Sir J. Cope and the horse fled in the
greatest disorder, first to Edinburgh, then to Coldstream and Berwick. At the last place Lord Mark Kerr received him with the
sarcastic remark that he believed he was the first general who had
ever brought the news of his own defeat!
After this victory Charles was desirous of pushing on to London, in which lie would probably have succeeded in the state of
feeling that prevailed in England. The people were lukewarm in
the Hanoverian cause. They did not, indeed, take part in the rebellion, but they did not seem much disposed to repress it; and
Henry Fox, one of the ministers, observes in a letter of this period,
that, if 5000 French had landed in any part of the island, the conquest would not have cost them a battle. But the court of France
lost the only favorable opportunity that ever occurred of restoring
the Stuarts. They were not hearty in the cause; and on the news
of Charles's success they contented themselves with sending him
some small supplies of arms and money. George II., who had returned in alarm from Hanover, sent a requisition to the Dutch for
6000 auxiliaries.
After the victory at Preston Pans many of the Highlanders had
returned home with their booty; and as Charles could now muster




618                    GEORGE II.               CHAP. XXX.
only about 1500 men, he was advised to wait and recruit his army.
He therefore returned to Holyrood House. He might now be considered master of all Scotland, except some of the country beyond
Inverness, the Highland forts, and the castles of Edinburgh and
Stirling. James VIII. was proclaimed in most of the towns; and
in Glasgow, the least disposed to the Jacobite cause, an extraordinary levy of ~5000 was made. In a few weeks his army was
raised to nearly 6000 men; and some French ships brought him,
besides money, 5000 stand of'arms, six field-pieces, and several
French and Irish officers. Lord Lovat still hesitated, and at last
adopted the dastardly expedient of sending his son, with 700 or
800 of the clan, at the same time protesting that it was done against
his will and orders.
Charles now determined to March into England, much against
the will of most of his followers, who were of opinion that he
should content himself with the conquest of Scotland; but Charles
wisely thought that he should not be able to hold tle one without the other. The English government, however, was now better prepared. The Commons had voted loyal addresses and liberal supplies; the Habeas Corpus'Act was suspended; the militia was raising; Marshal Wade had an army of nearly 10,000
men at Newcastle, and another under the Duke of Cumberland
was assembling in the midland counties.
Charles began his march on November 1st. It was resolved to
proceed through Cumberland, where the mountainous country is
better suited to the Highland mode of fighting. Carlisle was entered on the 17th, after a slight show of resistance, the garrison
being allowed to withdraw on delivering up their arms and horses.
On the 20th the insurgents proceeded in two separate columns,
which united at Preston; and the next day they crossed the Ribble. In these difficult marches in bad weather the chevalier resigned his carriage to the aged and infirm Lord Pitsligo, and
marched on foot, in I-Iihland dress, at the head of one of the clans.
At Manchester he was received with enthusiasm; and 200 English volunteers who had joined were called the Manchester regiment. But his prospects were not encouraging. Marshal Wade
was advancing against him through Yorkshire; the Duke of Cumberland lay at Lichfield with 8000 men; a third army was forming at Finchley; Admiral Vernon was cruising in the Channel to
prevent any alarm friom France; and Admiral Byng was blockading the east coast of Scotland. Many of Charles's officers were
for retreating, but Lord G. Murray persuaded them to advance as
far as Derby, promising that, if they were not then joined by a
considerable force, he would, as general, advise and enforce a retreat. They reached that town in safety. The chevalier was in




A.D. 1745, 1746.  BATTLE OF CULLODEN.                 619
high spirits. He had evaded both the English armies, and nothing obstructed his miarch to the capital. London was in a perfect
panic.  There was a run upon the Bank of England; all business was suspended and the shops shut. The day was long remembered as Black lFriday.  Even the king himself is said to have
ordered his yachts to the Tower stairs, and to have embarked
some of his most precious effects. But the alarm was soon at an
end. The day after their arrival Murray and the other generals
insisted on a retreat, on the ground that there had been neither
an English rising nor a French invasion; and Charles, after exhausting arguments, threats, and entreaties, was forced to comply.
~ 11. The Duke of Cumberland, having mounted 1000 of his
infantry, came up with the retreating Scots at Penrith, and a skirmish took place at night on Clifton Moor. The English were
repulsed with considerable loss, and the retreat was not again molested. The Scots passed the Esk on December 20th, the prince's
birthday, and entered Glasgow on the 26th, having marched 600
miles in 56 days, many of which were days of halt.
The chevalier arrived at Stirling January 3d, 1746, and having
received large re-enforcements, as well as some artillery from
France, he resolved to besiege the castle.  General Hawley, to
whom the Duke of Cumberland had delegated the command, attempted to raise the siege, but was defeated with great loss at
Falkirk Muir, and made a precipitate and disgraceful flight to
Edinburgh. But the siege was badly conducted by a French
engineer named Mirabelle; his batteries were silenced; and the
chevalier's chief officers now insisted on going home for the remainder of the winter, promising to return in the spring with
10,000 men. The heavy guns were spiked, and the retreat begun
toward Inverness, February 1. The Duke of Cumberland, who
had resumed the command, and who had been re-enforced with
5000 Hessians, pursued the Scots, but could not overtake them.
On April 8th, the duke, with 8000 foot and 900 horse, marched
from Aberdeen to attack Inverness.  Charles, though his troops
had dwindled to 5000 men, resolved to surprise the duke at Nairn
by a night march of 12 miles. Lord G. Murray led the first column, Charles himself the second; but the marshy nature of the
ground delayed their progress so much that all hopes of a surprise
were abandoned, and they took up a position on Culloden Moor.
The Duke of Cumberland drew up his army with great skill in
three lines, with cavalry on each flank, and two pieces of cannon
between every two regiments of the first line. I-is artillery did
great execution, while that of the Scots was ill directed.  Murray
therefore requested permission to attack, and made a furious charge
with the right wing and centre.  They broke the first line of the




620                      GEORGE II.                CHAP. XXX.
English; but the second, three deep, the first rank kneeling, the
second stooping, received them with a murderous fire, which threw
them  into disorder.  The English then charged, and drove the
clans before them in one confused mass.  The left wing vas not
engaged.  About 1000 of the Scots fell; of the English hardly a
third of that number. This defeat put an end to all Charles's
hopes.  From the field he rode to the residence of Lord Lovat,
their first and only meeting. Lovat hardly behaved with common
civility, and they parted with mutual displeasure. Some attempt
was made to rally the army at Ruthven; but Charles sent a message thanking the leaders, and bidding them  consult their own
safety. They accordingly dispersed, and the rebellion was extinguished.  The Duke of Cumberland fixed his head-quarters near
Fort Augustus, and seems to have permitted every sort of outrage
and cruelty, in which he was well seconded by General Hawley.
This brutality obtained for him the nickname of the Buttcher. When
in July he returned to London, he was hailed as the deliverer of
his country; a pension of ~25,000 per annum was settled on him
and his heirs, and he was presented with the fireedom of numerous
companies.
Medal of the young Fretender.
Obv.: CAROLUS WALLIU PZINCEPS. Buslt to right. Below, 1745. Rev.: AMOR ET SPES.
Britanni: standing on the se.-shore: two slilp arriving. Below, lI3ITAXNNIA.
Lord G. Murray and several other leaders escaped abroad. The
government succeeded in capturing the Earl of Kilmarnock, Lord
Balmerino, Secretary Murray, and Lord Lovat. The last was discovered in a little island in a lake in Inverness-shire, wrapped up
in a blanket, and concealed in a hollow tree.  Charles wandered
about the country till September, undergoing during these five
months a variety of hardships and dangers; yet, though his secret
was intrusted to several hundreds of persons, he was not betrayed,
notwithstanding a reward of ~30,000 had been offered for his cap



A.D. 1746-1751. REFORMATION OF THE CALENDAR.            621
ture. Among all these acts of loyalty the heroic devotion of Flora
Macdonald is conspicuous, and is too well known to need description here. At last, on September 20th, Charles got safely on
board a French vessel in Lochnanuagh, and on the 29th landed
near Morlaix in France.
A great number of prisoners were brought to trial for this rebellion, of whom about one in twenty were executed, and the rest
were transported. The ancient and barbarous ceremony of disemboweling and burning the heart and intestines was not omitted
on this occasion, and was received with the shouts of the populace.
The Earl of Kilmarnock and Lords Balmerino and Lovat were
executed on Tower Hill.  The last met his fate with a strange
compound of levity and courage.
~ 12. Lord Harrington having resigned the seals of secretary
of state, October 29th, 1746, they were transferred to Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, in which office he was succeeded by Lord Harrington. Chesterfield, who is commonly regarded as a fine gentleman, had also
a large fund of wit and wisdom, and was one of the most accomplished orators of his day. Being conversant with foreign languages as well as history, he had distinguished himself as a diplomatist, and had discharged with reputation two embassies to Holland. His government of Ireland had been wise and firm, and at
the same time liberal.  Chesterfield's defects were a want of generosity, a proneness to dissimulation, a passion for gambling, and
a laxness of religious principle.
During the years 1746 and 1747 the French were successful in
arms, but in the latter year the English gained two naval victories, one by Anson near Cape Finisterre, the other by Admiral
I-awke off Belleisle. The French, as well as a large party in England, were desirous of a peace; but Maria.Theresa and the Prince
of Orange were not satisfied with the results obtained, and their
views were adopted by George II, and the Duke of Cumberland.
Chesterfield was a warm advocate for peace; and finding his counsels disregarded and himself treated with coldness by the king, he
resianed the seals February 6th, 1748, and was succeeded by the
Duke of Bedford.  Chesterfield never afterward took office; but
he did not altogether withdraw from public life, and in 1751 he
introduced a most useful measure, the reformation of the calendar.
The Julian year, or Old Style, as it is called, had been corrected by
Pope Gregory XIII. in 1582, and had been adopted by every country on the Continent of Europe except Sweden and Russia. The
error of the Old Style, which had now grown to 11 days, was universally admitted.  In preparing the bill for the reformation of
the calendar, Chesterfield was assisted by the Earl of Macclesfield




622                    GEORGE II.               CHAP.XXX.
and Mr. Bradley, two of the ablest mathematicians in Europe.
By this bill the year was to commence on January 1st instead of
nMarch 25th, and eleven days in September, 1752, were to be nominally suppressed, in order to bring the calendar into unison with
the actual state of the solar year. The great body of the people,
however, regarded the reform as an impious and popish measure,
and numbers were of opinion that they had been robbed of eleven
days. Sweden followed the example of England in 1753; but
Russia and those countries which belong to the Greek Church
still follow the Old Style.
The continued success of the French, who had invested Maestricht in the spring of 1748, increased the desire for peace; and
even the Dutch, who now saw an invasion imminent, signified their
willingness to treat. In October a definitive treaty was signed by
all the belligerents at Aix-la-Chapelle. The only gainer by it
was the King of Prussia, who secured Silesia. The article for the
mutual restitution of all conquests was very unpopular in England,
and the more so that France demanded and obtained two hostages
for the delivery of Cape Breton. The EIarl of Sussex and Lord
Cathcart were sent to Paris in that capacity.
~ 13. By one of the articles of this treaty the French court undertook to expel the Pretender from France, and they offered him
an establishment at Friburg, in Switzerland, with a guard and the
title of Prince of Wales; but Charles, regarding such a course as
a mean compliance with orders from Hanover, obstinately refused
to quit Paris. At length it became necessary to use force. Charles
was seized in his coach while going to the opera, bound hand and
foot, and carried.to the dungeon of Vincennes.:After a few days'
confinement he was conveyed to Pont de Beauvois on the frontiers of Savoy, and abandoned to his lonely wanderings. He appears to have now visited Venice and Germany, to have resided
some time secretly in Paris, and even to have paid two visits to
England. After the death of his father, James, in'1766, he returned to Rome, and in his later years fell into habits of drunkenness. In 1772, at the age of 52, he married the Princess Louisa of Stolberg, a girl of 20. They subsequently lived at Florence under the title of the Count and Countess of Albany. But
the union was unhappy; he was harsh, she faithless; and in 1780
she eloped with Alfieri, the dramatic poet. Charles died at Rome,
January 30th, 1788.
One of the results of the war was the founding of Halifax in
Nova Scotia, named after the Earl of Halifax, president of the
Board of Trade. To relieve the great number of discharged soldiers and sailors, they were encouraged to emigrate by a grant of
50 acres to each, a free passage, and immunity fiom taxes for a
period of ten years.




A.D. 1751-1754. DEATH OF THE PRINCE OF WALES.         623
For some years after the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle nothing of
importance occurred. On March 20, 1751, Frederick, Prince of'Wales, expired —an event which, from his weak and fickle chara.cter, did not occasion much regret. He left eight children, and
his consort pregnant with another.  George, his eldest son, was
now made Prince of Wales; and as he was only 12 years of age,
while the king was 67, it became necessary to appoint a regency
in the event of a demise of the crown before the prince should attain his majority. After considerable debate, a bill was passed
appointing his mother, the Dowager Princess of Wales, guardian
of his person and regent of the kingdom; but subject, in the latter capacity, to the control of a council composed of the Duke of
Cumberland and the nine principal officers of state at the time of
the king's decease. The influence of John Stuart, Earl of Bute,
now became predominant at Leicester House, the residence of the
princess dowager.  Bute was an accomplished man, with literary
tastes, but no great abilities. He had a fine person, and scandal
was soon busy respecting the favor he enjoyed.
~ 14. On the death of Pelham (March 3, 1754) the Duke of
Newcastle resolved to be first lord of the treasury himself, and to
make Henry Legge, son of the Earl of Dartmouth, his chancellor
of the exchequer. For the leadership of the House of Commons
his choice wavered between Pitt, Fox, and Murray. The last,
however, conveyed a hint that his ambition was directed to the
bench. He was the fourth son of Lord Stormont, and had distinguished himself by his eloquence both at the bar and in the House
of Commons. The character of Pitt has been already described.
Besides being personally disliked by the king, he was now laid up
at Bath with the gout. The seals were therefore offered to HIenry
Fox, younger son of Sir. Stephen Fox, a brother of the first Earl
of Ilchester. Fox had had some experience in business as secretary at war, possessed wit and discernment, and, without much
eloquence, was a ready debater; but he had not the patriotic disinterestedness of Pitt. The negotiation was broken off by a disagreement respecting the disposal of the secret-service money, and
the seals were at last given to Sir Thomas Robinson, a man of no
ability, but entirely at Newcastle's command. That such a man
should be set up to lead the House of Commons excited the indignation both of Pitt and Fox, and they united to attack and ridicule him.
Quarrels had long prevailed, both in the East Indies and in
North America, between the French and English settlers, which
threatened to produce hostilities between the mother countries.
A large French armament, equipped at Brest, was watched by
Admiral Boscawen, who had orders to attack them in case their




624                     GEORGE II.               CHAP. XXX.
destination should be the Bay of St. Lawrence. At a signal from
the admiral, two English vessels had captured two French ones
off Newfoundland, and some skirmishing had also occurred on the
Ohio and near Lake George.  The king had, as usual, gone to
Hanover, and these events threw the regency into great perplexity. The Duke of Cumberland was for declaring war immediately; others were for waiting; and the premier, as customary with
him, vacillated between both'opinions.  At length Sir Edward
Hawke, who was in command of a powerful fleet, received orders
to take and destroy every French ship that he could find between
Cape Ortegal and Cape Clear-an act which, as no declaration
of war had been made, was justly censured as piratical.
This state of things caused George great alarm for his electoral
dominions, which he suspected would be seized by his nephew
Frederick of Prussia whenever a war should break out; and he
therefore concluded with the Landgrave of Hesse, and subsequently with the Empress of Russia, subsidiary treaties of the same sort
as had already created so much disgust in England. Newcastle's
ministry began to totter. In order to support it he applied to
Pitt; but that statesman disdained the seals at the price of subserviency to Hanoverian policy.  Fox was not so delicate; he
engaged to support the treaties; Robinson was dismissed with a
pension, and Fox became secretary of state.
The French meanwhile were making vast naval preparations;
they threatened a descent upon England, but their real object was
Minorca, secured to the English by the treaty of Utrecht.  It is
at such a juncture that the character of a minister is brought out
in full relief.  The Duke of Newcastle could not be persuaded of
the designs of the French; he neglected all necessary precautions
till it was too late, and then he sent out in a hurry 10 ships badly
equipped, under Admiral Byng, second son of Viscount Torrington. On April 18, 1756, a French fleet of 12 ships of the line,
and a large number of transports, having 16,000 troops on board,
appeared off Minorca, and threatened Mahon.  The Castle of St.
Philip, which comnmands the town and harbor, was a: strong fortress; but the garrison had been reduced to 3000 men, and Lord
Tyrawley, the governor, as well as a great many officers, were absent.  The defense of the place therefore fell upon General Blakeney, a brave officer, but old and invalided.
When Byng hove in sight of St. Philip's on. May 19, the British
flag was' still flying there.  On the following day the French admiral, De la Galissoniere, bore down with his whole force.  Byng
ranged his ships in line of battle; and Admiral West, the second
in command, engaged with his division and dispersed the ships opposed to him; but Byng kept aloof. On. the following morning




A.D. 1754-1757.     LOSS OF MINORCA.                    625
the French were out of sight. Byng then called a council of war,
expressed his determination to retreat, as his force was so inferior
to that of the enemy, and, sailing to Gibraltar, left Minorca to its
fate. Nevertheless, St. Philip's held out till June 27, when, some
of the outworks having been carried, the garrison were obliged to
-capitulate, but marched out with all the honors of war, and, in
conformity with the terms, were conveyed to Gibraltar.
~ 15. At this loss the popular indignation was uncontrollable.
The cry was loud against the ministry, but louder still against
Byng.  Either treachery or cowardice was universally imputed to
him, and he was burnt in effigy in all the great towns in the kingdom.  The Duke of Newcastle was willing to make Byng the
scapegoat. Admiral Sir Edward Hawke was sent out to supersede him, and to send home both him and West as prisoners.
West was immediately liberated, but a court-martial was held on
Byng in the following December, at Portsmouth, by which he was
acquitted of cowardice or treachery, but condemned, by the 12th
article of war, of not having done all in his power to relieve St.
Philip's and defeat the French fleet. At the same time he was
unanimously recommended to mercy. But the popular clamor
was too great to allow this recommendation to prevail. -ie was
-shot on the quarter-deck of the Monarque (March 14, 1757), and
met his fate with courage.
Before this event the unpopularity incurred by the national dis-.graces, the resignation of Fox, who shrank from the impending
storm, and the loss of Murray's services in the Commons, who, on
the death of Sir Dudley Ryder, had been made lord chief justice,
and obtained a peerage with the title of Lord Mansfield, compelled
Newcastle to resign. The king was now reluctantly compelled to
have recourse to Pitt; but he had held the seals as secretary of
state only a few months when the Duke of Cumberland persuaded
the king to dismiss him and recall Newcastle. The latter nobleman, however, found it impossible to form a ministry without
Pitt's assistance.  The nation was in a ferment at his dismissal,
and most of the principal towns in the kingdom sent him their
freedom in gold boxes.  The king, after some vain attempts to
form a ministry with Fox and Lord Waldegrave, was at length
obliged to submit to Pitt's terms.  Newcastle returned to the
treasury, but without one of his own party at the board, and with
Legge as: chancellor of the exchequer; Pitt became secretary of
state; his brother-in-law, Temple, privy seal; and Fox condescended to accept the lucrative office of paymaster of the forces,
without a seat in the cabinet.  Thus was Pitt's first ministry
formed (June 29).
~ 16. It was too-late in the season to attempt much: of importD D




626                     GEORGE IT.              CHAP. XXX.
ance; and an expedition dispatched against Rochefort, consisting
of 16 ships of the line, with frigates and transports, commanded
by Sir Edward Hawke, and having on board 10 regiments of foot
under General Sir John Mordaunt, proved abortive through the
irresolution of the latter. But England had now another war on
hand.  In the previous year France and Austria had leagued
themselves for the partition of Prussia by the treaty of Versailles
(May 1, 1756), to which Russia, Saxony, and Sweden afterward
acceded. Frederick of Prussia, having been apprised of this confederacy through the treachery of a clerk in the Saxon service,
was the first to strike a vigorous blow by seizing Dresden. Such
was the origin of what has been called THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR.
Frederick now drew closer his alliance with England; and in
April, 1757, the Duke of Cumberland proceeded to the Continent
to fight in his cause and to defend the electorate.  Frederick had
this year made an incursion into Bohemia, and gained a victory
near Prague; but he was in turn defeated at the heights of Kolin,
and obliged to retire. The French, advancing with a large army,
compelled the Duke of Cumberland to retreat before them, and
overran all Hanover. The duke took refuge under the guns of
Stade, supported by those of four British men-of-war in the Elbe;
but he was manceuvred out of this position by the Duke de Richelieu, the French general; and he was compelled to enter into the
convention of Kloster Seven, by which he agreed, to dismiss his
auxiliaries, to withdraw his troops over the Elbe, and disperse,
them in contonments, leaving only a garrison in Stade. Thus
Hanover was lost. George II. was as indignant at, this failure as
Frederick himself, and received his son on his return with the
greatest coldness. Offended by this treatment, the victor of Calloden threw up all his employments, and lived in comparative obscurity till 1765, when he died at the age of 45.  Frederick seemed reduced to the last extremity, but he recovered his affairs by
the victories of Rdssbach and Leuthen. This success made him
very popular in England, where he was regarded as the Protestant hero; and when, early in 1758, Pitt proposed a new convention, and a subsidy of ~670,000, it was carried almost unanimously.
~ 17.- In 1758 the war raged in all quarters of the world. In
Africa, the island of Goree was wrested from the French.  In
America, Pitt projected the conquest of Cape Breton and St.
John's; and a fleet and army were dispatched under Admiral
Boscawen and General (afterward Lord) Amherst. At the same
time Wolfe, who had attracted Pitt's notice during the Rochefort
expedition, was sent out as second in command, with the title of
brigadier general. In these appointments Pitt, neglecting the




A.D. 1757-1759.  PITT'S ADMINISTRATION.               627
claims of seniority, as well as those of aristocratic and Parliamentary interest, was guided by merit alone; -and this was the secret of
the success with which our arms were at this period attended.
The armament was composed of 150 ships and 12,000 soldiers.
Louisburg capitulated after a siege of two months, in which Wolfe
distinguished himself. After the fall of the capital the whole of
Cape Breton submitted; and soon after the island of St. John
did the same. The name of the latter was changed to Prince
Edward's Island, in honor of the next brother of the Prince of
Wales.
In India, Clive had taken the French settlement of Chandernagore in 1757. In the following year Lally Tollendal, the new
French governor, captured and razed Fort St. David, but failed in
an attempt upon Madras.
In Europe, a secret expedition against Cherbourg was planned
by Pitt, under Commodore Howe and Lord Anson, with 20,000
soldiers and marines, commanded by Charles, second Duke of
Marlborough, and Lord George Sackville. The attempt failed,
but was renewed with more success in August, under General
Bligh, accompanied by Prince Edward. When the troops landed
the town was found to be deserted. The forts and basins were
destroyed, together with 170 pieces of iron cannon, and 22 brass
guns were carried off. The troops were then landed near St.
Malo; but the Duke d'Aiguillon coming up with superior forces,
they were obliged to hurry their re-embarkation, and 1000 men
of the rear guard were either killed or made prisoners.
These exploits were not very splendid, yet, by diverting the
attention of the French, they proved favorable to the campaign in
Germany. Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick not only drove the
French out of Hanover, but even over the Rhline, whither he followed them, and gained on the left bank a victory at Crefeld; but
the advance of the Prince de Soubise obliged him to fall back on
Miinster. Frederick had achieved brilliant successes, checkered,
however, by a disastrous defeat inflicted on him at IIochkirchen
by the Austrian generals Daun and Laudohn (Oct. 14).
~ 18. In 1759 the arms of England were successful both upon
sea and upon land. The French, though scarcely able to defend
their own coasts, were talking of an invasion, and were making.preparations in Havre, Toulon, and other ports; but in July Admiral Rodney bombarded Havre two or three days, doing great
damage to the town, and destroying many of their flat-bottomed
boats, while the Toulon fleet was dispersed with some loss by
Admiral Boscawen, off Lagos, in Algarve. Another fleet, under
Sir Edward Hawke, blockaded Brest, and a squadron of observation hovered near Dunkirk. IHawke gained a signal victory (Nov.




628                    GEORGE II.               CHAP. XXX.
20) near Quiberon, over a French fleet under De Conflans, consisting of 21 sail of the line and four frigates. Hawke's fleet,
which was rather stronger, sunk four of the Frenchmen and captured two; the others, all more or less damaged, succeeded in getting into the River Vilaine.
Frederick sustained a terrible defeat this year at Kunersdorf,
near Frankfort-on-the-Oder; but, from want of cordiality between
the Austrians and Russians, its consequences did not prove very
disastrous.  On the other hand, Prince Ferdinand, who had in
his army 10,000 or 12,000 English troops under Lord G. Sackville, was more fortunate. He failed, indeed, in an attack on the
French position at Bergen, but he more than retrieved this reverse by the brilliant victory of Minden, which would have been
still more complete had Sackville, who commanded the cavalry,
obeyed the orders to charge the routed enemy. The clamor was
justly loud against Lord George both in England and Germany,
and Pitt dismissed him from all his employments.
But the chief success this year was achieved in Canada, where
the plan of the campaign was sketched out by Pitt himself. The
French had colonized that province in the reign of Francis I., but
it was not till the following century that the cities of Quebec and
Montreal arose. Pitt's plan of invasion was by three separate
-divisions to unite at Quebec. One of these, composed of colonists
and Indians under Ge'neral Prideau and Sir William Johnson, was
to advance to Oswego, on Lake Ontario, and, after reducing Fort
Niagara, at the mouth of the Niagara River, proceed down the
lake and the St. Lawrence to Montreal.; another of 8000 men,
under the command of General Wolfe, was to proceed up the St.
Lawrence, and lay siege to Quebec; while in the centre, the main
army under General Amherst was to attack Ticonderoga, secure
the navigation of Lake Champlain, and, proceeding by the River
Richelieu, to form a junction with Wolfe.
The first and last of these expeditions succeeded as far as they
went; Niagara and Ticonderoga were captured, but it was too
late in the season to form a junction with Wolfe. The fleet of
Admiral Saunders carried Wolfe safely to the Isle of Orleans, opposite Quebec, where the army disembarked on June 27. Wolfe
formed a lodgment on the westernmost point of the island, where
Quebec rose on his view, strong in its natural position, but without artificial defenses. It is washed on two- sides by the Rivers
St. Charles and St. Lawrence, whose banks are almost inaccessible, while a little below the town the Montmoirency falls into the
St. Lawrence; the entrance of the harbor is defended by a sandbank; the Castle of St. Louis commanded the approaches; and
behind the city rise the rugged steeps called the Heights of Abra



A-.D. 1759, 1760.  CONQUEST OF CANADA.                629
ham. Quebec at that time contained a population of about 7000;
but it had a cathedral, a bishop's palace, and other public buildings.  The Marquis de Montcalm, the French governor of Canada,
a distinguished officer, lay with an army of 10,000 men, chiefly
Canadian colonists or native Indians, outside the city, on the line
called Beauport, between the Rivers St. Charles and Montmorency. The ground was steep; in his front lay the Miontmorency:
his rear was protected by dense woods, and every open space had
been fortified. All Wolfe's attempts to draw Montcalm from this
position having failed, it only remained to attack him in his intrenchments. An assault on July 31 having been repulsed,
Wolfe determined on the hazardous exploit of proceeding up the
St. Lawrence and scaling the Heights of Abraham, though, through
deaths, sickness, and the necessary detachments for securing important points, he could muster only about 3600 men. On thenight of September 13th the army was conveyed silently up the
river in boats to a small cove, now called Wolfe's Cove, overhung
by lofty rocks. As they rowed along to this place Wolfe repeated in a low voice to the officers in the boat with him Gray's beautiful Elegy in a Country Church-yard, adding at the end, " Now,
gentlemen, I would rather be the author of that poem than take
Quebec."  Wolfe himself was one of the first to leap ashore.
The.precipitous path was climbed; an outpost of the enemy fled
in alarm; and at daybreak the British army stood arrayed upon
the heights, but without cavalry, and having no more than a single gun. Montcalm was now obliged to abandon his position and
advance to give battle. The English, by Wolfe's direction, reserved their fire till the enemy were within 40 yards, and then
delivered a well-directed and destructive volley. Many fell, the
rest wavered; Wolfe, though wounded in the wrist, seized the favorable moment, and, springing forward, ordered his grenadiers to
charge. At this instant he was struck by another ball in the
groin, and shortly after by a third in the breast, which caused him
to fall, and he was conveyed to the rear. Before he breathed his
last an officer who was standing by exclaimed, "See how they
run!"  " Who run?" eagerly cried Wolfe. " The enemy," cried
the officer.  "Then God be praised!" said Wolfe; "I shall die
happy:" and immediately expired. Thus f'ell this gallant officer
at the early age of 33. Montcalm, the French commander, was
also slain. Quebec capitulated on September 18; the French
garrison was conveyed by agreement to the nearest French
port; and in the following year the conquest of all Canada was
achieved.
This event threw a lustre over the close of the reign of George
II., which in other respects had not been inglorious. He died sud



630                              GEORGE II.                         CHAP. XXX.
denly on October 25, 1760, at the age of 77, from  the bursting of
the right ventricle of the heart.
CIHRONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE EVENTS.
A.D.                                     A.D.
1727. Accession of George II,            1745. The Pretender Charles Edward in
1739. War declared against Spain.               Scotland.
1T40. Failure of the expedition against Car- 1T46. Battle of Culloden. Defeat of the Prethagena in America.                      tender.;  Anson begins his voyage.             1748. Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle.
";  Accession of Maria Theresa to the  1751. Death 6f Frederick, Prince of Wales.
Austrian dominions.  The English  1752. Reformation of the calendar.
support her against Frederick the  1754. Death of Pelham. Duke of Newcastle
Great of Prussia.                        prime minister.
i741. Retirement of Walpole.             1.756. War with France. Minorca captured
"  Compton (Lord Wilmington) at the            by the French.
head of the treasury, but Carteret 1757. Execution of Admiral Byng.
in reality prime minister.          ";  Pitt's first administration.
1743. Battle of Dettingen.'  Commencement of the Seven Years'
"  Pelham prime minister.                     War.
1744. France declares war against England. 1758. Cherbourg destroyed.
1745. Quadruple alliance between England, 1153. Hawke's victory at Quiberon. Quebec
Holland, Austria, and Saxony.             taken. Death of General Wolfe.
L  Battle of Fontenoy.                  1760. Canada conquered.. Death of George
II.




_        _   _  _                     yi;                 /
Medal commemorating Battle of Plassy.
Obv.: VICTORY. AT. PLASSY CLIVE. COMMANDER. Victory without wings, bearing
trophy and palm, seated on elephant, to left. Below, MS D c. L V I A.
Rev.: INIVRIES. ATTONED. PRIVILEGE. AVGMENTED. TERRITORY. ACQVIRED. Clive, in
Roman costume, giving a sceptre to an Indian. Below,  MDCOUA L GIVEN TO BENGAL
(in imitation of the REX PARTIIIS DATUS, and the like, of the Roman imperial coinage).
CHAPTER XXXI.
GEORGE III. FROMI HIS ACCESSION TO THE RECOGNITION OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE, AND THE PEACE OF VERSAILLES. A.D. 1760-1783.
~ 1. Accession of George III., and Settlement of the Government. King's
Marriage and Coronation. ~ 2. State of the Campaign. Negotiations.
Pitt resigns. ~ 3. War with Spain. Lord Bute's Administration. Peace
of Fontainebleau. ~ 4. Rise and Progress of the Indian Empire. ~ 5.
Unpopularity of Lord Bute.  Wilkes and the North Briton, No. XLV.
General Warrants.  ~ 6. Grenville's American Stamp Act.  ~ 7. Lord
Rockingham Prime Minister. Succeeded by Lord Chatham. Lord
North's American Taxes. ~ 8. Proceedings against Wilkes. Disturbances in America. Lord North Prime Minister. Royal Marriage Act.
~ 9. Effect of the Tea Duties in America. Commencement of the Rebellion. Skirmish at Lexington. Battle of Bunker's Hill. ~ 10. Attempts
at Conciliation. American Independence. Progress of the War. ~ 11.
La Fayette. Philadelphia taken. Capitulation of Saratoga. Treaty
between France and the Americans. ~ 12. Death of Chatham. ~ 13.
The French Fleet in America. Actions in the Channel. Spain joins the
French and Americans. Paul Jones. ~ 14. Lord George Gordon's
Riots. ~ 15. Rodney's Victory at Cape St. Vincent. The " Armed Neutrality." American Campaign. Battles of Camden and Eutau. Springs.
Capitulation of Yorktown. ~ 16. Naval Engagements. Losses and Disasters. Lord Rockingham's second Ministry. Independence of the Irish
Parliament. Parliamentary Reform. ~ 17. Rodney's Victory in the West
Indies. Lord Shelburne's Ministry. Foundering of the Royal George.
Siege of Gibraltar. ~ 18. Treaty with America, and Recognition of
American Independence.  Peace of Versailles.
~ 1. THE young prince who now ascended the throne of his




632                    GEORGE III.             CHAP. XXXI
grandfather with the title of George III. was 22 years of age.
His person was tall and strongly built, his countenance open and
engaging. In his first address to the Parliament he inserted, with
his own hand, a paragraph stating that "' he gloried in the name
of Briton" —an expression which could not but awaken a cordial
echo in a country which, during the greater part of a century, had
been governed by foreigners. His conduct answered to his professions. The party distinctions which had prevailed during the
reign of his grandfather seemed to be forgotten; the Jacobites,
who had absented themselves, returned to court, and some of the
principal of them obtained places in the royal household. The
old ministers were retained; but it was soon evident that the Earl
of Bute would be the king's principal adviser, and both he and.
Prince Edward were made privy councilors. After the dissolu.
tion of the Parliament the seals of secretary of state were transferred from Lord Holderness to Lord Bute-a step in which Pitt
acquiesced, though he had not been consulted. At the same time
Legge vacated the chancellorship of the exchequer, and was succeeded by Lord Barrington; and Lord Henley, who, after the resignation of Lord Hardwicke, had been made lord keeper only, now
became lord chancellor. The vigorous administration of Pitt had
nearly annihilated all party feeling: in the Commons lie reigned
supreme, and was regarded with a kind of awe.
In the following year the king concluded a marriage with Charlotte, second sister of the Duke of Mecklenburg Strelitz, then only
17 years of age. In person she was short, thin, and pale; but
she was sensible, cheerful, and good-tempered.' George is said to
have been captivated by a spirited letter which she wrote to the
King of Prussia, beseeching him to spare her country. She arrived at St. James's September 8, 1761, and the marriage was celebrated on the same day. The coronation followed, September
22.
~ 2. During the last two or three years the campaign in Germany had proceeded with various success, and, on the whole, the
contending parties stood much in the same position. The British
contingents, under the Marquis of Granby and General Conway,
had made some atonement for the disgrace of Lord Sackville at
Minden. The losses sustained by France had made her sincerely
desirous of peace.  The affairs of that country were now conducted by the Duke de Choiseul, always, however, under Madame de
Pompadour, the mistress of Louis XV. A conference at Augsburg was agreed to by all the belligerents; but between France
and England Choiseul preferred a separate negotiation, with which
view M. de Bussy was accredited to London, and Mr. Hans Stanley to Paris. It order to strengthen his negotiations, Pitt sent




A.D. 1760-1762.   RESIGNATION OF PITT.                633
an expedition under Commodore Keppel, with 9000 troops under
General Hodgson, against Belleisle, a barren island, but strongly
fortified, on the coast of Brittany. Belleisle was taken; and it
was considered that it might be set off against Minorca, not for
its importance, but as a point of honor in the sight of France.
Good news also arrived from other quarters. The island of Dominica had been reduced by Lord Rolls; and in the East Pondicherry had been captured, the last of the. French strongholds in
India.
Choiseul might probably have yielded all the points demanded.
by Pitt had not the court of France been supported by that of
Madrid. Ferdinand Vi. had died in 1759, and his brother Charles,
formerly King of Naples, now ruled Spain and the Indies with
the title of Charles III. Naples he had been obliged to relinquish"
to his third son Ferdinand, as by the treaty of Vienna the crowns
of Spain and Naples could not be united on the same head.
Charles naturally regarded the French Bourbons as the head of
his house; he was desirous of acting with them, and he had, besides, several causes of complaint against England. He now proposed that the contemplated peace between England and France,
should be guaranteed by Spain, and that, at the same time, certain claims of Spain on England should be adjusted. Pitt at once
refused to mix up the claims of France and Spain; and the latter
court was informed that no negotiations could be opened with it
through the medium of France.  The consequence of this refusal
was what has been called the FAMILY COMPACT, concluded August 15, 1761, by which France and Spain mutually agreed to regard for the future the enemy of either as their common enemy,
and to guarantee their respective dominions..The King of Naples, as a Bourbon, also acceded to this alliance. A secret convention was also entered into, that in case England and FIrance
should be still at war on May 1, 1762, Spain should declare war
against England, in consideration of which France was to restore:'Minorca to Spain.'
As soon as Pitt obtained certain intelligence of this agreement,
he strongly advised that the Spanish declaration should be anticipated, and war at once begun against. Spain. He urged the importance of striking the first blow, and he showed that expense
would be saved by taking the Spaniards unawares, and seizing
their merchantmen and treasure-ships; but he could find none to
second him in this bold yet prudent counsel, except his relative
Temple, and they therefore tendered their resignation, which was
received by the king with many gracious expressions toward Pitt.
Thus fell the renowned administration of Pitt, which had raised
England to a great pitch of glory. He was offered the governorD tr 2




634                    GEORGE I1I.             CHAP. XXXI.
ship of Canada, without residence, and ~5000 a year; or the
duchy of Lancaster, with about the same emolument. These offers he rather haughtily refused, but he accepted the title of
Baroness Chatham for his wife, Lady Hester Pitt, and a pension
of ~3000 per annum for three lives-his own, Lady Chatham's,
and their eldest son's. Pitt's retirement paved the way for the
ascendency of Lord Bute.
~ 3. The Spanish business turned out precisely as Pitt had foretold. No sooner were the Spanish West Indiamen safe in harbor
than the Spaniards began to alter their tone, and before the close
of the year the embassadors on both sides were dismissed from
London and Madrid. The Spanish minister, before his departure,
inveighed against Pitt by name, in an angry memorial which he
presented to Lord Egremont, the new secretary.  XVar was declared against Spain, January 4, 1762. Shortly afterward France
and Spain made a joint demand on Portugal to renounce her
neutrality, and large bodies of Spanish troops were collected on
the Spanish frontiers to enforce it. The King of Portugal gave a
spirited refusal, and applied to England for assistance, which Bute,
in spite of his pacific policy, could not, of course, refuse.
The Duke of Newcastle still continued at the head of the treasury, though Bute had the chief share of power. The latter, however, having refused to support the King of Priussia and withdrawn the subsidy, Newcastle tendered his resignation, and was
somewhat surprised to find it accepted. Bute immediately named
himself first lord of the treasury; George Grenville became secretary of state in his stead, and Sir Francis Dashwood was made
chancellor of the exchequer. Bute owed his rapid promotion not
to any merit of his own, but to the ascendency he possessed over
the king. Wilkes, who was now beginning to emerge into notice,
directed the popular indignation against him in the Northz Briton
and other papers, and he was assisted by his friend and fellowsatirist Churchill.
The thoughts of Bute were constantly directed toward peace,
though the aitms of Great Britain and her allies had been on every side successful. In Germany, Frederick and Prince Ferdinand had been victorious. In Portugal, the British troops under Burgoyne- arrested the progress of the Spaniards. In the
West Indies, an armament under Admiral Rodney and General
Monckton had taken Martinico in January.  Grenada, St. Lucia,
and St. Vincent subsequently surrendered; Guadaloupe had been
taken in 1759, and thus the whole of the Caribbees were now in
the power of England.  The Havana also capitulated after a desperate siege, where the booty, in treasure and merchandise, was
computed at three millions. About the same time, in the eastern




A.D. 1762, 1763.   RISE OF THE INDIAN EMPIRE.         635
hemisphere, the Philippine Islands were taken, and several rich
Spanish prizes were made at sea.
In spite of these brilliant successes, overtures for a peace were
made through the neutral court of Sardinia, and eagerly caught
at by France. Bute seems to have been alarmed at the great increase of the national debt, which had doubled during the war,
and now amounted to ~122,600,000. A treaty was concluded
at Paris (Feb. 10, 1763). The peace of Paris put an end to the
Seven Years' War. By this treaty Minorca was exchanged for
Belleisle; the provinces of Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, and Canada were ceded to England; the islands of Guadaloupe, Iartinico, and St. Lucia were restored; but Tobago, Dominica, St.Vincent, and Grenada were retained. These were the principal provisions with regard to the interests of England. By a clause in
the treaty, all conquests made in any part of the world during the
negotiations were to be given up. This involved the cession of
the Havana and of the Philippine Islands, the conquest of which
was not yet known. Bute seemed inclined to yield them without
an equivalent; and it was only at the pressing instance of George
Grenville and Lord Egremont that Florida or Porto Rico was demanded in return. The former was readily yielded.
~ 4. Among the places restored to the French was also Pondicherry in the. East Indies; but they could never recover their
lost influence in that country, and soon after their East India
Company was dissolved. The courage and genius of Clive had
now converted an association of traders into the rulers of a large
and magnificent empire. Though established in the latter part
of Elizabeth's reign, it was not till the time of Charles II. that the
East India Company made any considerable advances in wealth
and power. Charles granted them a new charter, conveying
many exclusive rights and privileges, and also ceded to them the
settlement of Bombay, which he had received as a marriage portion with Catherine of Braganza.  Fort St. George and the town
of Madras had already been founded in the Carnatic. The first
English factories were at Bantam and Surat, but these were subsequently abandoned. At the period of the Revolution a new
company was instituted, the rivalship of which produced much
mischief, till in 1702 they were both united. In 1698 a grant of
land on rent having been obtained from Aurungzebe, the Mogul
emperor, at Chuttanuttee, on the River Hooghly, Fort William
was erected, under shelter of which ultimately expanded the town
of Calcutta, the magnificent capital of modern India. Thus, before the accession of the house of Hanover, the three presidencies
of Madras (Fort St. George), Calcutta (Fort William), and Bombay had already been erected; but no central government yet ex



*636                   GEORGE III.             CHAP. XXXI.
isted; these settlements had but little territory attached to them,
and often trembled for their own safety.
The French, who had established an East India Company in
the reign of Louis XIV., were the only formidable rivals we possessed in India. The Portuguese were our allies, and their power
was but small; the Dutch chiefly confined their attention to Java
and the neighboring islands. The French had two important settlements: Chandernagore, on the Hooghly, higher up than Fort
WVilliam, and Pondicherry, on the coast of the Carnatic, about 80
miles south of Madras.'They also possessed two fertile islands in
the Indian Ocean, the Isle of Bourbon, and Mauritius, or the Isle
of France. The wars of the mother countries extended to these
colonies. In 1746, the French under La Bourdonnais took Madras; and Dupleix, Governor of Pondicherry, in violation of the
capitulation, carried the principal inhabitants to that town, and
paraded them through the streets in triumph. Madras was restored at the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle. During the peace, Dupleix, by intrigues with the native princes, endeavored to extend
the French empire in India at the expense of the English; but he
was encountered by the superior genius and valor of Clive, a
writer, or clerk, who had been among the captives of Madras.
The taking of Arcot, the victory over Rajah Sahib at Arnee, the
capture of the Great Pagoda, and the other wonderful exploits of
that merchant-soldier, our limits will not permit us to detail.
After a two years' visit to England for the sake of his health,
Clive returned to India in 1755 with the rank of lieutenant colonel
n the king's service, and the appointment from the company as
iovernor of Fort St. David.
Clive's abilities were soon called into action. The SurajahDowlah, Viceroy of Bengal, had taken Calcutta, and, thrust the
English inhabitants, to the number of 146, into a small and loathsome dungeon known as the Black Hole, where in one night the
greater part of them were stifled (June 20, 1756). But a signal
vengeance was soon taken. In the following January Clive retook Calcutta, with an army of 900 Europeans and 1500 sepoys,
kept at bay the surajah's army of 40,000 men, and compelled him:
to make peace. Shortly after Clive took Chandernagore, as before related.  His next exploit was to defeat the Surajah Dowlah
at PLASSY (1757). The nabob had 50,000 men and 40 pieces of
cannon, Clive only 1000 Europeans and 2000 sepoys, with eight
field-pieces and two howitzers; yet the rout was complete, and
the surajah lost all his artillery and baggage. This victory decided the fate of India, and laid the foundation of our empire.
Meer jaffier, a rebellious vassal of the surajah's, was installed in
the capital of Moorsliedabad as nabob of Bengal, Orissa, and Baa.



A:D. 1763.   WILKES AND.THE "NORTH BRITON."             637
bhar; his predecessor-was put to death, and the new nabob ceded
to the English all the land within the Mahratta ditch or fortification round Calcutta, and all the country from Calcutta to the sea.
Clive was now made Governor of Bengal by the East India Company. In return for Clive's assistance against the Emperor of
Delhi, Meer Jaffier presented him-with a domain worth ~27,000
a year. In 1760 Clive returned to England, hlaving previously
defeated an attempt of the Dutch upon Calcutta. He received an
Irish peerage as Lord Clive and Baron Plassy, and obtained a seat
in the House of Commons.
The hostilities between the French and English in India, after
the declaration of war in 1758, have already been related, to which
it may be added that the defeat of Lally Tollendal by Sir Eyre
Coote, at WVandebash (Jan. 22, 1760), secured the Carnatic. The
farther history of India will be resumed lower down.
~ 5. The difference of opinion between George Grenville and
Lord Bute respecting the cession, of the Havana occasioned the
resignation of the seals by the former, but he still retained office
as first lord of the admiralty.  The Earl of Halifax took Grenville's place; and the leadership of the Commons, with a seat in
the cabinet, was given to Mr. Fox, who still remained paymaster
of the forces. The peace was very unpopular out of doors, and
Lord Bute was hissed and pelted; but, in spite of an eloquent
speech against it by Pitt, the address was carried by a large majority in the Commons. Another cause of Lord Bute's unpopu
larity was his almost exclusive patronage of his Scotch- countrymen.'Wilkes branded him with the epithet of favorite.  In some
of the rjural districts he was burnt under the effigy of a jack-boot,
a rustic pun on his name (John, Earl of Bute); and when he
walked the streets he was followed by a gang of prizefighters
hired to protect him. These symptoms of popular dislike frightened him into a resignation (April 8), to the surprise both of king
and people. At the same time Fox was raised to the Uipper
House with the title of Lord Holland, still, however, retaining
his office., Bute was succeeded by George Grenville, who became
first lord of the treasury and chancellor of the exchequer.  The
twvo secretaries of state were Lords Egremont and Halifax.
A few days afterward the king closed the session by a speech,
in which he adverted to the late peace as honorable to the crown
and beneficial to the people. This was immediately attacked in
the next and last number of the North Briton (April 23), the celebrated No. 45. Grenville was bold and impolitic enough to
order its prosecution, to which circumstance it owes its notoriety,
for it does not equal, either in ability or virulence, many of the'
preceding numbers. On April 30 Wilkes was arrested in his own




638                    GEORGE III.             CHAP. XXXI.
house by virtue of what was called'" a general warrant," that is, a
warrant not specifying any particular person, but directed against
"the authors, printers, and publishers" of the obnoxious paper.
At the same time Wilkes's papers were seized, and he was committed to the Tower; but a few days afterward the judges, waiving the question of the legality of general warrants, pronounced
him entitled to his -discharge by virtue of his privilege as a member of Parliament.  He was again imprisoned, however, during
the recess.
In the next session warm debates ensued in the Commons on
the subject of the paper; and they at length decided that No. 45
was a false, scandalous, and malicious libel, and ordered it to be
burnt by the hangman. Some delay was produced in the measures
against Wilkes from his having been wounded in a duel by Mr.
MIartin, who challenged him on account of a libel in some former
numbers of the North.Briton; but at length he was expelled from
the House by a unanimous vote.
The attempt to burn No. 45 in the Royal Exchange produced a
serious riot. A jack-boot and a petticoat, the latter denoting the
Princess of Wales, were thrown into the fire prepared for the paper, the mob shouting " Wilkes and liberty forever i" A few days
after he recovered ~1000 damages against Mr. Wood, the under
secretary of state, for the forcible entry of his house. A verdict,
however, was obtained against him for No. 45, as well as for a
piece called an Essay on 1Woman, an obscene and scurrilous libel
in parody of Pope's Essay on Man, in which Lord Sandwich and
Bishop Warburton had been reflected on and ridiculed. Wilkes
now thought proper to go abroad; and, not appearing to.receive
judgment, was outlawed. Wilkes's case derives its chief importance from the question which it raised respecting the legality of
general warrants. Chief Justice Pratt and all the most eminent
lawyers of the day declared them illegal fiom their form, their
tenor being to apprehend all persons guilty of a certain crime,:
thus assuming a guilt which remained to be proved. For the
present, however, the government had influence enough to postpone a resolution to that effect being carried in the Commons.
~ 6. Another impolitic step of Grenville's, but attended with far
more momentous consequences, was the extending of the Stamp
Act to the North American colonies. The late war had been
very expensive; and, as it had been partly undertaken for the defense of those colonies, it occurred to Grenville, in an evil hour,
that they might not unjustly be called upon to bear part of the
burden. He consulted the agents of the several North American colonies in London upon his project, inquired whether any
other tax would be more agreeable, and gave a year's notice of




'A.D. 1763-1765,   AMERICAN STAMP ACT.                   639
his plan by a resolution entered in the Journals of the Commons
in 1764.
These colonies had been continually increasing in strength and
prosperity, and at this time consisted of 13 states, with a population of about two millions of whites and half a million of colored
people. They were, 1. The New England colonies, settled by
the Puritans, consisting of the four states of Massachusetts, New
Hampshire, Connecticut, and Rhode Island; 2. New York; 3.
New Jersey; 4. Pennsylvania; 5. Delaware; 6. Maryland; 7.
Virginia; 8. The two states of North and South Carolina; and,
9. Georgia.  Each of these colonies was governed on the English
model, and had a House of Assembly elected by the people. There
was also a governor appointed by the crown, and a council. In
Connecticut the governor was elective.
Hitherto the mother country and her colonies had lived in tolerable harmony; but at this time the American colonists were in
a distressed and irritable condition. They were suffering from
the effects of a terrible border war with the Indians; they considered theniselves aggrieved by some new duties which had been
imposed on their foreign trade, as well as by the stringent regulations by which their illicit traffic was repressed. All of them
were.decidedly opposed to a stamp act, which from its nature was
far more obnoxious than any custom-house duties.  The latter
might be regarded as imperial, the former was a sort of local excise. Nor would they suggest any substitute, but based their opposition on the broad constitutional principle that there should be
no taxation without representation, and that they were not represented in the House of Commons.  They intimated, however, a
wish that, as in former instances, a letter from the secretary of
state, in the king's name, requiring contributions for his service,
should be laid before the different Houses of Assembly; and there
seems little reason to doubt that, if this course had been pursued,
the minister would have raised at least as much as he expected
from the Stamp Act, the produce of which was estimated at less
than ~100,000 a year.
In 1765, however, the measure passed through Parliament with
little debate or opposition. Pitt was absent from illness, only one
or two of his party made a slight resistance, and it attracted no
public notice whatever. -Nobody suspected that this little spark
would burst out into a vast and inextinguishable flame. Even
Dr. Franklin, the agent for Pennsylvania, one of the chief and
ablest representatives of the views of the colonists, expected nothing but acquiescence from his countrymen, which he inculcated.*
* This is an error, originating doubtless in a statement made in a pamphlet written by Dean Tucker at that time. Franklin opposed the Stamp




640                     GEORGE III.              CHAP. XXXI.
Far different was the spirit which it excited in America.  The
act was reprinted, with a death's head at top in place of the king's
arms, and was hawked about under the title of " The Folly of
England and Ruin of America."  The vessels in Boston harbor
hoisted their colors half-mast high, and the muffled bells of the
churches tolled out a death-knell. The Virginian House of Assembly, roused by the eloquence of Patrick Henry, took the lead in
opposition, and drew up a series of resolutions, accompanied with
a petition to the king, denying the right of the mother country to
tax the colonists without their consent. Most of the other assemblies followed this example, and a general Congress was appointed
to meet at New York in October, when resolutions and petitions,
much the same as those of Virginia, were adopted. In some parts
associations were formed against the importation or. use of British
manufactures; and presently a small party began to appear who
promulgated their views of a united republic.  When the ships
arrived with the stamps it became necessary to put them away in
some place of safety.  Nobody would use them, and the persons
who had been appointed distributors resigned their posts.
~ 7. While these things were going on the author of the mischief had been compelled to resign his office.. George III. had
this year been attacked with a severe illness, accompanied.with
symptoms of that dreadful malady which darkened his later years.
He himself was the first to propose a regency.  The ministers
wished to leave out his mother's name, and surprised the king's
consent; but he afterward repented, and it was restored by the
House of Commons. This was the cause which chiefly alienated
the king's mind from Grenville; and when he recovered, for his
illness was but short, he entered into negotiations with Pitt and
Temple., These, however, went off; and resort was then had to
a confederacy of the great Whig houses, with the Marquis of Rockingham at their head.  That nobleman, who was descended, on
the female side, from Lord Strafford, and inherited the honors of
Wentworth, now became first lord of the treasury.  He was one
of the greatest landowners in England. He had no great ability,
but his judgment was sound and his character honorable.  Itis
chief passion was horse-racing.  Unde:I him the Duke of Grafton
a nd- General Conway became secretaries of state; Mr. William
Dowdeswell, chancellor of the exchequer;.- and the veteran Duke
Act from its first inception. To Charles Thompson he wrote from London,
on the 11th of July, 1765: "Depend upon it, my good neighbor, I took
every step in my power to prevent the passage of the Stamp Act." Anid
when asked by a committee of Parliament whether the Americans would
pay the stamp duty, he said, emphatically, "' No, never, unless compelled
by force of arms." —AMi. ED.




A'.D. 1765-1766.  AMERICAN STAMP ACT.                   641
of Newcastle was propitiated with the privy seal. Pitt was conciliated by raising his confidential friend Chief Justice Pratt, to
the peerage, with the title of Lord Camden.
The state of America was a very embarrassing question for the
new ministry. To withdraw the Stamp Act would be an ill precedent and a confession of weakness; to press it by force would
be painful, and might lead to the most dangerous consequences.
The vigor and eloquence with which Pitt denounced Grenville,
and attacked this measure, in the session of 1766, decided the
wavering cabinet.  Adopting the advice of the "great commonor," they brought in two bills: one to repeal the Stamp Act, the
other declaring the power of Parliament over the colonies to be
supreme. Both were carried. The majority of the colonists were
still loyal, and the news of the repeal of the obnoxious act was received with great joy and satisfaction in America.  It was not,
however, in human nature, but that some soreness should be-left
-behind, as well as a still more dangerous feeling of secret triumph
at the recognition of their strength.
Lord Rockingham adopted other measures of a popular nature.
A silk bill, introduced by the late ministry,l had occasioned serious
riots the preceding year among the Spitalfields weavers; siege had
been laid to the Duke of Bedford's house in Bloomsbury Square,
and it became necessary to disperse the rioters by means of the
military. Rockingham now restrained the import of foreign silks.
1-Ie also repealed the unpopular cider-tax, obtained a resolution
of the HI-ouse of Commons declaring general warrants illegal, and
another condemning the seizure of papers in cases of libel. The
ministry however was tottering through internal dissensions; Lord
Northington, the chancellor, told the king at the end of the session that they could not go on, and advised him to send for Mr.
Pitt. This time Pitt accepted, and succeeded in forming a ministry; but, to the surprise of all, he reserved for himself the office
of privy seal, with a peerage! The king signed his warrant as
Earl Chatham on July 29. Pitt named the Duke of Grafton as
head of the treasury; Charles Townshend became chancellor of
the exchequer; General Conway continued secretary of state and
leader of the House of Commons, with the Earl of Shelburne* as
his colleague; and Lord Camden was made chancellor.
The prospect of Pitt's support in the House of Commons had
been the chief inducement with most of the ministers to take
office, and they were naturally much disappointed to find themselves deprived of it by his elevation to a peerage. But their dis* The Earl of Shelburne, an Irish peer, became prime minister in 1782
(see p. 659), and was created Marquis of Lansdowne in 1784: father of the
present marquis.




642                    GEORGE III.              CHAP. XXXI:
appointment did not end here.  Constant fits of the gout allowed
Lord Chatham to appear but seldom even in the Lords; and in
the spring of 1767 a mysterious malady, arising apparently from
suppressed gout, prostrated him to such a degree that he would
neither see any body nor open any papers on business. Edmund
Burke, who was now rising into eminence, adverted to him in one
of his speeches as a great invisible power-a being so immeasurably high that not even his own cabinet could get access to him.
Affairs went wrong in his absence. The opposition carried a motion to reduce the land-tax, by which the revenue lost half a million. In order partly to repair this loss, Charles Townshend, in
spite of the warning so recently received, resolved to raise some
supplies in America by small taxes on tea, glass, paper, and painters' colors, the whole amount of which would not exceed ~40,000
a year. For such a sum did he risk the fidelity of those magnificent colonies. In the following September Townshend died, and
Lord North accepted the vacant office of chancellor of the exchequer. Soon after some changes occurred in the ministry, and
the new office of colonial secretary was established, in which the
Earl of Hillsborough* was installed. At this time the name
alone of Lord Chatham supported the administration.
~ 8. In the elections for a new Parliament in 1768, Wilkes, who
was still under a sentence of outlawry, though rejected by the city
of London, contrived to obtain his return as member for Middlesex, chiefly through the intimidation of the mob. IHe surrendered in the court of King's Bench, when Lord Mansfield pronounced
the outlawry void, from a technical flaw in the proceedings; but
the original verdicts were confirmed, and Wilkes was sentenced to
two years' imprisonment, computed from the day of his arrest, and
to pay two fines of ~500 each for No. 45 and the Essay on Woman. This sentence occasioned a riot. The mob rescued Wilkes's
carriage, dragged it to a tavern in Cornhill, and insisted on his remaining at liberty; but he slipped out at the back door, and surrendered himself at the King's Bench prison. Some desperate
riots ensued, and on the day of the meeting of Parliament several persons were killed and wounded by the military in St.
George's Fields.
In the session of 1769 the I-louse of Commons pronounced
Wilkes guilty of an insolent libel in publishing a letter of Lord
Weymouth's, now secretary of state, to the magistrates of Surrey, accompanied with some caustic remarks; and on the motion
of Lord Barrington he was expelled the House. Wilkes's popularity, however, had gone on increasing. In the city he had been
* Wills Hill, first Earl of Hillsborough, created Marquis of Downshire in
Ireland in 1789: ancestor of the present maiquis.




A.D. 1766-1770.   DISTURBANCES IN AMERICA.             643
elected alderman of Farringdon Without; and when the election
for Middlesex came on, he was again unanimously returned.
Three times the House declared him incapable df sitting, and
three times was he re-elected. On the third occasion, however,
the ministers provided another candidate, Colonel Luttrell; and
the House pronounced him to have been duly elected. But, though
the ministers carried their point, they had rendered Wilkes the
idol of the nation. In the autumn he brought an action against
Lord Halifax for having seized his papers, and obtained ~4000
damages.
WVe must now revert to the more momentous disturbances in
the North American colonies, where Townshend's ill-advised taxes
had revived all the animosity occasioned by the Stamp Act. The
State of Massachusetts took the lead in, the opposition.  A violent'altercation arose between the House of Assembly and Bernard, the governor of that state. The latter, in the exercise of
his prerogative, finally dissolved the Assembly, July 1, 1768.
Riots of the most serious description ensued at Boston. The other
American states, though not so violent, displayed a sort of passive
resistance. Associations were formed calling themselves "Sons
of Liberty," and even " Daughters of Liberty," to enter into nonimportation agreements, and to forbear the use of tea. Subsequently it became customary to strip those who would not enter
into these agreements, and to cover them with tar and feathers.*
The cabinet now deemed it prudent to repeal the obnoxious
taxes; but Lord North, on the suggestion of Lord Hillsborough,
carried an exception in favor of the tea-duties. Lord Hillsborough
communicated the determination of the ministry in a circular to
the governors of the North American colonies, drawn up in harsh
and ungracious terms, which increased the irritation occasioned by
a merely partial concession.  Lord Chatham, who had never
taken any active part in the administration, had resigned in October, 1768. In the spring of the following year a return of the
gout restored him to health and society, and in July he attended
the king's levee, a sort of apparition from the dead. When the
Parliament was opened in January, 1770, he appeared in his place,
and denounced in severe terms both the foreign and the American policy of the ministers. Shortly afterward the Duke of Grafton resigned, when the king prevailed upon Lord North to accept
the place of first lord of the treasury, in addition to that of chancellor of the exchequer, and he thus became prime minister.
During the following year or two nothing of much importance
* This statement implies that this kind of argument was common. On
the contrary, such acts of cruelty were very rare, and were indulged in by
violent persons of both parties.-AM.. ED.




644                     GEORGE III.             CHAP. XXXI.
occurred. Two of the king's brothers, the Dukes of Cumberland
and Gloucester, having degraded themselves by private marriages,
the former with Mlrs. Horton, sister of Colonel Luttrell, the latter
with an illegitimate daughter of Sir Edward Walpole, George
caused the Royal Marriage Bill to be introduced into the House
of Lords, by which every prince or princess, the descendant of
George II., except only the issue of princesses married abroad,
was prohibited from marrying without the king's consent before
attaining the age of 25. After that age they might be relieved
from the king's veto by consent of the privy council and both
houses of Parliament.  This statute is still in force.
~ 9. With the exception of some disturbances in Iassachusetts,
affairs had been going on pretty quietly in America. The teaduty, which was only 3d. per pound, seemed to be acquiesced in,
when in 1773 an act was committed which, though far from being
so intended, finally estranged the American colonies. The East
India- Company had contracted a large debt, but they had also an
enormous stock of tea in their warehouses, for which they could
find no sale. Lord North, in order to relieve them by finding a
market for their stock, now proposed that the tea exported to
America, which had a drawback of only 3-Sths of the duty paid in
England, should have a drawback of the whole duty, thus leaving
it subject only to the 3d. duty in that country. This appeared to
be a boon not only to the East India Company, but also to the
American colonists, as it would enable them to purchase their tea
cheaper than they could even before the 3d. duty was imposed.
Accordingly, the East India Company freighted several ships wish
tea, and appointed consignees in America for its sale. But meantime a circumstance had occurred which embittered the feeling
against England. Mr. Thomas Whately, Grenville's private secretary, and under secretary of state to Lord Suffolk, had been engaged in a private correspondence with Hutchinson, Governor of
Massachusetts, Oliver, the lieutenant governor, and other officers
of the crown in that province. Whately having died, these letters were purloined, and came into the possession of Dr. Franklin,
who, finding that they contained expressions inimical to the liberty of the colonies, sent them to America, but with strict injunctions of secrecy, and that they should not be permitted to circulate
beyond a few of his friends. Such a caution, as might have been
foreseen, turned out quite nugatory; the letters found their way
into the House of Assembly of Massachusetts, were voted subversive of the Constitution, and petitions were drawn up for the
removal of Hutchinson and Oliver.  The whole matter was subsequently referred to the privy council, where Wedderburn, the
solicitor general, attacked Franklin for his breach of confidence




.A.D. 1770-1775.  AMERICAN TEA DUTIES.                  645
in a most biting and sarcastic speech. The privy council decided
that the petition was founded on false and erroneous allegations,
and that it was groundless, vexatious, and scandalous. Two days
after Franklin was deprived of his post as deputy postmaster general in America.
Meanwhile, the arrival of the tea-ships in America-nay, the
very anticipation of their arrival-had caused a violent outburst
of popular feeling. It was given out that they were only the forerunners of farther taxation; some said that the ships were laden
with fetters instead of tea. The consignees were threatened and
obliged to fling up their engagements.  At Charleston the teas
were allowed to be landed,- but not to be sold, and were stowed
in cellars, where they perished from damp. The Boston people
went farther.  On December 16, 1773, a body of men, disguised
as Mohawk Indians, boarded the tea-ships and scattered their cargoes in the water, to the value, it is computed, of ~18,000.
By way of punishment, Lord North' now transferred the Boston
custom-houses to Salem, another port of Massachusetts, and also
made some important alterations in the charter granted to that
state by King William. This last step excited the jealousy and
alarm of the other states. Even the most moderate men began to
tremble for their liberties; and they were encouraged to resistance by finding that they were supported by a powerful party in
the British Parliament, which numbered in its ranks Chatham,
Burke, Charles Fox, son of Lord Holland, and other eminent men.
Virginia, where the popular feeling was directed by Patrick tIenry
and Thomas Jefferson, was one of the first provinces to give in its
adhesion to Massachusetts.  The conduct of the English Puritans
in Charles's reign was taken as a model, and a combination was
set on foot with the ominous title of the "Solemn League and
Covenant."  Committees of correspondence were established, and
a congress summoned at Philadelphia.  Delegates from twelve
colonies met in September, and debated. with closed doors. The
assembly drew up a Declaration of Rights, claiming all the liberties of Englishmen, and adopted resolutions to suspend all trade
between England and America till their grievances were redressed.. Addresses were prepared to the people of Great Britain, the
people of Canada, and to the king; and after appointing another
Congress for May 10th, 1775, the meeting quietly dispersed.
When the Parliament met in January, 1775, Lord Chatham denounced the attempts which were making to coerce -the Americans as pregnant with the most fatal consequences, and foretold
their utter. failure. But all his warnings were disregarded.
Meanwhile a militia had been raised in Massachusetts, called
Minute Men, because they were to be ready at a minute's notice;




646                    GEORGE III.            CHAP. XXXI.
arms also were provided and deposited at Concord, a town about
16 miles from Boston. General Gage, commandant at Boston,
dispatched a few hundred light troops on the night of April 18th,
on a secret expedition to destroy these stores. The secret, however, had oozed out; and the van, on reaching Lexington, a place
about three miles from Concord, found about 70 militiamen under
arms, and drawn up on the parade. A collision took place, about
the manner of which accounts vary; but several Americans were
killed and wounded. The troops then proceeded to Concord,
spiked three guns, and destroyed some stores. Meanwhile, however, the whole country had been roused; the British were surrounded and galled on every side by an incessant fire, and before
they got back to Lexington their retreat had become a perfect
rout. Had not General Gage dispatched some re-enforcements,
the whdle body would have been annihilated. Their loss was 273
killed, wounded, and prisoners, while the Americans did not lose
a third of that number. This victory, if such it can be called,
excited the ardor of the Americans.  A force of 20,000 men was
raised in the New England provinces, and blockaded General
Gage in Boston; while a party of Connecticut men marched to
Lake Champlain, and surprised and captured forts Ticonderoga
and Crown Point.
On the appointed day the Congress met at Philadelphia. They
prohibited the export of provisions to any British colony, the supply of necessaries to the British army.and navy, the negotiation
of bills drawn by British officers, etc. They took measures for
providing supplies of men and money, and they appointed, as commander-in-chief, Colonel George Washington, who had distinguished himself in the wars with the French.  On June 21st he
set out to take the command of the army blockading Boston.
The English then had been re-enforced by divisions -under General Burgoyne, General William Howe, brother of Lord Howe,
and General Sir-Henry Clinton, which raised their whole force to
about1110,000 men. A considerable body of Americans, having
been sent to occupy Bunker's Hill, proceeded by mistake to Breed's
Hill, which also forms part of the peninsula on which Charlestown
stands; and as -that frontier overlooks Boston, from which it is
separated only by an arm of the sea about as broad as the Thames
at London, it became necessary to dislodge them. But this was
not effected till after three assaults, and with the loss of 1000
men, while the Americans did not lose half that number. This
was called the battle of Bunker's Hill.
~ 10. A civil war seemed to be now fairly kindled; yet on July
8th the Congress signed a petition to the king, expressing their
loyalty and their desire of a reconciliation, and sent it over to Lon



A.D. 1775,1776. DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.           647
don. This petition they called the " Olive Branch," and they determined that it should be their last appeal. The king, however,
declined to answer it, on the ground that he could not recognize
the Congress, a self-constituted body that had taken up arms
against him; and in his opening speech to Parliament in October
he expressed his determination to put down the rebellion by force.
This occasioned several changes in the ministry, and especially the
American secretaryship was transferred to Lord George Germaine, formerly Lord Sackville, of Minden notoriety (see p. 628),
a man of ability, but of a violent temper.
In November Lord North obtained a repeal of the acts respecting the port of Boston and the Massachusetts charter; but, on the
other hand, all commerce with the insurgent colonies was strictly
forbidden so long as they remained in a state of rebellion, and the
capture of American goods and vessels was authorized. The
burning of the town of Falmouth (now Portland), in Maine, and
soon after of Norfolk, in Virginia, farther incensed the Americans.
They had this year invaded Canada, and laid siege to Quebec,
which they blockaded during the winter; but in the following
summer they were forced to evacuate the province.
As Boston did not afford a good point for entering the country,
and as they were surrounded by a superior force, the British evacuated Boston in March, 1776, by a sort of tacit convention with
the " Select Men," that, if their embarkation was not molested,
the town should not be injured. They proceeded by sea to Staten
Island, and Boston was immediately occupied by Washington's
troops. The recovery of this place was regarded as a sort of
triumph by the Americans.  The inhabitants of Staten Island
were loyally disposed, and admitted the British without resistance.
About this time the question of independence began to be agitated in Congress. As is usual in such cases, the views of the
Americans had expanded with the progress of the rebellion.  At
first they had merely contemplated a redress of grievances; now,
a large party was inclined to a separation and an independent republic, These sentiments were kept alive by a host of writers,
and especially by Thomas Paine, an Englishman settled in America. A committee of five was appointed to draw up a Declaration
of Independence, which was written by Jefferson, corrected by
Adams and Franklin, and subsequently amended by the Congress.
It was signed on July 4th, 1776,* as the act of the whole Amer.
ican people, though three or four of the colonies did not agree to
* It was signed by John Hancock, the president of Congress, only, on
that day. It was copied on parchment, and all but two of the signers atfixed their names a few weeks afterward. —-Am. Eiu.




648                     GEORGE ITI.             CHtAP. XXXI
it; and the United Colonies were declared free and independent
states. Only a few hours after the proclamation of Independence,
Lord Howe arrived off Sandy Hook, furnished with full powers
to treat.' He dispatched a friendly letter to Franklin, to which
a hostile answer was returned. He then sent a flag of truce and
a letter to Washington, who had gone with his army to Brooklyn
in Long Island; but as the:letter was addressed to G. Washington, Esq., instead of General Washington, he refused to receive it.
The British government had collected a body of about 17,000
German troops, for which they paid enormous subsidies to the
Landgrave of Hiesse, the Duke of Brunswick, and other petty
German sovereigns. Having received re-enforcements of these
men, General Howe sent over in August a detachment of 8000 to
Long Island, and compelled the Americans to evacuate it. In this
affair the American general Sullivan had been captured, through
whom Lord Howe induced Congress to send three members to
Staten Island to discuss an accommodation in the character of
private gentlemen. The Congress deputed three members known
to be most inimical to the British connection, namely, Dr. Franklin, John Adams, and Edward Rutledge, of South Carolina; and
as these gentlemen at once declared that the colonies could enter
into no peace except as independent states, the conference was of
course abortive.
In September General Howe crossed the water and attacked
New York, which was abandoned on his approach.t A great portion of the inhabitants were loyally disposed.  During the autumn
the Americans gradually retired before the British, till they had
crossed the Delaware into Pennsylvania.  Howe had been very
remiss in following up the advantages which he gained, and he
now ordered Lord Cornwallis, who was conducting the pursuit,
not to attempt to follow the enemy over the Delaware, but to
disperse his troops in winter-quarters through the Jerseys. Washington, on the: other hand, recrossed that river, and-by some skillful manceuvres recovered nearly the whole of the Jerseys. These
successes produced a great moral effect on the Americans, and the
Congress which met at Baltimore conferred extraordinary powers
upon Washingtonll.
~ 11. The American cause was very popular in France, out of
hatred to this country. Franklin and Silas Deane had been sent
as envoys to Paris, to solicit the support of the French; and,
* His arrival occurred several days afterward.-Air. ED.
t Howe did not attack New York. After a severe engagement on Long
Island, he crossed, with the larger portion of his troops, to Manhattan or
York Island, on which the city stands, when the Americans evacuated it,
and the British took possession.-A.iu. ED.




A.D. 1776, 1777.       AMERICAN WAR.                      649
though the latter were not yet prepared to declare ~penly in favor
of the Americans, they gave them secret assistance. 3Many French
officers proceeded to A:merica to offer their services, among whomnI
the most distinguished by rank and fortune was the young 3Marquis
de la Fayette, who was not yet 20 years of age. The Americans
gave him the rank of major general, and he undertook to serve
without emolument.  In England, Chatharn  again appeared in
the 1-louse of Lords this summer, and made an eloquent appeal
for conciliating America, but-without success.  The exertions of
Chatham in this cause were noble, enlightened, and patriotic; but
there was a class of turbulent demagogues, to whoml it served as
an occasion to excite sedition and disturbance.  The Rev. Mr.
H-lorne, better known by his subsequent name of Horne Tooke,
was convicted before Lord iMansfield of a libel, for havin, in advertising for subscriptions for the relief of the Americans, stigmatized the affairs at Lexington and Concord as inhuman murders;
and he was sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment.
In 17 77 Howe abandoned the designr of reaching Philadelphia
through the Jerseys, and, withdrawing his troops, embarked them
at New York with the intention of proceeding by waterl  Finding the banks of the Delaware well fortified, he proceeded up the
Chesapeake and landed his men at the head of Elk.  BIidway between that place and Philadelphia runs the stream  called the
Brandywine, where the Americans occupied a strong position.
But they were defeated and completely routed (Sept. 11th), and
the British vanguard tookl possession of' Philadelphia without resistance.  In an attempt to recover it the Americans were repulsed at Germantowvn.  These successes were more than counterbalanced by reverses in the north.  General Burgoyne, who had
more talent for writing plays than commanding armies, was directed to operate on the Hudson in order to prevent any farther
attempts on Canada.  Two advanced divisions, consisting chiefly
of Germans, which lhe had thrown across the HIudson, were defeated at Bennington by General Stark; but, after collecting provisions, Burgoyne again crossed that river and advanced beyond
Saratoga.*  He defeated the Americans at Bemis's Heights (Sept.
19), but gained no advantage by the victory; and he was himself
defeated shortly afterward, near the same spot, by Arnold. t Burgoyne was now obliged to retreat to Saratoga, where he found
himself almost surrounded by the enemy; and as his provisions
* Burgoyne and his army were all on the east side of the Hudson, and.
none of them had yet crossed. Bennington is 35 miles eastward from that;
river.-AinL ED.
t Gates was in chief command of the Americans opposed to Burgoyne,
but to Arnold, more than to him, belongs the honor of the victory.-A M. ED,
E 




650                        GEORGE III.                CHAP. XXXI.
were nearly exhausted, while at the same time no news arrived
firom Sir H. Clinton, by whom he expected to be joined, he found
himself compelled to enter into convention with General Gates,
by which he agreed to lay down his arms (Oct. 17).  His fighting men had been reduced to 3500, while Gates had upward
of 1,O000 fit for duty.*  The capitulation of Saratoga was the
turning-point in the American war.  It was not faithfully observed by the Americans, who, because the English soldiers had
retaindA their cartouche-boxes, which they pretended came under
the description of 6" arms," detained them several years at Boston
as prisoners.t
The news of Burgoyne's disaster raised a patriotic spirit in JEngland.  Voluntary subscriptions were opened, and a sum  was
raised srifficient to maintain 15,000 soldiers without the aid of
government.  In France the news had a decisive effcct.  It was
officially announced to the American envoys that Louis XVI.  was
prepared to acknowledge the independence of America; and two
treaties of commerce and alliance with that country were signed
at Paris, February 6, 177 8.
Now, when it was too late, Lord N orth attempted measures of
conciliation. He formally renounced the right of the British Parliamient to tax America; he appointed five commissioners with the
most ample powers, who were instructed to raise no difficulties
respecting tlhe rank or legal position of those who might be appointed to treat with them; and it seemed to be intimated that
any terms short of independence would be conceded.  The bills
were received by Parliament with astonishment and dejection;
but no opposition was made, and they received the royal assent
* The exact number of prisoners surrendered was 3791, cf whom 2412
were Germans.-Ait. ED.
t1 Gates made generous terms with Burgoyne, anid the Congress at first
ratified them;'but circumstances soon afterward made them suspicious that
the terms would not be complied with on the part of the British. Burgoyne
was required to furnish a complete roll of his army, the name and rank of
every officer, and the name, age, etc., of every non-commissioned officer
and private soldier. He murmured and hesitated. At the same time, General Howe was very illiberal in the exchange of prisoners, and exhibited
much duplicity. Under these circumstances, the Congress resolved not to
allow any of the captives, except Burgoyne, to leave America until a formal
ratification of the convention at Saratoga should be made by the British
government. The troops were accordingly marched from Boston into Virginia, to await the action of the two governments, and were well provided
for. On account of this prudential measure, the British ministry charged
the Congress with actual perfidy. The latter retorted by charging the min.
isters with neditated perfidy; and subsequent correspondence between,
New Jersey and Pennsylvania'Tory (Isaac Ogden and Joseph GallowaY
proved the suspicions of the Congress to be just and their measures wnise. 
AI. ED.




A.D. 1777, 1778.   DEATH OF LORD CHATHAM.             651
March 11, 1778. Two days after the Marquis de. Noailles,- the
French embassador, delivered a note, couched in ironical and insulting terms, announcing the treaties concluded between France
and the United States.  And now, in the hour of danger, Lord
North deserted his post. On the very next day he tendered his
resignation to the king, and advised him to send for Lord Chat,
ham; but the king's mind was embittered against that statesman
by the invectives which he continued to utter, often groundless,
it must be confessed, as when he inveighed against Blute's secret
influence, which had long, ceased to exist. The king expressed his
determination not to accept the services of 1" that perfidious man,"
except in a subordinate post, which it was well known Chatham
would not accept.
~ 12. But the days of that great statesman were drawing to a
close. On April 7, although so extremely ill that he was obliged
to be supported, nay, almost carried into the House by his second
son, William, and his son-in-law, Lord Mal-lon, Chatham went
clown to oppose a motion of the Duke of Richmond's for an address to the king recommending peace at any price, eveh the recognizing of American independence; for, though Chatham had always been the warm advocate of conciliation, he regarded such a
step with the utmost abhorrence, as a dismemberment of the empire,' and especially under present circumstances, when it would
seem to be taken at the dictation of France. He made a speech
against the motion, in which, though traces of faltering were sometimes visible, all his former glowing eloquence seemed to be revived as for some grand and last occasion. He was answered by
the Duke of Richmond, and, stung by some of his remarks, he
rose to reply; but his strength had been overtasked: he staggered
and fell back in convulsions. The peers crowded round him with
marks of the deepest sympathy.  He was carried to a neighboring house, where, with the aid of a physician, he in some degree
rallied; thence he was carried to his house at Hayes, where, after
lingering a few. weeks, he expired on May 11, in the 70th year of
his age. A public funeral was voted, with a monument in Westminster Abbey, an annuity of'~4000 attached forever to the Earldom of Chatham, and a sum of~20,000 to discharge his debts.
The king now prevailed upon Lord North to continue in office;
and the ministry was strengthened in the House of Lords by conferring the great seal upon Thurlow.
~ 13. The Americans had been encouraged by the French alliance, and by the retreat of Sir Henry Clinton from Philadelphia
to New York; and Congress refused to hold any conference with
Lord North's commissioners, unless the British. fleets and armies
were' first, withdrawn from America, or, at all events, the indc



652                    GEORGE III.             CHAP. XXXI.
pendence of the United States acknowledged-conditions which
were, of course, inadmissible, and all communications were consequently broken off. In July a French fleet of 12 ships of the
line and 6 frigates, under the Count d'Estaing, appeared off the
coast of America. Sir Henry Clinton reduced this summer nearly
the whole province of Georgia, the inhabitants of which were loyally inclined. By orders from home, 5000 of his troops had been
dispatched to the West Indies, and effected the conquest of St.
Lucia, St. Pierre, and Mviquelon; but, on the other hand, the
French took Dominica.
Several actions were fought in the Channel, where Admiral
Keppel commanded the English fleet. In July a general engagement took place off Ushant. The French fleet, under D'Orvilliers, was much superior in force: but the action was indecisive,
and the respective fleets retired to Brest and Plymouth. Keppel
had signaled Sir Hugh Palliser, his second in command, to bear
up with his squadron and renew the com bat; but Palliser's ship
being much crippled, he was unable to comply. Both admirals
were in Pailiament, and political adversaries; and they now began
to criminate each other. Keppel was brought to a court-martial
on some charges made against him by Palliser, and after a trial of
32 days was honorably acquitted. As he was the popular favorite,
all London was illuminated on his acquittal, while Palliser was
burned in effigy. The latter, having demanded a court-martial on
himself, was also acquitted.
In the next summer (1779) Spain joined France in the war
against England, and manifestoes were published, both at Paris
and Madrid, containing long statements of alleged grievances. In
answer to the former, Gibbon the historian drew up a 2lMemoire
Justicatif, or justifying memorial, which, though not exactly official, was circulated in the different courts of Europe as a state
paper. The combined Spanish and French fleets amounted to 66
sail of the line, besides frigates and other smaller vessels. The
French began to threaten an invasion, and 50,000 men were spread
along the coast of France, from Havre to St. Malo.  The threat,
as usual, created considerable alarm in England, which was perhaps all that was contemplated.  Sir Charles Hardy, who now
commanded the English fleet, had only 38 ships, and was therefore obliged to remain on the defensive; but dissensions broke
out between the enemy's admirals about the mode of conducting
the war, and, the Spanish commander having retired into port, it
became necessary for the French admiral to follow his example.
It was at this time that Paul Jones, a Scotchman by birth, but
holding a commission in the American service, appeared off the
eastern coast of Scotland with three small ships of war and one




A.D. 1778-1780.  LORD GEORGE GORDON RIOTS.            653
armed brigantine. He attacked our Baltic fleet, captured the
Serapis and the Scarborough that were convoying it, and carried
his prizes to Holland.  He then appeared in the Frith of Forth,
and filled Edinburgh with alarm and humiliation, till a steady
west wind blew him out of the Frith.
The war was now raging in various quarters of the globe. The
Spaniards formed the siege of Gibraltar; the French made an attempt upon Jersey, took Senegal in Africa, but lost Goree. In
the West Indies, D'Estaing, in the absence of Admiral Byron, reduced St. Vincent and Grenada; but an attempt which he made,
in conjunction with some American land-forces, on Savannah, the
capital of Georgia, was repulsed.
~ 14. The year 1780 is memorable for the No Popery riots excited by Lord George Gordon. To explain their origin it will be
necessary to go back a year or two. In 1778 Sir George Saville
had procured the repeal of a very severe act against the Roman
Catholics, passed in 1700 in consequence of the number of priests
that came over to England after the peace of Ryswick.  By this
law priests or Jesuits exercising their functions, or teaching, were
liable to imprisonment for life; and all Catholics who within six
months after attaining the age of 18 refused to take the Oaths of
Allegiance and Supremacy, and to subscribe the declarations
against transubstantiation and the worship of saints, were declared incapable of purchasing, inheriting, or holding landed property. The very severity of this law had rendered it inoperative,
yet its repeal excited among the more bigoted Protestants, especially in Scotland, and among the English populace, a feeling of
the most violent animosity against the Roman Catholics. Protestant associations were formed both in England and Scotland;
and Lord George Gordon, a younger son of the Duke of Gordon,
a young man of a turbulent temper, fond of notoriety, but without either ability or principle, had put himself at the head of the
movement.  He.made many silly and violent speeches in the
House of Commons, and even went so far as to insinuate that the
king himself was at heart a Roman Catholic. On June 2 he assembled a vast mob in St. George's Fields, to accompany him to
the House with a petition against the recent changes in the penal
laws. Many of the members of bothhouses were insulted and ill
treated; the mob broke into the lobby of the House of Commons,
and, knocking violently at the door, shouted out "No Popery!"
while Lord George appeared now and then at the top of the gallery stairs to encourage and incite them.. There was then no organized police; but Lord North, who displayed the utmost courage and firmness, privately sent for a detachment of the Guards.
Colonel Murray, a kinsman of Lord George's, drew his sword and




654                   GEORGE Ill.              CHAP. XXXl.
threatened to run him through the body if a single man of the
mob entered the House. The Guards arrived and cleared the
lobby. Lord Gordon's proposal for immediate deliberation was
rejected by an immense majority; and the rioters dispersed, but
not before they had burned the chapels of the Sardinian and Bavarian legations. On the following day (Saturday) the mob was
tolerably quiet, but on Sunday the blue cockades reassembled in
great numbers, and burned two or three Catholic chapels. On Monday more chapels were burnied, as well as the house of Sir G. Sauille in Leicester Fields. On Tuesday, Lord George having appeared ill the House with a blue cockade, Colonel Herbert desired
him to remove it, or threatened to do so himself, upon which he
submitted rather tamely. For two or three days the mob were
in possession of London. Fiercer spirits had now appeared -men
who thirsted for plunder and revolution. On Tuesday evening
Newgate was broken open, the prisoners to the number of 300
released, and the building, lately rebuilt at a cost of ~140,000, reduced to a heap of smouldering ruins.  Clerkenwell was also entered, and the houses of three or four magistrates were destroyed.
Toward midnight the mob proceeded to the residence of Lord
Mansfield, in Bloomsbury Square, destroyed all his furniture, and
his valuable library, containing letters which he had been collecting nearly 50 years, with a view to write the history of his times.
Lord and Lady Mansfield had barely time to escape by the back
door. On the 7th the riot was at its height. All the shops were
shut, the mob were uncontrolled masters, and most of the prisons
were forced and their inmates released. The magistrates seemed
paralyzed; and Kennett, the lord mayor, displayed a great dereliction of duty, for which he was afterward prosecuted and convicted; while Alderman Wilkes, on the contrary, was active in
suppressing the tumult.  The king himself showed the greatest
resolution on this occasion.  Having assembled a council, he
caused a proclamation to be issued warning the people to keep
within doors, and intimating that the military had instructions
to act without waiting for orders from the civil magistrates.
T'1hat night London bore the aspect of a place taken by storm.
In various quarters parties of soldiers were firing upon the mob,
and the fire was sometimes returned; people were seen removing
their goods in haste and alarm from the numerous houses which
had been set on fire; and the streets resounded with the groans
and yells of the wounded and the drunken. Nearly 500 persons
were killed or wounded. But the riot was at an end: next day
London was tranquil.  Lord George Gordon was apprehended on
the 9th, and committed to the Tower on a charge of high treason;
and shortly afterward 60 or 70 of the rioters were convicted, of




A.D. 1780.     THE "ARMED NEUTRALITY."                655
whom 21 were executed. On this occasion, Wedderburn, the solicitor general, was made chief justice of the Common Pleas, with
the title of Lord Loughborough, his predecessor De Grey having
resigned in alarm.
~ 15. Admiral Sir G. Rodney gained a signal victory this year
(Jan. 16) over the Spanish fleet off Cape St. Vincent.  Eight
Spanish ships were taken or destroyed, and only four of their fleet
escaped into Cadiz.  He had previously captured a rich Spanish
convoy in the Bay of Biscay. But the Spaniards amply avenged
their losses by intercepting, off the Azores, our East and West
India fleets, which had been sent to sea with a convoy of only
two men-of-war. These escaped; but nearly 60 sail of merchantmen, freighted with valuable cargoes, were carried into Cadiz.
Besides her declared enemies, England had now to contend with
the neutral powers, who, under cover of their, flags, supplied our
enemies with warlike. stores. Our first quarrel on this account
was with the Dutch; and in February the Empress Catherine of
Russia issued a declaration to the belligerent courts, in which it
was insisted that free ships make free goods; that no goods are
contraband except those declared such by treaty; and that blockades, to be acknowledged, must be effective.  This declaration
became the basis of the " armed neutrality" subsequently established between Russia, Sweden, and Denmark, to which Holland
and Prussia, and eventually Spain and France, also acceded. Its
object was to support the claims of neutrals, if necessary, by force
of arms. Thus all the most powerful nations of Europe seemed
arrayed against England, if not actively, at all events in a sort of
sullen and indirect hostility; and before the end of the year the
Dutch were added to the number of her active enemies.  On
board an American packet that had been captured there was
found among the papers of Mr. Laurens, an envoy to Holland,
the plan of an alliance between Holland and America, dated as
far back as September, 1778. Remonstrances and negotiations
ensued; and on December 20, 1780, war was declared against
the Dutch.
With regard to this year's campaign in America, Sir Henry
Clinton, after a rather long siege, succeeded in taking Charleston.
All the American naval force at that place was destroyed or seized
by Admiral Arbuthnot, and 400 guns and a great quantity of
stores were captured.  On the news that a French fleet, with a
considerable number of troops on board, had sailed for New England, Clinton re-embarked for New York With -a portion of his
force, leaving Lord Cornwallis, with about 4000 inen, to hold
Charleston and South Carolina, and, if possible, to annex North
Carolina. General Gates was now approaching with a consider



656                      GEORGE III.               CHAP. XXXI.
able army; and on August 16 an engagement ensued at Camden,
in which the Americans were completely routed and dispersed,
with the loss of all their baggage. The French expedition against
New England appeared off Rhode Island in July; but Admiral
Arbuthnot, having been re-enforced by Admiral Graves, blockaded
the French in Newport harbor the remainder of the year.* Sir
H. Clinton had now arrived at a just appreciation of the war.
He perceived that his force was not strong enough, by some
thousands, effectually to reduce the revolted provinces, and he
wrote home to that effect, at the same time tendering his resignation of the command.
The campaign in America ceased in the next year (1781), though
the war was not absolutely terminated.  The last action, at Eutaw
Springs, about 60 miles from Charleston, fought on September 8,
was one of the sharpest of the whole war.  The American artillery was taken and retaken several times, and several hundreds
were slain. The English, who were commanded by. Colonel Stewart, remained masters of the field; yet, in spite of their apparent
victory, they were obliged to retreat to Charleston Neck, and
the Americans recovered the greater part of South Carolina and
Georgia.
At this juncture the Count de Grasse arrived from the WTest
Indies with 28 sail of the line and about 4000 troops. Sir Samuel
Hood had followed him with only 14 ships; but, being re-enforced
by Admiral Graves with five ships, the French were brought to
an action off the coast of Virginia, September 5.  It proved indecisive, and both fleets then retired-the English to _New York,
the French to the Chesapeake Bay.
Meanwhile, Lord Cornwallis, with a force of 7000 men, had
taken up a position at Yorktown, an ill-fortified place, in which
he was soon surrounded by an army of 18,000 men, with 50 or 60
pieces of artiliery~ and commanded by Washington and Rochambeau, assisted by La Fayette and other French officers.  The
* The French fleet that arrived at Newport on the 10th of July, 1780,
was not " an expedition against New England," but a naval armament sent
to assist the Americanls, nd bearing a large French land force, under thn
Count de Rochambeau. The English fleet on the American stations at,
tempted to blockade the French fleet in Narraganset Bay, but failed. Three
French fiigates went out the 20th of July to attack the advance sail of the
British fleet, when, falling inP with nine or ten ships, they retreated to the
harbor. Shortly afterward Sir Henry Clinton, lately returned from Charleston, sailed from New York with 80C(0 troops to drive the American forces
and their allies from Rhode Island, but proceeded no farther than Huntington Bay, in Long Island Sound, having been informed of the strmrg position of the French at Newport, the rapid gathering of the militia at the call
of General Heath, and the approach of Washinrtcn towastd New Tvik.
The expedition was abandoned.-AM. ED,




A.D. 1780-1782.  LOSSES AND DISASTERS.                657
bombardment cQmmenced on October 9; by the 14th two redoubts had been carried, and the town more closely invested. As
all relief or escape was impossible, Cornwallis was now obliged to
capitulate, and obtained certain honors of war. With this capitulation the American war, which had been conducted without any
adequate plan or vigor, may be said to have ceased; at all events,
there were no military operations afterward.
~ 16. In other quarters the British were more successful.
Among the feats of arms this year was the relief of Gibraltar by
Admiral Darby. In the Channel the immense superiority of the
combined fleet, 49 sail of the line to 21, compelled Admiral Darby to retire into Torbay, and remain on the defensive. Here the
enemy dared not to attack him, and in September they were dispersed by some boisterous weather. About the same time Admiral Hyde Parker, convoying a fleet from the Baltic, fell in with
a Dutch fleet and convoy off the Dogger Bank; but, though the
IDutch admiral, Zeuthman, was beaten, and bore away for the Texel,
Parker was in no condition to pursue. In the West Indies Admiral Rodney captured the Dutch island of St. Eustatia, with an
immense amount of property and ships. The Dutch shipping in
the rivers Demerara and Essequibo was also captured by English privateers, and these settlements were surrendered to the
Governor of Barbadoes.'On the other hand, the French took
Tobago.
In the next session of Parliament the ministers intimated their
intention of confining their attempts to the retaining of certain
ports and harbors in America. The tidings of fresh disasters added to the depression of the nation. Before the close of the year
the Marquis de Bouille had retaken the island of St. Eustatia.
Shortly afterward we lost Demerara and Essequibo, together with
St. Kitt's, Nevis, and Montserrat; so that, of all the Leeward Islands, England retained only Barbadoes and Antigua. A little
previously an attempt which we made upon the Dutch settlement
at the Cape of Good Hope had been frustrated. All these misfortunes were crowned by the surrender of Minorca (Feb. 5, 1782),
after an heroic defense, and when, chiefly from the ravages of disease, only about 700 men were left fit for duty.
On February 27, 1782, General Conway carried a resolution in
the House of Commons against any farther attempts to reduce
the insurgent colonies, and subsequently an address to inform the
sovereign that those who should advise the prosecution of the war
would be regarded by the House as enemies of their king and
country.  On March 15, the ministry having escaped a vote of
non-confidence, proposed by Sir John Rous, only by a majority of
9, Lord North announced his resignation. His administration had
EE2




658                    GEORGE III.              CHAP. XXXI.
lasted 12 years, and had been characterized by harsh and rigorous
measures, though he himself was eminently gentle and good-tenmpere.d.  The Marquis of Rockingham now became again prime
minister, with fiord John Cavendish as chancellor of the exchequer, Admiral Viscount Keppel first lord of the admiralty, the Duke
of Richmond master of the ordnance, the Earl of Shelburne and
Mr. Fox secretaries of state, and General Conway commander-inchief: The Tory chancellor, Lord Thurlow, retained the seals.
Burke was not admitted into the cabinet, but was made paymaster of the forces; and a small appointment was given to his son.
In the preceding year two young men of distinguished ability
had entered on the career of public life; Richard Brinsley Sheridan, and William Pitt, the second son of Lord Chatham.  Sheridan's maiden speech was a failure; but he was not discouraged,
and soon retrieved his reputation. Pitt's first address, on the contrary, seemed to be that of a practiced orator, and was received
with applause and warm congratulations even by Fox and the opposition. Sheridan accepted the place of under secretary of state
in the new ministry; and a choice of some of the smaller posts
was offered to Pitt, but, though only 23 years of age, he had already declared in the House of Commons that he would not accept any subordinate situation.
The ministry were embarrassed at the very outset by the state
of Ireland, where great discontent prevailed on account of son,
alleged commercial grievances.  The Catholic question had not
yet arisen, but the question of the independence of the Irish Parliament was agitated with great warmth. The eloquent Henry
Grattan, the leader of the opposition, was a Protestant. On April
16 he carried an address to the crown declaratory of the legislative independence of the Irish houses. Such an independence was
clearly an anomaly which might lead to the greatest practical inconvenience: as, for instance, if the Irish Parliament should vote
for peace with a foreign country against which England had declared war. The English ministers could not but perceive this
glaring evil; but the present state of the country rendered a breach
with Ireland highly inexpedient, and Fox carried a motion (May
17) which, by repealing the act 6 Geo. I., acknowledged the independence of the Irish Legislature. The gratitude of the Irish was
unbounded. They immediately passed a vote to raise 20,000 seamen, and they prevailed upon Grattan to accept ~50,000 for himself.
The question of Parliamentary reform had now begun to excite
zonsiderable attention in England. Lord Chatham had been its,warm advocate; and Pitt, who took up his father's views on this
subject, moved for a committee to inquire into the state of -the




A.D. 1782.    LORD SHELBURNE'S MINISTRY.                659
representation.  Opinions were divided in the cabinet, but the
motion was negatived by 20 votes.  Some measures of reform
were, however, introduced by the ministry, such as a bill to prevent revenue officers from voting at elections, and another forbidding contractors to sit in the House of Commons. A great many
useless offices were abolished, the pension list was reduced, and
the amount of secret service money limited.
~ 17. About this time the disgraces of England were in some
measure retrieved by a brilliant naval victory. On April 12 Admiral Rodney succeeded in bringing the French fleet under De
Grasse to an engagement, which, with a large body of troops on
board, had sailed from Martinico to attack Jamaica. Each fleet
consisted of upward of 30 ships of the line. The action lasted
nearly 11 hours, and was desperately contested, but ended in the
decisive victory of the English.'The Ville de Paris, carrying Admiral de Grasse's flag, the largest ship in the French navy, together with four more first-rate vessels, was taken, and another was
sunk. Admiral Hood captured two more that were retreating.
Owing to the French vessels being crowded with troops, they are
said to have lost 3000 killed and 6000 wounded, while the loss
on the side of the English did not exceed 900. On board the
Ville de Paris were 36 chests of money to pay the soldiers, and
their, whole train of artillery was on board the other captured ships.
The remainder of the French fleet were scattered, and could not
contrive to reunite. Thus was Jamaica saved. The ministry had
just previously recalled Rodney, with every mark of coolness and
disgrace; but they now found themselves called upon to reward
him with a barony and a pension.  An Irish barony was bestowed on Hood.
Negotiations for a peace were soon after opened at Paris. Dr.
Franklin, the American minister there, refused to treat on any
other terms than the recognition of the independence of the United
States, to which also he at first added a demand for the cession
of Canada.  In the midst of these negotiations Lord Rockingham
died (July 1). The king now sent for the Earl of Shelburne, who
accepted the office of first lord of the treasury, upon which a large
part of the ministry, including Fox, Lord John Cavendish, the
Duke of Portland, Burke, and Sheridan, resigned.  Under Lord
Shelburne, Pitt became chancellor of the exchequer; Thomas
Townshend and Lord Grantham secretaries of state.
The combined French and Spanish fleets again swept the Channel this summer, yet Lord Howe, with a far inferior force, contrived to screen from them the East and West India merchaintmen convoyed by Sir P. Parker.  After Howe's return to Portsmouth, the Royal George, of 108 guns, reckoned the first ship. in




660                    GEORGE III.             CHAP. XXX1
the British navy, having been laid slightly on her side in order to
stop a leak, was capsized at Spithead by a squall; and all her
ports being open, immediately sank, when a great part of the crew,
and many women and children who had come on board, as well
as Admiral Kempenfeldt, who was writing in his cabin, were
drowned. Rodney's prizes also, including the Ville de Paris, unfortunately foundered on their way from the West Indies.
In September Lord Howe sailed with 34 ships of the line to relieve Gibraltar, which had now endured a memorable siege of more
than three years. It was defended by General Elliot, with a gar.
rison of more than 5000 men. They had been relieved on different occasions by Admirals Rodney and Darby, but they were at
times reduced to such distress as to feed off vegetables and even
weeds. In the spring of 1781 the bombardment was terrible. It
is computed that the enemy fired 56,000 balls and 20,000 shells
from the middle of April till the end of May, yet the casemates
afforded so effectual a protection that only 70 men were killed.
The bombardment was relaxed during the summer, but renewed
again in the autumn.  On the night of November 26 Elliot made
a sortie with 2000 men. The Spaniards were taken by surprise,
and fled on all sides; their works were destroyed, their.guns
spiked, their ammunition blown up. It was long before the bombardment was renewed, and then not with the previous vigor.
Early in 1782 the- Spaniards were encouraged by the arrival of
De Crillon, the victor of Minorca, who assumed the chief command. The total French and Spanish force now collected before
Gibraltar amounted to 33,000 men, with 170 pieces of heavy artillery. The English had likewise been re-enbforced, and had a
garrison of 7000 men, with 80 guns of large calibre, The siege
now attracted the eyes of all Europe. The Comte d'Artois and
Duke of Bourbon came from Paris to share the expected glory of
its termination. Charles of Spain was accustomed to ask every
morning on waking, " Is it taken?  and to the invariable "No,"
invariably replied, "It will be soon."  De Crillon, deeming the
land side impregnable, caused some immense floating batteries to
be constructed, mounted with 142 guns; and on the morning of
September 17 a fire was opened on the English works at a distance
of about 600 yards, the batteries on the land side playing at the
same time. All day the terrible bombardment continued, but toward evening the effect of the red-hot shot from the English batteries began to tell. Before midnight one of the largest floating
batteries, as well as the Spanish flag-ship Pastora, was in flames.
The light served to direct the aim of the besieged, and at last
every one of the battering ships was on fire. The enemy lost 1600
men on this occasion. Soon after Lord Howe entered the bay,




A.D. 1782, 1783.  PEACE OF VERSAILLES.                   661
and the combined fleet did not venture to attack him. The siege
was continued till the peace in 1783, but only nominally. General Elliot, on his return to England in 1787, was raised to the
peerage as Lord Heathfield* of Gibraltar.
~ 18. A.s France and Spain seemed desirous of continuing the
war, Lord Shelburne hastened to renew the negotiations for a separate treaty with America; and though the terms of the American alliance with France, which had been carried out in the most
liberal spirit by the latter country, strictly precluded a separate
peace, yet, as it was obvious that the continuance of the war for
any object beyond tlhe recognition of the independence of the
American States could serve only French or Spanish interests,
Dr. Franklin, and the other three American commissioners in Paris,
did not hesitate to respond to the advances of the British government.  Articles were signed on November 30, 1782, the chief of
which were the recognition of the independence of the United
States, an advantageous arrangement of their boundaries, and the
concession of the right of fishing on the Banks of Newfoundland.
Great Britain recognized and satisfied the claims of the American
Loyalists to the extent of nearly ten millions sterling for losses of
real or personal property, and of ~120,000 per annum in life annuities for loss of income in trades or professions-a splendid inDtance of good faith after so expensive a war.  In England the
treaty was received with various feelings.  It was not till June,
1785, that George III. had an interview with Mr. Adams, the first
minister from the United States, which naturally occasioned considerable emotion on both sides. The king received 1Mr. Adams
with affability and frankness.  He remarked that he wished it to
be understood in America that, though he had been the last to
consent to a separation, he would be the first to welcome the
friendship of the United States as an independent power.
During the Christmas recess the ministers exerted themselves
to bring to a close the negotiations with France and Spain.  The
latter power at first insisted on the restoration of Gibraltar, and
Lord Shelburne seemed not unwilling to exchange it against Porto
Rico, while his colleagues required the addition of Trinidad.  But,
since its gallant defense, the heart of the nation was fixed on that
barren rock; Lord Shelburne perceived that to cede it would
bring great unpopularity upon the ministry, and he informed the
Spaniards that no terms would tempt to its surrender. The Spanish court were indignant; but, finding that they were not backed
by France, they sullenly acquiesced, and the preliminaries of a
peace between the three countries were signed at Versailles, Jan* The title became extinct on the death of the second Lord Heathfield in
1813.




662                               GEORGE IIL.                       CHAP. XXXI.
uary 20, 1783. England restored St. Lucia and ceded Tobago to
France, receiving in return  Grenada, St. Vincent, Dominica, Nevis, and Montserrat.   In Africa England yielded Senegal and Goree, retaining Fort James and the River Gambia. In India the
French recovered Chandernagore, Pondicherry, Mahe, and the
Comptoir of Surat.   French pride was gratified by the abrogation
of the articles in the treaty of Utrecht relative to the demolition
of Dunkirk, a place which no outlay whatsoever could have rendered capable of receiving ships of the line.
To Spain were ceded Minorca and both the Floridas, while King
Charles guaranteed to England the right of cutting logwood within
certain boundaries to be hereafter determined, and agreed to restore Providence and the Bahamas. The latter, however, were
recovered before the suspension of hostilities.   Some months after
a treaty was also concluded with the Dutch  on the basis of mutual restitution.
CHRONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE EVENTS.
A.D.                                      A.ID.
1760. Accession of George III.            1770. Lord North prime minister.
1761. The Family Compact between France, 1773. Popular outbreak at Boston.
Spain, and Naples.                 1775. Commencement of the American War
"  Resignation of Pitt.                         of Independence. Battles of Lexing1762. Lord Bute prime minister.                  ton and Bunker's Hill.'"  War with Spain.                      1776. American Declaration of Independence.
1763. Peace of Paris.  End of the Seven  1777. Capitulation of Saratoga.
Years' War.                         1778. Alliance between America and France.
"  Resignation of Bute.  George Gren-  W" War with France.
ville prime minister.                "  Death of Lord Chatham.'  Arrest of Wilkes on a " general war- 1779. War with Spain.
rant."                              1780. Lord George Gordon's riots.
1765. Grenville's American Stamp Act.      L"  Rodney's victory at Cape St. Vincent.
"  Resignation of Grenville. Marquis of 1751. Capitulation of Lord Cornwallis and
Rockingham prime minister.                end of the American war.
1766. Repeal of the American Stamp Act.   1789. Resignation of Lord North. Marquis
"  Resignation of Rockingham.                  of Rockingham prime minister a sec"  Pitt created Earl Chatham. His sec-         ond time.
ond ministry.  Duke of Grafton at   "  Irish Parliament declared independent.
the head of the treasury.            "  Rodney's victory over De Grasse in
1767,. An act to levy a tax on tea and other     the West Indies.
articles in America.                 "  Death of the Marquis of Rockingham.
1768. Resignation of Chatham.               ".Lord Shelburne prime minister, and
"  Duke of Grafton  continues at the           Pitt chancellor of the exchequesr
treasury.                            "  Gibraltar relieved by Lord Howe after
1769. Repeal of the taxes imposed upon           a siege of three years.
America in 1767, with the exception   "  Recognition of the Independence of
of the duty upon tea.                     the United States.
1770. Resignation of the Duke of Grafton.   1783. Peace ofVersailles.




I:'
VWl ONF.                         ElumaumzD. -J  C 
Medal in commemoration of Lord Howe's victory over the French fleet, June 1, 1794.
ObV.: EARL HOWE ADIML OF THE WIIHITE lK: G: Bust to right. Below, ruDE. D: w:
WYON.: Rev.: FRENCII FLEET DEFEATED OFF USIIAiNT VII SAIL OF TIIE LINE CAPTURED
I JUNE, DCOXCIV. Neptune, drawn by two sea-horses, to right.
CHAPTER XXXII.
GEORGE IIIl. CONTINUED. FROM THE PEACE OF VERSAILLES TO THE
PEACE OF AMIENS. A.D. 1783-1802.
~ 1. Coalition Ministry. Fox's India Bill. Pitt Prime Minister. His India Bill. ~ 2. Impeachment of Warren Hastings. Affairs of India till
his Governor-generalship. Vote of Censure on Lord Clive. His Suicide.
~ 3. Administration of Warren Hastings.  ~ 4. His Extortions in Oude.
Charges against him. Result of his Impeachment. ~ 5. The King's Illness. Outbreak of the French Revolution. ~ 6. Riots at Birmingham.
Attitude of Europe.  State of Feeling in England.  The French declare
War. ~ 7. Campaign in Flanders.  Insurrection of Toulon, and Siege
of that City. ~ 8. Campaign of 1794. Holland overrun by the French.
~ 9. Naval Successes. Lord Howe's Victory. ~ 10. Sedition in England.
Expedition to Quiberon. Dutch Colonies taken. ~ 11. Alliance between
France and Spain. Lord Malmesbury's Negotiations. Attempted Invasions of England. Bank Restriction Act. ~ 12. Battle of Cape St. Vincent. Duncan's Victory off Camperdown. ~ 13. Mutinies at Portsmouth
and the Nore.  Threatened Invasion.  ~ 14. Expedition to Ostend.
The French in Egypt.  Battle of the Nile.  Its Consequences.  ~ 15.
English and Russian Expedition to Holland. The Helder taken. The
Duke of York capitulates.  Siege of Acre and Flight of Bonaparte from
Egypt. ~ 16. Disturbances in Ireland. Irish Union. ~ 17. Pitt's Opinions on Parliamentary Reform  and Catholic Emancipation. Warlike
Operations. The armed Neutrality.  ~ 18. Pitt resigns. Lord Addington Prime Minister. Expedition against Copenhagen. Dissolution of
the armed Neutrality.  ~ 19. Threatened Invasion, and Attack on Boulogne. The French in Egypt. Battle of Alexandria, and Death of Abercromby. ~ 20. The French expelled from Egypt. Peace of Amiens.
~ 1. THE war had added upward of 100 millions to the national debt, and the country was so exhausted that it would have been




GEORGE III.             CHAP. XXXII.
difficult to send 3000 men on any foreign expedition. These particulars, however, were not generally known; and when the conditions of the peace were communicated to the Parliament, they
were received by the opposition with a perfect storm of disapprobation.  The cession of Chandernagore and Pondicherry was especially the object of animadversion. The ministers having-been
twice left in minorities in the Commons, Lord Shelburne resigned.
The state of parties rendered it difficult to form a new administration.  Mr. Pitt declined the task, and for some weeks there
was a sort of interregnum. At length a coalition -ministry was
formed.  The Duke of Portland, a man of small abilities, became
first lord of the treasury. The virtual ministers were Lord North
and Fox, the secretaries of state; yet only a little previously: Fox
had publicly declared that, if ever he could be persuaded to act
with Lord North, he should consider himself worthy of eternal infamy! Their power, however, was not of long duration.  In November Fox brought in a bill to reform the government of India,
which passed the Commons, but was rejected by the Lords. The
ministers, having a large majority in the former house, did not
think it necessary to resign; but the king, who had always viewed the coalition with disgust, sent messages to Lord North and
Fox, requiring them to deliver up the seals. Mlr. Pitt, as first lord
of the treasury and chancellor of the exchequer, now became the
head of a ministry of which the principal members were Lord
Thurlow, chancellor; Earl Gower, president of the council; the
Duke of Rutland, privy seal; Lord Caermarthen and Lord Sydney, secretaries of state; and Lord Howe, first lord of the admiralty.
Pitt, like his predecessors, was defeated on a bill which he introduced to regulate the government of India; but he resorted to
a dissolution, and the elections, which took place in April, 1784,
secured a large majority for the ministry.  In August he succeeded in carrying his bill, the main feature of which was the creation
of the Board of Control, consisting of six privy councilors nominated by the king, who, with the principal secretaries of state
and the chancellor of the exchequer, were to be commissioners for
India, with supreme control over the civil and military government and the, affairs of the company. Pitt also adopted some
measures to remedy the disordered state of the finances, and imposed various new taxes, amounting to nearly a million per annum. In the following year he brought in a bill for a reform of
Parliament, which was supported by some of his opponents, and
opposed by some of his supporters, but finally lost by a majority
of 74. The public at that period took little interest in the subject, and it was not resumed.




A.D. 1783-1786. IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS.    665
George, Prince of Wales, the king's eldest son, had attained his
majority in 1783, when he had, a separate establishment assigned
him, with Carlton House as a residence, which stood in Pall Mall,
on the site now occupied by the Duke of York's column. Like
most preceding heirs-apparent, he had thrown himself into the
ranks of the opposition, from which his friends were chiefly selected, as Lord North, Fox, Burke, Sheridan, Windham, Erskine, and
others. By improving his residence, by losses at the gaming-table and on the turf, as well as by other expenses incident to his
station, and to a youthful prince of gay and voluptuous habits, he
had contracted a large amount of debt; and such was his distress 
that in 1786 an execution was put into his house for the' sum of
~600. The king, whose regular and moral habits led him to view
the prince's course of life with high disapprobation, refused to assist him, especially as it was believed that he had contracted a
private marriage, contrary to the Royal Marriage Act, with Mrs.
Fitzherbert, a Roman Catholic lady of great personal charms, correct conduct, and elegant manners. The prince was obliged to
reduce his establishment, sell off all his horses, and suspend the
works at Carlton House.  At length the prince's embarrassments
were forced upon the notice of Mr. Pitt by the opposition; and to
avoid a threatened motion upon the subject, the king instructed
the minister to propose, on the understanding that the prince
would reform his expenditure, an increase of ~10,000 per annum
to his income, together with the sum of~161,000 for the discharge
of his debts, and ~20,000 for the works at Carlton HI-ouse.
~ 2. In 1786 Burke brought forward his celebrated impeachment of Warren Hastings. In order to understand this subject,
it will be necessary briefly to resume the history of affairs in India.*  During the absence of Clive great disorder had prevailed.
The government had fallen into the hands of Mr. Vansittart, father of Lord Bexley, who was by no means competent to conduct
it. The native princes could no longer be kept in subjection;
the servants of the Company were amassing great wealth by bribery
and extortion, while the Company itself was on the verge of bankruptcy. In May, 1765, Lord Clive again landed at Calcutta, having, after an arduous struggle, obtained the appointment of governor and commander-in-chief in Bengal. There was as yet no central government, and the three presidencies of Calcutta, MIadras,
and Bombay were on a footing of jealous rivalry. Clive first applied himself to remedy the abuses in the Company's service.
He made the civil officers bind themselves in writing to accept
no more presents from the native princes; and he ordered the military to relinquish the double batta, or additional allowances,
* See p. 637.




666                    GEORGE III.             CHAP. XXXII.
granted to them by Meer Jaffier after the battle of Plassy. This
order produced a mutiny. Nearly 200 officers, and among them
Sir Robert Fletcher, the second in command, conspired to throw
up their commissions on the same day. Clive immediately repaired to the camp at Monghir, and having assembled the officers,
pointed out to them the guilt of their conduct, declared his resolution to suppress the mutiny, and to supply the place of the mutineers by other officers from Madras, or even by the clerks and
civil servants of the Company. He then cashiered Sir R. Fletcher, and caused the ringleaders to be arrested and sent to Calcutta
for trial. The rest now entreated to be allowed to recall their
resignations-a request which was in most instances granted, but
only as an act of grace and favor, while the vacancies were supplied, by a judicious promotion of subalterns.  Clive also placed
the jurisdiction of the Company on a satisfactory footing, and procured from Shah Alum, Emperor of Delhi, a deed conferring on
them the sole administration of the provinces of Bengal, Orissa,
and Bahar. Clive returned to England in January, 1767.
In his absence affairs again went wrong. In the Madras presidency Hyder All, founder of the kingdom of Mysore, the most
daring and skillful enemy the English had ever encountered in
India, finding his advances neglected by the company, joined the
Mahratta chieftains, threatened the capital itself, and extorted an
advantageous peace.  The Company's trade suffered to such an
extent that in the spring of 1769 India stock fell sixty per cent.
In 1770 Bengal was afflicted by a famine which is computed to
have carried off one third of the inhabitants. The disasters and
misrule in India, and the declining state of the Company's affairs,
at length attracted the attention of government, and committees
of inquiry were appointed in 1772. In the spring of the following year, Lord North, by the act called the Regulating Act, made
several reforms in the constitution of the Company, both with regard to the court at home and the management of affairs in India.
The most remarkable feature of this act was that the Governor
of Bengal was invested with authority over the other presidencies,
and with the title of Governor General of India,-but he was himself subject to the control of his council. Warren Hastings, who
had been appointed to the government of Bengal in the previous
year, was the first Governor General of India.
In the same year General (then Colonel) Burgoyne, who afterward contributed to the loss of our empire in the WTest, moved a
vote of censure on the man who had established our empire in the
East. Clive's wealth, and his magnificent seat at Claremont, had
attracted envy, and there were circumstances in his extraordinary
career which might afford a handle to malignity. Such especially




A.D. 1786. ADMINISTRATION OF WARREN HASTINGS.           667
was his sanctioning the forgery of Admiral Watson's signature
in order to deceive the traitor Omichund, who had threatened
to reveal the conspiracy to dethrone Surajah- Dowlah, though
Clive does not appear to have derived any private advantage from
the act. This and other matters were objected to him, while all
his eminent services seemed to be forgotten or overlooked. Burgoyne carried the first part of his resolutions, affirming certain
matters of fact that had been proved against him; the second part,
censuring him for having abused his powers, was negatived; and,
on the motion of Wedderburn, it was unanimously added to the
resolutions carried, " that Robert, Lord Clive, did at the same
time render great and meritorious services to his country." But
the taunts to which he had been subjected had sunk deep into his
mind; he was accustomed to complain that he had been examined like a sheep-stealer; and his melancholy temperament, which
even in early youth had displayed itself in an attempt at suicide,
now farther aggravated by ill health, and perhaps also by a life
of inaction, led him to lay violent hands on himself (Nov., 1774)
before he had attained his 50th year.
~ 3. The administration of Warren Hastings was also able and
beneficial. He reformed and improved the revenues of India; he
transferred the government of Bengal to the Company, leaving
only a phantom of power at Moorshedabad; he resumed the possession of Allahabad and Corah, and discontinued the tribute to
Shah Alum. But his measures for replenishing the Company's
treasury were not always. marked by scrupulous honor. The
Vizier of Oude being desirous of subjugating the neighboring
country of Rohilcund, Hastings did not hesitate to lend him some
British bayonets for that purpose, in consideration of a payment
of 40 lacs of rupees when the conquest should have been accomplished. But the measures of Hastings were impeded and disconcerted by his council.  In October, 1774, General Clavering,
Colonel Monson, and Mr. Philip Francis arrived in India, having
been appointed members of the governor general's council. These
men were utterly ignorant of Indian affairs, yet they united together in opposing every measure of Hastings. Francis was their
leader, and he and his confederates formed the majority of the
council, which consisted, besides them, only of Hastings himself
and Mr. Barwell. Thus they were able to control all the steps of
the governor, and to wrest from him his patronage; nay, they even
took steps to bring him to trial on a charge of corruption; but
Hastings refused to submit to their jurisdiction. He afterward
prosecuted in the Supreme Court some of the natives who had
been incited to accuse him; and in August, 1775, one of them, the
Rajah Nuncomar, was hanged. By this decisive step Hastings re



668                    GEORGE III.             CHAP. XXXIL.
covered the respect of the natives, of which the conduct of the
council had deprived him.
After the death of Colonel Monson in September, 1776, Hastings recovered his authority in the council by virtue of his casting
vote. Attempts were made both in India and at home to deprive
himn of the government, but without success; and when the war
with France broke out in 1778, it was felt, even by his enemies,
that his great abilities could not be spared. It was under his
auspices, and with the assistance of Sirl Hector Munro, that Chandernagore, Pondicherry, and the other French settlements in India were captured.  An expedition against the Mahratta chiefs
proved not so fortunate. The British force, hemmed in at Wargaum, was obliged to capitulate, on condition of restoring all the
conquests made from the Mahrattas since 1756. All India seemed now combining against us. Hyder Ali availed himself of our
entanglement in the Mahrattas to overrun the Madras presidency;
a body of 3000 of our troops, under Colonel Baillie, was surprised
and cut to pieces. Munro, at the head of 5000 more, only saved
himself by a precipitate flight; all the open country lay at Hyder's
mercy; and the smoke of the burning villages around struck alarm
into the capital itself. At this juncture Hastings signally displayed his genius and presence of mind. He immediately abandoned his favorite scheme of the Mahratta war, and, conceding to
the chiefs the main points at issue, tendered offers not only of
peace, but even of alliance.  He then dispatched every available
soldier in Bengal, under the command of Sir Eyre Coote, by whose
military genius he was ably seconded, to the rescue of Madras.
Coote defeated Hyder Ali in a great battle at Porto Novo, July 1,
1781, and again in August at Pollilore. These victories led to
the recovery of the open country, and saved the Carnatic. After
again defeating Hyder Ali at Arnee. in 1782, Coote retired a
wihile to Calcutta. In December of that year Hyder died, and
Coote, anxious to measure swords with his son and successor Tippoo, proceeded in 1783 to the Carnatic.. The vessel in which he
sailed was chased two days and nights by some French men-ofwar.  Coote's anxiety kept him constantly on deck; his feeble
health received a fatal blow, and two days after landing at Madras
he expired.
~ 4. The exertions for the relief of Madras had exhausted the
resources of Bengal; yet the India proprietors at home expected
large remittances. In order to raise them Hastings had recourse to
the feudatory rajahs, and above all to Cheyte Sing, Rajah of Benares, from whom he extorted an exorbitant fine of ~500,000 for
having delayed to pay ~50,000. He is said also to have received
-from this rajah two lacs of' rupees for his private use, which he




A.D. 178o, 1787. CHARGES AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS.    669
seems to have retained some time, and then to have placed to the
credit of the Company. But the worst feature in his conduct was
his treatment of the Begums of Oude. The government had large
claims on Asaph ul Dowlah, nabob vizier of Oude, to satisfy which
Hastings compelled him to extort large sums from the Begums,
his mother and grandmother, the mother and widow of Sujah
Dowlah; although Asaph ul Dowlah, after previously wringing
large sums from them, had signed a treaty, sanctioned by the Council of Bengal, by which he pledged himself to make no farther demands upon them. This treaty, however, had been made contrary to the wish of Hastings, when his authority in the council
was controlled, and he now disregarded it. In order to extort the
money from the Begums, two aged eunuchs, their principal ministers, were thrown into prison and deprived of all food till they
consented to reveal the place where the treasure of the princesses
was concealed. Tortures and other severities were continued
through the year 1782, till upward of a million sterling had been
extorted.
Hastings concluded a peace with Tippoo in the autumn of
1783 on the basis of mutual restitution, and then proceeded to
Lucknow to tranquilize that district.  Toward the close of 1784
lie announced his intention of retiring; and when he sailed for
England in the spring of 1785, peace prevailed throughout India.
Mr. M'Pherson, senior member of the council, succeeded to the
vacant government, till in February, 1786, Lord Cornwallis was
appointed governor general.
Such were the chief transactions which gave rise to the impeachment before alluded to of Warren Hastings by Burke, who
brought forward 22 articles, comprehending a great variety of
charges. The first, on the subject of the Rohilla war, was negatived by a considerable majority, and the whole impeachment
seemed to be upset. But on May 13th Fox moved the charge
respecting Cheyte Sing and the proceedings at Benares; when
vPitt, after a speech which at first appeared quite to exculpate
Hastings, concluded by observing that he had acted in an arbitrary
and tyrannical manner in imposing a fine so shamefully exorbitant. This conclusion took the house by surprise, and in a division the impeachment was voted. Nothing farther was done in
the matter till February, 1787, when Sheridan moved the Oude
charge in a most brilliant speech. This motion was also supported by Pitt, and an impeachment voted. Other articles were subsequently carried, and Burke, accompanied by a great number of
members, proceeded to the bar of the House of Lords, and impeached Hastings of high crimes and misdemeanors, whereupon
he was committed to custody, but released on bail. We shall




670                    GEORGE III.            CHpr. XXXII.
here anticipate the result of this impeachment. The trial did not
commence till the spring of 1788, and lasted seven years, when
Hastings was acquitted by a large majority on all the charges.
Whatever may be thought of the acts which he committed for the
interest of the East India Company, his personal disinterestedness
was proved by the fact that he was indebted to the bounty of the
directors for the means of passing the remainder of his days in a
manner becoming his high station.
~ 5. In 1788 the king was seized with a violent illness, which
terminated in symptoms of lunacy, so that in October it became
necessary to subject him to medical treatment, and he was put
under the care of Dr. Willis, who was both a physician and a
clergyman.  In this seclusion of the crown Fox insisted on the
exclusive right of the Prince of Wales to be appointed regent, a
position which Pitt triumphantly refuted; not, however, that he
opposed the nomination of the prince; he merely denied that he
had any natural or legal right without the authority of Parliament. Committees were appointed in both houses to search for
precedents; but, while the bill for a regency was in progress, the
king's convalescence was announced, February, 1789.
An event was now impending which was to shake Europe to
its foundations. To all outward appearance France was in a
most prosperous condition.  She was at peace with all Europe;
she had achieved a triumph over England, her ancient rival, by
helping to emancipate her rebellious colonies; yet she was herself
on the brink of a terrible convulsion.  To trace the causes or to
detail the events of the French Revolution comes not within the
scope of this book, and we shall here confine our view to those results which, from the vicinity of the two- countries, and the constant intercourse between them, could not fail to produce a great
effect in England. The French had been regarded in England as
the slaves of an absolute monarch, and the first efforts of the Revolution were looked upon by a large number of persons in this
country as the first steps toward a system of constitutional freedom. The storming of the Bastile was almost as much applauded
in London as in Paris.: But the burnings, the plundering, the
murders which ensued, by which the politest nation in the world
seemed to be degrading itself by acts which would-disgrace a horde
of savages, soon: alienated most English hearts. The inoculation
of the political virus embittered party feeling in England; the
names of Democrat and Aristocrat bade fair to supplant those of
Whig and Tory; and a stronger line of demarkation was drawn
between political sections.- Friends-who had long acted together
now parted forever; and, in particular, the separation of Burke
from Fox and his party was conspicuous ftiom the genius and em



A.D. 1787-1791.    THE FRENCH REVOLUTION.              671
inence of the men. The congratulations addressed to the National
Assembly of France by a club in London, called the Revolution
Society, established to commemorate the Revolution of 16,88, under the signature of Earl Stanhope, their chairman, incited Burke
to publish his " Reflections on the Revolution in France, and on
the Proceedings of certain Societies in London," in which, in the
most eloquent and impressive language, he denounced the proceedings in France, and almost prophetically foretold the future destinies of that country.  This publication called forth many attacks and answers, of which the most remarkable were Thomas
Paine's " Rights of Man," and the " Vindicice Gallicce" of Sir James
Macintosh. The former is written in a coarse but forcible style;
the latter, in elegant and polished language, extenuates the most
atrocious excesses, on the ground that they are the necessary concomitants of all revolutions: a position sufficiently refuted by our
own, and especially by that of 1688. These three works produced
a prodigious effect on public opinion in England, and becanme, as
it were, the arsenals from which men of different parties drew
their weapons of attack and defense. It was not, however, till
May, 1791, in a debate concerning Canada, that Burke, in a powerful and affecting speech, publicly separated from Fox.
~ 6. The sect of the Unitarians were the most ardent admirers
of the French Revolution. Dr. Priestley, a leading member of it,
proposed to celebrate at Birmingham the anniversary of the.capture of the Bastile by a dinner, which was prepared on the appointed day (July 14, 1791) at an hotel in the town, in spite of
the plainest symptoms of an intended riot. The party of upward
of 80 gentlemen were received with hisses by the mob; the windows of the hotel were smashed; two meeting-houses were destroyed, as well as the dwelling of Dr. Priestley, together with his
valuable library and philosophical instruments, and the. manuscripts of works which had cost him: years of labor. Several persons were apprehended -for this disgraceful riot, and three were
executed.
The decree of the Constituent Assembly, September 14,-1791,
wresting Avignon and the Venaissin from the Pope, showed that
the French, after the overthrow of their own government, would
cease to respect the territorial rights of others, and inspired alarm
in Germany. The Emperor Leopold and the King of Prussia, attended by many of their chief nobility, had a conference in August
at Pilnitz, near Dresden, toward the conclusion of which- the Count
d'Artois, brother of Louis XVI., and several of the leading French
emigrants, who had passed over in great numbers into Germany,
unexpectedly presented themselves, and pressed for the forcible reestablishment of ordeir in France. Hopes of succor were held out,




672                   GEORGE III.             CHAP. XXXII.
and Russia, Spain, and the principal states of Italy subsequently
declared their adherence to the emperor's views. England alone
observed a strict neutrality.  But the war was begun by France.
Leopold died in March, 1792; and Dumouriez, the minister for
foreign affairs in the Jacobin administration which had now been
forced upon the King of France, demanded from Leopold's son
Joseph, now King of Hungary and Bohemia, an explanation of his
views with regard to France. His answers being considered evasive, war was declared against him March 20th. An army of
Austrians and Prussians now took the field under the command
of the Duke of Brunswick, who on July 25th published, against
his own better judgment, that ill-considered manifesto which probably hastened the dethronement and murder of Louis XVI. The
irritating and offensive language of the manifesto was not supported by vigorous action. The deposition of the king, the massacres of September in Paris, the defeat of Valmy, and, finally, the
retreat of the Duke of Brunswick, followed in rapid succession.
These events occasioned a great ferment in London.  The militia was embodied, the Tower was fortified and guarded. A numerous meeting of merchants, bankers, and traders, signed a loyal
declaration, pledging themselves to uphold the Constitution. The
execution of the French king, January 19th, 1793, awoke a still
deeper sensation throughout the country. The French embassador was dismissed, and immediate hostilities were anticipated.
The ancient jealousies and rivalries between the two nations still
subsisted, in spite of the imitation of English fashions, and some
ill-understood admiration of English literature, which had been
introduced into France by the Duke of Orleans, and which had
obtained the name of Anglo-mania.  The French had displayed
their willingness to interfere in the domestic affairs of other countries by the decree of November 19, 1792, declaring themselves
ready to fraternize with all nations desirous of recovering their
liberty. In England various meetings and societies had voted
congratulatory addresses to the French on their proceedings:
5Monge, the French minister of marine, in a circular letter of December 31, 1792, distinctly avowed the notion of flying to the assistance of the English Republicans against their tyrannical government; and on February 3 the French declared war against
England and Holland.
~ 7. Nearly the whole of Europe was now arrayed against the
French, who had not a single ally; yet the vigor of their measures enabled them to disconcert the ill-conceived and dilatory
schemes of the allies. In a short time they had no fewer than
eight armies on foot; but into the detail of military operations we
can not enter, even briefly, farther than England is concerned. In




A.D. 1791-1793.   REVOLUTIONARY WAR.                   673
the course of the spring (1793), 10,000 British troops, under the
Duke of York, landed at Ostend, and, having joined the imperial
army under the Prince of Coburg, assisted to defeat the French at
St. Amand. - The success of the attack on the French camp at
Famars, May 23d, was chiefly owing to the British division, which
turned the enemy's right. They were next employed in the siege
of Valenciennes, which surrendered July 25th.  The Duke of
York subsequently undertook the siege of Dunkirk, but without
success; he was obliged to retreat upon Furnes, and in November
the armies went into winter quarters. In the East and West Indies the English arms were more successful. In the former, Chandernagore, Pondicherry, and one or two smaller French settlements
fell into our hands; in the latter, Tobago, St. Pierre, and Miqueion were captured, but the attempts on Martinico and St. Domingo
failed.
In the same year the insurrection at Toulon was aided by the
fleet cruising in the Mediterranean under the command of Lord
Hood, and consisting of English, Spanish, and Neapolitan vessels.
A French fleet of 18 sail of the line lay at Toulon harbor; but,
after a little show of resistance, Hood and the Spanish commander
took possession of the place in the name of Louis XVII. General
O'I-ara arrived from Gibraltar with re-enforcements, and assumed
the command.  But even then the garrison was too small for the
defense of Toulon against a besieging army of 30,000 men, especially as they had to struggle with jealousies and dissensions among
themselves and treachery on the part of the inhabitants.  It was
on this scene that first appeared the extraordinary man who was
to wield for a brief period the destinies of Europe. Napoleon
Bonaparte, then a chef de bataillon, was dispatched to Toulon by the
Committee of Public Safety as second in command of the artillery; but the siege was in reality conducted by his advice:  By
degrees, the heights which surround the place were captured by
the French; and when the eminence of Pharon fell into their
hands, To'hlon was no longer tenable.  Before retiring, it was determined to burn the fleet and arsenal, a task which was intrusted
to the Spanish under Admiral Langara, and a body of British
under Captain Sir Sydney Smith; but, owing to the remissness
of the former, the operation was badly conducted. Nevertheless,
three sail of the line and 12 frigates were carried to England,
and nine sail of the line and some smaller vessels burnt by Sir S.
Smith. The allies also carried off as many of the Royalist inhabitants as possible, to save them from the vengeance of the Republican army.
~ 8. In September Garnier des Saintes proposed and carried in
the Convention a vote denouncing Pitt as an enemy of the human
F ri




674                    GEORGE III.            CHAP. XXXII.
race. This patron of mankind wished to add to the resolution
that any body had a right to assassinate the English minister;
but the Convention was not quite prepared to adopt so abominable a doctrine. The manufactures of Great Britain were strictly
prohibited in France; and it was ordered that all British subjects
in whatever part of the republic should be arrested, and their
property confiscated.
The preparations for the campaign of 1794 seemed to promise
something of importance. The French had three armies on their
northern frontier, those of the North, the Rhine, and the Moselle,
amounting to 500,000 men, and mostly animated with an enthusiastic spirit. Voltaire, one of the literary patriarchs of the
Revolution, had laughed at the English shooting Admiral Byng,
" pour encourager les autres;" but the French themselves had on
this occasion provided a little stimulus for defective patriotism or
valor.  An ambulatory guillotine, under the superintendence of
St. Just and Le Bas, accompanied the march of the French army,
and in cases of failure it was put into operation. The forces of
the allies were also large, but inferior to the French. The emperor commanded in person 140,000 men, and had, besides, an
army of 60,000 Austrians on the Rhine; the Prussians amounted
to 65,000; the Duke of York was at the head of 40,000 British
and Hanoverians; and there was also a body of 32,000 emigrants
and others. -But division reigned among the allies. Austria and
Prussia were jealous of each other, and intent on objects of selfish
aggrandizement, to which the affairs of France were quite subordinate. Prussia demanded and received large subsidies from
England, nor would Russia move an army without the same
support.
- The plan of the campaign was to take Landrecies and advance
upon Paris.  The siege was assigned to three divisions of the allied army, under the Duke of York, the Prince of Cobourg, and
the hereditary Prince of Orange. There was much manceuvring
along the whole line of frontier from Luxembourg to Nieuport,
and several skirmishes and battles, attended with various success.
The most remarkable of these was the battle of Turcoing.  The
object was to cut off the left wing of the French and drive them
toward the sea, when they must have surrendered. The emperor
superintended the attack in person, which was made with 90,000
men; but the operation proved a failure, in consequence of the
various divisions not arriving at the appointed time. On the following morning, May 18th, the Duke of York was surrounded at
Turcoing by superior bodies of French, lwho took 1500 prisoners
and 50 guns, but left 4000 men on the field. The duke himself
escaped only through the fleetness of his horse.  The British




A.D. 1794.         NAVAL SUCCESSES.                   673
troops retrieved this disgrace a few days afterward at Pont Achin,
where Pichegru, with 100,000 men, made a general attack on the
right wing of the allies. The battle had raged from 5 A.M. to 3
P.M., and the allies were beginning to give way, when the Duke
of York dispatched to their support seven battalions of Austrians
and the 2d brigade of British infantry. The latter threw themselves into the centre of the French army, bayonet in hand, and
completely routed them. The Convention were so alarmed at
the display of British valor on this and other occasions, that they
passed a dastardly and ferocious decree ordering that in future no
quarter should be given to British or Hanoverians. But most of
the French generals were unwilling to execute it.
On June 26th the allies were totally defeated on the plains of
Fleurus and compelled to retreat. This battle sealed the fate of
Flanders, nearly all the towns of which fell into the hands of the
French. Led by Generals Moreau, Jourdan, and Pichegru, they
were equally successful on the Rhine and wherever they were en-,gaged. During this time the Reign of Terror was in full vigor in
France; but it was drawing toward its close, and on July 28th
Robespierre was executed.
The Prince of Orange and Duke of York had been compelled
gradually to retire before the overwhelming armies of the French.
Toward winter they entered Amsterdam, and a little afterward
the duke -resigned his command to General WValmoden and returned to England.  The Dutch had determined to defend themselves byinundating the country; but of this resource they were
deprived by a severe frost. The French crossed the rivers and
canals on the ice; and then was beheld the singular spectacle of
a fleet fiozen up at the entrance of the Zuyder Zee captured by
land-forces and artillery.  The Stadtholder and a great number
of Dutch of the higher classes fled to England. The British
troops, unable to maintain their position in the province of Utrecht,
retreated toward Westphalia, enduring the most dreadful sufferings, both from the rigor of the season and the barbarity of their
allies, who plundered, insulted, and sometimes murdered the sick
and wounded. They at length reached Bremen, and embarked for
England in March.  A large portion of the Dutch nation were
willing to fraternize with the French, and the whole of Holland
submitted to them almost without resistance.
~ 9. As in the preceding year, the disasters of England on the
Continent were in a great degree compensated by her naval successes and her victories in other quarters. In the summer Corsica was taken by Admiral Lord Hood, and annexed to the British
crown; but in the following year the French recovered it by a revolt of the inhabitants. In this expedition Colonel Moore and




676                    GEORGE III.            CHAP. XXXII.
Captain Nelson highly distinguished themselves. At the siege of
Calvi, Nelson received a wound which destroyed the sight of his
right eye. But the most brilliant victory of' the year was that
gained by Lord Howe. The French had resolved to dispute the
sovereignty of the seas, and had prepared at Brest a fleet of 26
ships of the line, commanded by Jean Bon St. Andre, once a Calvinist minister. Howe fell in with them MIay'28th with about
the same number of vessels; but in weight of metal the French
were much superior, having 1290 guns to our 1012. A general
engagement ensued on June 1st, when, after an hour's hard fighting, Howe succeeded in breaking the French line. The French
admiral then made for port, followed by all the ships capable of
carrying sail: seven ships were captured and one sunk during the
action. For this victory Lord Howe and the fleet received the
thanks of Parliament; London was illuminated three nights; and
the king and queen, accompanied by some of the younger branches
of the royal family, visited the fleet at Spithead, when the king
presented Howe with a magnificent sword set in diamonds. Success also attended our arms in the West Indies, where Admiral
Sir John Jervis and Lieutenant General Sir Charles Grey captured Martinique, St. Lucie, and Les Saintes. But an attack upon
the French portion of St. Domingo proved a failure.
~ 10. In England attempts were made this year by seditious admirers of the French Revolution to excite disturbances; but the
great mass of the public remained unmoved. Several prosecutions were instituted by government, the most remarkabl, of which
were those of Hardy, Horne Tooke, and Thelwall; but convictions
were obtained only in two instances at Edinburgh, where one individual was hanged and another transported for life. The ill
success of the Continental campaigns had increased the peace
party; but Mlr. Pitt warmly supported the war as just and necessary, though in the spring of 1795 Prussia made a separate treaty
with France, and the emperor required a loan of four or five millions to continue the war, which was granted.  The western
provinces of F.rance were still in arms in favor of monarchy, and
Pitt entertained their applications for assistance. A considerable
body of French Royalists, accompanied by a few English troops,
were landed at Quiberon; but discord prevailed among the emigrants, and they had opposed to them the brave and skillful General Hoche, who speedily obliged them to lay down their arms.
- After the flight of the Stadtholder to England an embargo was
laid on all Dutch shipping in English ports; and as the United
Provinces had submitted to French domination, orders were issued for reprisals against them. In the W~est Indies, the Dutch
colonies of Demerara, ]erbice, and Essequibo were'captured; in




A.D. 1794-1796. ALLIANCE OF FRANCE AND SPAIN.           677
the East, the greater part of the island of Ceylon, Malacca, Cochin,
and the other Dutch settlements on the continent.  About the
same time the Cape of Good Hope was taken.; and the whole of
a squadron sent out by the Dutch in the following year to recapture it fell'into the hands of Admiral Elphinstone. Against these
successes must be set off the retaking of St. Lucie and St. Vincent's by the French.  It would exceed our limits to recount the
detached naval actions which took place in various parts. Toward
the close of the year a great disaster occurred.  To retrieve our
losses in the VVest Indies, a large fleet was dispatched under Admiral Christian, with -15,000 troops commanded by Sir Ralph
Abercrombie. Scarcely had they passed the isle of Portland when
they were caught in a violent gale from the west; many transports
were wrecked; the Chesil beach was strewed with corpses; and
the fleet was so much damaged that the expedition was wholly
disconcerted.  In the following year, however, the remains of it
were refitted and dispatched under Admiral Cornwallis, and St.
Lucie and St. Vincent's were recovered.
In England sedition was inflamed by a bad harvest and the high
price of bread. The king, proceeding to open Parliament in October, was assailed with groans and hootings, and a bullet, or marble, supposed to have been discharged from an air-gun, passed
through his carriage window.  The same scene took place on his
return. -Missiles of every kind were hurled at his coach, which,
when he had alilghted, the rabble followed to the Mews, and
broke into pieces. During these outrages the king displayed the
greatest composure, and delivered his speech with his usual firmness and propriety.
~ 11. A peace had been effected between France and Spain by
Don Emanuel Godoy, afterward styled the Prince of Peace; and
in the spring of 1796, an offensive and defensive alliance, with regard to England only, was concluded between those powers at St.
Ildefonso.  The design of this alliance was to injure British commerce by coercing Portugal; a French army was to march through
Spain upon Lisbon; and the Queen of Portugal, in her alarm,
consented to declare that city a free port.  Spain, which soon
afterward declared war against Great Britain, was by this alliance placed as much at the disposal of France as by the Family
Compact; but she only prepared the way for her own subsequent
misfortunes.
After their retreat fiom Holland the English for a long time
took no part in the struggle on the Continentgand the war was
confined to France and Austria on land, and France, Spain, and
Great Britain at sea. This- was the year of Bonaparte's splendid
campaign in Italy; but, in spite of their great successes in that




678                    GEORGE III.             CHAP. XXXII.
quarter, the French had met with reverses on the Rhine.  The
Directory seemed not disinclined for peace, and Lord Malimesbury, who was dispatched to make overtures, was received with
acclamations by the Parisians; it was soon evident, however, from
the arrogant and insincere tone of the French minister, that peace
was not really desired, and, above all, Napoleon was opposed to it.
Every opportunity was taken to insult and irritate Lord Malmesbury, who admirably retained his temper, and in December he
received a rude message to quit Paris in 48 hours. The negotiations had been protracted so long merely to prepare an expedition
against Ireland; and two days after Lord Malmesbury's departure
a French fleet sailed fiom Brest. It was, however, dispersed by a
storm; only a small portion of it succeeded in reaching Bantry
Bay; but the inhabitants proved hostile, and the attempt was frustrated. It was connected with another scheme for the invasion
of England. A body of about 1200 malefactors and galley-slaves
were to have ascended the Avon and burnt Bristol; but, having
been landed at Fishguard Bay, in Pembrokeshire, they surrendered
to about half their number of fencibles and militia collected by
Lord Cawdor.  The two firigates which brought them were captured on their way home.
The war had pressed heavily upon the resources of the country, and early in 1797 it was evident that the Bank of England,
which had advanced 10~ millions for the public service, would be
unable to meet its payments in specie. In February an order of
council appeared prohibiting the bank from paying their notes in
specie. At a meeting of the principal bankers and merchants in
London it was resolved to take bank notes to any amount; notes
of ~1 and ~2 were issued, and in March Pitt brought in his Bank
Restriction Bill, the main provisions of which were to indemnify
t.he bank for refusing to make cash payments, and to prohibit them
from so doing except in sums under 20s. The bill was to be in
force till June 24th; but the term was afterward prolonged, and
the bank did not resume cash payments tillssome years after the
conclusion of the war. (See p. 725.)
~ 12. The French, to whom Spain and Holland were now subsidiary, determined upon an invasion of England on a grand scale,
and large fleets, amounting to more than 70 sail, were got ready.
at the Texel, Brest, and Cadiz.  Commodore Nelson, while sailing with a convoy to Gibraltar, descried a Spanish fleet of 27 sail
of the line off Cape St. Vincent, and hastened to notify it to Admiral Jervis, who-was cruising with 15 sail of the line. Nelson
accepted an invitation to hoist his pendant on board the Captain
74; and the hostile fleets came in sight at daybreak on Feb. 24th.
The Spaniards were not only superior in number, but also in the




A.D. 1797.       BATTLE OF ST. VINCENT.               679
size of their ships, among which was La Santissima Trinidad, of
136 guns on four decks, supposed to be the largest man-of-war in
the world; but the unseamanlike way in which their ships were
handled caused the English to disl'egard the disparity of force.
Jervis cut off nine of their ships before they could form their line
of battle, eight of which immediately took to flight. Of their renaining ships, Nelson, supported by Captain Trowbridge in the
Culloden, engaged no fewer than six, namely, the Santissima Trinidad, the San Josef, and the-Salvador del Mondo, each of 112
guns, and three seventy-fours. After the action had lasted an
hour Nelson was re-enforced by the Blenheim, Captain Frederick,
and the Excellent, Captain Collingwood. When Nelson's ship,
which had been engaged in; close combat with three first-rates,
was nearly disabled, and his ammunition almost expended, he
beoarded and took the San Josef, and then the San Nicholas, he
himself leading the way, exclaiming " Westminster Abbey or victory!"  The Spanish admiral declined renewing the fight, though
many of our ships were quite disabled, and at the close of the -day
he made his escape in the Santissima Trinidad.  For this victory
Sir John Jervis was raised to the peerage with the title of Earl
of St. Vincent, with a pension of ~3000 a year. Nelson was included in a promotion of rear admirals, and received the Order of
the Bath. In July Admiral Nelson, with a small squadron, made
an unsuccessful attempt on the town of Santa Cruz, in Teneriffe.
Nelson himself, when on the point of landing, had his arm shattered by a shot, and was obliged to have it amputated.
Notwithstanding the defeat of their Spanish auxiliaries, the
French did not abandon their project of an invasion, and during
the summer a fleet of 15 sail of the line, with frigates, under Admiral De Winter, was preparing in the Texel to convey 15,000
men to Ireland. In October they put to sea with the intention
of proceeding to Brest without embarking the troops, when Admiral Duncan, who had been watching their motions with a nearly
equal force, placed himself between them and a lee shore, off Camperdown, and after a desperate engagement, which lasted four
hours, captured eight sail of the line, two ships of 56 guns, and a
frigate (Oct. lth). For this victory he was made Viscount Duncan* of Camperdown, with a pension of ~3000.
~ 13. Thus our navy formed both the glory and safeguard of
the country, yet in this very year it had threatened to be the source
of our disgrace and ruin. Discontent was lurking among our seamen, who complained that they only received the wages fixed in
the reign of Charles II., though the prices of articles had risen at
least 30 per cent.; that their provisions were deficient in weight
* His son was created Earl of Camperdown in 1831.




680                    GEORGE III.            CIAP. XXXII:.
and measure; that they were not properly tended when sick; that
their pay was stopped when they were wounded; and that when
in port they were detained on board ship. In April a mutiny
broke out in the fleet at Spithead. Upon the signal being given
to weigh, the crew of the Queen Charlotte, the flag-ship, instead
of obeying, ran up the shrouds and gave three cheers, which were
answered from the other ships. r Two delegates from each then
went on board the Queen Charlotte, where orders were framed for
ithe government of the fleet, and petitions drawn up to the House
of Commons and the Lords of the Admiralty for a redress of grievances. This alarming mutiny was at length suppressed by some
judicious concessions, and by the personal influence of Lord Howe,
who was deservedly popular among the seamen, and who, at the
king's request, proceeded on board the fleet. But no sooner was
the mutiny at Spithead quelled than another still more dangerous
broke out among the ships in the Medway. One Richard Parker
was the ringleader-a man, though illiterate, of quick intellect and
determined will; and he obtained the name of Rear-admiral Parker. The ships were moved from Sheerness to the Nore to be
out of reach of the batteries; the obnoxious officers were sent on
shore, and the red flag hoisted. The demands of the mutineers
were both more peremptory and more extensive than those made
at Portsmouth, and embraced important alterations in the Articles
of War. Altogether 24 or 25 ships were included in the mutiny.
The mutineers seized some store-ships, fired on some frigates that
were about to put to sea, and had even the audacity to blockade
the mouth of the Thames.  Gloom and depression pervaded the
metropolis, and the funds fell to an unheard-of price. All attempt at conciliation having failed, it became necessary to resort
to stringent measures. Pitt brought in a bill for the.better prevention and punishment of attempts to seduce seamen; and another forbidding all intercourse with the mutineers, on the penalty
of felony.  Several ships and numerous gun-boats were armed;
batteries were erected on shore; the mutineers were prevented
from landing to obtain fresh water or provisions; and all the
buoys and beacons were removed, so as to render egress from the
Thames impossible. A great part of the crews had in their hearts
continued loyal, and the proposition to carry the fleet into a French
port was rejected with horror. One by one the ships engaged in
the mutiny began to drop off, and at last the Sandwich, Parker's
flag-ship, ran in under the batteries and delivered up the ringleaders. Parker was hanged on the yard-arm of that vessel.
Duncan's victory was an effectual bar to all projects of invasion; nevertheless, the French still continued their empty menaces. Bonaparte, who was now rapidly advancing toward supreme




A.D. 1798.       THE FRENCH IN EGYPT.                 681
power, had conceived a deadly hatred of this country. After compelling the Austrians to the peace of Campo Formio he had returned to Paris, where he was enthusiastically received; the Directory called him to their councils, and consulted him on every
occasion. An army, called the army of England, was marched
toward the Channel; a proclamation was issued in which it was
difficult to say whether the abuse of England or the vaunting laudation of France were the most silly and extravagant; and a loan of
Jabout four millions sterling was proposed to be raised on the security of the contemplated conquests, but the money-lenders did
not seem inclined to advance their cash upon it. The threatened
invasion was in a great degree intended to conceal an expedition
which Bonaparte was now meditating against Egypt.
~ 14. The English, in turn, were not backward in offensive operations, which, however, did not prove very successful. In May,
1798, Havre was ineffectually bombarded by Sir Richard Strahan,
and in the same month an. expedition under Sir Home Popham
was undertaken against Ostend. General Coote landed with 1000
men, and destroyed the basin, gates, and sluices of the Bruges canal, in order to interrupt the navigation between France and Flanders. But the surf did not permit him to return to the ships, and
on the following morning they were surrounded by several columns
of the enemy drawn from the adjacent garrisons, and, being outnumbered, were obliged to surrender.
At the same period Bonaparte sailed from Toulon with 13
ships of the line and transports, conveying 20,000 men, on his
Egyptian expedition, accompanied by some generals of renown and
a body of sacvans. It was undertaken from a mere desire of spoliation and aggrandizement, for the French had not a shadow of a
grievance to allege against the Porte.  On the way, Malta, then
governed by the Grand Master and Knights, was surprised and
seized with as little pretense.  At the beginning of July the
French landed between 3000 and 4000 men at Marabou, near
Alexandria, and captured the latter city after a slight resistance,
as well as Aboukir and Rosetta, which gave them the command
of one of the mouths of the Nile. The French committed an indiscriminate massacre of men, women, and children, which lasted
four hours; and Bonaparte issued a blasphemous proclamation,
in which he declared that the French were Mussulmans, and took
credit for'driving out the Christian Knights of Malta. He then
crossed the desert, fought the battles of Chebreisse and the Pyrainids, and seized Cairo, the capital of Egypt.
Meanwhile Nelson had been vainly looking out for the French
fleet, and it was not till August 1st that he discovered their transports in the harbor of Alexandria.  Their men-of-war were anFF 2




682                    GEORGE III.            CHAP. XXXII.
chored in the Bay of Aboukir, as close as possible to the shore.
Nevertheless, Nelson determined to get inside of them with some
of his vessels, a mlanceuvre for which they were not prepared;
and, though the Culloden grounded in the attempt, Nelson persevered. Thus a great part of the enemy's fleet was placed between
two fires. The battle began at 6 in the evening. By 8 o'clock.
four of the French van had struck, but the combat still raged in
the centre. Between 9 and 10 o'clock, L'Orient, the French admiral's ship, having caught fire, blew up with a terrible explosion, which was followed by a deep silence of several minutes.
The battle was then renewed, and continued through the night,
with only an hour's pause.  Separate engagements occurred
throughout the following day, and at noon Rear Admiral Villeneuve escaped with four ships. On the following morning the
only French ships remaining uncaptured or undestroyed were the
Timoleon and the Tonnant, when the latter surrendered, and the
former was set on fire and abandoned by the crew. Such was
the battle of the Nile. From the heights of Rosetta the French
beheld with consternation and dismay the destruction of their
fleet, which deprived them of the means of returning to their
country. Soon afterward the islands of Goza and Minorca fell
into the hands of the English.
The news of Nelson's victory was received with the sincerest
demonstrations of joy not only at home, but through a great part
of Europe. He was created Baron Nelson of the Nile and of
Burnham Thorpe in Norfolk; the thanks of both houses of Parliament were voted to him, and an annuity of ~2000. -IHe also
received some magnificent presents from the Grand Seignor, the
Emperor of Russia, and the King of Sardinia. His return to the
Bay of Naples animated the king to undertake an expedition
againsgt Rome, which was recovered from the French. At the
same time Nelson landed 6000 men and captured Leghorn. These
enterprises, however, were rash and ill-considered. In a few days
the French retook Rome and marched upon Naples itself, when
the king took refuge on board Nelson's ship and proceeded to
Sicily, which for some time became his home. Naples, deserted
by the sovereign and the greater part of the nobility, was heroically defended by the lower classes and the lazzaroni; but, as they
had no artillery, they were forced to succumb, and the French established the Parthenopeian Republic.
In consequence of the battle of the Nile an alliance was formed
between England, Russia, and the Porte, and early in 1799 hostilities were recommenced between Austria and France.  The
Congress of Rastadt, which had been some time sitting with the
view of arranging a general pacification, was dissolved, and the




A.D. 1799.           SIEGE OF ACRE.                   683
French, being defeated by the Archduke Charles at the battle of
Stockach, were obliged to recross the Rhine. At the same time
the Russians under Suwarrow, advancing into Italy, recovered with
extraordinary rapidity all the conquests made by Bonaparte with
the exception of Genoa. Suwarrow then invaded Switzerland,
but all his successes were compromised by the want of cordial ccoperation between him and the Austrians.
~ 15. After the alliance between England and Russia, a joint
expedition was agreed upon for the recovery of Holland, which
was to be undertaken with 30,000 British troops under Sir Ralph
Abercrombie and 17,000 Russians (1799).  The first division of
the British, under Sir James Pulteney, General Moore, and General Coote, effected a landing, and after two severe encounters
took the towns of the Helder and Huysduinen.  About the samc
time the Dutch fleet of 13 ships of war, together with some Indiamen and transports, surrendered by capitulation to Admiral
Mitchell. About the middle of September, by the arrival of some
Russian divisions, and of the Duke of York with three British
brigades, the allied army amounted to 33,000 men, of which the
duke was commander-in-chief. Several actions took place, attended with varying success and considerable losses on both sides.
At length the duke, sensible of the advancing season, and finding that his army was reduced by 10,000 men, retired to a fortified position at the Zype, which he might have maintained by
inundating the country; but, as such an operation would have destroyed an immense amount of property, and occasioned great misery to the Dutch, he preferred a capitulation, by which it was
agreed that he should restore the Helder in the same state as before its capture, together with 8000 Dutch and French prisoners,
and that the allied army should re-embark without molestation
before the end of November. Thus ended an expedition' which,
though unfortunate, can hardly be called disgraceful. As a sort
of compensation, the Dutch colony of Surinam was conquered this
summer.
Meanwhile the situation of the French in Egypt had become
very critical. The army was seized with alarm and dejection;
many committed suicide; but Bonaparte retained his presence
of mind. Having dispatched Desaix against the Mamelukes in
Upper Egypt, he himself undertook an expedition into Palestine
against Djezzar Pasha.  El Arish, Gaza, Jaffa, yielded to his
arms; at which last he massacred ih cold blood between 3000 and
4000 prisoners. But at St. John d'Acre, the key of Syria, he was
met by Sir Sydney Smith, to whom the sultan had intrusted his
fleet. Sir Sydney destroyed the flotilla that was conveying the
French battering-train; nevertheless, they continued the siege with




684:                    GEORGE III.             CHAP. XXXII.
field-pieces.  After a siege of two months, and several assaults,
Bonaparte was compelled to retreat, though he had resorted to the
treacherous action of ordering an assault after sending in a flag of
truce. Having returned to Egypt toward the end of August, he
went on board a French man-of-war in the night, accompanied by
some of his best generals, leaving letters by which he delegated
the command of the army to Mlenou and Kleber. By hugging
the African coast, be escaped the English cruisers and arrived
safely at Frejus. Notwithstanding his ill success, his popularity
had, if possible, increased in Paris.  Toward the end of the year,
the Assembly of Five Hundred having been dissolved, Bonaparte,
Sieyes, and Ducos became consuls.
~ 16. A measure was now in agitation in England for consolidating the power and integrity of the empire by a union with
Ireland. That country had been'for some years in a very disturbed state. The examples of America and France had inspired
many with the idea of establishing an independent republic; and
in 1791 was formed the society of United Irishmen, consisting
mostly of Protestants, whose principles would have led to that result.  Its projector was a barrister named Theobald Wolfe Tone,
who, having become secretary of the committee for managing the
affairs of the Irish Roman Catholics, effected an alliance between
the two parties. Tie ramifications of this society extended throughout Ireland.  Tone having been detected in a treasonable correspondence with the French, was obliged to fly to America, whence
he soon afterward passed over to France, and employed himself
in forwarding the projected invasions already mentioned in 1796
and 1797.  Notwithstanding the frustration of these expeditions,
the Irish malcontents did not abandon their plan of an insurrection. One of their principal leaders was Lord Edward Fitzgerald,
a brother of the Duke of Leinster; and he was seconded by Arthur
O'Connor, Napper Tandy, Thomas Addis Emmet, Oliver Bond,
and others.  But the conspiracy was divulged by one Thomas
Reynolds, and some of the principal conspirators were arrested,
March 12, 1798, at a meeting which they held in Bond's house.
Lord Fitzgerald happened not to be present, but he was discovered and seized about two months afterward.: He made a desperate.resistance, wounding two of the officers sent to apprehend him,
one of whom died of his injuries. But he himself was shot with.a bullet in the shoulder, the effects of which proved fatal. After'
this discovery martial law was proclaimed in Ireland, and many
acts of violence and cruelty took place on both sides.  Numerous
engagements occurred in various quarters, in which the rebels were
almost invariably defeated, except in Wexford, where they were in
greatest force, and where they sometimes made head against the




A.D. 1800.    UNION OF ENGLAND AND IRELAND.            685
king's troops. At Vinegar Hill, near the town of Wexford, was
their principal camp or station; and here they were defeated
(June 2 1.) by General Lake, the commander-in-chief. Lord Cornwallis, the new viceroy, who arrived shortly afterward, succeeded
in reducing the country to comparative tranquillity.
The union of England and Ireland had been many years discussed as a speculative question, and these disturbances forced it
upon the serious attention of the government. The king, in his
speech on opening the Parliament (Jan. 22, 1800), alluded to the
subject, and a few days afterward Pitt brought forward a series
of resolutions, which were carried after considerable debate. A
bill embodying these resolutions passed both houses in the following May. The main provisions were, that 100 Irish members
should be added to the English House of Commons, and 32 Irish
peers to the Iouse of Lords-four spiritual and 28 tempora! —
whose seats were to be held for life. The measure also passed
both houses of the Irish Parliament, and it was agreed that the
Union should commence on Jan. 1, 1801. 5We shall here anticipate what occurred on that day.. A council was held consisting
of the most eminent dignitaries of Church and state, including the
royal princes, etc., by which proclamations were issued for making
the necessary changes in the king's title, the national arms, and the
I7iturgy.  The only thing worth noting on this occasion is, that
the title of "King of France" was dropped and the fleurs de lys expunged from the royal arms; a pretension that for some centuries
had been a vainglorious one, and which had proved inconvenient
in recent negotiations with France.
~ 17. 5When Pitt brought forward this measure, he publicly renounced the opinions which he had formerly held on the subject
of Parliamentary reform. The chief reasons which he assigned
for his change of views were the altered state of circumstances
produced by the French Revolution, and the fact that England
had ridden safely through the revolutionary storm.
During the debates on the Union the Irish Catholics had remained almost entirely neutral, and what little feeling they displayed was in its favor. This is attributable to their hatred of
the Orangemen, the warmest opponents of a union, as well as to
the expectation that their demands would be more favorably considered in a united Parliament than by a separate Irish Legislature; and, indeed, Pitt, who was not adverse to their claims, had
held out to them some hopes to that effect.
On May 15th this year the king was shot at in his box at Drury
Lane Theatre.  The assassin, being apprehended, was found to
be a lunatic named James Hatfield; and the. attempt was not in
any way connected with politics.  But the deficient harvest this




686                     GEORGE- III.            CHAP. XXXII.
year, and consequent high price of bread, occasioned much distress
and discontent.  Attacks on the property of farmers, millers, and
corn-dealers were frequent in the country, and mobs and riots occurred in London.
In the warlike operations of the year the battle of Hohenlinden,
gained by MIoreau in Decemnber, opened to the French the way to
Vienna, and their progress was only arrested by the armistice of
Steyer. On the other hand, they were obliged to surrender Malta
after a blockade of two years.
Disputes had again occurred between England and the northern
powers respecting the right of search, and they were artfully fomented by France. The Emperor Paul was also offended by the
rejection of his claims upon Malta, to which he thought himself
entitled as Grand Master. In November he proceeded to lay an
embargo on British vessels, and to sequester all British property
in Russia. The masters and crews of about 300 ships were seized
and carried in dispersed parties into the interior, where only a miserable pittance was assigned for their subsistence.  Toward the
end of the year an armed neutrality was formed between Russia
and Sweden, and was soon after joined by Denmark.
~ 18. Thus new difficulties were gathering around England,
while the statesman who had hitherto so ably directed her course
was about to retire from the helm.  Pitt, as we have said, had
previously to the Union expressed himself in favor of' the Catholic claims, and before the first Parliament of Great Britain and
Ireland assembled he addressed a letter to the king (Jan. 31,
1801), in which he expressed the opinion of himself and his colleagues that Roman Catholics should be admitted to sit in Parliament and to hold public offices.  George III. entertained very
strong scruples on this subject. He regarded any relaxation of
tilhe Catholic disabilities as a breach of his coronation oath, and in
this opinion he had been confirmed by Lord Kenyon, chief justice
of the King's Bench. - In his reply the king entreated Pitt not to
leave office; but he would make no concessions to his views, and
Pitt determined to resign. The king then sent for Mr. Addington,
the speaker, who, after some delay, succeeded in forming a ministry. Lord Eldon obtained the chancellorship, his predecessor,
Lordl Loughborough, retiring with a pension and the higher title
of Earl Rosslyn.
The threatening nature of the northern league now demanded
serious attention.  In March the King of Prussia had notified to
the Hanoverian government his accession to it, and the closing of
the mouths of the Elbe, the Veser, and the Emns; and he demanded and obtained immediate military possession of Hanover. A
little previously Hamburg had been seized in the name of the King




A.D. 1801.      BATTLE OF COPENHAGEN.                   687
of Denmark by Prince Charles of Hesse, at the head of 15,000
men, and an embargo laid on all British property. Remonstrances
having failed, a fleet of 18 sail of the line, with frigates, gun-boats,
and bomb-vessels, was dispatched to Denmark under the command
of Sir Hyde Parker, with Nelson as his second; but the latter
was in reality the commander.  The Danish navy itself was considerably superior to the force dispatched against it, and Nelson
pressed the necessity of hastening operations before the breaking
up of the ice should enable the Russians to come to the assistance
of the Danes. The passage of the Sound was preferred to that
of the Belt, though more exposed to the guns of the enemy, and
by keeping near the Swedish coast the fire of Kronborg Castle was
avoided. Between Copenhagen and the sand-bank which defends
its approach the Danes had moored floating batteries mounting 70
guns; and 13 men-of-war were also posted before the town. Nelson led in with the greater part of the fleet, and anchored offDraco Point, while Sir Hyde Parker, with the remainder, menaced
the Crown batteries. Two of Nelson's ships grounded in going
in, so that he could not extend his line. The action was hot, and
Sir Hyde Parker hoisted the signal to desist, but Nelson would
not see it, and, hoisting his own for closer action, ordered it to be
nailed to the mast. The Danes, encouraged by the presence of
the crown prince, fought with desperate valor; but by half past
three the Danish ships had all struck, though is was impossible to
carry them off on account of the batteries. Nelson now sent a
note ashore, addressed "' to the brothers of Englishmen, the Danes,"
in which he remarked that if he could effect a reconciliation between the two countries he should consider it the greatest victory
he had ever gained. Subsequently he had an audience of Christian VII., the effect of which was that Denmark was detached
fiom the league.
The happy effects of this blow were seconded by an accident.
Just at. this time the Emperor Paul was assassinated. His son
and successor Alexander immediately declared his intention of
governing on the principles of Catherine, and he ordered all British prisoners to be liberated and all sequestrated British property
to be restored.  When Nelson proceeded from Copenhagen to
Cronstadt he found that the pacific disposition of Alexander rendered all attack superfluous, even had the strength of the place
permitted one. Lord St. Helens negotiated a treaty at St. Petersburg, to which the King of Sweden acceded. On June 17th a definitive treaty was signed by Great Britain, Russia, Denmark, and
Sweden, by which the rights of neutral navigation were placed on
a satisfactory footing. The neutrality of the Elbe was re-established, the troops withdrawn from Hamburg and Lubeck, and the




688                    GEORGE III.            CHAP. XXXIL
embargo oni British property removed; while, on the other hand,
England restored all captured vessels belonging to the northern
powers, and the islands in the West Indies which she had taken
from the Danes and Swedes. All these happy results were in
great part due to the unhesitating vigor of Nelson.
~ 19. Foiled in their northern projects, the French renewed the
threat of an invasion.  Camps had beei formed at Ostend, Dunkirk, Brest, and St. llMalo, but the main force was assembled at
Boulogne.  It was rumored that an immense raft, to be impelled
by mechanical power, and capable of conveying an army, was to
be constructed; but no such machine appears to have been begun.
FIowever chimerical such a project might be, precautions against
it were adopted in England.  Lord Nelson, having taken the comr
mand of a squadron commissioned to operate between Orfordness
and Beachy Head, sent a few vessels into Boulogne, which succeeded in destroying two floating batteries, two gun-boats, and a
gun-brig. An attempt to cut out the flotilla in that harbor with
boats proved abortive, and the French triumphed as if the memory of Copenhagen and the Nile had been obliterated.
Ever since the accession of Mr. Addington to power negotiations had been attempted for a peace with France, but the haughty views of the first consul rendered them abortive. The eyes of
the English ministry were still anxiously directed toward Egypt,
from which, on account of our East Indian possessions, as well as
for other reasons, it was highly desirable that the French should
be expelled. Toward the close of 1800 an army of about 15,000
men, under the command of Sir Ralp h Abercrombie, was dispatched
to Egypt. The French force there had been greatly underrated.
In spite of our cruisers they had managed to procure re-enforcements. Their army numbered more than 32,000 men, with upward of 1000 pieces of artillery and some excellent cavalry, while
the English were very deficient in both the latter arms. Early
in March, 1801, the first B3ritish division, of between 5000 and
6000 men, landed in boats in Aboukir Bay under a hot discharge
of shot, shell, grape, and musketry from Aboukir Castle, and from
artillery planted on. the sand-hills. In the midst of this fire, the
British troops formed on the beach as they landed, and without
firing, a shot drove the French from the position at the point of
the bayonet.. Their loss, however, was very considerable. On
March 18th Aboukir Castle surrendered. Early in the morning
of the 21st, Mlenou, who had succeeded Kleber as commander-inchief,- advancing from Cairo with a large force, attempted to surprise the English camp. The combat was sustained with great
obstinacy, and, the ammunition of both parties being exhausted,
was carried on with stones. At length, after a struggle of nearly




A.D. 1801, 1802.    PEACE OF AMIENS.                     689
seven hours and the loss of 4000 men, M~ienou retired. The English loss was only about 1500, but among them was Abercrombie,
who received a wound of which he expired in a week.
~ 20. General HIutchinson, on whom the command now devolved, being re-enforced by some Turks, successively captured
Rosetta, El Aft, and Cairo, which last surrendered June 24th,
after a siege of 20 days. It was agreed that the garrison, consisting of about 13,000 French, should be conveyed to France at
the expense of the allied powers.  Menou still held out in Alexandria.  General HI-utchinson, being again re-enforced by 7000 or
8000 Sepoys from India as well as by British troops, laid siege to
that city on August 3d, and on the 22d it surrendered in spite of
Menou's boast to hold out to the last extremity.  The French
garrison of 11,500 men obtained the same terms as that of Cairo.
Six ships of war in the harbor were divided between the English
and Turks. The scaans were permitted to retain their private
papers, but all manuscripts and collections of art and science made
for the republic were surrendered.*
The French now began to listen to the proposals for peace, and
preliminaries were signed October 1st. England was to cede all
the French, Spanish, and Dutch colonies acquired during the war
except Trinidad and Ceylon; the Cape of Good Hope to be open
to both the contracting parties; Malta to be restored to the Order
of St. John, Egypt to the Porte; the French to evacuate Naples
and the States of the Church, the English Porto Ferrajo.  On
these terms a definite treaty was signed at Amiens, March 28th,
1802. It was joyfully received in London as well as in Paris;
yet even the ministers did not venture to call it great or glorious.
It left France in a state of unjust aggrandizement, while we acquired little or nothing by the expenditure of so much blood and
treasure. France retained the Austrian Netherlands, Dutch Flanders, the course of the Scheldt, and part of Dutch Brabant, Maestricht, Venloo, and other fortresses of importance, the German
territories on the left bank of the Rhine, Avignon, Savoy, Geneva,
lNice, etc.  Yet Bonaparte's ambition was not satisfied.  Charles
Emmanuel, King of Sardinia, having abdicated his throne in favor
of his brother (June 4), Bonaparte annexed Piedmont to France
as the 27th military department, on the pretense that, this being
the king's second abdication, his subjects were released from their
allegiance. Soon after, on the death of the Grand Duke of Parma,
his territories were also seized.  In all the neighboring countries
the influence of France was paramount.  Spain was her abject
* It was on this occasion that the celebrated Rosetta stone, together with
many statues, Oriental MSS., etc., now in the British Museum, was acquired.




690                            GEORGE III.                     CHAP. XXXII.
vasal; her troops, under pretense of a Jacobin plot, still occupied
Holland, contrary to the treaty of Amiens; and in Switzerland,
whose constitution had been overthrown by Bonaparte, he reigned
supreme under the title of Mediator.  France herself was rapidly
passing from  anarchy to.despotism.   On May 9th Bonaparte was
elected consul for life, and in his court at the Tuileries and St.
Cloud displayed as much magnificence as the ancient sovereigns
of France. His power was supported by the establishment of the
Legion of Honor, a sort of new nobility, consisting of 7000 men
receiving honors and pensions, and dispersed throughout the republic. But amid these selfish aims much was also effected for
the public good by the establishment of the civil code, of the means
of public instruction, and by other measures of the like nature.
The Church and the authority of the Pope were restored by a
concordat, though the clergy were still held in an oppressed and
degraded state.
CHRONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE EVENTS.
A.D.                                    A.D.
1i83. Resignation of Lord Shelburne.  Co- 1798. French expedition to Egypt.
alition ministry.                  LL Nelson's victory at the Nile.
"  Fox's India Bill.                  1799. Failure of the British expedition to
"  Pitt prime minister. His India Bill.     Holland.
1i86. Impeachment of Warren Hastings.    "  Bonaparte first consul.
1789. Outbreak of the French Revolution.'  Irish rebellion.
1793. Execution of Louis XVI.          1800. Union with Ireland.
"i  War declared between France and   "  Armed neutrality of the northern powEngland.                               ers against England.
1794. Defeat of the Duke of York. Conquest 1801. Resignation of Pitt. Addington prime
of Holland.                            minister.
"'  Lord Howe's victory.                "  Battle of Copenhagen.
1797. Bank Restriction Act.              "  Battle of Alexandria.'"  Victory of Jervis off Cape St. Vincent. 1802. Peace of Amiens.
c'  Victory of Duncan off Camperdown.    CL Bonaparte consul for life.
"'  Mutiny at Spithead and the Nore.




Medal in commemoration of the Battle of Trafalgar.
C)bY.: IIORATIO. VISCOUNT NELSON. K.: B DUE OF BRONTE. &. Bust to left.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
GEORGE III. CONTINUED. FROMI THE PEACE OF AMIENS TO THE DEATH
OF THE KING. A.D. 1802-1820.
~ 1. Hostile Feelings between France and England.  Declaration of War.
Hanover seized.  ~ 2. Change of Ministry.  Pitt Premier.  War with
Spain.  Violent Measures of Bonaparte.  ~ 3. Impeachment of Lord
Melville.  League between England, Russia, and Sweden.  Bonaparte
enters Vienna. ~ 4. Nelson chases the French Fleet to the West Indies.
Sir Robert Calder's Action.  Battle of Trafalgar, and Death of Nelson.
~ 5. Death of Pitt.  The "Talents" Ministry.  Fox vainly attempts a
Peace.  ~ G. Battle of Maida. War between France and Prussia. Berlin Decree. ~ 7. Death of Fox. Duke of Portland Prime Minister. Abolition of the Slave-trade.  ~ 8. Expedition to Rio de la Plata, to Constantinople, and Egypt. ~ 9. Peace of Tilsit. Expedition to Copenhagen and Capture of the Danish Fleet. ~ 10. Bonaparte seizes Lisbon.
Milan Decree. The Throne of Spain seized for Joseph Bonaparte.  Sir
Arthur Wellesley proceeds to Portugal.  ~ 11. Battle of Vimiera.  Advance and Retreat of Sir John Moore. Battle of Corunna, and Death
of Moore.  ~ 12. Colonel Wardle's Charges against the Duke of York.
Sir A. Wellesley Commander-in-chief in Portugal.  Battle of Talavera.
~ 13. Napoleon conquers the Austrians. Expedition to Walcheren. Expedition to. Calabria. Ionian Islands captured. ~ 14. Change in the
Ministry.  Mr. Perceval Premier.  Burdett Riots.  Massena advances
into Portugal. Battle of Busaco. Wellington occupies the Lines of Torres Vedras. ~ 15. George III.'s Illness. The Regency. Retreat of
Massena.  Battles of Barrosa, of Fuentes de Onoro, and of Albuera.
~ 16. Perceval shot.  Lord Liverpool Prime Minister.  Ciudad Rodrigo
and Badajoz taken.  Battle of Salamanca.  Wellington enters Madrid.
~ 17. War with the Americans. Napoleon's Russian Expedition. Treaties with Sweden and Russia.  ~ 18. Wellington advances into Spain.




692                       GEORGE III.               CHAP. XXXIIL
Rer.: ENGLAND EXPECTS EVEBY MAN WILL 1)0 IIIS IUTY. English and French fleets engaged. Below, TRaFLGAR O:T. 21. 1S05.
Battle of Vittoria. Retreat of the French, and Battles of the Pyrenees.
Wellington enters France. ~ 19. Coalition against Napoleon. Battles
of Orthez and Toulouse. Abdication of Napoleon. ~ 20. Congress of
Chktillon. The Allies enter Paris. Restoration of Louis XVIII., and
Peace of Paris. ~ 21. Progress of the American War. Peace of Ghent.
~ 22. Congress of Vienna.,Escape of Napoleon. Battle of Waterloo.
~ 23. The Allies enter Paris. Napoleon carried to St. Helena. Peace
of Paris. ~ 24. Distress and Discontent in England. Hampden Clubs.
Spa-fields Riot. Algiers reduced. ~ 25. Hone's Trial. Death of the
Princess Charlotte. Royal Marriages.  Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle.
~ 26. Peel's Act to repeal the Bank Restriction. Manchester Riots. Repressive Measures. Death and Character of George III.
~ 1. IT was soon felt that the peace could not last.  Bonaparte
evidently designed to exclude England from all Continental influence or even commerce.  Libels and invectives appeared both in
the French and English newspapers.  The harboring of French
emigrants in England, and the allowing them to wear orders which
had been abolished, were prominent topics of complaint. In order to remove one cause of dissatisfaction, Peltier, the editor of a
French paper published in London, called the Amnbigu, was prosecuted and convicted of a libel on Bonaparte; but he escaped
punishment from the altered state of the relations between the
two countries before his sentence.
It was known that extensive preparations were making in the
ports of France and Holland, which it was pretended were designed for the French colonies; but George III., in a message to
Parliament, March 8, 1803, adverted to the necessity of being
prepared, and it was resolved to call out the militia and augment




A.D. 1802-1804.    IMpENDING HOSTILITIES.             693
the naval force. This message excited the high indignation of the
first consul. In a crowded court at the Tuileries he addressed
our embassador Lord Whitworth, on the subject, in an angry and
indecent tone; he even lifted his cane in a threatening manner;
when Lord Whitworth laid his hand on his sword, and afterward
expressed his determination to have used it, had he been struck.
Satisfaction for this insult having been demanded and refused,
after some farther negotiations and an ultimatum to which no
satisfactory answer was returned, Lord Whitworth quitted Paris,
May 12th, and at the same time General Andreossy, the French
embassador, was directed to leave London.  Thus, after a short
and anxious peace, or rather suspension of hostilities, the two nations were again plunged into war.
Lord Whitworth's departure was protracted as long as possible
by Talleyrand; nevertheless, there was time to seize about 200
Dutch and French vessels, valued at nearly three millions sterling.
Bonaparte, in retaliation, ordered all English residents or travelers
in France, and in all places subject to the French, to be seized
and detained. About 10,000 of every class and condition, and
of all ages and sexes, were apprehended and conveyed to prison.
Subsequently a considerable portion of them was cantoned at Verdun and in other French towns. Immediately after the declaration of war, a French army, under MIarshal Mortier, marched to
Hanover; the Duke of Cambridge, the viceroy, capitulated, and
retired beyond the Elbe, and the French entered the capital June
5th.  On the other hand, the French and Dutch colonies in the
West Indies soon fell into our possession. The most enthusiastic
patriotism was exhibited in England. No fewer than 300,000
men enrolled themselves in different volunteer, corps and associations. - The French camp at Boulogne still held out an empty
menace of invasion, and in July the " Army of England" was reviewed by Bonaparte; but our cruisers swept the Channel, and
occasionally-bombarded some of the French towns.
~ 2. Early in 1804 the king had a slight return of his former
malady. Upon his convalescence, Addington, whose decreasing
majorities rendered it impossible for him to carry on the ministry,
retired from office, and Pitt again became premier. - The latter
was very popular, especially in the city.  After the peace of
Amiens a deputation of London merchants had waited upon him
and informed him that ~100,000 had been subscribed for his use,
and that the names of the contributors would never be known;
but Pitt declined this magnificentl offer. The state of the king's
health, as well as the alarming crisis of the country, induced Pitt
to waive for the present the question of the Catholic claims.
The friendship of Spain was more than doubtful. A large




694                    GEORGE IlI.            CHAP. XXXIII.
armament was preparing in the port of Ferrol, and its destination
could hardly be questionable. It was therefore determined to intercept four Spanish frigates on their return to Cadiz from Monte
Video with treasure.  Commodore Moore, with four English frigates, having in vain summoned them to surrender, an action ensued, in which three of the Spaniards were captured and the fourth
blown up. The treasure taken on this occasion was valued at
nearly a million sterling. The policy of the act, setting aside the
question of justice, may, however, be questioned, as it alienated
fiom us a large party in Spain that was hostile to the French. It
was, of course, followed by a formal declaration of war on the part
of Spain, December 12th.
This year (May 15) Bonaparte assumed the imperial crown with
Ihe title of Napoleon I. His conduct displayed an equal disregard of the laws of nations and those of humanity. In March he
caused the unoffending.Duke d'Enghien, a Bourbon prince who
was residing at the castle of Ettenheim, in the neutral territory
of Baden, to be seized by a secret expedition in the night, and to
be conveyed to the castle of Vincennes, where he was shot. In
October Sir G. Rumbold, the English minister at Hamburg, was
in like manner seized in the night in his house at Grindel by a
detachment of 250 soldiers of the army occupying Hanover. Ilis
papers were likewise seized, and he was conveyed to Paris and
confined in the Temple. This case was too flagrant even for the
time-serving King of Prussia; and Napoleon, who wished to keep
that country neutral, consented to send Sir George to England.
By means of an infamous spy named De la Touche, who was receiving money at once both from the French and English governments, Napoleon concocted a charge of encouraging assassination
against Mr. Drake and Mr. Spencer Smith, our envoys at Munich
and Stuttgardt, and procured their expulsion firom the courts of
Bavaria and Wiirtemberg. It is hardly necessary to observe that
this charge, which was indignantly repelled by Pitt in the House
of Commons, was utterly groundless. Yet the dependent states
of Europe were instructed to address Napoleon on the subject,
and the base and self-seeking court of Prussia congratulated him
on his escape.
~ 3. Pitt's ministry was not strong. Grenville, having coalesced
with Fox and the party called the "Talents," offered a formidable opposition. Toward the end of the year, at the suggestion of
the king, a reconciliation was effected between Pitt and Addington: the latter was created Viscount Sidmouth, and became president of the council in place of the Duke of Portland. Soon afterward Lord Melville (Dundas), first lord of the admiralty, was
compelled to resign, since Mr. Whitbread had carried a charge




A.D. 1804,1805.  BONAPARTE ENTERS VIENNA.             695
(April 6th) against him of conniving at the misapplication of the
public money, and even of deriving benefit from it himself. Pitt,
with a bitter pang, was compelled to advise the king to erase the
name of his old friend and companion from the list of the privy
council. Lord Melville acknowledged at the bar of the House of
Commons that his paymaster, Mr. Trotter, might have used the
public money for his own advantage; and as there were some
circumstances of suspicion against Melville himself, Mr. Whitbread, in the name of the Commons of England, impeached him
of high crimes and misdemeanors at the bar of the Lords (June
26th). The impeachment was not heard till the following April,
when he was acquitted after a trial of 16 days. His culpability
appears to have been owing rather to negligence than dishonesty.
In April a treaty was concluded between England and Russia
by which they bound themselves to resist the encroachments of
France, and to secure the independence of Europe. The league
was afterward joined by Sweden and Austria; but the King of
Prussia kept aloof, intent on the Hanoverian dominions of his relative and ally.
The year 1805 was the period of Napoleon's most brilliant successes. In May he was crowned King of Italy in the Cathedral
of Milan with the iron crown of the Lombard kings; and he appointed his adopted son, Eugene Beauharnais, to be viceroy of that
kingdom. At the same time the republic of Genoa was united to
France. Napoleon introduced the conscription into Italy, and an
army of 40,000 Italians proved of great service to him in his subsequent wars with Austria.  On his return from Italy he again
repaired to Boulogne; but when the hostile disposition of Austria
was ascertained, the army of England, consisting of 150,000 men,
was declared to be the army of Germany, and was rapidly marched toward the Rhine (August 28th). The Austrians, who had
protracted hostilities too long, afterward precipitated them before
the Russians could come to their support; and the power of
Austria was completely broken by the disgraceful capitulation of
General;Mack at'Ulm. The road was now open to Vienna,
which was occupied without a struggle, Nov. 13th. Meanwhile
Mlassena had driven the Archduke Charles out of Italy, and obtained possession of the Tyrol. Napoleon pushed on into Moravia, the emperor and the czar retreating before him. The court
of Berlin, guided by the detestable counsels of its wretched minister Haugwitz, was temporizing, and awaiting the result of another battle. That battle was Austerlitz (Dec. 2), in which the
Russians and Austrians were completely defeated. The former
retired into their own country; and Austria made a separate
peace with France, by which she lost Trieste, her only port, and




696                    GEORGE III.            CHAP. XXXIII.
recognized the regal titles of Bavaria and Wiirtemberg.  The
Confederation of the Rhine was now formed, with Napoleon for
its protector.
~ 4. Thus the objects of the English and Russian league seemed
completely frustrated. England appeared destined to be successful only when she acted by herself on her own peculiar domain,
the ocean.  Nelson had been in command of the MIediterranean
fleet since 1803. The winter of 1804 was spent in watching the
harbor of Toulon, where the French fleet was preparing to embark
a large body of troops whose destination was unknown. To draw
them out, Nelson sailed for Barcelona, and in his absence Villeneuve, the French admiral, put to sea with 10 sail of the line,
besides several frigates and brigs.  Nelson concluded that they
were bound for Egypt, and made sail for Sicily; but he soon
learned that they had passed the Straits of Gibraltar.  At Cadiz
they were re-enforced by six Spanish and two French line-of-battle
ships, thus making their whole number 18 sail of the line. Nevertheless, as soon as the wind permitted, Nelson followed them to
the West Indies with 10 sail of the line, but returned to Europe
without having been fortunate enough to discover them; when,
being in a bad state of health, he struck his flag at Spithead and
retired to his seat at Merton.
Sir Robert Calder was more fortunate.  On July 22d he fell
in with the enemy at some distance from Cape Finisterre, and,
though much inferior in force, an action ensued, in which two of
the Spanish ships were taken.  Calder, having neglected to renew the engagement on the following day, was brought to a courtmartial for so unsatisfactory a victory, but was honorably acquitted. Villeneuve ultimately got into Cadiz, where he now found
his fleet to amount to 35 sail of the line. Collingwood, who was
watching that port, communicated the interesting intelligence to
Nelson, who had led his friends to expect that he had finally retired from the service. But at this news his ardor could no longer
be restrained. He immediately volunteered his services to the
Admiralty, which were gladly accepted, and oh the 15th of September he was again on board'the Victory, accompanied by the
Ajax and Thunderer, and the Euryalus frigate. On the 29tll,
his birthday, he arrived off Cadiz, and joined Collingwood; but
his arrival was kept secret from the enemy, lest they should not
venture out of port.  No salute was fired, and Nelson kept well
out at sea.
On October 19th want of provisions obliged the enemy to leave
Cadiz, and the English fleet immediately gave chase, the course
being toward the Straits of Gibraltar. It was not till the 21st
that Nelson fell in with them about seven miles east of Cape




A.D. 1805.       BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR.                 697
Trafalgar, there being a light breeze from the west. Nelson felt
a sure presentiment of victory, but at the same time of death.
The enemy tacked, in order to be able, if necessary, to run back
to Cadiz, when Nelson steered a little more to the north in order
to cut off their van. He now asked Captain Blackwood, of the
Euryalus, who was on board the Victory, whether a signal was not
wanted. The latter replied that he thought all knew what they
were about; but Nelson ran up to the mast-head his last signalENGLAND EXPECTS EVERY MAN TO DO' HIS DUTY —Which was greeted with three cheers from every ship. Nelson led the weather
line in the Victory, but the lee line, under Collingwood, was the
first to get into action. The British fleet comprised 27 sail of the
line, four frigates, a schooner, and a cutter; the combined French
and Spanish fleets numbered 33 sail of the line, five frigates, and
two bligs; and they were vastly superior in weight of metal, having 2626 guns to our 2148. The enemy's line had accidentally
fallen into the shape of a crescent, which rendered the attack more
difficult. It was a little after noon that Collingwood, in the
Royal Sovereign, began the actiun.  He was soon surrounded by
five French and Spanish vessels; but, finding that they damaged
one another, they gradually drew off, and left Collingwood in single combat with the Santa Anna. He had been engaged nearly
a quarter of an hour before the other ships got into action. As
the Victory bore down, she was made a mark by the enemy; her
rigging was' much damaged, her wheel shot away, and 50 officers
and men killed or wounded before. she fired a shot. The foremost ships of the enemy, to the number of 19, closed round Nelson's column, leaving a gap of nearly a mile between the spot
where Collingwood and his comrades were engaging the remaining 14. Nelson's ship was first engaged with the Santissima Trinidad, then with the Bucentaur, a Frenchman of 80 guns, and lastly
with the Redoutable; that ship and the Victory getting as it
were locked together by their anchors. The tops of the Redoutable were filled with riflemen, and Nelson, who on going into action had put on his finest and most conspicuous coat, embroidered
with the Order of the Bath, afforded an excellent mark. The action had lasted about half an hour when he was struck by a musket ball and fell on the quarter-deck. On his captain expressing
a hope that he was not seriously wounded, Nelson replied, " They
have done for me at last, Hardy; my back-bone is shot through."
He was carried to the cockpit, where it was found that the shot,
having entered the left shoulder at the epaulette, had lodged in
the spine, inflicting a mortal wound. While the hero lay there
expiring, the battle still raged two hours, distressing him with the
concussion of the firing, though ever and anon he was cheered by
G G




698                    GEORGE III.           CHAP. XXXIII.
the huzzas of the crew as one after another the enemy's ships
struck their colors. He had the satisfaction to hear from Captain Hardy before his death that he had gained a complete victory. Almost his last words were to recommend to his country
Lady Hamilton, with whom he lived, and his daughter. Then
exclaiming, "Thank God, I have done my duty 1" he expired almost without a struggle about three hours after receiving his
wound.  Ile had said almost prophetically when going into action that he should be content with 20 ships; 19 of the enemy's
line actually struck at Trafalgar, and one blew up. The prisoners taken, including the troops on board, amounted to about
12,000. Four French and one Spanish ship that had taken little part in the action were subsequently captured by Sir Richard
Strachan, November 4th.  By this glorious victory the French
navy was nearly annihilated, and England rescued from all chance
of an invasion.
Nelson was honored with a magnificent public burial; a lying
in state in Greenwich Hospital; a funeral procession by land and
water; but, strange to say, his last requests were forgotten or
neglected. He had always expressed a wish to be interred in
Westminster Abbey, and he was carried to St. Paul's; he had recommended his mistress and her daughter to the care of the country, and no notice was taken of the dying hero's prayer. His
brother, a clergyman, was made an earl; ~100,000 were voted
him to buy an estate, and a pension of ~6000 a year; ~10,000
were given to each of his sisters.
~ 5. Pitt did not long survive England's greatest naval commander.  The cares and anxieties of office, at a crisis so tremendously agitating, had undermined a constitution naturally feeble;
and the stimulus with which he sought to relieve themn, by indulging too freely in convivial wine, contributed to hasten his decease.
He expired at the age of 46, January 23d, 1806. Of his disintercstedness no greater proof can be offered than that, in spite of his
apparent opportunities of enriching himself, he died ~40,000 in
debt. This was discharged by a vote of Parliament, who likewise decreed him a public interment in Westminster Abbey: the
latter was ungenerously opposed by Fox and his party. Notwithstanding some errors, Pitt must be regarded as one of the greatest
ministers this country ever saw. His counsels chiefly enabled England to stem the overbearing insolence and ambition of the French
republic and early empire; but his share in this praise lies more
in the skill with Which he raised the sinews of war than in the
prudence and wisdom with which lie directed and controlled its'
operations.
At:tempts were made to patch up the ministry, but failed, and




A.D. 1805, 1806. WAR BETWEEN FRANCE AND PRUSSIA.        699
the king was obliged to have recourse to Lord Grenville and all the
"' Talents." This involved the readmission of Fox, who was now
allied with that party, and the king was obliged to waive his personal dislike of that statesman. Early in February a ministry was
formed, with Lord Grenville first lord of the treasury, Fox foreign
secretary, Lord Howick (afterward Earl Grey) first lord of the
admiralty, Erskine lord chancellor, etc.
It was naturally expected that Fox, who had so long denounced
the war both as iniquitous and impolitic, would exert himself to
terminate it; and he did, indeed, open communications with the
French government through Lord Yarmouth, afterward Marquis
of Hertford, one of the detenus at Verdun.  But he soon discovered that Napoleon would never agree to terms which this country
could accept with honor. The financial measures of the new government were universally complained of, and especially the increase
of the obnoxious property-tax to 10 per cent.
~ 6. Napoleon had now installed his brother Joseph as King of
Naples, his brother Louis as King of Holland, and had bestowed
12 Italian duchies upon as many of his most favored generals.
Ferdinand IV. of Naples had, as before related, been driven to take
refuge in Sicily; and at the request of his consort, Caroline of Austria, sister of the unfortunate Marie Antoinette, Sir John Stuart,
*who commanded the British forces in that island, was induced to
pass over into Calabria with a small army of less than 5000 men,
and to try his fortune against the French General Regnier, who
occupied that province.  On July 3d an engagement took place
at Maida, in which the French, though considerably the stronger,
were entirely defeated.  Regnier fled across the Apennines, and
Stuart cleared the whole of Lower Calabria of the French; but
his force was too small to hold it, and he was obliged to return to
Sicily.  It was one of the mistakes of the government to fritter
away the strength of the nation in small expeditions of this fruitless kind. At the same time Sir Sydney Smith's squadron harassed the French on the coast of Italy from the Tiber to the Bay of
Naples.
During the negotiations with Napoleon after the accession of
the ministry, he had offered to restore Hanover. The desire of pos.
sessing that country had induced the court of Prussia to desert the
cause of Germany; and they likewise found other causes of complaint against France in the confederation of the Rhine, and in the
depreciatory tone in which the Moniteur spoke of Prussia and her
pretensions. On October 1st Prussia required the French to evacuate Germany; on the 14th the battle of Jena laid her at the feet
of Napoleon, a fitting reward of her perfidy and selfishness. On:the 25th the French entered Berlin, and MIortier was sent forward




700                    GEORGE III.             CHAP. XXXIII.
to occupy Hamburg and seize all British property. On November 21st appeared the celebrated Berlin Decree, forbidding all intercourse with England, and all use of her manufactures or colonial products.
~ 7. Fox did not live to see this event. He had been attacked
with dropsy, and after July became too unwell to attend to business. On September 13th he expired at the Duke of Devonshire's seat at Chiswick, whither he had proceeded on his way to
his own house at St. Anne's HIill. He was in his 58th year. He
received a public funeral, and was buried in the Abbey, October
10th, close by the side of his great rival Pitt. Posterity will be
rather at a loss to discover in his character any transcendent merits as a statesman, or to point out any great benefits that he
achieved for the country. His influence during his lifetime
seems to have been principally acquired by his powerful and fervid oratory, and by his engaging qualities, which attached to him
a host of personal friends. His death did not break up the u inistry; Lord Howick succeeded to his place of foreign secretary,
and Mr. Thos. Grenville became first lord of the admiralty.
Lord Grenville had made no compact with the sovereign on the
subject of Catholic emancipation, and early in March, 1807, Lord
Howick brought in a bill to enable Roman Catholics to serve in
the army and navy in England as well as Ireland. In the latter
country a Roman Catholic officer could attain any rank except
commnander-in-chief, master general of the ordnance, or general on
the staff. The bill was opposed by Spencer Perceval and others;
and as the king had a great repugnance to the measure, it was not
difficult to persuade him to dismiss the ministers.  Before the end
of the month a new administration was formed, with the Duke of
Portland as first lord of the treasury, George Canning foreign secretary, Lord Castlereagh secretary at war and colonies, Spencer
Perceval chancellor of the exchequer, Lord. Eldon chancellor in
place of Erskine, etc. A " No Popery" cry was raised, in Iwhich
WTilberforce and the evangelical party loudly joined; the ministers
took advantage of it to dissolve the Parliament, though it had been
returned only a few months, and the elections secured them a
large majority.
A little before the dismissal of Lord Grenville the abolition of
the slave-trade had been carried. That question had now been
twenty years in agitation. A society had been formed for its promotion, of which Mr. Granville Sharpe was chairman, and of
which Mr. WVilliam Wilberforce and Mr. Clarkson were distinguished members. The inhuman traffic had been denounced by
several writers, but it required the zeal and enthusiasm of the
evangelical party, which had sprung up of late years, in order to




A.D. 1807.          PEACE OF TILSIT.                   701
effect its abolition. The society adopted every means by newspaper articles, pamphlets, speeches, etc., to influence the public
mind on the subject. Pitt approved the cause, and a board of the
privy council had been formed to consider the state of the African
trade; but the commercial interests of the country offered a great
impediment, and all that could be obtained at first was a mitigation of the horrors of the middle passage.
~ 8. The military expeditions arranged by Lord Grenville's ministry had turned out unfortunate in all quarters.  Two expeditions had been dispatched early in 1807 against Constantinople
and Egypt.  French intrigues, ably conducted by General Sebastiani, had induced the Turks to declare war against Russia, and
thus diverted a great part of the force which might have been useful against Napoleon.  Sir John Duckworth was dispatched with
a squadron to bring the Turks to reason: *he succeeded in passing the Dardanelles, and appeared before Constantinople in February; but the Turks amused hiln with negotiations till they bad
put their city in a formidable posture of defense; and Duckworth
made a disgraceful retreat, for which he was subsequently brought
to a court-martial. At the same time, the expedition to Egypt,
under Major General Frazer, proved equally unfortunate; the
new ministry declined to support it, and in September the remnant
of the British force was obliged to return to Sicily. The only effect of these proceedings was that the Turks declared war against
us, and confiscated all British property.
~ 9. Meanwhile the Russians, exhausted by the well-contested
fields of Eylau and Friedland, and receiving no assistance either
in men or money from England, concluded with France the peace
of Tilsit, July 7th, 1807, to which Prussia afterward acceded.
Both these countries agreed to shut their ports against the English;
and, indeed, the French were in possession of those of Prussia.
WVhen it was too late Canning dispatched Lord Leveson Gower
to conciliate the Emperor Alexander: he could not even obtain
an audience, and he returned with the conviction that Alexander,
by a secret article of the treaty of Tilsit, had placed not only his
own fleet, but also those of Sweden and Denmark, at the disposal
of Napoleon. It was no time for hesitation. Denmark commands
the entrance to the Baltic; a large fleet was lying in her harbors;
the north of Germany was full of French troops; and, however
friendly might be the disposition of the Danes, it was evident that
their movements would depend on the will of Napoleon. A powerful armament, consisting of 25 sail of the line, 40 frigates and
other small vessels, and 377 transports carrying 27,000 troops,
was secretly.and promptly fitted out, and sailed from Yarmouth
Roads, July 26th, under the command of Admiral Gambier.




702                    GEORGE III.            CHAP, XXXIIiM
Lord Cathcart was at the head of the land-forces, under whom
served Sir Arthur Wellesley, an officer who had greatly distinguished himself in India. On August 9th the expedition was safely anchored in the roads of Elsinore: negotiations were opened
for the delivery of the Danish fleet, under the solemn promise that
it should be restored on the conclusion of a peace with France.
The proposal being indignantly rejected by the crown prince, preparations were made to enforce it. The fleet proceeded to Copenhagen, the troops were landed, and batteries constructed, and on
September 2d a bombardment commenced both by sea and land.
On the evening of the 5th the Danish commander surrendered,
and on the 8th the troops took possession of Copenhagen. Our
whole loss did not much exceed 200 men. By October 20th the
whole of the Danish fleet was prepared for sea, and carried off to
England, together with an immense quantity of naval stores, and
between 2000 and 3000 pieces of artillery.  The island of Heligoland was also captured, and served as a dep6t for English goods
to be smuggled into the Continent. The rage of Bonaparte at
this intelligence was terrific. The entry of the French into Stralsund, September 1st, showed the wisdom of our rapid and decisive
movement. The Danes declared war against us, the consequence
of which was the capture of the Danish West India islands of St.
Thomas, St. John's, and Santa Croce in December.
~ 10. The King of Portugal having refused to enforce the Berlin Decree against England, Napoleon determined to attack that
country. For that purpose he entered into a treaty with Spain
(October 27th), which was to" have a portion of Portugal; and
before the treaty was signed he dispatched an army of 30,000 men
under Junot across the Bidassoa, which entered Lisbon November
30th. The prince regent, with many of his nobility and 18,000
of his subjects, had sailed the day previously for the 1Brazils, and
Bonaparte proclaimed that the house of Braganza had ceased to
reign. Toward winter Napoleon visited Italy, and issued in the
capital of Lombardy, December 17th, the celebrated Milan Decree, declaring all vessels, of whatsoever nation, that should submit to the British orders in council, lawful prizes. These orders
had been issued in retaliation for the Berlin Decree. They declared the whole French coast in a state of blockade, thus rendering neutral vessels with French goods on board liable to seizure,
a proceeding which formed the principal ground of quarrel with
the Americans. But, in fact, both the Berlin Decree and the orders in council were in a great degree inoperative.
No sooner was Bonaparte in possession of Portugal than, with
the help of Godoy, the Prince of Peace, the prime minister of
Spain and paramour of the queen, he treacherously turned his




A.D. 1807, 1808. OCCUPATION OF SPAIN BY THE FRENCH. 703
arms against that country. Murat occupied Madrid with a French
division.' The imbecile Charles IV., and his son Ferdinand, who
was not much better, together with Godoy and the queen, were
decoyed to Bayonne, where a renunciation of the Spanish throne
in favor of Napoleon was extorted from them in consideration of:
the palace and domains of Navarre and a pension of 400,000
francs! It was declared that the Spanish Bourbons had ceased
to reign: Joseph Bonaparte, much against his will, was compelled
to exchange the crown of Naples for that of Spain, while the former was bestowed upon Napoleon's brother-in-law Murat. King
Joseph entered Madrid (July 20th, 1808); but by this time the
Spaniards, who had risen in insurrection, had established at Seville a " supreme junta of Spain and the Indies," and.had declared
Ferdinand king with the title of Ferdinand VII., though he was
now residing in Talleyrand's house at Valencay. In this struggle
the Spaniards displayed the greatest animosity toward the French,
and murdered all the stragglers they could lay hands on.
These revolutions were destined again to bring the English into
contact with the French on land as well as sea. General Castanos, who commanded the Spanish army of Andalusia, applied to
Sir Hew Dalrymple, commandant of Gibraltar, with a view to obtain the assistance of England. The merchants of that place supplied the junta of Seville with some money; Collingwood carried
his fleet into Cadiz, and lent the Spaniards what assistance he
could in ammunition, stores, etc.; and the English government at
length undertook to aid the Spanish Loyalists with some troops.
On July 12th Sir Arthur Wellesley sailed from Cork for the Peninsula with about 10,000 men. Preceding the fleet in a fast vessel, he landed at Corunna in order to consult the junta of Galicia
as to his proceedings. By their advice, with which his own views
entirely coincided, he determined to land near Oporto. Portugal
at this time, like Spain, was in full insurrection against the French.
In the latter country Joseph had been driven out of his new capital before he had been a fortnight in it. He had taken up his
abode at Vittoria in order to be nearer the French frontier, and
Madrid had been occupied by Castanos. The British army landed
near the town of Figueira, August 1st, and, being re-enforced by
some troops from Cadiz, numbered in all about 14,000 men. Junot had 17,000 or 18,000 men in Portugal; but, as many of these
were in garrison, his disposable force was not much larger than
the British, and the successes of the Loyalists in Spain had cut
him off from all communication with his countrymen in that
kingdom...
~ 11. IWellesley. began his march upon Lisbon August 9th. In
about a week he came upon a French division of 5000 men, un



704                     GEORGE III.           CHAP. XXXIII.
der Delaborde, occupying a strong position at Rolila, which was
carried after a struggle of two hours.  On the 19th he reached
Vimiera, where he was re-enforced by two British brigades under Generals Anstruther and Acland, making his whole force
about 17,000 men, besides 1600 Portuguese. On the 21st was
fought the battle of Vimiera, in which in two hours the French
were completely defeated, with the loss of' 14 guns and many prisoners. But Wellesley was now superseded by Sir Harry Burrard.
The government had determined to raise the army in the Peninsula to 30,000, under Sir Hew Dalrymple, with Sir Harry Burrard as second in command, while Sir Arthur Wellesley, Sir John
Moore, and others were to be generals of division. Sir Harry
Burrard, by suspending the pursuit, lost the fruits of the victory,
and the French, to their own great astonishment, got safe to Torres Vedras. Next day Sir Hew Dalrymple arrived, the command
being thus twice changed in 24 hours. On August 30th a convention was signed by which Junot agreed to evacuate Portugal.
This treaty is often erroneously called the " Convention of Cintra," because Sir H. Dalrymple's dispatches announcing it were
dated from that place; but, in fact, Cintra lies between Torres
Vedras and Lisbon; and, consequently, had the convention been
made there, the British must have been already in possession of
the former strong position, which, on the contrary, fell into their
hands through the convention. The French were deprived of the
spoils of the royal museum and library, church plate, etc., which
they were preparing to carry off. A Russian fleet blockaded in
the Tagus was surrendered. Early in September the British army
entered Lisbon, when Sir A. Wellesley, who was justly of opinion
that his achievements with the army deserved something more than
a subordinate post, obtained leave to return home.
Soon after the battle of Vimiera Sir John Moore was appointed
to the command of 20,000 men destined to co-operate with the
Spaniards in driving the French from the north of Spain. On
Novevnber 11th he crossed the frontier into Leon, and advanced
by Ciudad Rodrigo to Salamanca.  Meanwhile Napoleon himself had entered Spain at the head of some chosen troops, and,
having replaced his brother at Madrid, December 4th, he proceed-:
ed to seek Sir John Moore.  The latter had discovered that there
was no Spanish force on which he could rely for support, and he
had been contemplating a retreat; but, in consequence of some
false intelligence that he received from Mr. Frere, formerly our
minister at Madrid, he determined to advance, and, before Napoleon could come up, strike a blow at Soult, who was on the
banks of the Carion with about 18,000 men. But Soult had
withdrawn; and Moore, apprehensive of being surrounded, com



A.D. 1808-1809.   BATTLE OF CORUNNA.                   705
menced a retreat. Napoleon was close at his heels.  On January 1st, 1809, he was at Astorga with 70,000 infantry, 10,000
cavalry, and 200 guns, and from this place he could descry the
British rear.  But he was now called away by news from Austria, and left the pursuit to Soult. The weather was bad, the
roads miserable, provisions scanty, and the British had often to
face about and repulse the enemy.  At last, on January 13th,
Moore reached Corunna; but the transports did not arrive till
the following day; Soult had got possession of the hills round the
town, and it was necessary to fight a battle to cover the embarkation. This took place on the 16th: lMoore had between 15,000
and 16,000 infantry in line, Soult about 20,000; the ground was
not good for cavalry. In defending the village of Elvina, against
which the French were making a concentrated attack, MQoore was
struck in the breast by a cannon ball, and was carried to Corunna
in a blanket, often stopping to look behind on the progress of the
battle. The French were beaten off along the whole line, but
night coming on prevented all pursuit; and as the remainder of
Soult's forces might be expected every hour, it was determined to
hasten the embarkation.  Sir J. Moore died that evening, and
was buried at midnight on the ramparts "' with his martial cloak
around him," for the Spaniards use no coffins. The embarkation,
being covered by some line-of-battle ships, was completed in safety
by the 18th. During the whole campaign Moore received no assistance from the Spaniards, who, on the contrary, were a positive
hinderance to him by crossing his line of retreat at Astorga.
~ 12. The English ministry, however, were determined to pursue the war in the Peninsula, in which they were encouraged by
the distraction caused to the French arms by the war with Austria; and Mr. Canning executed a treaty of alliance with the
Spanish insurgents, or rather Loyalists, January 14th. The English nation, in spite of the long struggle it had already maintained, was so little crippled in its resources, that a loan of eleven
millions was raised at a lower interest than had ever before been
known. Yet many abuses were at this time discovered in the bestowal of military and naval patronage, in some of which the Duke
of York himself, the commander-in-chief, was implicated. It appeared, from some charges brought against him in the House of
Commons by Mr. WVardle, a Welsh colonel of militia, that the
duke, abandoning himself to the influence of one Mrs. Clarke, a
profligate but clever and insinuating mistress, had bestowed commissions in the army on several unworthy persons, such as Mrs.
Clarke's brother, and even her footman.  Before the termination
of the proceedings the duke resigned his office, and the investigation was dropped. About the same time the commissioners of
GG2




706                    GEORGE III.            CHAP. XXXIII.
naval and those of military inquiry brought to light a great many
abuses and frauds in the method of conducting the business of
those departments.
The chief command in the Peninsula was now given to Sir
Arthur WVellesley, who advised that in the first instance our exertions should be confined to Portugal. On April 22 he arrived
at Lisbon, where, including a body of Portuguese under Lord
Beresford, he found himself at the head of about 25,000 men. On
the 9th. of May he directed his march upon Oporto, now occupied
by Soult, who, after the battle of Corunna, had invaded Portugal.
In a few days the Douro was crossed and the French driven out
in precipitate flight. Wellesley now entered Spain, and formed a
junction with the Spanish General Cuesta at Oropesa in Estremadura. Cuesta's army, however, amounting to about 30,000
men, was in very bad condition.. On July 26th and the two following days Marshals Victor and Sebastiani attacked the position
of the allied armies before Talavera. The attack was mainly directed against the allied left, held by the British, and especially a
height occupied by General Hill: the Spaniards on the right were
comparatively safe from the nature of the ground. At one time
the British centre was broken, the guairs after repulsing the
French, having got into disorder by pursuing them too far; but
the advance of the enemy was arrested by the 48th regiment. On
the evening of the 28th all firing ceased, both armies retaining
their original position; but in the night the French retreated over
the Alberche.  This was one of the most bloody and best contested battles in the Peninsular war.'T'he French lost 7000 men
killed and wounded, the British upward of 5000. This victory
gained Wellesley the title of Viscount WTellington of Talavera.
The British, however, were not in a condition to penetrate farther.
The French, who had 200,000 men dispersed in Spain, were gathering from all sides, and early in August, besides Victor and Sebastiani, Marshals Soult, Ney, Mortier, Kellermann, and King Joseph himself, were in Estremadura. The English general retired
into Portugal by Trujillo and Badajoz; and Sir Robert Wilson
also returned, who, at the head of a light corps of Spanish and
Portuguese, had pushed on as far as Madrid. Before the end of
the year the French had virtually annihilated the Spanish forces,
and Lord Wellington now concentrated his attention on the defense of Portugal, fixing his head-quarters at Viseu, with advanced
posts toward Ciudad Rodrigo.
~ 1. We must now turn our attention toward another theatre
of war. We have already adverted to Napoleon's sudden abandonment of the pursuit of Sir John Moore, which was occasioned
by a breach with Austria.' In March, 1809, the Emperor Francis




A.D. 1809.   NAPOLEON CONQUERS AUSTRIA.               707
declared war against him. But Napoleon, inflicting a severe defeat upon the Archduke Charles at Eckmiihl, marched rapidly to
Vienna, which he entered with little resistance May 13th. He had
still, however, to fight the battle of Aspern, near Vienna, in which
he may be said to have been defeated. But the French army was
allowed time to recover from the shock, and the bloody battle of
Wagram followed, which laid Austria at Napoleon's feet. This
was succeeded by the disgraceful peace of Schbnbrunn, October
14th, which subsequently led to the marriage of Napoleon with
the Archduchess Maria Louisa.  In the same year Napoleon annexed the States of the Church to France, and, having been excommunicated by Pius VII., he caused that pontiff to be carried
off to Savona.
In order to support the Austrian struggle, the English ministry
resolved to divert the French:arms by an expedition to the Scheldt,
especially as Napoleon was attempting to convert Antwerp and
Flushing into great.naval dep6ts. Before the ond of July 37 sail
of the line and an army of 40,000 men were dispatched, but under
two most incompetent leaders-7-the Earl of Chatham, Pitt's elder
brother, and Rear Admiral Sir Richard Strachan. The opinion
of the more experienced officers was for a coul-de-mnain on Antwerp; instead of which, a fortnight was spent in reducing Flushing, during which time the Scheldt had been strongly fortified, and
40,000 men thrown into Antwerp.  The enterprise was then
abandoned as impracticable, and the expedition returned home,
leaving about 16,000 men in possession of the isle of WValcheren.
These, however, began rapidly to disappear, from the effects of the
fever and ague common on that unhealthy coast, and in a short
time half the force were in hospital. After the treaty of Schdnbrunn the occupation of W~alcheren was deemed of no advantage,
and toward the middle of November it was evacuated, the harbor,
arsenal, and magazines of Flushing having been destroyed as far
as possible.  Such was the end of an expedition said to have cost
20 millions.
Another diversion was attempted in Calabria, where the news
of Napoleon's excommunication had created a great sensation
among the people. In June Sir J. Stuart again crossed over
from Sicily with 15,000 men, while Sir William Hoste's squadron and flotillas of gun-boats and small armed vessels operated
upon the coast.. The French retired before. Sir J. Stuart, but
little was, effected besides the dismantling of the castles of Ischia
and Procida, and the destruction of several forts and batteries;
and after the capitulation of the Austrians the army returned to
Sicily. In the autumn five of the seven Ionian islands, then held
by the. French, were captured.  Santa Maura held out till. the,




708                    GEORGE II[.            CHAP. XXXIII.
following spring; and Corfu, the most important of the whole,
was not obtained till 1814, when it was ceded by Louis XVIII.
We pass over the remaining exploits of this year, the taking of
some French West India colonies, and various minor successes at
sea.
~ 14. A feeling of jealousy had long existed between Mr. Canning and Lord Castlereagh, which being heightened by mutual recriminations after the failure of the Walcheren expedition, a duel
ensued, in which Canning was wounded. Both had previously
resigned; and the Duke of Portland dying soon after, the ministry
seemed tottering to its fall. Mr. Perceval, however, accepted the
office of first lord of the treasury, retaining also the exchequer:
the Marquis Wellesley, our representative with the Spanish Junta,
was sent for and became foreign secretary in place of Canning;
Lord Liverpool was transferred from the home office to Lord Castlereagh's place of secretary at war, with Lord Palmerston as
under secretary;*and the I-Ion. R. Ryder tools the home department.
In April, 1810, some serious riots occurred in London. John
Gale Jones being charged with a breach of privilege for abusing
the House of Commons for closing their gallery during the discussion on the Walcheren business, Sir Francis Burdett, in defending him, used language for which he was committed to the
Tower. On his way thither the mob were very riotous; the windows of several unpopular noblemen and gentlemen were broken,
and some lives vere lost.  On the prorogation of Parliament Sir
Francis was of course liberated; but he disappointed the populace
of an expected ovation by going home by water.
In the Peninsula the Spaniards had been beaten on every point,
and the Junta itself was obliged to take refuge in Cadiz, which in
February, 1810, was invested by a French army. A British force
of about 6000 men had been thrown into that place to assist in
the defense, and the English fleet kept open the communication by
sea; but the blockade was not raised till August, 1812. After
the peace with Austria Napoleon was enabled to throw large reenforcements into Spain, including some of his best troops. The
"Army of Portugal," comprising 90,000 men under Massena, was
cantoned in Old Castile and Leon. Massena threatened to drive
the English out of Portugal in three months, for which purpose he'
advanced with a force of more than 60,000 men. Lord Wellington had 24,000 British troops, and more than double that number of Portuguese, who made much better soldiers than the Spaniards; but part of his force was detached south of the Tagus, to
watch Soult's army of Andalusia. The French advanced by Ciudad Rodrigo and Almeida, which they took, and Wellington fell




A.D. 1810.     LINES OF TORRES VEDRAS.                709
back upon a strong position at Sierra de Busaco, near Coimbra.
The British line, extending nearly eight miles, but with extensive
gaps, was attacked by the French with great vigor on the morning of September 27th. They were repulsed, however, with the
loss of 5000 men; and Massena, instead pf renewing the attempt,
seized the pass of Boialva, thus opening the road to Coimbra by
turning the British left. Wellington now retired upon the famous
lines of Torres Vedras, nearly 30 miles north of Lisbon, a position'which his eagle eye had marked out in the preceding year. These
lines wvere three: the first or outermost ran from Alhandra on the
Tagus to the heights of Torres Vedras, and thence along the little
river Zizambre to the sea; the second began at Quintilla, lower
down the Tagus, and ran, at a distance varying from six to ten
miles from the former, by Bucellas and Montachique to the mouth
of the little river San Lorenzo; the third or innermost was merely intended, in case of need, to cover the embarkation of the army
on board the fleet in the Tagus. The streams were dammed up
and reservoirs formed, so that the ground could be inundated if
necessary. The right of the lines was covered by the fleet and
gun-boats in the Tagus. The lines were fortified with breastworks, abattis, etc., and nearly 100 redoubts or forts, mounting
upward of 600 guns. Some of them were capable of holding
several hundred men, and one required a garrison of 3000.
Wellington entered these lines October 8th.  Massena came up
three days afterward, and was filled with despair at the sight.
After viewing them about a month, he retired in the middle of
November into winter-quarters without having attempted any
thing.
Our general operations this year were not unattended with success. An attempt of the French upon Sicily was repulsed with great
loss. By the end of the year they had been deprived of all their
possessions in both Indies. The Dutch had also lost most of their
East Indian settlements, and in the following year the remainder
were reduced. On the Continent, however, the French empire
was extending. Napoleon, having deposed his intractable brother
Louis, annexed Holland to France; and the German coast to
Hamburg being afterward added, the French empire might be
said to extend from Naples to the frontiers of Denmark, embracing a population of 80 millions. Nearly all the rest of Europe
were Napoleon's allies; and Bernadotte, one of his marshals, had
been elected crown prince of Sweden. Between him and Napoleon, however, there was a great antipathy; and when the former
came next year to the Swedish crown, he adopted Swedish views,
conciliated the friendship of England, and ultimately declared
against his former patron.




710                    GEORGE III.            CHAP. XXXIII.
~ 15. At home the scene was clouded by a return of the king's
malady, brought on, perhaps, by the death of his beloved daughter,
the Princess Amelia. Mr. Perceval now proposed the Prince of
Wales as regent, under the same restrictions with regard to the
creation of peers, the granting of offices, etc., as those laid down
by Pitt in 1788. The arrangements were not finally completed
till January, 1.811. George III. never recovered, and the regency
consequently lasted till his death in 1820. At first it was anticipated that there would be a change of ministry, and Lords Grey
and Grenville were actually employed to draw up answers to the
addresses of Parliament; but, being disgusted by some alterations
suggested by Sheridan, they declined any farther interference, and
the old ministry was retained. Shortly after the Duke of York
was reinstated as commander-in-chief.
Early-in 1811 Soult invaded Portugal from Andalusia, in order
to co-operate with Massena. He took Olivenza and Badajoz; but
by this time Massena's army was in a state of sickness and disorganization, and he was obliged to commence a retreat, closely followed by the English. His march was first directed on Coimbra
and Oporto; but, his attempt to pass the Mondego at the former
place being repulsed, he retreated up the left bank of that river,
much harassed by the British. The French committed the most
horrible cruelties and devastations in their retreat, burning every
town and village through which they passed, and maltreating the
inhabitants.  For these excesses, Massena, a man of brutal and
ferocious character, must be held responsible. He entered Spain
April 6th. In this pursuit much extra fatigue fell upon Lord
Wellington, in consequence of several general officers having returned to England on pretense of private business.
The draughts made by Soult for Portugal having reduced the
French army blockading Cadiz to 16,000 men, General Graham
(Lord Lynedoch), with about 4000 men, partly Portuguese, proceeded by sea to Algeziras, in the Bay of Gibraltar; and having
been joined at Tarifa by 7000 Spaniards,, marched by way of
Medina Sidonia toward the French position, with the view of tak.
ing them in the rear. Graham had expected that the Spaniards
would have held the heights of Barrosa; but when he arrived
there he found them occupied by Marshal Victor with 8000 men.
and a formidable artillery.  With his small division Graham carried them at the point of the bayonet. in little more than an hour
-with great loss, indeed, though almost twice as great On the
side of the French; but, not being supported by the Spaniards;
he was unable to follow up his victory, and the whole enterprise
led.to no result.
Toward the end of April, Massena, who bad received re-enforce



A.D. 1811, 1812.   BATTLES IN THE PENINSULA.            711
ments which swelled his army to 40,000 foot and 5000 horse, reentered Portugal with the view of relieving the fortress of Almeida.
Wellington marched to oppose him with 32,000 foot and 1200
horse.  They met at Fuentes de Onoro on the evening of May 3d:
a fierce struggle ensued for the possession of the place, and ultimately the French were driven out. Early on the morning of the
5th Massena vigorously renewed the attack, which was kept up
till evening, when the French retired with great loss. A few
days after they evacuated Almeida.  Napoleon was so dissatisfied
with Massena that he superseded him in the commaiid by General
Marmont. )Marmont, however, could do no better than his predecessor, and retired to Salamanca.
A little after (May 15th) a memorable battle was fought between
Marshal Beresford, who was besieging Badajoz, and Soult, who
had marched to its relief. Soult had about 23,000 men and 50
guns; Beresford had 27,000; but of these more than a third were
Spaniards, who fled at the first attack, and left the centre, where
the British were posted, exposed to all the fury of the French assault. The victory was Beresford's, after six hours of desperate
fighting; but of 6000 British who contended with the French
columns for the ridge of Albuera, only about 1500 were left unwounded.  The French lost 9000 men. Soult did not think fit
to renew the attack; and Beresford being re-enforced a day or
two after with 1500 English, Soult retreated on Seville.  On the
19th Wellington himself arrived with two fresh divisions, and the
siege of Badajoz was resumed. But a large French force approaching, the siege was abandoned after two unsuccessful assaults, and
Wellington fell back on Campo Mayor. A little after, the successes of General Hill obliged the French to evacuate the greater
part of Estremadura.  But in the eastern provinces of Spain they
were every where triumphant.
~ 16. The beginning of 1812 was marked by some ministerial
changes. The Marquess W~ellesley resigned, objecting to serve
under Mr. Perceval, though not with him, and Lord Castlereagh
occupied his place as foreign secretary.  Shortly afterward Perceval himself was removed by the hand of an assassin.  He was
shot in the lobby of the House of Commons about five o'clock in
the afternoon of May 11th, by one Bellingham, a Liverpool broker,
whose petitions had been rejected, and expired in a few minutes.
The assassin was convicted and hanged within a week. Upon
this event all the ministers tendered their resignations, and an attempt was made to construct a Whig cabinet; but it failed. Lord
Liverpool now became premier, and Mr. Vansittart chancellor of
the exchequer. The financial measures of Perceval were adopted,
and it was resolved to push the war with vigor.




712                    GEORGE III.           CHAP. XXXIII.
Wellington opened the campaign in the Peninsula with the
capture of Ciudad Rodrigo, which was taken Jan. 19, after less
than a fortnight's siege. The Spaniards now first began to appreciate his genius: the Cortes voted him their thanks, and the
title of Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo. The English Parliament granted him an annuity of ~2000, to be annexed to the earldom to
which he was now raised. Shortly after Badajoz was again invested (March 16), and was carried April 6, but with a terrible
slaughter.  Soult, who was advancing to its relief, now again retreated toward Seville, pursued by the British, who overtook and
routed his rear guard at Villa Garcia. General Hill having by a
masterly movement cut off the communication between Soult and
MIarmont by seizing Almaraz, which covered the passage of the
Tagus, Wellington, no longer reduced to the defensive, prepared
to advance into Spain. He had now 40,000 men, but one division
consisted of Spaniards.  MIarmont had about 50,000, and was
much superior in cavalry and artillery, yet he evacuated Salamanca when Wellington appeared before it (June 16). As an
instance of the barbarous manner in which the French conducted
the war in Spain, it may be mentioned that during their occupation of this celebrated university town they had destroyed 22 out
of 25 colleges. In July both armies were facing each other on the
banks of the Guarena.  On the 20th, IMarmont, who had been
re-enforced, put his army in motion to regain the banks of the
Tormes, and cut offWellington's communication with Salamanca.
Wellington immediately started after him, the two armies moving
in parallel columns within sight of each other, yet refraining from
all hostilities, except the occasional exchange of a cannon-shot.
It was a sort of race which should arrive first at the Tormes.
The armies crossed that river, the British at the bridge of Salamanca, tlIe French at the fords higher up, and both took up positions on the south bank.  On the 22d, Marmont having too much
extended and weakened his left, Wellington took advantage of the
error and completely defeated him. Wellington in his dispatch
calculates the French loss at from 17,000 to 20,000 men, and
says it was admitted that their whole army would have been in
his hands had there been an hour more daylight. iViarmont himself was wounded by a shell. The French, now under General
Clausel, fled precipitately to Valladolid, which they abandoned on
the approach of the British. Hearing that King Joseph, with
20,000 men, was threatening his flank and rear, Wellington, leavino a force on the Duero to watch Clausel, turned upon him, pursued him on the road to Madrid through St. Ildefonso, and entered the Spanish capital August 12, the French and their Spanish
partisans hurrying from it in the greatest haste.  On the 14th




A.D. 1812.       WAR WITH THE AMERICANS.                      713
the French garrison in the Retiro palace surrendered, when 180
guns, 20,000 stand of arms, and an immense quantity of warlike
stores were captured.
One of the first results of the fall of the capital was that Soult
abandoned the blockade of Cadiz and retired to Granada; but
Wellington soon found that it would be impossible with his force
to hold an open town like Madrid in the presence of the large
and well-disciplined French armies both in the north and south
of Spain, and he retired on Salamanca, and subsequently went into
winter quarters at Ciudad Rodrigo.
~ 17. During our arduous struggle with the French the Americans had displayed no friendly disposition toward this country.
They were incensed at our exercise of the right of search, which
had been forced upon us by the Berlin Decree,* and they insisted
on the doctrine that the neutral flag makes free goods. In 1811
Napoleon released the Americans from the observance of the Berlin and Milan decrees; and in the same year the Americans passed against us a non-intercourse act, by which all British goods
arriving in America were to be seized, unless we recalled the obnoxious orders in council before alluded to. These were revoked
in favor of America in June, 1812, although we had been already
subjected to many insults from the Americans, which we had disregarded. But the concession, it was said, came too late; the
Americans had declared war a few days previously.  They had
long been making preparations for a struggle which promised to
be profitable to them,t and they immediately dispatched to Canada a body of 2500 men under General Hull.  Proclamations
were issued inviting the Canadians to throw off the British yoke;
* Much earlier than the Berlin decree (1806) the British had exercised
the right of search, and justified it by the doctrine that a British subject
can never become an alien, and that Great Britain had the right to take
her native-born subjects wherever found. Ten years before this famous decree, Mr. King, the American minister in London, had, in the space of nine
months, made application for the release of 271 seamen, mostly Americans,
who had been seized and pressed into the naval service of Great Britain.
-A.. ED.
t The only profit which the Americans expected from a war was the restoration, or, at least, the protection of their commerce, which had been so
ruthlessly and wickedly destroyed by Great Britain and France in their desperate efforts, from 1806 until 1811, to damage each other. So overbearing and insolent had been the conduct of the British toward the Americans
for many years, that war between the two countries appeared inevitable.
Insults to our flag on the high seas finally became more and more frequent;
and because the Americans forbore to engage in hostilities, the British
press, in 1811 and 1812, began to boast that the United States'" could not
be kicked into a war." Then forbearance became no longer a virtue; war
was declared against Great Britain, and carried to a successful telmination. —zA.i. ED.




714                     GEORGE III.            CHAP. XXXIII.
but they remained faithful, and the military measures adopted by
General Brock were so judicious that in less than two months
Hull was obliged to capitulate.  A second expedition to invade
Canada was arranged on the Niagara frontier soon afterward. It
was repulsed with great loss.  At sea the Americans succeeded
in capturing some of our frigates, owing to their own being much
more heavily armed.*
Meanwhile that breach between France and Russia had occurred which ultimately proved one of the chief causes of Napoleon's
downfall. Both Russia and Sweden had declined to carry out the
Berlin Decree; and in March, 1812, a treaty was concluded between those powers, in consequence of which Napoleon made active preparations for war. Before entering on it he was willing
to patch up a peace with England, and was ready to make large
concessions; but, as he still demanded Spain for his brother Joseph, his proposals were not entertained. Napoleon then undertook his disastrous expedition into Russia, which it does not belong to our subject to narrate.  The burning of Moscow, which
he entered September 15, forced him to a retreat, during which
the greater part of his vast host was annihilated either by the inclemency of the weather or the sword of the enemy; while Napoleon himself, with his usual intolerance of reverses, abandoning
his army to its fate, traveled post-haste to Paris, where he arrived
December 18, thoroughly beaten and discomfited.  During the
summer a treaty was concluded between England and Sweden,
and: subsequently between England and Russia; and when the British Parliament assembled in November, a grant of ~200,000 was
voted for the relief of the sufferers in Russia, in addition to a
large amount raised by private subscription. The Parliament also
voted ~100,000 to Lord Wellington.
~ 18. The French reverses, which not only prevented Napoleon
from sending re-enforcements into Spain, but also obliged him to
recall Miarshal Soult and 20,000 men from that country in order
to oppose the advance of the Russians, opened a brightening prospect for the British arms in the Peninsula.  The Spanish provisional government, at last throwing aside their ridiculous pride,
made Lord Wellington commander-in-chief of the Spanish forces
-a proceeding, however, which did not add much to his strength,
as they were little better than an undisciplined rabble. The great* This is not the whole story. It is estimated by both American and
English writers that during the year 1812 upward of 50 British armed vessels, and 250 merchantmen, with an aggregate of more than 3000 prisoners, and a vast amount of booty, were captured by the Americans. It was
not so much the superior weight of metal as greater activity that gave so
many naval victories to the Americans. The ocean swarmed with their
privateers. —AM. ED.




A.D. 1812, 1813.  BATTLE OF VITTORIA.                  715
est service the Spaniards rendered was in guerrilla warfare. The
whole force on which Wellington could rely was under 70,000
British and Portuguese, of' which about 6000 were cavalry. In
iay, 1813, he entered Spain in three divisions, the centre being
led by himself, the right by Sir Rowland Hill, the left by Sir
Thomas Graham.  The advance was made by Valladolid, the
French retreating before them till they took up a strong position
in front of the town of Vittoria. This was attacked June 21, and
carried after an obstinate resistance, the French being driven
through the town, and pursued till it grew dark. The whole of
the French artillery, baggage, and ammunition, together with property valued at a million sterling, was captured on this occasion;
and King Joseph himself was nearly seized by a party of the 10th
hussars.  The French army fled in the greatest disorder to Pampluna; but, as the place would evidently have to sustain a siege
or blockade, the garrison would admit none of their countrymen
except IKing Joseph. The remainder of the fugitives pursued their
flight, and did not rally till they reached the Pyrenees. Pampluna
and St. Sebastian were soon invested by the allies, and the passes
of the Pyrenees occupied from Roncesvalles to Irun, at the mouth
of the Bidassoa.
Napoleon now sent Soult, with the title of "lieutenant of the
emperor," to reorganize the defeated army and defend the frontiers of France. The former commission he executed with great
promptitude and skill at St. Jean Pied de Port; the latter was
beyond his power, though he made some desperate attempts, and
even succeeded in regaining two of the mountain passes. On four
consecutive days (27th to 30th July) bloody and persevering attacks were made upon the allied line, but they were repulsed;
and on the 31st Soult was in full retreat for France. These engagements have been called the "' Battles of the Pyrenees." Soult
would have been fairly entangled and surrounded at San Estevan
but for the imprudence of three drunken English soldiers who
were surprised near his quarters.  His army suffered severe losses
in that terrible pass. He now retired behind the Bidassoa, and
Wellington halted.
On August 31 St. Sebastian was carried by assault, but with
terrible loss; and the castle surrendered in a few days after.
Pampluna held out till October 31; but Wellington, leaving that
fortress invested, crossed the Bidassoa early in that month with
his left wing, and Soult retreated to the Nivelle. Before the middle of November all the allied army was on French ground. Wellington had issued a proclamation containing the strictest injunctions not to molest the peaceable inhqbitants, which the Spaniards
could not be brought to obey, and at last he was obliged to send




716                    GEORGE III.            CHAP. XXXIII.
most of them back over the frontier. The peasants of the south
of France, oppressed by the conscription, welconied the English as
deliverers. On November 10 the French position on the Nivelle
was forced. Soult then retired to his intrenched camp at BIayonne, whence he made some skillful attacks on the English posts,
but without success. The allies then went for a few weeks into
winter quarters.
~ 19. The whole Continent was now in arms against Napoleon.
During his disastrous retreat from Russia the Emperor Alexander
had gathered up his forces and hung upon his rear, and as he approached the west, the Poles, and then the Prussians, rose to join
him. A sentiment of the national degradation had at length been
arohsed among the Prussians which the king dared not venture to
oppose.  The news of Wlellington's glorious campaign in the
Peninsula also stimulated the Germans to' resistance. Frederick
William III., King of Prussia, and Alexander, Emperor of Russia, contracted an alliance offensive and defensive (Feb. 28), which
was ratified at Kalisch. This coalition, being the sixth against
France, was joined by Great Britain (June 14). Napoleon, however, was still superior in force to the allies. By the most unsparing conscription he had raised 700,000 men, half of whom
were dispatched into Germany; but they were raw recruits, necessarily much inferior to those with which he had won his early
victories. -He gained in May the battles of Lutzen and Bautzen;
but they were bloody, and led to little result. The French reoccupied Leipsic and Dresden, and an armistice was agreed upon,
from June 5 to August 10, to give time for negotiations mediated
by Austria. Napoleon haughtily refused to give up his conquests
beyond the Rhine; and at the conclusion of the armistice Austria joined the coalition against him, although the emperor's daughter had been left regent of France. England supplied the Prussians, Hanoverians, and Swedes with money and stores. Then
followed the battles at Dresden, Gross Beeren, Dennewitz, and
the Katzbach, in all which the French were defeated, and finally
the crowning battle of Leipsic, called by the Germans the Viliker-.
schlachlt, or battle of the nations, from the numbers engaged, at
which Napoleon was completely overthrown, and compelled to a
retreat as disastrous as that from Moscow, recrossing the Rhine
with less than a quarter of the enormous army he had collected
in Germany. He reached Paris November 9, though beaten, still
arrogant and presumptuous.
In February, 1814, Wellington again took the field, and Soult
retired before him across the Gave d'Oleron. On the 27th he
was defeated at Orthez with great loss, and Wellington pushed on
to the Adour, directing Sir John H-Iope to invest Bayonne, and




A.D. 1814.      THE ALLIES ENTER PARIS.                717
Marshal Beresford to occupy Bordeaux.  On the arrival of the
last the mayor arrl citizens proclaimed Louis XVIII. of their own
accord, for Wellington studiously avoided all interference in favor
of the Bourbons.  Soult now retreated upon Toulouse; and Wellington, who reached that city March 27th, found him -posted on
the right bank of the broad and rapid Garonne. It was the 9th
of April before the British army could be conveyed to the other
side, and on the 10th, Easter Sunday, was fought the bloody battle which takes its name from the town. The force of Wellington was a little superior, but Soult was much stronger in artillery.  His position was-carried, but with considerable loss, and on
the night of the 11th he evacuated Toulouse and retreated toward
Carcassone. In that night he marched 21 miles; yet some French
writers have claimed the battle of Toulouse as one of their victories! Wellington entered Toulouse on the 12th, and in the
afternoon received intelligence that Napoleon had abdicated at
Fontainebleau six days before the battle. Soult at first refused
to acknowledge the provisional government established in the.name
of Louis XLVIII.; but, on receiving farther intelligence, a convention was signed on the 18th. On the 14th, General Thouvenot,
though apprised of the state of affairs at Paris, brutally made a
night sally from Bayonne, in which a great number of men were
killed and wounded on both sides.
~ 20. We must now briefly advert to the events which thus put
an end to the glorious progress of Wellington.  During February
and March Napoleon had obstinately contested with far inferior
forces the advance of the allies from the Rhine, displaying all his
great qualities as a general. During this campaign a congress of
the ministers of the allied powers and of France was held at Chatillon-sur-Seine, England being represented by Lord Castlereagh.
They offered those boundaries which France pretends to claim as
her natural limits-the Pyrenees, the Alps, and the Rhine; but
to these proposals Napoleon refused to accede till too late. It
does not belong to our subject to narrate this campaign, and it
will suffice to say that after several battles the Emperor Alexan.der and the King of Prussia entered Paris March 31st. The
allied sovereigns now refused to treat with Napoleon, who had retired to Fontainebleau; he was obliged to abdicate, April 11th,
and a provisional government was formed to effect the restoration
of the Bourbons. At the instance of the Emperor Alexander,
Napoleon was allowed to retain the imperial title, the isle of Elba
was assigned as his dominion, and he was to receive from France
a pension of six million francs. England was no party to this
treaty, but afterward assented to it. Louis XVIII., who during
his exile had resided in England, entered Paris in state May 3d,




718                    GEORGE III.            CHAP. XXXIII.
and on the 30th he signed with Great Britain, Austria, Russia,
and Prussia a treaty of peace and alliance, by which the French
boundaries, with some additions, were determined and secured as
they existed in 1792. The possession of Malta and its dependencies was confirmed to England; the Cape of Good Hope had been
secured by a previous treaty with Holland; but all the Dutch
East India colonies, except Ceylon, were restored. All the colonies possessed by France in 1792 were also restored, except Tobago, St. Lucie, and the Isle of France; and several islands and
colonies were likewise given back to'Spain. Hanover was raised
to the dignity of a kingdom, with succession only in the male line.
In June the allied armies evacuated Paris. The Emperor Alexander, the King of Prussia, and many of their most distinguished
generals. and nobility, then visited England, when there was a solemn thanksgiving in St.Paul's, and a series of grand fetes and
entertainments.
Contemporaneously with the advance of the allies upon Paris,
an English force under Sir Thomas Graham, which iwas afterward
joined by Bernadotte and his Swedes, had been engaged ill reducing Holland, and the English suffered severely in attempting
to storm the formidable fortress of Bergen op Zoom. By the
peace of Paris, Belgiumrn was incorporated with Holland.  Lord
William Bentinck5 with an Anglo-Sicilian force; assisted by a
squadron under Sir Edward Pellew, succeeded in reducing Genoa,
which was annexed to the kingdom of Sardinia; Pius VII, was
restored to the papal throne; and Lombardy, with the addition of
Venice and. several other places, was, after the expulsion of the
Viceroy Eugene Beauharnais, made over to Austria. Lord Bentinck appears to have exceeded his powers in proclaiming the independence of Italy, and thus exciting hopes which could not be
realized.  Ferdinand VII. was restored to the throne of Spain
without the exaction of any pledge. Soon after the Duke of
Wellington, for such he had now been created, arrived at Mladrid
to mediate between the contending parties; and he advised Ferdinand to grant the Spaniards a constitution, and to rule with liberality and moderation. On his return home the duke received
the thanks of both houses, and a sum of ~500,000 was voted to
him to purchase an estate.
~ 21. We must now briefly advert to the American war, which,
however, after the great events just related, does not present
features of much interest.  Instructed by the events of 1812, the
English government sent out a more powerful class of frigates,
and henceforward the engagements went for the most part in favor of the British. One of the most remarkable was that between
the Shannon and Chesapeake, a British and an American frigate,




A.D. 1815.         ESCAPE OF NAPOLEON.                    719
of which the latter was considerably superior in weight of metal.
Captain Broke, of the Shannon, sent a challenge into Boston harbor, and a battle was fought June 1, 1813, when, after an action
of fifteen minutes, Captain Broke boarded the Chesapeake, and
carried her off in sight of the disappointed Americans.
In 1813 and 1814 the Americans renewed their attempts upon
Canada, but without success, and it is calculated that their three
invasions cost them 50,000 men. Meanwhile our squadrons ravaged the American coast, the lighter vessels penetrating up the
rivers and. inflicting considerable damage.*  In 1814 the British
in America were re-enforced with some of the veterans of the
Peninsula. On Aug. 15th, General Ross, with only 1600 men,
dispersed in half an hour about 8000 Americans posted on some
heights near the-River Potomact, entered Washington, the capital
of the Union, and burnt the Senate House, the House of Representatives, the Capitol, the president's residence, the arsenal, dockyards, and other public buildings, Several other American towns
were taken; but an attack upon Baltimore was repulsed with
great loss, including the death of General Ross; and an attempt
upon New Orleans in December was still more unfortunate.
After the abdication of Napoleon the Americans began to think
of peace, and a treaty was signed at Ghent, Dec. 24, 1814. Both
parties agreed to use their endeavors to suppress the slave-trade.
~ 22. In January, 1815, a congress of eight of the principal European powers assembled at Vienna to regulate the affairs of Europe; but they had not proceeded far in their labors when they
were astounded with the intelligence that Bonaparte had escaped
from Elba.  Ile landed at Cannes, March 1, with 1000 men, and
the troops joined his standard as he advanced.  On the night of
April 19th Louis XVIII. fled to Lille, and on the following night
Napoleon entered the palace of the Tuileries. The congress at
Vienna declared him an outlaw and violator of the common peace,
devoted him to public vengeance, and agreed to unite for the
* The amphibious warfare carried on by Admiral Cockburn along the
coast, from Delaware Bay to Charleston, was marked by acts of unnecessary
cruelty, disgraceful to the British name and fame. Public and private
property was every where plundered or destroyed, and many negroes were
carried off from the coast plantations and sold for cash in the West Indies.
Commodore Hardy's conduct on the New England coast, at the same time,
was in most honorable contrast with that of Cockburn.-AM. ED.
t According to the best authorities, Ross was at the head of 5000 men,
while General Winder, the American commander, had only 3000 (one half
of them undisciplined militia) until joined by the seamen and marines of
Commodore Barney, whose flotilla, lying in the Patuxent, had been burned
when Ross approached. The place of the battle was not " on heights near
the River Potomac," but inland, at Bladensburg, four or five miles from
Washington City.-A.iv En.




720                    GEORGE III.           CHAP. XXXII:J
maintenance of the treaty of Paris. The Duke of Wellington, who
was present at the congress, was consulted as to the conduct of
the war. The duke impressed upon the English ministry the necessity, even on the ground of economy, of making a grand effort
to crush the enemy at once. Both the ministry and Parliament
were impressed with the soundness of this advice. The budget
of the year was raised to the enormous sum of ninety millions, a
considerable part of which went to subsidize the Continental nations; and the duke proceeded to Belgium to prepare for the expected campaign.
Napoleon crossed the Belgian frontier June 14th, with about
100,000 infantry, 25,000 cavalry, and 350 pieces of artillery.
Wellington lay at Brussels with about 76,000 men, not half of
whom were British, and some 84 guns. Blicher was at some distance on his left with 80,000 Prussians and 200 guns. Napoleon
advanced by Charleroi; and when Wellington had ascertained that
this was the real point of attack, he made the proper dispositions
to meet it. On the 15th Marshal Ney advanced beyond Charleroi
on the road to Brussels, driving back from Quatre Bras an advanced brigade of the army of the Netherlands under the Prince
of Weimar. The position was, however, recovered by the Prince
of Orange; and on the next day, General Picton having arrived
with the 5th division and some Germans under the Duke of Brunswick, Ney was repulsed from Quatre Bras, though his force was
nearly double that of the allies. Meanwhile, on the same day, Napoleon with his main body had attacked the Prussians at Ligny and
St. Amand, in front of their head-quarters at Sombref, had driven
Bliicher back with great loss, and compelled him to retreat to
Wavre; but he was so ignorant of his victory that it was not till
noon of the 17th that he dispatched Grouchy, with a corps of
32,000 men, in pursuit of the Prussians.
BlUicher's retrograde movement necessitated a similar one on the
part of Wellington, in order to keep up the communication between the allied armies. On the 17th he made a leisurely retreat,
undisturbed except by a few cavalry skirmishes, to the plains of
WATERLOO, which he had previously selected for a battle-field.
In the course of the same day Napoleon formed a junction with
Ney, when their united forces amounted to about 78,000 men.
The night was stormy, with thunder, rain, and wind; the following morning, Sunday, June 18th, opened heavily, but the rain had
ceased. Wellington occupied a position extending from a ravine
near MiIerke Braine on the right to the hamlet of Ter la Haye on
the left, on which side the communication was open with Blicher
at Wavre, through Ohain. In front of his right centre was the
chateau of Hougoumont, in front of his left centre the farm-house




A.D. 1815.       BATTLE OF WATERLOO.                  721
Df La Haye Sainte, both occupied by our troops. In the rear of
the British centre was the farm-house of Mont St. Jean, and still
farther back, the village of the same name. The French occupied
some heights in front of Wellington's position, and about a mile;
distant, their right being before the village of Planchenois, and
occupying the farm of La Belle Alliance, while their left rested on
the Genappe road. It was the first time that Napoleon had come
into contact with British troops. He was full of confidence, and
is said to have exclaimed,'" Enfin je vais me mesurer avee ce Vilainton."  About 10 o'clock the French line was observed to be
in motion, and soon a violent attack was made on Hougoumont,
defended by a brigade of the guards, who held it throughout the
day. The French succeeded better at La Haye Sainte, bravely
defended by some of the German Legion, who were all slain; but
the post was afterward recovered. In other parts of the line repeated attacks were made by heavy columns of French infantry,
but without success, and Napoleon then had recourse to some desperate charges of cavalry, which were repulsed by the British infantry formed in squares. To put an end to this, Wellington ordered an advance of the brigade of heavy cavalry under Lord Edward Somerset, consisting of the life guards, horse guards, and 1st
dragoon guards, who completely rode down and dispersed the
French cuirassiers, 2000 of them being made prisoners in this
charge. At 7 o'clock in the evening the British line retained its
original position, when Bulow's corps of Prussians arrived at Planchenois and La Belle Alliance, and began to engage the French
right. Napoleon's chances were now growing desperate, and, as
a last effort, he ordered the advance of his magnificent Old Guard
against the British position of La Haye Sainte. Napoleon led the
advance some way himself, and then took shelter behind some rising ground, leaving Ney, " the bravest of the brave," to head the
charge. The guard advanced up the gently sloping ridge in two
dark and threatening columns, galled by a flank fire from the
British light division. At the top of that ridge the British guards
were lying down to avoid the fire of the French artillery; but as
the French columns approached, the duke gave the word to rise,
and at the distance of about 50 yards they delivered a terrible volley into the French ranks as they were attempting to deploy into
line. Their columns shook and wavered, a charge was ordered,
and the Old Guard was hurled down the hill in one mingled mass
with their conquerors. The sight of that repulse threw the whole
French line into confusion and dismay; Napoleon galloped to the
rear, and Wellington, availing himself of the auspicious moment,
ordered a general advance. The French army was now in co0m
plete rout; Wellington and Bliicher met at a house called La
HTti




722                    GEORGE III.           CHAP. XXXIII.
aIaison Rouge, not far from La Belle Alliance; and the pursuit
of the enemy was left to the Prussians, who were comparatively
fresh. Many prisoners were made, and 150 guns fell into the
hands of the allies. Napoleon himself narrowly escaped capture.
It was computed that in the three days' engagements and in the
retreat the French lost 30,000 men; and when the remaining fugitives reached the French frontier, the greater part dispersed never
again to meet. But the loss of the allies had also been enormous.
It was estimated that nearly half the men actually engaged were
either killed or wounded.  Among the killed were General Picton and General Sir William Ponsonby; among the wounded, the
Earl of Uxbridge (afterward Marquess ofAnglesea), General Cooke,
General Halkett, Colonel Fitzroy Somerset, and others. The
Prince of Orange was also wounded. The Duke of Brunswick
had fallen at Quatre Bras at the head of his black hussars.
~ 23. The allies now advanced upon Paris, which the remains
of the grand army evacuated July 6th, and the allies took possession. Blicher was for pulling down the column in the Place
Vendome, blowing up the bridge of Jena, and levying 100 million
francs on the city; but on all these points he ultimately yielded
to the more moderate counsels of Wellington. Napoleon had abdicated June 22d in favor of his young son Napoleon II.; but the
allies would be content with nothing less than the restoration of
the Bourbons.  On July 8th Louis XVIII. re-entered Paris and
quietly resumed the government.
Meanwhile Napoleon, his head full of uncertain projects, now
thinking of joining the remains of his army beyond the Loire, and
now of flying to America, arrived at Rochefort July 3d, where,
finding all hope of escape cut off by the numerous British cruisers,
he surrendered himself on board the Bellerophon, Captain Maitland, an English ship of the line, which happened to be in the
Roads. He had previously written a theatrical letter to the prince
regent, claiming the protection of the British people, and comparing himself to Themistocles when he sought the hospitality of.
Admetus.  But Captain Maitland was careful to make him understand that he could give no promises as to -his reception, and
that he could only undertake to convey him safely to England.
Maitland was ordered to proceed to Plymouth Sound, and to allow no communication with the shore.  The resolution of the
allies was communicated to him July 31st, and on August 7th he
was put on board the Northumberland, the flag-ship of Admiral
Sir G. Cockburn, and conveyed to the island of St. Helena.  Here
he lingered out the remainder of his life in fruitless hope and unavailing discontent, till death released him from his sufferings,
May 5th, 1821.- He was incontestably the greatest general of'




A.D. 1i815, 1816.   DISTRESS AND DISCONTENT.          723
modern times, and had taken every capital of importance in Europe except London; yet he wanted some of the qualities which
make a great man, and especially dignity and fortitude in the endurance of misfortune.
The peace of Paris, or definitive treaty between France and the
allied powers, was signed in that capital November 20th. The
settlement of Europe was arranged by the congress at Vienna.
The Emperor of Russia, the Emperor of Austria (for such was
now his title instead of Emperor of Germany), and the King of
Prussia, had also signed what they called the " Holy Alliance"an agreement to govern on Christian principles; which the Duke
of Wellington wisely declined to sign, on the ground that. it was
too vague.
At the commencement of the war with France in 1793 the English funded debt had been a little under 228 millions.  In February, 1816, the unredeemed debt, funded and unfunded, amounted
to nearly 800 millions, entailing an annual charge of more than
28 millions. The last three years of the wasr alone had cost the
country very nearly 200 millions.
~ 24. The triumph of the nation was succeeded by a reaction
of internal distress and discontent. During the war the excitement of national feeling and the natural exultation of victory had
prevented the people from complaining, and it was not till the
struggle was over that they began to feel the burdens which it
hlad occasioned. Trade languished from the exhaustion of the
Continental nations, and their consequent inability to purchase
our goods; while through unfavorable seasons the price of wheat
rose before the end of 1816 from 52s. to upward of 100s. a quarter; and the distress was augmented by the corn law of 1815,
which closed the ports to the importation of foreign grain till the
price of wheat reached 80s. A multitude of persons were thrown
out of employment through the depressed state of trade, and their
numbers were swelled by the soldiers and sailors discharged at the
termination of the war. Hence arose seditions and tumults, which
in the agricultural districts were marked by incendiary fires, in the
manufacturing towns by the breaking of those ingenious machines
by which human labor had been to a great extent superseded.
[The subject of Parliamentary reform now began to be agitated
among the great mass of the people, which previously had been
little more than a speculative question with some leading statesmen. A ramification of clubs, called Hampden Clubs, was established throughout the country, that of London being presided over
by Sir Francis Burdett.  Other leading members were Major
Cartwright and the demagogue orator Henry Hunt.  Their demnand for reform embraced annual Parliaments and universal suf



724                    GEORGE III.             CHAP. XXXIII.
frage; and a report of a secret committee of the House of Commons in February, 1817, represented these clubs as meditating
nothing short of a revolution.  In the preceding December dangerous riots had taken place in Spa Fields, which were with difficulty put down through the firmness and courage of Sir James
Shaw and of the lord mayor.
One result of the peace was the suppression of the Algerine pirates. During the war these nests of robbers had been connived
at; but in 1816 Sir Edward Pellew (Lord Exmouth) proceeded
to Algiers with 25 men-of-war, besides gun-boats, etc., and being
joined by a small Dutch squadron under Admiral Van Capellan,
almost completely destroyed, after a few hours' bombardment, the
formidable fortifications of Algiers (August 27th), together with
nine Algerine frigates, etc. A loss, however, of 852 officers and
men was sustained by the British. The Dey of Algiers now accepted the terms we dictated, and 1083 Christian slaves, principally Italians, were liberated.
~ 25. The general feeling of discontent among the lower classes,
and an outrage committed upon the prince regent, the windows of
whose carriage were broken as he was returning from opening the
Parliament, January 28th, 1817, led to the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act. At the same time the execution of the law of
libel was severely pressed, and numerous ex officio informations
were filed against political writers.  One of the most remarkable
of these prosecutions was that against William Hone, a bookseller
in the Old Bailey, for a profane libel, consisting of parodies on the
Catechism, the Lord's prayer, the commandments, etc.  Hone
conducted his own -defense with considerable ability, and was
acquitted by the jury, who seem to have felt that it was the
political rather than the profane character of the libels thank
had- excited the indignation of the government. Lord Chiet
Justice Ellenborough resigned in consequence of this trial, in
which he had been to a certain extent foiled and browbeaten by
Hone.
The Princess Charlotte, only child of the regent, died this year
November 6th, after giving birth to a still-born infant.  She hacd
espoused, May 16th, 1816, Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, the
present King of the Belgians.
In 1818 the prospects of the country seemed improving. Trade
was more active, employment more constant, and sedition consequently less rampant. In September a congress of the allies was
held at Aix-la-Chapelle in order to settle the withdrawal of the
army of occupation from France, of which the Duke of Wellington was generalissimo.  The duke took leave of the troops by an
order of the day dated at Cambray, November 7. On his return




A.D. 1816-1820.   DEATH OF THE KING.                  725
to England he was appointed master-general of the ordnance, with
a seat in the cabinet.
~ 26. In 1819 was passed the act, commonly known as MIr.
Peel's Act, to remove the Bank restriction passed in 1797, and to
provide for the gradual resumption of cash payments. May 1,
1823, was assigned as the period for the payment of all notes on
demand in the current gold coin of the realm; but the Bank anticipated this period by two years, and began to pay in specie
~May 1, 1821.
In August, 1819, the demagogue Henry Hunt got up a great
meeting in St. Peter's Fields, Manchester, on the subject of Parliamentary reform. The attempt to apprehend him produced a
disturbance, in which about half a dozen persons were killed and
a score or two wounded. This affair obtained among the " Radicals," as the extreme reform party were now called, the name of
the Manchester Massacre, or "Peterloo."  Hunt and eight or
ten of his friends were captured, and, being tried and convicted
of a misdemeanor in the following spring, were sentenced to various terms of imprisonment. Such was the alarm occasioned in
the public mind by these disturbances that Parliament was opened
in November, when the ministers brought in and passed six acts:
namely, for the more speedy execution of justice in cases of misdemeanor; to prevent military training; to prevent and punish
blasphemous and seditious libels; an act for seizing arms; a
stamp act, with the view of repressing libels; and an act to prevent seditious meetings and assemblies. But there was something
wrong in the state of the nation, of which these seditions were
but the outward symptoms. They required something more than
repressive treatment, and were ndt thoroughly healed till a better
and more liberal course of legislation was some years later adopted.
On January 23, 1820, died the Duke of Kent, aged 52, leaving
an only daughter, her present majesty, born Mlay 24, 1819. In
less than a week afterward his father, George III., expired (Jan.
29), at the age of 82, and in the 60th year of his reign, the longest
of any sovereign that ever sat on the English throne. His private
conduct had been always unexceptionable; and his plain and unostentatious manner, his warmth of feeling, and his attachment to
rural pursuits, had endeared him to a large portion of his subjects.
As a sovereign he undoubtedly ever had the honor and welfare
of the country at heart, though occasionally views somewhat narrow and contracted, arising more from a defective education than
any want of natural good sense, prevented him from seeing things
in their proper light; and when once he had adopted an opinion,
he was apt to cling to it with a firmness which not unfrequently




726                             GEORGE II.                       CHAP. XXXIII.
degenerated into obstinacy. Queen Charlotte had died in November, 1818.
CHRONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE EVENTS.
A.D.                                      A.D.
1803. War renewed between England and  1810. Battle of Busaco. Lines of Torres YeFrance.                                   dras occupied.
1S04. Pitt's second administration.       1811. The Regency.
"  Napoleon assumes the title of emperor.   "  Battles of Fuentes de Onoro and Al1S05. Battle of Austerlitz.                     buera.
"  Battle of Trafalgar and death of Nel- 1812. Assassination of Mr. Perceval.  Lord
son.                                      Liverpool prime minister.
1SO6. Death of Pitt.                        "  Capture of Ciudad Rodrigo and Bada"  Lord Grenville prime minister, and          joz.
Fox foreign secretary.               "  Battle of Salamanca.
"  Battle of Jena. Berlin Decree.         "  War with the United States.
"  Death of Fox.                             Napoleon's invasion of Russia.
1807. Duke of Portland prime minister.    1813. Battles of Vittoria and the Pyrenees.
"  Peace of Tilsit.                       "  Capture of St. Sebastian. Wellington
"  Bombardment of Copenhagen.                  enters France.
4"  Conquest of Portugal by the French.    "  Battle of Leipsic.  Napoleon driven
1808. Joseph Bonaparte proclaimed King of       out of Germany.
Spain. Insurrection of the Spaniards. 1814. Battle of Toulouse.
"  Battle of Vimiera and occupation of   "  Abdication of Napoleon at FontaineLisbon by the British troops.             bleau.
1809. Battle of Corunna and death of Sir   "  Peace with the United States.
John Moore.                        1815. Napoleon's return to France.
"  Sir Arthur Wellesley commander-in-   "b  Battle of Waterloo, and second abdi.
chief in the Spanish peninsula.           cation of Napoleon.
"  Battle of Talavera.                    "  Peace of Paris.
"  Battle of Wagram. Peace of Sch6n- 1816. Bombardment of Algiers.
brunn between France and Austria.  1817. Death of the Princess Charlottea
"  Walcheren expedition.                1S19. Peel's Currency Bill.
"  Mr. Perceval prime minister.           "  Riots at Manchester.
1820. Death of George IIl.




Medal of the Battle of Aliwal.
Obv.: VICTORIA REGINA. Head, wearing coronet, to left. Rev.: ARMY OF THE SUTLLJ.
Victory, holding wreath, to left, and arms. Belowv, ALIWAL 1846.
CHAPTER XXXIV.
GEORGE IV., WILLIA3[ IV., AND VICTORIA. A.D. 1820-1858.
~ 1. Accession of GEORGE IV. Cato Street Conspiracy. Prosecution and
Death of Queen Caroline.  ~ 2. Ministerial Changes.  Commercial
Panic. ~ 3. The Catholic Question. O'Connell and the Catholic Association.  Canning's Ministry and Death.  ~ 4. Battle of Navarino.
Kingdom of Greece.  The Duke of Wellington Premier.  Abolition of
the Test and Corporation Acts. ~ 5. Catholic Emancipation. ~ 6. Death
and Character of George IV. ~ 7. Accession of ATILLIAMr IV. Earl
Grey Premier. ~ 8. Parliamentary Reform Bill. Rejected by the Lords.
Riots at Bristol, etc. ~ 9. Proposed Creation of Peers. Reform Bill
carried. Irish Coercion Bill.  ~ 10. Abolition of Slavery.  Lord Melbourne Prime Minister.  Sir Robert Peel Prime Minister. Lord Melbourne's second Administration. ~ 11. Municipal Reform Bill. Death
of William IV.  ~ 12. Accession of Queen VICTOnIA. Insurrection in
Canada.  Chartists.  ~ 13. The Queen's Marriage.  Sir Robert Peel
Minister.  Graduated Corn-law.  Agitation in Ireland.  Conviction
and Fall of O'Connell.  ~ 14. Irish Famine, and Abolition of the Cornlaws.  Fall of the Ministry.  ~ 15. O'Brien's Rebellion.  French Revolution. Death of Sir R. Peel. ~ 16. Fall of Lord John Russell's Ministry. Lord Derby Premier.  Death of the Duke of Wellington.  Lord
Aberdeen's Ministry. ~ 17. WVar with Russia. Campaign in the Crimea,
and Siege of Sebastopol.  ~ 18. Lord Palmerston Premier.  Russian
WVar. Sebastopol taken. Peace of Paris. ~ 19. Review of Indian History from the Time of Warren Hastings. ~ 20. Occupation of Scinde.
Annexation of Oude. Revolt of the Bengal Army. ~ 21. Fall of Lord
Palmerston's Ministry.  Lord Derby Premier.  Abolition of the East
India Company.  ~ 22. Review  of the Period from  the Revolution.
Progress of the English political Power. ~ 23. Progress of English Manufactures, Trade, Population, etc. National Debt.  ~ 24. View of the
moral Condition of the People. Religion. ~ 25. Criminal Law, Education, etc.  ~ 26. Literature and Art.
~ 1. GEORGE IV., 1820-1830.-George, Prince of Wales, now




728                    GEORGE IV.              CHAP. XXXIV,
ascended the throne, with the title of George IV., at the age of
58. As he had been regent during the last ten years, while his
father was in seclusion, his accession produced little or no change
in the state of affairs.
The excitement of "' Peterloo" was followed by the Cato Street
conspiracy, so called because the conspirators were captured in a
room over a stable in Cato Street, Edgeware Road. They consisted of some twenty or thirty persons, headed by one Thistlewood, a man of desperate character, and their design was to murder all the cabinet ministers when they should be assembled at
dinner at Lord Harrowby's. But they were betrayed by one of
their own gang: nine of them were captured, and Thistlewood
and four more of the ringleaders were executed (May 1).
One of the first steps of George IV. after his accession was to
attempt to procure a divorce from his consort, Caroline of Brunswick. The marriage had never been a happy one. It had been,
in a manner, forced upon the prince as a condition of having his
debts paid. The princess's person and manners were distasteful
to him, and she soon became the object of his aversion. They
separated soon after their marriage, though she bore him a daughter; and the princess in 1814 went to live abroad.  Her conduct
in England had already excited some scandal, and in 1818 a commission was appointed to watch her conduct and collect evidence;
our embassadors abroad were instructed not to recognize her;
and when the king came to the throne her name was omitted from
the Liturgy. She determined on returning to England, and arrived June 6, the very day on which Lord Liverpool had opened
an inquiry into her conduct in the House of Lords.  In July a
bill of pains and penalties was brought in, which was to deprive
her of her rights and privileges as queen, and to dissolve the mar.
riage. In the trial which ensued Mr. Brougham  and 3Mr. IDen.
man acted as her attorney and solicitor general.  She was charged
in particular with adultery with one Bergami, a menial servant.
Several Italian witnesses were examined, and it can not be doubted that her conduct in Italy had gone far beyond the bounds of
discretion; but the witnesses were of a low class, and frequently
equivocated; and there was naturally a popular feeling in favor
of a woman whose case assumed somewhat the aspect of persecution.  At the third reading of the bill, the majority in its favor
in the House of Lords had fallen to 9-; and as the bill had still
to pass the Commons, the ministers were induced to abandon it.
The popular feeling was expressed by a general illumination. In
the following session the Commons voted her an annuity of
~50,000.
The king's coronation having been fixed for July 19, 1821,




A.D. 1820-1825.' THE CATHOLIC QUESTION.             729
Caroline insisted on being crowned with him, and on having her
name inserted in the Liturgy.  This was of course refused; and
when she repaired to the Abbey to view the coronation as a spectator, she was turned back from the door. This disappointment,
added to the excitement which she had already undergone, was
her deathblow. She expired August 7, at the age of 52, of internal inflammation. Her funeral was attended with riots.  The
mob compelled the procession to pass through the city, where two
persons were shot by the military. The remains were then taken
to Harwich to be conveyed to Brunswick.
~ 2. In 1822 Lord Sidmouth retired from the home office, and
was succeeded by Mr. Peel. In August the suicide of Lord Londonderry (late Lord Castlereagh) created another vacancy in the
ministry. Mr. Canning was now the leading man in the House
of Commons, but he had incurred the king's displeasure by re-'fusing to take any part in the proceedings against Queen Caroline,
and had therefore been passed over on the preceding occasion.
His great talents, however, could not be entirely overlooked, and
the East India Company had offered him the governor generalship
of India, for which he was preparing; but his services in England
were now indispensable; the king was forced to waive his antipathy, and Canning became foreign secretary and leader of the
House of Commons. His discharge of that office was marked by
a more liberal policy than had prevailed under his predecessor.
For the next two or three years there is nothing material to record. The prosperity of the country went on increasing; but toward the end of 1825 the reckless spirit of speculation produced
a panic which was followed by much distress and alarm, upward
of 60 banks having stopped payment in December, 1825, and the
following month. It was attributed in a great degree to the overissue of paper money, and measures were taken to restrict the issue of small notes by country bankers as well as by the Bank of
England; and branches of the latter were established in several
of the larger trading towns. An extensive system of emigration
was adopted to relieve the distress of the nation, and its superintendence intrusted to the colonial office.
~ 3. Daniel O'Connell was about this time beginning to make
himself conspicuous as the advocate of the claims of the Irish
Roman Catholics. George III. had declared that he would never
consent to the admission of Catholics to Parliament, and had even
attributed his illness to the subject having been forced upon his
attention by Mr. Pitt. During the life of that sovereign, therefore, the Catholics had abandoned all hope of relief; but the case
was different after the accession of a new sovereign. After the
death of Mr. Perceval in 1812, the Catholic question became an
I    H2




730                    GEORGE IV.             CHAP. XXXIV.
open one in the cabinet. Canning distinguished himself as an advocate of relief, and the subject was frequently debated in Parliament, but nothing was done. In this state of things, O'Connell
organized the Catholic Association in the beginning of 1824, supported by a rent, levied in Ireland, which was appropriated to his
own aggrandizement. In 1825, a relief bill, introduced by Sir
Francis Burdett, passed the Commons, upon which the Duke of
York went down to the House of Lords, and took a solemn oath
that in case he should succeed to the crown he would permit no
change.  The bill was rejected by the Lords; but the Duke died
soon afterward (Jan. 5, 1827).
In February, 1827, Lord Liverpool was seized with paralysis;
and as it was evident that he would never again be able to attend
to business, the king was reluctantly compelled to send for MIr.
Canning (April 11th), who became first lord of the treasury and
chancellor of the exchequer. The Duke of Wellington, Mr. Peel,
Lord Eldon, and some others, resigned; and Sir J. Copley, now
created Lord Lyndhurst, became lord chancellor.  Nothing, however, was done in Mr. Canning's short administration. By many
of the aristocracy he was regarded as an adventurer and an upstart;
he had to endure many personal attacks; and anxiety and vexation of mind, added {o a violent illness contracted at the Duke of
York's funeral, brought him to the grave (August Sth). He was
buried in Westminster Abbey, but privately. The king conferred
a peerage on his widow. Viscount Goderich* (Mr. Robinson) succeeded Canning as premier.
~ 4. This administration, like tile preceding, lasted only a few
months, and the sole important event that occurred in it was the
battle of Navarino and the establishment of Greek independence.
The cause of Greece was supported, from different views, by Russia, France, and England, which powers had squadrons cruising
in the Levant, the English being under the command of Sir Edward Codrington. But war had not been declared; the Turkish
and Egyptian fleet, under Ibrahim Pasha, lay in the Bay of Navarino, and there was an understanding that it should remain there
till the affairs of Greece were arranged. The Turks having attempted to violate this agreement, a general engagement ensued,
and the Turkish and Egyptian fleets were completely destroyed in
the course of a few hours (Oct. 20, 1827). By this impolitic act
England and France played into the hands of Russia, who was
anxious to weaken the power of Turkey, and thus pave the way
for her long-cherished object of ambition-the possession of Constantinople. The three powers decided that Greece should be
erected into a separate kingdom; and the crown, after having been
* He was created Earl of Ripon in 1833.




A.D. 1825-1829.    CATHOLIC EMANCIPATION.             731
declined by Prince John of Saxony and Prince Leopold of SaxeCoburg, was eventually conferred (in 1832) on Prince Otho, a
younger son of the King of Bavaria.
In January, 1828, another change of ministry occurred. Lord
Goderich having resigned, the Duke of Wellington became premier; when Mr. Goulburn was made chancellor of the exchequer,
Mr. Peel home secretary, and Lorvd Palmerston secretary at war.
Most of the other ministers retained their offices. In this session
a most important measure was passed-the repeal of the Test and
Corporation Acts established in the reign of Charles II., of which
an account has been already given in the preceding book. The
motion for the repeal was made by Lord John Russell, and was
at first opposed by Mr. Peel; but the ministers, having been left
in a minority, subsequently withdrew their opposition. A declaration, if required by the crown, was now substituted for the sacramental test, by which the person entering upon an office pledged
himself not to use its influence as a means of subverting the Established Church. On the motion of the Bishop of Llandaff, the
words " on the true faith of a Christian" were inserted in the declaration; a clause which, though not so designed, had the effect
of excluding the Jews from Parliament till the year 1858. This
measure was naturally regarded as the forerunner of Catholic
Emancipation. It was evident that the Duke of Wellington was
prepared, with characteristic good sense, to yield to the demands
of an enlightened public opinion. He had, indeed, announced his
intention at the same time of opposing the Catholic claims, but
with the qualification, unless he saw some great change; and this
contingency soon afterward occurred.
~ 5. In the course of the year Mr. Huskisson resigned office in
consequence of being opposed to his colleagues on an election
question, and he was followed by the " Canning" portion of the
cabinet, viz., Lord Palmerston, Lord Dudley, Mr. Lamb, and Mr.
Grant. Mr. Vesey Fitzgerald, who sat for the county of Clare,
having become one of the new ministers, was now, of course,
obliged to vacate his seat, and appear again before his constituents, and, being an advocate of Catholic Emancipation, he considered his re-election sure. But O'Connell presented himself, and
was returned, affirming that he should be able to take his seat,
which, however, he did not attempt to do the remainder of the
session. This event brought matters to a crisis. The ministers
perceived that it would be impossible any longer to withhold
emancipation without creating great disturbances, and in the
king's speech on opening the session of 1829 a measure of relief
was announced. The Catholic Association was.first of all to be
dissolved; but, while a bill for that purpose was in progress, the




732                    GEORGE IV.             CHAP. XXXI V
Association dissolved itself. Ir. Peel had for many years been
the ablest opponent of the admission of Catholics to Parliament.
He had, session after session, distinguished himself by his eloquent
speeches against their emancipation, and he had gained the affection and confidence of the High-Church and Tory party. Great
was their indignation to find that their favorite leader was now
prepared suddenly to desert them, and to propose in the Commons
the very measure which he had so frequently denounced as fraught
with ruin to the best interests of the empire. Having felt himself bound in honor to vacate his seat for the University of Oxford, he was beaten by Sir Robert Inglis upon again presenting
himself as a candidate.  He was, however, returned for Westbury, and introduced the Catholic Relief Bill. By this measure
a different form of oath was substituted for the Oath of Supremacy, and there were no offices from which Roman Catholics were
now excluded except those of regent, of lord chancellor of England
and of Ireland, and of viceroy of Ireland.  By way of security,
the franchise in Ireland was raised from 40s. to ~10, and certain
regulations were made respecting the exercise of the Roman Catholic religion.  The bill finally passed the House of Lords April
10tl, having been carried through both houses with considerable
majorities.
This measure produced a schism in the Tory party, the effects
of which lasted for some years.  One of its consequences was a,
duel between the Duke of Wellington and the Earl of Winchelsea.
The latter, having attributed sinister motives to the duke in a
newspaper letter, received a challenge, and a meeting took place,
but without injury to either party. The Catholic Relief Bill was
not, however, attended with all the beneficial consequences which
its supporters had confidently predicted.  It averted, it is true,
the immediate danger of a civil war in Ireland, but it failed to
convert the Irish Catholics into peaceable subjects, and they soon
proceeded to use the new political power which they had obtained
more for the interests of the Catholic Church than for the good
of the empire.
~ 6. The assenting to the Roman Catholic Relief Bill was the
last act of importance performed by George IV.  He had been for
some time in a declining state of health, and had become so nervous and irritable that he almost entirely secluded himself from
public view. There had been considerable difficulty in obtaining
his consent to the bill, and, after he had given it, he was filled
with alarm for the consequences. He died June 26th, 1830, in
the sixty-eighth year of his age and the eleventh of his reign. I-e
possessed but few qualities calculated to endear a sovereign to his
eubjects.  His thoughts were more engaged in the pursuit of his




A.D. 1829, 1830.  DEATH OF GEORGE IV.                 733
private tastes and pleasures than in the welfare of the nation, and,
though his manners were elegant and refined in private society,
they were not calculated to win popularity. His abilities were
by no means contemptible, and he possessed considerable accomplishments, but they were never turned to any high and useful
purpose. With him may be said to have expired the habits and
prejudices of the preceding century, and a new era was now to set
in of rapid popular improvement.
~ 7. WILLIAM IV., 1830-1837.-On the death of George IV.,
the Duke of Clarence, his next surviving brother, then in his sixty-fifth year, was proclaimed king, with the title of WILLIAM IV.
His political opinions were supposed to be more liberal than those
of his predecessor, but no change was made in the ministry. The
march of events, however, the repeal of the Test Act, the carrying of Catholic Emancipation by a Tory ministry, and in this summer the revolution which occurred in France-by which Charles
X. was hurled from his throne in consequence of his attempts on
the Constitution and on the liberty of the press, and Louis Philippe became King of the French —prepared the minds of men for
farther progress, and especially for some measure of Parliamentary
reform, a subject that had so long occupied the attention and excited the passions of the nation. The result of these feelings was
manifested in the new Parliament, which contained a great proportion of liberal members.  But the disturbances which had
taken place, both on the Continent and at home, where there had
been many incendiary fires, instead of inclining the duke and his
ministry to concession, had determined them not to yield any thing
to popular clamor. The king's opening speech was firm and uncompromising, and in the debates which ensued the Duke of Wellington expressed his determination to oppose any measure of
Parliamentary reform. The unpopularity that such a declaration
was calculated to excite was increased by the ministers advising
the king to decline an invitation to dine with the lord mayor on
November 9th. This step was taken in consequence of a communication from Alderman Key, the lord mayor elect, who had
warned the- duke to come with a strong escort. London was, in
consequence, struck with a panic; the country was thought to be
on the eve of a revolution; and the funds fell 3 per cent. The
ministers, however, were soon released from the cares of responsibility.: On November 15th, in a debate on the civil list, Sir 14.
Parnell having carried a motion for a committee of inquiry, the
ministers resigned the following morning. The king now sent for
Earl Grey, the leader of the Whig party, under whose auspices as
premier a new ministry was formed on the avowed principle of
Parliamentary reform. It comprehended Lord Brougham, now




734                    WILLIAM IV.            CHAP. XXXIV.
raised to the peerage, as lord chancellor, Lord Althorp chancellor
of the exchequer, Lord Lansdowne president of the council, Lord
Palmerston foreign secretary, Lord Melbourne (Mr. Lamb) home
secretary, Lord Goderich colonial secretary, etc.
~ 8. On March 1st, 1831, a bill for Parliamentary reform was
introduced into the House of Commons by Lord John Russell.
The alterations proposed were much more extensive than had been
anticipated, and were received by the House with shouts and derision. The first reading was carried by a majority of 1; but
ministers, having been twice defeated in committee, resolved on
summoning a new Parliament, though the present one was only a
few months old.  The elections presented scenes of great excitement.. The Tories were denounced as enemies both of king and
people; in some places, especially Scotland, serious riots occurred,
and lives were even lost; and in most of the considerable towns
only those candidates dared to show themselves who would engage to vote for "the bill, the whole bill, and nothing but the
bill."  The populace had been led by demagogues to regard the
measure as an immediate panacea for all their ills; and thus a
great and necessary constitutional reform was carried by popular
heat and clamor, and with the excitement of expectations that
could never be realized. The House of Commons, which assembled June 14th, contained a large majority of Reformers. The
bill was again introduced by Lord John Russell, June 24th, and
carried by a majority of 136. It was still, however, violently opposed by a powerful party in the state, who regarded the bill as
an attack upon their private property-for it was notorious that
estates commanding the nomination of a member of Parliament
fetched a price very far above their intrinsic value. Whllen the
bill was brought up to the House of Lords, it was rejected, after
five nights' debate, by a majority of 41 (Oct. 7th).  This step was
followed by the most disgraceful riots. In London, indeed, the
populace, controlled by the admirable organization of the new police, established by Sir Robert- Peel, contented themselves with
breaking the windows of obnoxious anti-Rleformers, but in several
of the provincial towns fearful disturbances ensued. At Nottingham, the ancient castle, the residence of the Duke of Newcastle,
was burned; at Derby, the jail was forced and the prisoners liberated; while at Bristol, where the riots lasted several days, many
of the public buildings and a great part of Queen's Square were
destroyed, and about 100 persons were killed or wounded.  Ireland also was in a most disturbed state.  After the emancipation
of the Catholics had deprived O'Connell of that means of collecting the "rent," and of securing himself an income from the pockets of the impoverished Irish, he had raised the cry for the repeal




A.D. 1830-1832.       REFORM BILL.                    735
of the Union, and the most frightful nocturnal disorders, and even
midday murders, became frequent. To add to the misery and confusion, England was visited this autumn for the first time by the
cholera.
~ 9. The Parliament reassembled in December, and in March,
1832, the Reform Bill again passed the Commons. The Peers
now displayed more disposition to yield; but, as it was evident
that the bill would be mutilated in committee, Lord Grey proposed to the king the creation of a sufficient number of peers to
carry it through. The king demurring, the ministers resigned;
but the Duke of Wellington and Lord Lyndhurst having failed to
construct a Tory administration, the king was obliged to yield at
discretion, and recall his former ministers. But the extreme
measure of a large creation was avoided by the good sense of the
peers. The Duke of Wellington, and about 100 others, agreed to
absent themselves, whereupon the bill was carried and received
the royal assent.
The main principle of the Reform Bill was, that boroughs having a less population than 2000 should cease to return members,
and that those having a less population than 4000 should cease to
return more than one member.  By this arrangement 56 boroughs
were totally disfranchised, and 31 more lost one of their members.
The total number of old borough members thus disfranchised was
143. Their seats were transferred to several large towns, such
as Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, etc., which had grown into
importance during the last century. Between 40 and 50 new
boroughs were created, including the four metropolitan boroughs
of Marylebone, Finsbury, the Tower Hamlets, and Lambeth, each
of the last returning two members.  An aristocratic counterpoise
seemed in some degree to be established by the additions to the
county members.  The larger counties were divided into districts;
and while previously there had been 52 constituencies, returning
94 members, there were now 82 constituencies, returning 159
members. But, on the other hand, both the county and borough
franchises were extended.  In the counties the old 40s. freeholders were retained, and three new classes of voters introduced: 1.
Copyholders of ~10 per annum; 2. Leaseholders of the annual
value of ~10 for a term of 60 years, or of the annual value of ~50
for a term of 20 years; and, 3. Occupying tenants paying an annual rent of ~50.  In boroughs the franchise was given to all
~10 resident householders, subject to certain conditions. Such
were the main features of this bill, which undoubtedly formed the
greatest revolution the country had experienced since the Revolution of 1688.
The disturbances in Ireland had now reached a frightful pitch.




736                    WILLIAM IV.            CHAP. XXXIV.
It had become impossible to collect tithe; the collectors were
murdered or mutilated; there were regular engagements between
the police and the peasantry; and the Protestant clergy were almost starving. - To remedy this state of things the government
introduced a coercion bill, which, while it provided a remedy for
many of the grievances complained of, enabled the lord lieutenant
to prevent all public meetings of a dangerous character, and to
place disturbed districts under martial law.
~ 10. The Parliament was dissolved December 3d, and the first
reformed House of Commons assembled February 5th, 1833.
The Reformers had an overwhelming majority, and fears began to
be entertained that the Church, the aristocracy, and all the older
institutions would be swept away.  But a strong conservative
spirit still existed in the nation.  Sir Robert Peel, whom the
Tory party had now forgiven, and again treated as their leader,
revived their desponding spirits, introduced an admirable organization into the party, and pointed out that a return to political
power was still far from impossible. This party, dropping the
name of Tory, now called themselves Conservatives.
Upon the assembling of the Commons, two principal questions
which occupied their attention were the abolition of slavery and
the amendment of the poor-law. The agitation of negro freedom
in public meetings in England had occasioned a dangerous insurrection among the slaves in Jamaica, which was with difficulty
suppressed. A rising had also occurred in the Mauritius.  Under these circumstances, the ministers brought in and carried a
bill for the total abolition of slavery, which had been so long advocated by Wilberforce, Fowell Buxton, and their party.  Of the
humanity and justice of this measure, viewed abstractedly, there
can be but one opinion; yet, both as a measure of humanity and
of policy, it must in a great degree be pronounced a practical failure; for while, in some of our larger sugar-colonies, it has reduced
the cultivation to less than half of what it was, and consequently
reduced many of the proprietors to beggary, it has also stimulated
foreign planters to supply the deficiency of produce thus created by
an increased pressure upon their negroes, and even given a stimulus to the foreign slave-trade. The apparently munificent sum
of~20,000,000 was voted as a compensation to the slave-owners,
but a great part of this was in reality never applied; and the rate
of compensation being in some islands about ~20 per negro —not
a quarter of what they cost the proprietor-the owner of an estate
with 100 negroes received about ~2000, but found his property
utterly ruined from the unwillingness of the emancipated negrc
to work.
The poor-law question was reserved for another administration.




A.D.1832-1837. ACCESSION OF QUEEN VICTORIA.             737
A considerable portion of Lord Grey's cabinet having resigned,
principally on account of a proposed extension of the Irish Coercion Bill, the premier was also obliged to retire (1834).  Lord
Melbourne now became prime minister, and Lord Althorp resumed
his former post of chancellor of the exchequer. A new poor-law
was passed, the main feature of which was to abolish local boards
and to establish a central board of commissioners. Poor-law unions were formed, and the system of out-door relief in a considerable degree done away with, the consequence of which has been
a large diminution of the applications for relief, leading not only
to the saving of large sums, but also to the creation of a higher
spirit of independence among the lower classes.
~ 11. The conservative reaction had, within the last two years,
become so marked, that the king, in the autumn of 1834, availed
himself of the death of Earl Spencer and the consequent elevation
to the House of Lords of his son, Lord Althorp, the chancellor of
the exchequer, to dismiss Lord Melbourne and his colleagues and
intrust Sir Robert Peel with the formation of a conservative administration. But the country was not yet ripe for this change.
Upon the dissolution of Parliament the Conservatives obtained a
vast accession to their numbers in the House of Commons, but
they were still left in a minority; and, accordingly, Sir Robert
Peel, after holding office for a few months, was obliged. to retire,
and the Melbourne administration resumed office, with a few slight
changes, in April, 1835. The new ministers were entirely dependent on the support of O'Connell, with whom they had now
allied themselves. The chief measures which they carried this
session were the Municipal Reform Bill, and a bill to allow Dissenters to marry in their own chapels. The next year or two
present little of importance. In 1836 an ecclesiastical commission made a new arrangement of sees, by which four old ones were
consolidated into two, Gloucester being united with Bristol, and
St. Asaph with Bangor, while two new ones were created-Ripon
and MIanchester.  In May, 1837, the king was seized with a dangerous illness, and expired June 20th.  His character presents
few salient points.  His abilities were small, his temper and inIentions good, his manners homely and popular, but deficient in
kingly dignity.
~ 12. QUEEN ~ICToRIA.-Upon the death of her uncle, William
IV., our present gracious sovereign Queen VICTORIA, the only child
of the Duke of Kent, and who had just completed her eighteenth
year, succeeded to the throne. As the succession to the crown of
Hanover had been settled only in the male line, that country was
now separated from the crown of Great Britain, and became the
inheritance of Ernest, Duke of Cumberland, the eldest surviving
son of George III.




738                     VICTORIA.             CHAP. XXXIV.
The first year of Queen Victoria's reign was marked by insurrections in Canada, which, though assisted by bodies of adventurers from the United States, were put down without much trouble.
The harvests of 1837 and 1838 proved unfavorable, which occasioned much distress among the lower classes, and the opportunity
was seized by the seditious in order to excite riots and disorders.
There had now arisen a considerable body who called themselves
Chartists; that is, they demanded what they called a new charter,
or thorough reorganization of the lower house of Parliament on
the following five principles, styled the five points of the charter,
namely, universal suffrage, vote by ballot, annual Parliaments, the
remuneration of members, and the abolition of the property qualification. In the autumn of 1838 many large Chartist meetings
were held in the northern counties, and as winter approached they
assembled by torch-light. At one of these, held at Kersal Moor,
near Manchester, it was computed that 200,000 persons were present. In 1839, a National Convention was formed in London of
delegates from the working classes, and a petition was got up of
such size that it was necessary to roll it.into the House of Commons in a tub. A motion for a committee to consider it having
been lost by a large majority, Chartist riots ensued in several of
the principal provincial towns, and especially at Newport, where
one Frost, a magistrate of the borough, played a principal part.
The disturbance was put down with the loss of about twenty lives,
and Frost, Jones, and Williams, the ringleaders, were convicted
and transported. At the same time, a more orderly and intelligent agitation was proceeding to remove the chief cause of these
disturbances.  This was the Anti-Corn-Law League, formed at
Manchester in September, 1838, to procure the abolition of the
corn-laws and the promotion of free-trade principles.  The most
distinguished advocate of the League was Mr. Richard Cobden,
who rapidly acquired great influence in the country.
~ 13. On February 10th, 1840, her majesty was united to her
cousin Albert, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, who was about
three months her junior. The Parliament voted the prince-consort an annuity of ~30,000 for life, and passed a bill of naturalization.
The Melbourne ministry had never been very strong, and their
close alliance with O'Connell and his " tail,". as his score or two
of adherents were called, had degraded them in the eyes of the
nation. They had also failed in their financial measures, having
every year a deficient revenue. In the spring of 1841 Sir Robert
Peel carried a resolution of want of confidence.in them by a single
vote, when they of course resigned, but appealed to the country.
Anxious to secure a majority, they intimated their intention of




A.D. 1837-1845.        CORN LAWS.                      739
proposing a repeal of the corn-laws, and substituting a fixed duty
of 8s. a quarter upon corn; but they did not meet with a popular
response, the landed interest strained every nerve to defeat their
candidates, and when the new Parliament met the Conservative
majority was estimated at nearly 80. An amendment on the address was carried, ministers resigned, and Sir Robert Peel became
premier for the second time. The other principal members of
the government were, Lord Lyndhurst, chancellor; MIr. Goulburn,
chancellor of the. exchequer; Sir James Graham, home office;
Lord Aberleen, foreign office; Lord Stanley, war and colonies;
Lord Ellenborough, board of control, etc. The Duke of Wellington accepted a seat in the cabinet without any office. In the session of 1842 Sir Robert Peel introduced and carried a new cornlaw on the principle of a graduated scale; and, in order to supply
the constantly deficient revenue, an income-tax of'7d. in the pound
was imposecd on all incomes above ~150. A customs act was also
passed, either repealing, or considerably reducing, such duties as
pressed most heavily on manufacturing industry, thus making an
approximation to free trade.
The influence of O'Connell was now at its height in Ireland.'Weekly meetings were held in a building called Conciliation Hall,
and large sums were collected for the " Agitator." Other expedients of sedition were the 1" monster meetings" held at Tara and
other places; but that at Clontarf proved a trap for the agitator
himself. In consequence of the regulations issued for the meeting, as well as some seditious expressions used at a meeting of the
Repeal Association, O'Connell was arrested (Oct. 14, 1843), and
condemned, together with some of his coadjutors, of conspiracy
and sedition, by the Court of Queen's Bench in Dublin. The
judgment was afterward reversed by the House of Lords; but the
blow was irrecoverable, and O'Connell never regained his former
influence. His health began visibly to decline, and he died at
Genoa (May, 1847), on his way to Rome, with the double object
of benefiting his health and asking the Pope's blessing.
~ 14. The question which now principally occupied the attention of the public was that of the corn-laws, and this was now
approaching its solution through an unexpected dispensation of
Providence.  The summer of 1845 was wet and cold; it was
plain that the harvest would be deficient not only in England, but
throughout Europe; and, in addition to this calamity, appeared
another hitherto unknown. A disease had invaded the potatocrops; the blackened and decayed leaves exhaled a nauseous odor,
and the root became unfit to eat. A famine in Ireland, where the
potato formed the staple food, was now imminent. The AntiCorn-Law League redoubled its agitation, and vast sums were




740                     VICTORIA.             CHAP. XXXI V.
subscribed in all quarters in aid of its objects. The WVhigs hastened to make political capital of the conjuncture.  Lord Morpeth
joined the League; Lord John Russell addressed a letter to his
constituents in the city, in which, amid taunts directed against Sir
Robert Peel, he abandoned his scheme of a fixed duty on corn, and
declared himself the advocate of a free trade.  Peel himself, however, had come to the conclusion that a duty could no longer be
upheld, and he had brought over the majority of the cabinet to the
same opinion; but he felt that he and his colleagues were not the
persons to carry a measure which they had always opposed. On
December 11 the ministers resigned, and Peel announced to the
queen his intention to support, in his private capacity, any minister
she might appoint who should propose to do away with the duty
upon corn. Lord John Russell was now sent for by the queen;
but he failed in forming a ministry, and the previous one was restored. In January, 1846, Peel brought in a bill by which the
duty on wheat was entirely abolished at the end of three years,
while in the interval it was reduced fiom 16s. to 4s. per quarter,
and buckwheat and India wheat were immediately admitted duty
free. The measure Was accompanied with a reduction of duty on
other articles, as silk and cotton manufactures, foreign spirits, etc.;
and the duty was abolished on animal food, live animals, vegetables, etc. The bill was carried through both houses with considerable majorities.
The repeal of the corn-laws broke up the powerful Conservative
party.  The majority not only refused to follow Sir Robert Peel
in his recent change of opinion, but regarded him as an apostate
and a traitor.  There can be no doubt that Sir Robert Peel had
changed his opinions.from honest conviction; but it was certainly
unfortunate for his reputation that a second time in his political
career his sense of duty compelled him to desert the party which
had raised him to power. This party, which was now known by
the name of " Protectionists," looked up to Lord Stanley as their
leader-the only distinguished member of Sir Robert Peel's administration who had opposed the repeal of the corn-laws. They
soon had an opportunity of avenging themselves on their former
chief.  As Ireland was still in a very disturbed state, Sir Robert
Peel brought in a bill for the better protection of life in that
country, whereupon the Protectionists joined the Whigs in defeating it. The ministry resigned, and Lord John Russell became
premier (1846).
~ 15. The year 1847 was also marked by great distress both in
England and Ireland.  The potato-crop again failed; there was a
famine in Ireland; and, though the British Parliament voted several millions to buy food for the starving Irish, they nevertheless




A.D. 1845-1851.   DEATH OF SIR ROBERT PEEL.            741
rose in rebellion. O'Connell had now vanished from the scene;
and Mr. Smith O'Brien, who attempted to sustain his part, had
not the requisite qualities for it. His attempt to excite a rebellion in 1848 proved a ridiculous failure: he was captured in a
cabbage-garden, convicted of high treason, and transported. The
Irish, being deprived of their principal agitators, by degrees settled
down into a more tranquil state. A large emigration, the introduction of a more extended corn-cultivation, and the investment
of a large amount of English capital, have since much improved
tlie condition of the country; and thus the potato-rot, which at
first appeared a curse upon Ireland, eventually turned out a blessing.
The revolution which expelled Louis Philippe from the French
throne in February, 1848, and which was felt throughout Europe,
was the exciting cause of this rebellion. It also produced a slight
effect in England, where, however, the materials of sedition were
happily not very formidable.  The London Chartists took occasion
to display their force by a procession (April 10), and mustered on
Kennington Common to the number of about 20,000; but no
fewer than 150,000 citizens had enrolled themselves as special
constables, the Duke of Wellington had taken the necessary military precautions, and this ridiculous display ended without any
breach of the peace.
During the next few years there is nothing of much importance
to record. Iln 1849 a farther advance was made in free-trade
principles by a repeal of the navigation-laws.* The prosperity
of the country went on rapidly increasing, and Sir Robert Peel
was gratified with beholding the success of his measures, when his
life was suddenly terminated by a fall from his horse (1850). Thus
prematurely perished a minister who understood the commercial
interests of this country better than any man who ever governed
it, and who, if he did not possess that original and- commanding
genius which forestalls events and anticipates futurity, was nevertheless, perhaps, the better qualified to discern and provide for the
exigencies of the-passing time.
~ 16. The following year (1851) witnessed, as it were, the symbolization of free-trade principles by the great exhibition of the
industry of all nations in the Crystal Palace in Hyde Park. The
insolent pretensions of the Roman court excited this year the
greatest indignation in England.  Ever since the repeal of the
Catholic disabilities in 1830 the papal party had been pursuing an
aggressive policy in this country, and the Pope now ventured to
divide the whole of England into Roman Catholic sees, nominating Cardinal Wiseman Archbishop of Westminster, and designat* On these laws, see Notes and Illustrations C.




742                     VICTORIA.             CHAP. XXXIV.
ing other Roman Catholic prelates by similar territorial titles.
In order to put a stop-to this invasion of the queen's prerogative,
the ministers introduced the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill, which was
only carried with much difficulty.  Next year (1852) Lord John
Russell, being defeated on the Mlilitia Bill, resigned, and was succeeded by the Earl of Derby (formerly Lord Stanley). In September the Duke of Wellington expired somewhat suddenly at
Walmer Castle-a man who had filled a larger space in the history of his country than had perhaps been previously allotted to
any subject. His character as a general may be gathered from
the preceding narrative.  It was marked by a happy mixture of
boldness and prudence; and, though his feats were outshone by
the dazzling exploits of Bonaparte, yet, on the other hand, it should
be recollected that Wellington never failed in any of his enterprises. As a minister his praise must be limited to- that practical
good sense and intuitive sagacity which enabled him to discern at
a glance the essential bearings of a question, to the modesty which
caused him frequently to submit his own judgment to that of more
practiced statesmen, and to the moderation and disinterestedness
which led him to waive his own party predilections for the good
of his country. A magnificent funeral was conferred upon him at
the public expense; and on November 18, 1852, his mortal remains, accompanied with every circumstance of military pomp,
passed slowly through the streets, which were lined with myriads
of his admiring and sorrowing countrymen, to their last restingrplace in St. Paul's Cathedral.
Lord Derby, though he dissolved Parliament, and sacrificed the
principles of protection, was left in a minority in the new House
of Commons, and before the end of the year was compelled to resign. He was succeeded by a sort of coalition ministry under
Lord Aberdeen, consisting of the more distinguished friends of Sir
Robert Peel, of the great leaders. of the Whig party, and of a few
Radicals. In the session of 1853 several salutary measures were
carried, and the prosperity of the country seemed to be rapidly
advancing; but already a cloud was arising in the East which was
to throw over it a temporary shade. The Russian emperor had
long looked with a covetous eye on Constantinople, and nothing
was wanting to seize upon it but a favorable opportunity. Religion, so often the pretext of secular ambition, was made the ground
of strife; and an obscure quarrel of some Greek and Latin monks
about the holy places of Palestine, with which the Turks had not
meddled, served to excuse an attempt to appropriate an empire.
The Emperor Nicholas demanded on this ground the control over
all members of the Greek Church residing in the Turkish dominions-a demand that was naturally rejected by the Porte. In




A.D. 1851-1854.       RUSSIAN WAR.                       743
consequence of this refusal, Russian troops crossed the Pruth,
and took possession of the principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia, but were defeated by Omar Pasha at the battle of Olteniza.
~ 17. War was now fairly kindled between Russia and the
Porte.  The Emperor Nicholas calculated on the subservience of
Germany, the disturbed state of France, and the connivance of.England, to which he offered Egypt as her share of "the sick
man's" inheritance, for the success of his plans. But England
was not ambitious of farther acquisitions, and least of all by such
means; Turkey claimed her assistance on the faith of treaties;
and France, now under the absolute sway of Napoleon IIl.,* cordially united with Great Britain to repress the ambition of Russia.
Austria and Prussia stood aloof; but a combined English and
French fleet proceeded to the Black Sea, and shut up the Russians
in the harbor of Sebastopol.
Negotiations with Russia were continued during the winter,
but, having failed, war was declared against her by England and
France in the spring (1854), when a French army under Marshal
St. Arnaud, and an English one under Lord Raglan, assembled at
Varna in Turkey, while an English fleet under Sir Charles Napier
was dispatched to the Baltic. Thus, for the first time after many
centuries, the English and French, who had been so often arrayed
against each other, were seen fighting side by side against a common enemy. Our limits will permit us to give only a very slight
sketch of Af war the principal incidents of which must be present
to the minds of most even of our younger readers.  The gallant
defense of the Turks on the banks of the Danube having dissipated
all alarm in that quarter, it was determined, toward the end of
summer, to transport the allied army from Varna to the Crimea.,
and to attack Sebastopol.  They were landed without opposition
(Sept. 14) at Eupatoria, on the west coast of the Crimea. Prince
Menschikoff, the commandant of Sebastopol, had posted a force of
about 60,000 men on the heights which crown the left bank of the
little river Alma, in order to oppose their advance on that fortress,
and he had fortified this naturally strong position with great care,
so that he confidently reckoned on holding it at least three weeks;
but it was carried after a few hours' fight, on September 20, by
the allied armies, though with considerable loss. The Russians
flung away their arms and fled; many of their guns were captured,
together with Menschikoff's carriage and dispatches; and nothing
* In 1848 Louis Napoleon was elected President of the French Republic.
By the coup d'6tat of December 2, 1851, he dissolved the existing Constitution, and made himself the supreme ruler of France under the name of President, which he changed into the title of Emperor in 1853.




744                     VICTORIA.             CH.P. XXXIV.
saved their army from annihilation but the want of cavalry to
pursue it. It is probable that, had the allies been in a condition
to move forward immediately, they might have entered Sebastopol
along with the flying enemy; but the care of the wounded and the
interment of the dead demanded some delay. The march was
then directed toward the harbor of Balaklava, the ancient Portus
Symbolon, to the south of Sebastopol, which enabled the army to
derive its supplies from the sea. The southern heights of Sebastopol were occupied, and preparations made for commencing a
siege. This was rendered difficult by the rocky nature of the soil,
and it was not till October 17 that the allies were able to open
their fire upon the place. The Russians had availed themselves
of the interval to fortify it with great skill, and the large fleet
shut up in the harbor assisted them with the means of defense.
This sieve lasted nearly a twelvemonth, and became one of the
most memorable ill history. Soon after its commencement, a Russian army of 30,000 men, under Liprandi, endeavored to raise it
by an attack upon our position at Balaklava (Oct. 25), but which,
after a severe struggle, was repulsed. This battle is chiefly mlemorable by the charge of the light cavalry brigade under the Earl
of Cardigan, when, by some confusion in the orders, a body of 600
or 700 men charged the whole Russian army, got possession for a
little while of their artillery, and cut their way back through a
body of 5000 horse, leaving, however, more than two thirds' of
their number upon the field!
On November 5, the Russians, having been re-enforced, again
attempted our position at Inkermann. Advancing early in the
morning under cover of a fog, they took our men somewhat by
surprise; but, though outnumbered by ten to one, the British
troops held their ground with unflinching heroism, till General
Canrobert, who had succeeded to the command of the French
army after the death of General St. Arnaud, sent a division to
their assistance. The Russians were now hurled down the heights,
while the artillery made terrible havoc in their serried ranks.
Their loss is said to have been as many as the whole number of
allies with whom they were engaged. General Pennefather's division, and the brigade of guards under the Duke of Cambridge,
were the troops principally engaged on this occasion. After this
terrible lesson the Russians were cautious of venturing another
battle; but the defense of the town was conducted with skill and
obstinacy, and many desperate sorties took place. Attempts were
made by the fleet under Admirals Dundas and Lyons upon the
seaward batteries, but they were found to be impregnable. During the winter the men suffered more from the weather on those
exposed and stormy heights, and from excessive fatigue, than from




A.D. 1854, 1855.      RUSSIAN WAR.                    745
the enemy; and their sufferings were increased by the defective
and disorganized state of the commissariat department. A young
and accomplished lady, named Florence Nightingale, devoted herself to the alleviation of these sufferings; and, proceeding with a
staff of nurses to the army hospitals at Scutari, undertook the
most repulsive offices in tending the sick and wounded.
~ 18. The misfortunes which overtook the army, and which
were attributed to want of care and foresight in the ministry, rendered them very unpopular, and led to the resignation of Lord
Aberdeen early in 1855. I-Ie was succeeded by Lord Palmerston
as premier.  It was expected that the death of the Emperor
Nicholas, which took place somewhat suddenly, might have led to
the re-establishment of peace; but the war was continued under
his son and successor Alexander.  Its interest was principally concentrated at Sebastopol. The Baltic fleet under Admiral Napier,
though re-enforced by a French squadron, had effected nothing
except the destruction of the fortress of Bomarsund in the Aland
Islands. In 1855 Napier was superseded by Admiral Dundas,
who, however, was able to do little more than his predecessor.
The Black Sea fleet was more successful. A squadron under Sir
Edmund Lyons proceeded into the Sea of Azof, captured Kertch,
Yenikale, and other towns, destroying vast granaries whence the
Russians chiefly derived their supplies, and thus hastening the
surrender of Sebastopol.
Wahile Austria and Prussia, the two states most deeply interested in checking the power of Russia, stood selfishly aloof, the
Sardinians, with British aid, dispatched a well-equipped little army,
under General de la Marmora, to the scene of action, which proved
of considerable service. In June Lord Raglan was carried off by
cholera, and was succeeded in the command by General Simpson.
About the same time the French commander, General Canrobert,
was superseded by General P6lissier.  Soon after the arrival of
the latter the French took an outwork called the Mamelon; and
on the 5th of September the general and final bombardment took
place. On the 8th an assault was deemed practicable, and the
French effected a lodgment in the fort or tower called the Malakoff. The English storming party also succeeded in gaining possession of the fort called the Redan, but, not being properly supported, were obliged ultimately to retire. The possession of the
Malakoff, however, which commanded the town, decided its fate,
and in the course of the night the Russians evacuated the place..
After the fall of Sebastopol the war was virtually at an end;
but we can not close this account without noticing the heroic defense of Kars, in Asiatic Turkey, by our countryman, General
Williams, who conmman(led the Turkish garrison.  Time after
I




746                     VICTORIA.             CHAP. XXXIV.
time the vastly superior numbers of the Russians, who rushed to
the assault, were driven back with terrible loss; and when at
length a capitulation became necessary, the conqueror, Mouravieff,
dismissed General Williams with all the honors of war, and expressions of the highest admiration for his bravery.
The allied armies established their winter quarters amid the
ruins of Sebastopol, and, had the war proceeded, there can-be little question that the whole of the Crimea would have fallen into
their hands; but negotiations for peace, begun under the mediation of Austria, were brought to a happy conclusion in January,
1856. Had it not been for the eagerness of France to terminate
the war, better terms might perhaps have been obtained; but, on
the whole, the objects of it may be said to have been accomplished. The Russian protectorate in the Danubian principalities was
abolished, the freedom of the Danube and its mouths was established, both Russian and Turkish ships of war were banished from
the Black Sea, except a few small vessels necessary as a maritime
police, and the Christian subjects of the Porte were placed under
the protection of the contracting powers.  On these bases a definitive treaty of peace was signed with Russia at Paris (March
30, 1856.)
~ 19. From this period there is little to attract our attention
till the Indian revolt in 1857. We have already sketched the'
history of India down to the time of Warren Hastings (see p.
665-670), who was succeeded as governor general by Lord Cornwallis. The chief feature in the latter's administration was the
reducing of Tippoo Saib, Sultan of Mysore, to obedience (1792);
but, under the weak government of Sir John Shore, the successor
of Lord Cornwallis, Tippoo again rose and endeavored to effect
an alliance against us with the French. This attempt was put
down under the more vigorous administration of Lord Mornington (Marquess Wellesley), when, under the conduct of General
Harrisj Tippoo's capital, Seringapatam, was captured by General
Baird, and himself slain (May, 1799.)  Soon afterward, Arthur
Wellesley, brother of the governor general, began to distinguish
himself in India.  Three Milahratta chieftains-Holkar, Scindiah,
and the llajah of Berar-encouraged by French intrigues, having
combined against their sovereign the peishwah, residing at Poonah,
in the Deccan, the governor general dispatched two armies against
them, one commanded by his brother, the other by Lord Lake.
The former invaded the territories of the Rajah- of Berar, took
Ahmednuggur, and defeated the rajah and Scindiah at Assaye,
although they had 30,000 men and a numerous artillery, commanded by French officers, while Wellesley's force was not above
a sixth of that number.  They were againdefeated at Argaum,




A.D. 1856.     SKETCH OF INDIAN HISTORY.              747
compelled to sue for peace, and to cede large tracts of valuable
territory. Lake was equally successful in northern India. lHe
defeated a large native force under the French General Perron,
stormed and took Alighur, and then advanced against Delhi,
where the cause of Scindiah was supported by another French
officer named Bourguien. After defeating him on the banks of
the Jumna, Delhi, the capital of Hindostan, and residence of Shah 
Alum, the last Mogul emperor, easily fell into Lake's hands. Soonafterward, the capture of Agra, and final defeat of the remnant
of Scindiah's forces at Laswarea, annihilated his power. in that
district. By these victories French influence in India was abolished, and a great accession of power and territory accrued to the
Company.
In 1805 the Marquess Wellesley returned home, and Lord
Cornwallis again assumed the government. He was soon succeeded by Lord Minto, but neither of them effected much for our
Indian dominion. In 1813 the Marquess of Hastings (Lord Moira) became governor general; and under his auspices, and chiefly
by the courage and abilities of Sir John Malcolm, the Mahrattas,
and their allies the Pindarees, were reduced to obedience. Lord
Hastings held the government till 1823, when he was succeeded
by Lord William Bentinck. The next event of importance was
the war with the Burmese in 1824, who had annoyed Bengal; but
they were reduced to obedience in 1826, and ceded several provinces. Lord Combermere reduced Bhurtpore in January of that
year, which had resisted the arms of Lake, and was esteemed the
strongest fortress in India. In the administration of Lord -Auckland, Soojah, the expelled usurper of Cabool, was replaced on the
throne by the English arms, led by Sir John Keane; but in November, 1841, the Affghan insurrection broke out in that city, and
the English were obliged to evacuate the country. They endured
the most dreadful sufferings in their winter retreat, both from the
inclemency of the weather and the attacks of the Affghans. In
the Coord Cabool Pass alone no fewer than 3000 men are said to
have fallen; and ultimately, of the whole retreating army of
17,000 men, scarcely one survived. It was the greatest disaster
that the English arms had ever experienced in India. Lord Auckland was superseded in 1842 by Lord Ellenborough, who adopted
a more vigorous line of policy. -General Sale was still holding
out at Jellalabad. He was relieved by General Pollock, who afterward, in conjunction with General Nott, advanced against Cabool, and recovered that city (Sept., 1842). Cabool was then again
evacuated, after giving this signal proof that it was not done as a
matter of necessity.
~ 20. The Affghan war was followed by the occupation of




748                     VICTORIA.             CHAP. XXXIV.
Scinde, a district on the lower Indus, where our disasters had encouraged a confederacy of the ameers, or princes, against us. This
was effected by Sir Charles Napier, a Peninsular officer, who in
this war displayed feats of the most daring boldness. In the battle of Mecanee (Feb. 17, 1843) he defeated between 30,000 and
40,000 men with a force of only about 2000.  This victory was
followed by the capture of Hyderabad, the capital. By another
victory near that town the whole country was reduced and annexed by Lord Ellenborough to the Company's dominions. In the
same year the district of Gwalior was reduced by Generals Gough
and Grey. In 1844 Lord Ellenborough was succeeded by Sir II.
Hardinge. In December, 1845, the Sikhs of the Punjab, or Lahore territory, declared war upon us, and, crossing the Sutlej, advanced on Ferozepore. They were the most warlike enemies we
had yet encountered in India. The governor general himself, an
experienced officer, and Sir Hugh Gough, the commander-in-chief,
both advanced against them. A great many obstinate engagements followed, till at length the victories of Aliwal and Sobraon
(1846) put an end to the campaign and secured our influence in
that country. In 1848, however, the city of Mooltan rose in revolt, and, though the courage of Lieutenant Edwardes prevented
any serious consequences, it held out for some months. This encouraged other Sikh princes, and they made a stand against Lord
Gough at Chillianwallah, inflicting upon us great loss (Jan. -13,
1849); but in the following month they were defeated and subdued at Goojerat, when Lord Dalhousie, now governor general,
annexed the Punjab to the British possessions.
The whole of the Indian peninsula was now subject to our empire, from Cape Comorin to the Himalaya Mountains and the Indus.
Not, indeed, that all the states were annexed, yet even those that
remained under their native princes owed us allegiance and were
subject to our surveillance. The last great acquisition was by
the annexation of Oude in 1856, effected by a not over strict regard to the faith of treaties. Our empire seemed too firmly established to be shaken, yet already for some years the elements of
mutiny had been fomenting in the Bengal army. Symptoms of
a discontented and rebellious spirit had been observed as early
as 1844, and many other instances subsequently occurred which
were treated with too much leniency and forbearance. At length
the introduction of the Enfield rifle necessitated the use of greased
cartridges. The grease was mutton fat and wax, but it was whispered among the discontented that it consisted of the fat of swine
and cows, abominations both to the Hindoo and the Mohammedan;
and it was asserted that the intention was to deprive the Brahmin
sepoys of their caste. Symptoms of insubordination and violence




A.D. 1856-1858.    INDIAN REBELLION.                   749
began to appear early in 1857. In May many regiments of the
Bengal army were in open mutiny. In that month Delhi, the ancient capital of India, and still the residence of the representative
of the Moguls, was seized by the insurgents, with all its immense
military stores. Although it was the great arsenal of our artillery, it had been left without the protection of a British force.
Such was the blind confidence reposed in our sepoys. The capture of Delhi was followed by the revolt of the remaining Bengal
regiments.  Fortunately, the Madras and Bombay armies, with a
few exceptions, remained faithful; but the whole of Bengal was
lost for a time, and many, both in this country and on the Con.titinent of Europe, believed that the English would be' driven entirely out of India.
Into the horrors of this rebellion, and the determined energy
and courage with which it was met, our space will not permit us
to enter. It has served to bring out British valor in high relief,
and the names of Lawrence, of Havelock, and the other numerous
officers who distinguished themselves at this trying and difficult
conjuncture, will not soon die from the memory of their countrymen. The rebellion received a decisive blow by the recapture of
Delhi by General Wilson on Sept. 21, 1857; and the subsequent
victories of Sir Colin Campbell, who went out to India as commander-in-chief, have brought the contest almost to a close.
~ 21. The mutiny of the Bengal army proved the deathblow of
the East India Company. This celebrated company, originally
an association of merchants for the purpose of trading to the East,
had been deprived of its right of commercial privileges upon the
renewal of its charter in 1833; but the Court of Directors, elected by the proprietors of East India Stock, still continued to govern India under the superintendence of the Board of Control,
origin ally instituted by Mr. Pitt. (See p. 664.) UJpon the meeting of Parliament at the beginning of 1858, the prime minister,
Lord Palmerston, introduced a bill abolishing the East India Company, and placing t l.e government of India in the hands of the
crown. But before this bill passed into a law Lord Palmerston's
ministry was overthrown. An attempt to assassinate the Emperor
Napoleon, concocted by some Italian refugees in England, roused
the indignation of France; and Lord Palmerston proposed an alteration in the English law, by which such an offense might be
punished with greater certainty and severity. A bill was introduced for this purpose, but was rejected by the House of Commons
(Feb. 20), whereupon Lord Palmerston resigned, and Lord Derby
became prime minister a second time. The new ministry introduced a new India Bill, which differed in no material point from
that of their predecessors. This bill passed through both houses




750                     VICTORIA.             CHAP. XXXIV.
of Parliament and received the assent of the crown; and on September 1, 1858, the East India Company, which had founded
and governed a mighty empire with pre-eminent ability and success, ceased to exist.  India is now governed by a secretary of
state, assisted by a council of 15 members; and the millions of
that vast country acknowledge Queen Victoria as their only sovereign.
The only other legislative measure of this session which requires
notice is the admission of the Jews to Parliament. A bill for this
object had for several years passed the Commons, but had been as
often rejected by the Lords.  It was evident, however, that this
collision between the two branches of the Legislature could not
much longer continue, and Lord Derby now persuaded the Lords
to give way. This measure excited little interest among the great
body of the people, but it was proposed and opposed as a matter
of principle by two powerful parties in the state, one party supporting it as the last stone needed to complete the edifice of religious liberty, and the other party resisting it on the ground of its
destroying the Christian character of the British Legislature.
~ 22. On casting a retrospective glance at the period comprised
in this Book, our attention is chiefly arrested by the progress of
the country in material power. The principal steps taken for the
advance or security of our political rights may be summed up in
a few words: they are-the passing of the Bill of Rights and Act
of Settlement, and the securing of the independence of the judges
and the liberty of the press, in the reign of William III.; the
abolition of general warrants in that of George III.; the repeal
of the Test and Corporation Acts, and the emancipation of the
Rtoman Catholics, under George IV.; and the Reform Bill under
William IV. The events under the Stuart dynasty had left little
to be done for our constitutional freedom, but every thing to be.
achieved for our national greatness. The union with Scotland,
and subsequently that with Ireland, combined the three kingdoms
into an imperial whole. The position of England as a European
power, damaged by the weak or profligate reigns of the Stuarts,
was restored by the wars of William and Anne, and by the military genius of Marlborough. This revived reputation was not ill
sustained in the reign of George II.; but it was the struggle for
self-preservation forced upon us by the wars with the French republic and empire which displayed all the energy and resources
of the nation, and made Great Britain the leading power in Europe. During the same period, from our maritime supremacy,




CHAP. XXXIV.   PROGRESS OF THE NATION.                751
our colonial empire received a vast extension. An ill-considered
policy cost us, indeed, the loss of our finest possessions in North
America; but this was sdon more than replaced by the subjugation of India,'and the establishment of a new empire in the East.
Even in America, the Canadas, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, etc.,
and several of our sugar-colonies, were either retained or newly
acquired.  In Europe, the acquisition of Gibraltar, Malta, and the
Ionian Islands secured us the command of the Mediterranean; in
Africa, the Cape of Good Hope affords valuable assistance to our
Indian commerce. Farther southward, at our very antipodes,
Australia and its dependencies will form eventually a new British
continent; and at no very distant period a very large portion of
the habitable world will be peopled by a race of Anglo-Saxon
origin.  Compared with these results, the conquests of the Romans, when viewed as to their abiding consequences, will shrink
into insignificance. Their settlements, like ours in India, were
for the most part mere military occupations-provinces, not colonies; and did not much serve to spread the Italian race.
~ 23. During the period under review, the trade, wealth, and
population of Great Britain have been in a continual progress of
rapid increase.  They received a considerable impulse during the
long and peaceful administration of Sir Robert Walpole; but the
beginning of the reign of George III. is the epoch of the grcat increase of our trade and manufactures. The potteries began to
flourish under Wedgewood; the cotton manufactures were developed in Lancashire and Yorkshire. In 1775 James Watt procured an act vesting in him " the sole use and property of certain
steam-engines, commonly called fire-engines, of his invention."
About the same time Arkwright began to spin by rollers; James
Hargreaves, a poor weaver, invented the spinning-jenny; Samuel
Crompton introduced the mule in 1779. In consequence of these
inventions, the cotton manufactures of Manchester and the North
increased a hundred-fold. In order to convey them, and to facilitate internal traffic, a net-work of canals was constructed, and the
highways were improved; while ultimately both these means of
conveyance have been in some degree superseded by the invention
of railways. The origin of English canals may be dated from the
act of -1755. The Duke of Bridgewater obtained his fiist act in
1759. The length of the canals in England now exceeds 2200
miles. Even till toward the end of last century the roads in
many parts of England were execrable. The best coaches on a
long journey cleared no more than 4 or 5 miles an hour.  After
the peace the roads were very much improved by the use of broken
stones and granite introduced by M'Adam, and the pace was in
many instances accelerated to 10 miles an hour.  But this rate,




752                     VICTORIA.             CHAP. XXXIV.
through the introduction of railways, was soon to appear a snail's
pace. The first act for a public railway was passed in 1801. It
was not intended for passengers.  Even the Liverpool and MIanchester line was principally constructed with a view to the conveyance of goods, and it was not anticipated that passengers would
venture to avail themselves of it to any great extent. But when
it was opened in September, 1830, it was found that its greatest
success would be derived from the number of persons conveyed
by it. An inestimable advantage derived from railways is the
facility and cheapness of postal communication. Under the old
system, and in the days of mail-coaches, a single letter conveyed
400 miles paid Is. People wrote no more then than they could
help, and stratagems of all sorts were used to evade the post; so
that between 1815 and 1835 it was found that the post-office
revenue had actually decreased, although, in the ratio of the progress of trade and population, it ought to have increased half a million. To improve tilis state of things,, Mr. Rowland Hill's scheme
of postal reform, by which the postage of all single letters, to whatever distance carried, was reduced to Id., was adopted by the
ministry, and came into full operation in January, 1840.  Many
now living remember the introduction of steam-vessels as well as
of railroads. The former did not come into general use till after
the peace; and went on gradually increasing fiom 8 English-owned steam-vessels in 1815, to 1142 in 1849. The other wonderful
inventions that have been brought into public use during the last
half century-such as gas-lighting, steam-printing, photography,
the electric telegraph, etc., and which can be here only indicated
-will render it to the future historian one of the most memorable eras of the world.
The progress in our home manufactures and trade was accompanied with a corresponding increase of foreign commerce. The
warehousing system, introduced by Mr. Pitt in 1803, by which
the duties on goods, instead of being paid immediately on their
landing, were collected on their delivery to the purchaser, proved
of great service in extending trade by husbanding the capital of
our merchants. But, above all, the free-trade measures of Sir
Robert I'eel have been attended with the -greatest benefit, and
promise to augment our commerce to an unlimited amount.
The surprising increase in industry and wealth during the last
century has naturally been attended with a corresponding increase
of population. Before the establishment in 1801 of a regular
census, to be taken every 10 years, there were no means of estimating very accurately the number of the people; but, from the
best calculation that can be made, it seems probable that the population of England and Wales at the time of the Revolution of 1688




CHAP. XXXLV.   PROGRESS OF THE NATION.                 753
did not much exceed 51 millions.  The whole increase during the
first four reigns of the Stuart dynasty was not perhaps more than
half a million. During the 18th century, and especially in the
latter half of that period, the population went on steadily increasing, and the first census of 1801 shows a population in England
and Wales of 9,872,980.  Since that time the increase has been
still more rapid, the last census in 1851 showing a population of
17,927,609.  A corresponding increase has also taken place in
Scotland and Ireland. It is chiefly among the portion of the people employed in manufactures and trade that this increase has occurred; for while the persons engaged in these occupations have
increased at the rate of upward of 30 per cent., those employed
in agriculture have increased only 2~ per cent.
The vast augmentation of the national debt during this period
is a remarkable feature in the history of the country.  At the accession of the house of Hanover (1714) it did not much exceed
50 millions, and it remained some years at about that amount.
Yet in 1736 we find it complained of in the Craftsman as the
source of all the national distress; and twenty years afterward it
was predicted, in the Letters of Samuel Hannay, that if it ever
reached 100 millions the nation must become bankrupt. Yet a
little afterward, at the close of George II.'s reign, and chiefly
through the wars of that monarch, it had reached upward of 108
millions without the occurrence of the anticipated consequence.
Even Hume, in the 3d volume of his History of E-tgland, written
in 1778, when the debt was about 150 millions, observed that it
" threatened the very existence of the nation."  In 1793, when
the first war with revolutionary France broke out, the amount of
the debt was little short of 228 millions; at the peace of Amiens
in 1802, it was nearly 500 millions.  From that period till 1815,
during the portentous struggle with Napoleon, it was increased,
as we have already said, by 224 millions; yet.the country seems
to carry this burden with a lighter step than when it was seven
times smaller.
~ 24. Turning our view from the material to the moral condition
of the nation, we shall also be sensible of a great advance, though
not, perhaps, in the same proportion. With regard to religion,
one great feature of the period is the societies that have sprung
up with a view to the propagation of Christianity, such as the
Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, founded in 1699;
the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in foreign Parts, established in 1701; the Church Missionary Society, and the British and Foreign Bible Society, both founded in 1804; besides
numerous others.  Several of these societies enjoy a revenue of
upward of ~100,000.  The sect of the Methodists, founded by
T2




754                     VICTORIA.             CHAP. XXXIV.
Wesley and Whitefield about the middle of last century, is likewise a remarkable growth of the age. The naturally religious
disposition of the English has, however, sometimes a tendency to
degenerate into fanaticism, and even in the present enlightened
century has occasionally indulged in the most fantastic delusions.
Thus, in 1814, an old woman named Joanna Southcote, in her
65th year, gave out that she was pregnant with the Shiloh, and
found: believers even among the educated classes. In 1831 several
followers of the celebrated Edward Irving imagined themselves to
be endowed with the gift of unknown tongues; and even in the
present times we have our Mormons, and other strange sectaries.
~ 25. One great symptom of moral improvement was the mitigation of the severity of our criminal law, introduced about the
commencement of the present century by the humane and enlightened Sir Samuel Romilly, and afterward pursued by Sir James
Macintosh and others.  Previous to 1808 the offense of privately
stealing 5s. from the person was punishable with death, as well as
a great many other offenses, such as sheepstealing, shoplifting,
forgery, etc.; and it was no uncommon thing to see a score of
criminals- executed- together at Newgate on a Monday morning.
At length the feeling of juries began to revolt against such exorbitant punishments. They refused to convict, and thus the laws
became virtually inoperative. Yet some of the judges, as Lord
Ellenborough and Lord Eldon, continued to support the old system. In 1833 a royal commission was first appointed to examine
the state of the criminal law. One of the first results of their report was the bill passed in 1836 for allowing counsel to prisoners
indicted for criminal offenses; and in 1837 a bill was passed remitting the penalty of death in 21 out of 31 cases in which it was
previously inflicted, while in the remaining 10 cases it was considerably restricted. Other ameliorations have subsequently taken
place.
The present century has likewise witnessed a great advance in
the education of the people, especially of the middle and lower orders. Lord Brougham is the most conspicuous name at the head
of this movement, and he has been ably seconded by a host of
enlightened men. In 1823 the London Mechanics' Institute was
founded, and was soon followed by others in different parts of the
country. The establishment of the Society for the Diffusion of
Useful Knowledge in 1826, and the opening of the University of
London* in 1828, tended still farther to promote sound education,
* The present University of London is a different body, having been
founded by the Crown in 1836, with the power to grant degrees in Arts,
Law, and Medicine.




CHAP. XXX!V.   PROGRESS OF THE NATION.                 755
especially among the middle classes.  The result of all these steps
has been a decided improvement in the manners of the people;
and drunkenness, debauchery, prize-fighting, and other brutal
sports are decidedly less frequent than formerly.
~ 26. Our literature underwent during this period a great revolution. During the earlier part of it the French taste introduced
at the Restoration continued to prevail.  Style received its last
polish from the writers of Queen Anne's reign; and in this respect
the prose of Bolingbroke, Addison, and Swift, and the versification
of Pope, have never been surpassed. This continued to be regarded as the Augustan age of our literature till toward the close
of last century. The conventional taste of the latter period is
exhibited in the lectures of Blair and the criticisms of Dr. Johnson. Even the great writers of the Elizabethan age were almost
ignored, and any poet before WValler was scarcely deemed worth
opening. But a taste for our older literature was even then beginning to spring up, and was fostered by the writings and the
editorial cares of Warton, Tyrwhitt, and others. At present our
more cosmopolitan taste, though still ready to do justice to the
polish and sparkle of Queen Anne's authors, can at the same
time relish more nature and profundity.  Cowper introduced a
new school of domestic poetry, which, if not so brilliant, was at
all events more natural than the preceding one. The French
Revolution shook the European world of thought to its centre,
and opened up fresh veins of literature.  Subsequently the study
of the German writers has introduced new, elements of thought.
The greatest names of the present century-we speak not of living writers-are those of Coleridge, Wordsworth, Southey, Scott,
Crabbe, Campbell, Byron, and Moore. One of the most marked
features of the later period is the increase of periodical literature;
our grandfathers were content with the Gentleman's Magazine
and one or two other reviews and periodicals; at present they
may be counted by the score.
This period may be said to have witnessed the birth of a British school of art. Till about the middle of last century and the
time of Sir Joshua Reynolds and Hogarth, we can hardly be said
to have had an English school of painting; but at the present
time, illustrated as it is by the names of Gainsborough, Wilson,
Wilkie, Turner, Lawrence, and a long list of eminent artists, we
need not shrink from a comparison with any modern school. In
sculpture our progress has not been so decided; yet we may point
with satisfaction to the names of Chantrey, Bailey, Westmacott,
and others.




756                  NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.  CHA.r. XXX1V
CHRONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE EVENTS.
A.D.                                       A.D.
1820. Accession of George IV.             1846. Repeal of the corn-laws.
"  Trial of Queen Caroline.    -              Resignation of Sir Robert Peel. Lord
1821. Death of Queen Caroline.                    John Russell prime minister.
1825. Commercial panic.                   1847. Irish famine.
182T. Canning prime minister. His death. 184S. French Revolution.
Lold Goderich prime minister.      18493. Repeal of navigation-laws.
i'  Battle of Navarino and establishment 1850. Death of Sir Robert Peel.
of Greek independence.             18s2. Resignation  of Lord John Russell.
1828. Duke of Wellington prime ministeri          Lord Derby prime minister. Resig-'   Repeal of the Test and Corporation          nation of Lord Derby.  Coalition
Acts.                                     ministry, with Lord Aberdeen prime
1829. Catholic Relief Bill.                       minister.
1830. Death of George IV. and accession of   "  Death of the Duke of Wellington.
William IV.                        1853. War between Russia and Turkey.
"   French Revolution.                   1854. England  and France  declare war
"   Resignation of the Duke of Welling-         against Russia.
ton. Earl Grey prime minister.       "  Battle of the Alma.
1831. Parliamentary Reform Bill introduced.   "  Siege of Sebastopol. Battles of Bala.
1832. Parliamentary Reform Bill passed.           klava and Inkermann.
1833. Abolition of slavery.               1855. Resignation of Lord Aberdeen. Lord
1834. Lord Melbourne prime minister.              Palmerston prime minister.
"  New poor-law.                -         "  Capture of Sebastopol.
i  Sir Robert Peel prime minister.       1856. Peace with Russia.
1835. Lord Melbourne's second administra- 1857. Revolt of the Bengal army.
tion.                              1858. Resignation of Lord Palmerston. Lord
1836. Municipal Reform Bill.                      Derby prime minister.
183T. Death of William IV. and accession   "'  Abolition of the East India Company.
of Queen Victoria."  Admission of the Jews to Parliament.
1841. Sir Robert Peel's second administration.
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
ing their means of support. The increase of
A. POOR LAWS.                pauperism is shown by several severe statIn the statute 12 Rich. II. (13S8) we first utes on the subject passed in the short reign
find mention of the "impotent poor," who  of Edward VI. But, at the same time, pro.
are directed to remain and abide in certain  vision was made for the relief of the poor;
places; either those in which they were at and the voluntary collections, such as had
the time of the proclamation of the statute, been first ordered under 27 Hen. VIII., c. 25,
or the places in which they were born. But were by a long series of statutes almost inno provision is made for their maintenance. sensibly converted into compulsory assessIndeed, during the Roman Catholic times, ments.
begging was allowed on the part of the in-   At length, by the 43 Eliz., c. 2 (1601),
potent poor, who were chiefly supported by  compulsory assessment for the relief of the
the abbeys, convents, and other religious poor -as fully established, and this statute
establishments. Thus, even so late as 1530, was till recent times the text-book of the
just before the breach with Rome, the statute  English poor-law. The overseers of each
22 Hen. VIII., c. 10, which inflicts severe  parish were directed by this statute to raise
punishment on sturdy vagabonds and valiant by taxation the necessary sums 11for pro-.
beggars i being whole and mightyin body,"  viding a sufficient stock of flax, hemp, wool,
allows the aged and impotent poor to beg  and other ware or stuff, to set the poor on
and live off alms, provided they confined  work, and also competent sums for relief of
themselves to certain districts; and they re- lame, blind, old, and impotent persons, and
ceived a letter authorizing them to beg with- for putting out children as apprentices."
in those limits. The chief object in all the  The justices were empowered to send to
eaolly enactments upon pauperism was to re- prison all persons who would not work, and
atrain vagrancy. The first act for the relief  to assess all persons of sufficient means for
of the impotent poor was passed in 1535 (27  the relief of their children and parents.
Hen. VIII., c. 25), by which collections were  Power was given to the parish officers to
ordered to be made in the parishes for their build, at the expense of the parish, poorsupport. But by the same statute incorrigi- houses for the reception of the impotent poor
ble vagrancy is, on a third conviction, made  only. These are the chief provisions of this
felony, with the penalty of death. The dis- celebrated statute. Work-houses were first
solution of the religious houses in that reign  established in 1722 by 9 Geo. I., c. 7. They
had the effect both of increasing the number were not at first intended so much as a refuge
of vagabonds and beggars, and of diminish- for the poor, or as a test by which real desti



CIHAP. XXXIV.  NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.                                         757
tution might be discerned, but, as their name  seems to have much declined in England toimplies, with a view to derive profit from  ward the end of the reign of Henry VIII. and
the labors of the poor. The work-houses in that of Edward VI., which was probably
were in fact a kind of manufactories carried  in some degree owing to the great change of
on at the risk of the poor-rate; and though  property consequent on the dissolution of
they at first diminished the cost of relief, the abbeys and religious houses. Thus the
they ultimately increased it; by pauperizing  statute 25 Hen. VIII., c. 2, positively forbids
the independent laborer. In the reign of  the exportation of corn; and the statute 5
George II. the amount expended in relief  and 6 Edw. VI., c. 5, entitled "An Act for
was under three fourths of a million. In  the Maintenance and Increase of Tillage and
1775 it amounted to ~1,720,000. From that Corn," attempted to make the cultivation
period it went on rapidly increasing, and in  of corn compulsory, by exacting a fine of 5;.,
1818 it reached its maximum  of nearly  payable by each parish on every acre of land
~8,000,000. This large fund was subject to  in each deficient in tillage when compared
great abuses of administration, which begot with the quantity that had been tilled at any
habits of improvidence among the poor by  period after the accession of Hlenry VII.
encouraging early marriages, etc. Laborers'   The act of lien. VIII. forbidding the exwages were frequently paid in part from it;  portation of corn was repealed in the reign
and thus a portion of the farmer's labor was of Mary; but the price at which exportation
done at the expense of the parish. At length, was allowed was gradually raised, till in
in 1832, a commission was appointed to in- 1670 it was enacted that wheat might always
quire into the practical operation of the poor- be exported as long as it was under 53s. 46.
laws. In February, 1834, they made their a quarter. At the same time heavy import
report, and a bill founded upon it, the Poor duties were imposed; and the design of the
Law Amendment Act, was soon afterward  Legislature seems to have been to keep wheat
introduced by Lord Althorp, and received  at an average of about 53s. 4d. Nay, in 1689
the royal assent August 14, 1834. By this the landowners obtained the payment of a
act, all bodies charged with the relief of the  bounty of 5s. per quarter on the exportation
poor are placed under the control of a central of wheat when the price did not exceed 48s.,
board of three commissioners, who are to  and on other grain in proportion. These
smake rules and regulations, binding upon  bounties were not repealed by law till 1815,
the local boards. One important power giv- though they had been for some time virtually
en to them is that of uniting several parishes inoperative.
for the purpose of a more economical admin-   Regulations were also made respecting the
istration. The system of paying wages out home trade in corn; and in the reign of
of the poor-rate is abolished; and, except in  Elizabeth it was made an offense under the
extreme cases, to be determined by the coin- name of engrossing, and punishable with imamissioners, relief is only given to the able- prisonment or the pillory, to buy corn in one
bodied poor within the work-house. After market in order to sell it in another. The
this period, in the face of a rapidly-increas- act 15 Chas. II., c. 7, legalized engrossing
ing population, the sums expended have rap- when the price of wheat did not exceed 48s.
idly diminished. On this subject see Sir G. Till a very recent period engrossing contin.
Nicholls' IT'st. of the English Poor LLas, 2  ned to be regarded by public opinion as a
vols. 8vo; Porter's Progress of the Natiosn, heinous offense, and even Lord Kenyon viosect. i., ch. 4; and the article PAuPrOsuM in  lently denounced from  the bench a cornthe Penny Cycelopedia.                     factor accused of it.
By a bill of 1713 importation was allowed
13. CORN LAWS.                 at the nominal duty of Gd. whenever the
The earliest enactments on this subject price of wheat should be above 48S. Subsewvere to forbid the exportation of corn, while  quently, in 1791 and 1804, this price was
its importation was freely admitted; but in  raised to 54s. and 63s.; and in 1815 the imlater times the policy of the Legislature was portation of wheat for home consumption was
altogether different. The first statute ex- positively forbidden when the price was Untant on corn is the 34 Edw. III., c. 20 (1360), der 80s., and other corn in proportion. Vawhich forbids its exportation, except to cer- rious modifications were introduced between
tain places where it was necessary to the  that time and 1829, when the principle of a
king's interest, and to be named by him. graduated duty or sliding scale was introAt a later period, in the reigns of Richard II. duced; the duty, when the price was 62s.,
and Henry VI., we find this policy reversed, being 24s. 81., and gradually diminishing as
and liberty given to export to any places;  the price advanced, till at 73s. and upward
though subject, in the latter reign, to restric- it fell to 1s. The operation of the principle,
tion in ease the price of corn reached 6s. 87. however, was found to be inconvenient and
the quarter for wheat. Since no attempt unsalutary; and at length, by Peel's bill of
was made to prevent the importation of corn, 1846, of which an account has been given in
we may infer that it was produced in England  the text, the trade in corn was ultimately
as cheap, or cheaper, than in neighboring  left entirely free. See the article CORN in
countries. In the reign of Edward IV. we  the Penny Cyclopcedia.
find the first protective law in favor of the      C. NAVIGATION LAWS.
agriculturist, importation of corn being forbidden by 3 Edw. IV., c. 2, unless the price    The first Navigation Act was introducel I
of wheat exceeded 6s. 81. the quarter. But, by Whitelock in the time of the Commonfrom  some cause or another, agriculture  wealth (1651), and was intended as a blow to




758                  NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.  CHAP. XXXIV.
Dutch commerce; but the act which till very  hand, power was given to impose additional
recently formed the foundation of our coin- duties on the goods and shipping of those
mercial system in this respect was the 12 countries which should levy higher duties on
Chas. II., c. 18. By this act it was provided  British vessels than on their own. Under
that no goods should be imported into En- these acts treaties of reciprocity were congland from Asia, Africa, or America, except cluded with most of the principal nations of
in an English-built ship, navigated by an  the world. But in 1S49, in the ministry of
English master, and having at least three  Lord John Russell, and on the motion of Mr.
fourths of its crew English. With regard to  Labouchere, the navigation-laws were enEurope, goods imported into England from  tirely repealed.-See Porter's Progress of
any European state in a foreign ship were the Nation, sect. iii., ch. 9.
subject to a higher rate of duty than if imported in an English one. Tile first devia- D. AIUTIIORITIES FOR  THE  PERIOD
tion from this act arose from the treaty of      COMPRISED IN BOOI  VI.
Ghent with the United States of America in
1815. The States, soon after the establish-   The principal authorities for the reigns of
ment of their independence, had retaliated  William III. and Anne are, Bishop Burnett's
on England by a navigation-law similar to  History of his Olwn Times; Evelyn's Diary;
her own; but this restrictive system was  Principal Carstairs' StateLettersand Papers;
mutually found to be so inconvenient and  Macpherson's Original Papers (1688-1714);
unprofitable, that it was abandoned at the  Macpherson's Hist. of Great Britain from
period mentioned, and the ships of the two  the Restoration to the House of Hanover;
countries placed reciprocally on the same foot- IIarris, Hist. of Life and Reign of lWilliamra
ing. With this exception, all the provisions  III.; Coxe, Correspondence of the Duke of
of the act were maintained till 1822, when  Shrewsbsury with King William; BolingMr. Wallace, president of the Board of Trade, broke's Letters and Correspondence; Somerintroduced five bills effecting. various im-  ville's Political Transactions from Restoraportant relaxations. The provisions respect-  tion to end of William  II1.; Msmoires due
ing Asia, Africa, and America were repealed, Duc de Berwoick; Ker of Kersland's Memoirs
and also that clause which forbade foreign  of Secret Transactions; Boyer's Annals of
goods to be brought into England from Eu-  the Reign of Queen Annse; Lockhart's Alemrope in a foreign ship, except direct from the  oirs and Commentaries on the Affairs of
place of production, and in ships belonging  Scotland; C(oxe, Memoirs and Correonsdto the country of production. Certain enn-  ence of the Duke of Marlborough; The Letmerated goods were also allowed to be brought  ters anod Dispatches of John, Duke of Marlfrom any port in Europe in ships belonging  borough, 1702-1T12, edited by General Sir
to the port of shipment; and Dutch ships, G. Murray; Swift's Four? last Y, ars of the
which by the Navigation Act were forbidden  Reign of Queen Anne; Somerville's Hist.
to enter English ports with cargo, were placed  of Great Britain durisng the reign of Queen
on the same footing as those of other nations.  Anne.
Other relaxations were made in favor of our   It would be quite impossible. within the
West India colonies.                      limits of this work to recite all the works
In the following year, the Prussians hav- that might be used for the Georgian era,
ing notified that unless some relaxation were  and we shall therefore content ourselves with
made in favor of their ships heavy retalia- indicating a few of the principal ones; Coxe,
tory duties would be imposed on English  Memsoirs of Sir Robert Walpole; idem. Merenships entering their ports, Mr. Huskisson, oirs of the Pelham  Administration; Dr.
now at the head of the Board of Trade, in- Win. King's Anecdotes of his Orwn Timnes
troduced what are called the Reciprocity Acts (relating to the Pretender Charles Edward);
(4 Geo. IV., c. 77, and 5 Geo. IV., c. 1), by  Bubb Doddington's Diary (1749-1761); Orwhich the king was authorized to permit, by  ford (II. WValpole), Memr. of last Ten Years
order in council, the importation and export- of George II.; Memoirs of Reign of Kisng
ation of goods in foreign vessels at the same  George Il.; the Annual Register (comduties as those imported in British vessels mencing 1T5S); Lord Mahon's Hist. of Enwere liable to, in the case of those countries gland, from Peace of Utrecht to Peace of
that should levy no discriminating duties on  Versailles, 1783; Adolphus, Hist. of George
goods imported in British vessels; and the  III.; Craik and M'Farlane's Pictorial Hisvessels themselves of such countries were to  tory during Reign of George 1Il.; H. Mappay no higher tonnage duties than were tineau, Ihistory of England during Thirty
chargeable on British vessels. On the other  Years' Peace, etc.








TABLE OF THE PRINCIPAL CONTEMPORARY EUROPEAN
The Years show the ComENGLAN D.                      SCOTLANI).                       FRANCE.
William I............ 1066 Malcolm III............ 1057 Philip I............... 1060
William II............. 1087 Donald VII............ 1093
Duncan II............. 1094
I-enry I............... 1100 Donald VII. restored.
Edgar.................   1098
Alexander..1107 Louis VI.........                       1108
David................. 1124
Stephen............... 1135                                   Louis VII.............. 11371
Henry II............. 1154i Malcolm IV............ 1153
William the Lion...... 1165
Philip II................ 1180
Richard I.............. 118
John.................. 1199
Henry III............. 1216 Alexander II.......... 1214 Louis VIII............. 1223
Louis IX.     1226
Alexander III.......... 1249
Edward I.............. 1272                                   Philip III.............. 1270
Margaret.............. 1285 Philip IV.............. 1285
John Baliol........... 1292
Edward II............. 1307 Robert I. (Bruce)...... 1306 Louis X............... 1314
Philip V............... 131
Edward III............ 1327 David II. (Bruce)......  1329 Charles IV............ 1322
Edward Baliol.........   1332 Philip VI.............. 1328
David II. restored..... 1342 John II................ 1350
Charles V............. 1364
Robert II. (Stuart).....  1371
Richard II.............   1377                                Charles VI............ 1380
Robert III............. 1390
Henry IV............. 1399
James L.............. 1406
Henry V.............. 1413
Hlenry VI............. 1422                                   Charles VII............ 1422
James II.............. 1437
EdwardIV............ 1461 James II.............. 1460 Louis XI.............. 1461




SOVEREIGNS FROM THE PERIOD OF THE CONQUEST.
mencenment of their Reigns.
GErrANY.                          SPAIN.                          Pors.
Henry IV....... 1056                                  Alexander II........... 1061
CASTILE.              Grregory VII......... 1073
Victor III.............. 108
Sancho II.............. 1065Urban II........   1088
AlfonsoVI.... 1072 Pascal II........   1099
Alfonso VII................... 1109 Gelasius II............ 1118
Henry V.1106 Alfonso VIII........... 1126 Calixtus II...    1119
Lothaire II.1125 Sancho IIL............ 1157 Honorius     I........ 1124
Conrad III............. 1138 Alfonso IX............ 1158 Innocent II............ 1130
Henry I....... 1214 Celestine II............ 1143
Ferdinand III......... 1217 Lucius II.............. 1144
Alfonso X............. 1252 Eugenius III........ 1145
Frederick Barbarossa    1152 Santn  cho IV......... 1284 Anastasius IV......... 1153
Ferdinand IV......... 1294 Adrian IV............. 1154
Alfonso XI........... 1312 Alexander III..........  1159
Peter the Cruel........ 1350 Lucius III............   1181
Henry II.............. 1368 Urban III...... 1185
John I.............. 1379 Gregory VIIL......... 1187
Henry III............. 1390 Clement III............ 118T
Heny VI............. 1190 John TI................ 1406 Celestine III........... 1191
Philip................. 1198 Henry IV............. 1454 Innocent III........... 1198
Otho IV........... 120S                                       Honorius III.......... 1216
Frederick II........... 1212                                   Gregory IX........  1227
Celestine IV......... 1241
Conrad IV............ 1250                                      Innocent IV......... 1243
William............... 12.50                           Alexander IV.              1254
Interregnum........ 1256              ARAGON.               Urban IV.....         1261
Clement IV........   1265
Rodolph...............   1273 Sancho Ramirez....... 1063 Gregory X............. 1271
Peter of Navarre....  1094 Innocent V........... 1276
Alfonso I.............. 1104 Adrian V..         1276
RamiroIL........... 1134 John XXI.. 1277
Petronilla   and   Ray-         Nicholas III............ 1277
nlond................ 1137 Martin IV.......... 1281
Alfonso II............. 1162 Honorius IV........... 1285
Interregnum........ 1291 Peter II............... 1196 Nicholas IV.........  1288
Adolphus.............. 1292 James I...         1213 Celestine V............ 1294
Peter III.......... 1276 Boniface VIII.......... 1294
Albert................  1298 AlfonsoIII............. 1285 Benedict XI.......... 1303
Henry VII............. 1308 James II.............. 1291 ClementV.............   1305
Interregnum........ 1313 Alfonso IV......... 1327 John XXII............ 1316
Louis IV. and Frederick 1314 Peter IV............... 1336 Benedict XII......... 1334
JohnI................. 1387 Clement VI............ 1342
Louis IV.............. 1330 Martin I............... 1396 Innocent VL.......... 1352
Charles IV............ 1347 Ferdinand of Sicily....  1412 Urban V............. 1362
Wenceslaus........... 1378 Alfonso V.......... 1416 Gregory XI............ 1370
John II...              1458 Urban VI.......... 1371
Boniface IX.......... 1389
Benedict XIII......... 1394
Frederick............. 1400              CASTILE.              Innocent VII.......... 1404
Rupert........ 1400                                        Gregory XII........... 1406
Jossus................ 1410 Ferdinand V..                 1474 Alexander V...            1403
Sigismund.............   1410   (Marries Isabella of Castile, John XXIII........... 1410
1479, and unites Castile Martin V....   1411
Albert II.............. 1438       and Aragon.)                Eugenius IV...........    1431
Frederick III........... 1440 Joan................     1504 Nichola s V.                 1441
Calixtus III............ 1455
Plius IL............... 1455




7G-2                          TABLE OF THE PRINCIPAL CONTEMPORARY
EcNGLND.                      SCOTLAND.                      FmkNCE.
Edward V............ 1483                                 Charles VIII..........14S3
Richard III............ 1483 
HIenry VII............. 1485 James IV.............. 1488 Louis XII..               1498
Henry VIII.........  509
James V............... 1513 Francis I.............. 1515
Edward VI........... 1547 Ma................. 1542 Henry II.............. 15471
Mary............... 1553                                   Francis I.......        155
Ellizabetl..,...... 1558 James VI............1567 CarlesI.....                     1
(Unites the crowns on       Henry III............. 1574
the death of Eliza-       Henry IV............ 1533
beth, 1603.)
RUSSIA.
Emperors from Peter the
Great.
James I.............. 1603 Peter the Great........ 1689 Louis XIII............. 1610
Catherine I............ 1725
Peter IIH..........  1727
Charles I.............. 1625 Anne.................  1730 Louis XIV............. 1643
Commonwealth...... 1649 Ivan VI.............. 1740
Charles II.... 1..... 1649 Elizabeth............. 1741 Louis XV............. 115
(Restored 1660.)            Peter III............. 1762
Catherine IL...,   1762 Louis XVI..............174
Paul.................. 1796
James II............... 1685 Alexander I...   1801 Louis XVII............ 1793
William III............ 1689 Nicholas.............. 1825  (Died in prison, 1795,
Anne.................. 1702 Alexander II...........  1855     aged 10.)
George I............... 1714
George II.....          1727                                         Republc.
PRUSSIA.            Napoleon I. emperor... 18041
George III.............  1760 (From  the Establishment of Louis XVIIL.......... 1814!
the Kingdom.) 
Frederick I............ 1701 Charles X.  1224
Frederick William I.... 1713
George IV............. 1820 Frederick II. (the Great) 1740 Louis Philippe......... 1830
William IV............ 1830 Frederick William II.. 1786
Frederick William II.. 1797  Republic............ 1848
Victoria............... 1837 Frederick William IV.. 1840 Napoleon III. emperor.. 1853
LIST OF THE ARCHBISHOPS OF CANTERBURY
1533. Thomas Cranmer.  Burned at Oxford, 1633. William Laud.  Translated from Lo-nMarch 21, 1555.                               don.  Beheaded Jan. 10, 1645. The
1,556. Reginald Pole, Cardinal.  Ob. Nov.             See vacant 14 years.
17, 1558.                            1660. William Juxon. Translated firo Loon1559. Matthew Parker.  Ob. May 17, 1575.              don.  Ob. June 4, 1663.
1576. Edmund Grindal.  Translated from   1663. Gilbert Sheldon. Translated fiom LonYork.  Ob. July 6, 1583.                      don. Ob. Nov. 9, 1677.
1543. John Whitgift. Translated from Wor-  1678. William  Sancroft.  Deprived Feb. 1,
cester.  Ob. Feb. 29, 1604.                   1691.  Ob. Nov. 24, 1693.
1604. Richard Bancroft.  Translated from   1691. John Tillotson.  Ob. Nov. 22, 1694.
London.  Ob. Nov. 2, 1610.           1694. Thomas Tenison.  Translated from
1611. George Abbot.  Translated from Lon-             Lincoln.  Ob. Dec. 14, 1715.
don.  Ob. Aug. 4, 1633.




EUROPEAN SOVEREIGNS, ETC.-Continued.                                                     763
GnSIMANY.                        SPArrN.                         PorPe.
Paul II................ 1464
SixtusIV.............. 1471
Innocent VIII......... 1484
Maximilian I....... 1493                                      Alexander VI.......... 1492
SPAIN.              Pius III............... 1503
Julius II............... 1503
Charles V............. 1519 Ferdinand V......     1512 Leo X................. 1513
Charles I..........      1516 Adrian VI............ 1522Clement VII........... 1523
Paul III............... 1534
Julius III............. 1550
Ferdinand I.......... 1558iPhilip I.........           1556 Marcells II........... 1555
Maximilian II......... 1564 Philip III.............. 1598 Paul IV...............  1555
Rod6lph II............. 1516                                  Pius IV.............. 1559
Pius V................ 1566
Gregory XIII.......... 1512
Sixtus V.............. 1585
Urban VII............. 1590
Gregory XIV.......... 1590
Innocent IX...........   1591
Clement VIII.......... 1592
Matthias........... 1612                                      Leo XI................ 1605
Ferdinand II........... 1619 Philip IV.............. 1621 Paul V................ 1605
Ferdinand III.......... 1637 Charles II............. 1665 Gregory XV.......... 1621
Leopold I........... 1658                                   Urban VIII............ 1623
Joseph I..............  1705IOPhilipV............... 1700 Innocent X............ 1644
Charles VI............ 1711                                  Alexander VII......... 1655
Maria Theresa......... 1740                                   Clement IX............ 166T
Charles VIL...........  1742 Ferdinand VI.......... 1745 Clement X............ 1670
Francis I.............. 1T45                                  Innocent XI............ 1676
Joseph II.............. 1T65. Charles III............. 1759 Alexander VIII......   1689
Leopold II............. 1790 Charles IV............ 1788 Innocent XII.........   1691
Francis II............. 1192                                 Clement XI............ 1700
(With this prince the                                        Innocent XIII.......... 1721
title of Emperor of                                       Benedict XIII.......... 1724
Germany was drop-                                          Clement XII........... 1730
ped for that of Em-                                        Benedict XIV......... 1740
peror of Austria).                                         Clement XIII......... 1758
Clement XIV......... 1769
Pius VI............... 1775
Pius VII.............. 1800
AUSTRIA.             Ferdinand VII......... 1808 Leo XII............... 1823
Francis I. (the preceding) 1804   Joseph Bonaparte.            Pius VIII.............. 1829
Ferdinand............ 1835 Ferdinand restored..... 1814 Gregory XVI.........  1831
Francis Joseph........ 148 Isabella II............ 1843 Pius IX................ 1846
FROM THE TIME OF THE REFORMATION.
1715. William Wake. Translated from Lin-                 Lichfield and Coventry.  Ob. March
coin.  Ob. Jan. 24, 1737,                       19, 1783.
1737. John Potter. Translated from Oxford.  1783. John Moore.  Translated from  BanOb. Oct. 10, 1747.                              gor.  Ob. Jan. 18, 1805.
1T47. Thomas Herring.  Translated from   1805. Charles  Manners  Sutton.    TransYork.  Ob. March 13, 1757.                     lated from  Norwich.  Ob. July 21,
1757. Matthew  Hutton.  Translated from                  1828.
York.  Ob. March 19, 1758.             1828. William  Howley.  Translated from
1758. Thomas Seeker.  Translated from Ox-                London.  Ob. Feb. 11, 1848.
ford.  Ob. Aug. 3, 1768.               1848. John Bird Sumner.  Translated from
1768. Frederick Cornwallis. Translatedfrom              Chester.




GENEALOGICAL TABLE OF THE HOUSE OF BRUNSWICK.
GEORGE I. (son of the Duke of Brunswick Luneburg, afterward Elector of Hanover, and Sophia, youngest child of the Elecor Palatine and Elizabeth, eldest daughter
of James I.-see p. 368). b. May 23, 1660. d. June 11, 1727. m. Sophia Dorothy of Zelle.
I~~~~~~~~'                                                                    _
GEORGE II.                                                                              Sophia Dorothy,
Oct. 25, 1760. m. Wtilhelmina Carolina of Brandenburg-Anspach.                       m. 1706, Frederick William, afterward King of Prussi
J~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
}                                 I                        J                 I            I                   I                           I
Frederick, Prince of Wales,     William Augustus,              Anne,            Amelia,   Elizabeth,               Mary,                      Lousa,. Jan. 20, 1707. d. Jan. 29, 1751.  Duke of Cumberland,   m. Prince of Orange.    d. 1786     d. 1758      m. Landgrave of Hesse          m. Frederick V.,
f. Aug fSaxe Gotha.              b. 1721. d. 1765              d. 1759.         (unmn.).     (unm.).          Cassel. d. 1771       King of Denmark.. 171
(unm.).                                                                (leaving issue).            (leaving issu).
I~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GEORGE III.      Edward Augustus,           William Henry,            Henry Frederick,            Augusta,                    Caroline Matilda,. Jun  8. Jan. 20, 1820. Duke of York,            Duke of Gloucester,       Duke of Cumberland,   m. Duke of Bruns-    m. Christian VII., King of Denmark.
m. Spia Charlotte of    d. 1767             b. 1743. d. 1805.          b. 1745. d. 1790.      wick-Wolfenbuttel.                        I
ecklenbug S it.        (unm.).          m. Countess Waldegrave.        nu. Lady luttrell                            Frederick, present King of Denmark.
}__                   (lno issue). 
I                              I'                           I
Frederick William,            Sophia Matilda,          Charles Frederick William,             Charlotte,                  CAROLN
Duke of Gloucester.           b. 1773. d. 1814.     Duke of Brunswick, fell at (2Quatre      m. Duke of           m. George, Prince of Wales
b. 1776. d. 1834.                                         Bras, June 16, 1815.             Wurtemberg,         (GEORGE IV.). d. Aug. 7,1821.
m. Princess Mary, daughter o                                                                         d. 1788.
George III. (no issue).
Charles Frederick, Duke of Brunswick, b. 1804. Charles Maximilian, Duke of Brunswick after his broters expusio, b.  06. 
GEORGE IV..  Fredericla,    WILLIAMIV               Edward,         Ernest,       Augustus    Adolphus    Charlotte, Augusia,   Elizabeth,              Mary,    Sophiea, Amelia,
b. Aug. 12, 1762. Duke of York, Duke of Clarence,'   Duke of         Duke of       Frederick,   Frederiek,       b. 1766.-   b. 1768.    b. 1770.       b. 1776.   b. 1777. b. 1783. 
d. June 26, 1830.    b. 1763.    h.Aug. 24, 1765.     Kent,        Cumberland       Duke of       Duke of       d. 1828.    d. 18410     d. 1840.       d. 1840.    d. 1848   d. 181 0    0
mn. Caroline of    d. 1827.     d. June 20, 1837.    b. 1787.     end King of       Sussex,    Cambridge,   m.En   f(n..m   acgae                       m. her    (anus.).  (unsu.).      -
Brunswick.   m. Frederica    m. Adelaide of         d. 1820.       Hanover,        b. 1773.     b. 1774.   Wurtemberg                  of Hdesse    cousin, the
of Prussia    Saxe Meiningen  us. Victoria,       b. 1771.       di. 1843.     ci. 1850.    (no issue).              Homburg         Duke of
(no issue).   (no surv. issue).    of Saxe        d. 1851.                  m. Augsssta of                           (no issue).    Gloucester
Princess                                          Coburg       m. Prederica                 Ilesse Cassel.                                         (no issue).0
Charlotte,                                        Saalfeld.   of Mecklenburg
b. Mar. 7, 1796.                             _______                 Strelitz.                        __________________
d. Nov' 6,1817.                             I                                                                             
us. Leopold of                        VICTORIA,                    George V.,                    George,            Augusta,             Mary
Saxe-Coburg,                        b. Mtay 24, 1819.               King of                      Duke of            b. 1822.           Adelaide,
now King of            us~~~. Feb. 10, 1840, ALIEuT,       HaovrCambride                                 us. Duke of           h. 1833.
the Belgians                    second son of Ernest IL,            b. 1819                      b. 1819.    Mecklenburg Strellit,no surv. issue).          Duke of Coburg and Gotha, b. 1919.    (has issue).                                      (has issue).                                                           7.
Albert,             Alfred,            Arthur,            Leopold,       Victoria, Princeso toyal,        Alice,             B.Seleea,          Louisa,            Beatrice,         0
Prince of Wales,    b. Aug. 6, 1844.    b. Slay 1, 1850.    b.April 7, 1853.        b. N~or. 2 1, 18S10.   b.April25, 1843.   b. Slay 25, 1846.   b. Star. 18, 1848.   b. April14, 1857. 
b. Nov. 9, 1841L  -                                                           us. Frederick, Prince of
Prussia. 1858.




INDEX.
ABECROMBIE.                                                ARTILLERY.
Albion, 2.                      ture, 76. Nobles,  4. N-.      Albuera, battle, 711.            bles and prelates deprssed
Abercrombie, Sir Ralph, expe- Alcuin, 35.              by William., 85.
dition to Holland, 683.  To Aldhelm, Archbishop, 49.  Anjou, Duke of, proposed maEgypt, 688. Killed, 6S9.   Aldred, Archbishop of York,  riage with Elizabeth, 332.
Aberdeen, Lord, foreign secre-  81, 84.                    Becomes Henry Il, 335.
tary, 739. Premier, 742, 745. Alengonii, Duke of, suitor of -, Duke of (Aleon), GovAbhorrers, 511.            Elizabeth, 334, 336.  Duke   ernor of the Netherlands,
Abingdon, convent, 49.   of Anjou, 337.                337.
-     Earl of, supports Prince Alexander II., Pope, assists Annan, battle, 15.
of Orange, 535.         William the Conqueror, 67. Annates, act against, 274.
Abjuration, oath of, 575.  -    III., Pope, canonizes Bec- Anne of Bolhemi, consort of
Aboukir, battle, 6S2.    ket, 117.                      Richard Ii., 195.
Acre taken by Richard I., 125. -, Czar, makes peace with - of Brittany marries
Defended by Sir S. Smith.  England, 6S7. With lFrance.   Charles VIII., 24.
683.                  701.                         —, wife of Richard  I,
Adas, Mr., interview  with -     II., Czar, 745.       poisoned, 234
George Ill, 661.      Alfieri elopes with Pretender's -     of Cleves marries Henry
Addington, Mr., prime minis-  wife, 622.                   VIII., 284, 25.
ter, 686, 693. Viscount Sid- Alfired the Great, at Rome, 40. ANNE, Princess, daughter of
outh (see Sidmouth).    Reign,  41-45.    Literary   James II., 520, 535,,58.
Addison, Secretary, 600.  works, 46.                   Queen, 573.  Reign of, 573Adela, daughter of William -, son of Ethelred, 5S, 61.    592.
the Conqueror, 102.   Algerine pirates suppressed, Annesley, President of the
Adelais of Louvain, consort of  724.                       Council, 475.
Henry  L, 101, 104.   Algiers, Dey of. chastisecl by Anselm, Primate, 96, 98, 100.
Adelus, Bishop, 15.      Blake, 465, 4(66.           Anson, Commodore, 610, 621,
AJuttors, 440.         Aliwal, battle, 74S.            627.
Adrian IV., Pope, 118.  Allectus, 12.                Antoninus, wall of, 11.
V, Pope, 264.       Alliance, triple, 490.  Grand, Arelhangel, passage to, discovAdurni Portus, 12.              568. Triple, 599. Quadru.  ered, 312.
A.i'delfrid (see Etihelfritlh).  ple, 600, 614.              Argaunm, battle, 746.
A~,scevine or Ercemvine, 26.  Alma, battle of the, 743.      Argyle, Earl of, heads the Coy-,Fschings or Ashings, 24;-    Almanza, battle, 581.           enanters, 402, 445, 452, 456,
Aithelingay (Athelney), 42.   Alnmenara, battle, 583.         459, 480.
ARtIus, 13.                   Alnswick, battle, 121.          -, Earl of, condeusned of
African Company, 484.         Alodial lands,. 129.             treason, 515. Incites MenAghrim, battle, 5,53.         Alphonso, King of Aragon,  month's invasion, 524. DoAgincourt, battle, 207.         158.                           feated and executed, 527.
Agsreemesst of  thme Peopole,  -, son-of Edward IL, 158.    -, Duke of, conmmander-in.
scheme, so called, 446.     Althorp, Lord, Cisancellor of   chief in Scotland, 594, 596.
Agricola in Britain, 10.        Exchsequer, 734, 737. Earl, Arkwriglst, 151.
A"Icntr  nBrti,1.    737.                                   Arles, Council of, 15.
Abmednuggur taken, 746.'   Alva, Duske of, 332, 333.         Arlington, LorO', 489.
Aids (feudal), 132, 141.      Amelia., Princess, dies, 710.   Armada, Invincible, 349. DeAislabie, Chancellor of Excise- American war, 713, 716, 719.    feated, 351.
quer., accepts bribes, 603.   Amherst, Lord, 626, 628.     Armagnacs, 208.
Aix-ia-Chapelle, treaty of, 490. Ansilens, Congress  at, 151. Arusiulanism, 36
Anotlser, 622. Congress of,  Treaty of, 689.               Arusorica, British. colony in,
724.                        Ancalites, 7.                    13, 29. Called Bretagne, 29.
Alban, St., martyrdom, 15.   Anderids, or Andredes-ceas- Ar-my,  Parliamentary, 43-6,
Albany, Duke of, niachina-  ter, 25.,                          440, 441.
tions against RobertlIIL, 204. Angeln, 20., standing, origin, 479,1
-1regent of Scotland, 264. Angles (Engle), 20. Site of the,  5-41.
Albemarle, Dsuke of (Monk),  21. Dialect, 76.                Arnee, battle, 636.
engages the Dutcbdfeet, 486, Anglesea, Marquess of, 722.   Arran, Earl of, regent of Scot487.  (See, Monk.)          Anglia, East, 20, 26.            land, 287, 288.
Alberoni, Cardinal, 600.      Anglo-inania, French, 672.    Artevelde, Van, 177.
Albert, Legate, 117.          Anglo-Normsan  Constitution, Articles,   Forty-two,  300.
Albert, Prince, marries Queen   128.  Legislation, 130.        Thirty-nine, 320.  Altered,
I Victoria, 738.              Anglo-Saxon  institutions, 7 1   433.
Albiney, William do, 143.       sq. Language, 75. Litera- Artillery flirst used,'179.




766     ARTHUR.                       INDEX.                       BISHOPRICS.
Arthur, King, defeats Cerdic Baird, General, 746.            France, 211, 214.  Death
25.                        Baker, Major, defends Lo-  215.
-, Duke of Brittany, 136,  donderry, 550.                  Bedford, Earl of, parliamenta
137.                       Balaklava occupied, 744. Bat-  ry leader, 424.
Prince, son of Henry  tle of, ib.
VII., 251.                 Baliol, John, King of Scot- Belasyse,
Arts, fine, 543. British school  land, 159, 160, 161, 162.    03.
of, 755.                   -, Edward, seizes the Scot- Beleriu  (Lands End), 3.
Arundel, Earl of, executed by   tish crown, 175, 176.      Bellasis, Colonel, 429.
Richard II., 195.          Ball, John, 192.                ellele,  battle  off,  621.
-,  Earl  of,  commands Ballard, conspiracy of, 341.        Taken, 633.
gainst  the  Covenanters, Balmerino, Lord, executed, Belll gham  shoots
403.                          62.                           711.
_-, Earl of, impeached, 503. Baltimore, Congress at, 648,    eis's Heights, battle, 649.
Privy seal, 528.            Bas Gor, what, 15.              enbow, Admial, 575.
Asaph ul Dowlah, 669.       Banbury taken by Charles I., Benedictines, 49, 51.
Ascalon taken, 125.           425.                          eficia (see Fef).
Acham, Roger, 304.           Bank  Restriction  Bill, 6. Benevolences, law of Richard
Ascue, Anne, burned, 289.      Repealed, 725.                      against, 234.  Levied
Ashley, Lord, 4S9 (see Shaftes- Bannockburn, battle, 169.    by   enry  VI, 24, 264,
bury).                     Bantry Bay, French  Expedi-  362.
A siento treaty, 601.         tion to, 678.                Bengal army, mutiny, 749.
Aske of Doncaster, rebellion Barbarossa, Frederick, 122.   Bennington, battle of, 649.
of, 281 sq.                Barclay, Sir George, 560.      Bentick, E     of Portland,
Assaye, battle, 746.         Bards, 6.                       547.  (See Portland.)
Assize, 131.                 Barebone, Praise God, 462., Lord William, 71. GovAssociation to defend Queen Balreur, shipwreck at, 101.      ernor General of India, 74.
Elizabeth, 337, 338. To de- Barnet, battle, 227.          Beorred, Kin  of Merca, 35.
fend William III., 560.    Baronetcy, institution of, 35. Beoruf, King of Merca, 35,
Astley, Sir Jacob, 424.      Barons, council of, 9, 12.  36.
Aston, Sir Arthur, 424.        Greater and  Lesser, 130. Berenaria, consort of Richard
Atelings, 24. What, 72.        Oppose  King  John, 140., 124, 125.
Athelstane, King of Essex,  Council of, under Magna Beresford, Lord, 706, 11.
0.                            Charta,   142.    Conspire BegenopZo, storm   of,
-      son of Edward the Elder   against Henry III., 149 sq.   718.
4T.                        Barrington, Lord, C:hancellor Bae, 8.
Atherton Moor, battle, 427.     ofExcheqiuer, 632.           Berkeley Castle, Edward IL.
Attainder, what, 409,?osse.   Barrosa, battle, 710.           murdered at., 172.
Attaint, writ of, 499.        Bartholonsew, St., massacre,,1 Sir M., seizes Wyatt,
Atterbury, Bishop, 603.         334.                           306.
Auckland,  Lord,  Governor Baston, Elizabeth, the holy   -, Earl of, expedition  to
General of India, 747.        Maid of Kent, 277.            Biest, 558.
Audley, Sir Thomas, Chancel- Baissleusb title of, 72.        Berlin Decree, 700.
lor, 275.                   Basilikosa Doron, 370.        Bernadotte, Crown-prince of
Augustine preaches in  En- Bastwick released, 407.             Sweden, 709.
gland, 30.  Archbishop of Bath, Earl of (see Pulteney).  Bernicia (Berneich or BeornaCanterbusry, 31.            Baths, order of, revived, 604.    rire), 26.
Angustsms, 8.'Title of, 72.    Battle Abbey, 82.           Bertha, wife of Ethselbert, 30.
Aula Regis, 131.              Baug6, battle, 210.            Berwick  ceded  to England,
Asslus Plasutiuss, 8.         Bavaria, Elector of, claims  121.  Sold by Richard I.,
Aursmngzebe, 635.               Austria, 611.   Kingdom,  124. Ceded by Edward BaAsssterlitz, battle, 095.       696.                           liol, 176.  Pacification  of,
Austria an empire, 723.       Baxter, 478, 48-2.               403.
Austmian succession, war of, Bayesux tapestry, 70.           -.-, Dsske of, 551, 578, 579,
611.                        Baynard's Castle, 232.           581.
Auverqumerque, Earl of Grant- Beachy Head, battle off, 552. Blmsmrtpore taken, 747.
ham, 547.                   Beaton, Cardinal, 287, 288, Bible, English, 281.
Axtel executed, 4T9.            295.                        Bibroci, 7.
Aylesford, battle, 24.        Beaufort, Duke of, French ad- Bigod, Roger, Earl of Norfolk,
Ayscsme, Sir George, engages  miral, 486.                      163.
De Ruyter, 460.               -, Bishop of Winchester, Bills, parliamentary, 239.
and cardinal, 211,. 214,1 216, Birmingham, riots at, 671.
B.                217.                         Bishops, new regulations re.
Babington, Ant., conspiracy, Beanharnais, Eugene, Viceroy   specting, 276. Protest, 415.
341.                          of Italy, 6.95.               Impeached and cousmitted,,
Bacon, Sir Nicholas, Lord- Beaulieu, sanctuary at, 250.    i b. Deprived of their votes,
Keeper, 314, 327.           Becket, Thomas I, rise, Arch-  417.  Restored  to  ParliaBacon, Francis, pleads against  bishop of Canterbury, ill,  ment, 480. Petition against
Lord Essex, 357, 359.  Yis-  112, 113, 114, 115, 116.  Declaration of Indulgence,
count St. Albans and chan-  Character, 117.   Henry's  531.  Committed to'rower,
cellos, 381.                  penance at his tomb, 121.    ib.. Acquitted, 5392.
lBadsqjoz taken, 712.         Bedford, Duke of, regent of Biehsoprics, new, erected by




BLACK HOLE.                INDEX.                       cALIGULA.    767
F~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Henry VI., 283. New ar- Bourchier, Cardinal, Archbish- Buckingham, Henry, Duke of,
rangement of 73.      op of Canterbury, 244.         supports the Duke  f Glol~ack Hole, 636.      Bourne, Captain, 459, 460.       cester, 230. Favors RichBlack Prince, 180, 184, 15 Bovines, battle, 139.          mond, 232. Executed, 234
186, 1ST, 188.              Boyle, Secretary, 585.         -, Duke of, Constable, exlackwater, battle, 355.   Boyne, the, battle of, 552.      ecuted, 263.
Blackwood, Captain, 697.  Bradshaw, President of High, George Villiers, Duke of,
Blake, Admiral, 4S, 459, 460   Court of Justice, 446.     377 sq.  Persuades Charles
~465, 466.           Brakenbury, Sir Robert, 232.   to visit Madrid, 384. False
Blakeney, General, 624.   Bramham, battle, 204.           narrative of, 386.  Accused
Blenheim, battle, 57.     Brandywine, battle, 649.        by Bristol of high treason,
Castle, 578.       Branodunum, 12.                 390. Expedition to Rochelle,
Bligh, General, 62T.      Breakspear (see Adrian IV.).   392. Assassinated, 394.
Blithwallon, Kin   of North Breda, declaration  of, 475. -, Duke of, 489, 49.
Wales, 84.                Peace of, 489.               Bunker's  ill, battle, 646.]
lood, 491, 492.       Brentford, battle, 425.        Burdett, Sir Francis, 08, 730.
3iicher, Marshal, 7T20, 721, Bretigni, peace of, 186.   Burgesses  first  summoned
17~~22.  ~           Breton, Cape, taken, 627.        152, 162.
Boadicea, 10.          Bretwalda, 29.                Burghb, Hubert de, justicary,
Board of Control, 664.    Breviary abolished, 289.        146.
Bocer, Joan, burned, 29T.   Bridgeman, Sir Orlando, 489. Blurgoyne, General, 634,646,
Bee-lend, 73.         Bridges, first stone, in En-  649, 666.
Boemia, King of, death at  gland, 144.                  Burgundy, Duke of, allied
Crecy, 181.             Brigantes, 9.                    with the English, 208, 209.
Bon, Humphrey, Earl of, Brihuega, battle, 583, 584., Duchess f, assists Sim~163, 169.  ~        Bristol taken by Rupert, 426.  nel, 246.  And Warbek,
Boleyn, Anne, 268 sq., 271.  Surrendered by him, 436.  248.
Married  to  Henry  VIII.,  Riots at, 734.             Burke, Edmund, 642.  Py275. Death, 281.    -, Earl of, embassador to   master of forces, 658.  mBolingbroke,  birthplace  of   Philip IV., 384, 390.      peaches Warren Hastings,
Henry IV., 201.      Britain, earliest accounts of, 2.  665, 669. His   efection
-     St. John, Viscount, 5S4,  Trade with Greeks, ib. In-  on French Revolution, 61.
585, 56,587, 591. Procures  vaded by Cesar, 7. Reduced Burleigh, Lord (Cecil), 333,
the dismissal of Oxford, 591,  by Claudius, 8. Abandoned   355.
592.  Flight, 55.  Enters  by Romans, 13.  Condition Burrard, Sir  arry, 704.
Pretender's service, ib. At-  lunder the, 14.  Roads, ib. Bury St. Edmund's, 41.
tainted, ib. Pardoned, 603.  Chsristianity in, 15.  Gov- Busaco, battle of, 709.
His "Patriot Kin-," 608.    ernusent and divisions sun- Bute, Earl of, 623, 632. Prime
Bomiarsund taken, 745.          der Romaus, 11.                minister, 634, 631.
Bombay, dowry of Catherine Brithric, King of Wessex, pol- Bye, the, plot, 371.
of Braganza, 481. Ceded to  soned, 34..             Byng, Admiral (Lord TorringEast India Company, 635.  Brito, Richard, 115.               ton), defeats tise Pretender,
Bonaparte, Napoleon (ace Na- Britons, origin, 3. Religion, 4.  582.' Defeats the Spaniards,
poleois).,                    Manners, 6. Tribes, ib. sq.. 600.
~-, Louis, King of Holland,  Civilization, 8. Coins, ib., -, Admiral, fails to relieve
699, 709.                     9.  Repulse the barbarians,  Minorca, 624, 625.  Shet,
~,Joseph, King of Naples,  13. Groans, ib. In Arms-  625.
699.  Of Spain, 703, 715.     rica, 29.. Whether expelled               C.
Boniface, Pope, 164.            from England, ib.
Bonner, Bishop, 305, 309, 314. Brittany, disputed succession, Cabal ministry, 489, 496.
Booth, Sir George, 473.         178.  Annexed to French Cabinet council, origin, 566.
Borh (surety), 74.              crown, 247.                  Cabot, Sebastian, 253.
Boroughs, creation  of, 364. Broke, heads the Bye Plot, 371. Cade, Jack, rebellion, 219.
Small.  disfranchised   by   Executed, ib.                 Cadiz taken, 354.
Cromwvell, 464.   Diefran- Bromley, Sir Thomas, commit- Caer Caradoc, 9.
clhised by the Reform  Bill,  ted, 353.                    Caerleol, 27.
735.                        Brougham, Lord, 728. Chan- Caermarthen, Lord, Secretary,
Boscawen, Admiral, 623, 626,  cellor, 733, 734.                664.
627.                        Bruce, Robert, descent, 159.  Coesar invades Britain, 7, 16.
Boston (America), riots at, 643, - (the son), aspires to the Calais taken by Edward Ill.,
645.                          crown, 166.  Crowned  at  181.   Staple  of  English
Boswortb, battle, 235.          Scone, ib. Defeats the En-  goeds, 183. Taken by Guise,
Bothwell Bridge, battle, 1509.    glish, 169. Death, 175.      311.
Botluwell, Earl of, favorite of -, David, 175, 181.          Calamy,  the  Presbyterian,
Mary, Queen of Scots, 324, Brudenel, Lord, committed,  466, 418.
325.                          504.                         Calcutta, 635.
Boulogne, taken by Henry Brunswick, Duke of, publishes Calder, Admiral Sir Robert,
VilI., 288.  Restored,'299.  manifesto, 672.                696.
Army of invasion at, 688, Brunswick, Duke of, 720, 722. Caledonia, 11.
693.                        Brute, the Trojan, 3.         Caledonlans, 12.
Bourbon, Charles, Duke of, Bubble companies, 602.            Calendar, Reformed, 621.
265.  Killed at Rome, 267. Buchanan, George, 370.         Caligula, 8.




7  8  CALVI.                   INDEX.                        -, L.
Calvi, siege of, 676.      Catesby, forms the Gunpowder Charles  the  Simple,  cede
Cambray, peace of, 270.      Plet, 372.  Killed, 374.        Neustria to Rollo,.
Cambria (Wales) 27.        Cathcart, Lord, killed, 610.         the Fair,.
fCambridge, Earl of, executed,, Lord, takes Copenhagen,  _  V. of France, 188, 206.
~2017~.               1702.                               VII., 213, 21.
-, Duke of, 693.           Catherine of France, espoused  -   VIII., 24, 248.
Cambuskenneth, battle, 165.    by Hlenry V., 209.  Marries -    IX., 332.  Massacres the
Camden, Lord    ncellor, 641.  Sir Owen Tudor, 210.          Huguenots, 334. Death, ib.
-, battle, 656.          -     of Aragon, marries Prince   -  X. deposed, 33.
1Cameron of Lochel, 616.     Arthur, 251. Contracted to -     V. (Emperor), 252, 259,
Campbell, Sir Con, 749.      Prince Henry, ib.  Marries   262.  Vits England, 262.
ampegglo, Cardinal, 268.     him, 253.  Henry seeks a   Bribes Wolsey, 264. Second
Camperdown, action off, 679.   divorce, 267. She demurs to   visit to Enand, ib. Breaks
Campion,  Jesuit,  executed,  the court, 269.  Divorced   with Henry VII, 26. Al~~~~~338.               by Cranmer, 215.  Death,  liance with, 288.  Proposes
Camps, Roman, in Britain, 9.   278.                         an alliance with Mry, 306.
Camuloduntm, 9.          -      de Medicis, regent of  -  VII., Emperor, dies, 614.
Canada, when colonized, 628.  France, 317, 320.            -     It. of Spain, death, 565.
Conquered, 629.  Attempt —      of  Braganza  marries-     III., titlrki ofSpain,
ed by Americans, 713, 714.1 Charles II., 481, 504.         576, 578.  Elected emperor,
Insurrection in, 738.  --  of Russia, 656.             588.
Canals, 751.            Catholic emancipation advo-          Ill.of Spain forms the
Canning, George, foreign see-  cated  by  Pitt, 685, 686.!  Family    Compact   with
retary,00. Duelwith Cas-  Lord Howick's bill lost, 700.  France, 633. Declare war,
tlereagh, 08. Premier, 730.  Advocated by Canning, 730.  634.
Canrobert, General, 744.     Carried, 732.                      IV. of Spain, 703.
anterbury, priacy of, ac- Cato Street conspiracy, 728.  -         of Navarre, claim  to
knowledged, 86.        Cavaliers, 415.                   French crown, 16.
Pilrims at, 118.   Cavendish, Lord John, Chan- -     Edward, son of Pretender
~Canti~l, T1.             cellor of Exchequer, 658, 659.  (James), 613.  Expeditio
Cnute (Knt), on of Sweyn, Caxton, 230, note.                 of, 615.
55.  Reign, 58-60.   Ceawlin, 26.  Bretwatda, 29. Charlotte, of  Mecklenurg.,KingofDenmark, threat-   Defeated at Wodnesbeorg,   Strelitz,.marriesGeorgeIL,
ens England, 89.       30.                             632.  Death, 26.
Capel character, 407.      Cecil, Sir WVilliam, Se,,retary -, Princess, dies, 24.
Caracalla, I.            of State, 314, 31, 327, 33Il1Charnock, Captain, 561.
Caractacus, or Carador, 9.        (See Burleigis).             Chsarter of Henry I., 98. DisCarausius, 12.                   -, Sir Robert, son of pre-  covered by Langton, 140.
Cardonuel, Marlboroughes ssec- ceding, secretary, 351. Be- Of Stephen, 103. Of John,
retary, 589.                   comes Lord  Salisbury, 3711- 141.
Carew, Sir Peter, 306.            (S~ee Salisbury).            Charters of corporations surCarleton, Secretary, 410.        -, Sir Edward, Viscount  rendered, 516. Annulled by
Carnatic, secured, 631.           Wimbledon, 389.                 Jamnes II., 530.
Caroline of Anspach, consort Celestins, 15.                    Chartists, origin, 138, 141.
of Geor-e IL, 601.           Celtic words, 31.               Chatham, ships at, burned by,Queen, trial, 128. Death, Celts, 3.                         ihe Dutch, 488.
129.                         Cenimagni, T.                   -,  Earl of (William  Pitt,Carr. Robert,Viscouint Roches- Censorship of the pr,,ess abel-  history, 609, 614, 623. First
ter' and Earl of Somerset,  lobhed, 550.                       administration,   625-633.
376, 371.                    Census, first, 152.               Opposes the peace, 63T. DeCarrington, Lord, committed, Ceorls (churls), 19.                 nosunces  Stamp  Act, 641.
504.                         Cerdic, King of Wessex, 25.    Created Earl Chsatham, ib.
Carter, Rob, 192.               Cerdic's ore, 25.                 Second administration, 641Carteret, Lord, Secretary, 611. Cerealis, 10.                     643.  Denounces American
-, Lord (see Granville).    Chaigrave field, hattle, 426.        policy, 645, 649. Last speech,
Carthagena, attack en, 610.   Chains, castle of, 121.            651.  Illness and death, iM.
Cartismandus, 9.                Chandernagore taken, 627.        -, Earl of (2d), expedition
Cartwright, Major, 123.        Charlemagne, 35.                  to XWalcheren, 108.
Cassi, 1.                      CHIARLES L., reign of, 388-449. Chptillon-sur-Seine, Congress
Cassiterides, or Tin islands, 2. —, Prince of Wales, journey   at, 117.
Cassivelaunus, T.                 to Madrid, 384.              Chaucer, Geoffrey, 199, 237.
Castiemaine, Earl of, embassy -     II., reign of, 411-521.   Cherbourg, expedition against,
to Rome, 529,1530.           -,,Prince of Wales, escapes  627.
Castlereagla, Lord (Lord Len-  to Paris, 431.  Commands Chester, Elarl of, 120.
don derry), Secretary at War,  the fleet, 444. Sends a carte Chesterfield, Earl  of, Lord
700.  Duel with Canning,  blanche to  the Regieides,  Lieutenant of Ireland, 614.
108. Foreign secretary,1T12.  448.   In   Scotland,  4.54.  Secretary  of  State,  621.
Suicide, 129.                  Crowned at Scone, 456. Be-  Character, ib.  Reforms the
Castles, Angle - Nonnan, 91.  feated at Worcester, ib. lRe-  Calendar, ib.
Destroyed by~ King Henry   tires to Cologne, 465.  Es- "Chevy Chase," 194.
if., 110.                      capes to Breda, 415.  Pro- Ciseyte Sing, 668.
Catesby, 231.                     claimed in London, 416.    Chsild, Sir Josiah, 542.




CILLIANWALLAH.               INDEX.                       coPENHAGEN.'769
Chillianalla, battle, 748.   627.  Exploits, 636.  Vic-  Remonstrance, 414. Charles
Chinon, castle, death of Henry   tories at Plassy, ib. Govern-   demands the five members,
II.at, 122.  Peace of, 139.    or of Benbal, 637.  An Irish   416.  Committee  at MerChoiseul, Duke of, 632, 633.  peer, ib.  Returns to India,  chant Tailors' ib.  Seize
Chrit Church, Oxon., found-   665.  Reforms,.ib.  Quells a   Hlull, etc., 41. Militia bill,
ed by Wolsey, 279.     mutiny, 666. Vote of cen-  418.  Name the lieutenants
Christian, Admiral, 677.     sure on, 667.  Suicide, ib.    of counties, ib.   Propose
Christianity  in  Britain, 15. Clontarf meeting, 739.        terms, 419.   Purged   by
Among the Saxons, 30 sq.   Closetings, 530.            Colonel Pride, 446.   rdiChurch, Anglo-Norman, 132. Cloth of Gold, Field of, 263.     nance to try the king, 44.
English, searated from Cobden, Richard, 738.         Name an executive council,
Rome, 275.  King supreme Cobhum, Lord (see Oldcastle).  452.  Declare James       to
head of, 276.,  Lord,  plots  against  have abdicated  538.  (See
Churchill, Lord, deserts James   James I., 371.              Parliament.). 535 (see Marlborough).  Coburg, Prince of, commands Commonwealth, 451-46.
Churchill, the satirist, 634.  imperial army, 673.        Communion service, 296.
Cintra, convention of, 704.    Coeur de Lion, 128.        Comprehension Bill, 54.
Circuits, judges', 131.    Coffee-houses, 543.             Compton, Sir Spencer, 607.
Circuses in Britain, 14.   Coin, debasement of, 297.         Made Lord Wilminton, 611
~Cissa, 25.            Coke, Sir Edward, 377. Im-  (see Wilmington).
Cissa-ceaster (Cichester), 25.  prisoned, 333.             Compurgation, 131.
Ciudad Rodrigo taken, 712.   Colchestee taken, 445.        Compurgators, 75.
Clanricarde, Earl, 43, 454.  Coleman, secretary to Duchess Comyn, Baliol's nephew, as
Iare, Richard de (Strongbow),  of York, 502, 515.            sassinated, 166.
119. Marries Eva, daughter Colepepper, Sir John, 423.    Conan, Duke of Brittany, 110.
of King Dermot, 119.  De-l Coligny,320, 332. Massacred,  SucceededbyenryL111.
feats the Irish, b.    334.                          Cond6, 320.  Death, 32.
Clarence, Duke of, defeated at College, trial of, 514.     Confession, Auricular, 296.
~Bang6, 210.          Collier, Jeremy, 561.            ofi rti Cornsi        m (stat.
George, Duke of, mnarries Collingwood,  Captain,  679,  ute), 154
Warwick's  daughter, 226.   696, 697, 703.           Conformity, occasional, bill to
Deserts to Edward IV., 227. Colonial Secretary, office es-  prevent, thrown  out, 575.
Pt to death, 229.      tablished, 642.                 Passed, 5.
Clarendon, Constitutions of, Colonization, English, origin, Congregation,  Scotch   316,
113.  Assize of, ib.   378.  Progress, 541, 542.      317. AssistedbyElizabeth,
Earl of (Hyde), prime Columbus, 253.                       317.
minister, 478. Restores epis- Combats, judicial, 75.         Connaughlt, kingdonev, 118.
copacy, 4719.  Advises the Combermere, Lord, 747.            "Conservatives," origin, 736.
sale of Dunkhrk, 483.  Die- Comes littoris Soxossici, 12,16.  Party brokeil'up, 740.'
gra cd, 489.  Banished, iM. Comes, title of, 18.             Constable, office extiub uished.
His history, ib.             Commanders, Roman, in Brit-'263, smote.
-IEarl (2d), chamberlain,  ain, 18.                         Coustantia, mother of Artimur
524.  Lord Lieutenant of Commem  e, freedom   of, so-  of Brittany, 136.
Ireland, 52.8. Treats with cured by the Chaster, 141. lConstantine time Great, 12.
James Ii., 536.                Under Edward. II.I., 191. Coustantius Chlorus, 12.
Clarke, Mrs., 705.                Progress of, 542.            Constitution, Anglo-Norman,
Clarkson, Mr., 700.            Committee of Safety, 473.         128.  Engishm, tinder time
Claudisms reduces Britain, 8.  Common Pleas, court, 131.         Tudors, 361.
Claypo~e, Mrs., death, 470.   Commons, 139. House of, 152, Contract, original, 5139.
Clement, Pope, 96..               162.  Increased power, 205. Conventicle Act, 483.. SeeVII., Pope, 265, 267, 268.  Account of, 238, 239.  Re-  ond, 431.
Grants a coxmmission to try  fmmse to reason with Wolsey, Convention Parliament, 475.
Henry ViILI's divorce, 268.   26 4.  I-ow treated by E liz- Convention, 538. Made a ParIJaques,  assassinates   abellh, 319,  363.   Resi'st  liameut, 517.   Dissolved,
Henry Ill., 3,52.              Jamnes,. 374.   Revive im-  5,51.
Clemient's, 81., Danish come-  peachnments, 381. Pledge to   -, French, 675.
tery at, 61.                   defend time Palatinate, 382. Convocation resigns the right
Clergy, their privileges, 112   Claim  freedom  of debate,  of taxation, 485.  Account
so.                    ~~~~~383.  James tears out their  of, 605.
Cleves, Anne of (see Anne).      protestation, ib.  Leaders Conway, General, 632. SererClifford, Lord, murders the   of, 389.  Refusle supplies to  tary, 649.  Carries addiess
Earl of Rutland, 221.          Charles I., Mb.   Impeach   against American war, 657.
-,Sir Robert, betrays Per.  Buckinghans, 390.  Frame   Commander-in-chief, 658.
kin Warbeck, 243.              the Petition of Ribht, 393. Conyers, Sir John, 418.
-,Sir Thomas, 489.             Prs-co  a redress of griev- Cook, solicitor for peopie of
Clifton Moor, battle, 619.        ances, 403.  Impeach Straf-  England, 417.   Executed,
Clinton, Admiral Lord, 327.    ford  and LauLd, 405, 406.  479.
-,General, 646.  Retreats   Speeclmes frst published, 407. Coote, Sir Eyre, defeats Ilyder
to New York, 651.  Takes   Retain  the, army  of the   All, 668. -
Charleston, 655.               Covenant, ib.  Proceedings Cope, Sir John, 616.  Defeat.
Clipping the coin, 158.           against the clergy, ib. Coin-  ed at Preston Pans, 617.
Clive, takes Chandernagore,  in-ittee during recess, 411. ~Copenhagen, bombarded  by
IC K




1770   - RNIS1JN NDEX.                                          DETTINGEN.
Nelsn, 6. By Gambier,  king, 442.  Quells the Lev-  Caermarthen, 551.  Duke
701, 1 ~02.           elers, 443. Defeats Lang-  of Leeds, 559.  (See Leeds.)
Cornish, Alderman, condemn-  dale  and  Hamilton, 445. Danegelt, 54, 61, 89, 13
ed. Attainder reversed,  Proceeds to Ireland, 453. Danelagh, 44.
~556~~1.               Reduces it, 464.  Captain Danes invade England, 39.
Corn - laws,   23.    League   General, 455. Invades Scot-  Murder King Edmund, 41.
against. th, 738. Abolish-  land, ib. Gains battle of  Defeated  by  Alfed, 43.
ed, 740, 757.          lunbar,   456.    Defeats  Baptized by him, 44. Five
Cornwall, insrection in, 249,1  Charles II. at Worcester, ib.  towns of, ib. Boundary of,
~~~~250.               Dissolves the Long Parlia-  ib. Invade   ent, 45. InCorwallis, Lord, 648. Capit-  ment, 461.  Calls another,  cursions renewed, 3. Masulates at Yorktown, 656.  462.  Made Protector, 463.  sacred, 54
Lord, viceroy of Ireland,  Reproves the  Parliament, Dangerfield concocts the Meal685.  Governor General of  464.  Supports the Vaudois,  tub Plot, 510.
India, reduces Tippoo, 746.   467.  Refuses the crown, Danish fleet carried off, 02.
-, Admiral, 67.         46&  Fall of his family, 472. I)arby, Admiral, relieves GibCorporation Act, 480, 498.  Estate confiscated, 478. Dis-  raltar, 657.
Corunna, battle of, 705.    interred and hanged, 479.  Darcy, Lord, 281, 282.
Cospatric, Earl of Northum. —, Richard, 469. Succeeds Darlington, Countess of (Barbrland, rebels, 84.   to  the  Protectorate, 472.  oness Kilmansek), 598.
Count, title of, 238.       Signs his demission, ib.'   Darnley, Lord, mar         Mary
County courts, 74, 131., Henry, governs Ireland,  Queen of Scts, 321, 324.
Court, verge of, 75.        467. Resigns, 472.          Dartmouth, Lord, Secretary,
Court baron, 130.     Cropredy Bridge, battle, 431.   588.
Courts, Anglo-Saxon, 74.  Cross at Charing and Cheap- Dashwood, Sir Francis, CanCourts of justice 131.      side destroyed, 407.          cellor of Exchequer, 634.
Covenant, burned bythehang- Crown, settlement of the, 538. David, King of Scotland, inm~an, 4S(.'Crusade, 95. Of Richard I.,  vades England, 103.
Covenanters, Scotch, 402. In-  124.                     -, Prince of Wales, exevade England, 404.  Re- Cuichelmse, King of Wesex,  cuted by Edward I., 15.
taed by Long Parliament,  32.                     -, Earl of  untingdon, de~407, 5 ~09.         Culemberg, Admiral, 578.         scendants,.
Coverdale, his Bible,21. I.L- Culloden, battle, 619.    Davison, Se         dispatches
prisoned, 305.          Cumberland made an English   v-arrant for Queen Mary's
Cowper, Lord, Chancellor. dis-  county, 95.               execution 345 34.
missed, 586.                -. Duke of, at Dettingen, Days, Saxon names of, 21.
Craggs, Secretary at War, 600.  613. Fontenoy, 615.  De- Deane, Silas, 648.
Bribed, 602, 603.             feats the Preteuder at Cul- Declaration of Independence,
Cranmier, Thomas, 271. Made  loden, 619. One of the Coun-  American, 647.
primate. Annuls Henry's  cii of Regency, 623.  Do- Defender of the Faith, -title
marriage with  Catherine,  feated by the French, 626.  of, 264.
27S. Annuls Anne Boleyn' s  Abandons Hanover, ib.    Delra (Doifyr or Deora rice),
marriage, 280. Opposes the  -, Ernest, Duke of, King   26.
Six Articles, 284. At H~en-  of Hanover, 737.             Delaware, Lord, Governor of
ry's death-bed, 291. Exec- Cumbria, 27.                      Virginia, 378.
utotr, 293.  Conduct of the Curfew, 91.                   Delhi, taken by Lord Lake,
Reformation,  298.   Con- Curia Regis, 130, 131.             747. By General Wilson',
demned  for treason, 305. Curie, Queen  Mary's secre-  749.
Burned, 310.                  tary, 343.                   Delirqssents, 406..
Creccanford, battle, 24.      Civeos (queen), 72...Denman, Lord, 728.
Crecy, battle, 179.           Cymen, 28.                     Derby, ri-ots at, 734.
Cripy, peace of, 288.         Cymen's ora, 25.                -, Countess  of, defends
Cressinghiam, flayed  by the Cyning (king), 72.                M a n, 41 558.
Scots, 165.                 Cynobolin, or Cymbeline, 8.  -, Earl of, conquests, in
Crimea, descent on the, 743.  Cynric, 25, 26.                  France, 151.
Criminal law, amendment of, Cyprus, conquered by Richard -, Earl of (Lord Stanley),
754.                          I., 128.                       Secretary  at  War, 739.
Crompton, 751.                              D.                 Heads the "1Protectionists,"
Cromwell, Thomas, defends                                      740.  Premier, 742.  ReWolsey, 270.  Favors the Dacre, Lord, defeats the Scots,  signs, 742. Premier again,
Reformation, 277.  Vicar  264.                              T49.
General, 279. Eludes the Daihousie, Lord, Governor Dermot Macmorrogh, King of
Six  Articles, 284.  AMade  General of India, 748.          Leinister, 118, 110.
Earl of Essex, 286.   Fall Dalrymple, Sir John, Master Derwentwater, Earl of, supand execution, ib.            of Stair, 54.                 ports Pretender, 1596, 598.
-, Oliver, first appearance -, Sir Hew, 703, 704.           Desaix, General, 683.
of, 427. Defeats Rupert at,Damnonia, kingdom of, 27.'  Dosborough opposes the crownMarston Moor, 430. Repub- Danby, Earl of, Treasurer, lug of Cromwell, — 468.
lican views, 432. Reduces 497. Denounces the Popish Threatens Richard, 472.
the  middle counties, 437. Plot, 503. Impeached, 505, Despenser, Hugh le (Sponser),
Obtains command of the 597,S620. President of coun- 169.
army, 441. Views as to the cil, 546, 547. Marquis of Dettingen, battle, 612, 613.




DEVES.                    INDEX.                     ELLENBOROUGH. 771
Devizes, battle, 426.        feats the Dutch off Camper- Edward the Elder, succeeds
Devonshire, rising in, 297.  doivn, 679.                     Alfired, 4T.
DigyS  Everadjoins Gun- Dundas.  (See Melville.)         -    the Martyr, his death, 53.
powder Plot, 373, 374.   -,  Admiral, 744.                     the Outlaw, son of EdDigges, Sir Dudley, a leader Dundee, Viscount, opposes mond Ironside, 59, 65.
of the Commons, 389. Mas-  William  II. 549.  Killed EDWARD I.      gn of, 155-168.
tr of the Rolls, 398.  ib.'                -, Prince  151-153.  CDiocletian, 12.        Dunes, battle off, 469.            sade, 152, 153.
Directory for worship, 433.   Dunkirk surrendered to Crom- -     II., reign of, 167-172.
Dispensing power, 482, 483,  well, 469.  Sold to France,      III., reign of, 13-191.
and note, 528.         483.  Surrendered by Louis -,  Prince, sent to Paris,
Dissenters promoted by James   XVI., 589.                    170. Affianced to Philippa,
I~.,~530.   ~         Dunstan, St., 49-51.  Arch-  171.
Divine right, theory of, 539.    bishop of Canterbulry, 51.     IV., reign of, 223-229.
Dogger Bank, action off the, Dutch, war with the, 459, 460,      V., reign of, 229-232.
~~657T~.                485.  League  with,  463. -     VI., reign of, 293-301.
Domesday-Book, 89 sq.        War with, 493., Prince, birth, 282.
ominica taken, 633.             colonies taken, 676., Prince, son of  enry VI.,
Donawerth taken, 577.           guards, 537. Dismissed,  murdered, 228.
Dorset, Marquess of, expedi-  564.                         Edwardes, Lieutenant, 48.
tion to Spain, 257.  Dux Britanniarum, 18.           Edwin, King of Northumbria,
Dort, Synod of, 396.       Dykvelt, 533.                     27. Bretld, 32. Reign,
Douay, seminary at, 338.                                     ib.  Slain, 33.
Douglas, Lord, attacks  the              E.                --     brother of Athestane,
English camp, 173, 174.    Eadbald, King of Kent, 31.      deathi, 48., Earlfights with -lotspur Eadburga, 34., grandson  of Leofric,
against King  Henry IV., Eadhild, sister of Athelstane,   Governor of Mercia, 66, 1~X203.                  48.                             83.  Rebels, 84, 86.
George, 323.  Murders Ealdormens (aldermen), 72.   Edwy, King, reign of, 50, 51.
Rizzo, 323.          ~Ealhswith, wife of Alfred, 47. -, brother of Edmond IronGerge, assists Mary, Earl, title of, 238.            side, 58.
Queen of Scots, to escape, East India Company founded, Egbert, King of Wessex, 34 sq.
326.                           378, 559.  Progress of, 635.  Unites  the  Anglo. S.xon
Dover, battle off, 459. Treaty   Pitt's bill respecting, 664.  kingdoms, 36.  Conquests,
~of, 49~1.             Regulating Act, 666. Abol-  39.  Death, 40.
Dovergilda, 118.'                bihed, 749.                   Egerton, Lord Keeper, 35.
Dowdeowell, Williams, Chan- - (French), 636. Their set- Egferth's minster, 33.
cellor of Exchequer, 640.      tlements, ib.                 Egmont, Count, executed, 332.
Downing, embassador to Hol- East Sexe (Essex), kingdom E gremont, Lord, Secretary,
laud, 493.                      of, 26.                        634, 637.       I
Drake, Francis, sails round Eborius, Bishop of York, 15. Egypt, French in, 683, 683,
the world, 336.  Entertains Ebusa, 26.                         688.  Expedition to, 701.
Queen Elizabeth, ib.  At- Ecclesiastical    Commission, Elba, Napoleon banished to,
tacks the West Indies, 340.  court of,.529.  Annulled,  717.
Destroys the Spanish ship-  534.  Titles bill, 742.          Eldon, Lord, Chancellor, 686.,
ping, 348.- Expedition  to Edgar, reign of, 51, 52.             700.  Resigns, 730.
Portugal, 352.                 -   Atheliug, 65.  Submits Eleanor of Guienne merrieF
-, Mr., 694.                   -to'William, 81.  Rebellion   Henry IL., 105, 120.
Drapier's Letters, 603.           and Rigijt, 85.  Retires to -     of Provence marries lHeuDruidism,, 4 sq.                  Rouen, 86, 87.  Returns to  ry III., 147.
Drummond, titular Duke of   England, 95.  Captured at Electors, county, 239.
Perth, 616, 617.                Tenchebr-ay, 99.             Elfrida kills her step-son EdDubois, Cardinal, 599.          Edge H'ill, battle, 424.'         ward, 53.
Duckworth, Admiral Sir John, Edgitha, sister of Athelstane, Elgiva, sister of Athelstane,
701.                           48.                             48.
Dudley, minister of Henry Edinburgh, tumult at, 401.,wife of Edwy, 50, 51.
VIL., 251. Executed, 256. Editha, daughter of Godwin, E liot, Sir John, remonstrance
Dudley, Lord Guildiford, mar-   marries Ediiuard  ties Con-   of, 306, 397.
rise Lady Jane Gray, 301,  fessor, 62, 63.                   Elizabeth  of York, wife of
3041  Beheaded, 307.         Edmund Ironside, 55.               Henry VII., 244, 251.
-,Lord Robert, favorite of -, son of Edmond Ironside, EuiZAnreTu,  Princess,  296.
Elizabeth, 319. (See Leicsa-  58.                               Supports Queen Mary, 304.
tsr.)                        Edmund, King,  saint  and   Imprisoned, 307.  Released
-, Lord, 731.                   martyr, 41.                    through Philip, 308. Queen,
Duke, title of, 238.      -, son of Alfred, 47.           314.  Reign of, 314-366.
Dunlouriez, 072.                 -the Elder, 48.                -,  daughter of James I.,
Dunbar,. battle, 162, 4 3, 457. Edred, K(iug, 48.                 marries  Elector Palatine,
Duncan, King of Cumberland, Edric, Duke of Mercia, 56.            376.
redesced by Canute, 60.      Edward the Confessor, son of Ella, 25.  Bretwaldo, 29.
-, King of Scotland, mur- Ethelred, 58. Descent at -, King of Deira, 26.
dered by Macbeth, 64.           Southampton, 61. Reign of, Ellenborough, Lor-f Chief Jus-,Admiral Viscount, do-. 62-66.  Laws, 67.                    tics, resigns, 724.




772  ELLENBo r H.                     IN DEX.                         FRANCE.
Ellenborog, Lord, 739. Gov- Exchequer Court, 131.          Fitz-Alan, Archbishop, imernor General of India, 747. Exchequer shut uip, 493.      peached by Commons,.
Elliot, General, defends Gib- Excise, origin, 429. lieredi- Fitz-Gerald, Maurice, assists
~raltar, 660.          tary, granted, 419.             King Dermot, 119.
Elphinstone, Admiral, 617.   Exclusion   Bill,  508,  511., Lord Edward, conspiracy
Emigration, 129          Thrown out, 512.                and death, 684.
Emma of Normandy, 54, 55, Exeter, Duke of, Governor of, Mr. Vesey, 31.
5.  Marries  Canulte, 59.  Paris, 210.                   Fitzherbert, Mrs., 66.
rConfined by   e  son  lEd-, Marquis of, executed, Fitz-Osberne, William, 83.
ward, 62.              283.                          Fitz-Stephen, 101.
Empson, minister of I-enry Exhibition, Great, 741.        -, Robert, takeWaterford,
VIL, 21.  Executed,.256. Exmouth, Lord, bombards Al-  119.
murdered    giers, 724.                    Fitz-Urse, Reginald, 116.
694.                     Ex officio, oath, 338, 339.     Fitz-Walter, Robert, heads the
Boris (earls), 12.      Exton, Sir Piers, 198.            barons against King John,
lest (judicial combat), 75.                                  140.
Episcopacy abolished in Scot-            F.                Five Burghers (Danes), 44.
land, 402.  Abjured in En- Fairfax, Lord, Parliamentary   Removed by Edmund, 48.
gland, 433.  Restored, 4T9.   general, 425, 42T, 429.    Five-mile Act, 486.
~Er~ic, 24.,- Sir Thomas, 42T, 429. Fiacviues, title of, 2.
Ekine Lord Chancellor, 699.   Commander of Parliament- Fleetwood, governs Ireland,
Dia ssed, 1~00.           ary forces, 433, 436, 445, 455.  461. Opposes the motion to
Esheat (fedal), 132., Lady, interrupts  the   clown Cromwell,46.  His
bel, Wolsy  seat, 269.       Higlh Court of Jtustice, 447.   son-in-law, 4.
aos (sefs), 13         Falaise, 13T.                    Flemings, the, invade  En
Essex Earl of 32, 354. Lord Falkirk, battle, 165,            gland, 120. Treaty of coinLieutenant of Ireland, 356.     Mulil, battle, 619.        merce wit, 252.
Condemned and imprisoned, Falkland, Lord, 407. Supports Fletcher of Salton, 5.
3   Conspis against the   Strafford's attainder, 409., Sir  Robert,   utn:e,
queen, 39   Executed, 360.  Opposes the Remonstrance,   666.
l of, sides with the   414.  Killed, 427.          Fleurus, battle, 65.
Commons 41    Comands Famars, battle, 673.           Flodden, battle, 29.
the P ament army, 419 Family Compoict, 633.          Folc-land, 73.
42, 4331. Death 43   Fauconberg, Viscount, marries Fontaineblea, Napoleon asEarl of, Tresurer, 50S    Cromwell's daughter, 469.    dicates at, 1.
10,512. Jeins Ru'ells con- Fawkes, Giay, 372, 374.       Fontarabia, expeditio,27.
spiracy, 318.  Suicide, 319. Fayette, Marqluis de Ia, 649.  Fontenoy, battle, 613.
Estaples, treaty of, 241.       1 canip Abbey, 83.              Fonitevi-aud, Hemry IL. busied
Ethandian, battle, 43.          Felton, John, suffixes the bull  at, 122.
Etlielbald, King of Meicia, 35.  of excomnmunication against Foreigners, address againot,
-,succeeds Etheiwolf, 41.   Elizabetli, 331.                   363.  Ineligible to offices or
Ethelbert, King of Kent, 24., stabsb  Buckingham, 394.  to Pasliament, 361.
Bretiaolda, 30. Has laws~, 31.  Executed, 395.              Forest laws, 90, 91.  Chartes,
King of East Angles, Fenwick, Sir John, joins Bar-   163.
-murdered by Offa, 33.          clay's conspiracy, 560, 561.   -, New, 91t.
*, King of England, 41    Feardinand ef Aragon deceives Forfeitures (feudal), 132.
Ethelbur-ga, wife of Ldwin, 32.  Henry VIIL, 237.              Forster-, Mi-., supports the Pre,
Etihelfieda, sister of Edwrard,  -    I   fSan   03; 718.    tender, 396. Sassrenders, ib.
47.                          -     IV. of Naple', 699.       Foss, the, 14.
Ethasifrith (2Rdelfrid), 21, 32.   - of Brnnswick recovers Fox, Bishop of Exeter, minisE tlalred, King of'Nortisum-   HLanover, 621.                    tsr of Hensry VIL, 244.
bria, 33.                    Feudalism, Nornsan, SD. An-, George, 251. 
-,King, 41.                    glo Noiman, 128 sl.,Sir Stephen, 623.
the Usaready, Khsg, 33. Feud-al tenures -abolished, 418., Henry, 623.  Secretary,
Massacres the Danes, 34.   Fevers-sam, Earl of, conamands  624.  Paymaoter  of  the
Etheiward, son of Alfi-ed, 47.   ag-ian t Monmoutls, 325, 326,  forces, 623. Leads the CoinEthehwold, son  of Ethselred,  5 32, 336, 5337                    mona, 637. Maids Load Holjoins the Danes, 47.          Fiefa, 129.                       land, ib. (see Holland).
Ethleholf, King, succeeds Eg- Fiennes, N-atsaniel, 432.    -, Charles James, secrebert, 40.                    Finch, Sal lieneage, 496 (see  tary, C538.  R~esigns, 639).
Eugene, Prince, co-operates   Nottingham).                        Secretary, 664.  Dismiiss-ed,
with Marlborough, 376. De-  -, Sir John, Speaker, 397.  MS.  Foreign secretary, 699.
feats the Fiench at Turin,  Lord Keepea, 406.                   Death, 700.
319.  Invades Francs, 382. Fines (feudal), 131, 142.         France, provinces of, possessDefeated at Denain, 5,S9.   Finistesrre, battle off, 621. Cal-  ed by Henry II., 110.  EdEuropean system, origin, 243.   der's, 696.                       ward Ill.'  claim  to,'116.
Eusotace, Count of Boulogne, Fisher, Biohsop of Rocheoter,  Title of king assunsed by
63.                             216.  Made a cardinal, 278.  him, 177. English expelled
Eastaiw Springs, battle of, 636.  Executed, ib.                   from, 217.  Religious wars
Eva, daughter of King Dec. Fi.sher, Captain, 360.                 of, 320 sq., 331.  Acknowlsnot, 119.                   Fisliguard Bay, French male-  edges Anserican iiidependEveshiam, battle, 132.            factors landed at, 618.         ence, 650.  Threatens an




PRANCIS I.                      INDEX.                        GRENVILLE.  773
nvasion, 652.  Revolution Gaunt, Mrs., 527.                    730, 31.  Colonial secretaain, 670.  Extent of the em  Gaveston, Piers, 168, 169.        ry, 734.
pire, 709.  Alliance  with, General warrants, 638.           Godfrey, Sir  Edmondbury,
against Russia, 743.         Genoa united to France, 689.        2.  Murdere503.
Francis I. courts Wolsey, 261.  Annexed to Sardinia, 71S.  Godolphin, Lord, Treasure,
MIeets Henry VHI. at Ca- Geoffrey (Plantagenet) of An-  54,584.  Impeaches Sachelais, 262.  Captured at Pa-  jou, marries Matilda, daugh-  ver, 585.  Death, 589.
via, 265, 266.  Recovers his  ter of Henry I., 101, 108.    Godoy, Don Emanuel, Prince
liberty, 266, 267., son of Henry II., 120,  of Peace, 667, 702.
-  II., husband  of Mary,  122.                             Godwin, Earl, 60, 64.
Queen of Sots, 316, 317., natural son of Hlenry Gondomar, 39, 380.
-  I., Emperor, 614.           II., 122,123.                Good   p, Cape, taken, 677.
Francis, Father, 530.         GrousE I., reign of, 593-605.  Goojerat, battle, 748.
-, Plhilip, 667.            -     II., reign of, 606-630.    Gordon, Duke of, opposes WilPralnkaheoiqn, tenure, 129.  -     III., reign of, 631-726.      am. 549.
Franklin, 129.                      IV., reign of, 727-733.         Lord George, riots, 653
-,Dr., 639. Dismissed from -, Prince of Wales, dissi- sq.
post. office  645.  Negotia-  pation  and  extravagance, Gori     409.   Governor  of
ions, 648, 649.  At Paris,  665.  Regent, 710.                 Porto t, 417, 424.
659, 1661.                    _, Prince of Denmark, mar- Gormanstone, Lord, heads the
Frankpledge, 47, 74.            ries Anne  520, 535  5T4,  English of the pale, 413.
Frederick, Elector Palatine,   592.                           Gortz, Baron, 600.
marries Princess Elizabeth, Georgia, disputes with Spain Gough, General Sir Hugh, 748.
3;76.  Elected King of Bo-  respecting, 608.                 Goulburn,  r., Chancellor of
hemia, 380, 381, 3S3.        Gerard, Baltazar, assassinates   Exchequer,731,739.
-     IL of Prussia invades Si-  the Prince of Orange, 339.  Gourdon, Bertrand de, wounds
esia, 612. Invades Bohemia Germain, St., of Auxerre, 13,  Richard I., 12.
mand Moravia, 614. His cam-  15.                             Gower, 23.
paigns in Seven Years' War, Germaine, Lord George (Sack- —, Earl, President of Coun
626 sq.                        ville), colonialsecretary, 64.  ci, 664.
-, Prince of Wales, 608. Germantown, battle of, 649., Lord Leveson, embassy
MIarries Augusta of Saxe- German troops, hiring of, 648.   to St. Petersburh, 701.
Gotha, lb.  Death, 623.    Geta, 11.                         Grafton, Duke   of, deserts
Freeman, Mrs.,  name   of -, Cn. Osidius, 8.                    James I, 535.
Duchess  of Marlborough, Ghent, Treaty of, 719.              -, Duke of, Secretary, 640.
574.                         Gibbon, M16atoire Jusstiflcatif,   Head of treasusy, 641, 643.
Fresmen, eqluality of, 236.      652.                         Grahsan's Dike, 11.
French lan-uage abolished in! Gibraltar taken, 5 78. Relin- Graham of Claverhouse, 509.
pleadings, 191.                quished by Spain, 608.  Me-  (see Duindee).
Frere, Mr., 704.                 morable siege, 660.            -    Sir Thsomas, 715. ExpeFreya, 21.                     Gifford  reveals  Babington's  dition to Holland, 718.
Fri borq (frankpledge), 74.       conspiracy, 342.              -,Sir James, Home SecreFriend, Sir John, conspiracy Gilds, Anglo-Saxon, 75.              tary, 739.
against William Ill., 531.  Ginkell, 548.  Takes Athlone, Gramimont, Duke de, 613.
Frisians, 20, 37.                 553. Besieges Limerick, i b. Granby, Marquess of, 63-2.
b'rith-barh, 74.               Gisele, wife, of Rolls, 78.     Grand  Coatuumier, or Great
Frith-gilds, 75.               Githa, Harold's mother, 83.       Customary, 131. 
Frobisher, 350.                Glamorgan, Earl of, treaty Grantham, Lord, Secretary,
Fronti-nus, Julius, 10.           with Irish rebels, 437.        659.
Fuentes do Onoro, battle, 711. Glastonbury Abbey, 49.          Granville, Earl, Lord LieutenFulford, battle, 68.           Glencoe, massacre of, 5.54 sq.    ant of Ireland, 603.
Glendower. Owen, 202-204.,Earl (Carteret), resigns,
G.Gloucester, Duchess of, does   614.
Gage, General, 646.               penance for witchcraft, 216. Grattan, henry, 653.
Gainsborough, battle, 427.    -,Earl of, leader of the bar- Graves, Admiral, 658.
Galgacus, 11.                     one, 151.  Guardian, 155.   Gray, Lady Jane, marries Lord
Galway, Earliof (Ruvigny), ex- -, Duke of, uncle of Rich-  Dudley, 301.   Proclaimed
pedition to Spain, 579, 581.    ard IL., regent, 193-195.      queen, 304.  Beheaded, 307.
Gambler, Admiral, bombards -, Duke of, guardian of'En- —, Master of, advises the
Copenhagen, 701, 702.          gland, 210, 215, 216.  Mur-   death of his queen, 344, 345.
G rdiner, Bishop of'Winches-   Ocred, 216.                    Great Britain, name of Enter, 277, 286., Opposes Ref- -, Richard, Duke of, Misists gland and Scotland united,
urination, 295.  Deprived,  in the murder of Prince Ed-  581.
299. Restored, 305. Prime   ward, 228.  Regent, 230. Greece, independence of, 730.
minister, 306.  Favors pr-  Seizes   Edward   V., ib. Greek professorship, first, 292.
secution, 308.                 Named  protector, ib.  Ac- Greenwich Hospital, 557.
Garter, order, instituted, 183.   cepts the crown, 232. (Rich- Gregg executed, 584.
Gascoigne, Chief Justice, 203.  ard IlL.)                      Gregory the Great, Pope, con.
Gates, General, 655.,  -, Duke of (s-on of Anne),  verts the Saxono, 30.
Gaul, occupied by the Alani,  death, 566.                           XV., Pope, 385.
etc., 13.,statute of, 156.,Speaker, 507.
Gauls, 3.                      Goderich, Viscount, premier,lGrenville, Sir John, 475.




774   RENVILLE.                INDEX.                            HENRY,
Grenvile, George, Secretary,  Dismissed, 5T3. Embassy to   66.  Accedes to the throne,
634,63. Firt Lord ofTres-  anover, 580. First lord of   67. Defeats Harold Hardraury and Chancellor of Ex-   treasury, 594.             da and Tosti, 68.  Defeated
chequer, ib. Propoe Amer- Halifax, Earl of, Secretary,   and slain at Hastings, 70.
an Stamp Act, 638, 641.  63.                         Harold Hardrada, 68.
-, Lord, coaleces with Fox, -     (Nova Scotia), founded, Harrington, Earl of, Secrta
694.  Premier, 699, 00.  622.                          ry, 608, 614.  Lord LieutenThomas, at Admiralty, Hallelujah victory, 13.       ant of Ireland, 621.
~~~~683.             Hamilton, Marquess of, em- Harlington, 539.
Grey, Lord, of Rtyn, 202.  ployed  against the  Cove- Harris, General, 746.
—,  Lord,  plots  against   nanters, 402.            Harrison, Colonel, 4-4l7.
James I., 311.-, Duke of, raises men in Hasting, the Dane, 45.
Lrd of Groby, 446.  support of Charles I.L 444. Hastings, battle, 69, 70.
Lord, at Sedgemoor, 52.  Defeated, 445.  Executed, -, claims the Scotch crown,
Earl (see Howick), pr-  449.                        159.
mier, 33.  Resigns, 3.    -, Duke of, opposes Hano- -, Lord, his fidelity, 230,
Sir Thomas, executed,  verian succession, 5S0. Op-  231.
~2017.                 poses union, 581.,  Marquess,   Governor
~~~~-, General Sir Charles, 66. Colonel, 555.            General of India, 747.
Grim, Cambridge monk, 116.  Lady, 698.                -, Warren, impeached,665.
Grimtone,  Sir   Harbottle, Hammond, Governor of Carls-   First governor general of
Speaker, 41~5.         brooke, 442.                    India, 666. Administration,
Grindal, Archbishop of Can- Hampden, John, refuses to pay   667 sq.  Impeachment, 669.
terbuLy, 338.          ship-money, 400.  Opposes Hatfield, James,  shoots  at
Grove, 501.  Executed, 506.  Strafford's  attainder, 409,  George III., 685.
Guader, Ralph d, Earl of Nor-    ote.  Accused of treason, Hatton, Sir Christopher, 343
folk, 8.  Rebels, i.   415.  Killed, 426.            -Iaugwitz, 695.
Guardians of the Realm, 155, -, John (grandson), joins Havana taken, 634.
211~.                 -M~[onmouth's    conspiracy, Havelock, General, 749.
Guiana, Raleigh's expeditions   517.   Apprehended,  518. Havre occupied by the Ento, 354, 37~9.         Fined, 520.                     glish, 320.
-Guillotine, ambulatory,, Clubs, 723.              Hawke, Admiral Sir Edward,
Guinegate, or  prs, battle, Hampton  Court, conference   621-625. Expedition against
~~~258.-~              at, 371.                        Roclhefort, 626.  Victory off
Guiscard stabs Harley, 587.  anover, electoral prince of,  Quiberon, 628.
Guise, Duke of, takes Caleis,  naturalized, 581. Treaty of, Hawkins, Sir John, 353.
311.  Designs against Eliz-  604. Overrun by theoFrench,  -, Richard, son of Sir John,
abeth, 311. Seizes Catherine   626. Seized by Prussia, 686.  353.
do, Medicis, 320.              By France, 693.  Made a Hawley, Gene ral, 619.
-,   Duke  of, forms  the   kingdom, 118.   Separated ilazlerig, Sir Arthur, 415, 4174.
League, 335.  Assassinated,  from British crown, 131.    Heathfield, Lord (see Elliot).
352.                         Hlanoverian  succession  sup- Hedgley Mioor, battle, 224.
-, Cardinal, assassinated, ported by peers, 515, 580. Holder, the, taken, 683.
352.                           Rejected by Scotch Parlia- Hielena, wife, of Constantine,
Gunilda, massacred by Ethel-  mont, 580 sQq.                      12.
red, 54.                     Ilarcourt, Sir  Simon.,  585. Hello do St. Soon, 99, 100.
Gnnpowder Plot, 312 sq.           Chancellor, 589.             Heligoland, 1 02.
Gurth, son of Godwin, 63, 68. Hardi-Canute, king, reign of, Hengist and llorsa, 23, 24, 26.,Guthrum, the Da no, 43. Bap-  60, 61.                          Henley, Lord Chancellor, 632.
tized, 44.                   Hardinge, Sir Henry, Govern- Henrietta of France, 384. MarGuthry, 480.                      or General of India, 1 48.     ries Charles I.,  388.  Sells
Gwynn, Eleanor, note, 52-1.    Harfiwicke, Lord Chancellor,  time crown-jewels, 419.
Gyllenborg, Count, 600.           610.  Resigns, 632.          HlENeY  I., reign  of, 91-102.
ILHardy, Sir Charles, 652.                Besieged by his brothers at
—, Captain, 698.                 St. Michael's Mount, 94.
Habeas Corpus, 142, 508, 52%2  Harflour taken by  -Henry V.,  -  IL; reign of, 108-123.
Hacker executed, 4T9.             201., Prince, acquires NorHadrian, rampart,'of, 1-2.    Hargreaves-, 151.                 mandy, Anjou, and Maine,
Hales, Sir Edward, collusive Harley, Sir Robert, destroys   105.  Marries  Eleanor of
trial of, 1521, 528.  Attends   the crosses at Charing amid   Guienne, ib.  Invades Enthe flight of James IL., 536.    Cheapside, 401.               gland, 106.
Halidown HUIl, battle, 116.    Harley, Robert, Speaker, 566, -     Ill., reign of, 144-153.
Ilalifax, Marquess of, 508. Op-  568.  Secretary, S84.  Sup —    IV., reign of, 201-204.
poses Exclusion  Bill, 512.  planted, 585.   Chancellor -     V., reign of, 205-211.
Privy seal, 516.  President  of Exchequer, 586.  Corre- -   VI.,. reign of, 211-222.
of council, 524, 528.  Sent  spends with Duke of Ber —    VIL., reign of, 242-253.
to Prince of Orange, 535.  wick, ib.  Made Earl of Ox —    VIILL, reign of, 255-292.
Speaker of the Peero, 536.  ford and Treasurer, 581 (see -,son of Henry IT., crownTenders the crown to Wil-  Oxford).                            ed, 115. Rebels, 120. Death,
ham and Mary, 538. PrivylHarold Harefoot, son of Ca- 122.
seal, 546, 541, 551.           nuto, 60, 61.                   -, Prince, son of James I.,
-,Earl of (Montague), 567..-, ron cf Ea —- Godwin, 62- death, 315 3'TG.




HENRY VI.                  INDEX.                       IRELAND.    77
Henry. VI., emperor, releases Holland, Earl of, executed, Hunt, Henry, 723.
Richard, 126, 127.  449.                         Huntingdon, Earl of, appre.
Ill, of France, assassin- Hollis, holds the speaker, 397.  hended, 556.
ated, 352.                Character, 406. Accused of Huskisson, Mr., 731.
IV., of France, assisted  treason, 415. Opposes Crom- Hus-thing (Husting), 75.
by  Elizabeth, 352.   Re-  well, 445, 446.        Hutchinson, General, 689.
nounces Protestantism, 353. Holmby, Charles I. confined Huysduinen taken, 683.
Assassinated, 375.    at, 439. Seized at, 440.    Hyde, Anne, marries Duke of
-     of Blois, Bishop of Win- Holngang (judicial combat)   York, 479, 492, 493.
chester, 102, 104.        75.                         -, Sir Edward, 40.  Sup—, Patrick, 640.     Holy Alliance, 723.              ports Strafford's attainder,
Heptarchy, the, 2.    Homage, ecclesiastical, 100.  409. Opposes the RemonHerbert,   Attorney General,  Described, 129.             strance, 414.  Created Earl
impeaches Lord Kimbolton Homilies, twelve, 295.         of Claredon,478 (see Clarand the five members, 415. Hone, William, prosecuted,  endon).
-, Sir Edward, Chief Jus-  724.                         -, Lawrence,  treasurer,
tic, dictum on the dispens- Honorius withdraws his le-  510.  Earl of Rochester, 516
lug power, 528.       gions from Britain, 13.        (see Rochester).
-, Admiral, Earl of Tor- Hood, Sir Samuel, admiral, Hyder Ali, 666, 66.
rington, 553.         656. Made an Irish baron,
Heresy,  first  penal  law   659.  Takes Toulon, 673.
against, 202.         Corsica, 675.                Ibrahim Pasha, 730.
Heretics, commission to exam- Hooper, Bishop of Gloucester. Iceni, 9.
e, 29. Laws against, re-  305.  Burned, 308.      Icon Basilik6, account of, 450.
vived, 308.            HIopson, Admiral, 574.         Ictis, isle of, 3.
Heretego, 71.         Hopton, Sir Ralph, reduces Ida, King of Bernicia, 27.
Hereward, resists the  Nor- - Cornwall, 425.            Iden kills Cade, 219.
mans, 7T.            Horn Tooke, 649, 676.         Ierne, 2.
Hermin Street (see Irmin).    Horn, Count, executed, 332 Ikenild Street, 14.
Hertford, Earl of, 290.  Pro-  333.                     Impeachment, first instance,
tector, 293. Created Duke Horsa, tomb of, 24.        239.  Revived, 381. Differs
of Somerset, 294 (see Somer- Hoste, Sir William, 707.   from  attainder, 409, ne.
~set).   ~           Hotham, Sir John, Parlia   Not pardonable by crown,
-, Marquess of, retires be-  mentary governor of IlIull,  507, 567.
fore   the   Parliamentary   417, 419, 428.       Imprisonment, arbitrary, abarmy, 424. Overruns Dev- Hotspur, 194, 203.          rogated by the Charter, 141.
on, 426.             Howard, Catherine, marriesInaKngofWessex,34. His t
Hesse, Landgraye of, subsidi-  Henry VIII., 286.               laws, ib.
ary treaty with, 624.       -,  Admiral Sir Edward, Income tax, 739.
Hewitt, Dr., belseaded, 470.    killed, 258.                 Independents, rise of, 431.
H4exham, battle, 224.         -, Lord of Effingham, ad- India, British history, 635 sq.,
Heydon, Sir John, 424.          miral, 330.   Defeats  the  665 sq., 740 sq.
Heyle, Sergeant, 363.           Spanish Armada, 351. Elx- Indulgence, Declaration  of,
High Commission Court, -315.  pedition  to  Cadiz,  354-  482, 493, 495.  Canceled by
New, 339 365.  AblishedCreated Earl of Netting-   Charles IL., 496.  James
411.                          ham, ib.                       IL.'s declaration of, 529, 531.
- Court of Justice to try -, Lord, joins Monmouth's Inglis, Sir Robert, 732.
Charles IL, 446.              conspiracy, 517, 518.       Inkermann, battle, 744.
Hill, Abigail (Masham, Mrs.), Howe, General, 646. Takes Innocent IIIL, Pope, 138. Ex1584.                         New York, 648.  Philadel-  communicates King John,
-, Sir Rowland, 706, 712,  phia, 649.                          139.   Abrogates  Magna
715.                        -, Lord, expedition against  Clharta, 143.
-, Rowland, postal reform,  Chserbourg, 627, 659. Re- Inquisition, introduction  at752.                          lieves Gibraltar, 660. First  tempted, 309.
Hillsborough, Earl of, 642, 643.  lord of admiralty, 664. Vie- Instrument of, Government,
11bmilco, the Carthaginian, 2.  story of 1st June, 676.        463.
Bists-io-Melstix, Prynne's, 399. Howick, Lord, at admiralty, Investitures, what, 100. ReHiwiccas, 44.                   699. Foreign secretary, 700.  signed by Henry IL, ib.
filcef digse, (lady), 72.       Bill for Catholic emancipa- Ionian Islands taken, 707.
Hlekford (lord), 75.            tion, ib. (see Grey).       Ireland, early  history, 118.
Hobbes, 539.                  Hubert, Archbishop of Canter-  Conquered by Henry  Hl.,
Heche, General, 676.            bury, 138.                     119. Under Elizabeth, 355.
Heel, Count, of Nantes, 110.  Hugh Capet, 79.                  Rebellion,  412.   English
Holgate, Archbishop of York, Huguenots, 320. Assisted by   massacred, 412.  Reduced.305.                         Elizabeth,  ib., 331, 332.  by  Cromwell, 454.  How
Holker, 746.                    Their strength, 334. Expe-  ruled by him, 467. Grants
Holland, revolts, 335. Treaty   dition against, 389.           of forfeited estates in, rewith, ib.  Elizabeth  pro- Humber, country beyond, de-  versed, 564.  Union  with
teeter of, 339.. War with,  vastated by William, 85.        England, 684, 685.  Dis635. Overrun by French, Hscrnble Petition end Advice,  turbances in, 735, 736. Ce675. Annexed to France,  bill so called, 468, 469.          ercion Bill, 736. Famine,
709.                        Hundred~s, 74. Mote, ib.        740, 741.




776  IRELAND.                        INDEX.                         LAN. DALE.
Ireland, Father, executed, 506.  121. Rebels, 122. Intrignes Keppel, Earl of Albemarle,
Ireton, 436, 442, 445.  Com-  against his brother, King   564.
mands  in  Ireland,  455.   Richard, 126.  King, reign -, Admiral, 62. First lord
Takes Limerick, 458.       of, 136-144.                    of admiralty, 65.
Irmin Street, 14.          John, King  of France, cap-Ket, Norfolk rebel, 298.
Isaac, rule  prus, 125.      tured by the Black Prince Keymis, (Captain, follower of
Isabella second wife of King   at Poitiers, 185, 1S7.        Raleigh, 39.
John, 1136.           Jones, Colonel, takes posses-Kildare, Fitzerald, Earl of,
-, daughter of Philip the   sion of Dublin, etc., 453.       supports Simnel, 245.
Fair, marries Prince  Ed- —, Inigo, 543.            Killiecrankie, battle, 549.
ward (Edward I.), 164. In-, J. Gale, 708.            Kilmarnock, Earl, exected,
trigues with Mortimer, 171. -, Paul, 652.              620.
Invades England, ib.  Im- Joppa, 125.                Kimbolton, Lord, sides with
prisone, 115.         Joseph I., Emperor, 579.          the Commons, 415.
daughter of Charles VI., Jourdan, General, 675.    King, Anglo-Sax., elective, 1.
affard II. 195. Joyce, Cornet, seizes Charles   De f             eto, allegiance to, pro
Restored to France, 204.  I., 440.                     tected by law, 253. Statute
Isca Silurum, 14.      Jdges brought to trial, 158.  pleaded by Vane, 481.
Islands, cla   of Pope to, 118.  I)isplaced by James II., 528. -, Colonel, moves Cless
Made  independent of the   restoration, 45.
crown, 567.                  King's Ben   Court, 131.
Jacobite Plot, 603.    Judith of France, 41.           Kirke, Colonel, inhumanity,
Jaaica  acqired, 416.  In- -, sister of the Conqueror,  526.  At Londonderry, 550.
surrection in, 736.    84, 88.                       Kirkpatrick, Sir Thomas, asJAS  I., reign of, 369-3ST.   Julius II., Pope, allures Hen-   sassinates Coyn, 166., reign of, 523-543.  ry VIII., 256.              K16bler, General, 684.
of Scotland, detained   III., Pope, 305.           Kloster Seven, convention of,
at English court, 204.  Re- -, martyrdom of, 15.       626.
stored, 211.             Junot, Marshal, 702, 703.       Knight-service, 129.
-     IV. of Scotland supports Junta of Seville, 703.      Knox, John,  31.   Insults
Perkin Warbeck, 249. Mar- Junto, the, 584.                 Queen Mary, 318.
rie Margaret, daughter of Jury, 47, 74, 75. Account of
Henry VL, 251.  Slain at  tiial by, 154.   Exempted
Flodden, 259.          from fines, 491, 499.         La Chaise, Ire, 52.
-     V. of Scotland, 287.  Justice, arbitrary administra- Lackland, name of John, 13.
-     VI. of Scotland, 326, 344,  t.ion of, und.er Tuldors,. I4.  Lrtlme, what, 5.
347 (see, James I. of En- Justices, itinerant, 121, 131, La Hogue, battle, 556, 557.
gland).                        159.                          Lake, Bishop  of Chichester,
-,Pretender, birth, 5392 Justiciary, 124.  Chief, 131.  530'.
(see Pretender).               For life, 146.                -,  General, defeats Irish
Jane of Flanders, 178.         Justinian, the Eng lob, title  rebels, 685.
-     of Navarre, second wife   of Edward I., 167.              -, Lord, takes Delhi, etc.,
of Henry IV., 205.           Jutes, 21.                        141. 
Jaqueline   of  Luxemnbourg Juxon, Bishop of London, ad- Lambert, General, opposes the
marries tlse Duke of Bed.  vice to Charles I., 410. At-  crowning of Cromwell, 468.
ford, 215. Marries~ Sir Iliclo-  tends his execution, 449.     Intrigues agalnst Richard
ard Woodville, 225.                         K.Cromwell, 412. Expels Long
Jefferson, Tlsomas, 645, 647.T.                           Parliament, 473.  Excepted.
Jeffreys, Chief Justicei 519. Kalisch, alliance of, 116.          from indenonity, 478. Trial,
Bloody circuit, 526,  Chan- Keane, Sir John, 147.              481.  Reprieved, 482.
cellor, 5,21.  Killed by the Keith, Sir William, 344.        Lancaster, Thomas, Earl of,
populace, 536.               Ken, Bishop  of Bath  and   conspires against Gaveston,
Jena, battle of, 699.             Wells, 510.                     168. Makes war on Edward
"Jenkins's ears," 608.         Kendal, Duchess of, 516S (Bar-  II., 110.  Executed, M8.
Jephson, Colonel, 468.            oness  Schulenburg),  602,-,  Earl of, guardian, 113.
Jerusalem  taken by Saladin,  603.                              -,Jolon of Gaunt, Duke of,
1 22.                        Kenilworth, Edward HI. con-  espouses the  daughter of
Jervis, Admiral Sir John, 676.  fined at, 171.                    Peter of Castile, 188.  Sells
])efeats the Spanish fleet, Kenmnure,  Lord,  proclaims   Isis  pretensions  to  that
67.  Made, Earl St. Vin-   Pretender, 5)6.  Executed,  crown, 194.  Influence over
cent, ib.                      598.                            Richard  II., 194.   Death,
Jesuits, conspiracies of, 337. Kennett, Lord Mayor, pun-  195. Encouraged Wickliffe,
Law against, ib.               ished, 654.                     198.
Jews massacred, 124.  Ban- Kent, kingdom of, 24.,1 Henry, Duke of, son of
ished, 158.  How  excluded -, Earl of, joins Isabella   Gaunt, invades  England,
from Ptsrliament, 731.  Ad-   and Mortimer, 171.  Elxe-  196.  Deposes Richard lL.,
mitted, 759.                    cuted. by Mortimer, 114.       191.  Seizes the crown, ib.
Joan dAre,' history, 212 sq. -, Earl of, superintends the   (Henry IV.). Genoalogy, ib.
-Captured and burned, 214, execution of'Queen Mary, Lanfranc, Archbishop of Can215..345.                            terbury, 86, 90.
Joan of Kent (see Bocher).    Kent, Duke of, dies, 725.        Langdale,  Sir  Marmaduke,
Joux-, Prince, sent to Ireland, Kenyon, Lord, 686.               444, 445.




LANHORNE.                  INDEX.                          LUPS.        777
Laghorne, executed, 503.    Leopold, of Saxe-Coburg (after-  Overawed  by  Cromwel's
Langside, battle, 326.      ward King of the Belgians),  army, 441.  Plague, 486.
Langton,  Cardinal,  elected   Prince, consort of Princess   Fire of, 48. Improved,.
primate, 139, 140. Discov-  Charlotte, 724.              Charter surrendered, 516.
ers Henry I's charter, ib.  Lesley, Scotch general, 455.  In the Gordon riots, 655.
Lansdwn, battle, 426.      Defeated at Dunbar, 456.       Effect of French  evolution
Landowne, MarquLess of, pres- Levelers, 443.  Put down by   at, 672.
sident of council, 734.  Cromwell, ib.             Londonderry,   ege of, 550.
Latimer, Bishop, imprisoned, Leven, EW'l of, commands the   Relieved, 51.
24   Brned, 309.      Scotch  Covenanters, 428. Long Island, evacuated  by
Latin words in English, 14.  Joins Lord Fairfax, 429.     Americans, 648.
Land, Bishop, 396, 398. Arch- Lever Maul, or the Great Longsword, William, natural
bishop of Canterbury, 400.  Light (Lucius), 15.          son of Henry I., 123.
Attacked at Lambeth, 404. Lewes, battle, 151.  MIise of, Lords, hIouse of, 28.
Impeached, 434. Executed,  ib.                        Lords justice,  53  601.
~~~ib.                  Lexington, skirmish at, 646.  Lords lieutenant instituted,
Lauderdale,  al of, 483, 509. Ligny, battle, 720.         298.
Law, common, 238.         Ligonier, Lord, 615.          Loughborough, Lord, retires,
Laws, how made, 239.      Lilla saves Edwin, 32.          68S0 (see Wedderburn).
Laws scheme  602. Failure Limerick, siege of, 552. Paci- Louis dOutremer, 4.
~of,,- 602.           fication of, 553.                  the Fat, 100.
Lawson, Admiral, declares for Limoges, massacre of, 18S.   -    VII., alliance with  en.
Lo   Parliament, 474.  Lincoln, battle, 145.         ry II., 110. Supports Beck
Lague, Catholic, 335.  Gov- -, John, Earl of, supports  et, 114.
erned by Duke of Mayenne,  Simnel, 245.            -, Prince (Louis VII), son
52. Dissolution of, 353.   Lindesey, Earl of, commands   of Philip, assists the En
-     and Covenant, Solemn,  the expedition to Rochelle,  glish barons, 143.  Evacu
428. American, 645.       395.                           ates England, 145.
Leake, Sir John, Admiral, 579 Lindisfarne, 33.. VIII. takes Rochelle, 146.
~~~583.               Lindsay, Earl of, commands -    IX. repulses Henry III.,
Leeds, battle, 33.        Charles's army, 424, 425.    147. Generous treaty with
-, Duke of (Danby), inr- Liprandi, General, 741.          him, 151.  Arbitrates bepoached, 553.         Lisbon entered, 704.             twveen hi  and the barons,
Lege, Henry, Chancellor of Lisle, Sir George, executed,  151.  Death, 152.
Exchequer, 623, 632.      445.                         --  XI. assists Queen M
9Legion of   nor, 60.     -, Lady, condemned, 527.   ret, 224.  Forwards War
Legislation, Anglo- Norman, Litany, English, 289.              wickosinvasion,226. Treaty
131.                     ILiterature nuder Edward III.,  with Edward IV., 228.
Leicester, Earl of, 120..       237.  Elizabeth. 365.  The -        XII. marries Princess
-, Simon de Montfort, Earl  Stuarts, 542. Since Reov-  Mary, 259. Death, ib.
of, calls a meeting of the  luton, ib.                      -XIV., character, 490. In.
barons, 149. Defeats Hen- Littleton, Solicitor  General,  vades the Netherlands, ib.
ry ILL. at Lewes, 151. Sum-  389.                           Invades Holland, 493. Remuons  a  Parliament, iM. Liturgy, Edward VI.'s, 296.  yokes Edict of Nantes, 527.
Slain, 11521.                 Revised, 300. Elizabeth's,  Reception of Janues II., 536.
-, Dudley, Earl of, 321.  315. English, - imposed on   Lends him a feet, 549. Abets;
Coummissioner to try Mary,  Scotch Church, 401.             his invasion, 556. Acknowl327.  Favors the Puritans, Liverpool, Lord, secretary at  edges the Pretender,.568.
331. Forms an association  -war, 708. Premier, 711, 730.  Suies for peace, 583. Death,
to defend the queen, 337. Llewellyn, Prince of Wales,  595..
Commands in Holland, 340.  156.- Conquered by Edmvard -    XV., accession, 535. InLeInster, kingdom of, 118.      I., 157.                       vades Flanders, 614.
Leipsic, battle~of, 716.      Lloyd, Biehop of St. Asaph, -         XVIII. restored, 71T.
Leith,  evacuated   by   the  530.                             Flies, 719. Restored, 722.
French, 317T.               Loan, general, 331.             -   Philippe, King  of the
Lenox, Earl- of, 288.  Con- Locke, 539..I              French., 733. Expelled, 741.
spires against Rizzlo, 323. Lollards, 198, 206.     -.             Prince, of Baden, 576.
Accuses the Queen of Scots, Lollius Urbicuis, rampart of, 11. Louisbourg taken, 615, 627.
327.- Regent, 330.          London, Roman colony, 10. Lovat, Lord, temporizing con.
-,Countess of, inmprisoned,  Burned, ib.  Rebuilt by Al.  duct, 616, 618. Interview
321.                          fred, 44. Besieged by the   with Charles Edward, 620.
Lenthal, Speaker, 405.  Re.  Northmen, 53.. Early com-  Captured, ib. EAxecuted, ib.
pairs  to  the  army, 442.  merce of, 75. Fortified by Lovel, Lord, insurrection of,
Speaker again, 464, 474.      the Conqueror, 82. Bridge,  245. Fate, 246.
Leo X., Pope, 257. Dies, 264.  97.  Charter, 98.  Fran- Loyalists, American, indemni.
Leodgqild, what, 74.            chloe established by Magna  fled, 661.
Leofric, Earl of Mercia, 61, 63.  Charts,   141.    Annual Lucas, Sir Charles, executed,
Leofu assassinates Edmund,  mayor, 144.'  First stone  45.
48.                           bridge, ib. Pestilence, 184. Lucius, Prince, 15.
Leofwvin, son of Godwin, 63, 69.  Plague, 320.  Sides withLudlow, Colonel, 445, 458.
Leopold, Duke of Austria, ar-  Pailiansent, 42,3.   Traln-!Lundy, 550.
rests Richard L., 126.        brands, 4285. Valor of, 427. Lupus, 15.
K i2




778     LUTHER.                     INDEX.                       MATILDA.
Luther, 264.                Mantes burned, 89.             er, 595. Death, 603. CharLyndhurst, Lord, Chancellor, Manufactures, Flemish, intro-  acter, ib.
730, 739.                   duced into England, 333. -, Charles, 2d duke, expeLynedoch, Lord  (Graham),  British,prohibitedinFrance,  dition to Cherbourg, 627.
victory at Barrosa, 710.    674, 751.                  -, Duchess  of, governs
Lynn, disaster of King John Mar's insurrection, 596.       Anne,' 574. Decline of her
at, 143.                  March, Mortimer, Earl of (see  influence, 584.
Lyons, Admiral Lord, 744.  Mortimer).                    Marmont, Marshal, 711.
Elxpedition to Kertch, etc., Margaretf, sister of Udgdr Ath- Marquess, title of, 238.
ib.                         eling, marries Malcolm, 85. Marriage (feudal), 132.
—, the maid of Norway, Marriage act, royal, 644.
M.                1.  Queen of Scotland, Marseilles, siege of, 265.
Macbeth, 64.                  ib.                        Marston Moor, battle, 430.
Macclesfield, Lord ChancelIor, -    of France, marries Hen- Mary de Bohun, wife of Henry
fined for peculation, 604.  ry II., 110.                 IV., 205.
-, Earl of, 621.            -, sister of Philip the Fair,, daughter of Henry VII.,
MacDonald, Flora, 621.        marries Edward I., 164.      252.  Marries Louis XII.,
McIan of Glencoe, 554.      -    of Anjou, marries Henry  259.   Marries  Brandon,
McIntosh, Brigadier, 596,597.  VI., 216. Gains the battle  Duke of Suffolk, 260.
Macintosh, Sir James, Vindi-  of Wakefield, 221. Of St. MARY, daughter of Henry
cie Gallice, 671. Improves  Alban's, 222. Army defeat-  VIIL, contracted to the dancriminal law, 754.          ed at Towtoln, 224. Twice  phin, 261. To Charles V.,
Mack, General, defeated  at  defeated, ib.  Escapes to  263. Rejects the Liturgy,
Ulm, 695.                   Flanders, 225.  Reconciled  300. Retires into Suffolk,
Madras, 635.                  with Warwick, 226. Lands  303. Queen, reign of, 303Maatoe, 11, 12.               at Weymouth, 228.  Cap-  312.
Magna Charta, 141. Annul-  tured at Tewkesbury, ib. -, Queen of Scots, 287.
led by Innocent III., 143.  Death, 229.                  Sent to France, 295. AsConfirmations of, 14S, 154, -, daughter of Henry VI.,  sumes the arms of England,
163.                        marries James IV. of Scot-  316. Returns to Scotland,
Maida, battle, 699.           land, 251. Regent of Scot-  618. Corresponds with ElizMlainz, the plot, 371.        land, 259.                   abeth, 320. Marries DarnMainfroy, King of Sicily, 148. Maria Louisa, Archduchess,  ley, 321. Bears James, 323.
Maintenon, Madame de, 582.   marries Napoleon, 707.        Marries Bothwell, 325. SurMainwaring, sermon of, 391. Maria Theresa, of Austlia, suc-  renders at Carberry Hill,
Impeached, 394.             cession opposed, 611. Flies  ib. Confined at Lochlevesn
Maitland,  Captain,  carries  to Hungary, 612. Support-  Castle, ib.  Resigns the
Napoleon to England, 722.   ed by Parliament, ib., 614.   crown, 326. Escapes to EnMajor generals, Cromwell's, Marian exiles, 331.            gland, ib. Consents to a
464.                      Markham, Sir Griffin, plots  trial, 327. Carried to BolMalcolm, King of Scotland   against James I., 371.         ton, 327. Refuses to plead,
48.                       Marlborough, Duke of, expe-  ib. Removed to Tutbury,
-    II. reduced by Canute, 60.  dition to Ireland, 552. Plots  329.  Entertains Norfolk's
-    III. (Kenmore), 64 sq.   the restoration  of James,  proposals, ib. Party in her
-, King of Scotland, 84, 85.  556.  Committed  to  the  favor, ib. Removed to CoyMarries Margaret, sister of  Tower, ib. Informs James  entry, 330.  Renews her
Edgar Atheling, 85. Sub-  of Berkely's expedition, 558.  correspondence with Nordued by Duke Robert, 5.    Captain general, 574. Cam-  folk, 333.  Inplicated  in, Sir John, 747.         paign, ib. Dukedom, 575.  Babington's conspiracy, 341.
Malmesbury, battle of, 106.    Unpopularity and intrigues  Conveyed to Fotheringay
—, Lord, embassy to Paris,  withthePretender,ib. Cam-  Castle, 342. Trial, ib. Con678.                        paign, 576.  Victorious at  demned, 343.  Execution
Malplaquet, battle, 5S3.      Blenheim, 577. - Concludes  and character, 345,q.
Malta, taken by the French,  a treaty with Prussia, 578.   -, Princess, daughter of
681. Surrendered, 686.      Campaign, ib. Prince of the  James II., marries Prince
Malt-tax, occasions riots in  empire, 579. Victorious at  of Orange, 498. Crown setScotland, 604.              Ramillies, it. Farther re-  tied on, 538.
Manchester, Earl of, takes  wards, ib. Accused of ex- Masham, Mrs.,  ingratiates
Lincoln,  430.    Defeats  tortion, 582. Victorious at  herself with Queen Anne,
Charles at Newbury, 431,  Oudenarde, ib. At Malpla-  584.
432.                        quet, 583.  Influence de- Massachusetts Bay planted,
-—, Earl of, lord chamber-  clines, 584. Offended, 5S5.  400.
lain, 478.                  Addresses Elector of Hlano- Massena, 695, 708, 710.
-, riots at, 725.             ver, 5S6. Absents himself Masses, private, abolished,
Mancuts (coin), 40.           from court, 5S7. Last cam-  296.
Mandeville, 237.              paign, ib.  Charged with Matilda, wife of the ConquerMandubratius, S.              peculation, 5S8. Censured  or, crowned, 84.
Manners, 542, 754.            by the Commons, 5S9. Re- —, daughter of Malcolm III.,
Manny, Sir Walter, 178.       tires to Antwerp, ib.  Re-   marries Henry I., 98.
Mansfield,  Lord  (Murray),  turns, 593. Reinstated as -, daughter of Eustace,
chief justice 625, 642. Li-  captain general, etc., 594.  Count of Boulogne, marries
brary burned, 654.          Sends a loan to the Pretend-  Stephen, 103.




ATILDA.                   INDEX.                      NAPOLEON  I.  779
atilda, daughter of Henry I.,  Monarchy abolished, 449.    Mordaunt, General Sir John,
betrothed to the emperor, Monasteries suppressed, 279,  626.
101.  Marries Geoffrey of  282, 315.                  More, Sir Thomas, speaker,
Anjou,  102.   Appointed Monckton, General, 634.        264.  Chancellor, 269. ReHenrys successor, b.  In- Monk, General, 456. Success-  signs. 275. Refuses the Oath
vades England, 104.  Ac-  es in Scotland, 458.  Com-  of Succession, 276.  Exeknowledged  as queen, ib.  mands under Blake, 460.  cuted, 278.
Flight, 105.  Retires into' Defeats Tromp, 463. Pro-, Roger, rebels, 412.
Normandy, ib.         claims  Richard  Cromwell Moreau, General, 675,686.
Maud, consort of Henry I.   Protector, 472.   Protests Moreville, Hugh d, 11.
~~~~~101.              against the expulsion of the Mlorgen-gifu, morning  gifts
Maurice, Bishop of London, 98.  Parliament,  473.  Enters  (queen's dowry), 72.
Prince, 424, 426.   London, 474. Sends a moes- Morley, Mrs., assumed nae
Maximian, 12.           sage to Charles II., 475.  of Queen Anne, 54.
Maximilian, Emperor, serves  Meets the king at Dover, Mortier, Marshal, 698, 699.
under Henry  VHI., 25S.  476.  Created Duke of Al- Mortimer,  Roger,  Earl  of
Death, 261.           bemarle,  478  (see  Albe-  March,intrigueswithQueen
Maximus, 13.            marie).                       Isabella, 171. Puts Edward
Maynard, Sergeant, 547.  Monmouth, birthplace of IHen-  II. to death, 12. Surprised
Mazarin, Cardinal, 465.    ry V., 205.                    and  executed by Edward
Meal-tub Plot, 510., Duke of, 506. Routs the  III., 175.
Meanee, battle, 48.         Covenanters, 509. Triumph- Mortimer's Cross, battle, 221.
Meath, kingdom of, 118.    al procession, 511.   Con- Mortmain, statute of, 156.
Mechanics' Institute, 754.  spires against the Duke of Morton, Bishop of Ely, 233.
lMedina Sidonia, Duke of, corn-  York, 517. His viewrs, 517.  Archbishop of Canterbury,
mads the Armada, 350.     Absconds, 518.  Recalled,  244.
Medina, Sir Solomon, accuses  520. Banished, ib. Iniva- -, Chancellor of Scotland,
Marlborough, 58.      sion, 524, 525.  Assumes the   322, 326.
M r Jaffier, 636.       title of king, 525. Defeat Moscow burned, 14.
Melbourne, Lord, home secre-  and flight, ib.  Execution, Mount Badon, battle, 25.
tary, 734.  Premier, 737.  526.                   Mountcashel, Lord, defeated
Supported  by  O'Connell, Monopolies, 363.          and captured, 551.
738.   esigns, ib.  Montacute,  Lord, twice de- Mountjoy, administration  in
Melfitus, 31.           feats Queen Margaret, 224.  Ireland, 35.
Melvil, Sir Robert, 344.   Deserts Edward IV. 227.   Mowbray, Earl of Nottingam,
Sir Andrew  346.     Montague,  Lord, executed,  rebels against  enry IV.,
Melvill, Sir James, evidence  283.                             203. Executed, Z.
respecting Bothwell, 325.   -, answers'Sergeant Heyle, Municipal Reform Bill, 737.
Melville, Lord, charged with  363.                           Munro, Sir Hlector, 668.
peculation, 694, 695.        -, Admiral, 466, 474. Cre- Munster, kingdom of, 118.
Miendoza, Spanish embassa- ated Lord Sandwich, 478. Murat, King of Naples, 703.
dor, 341.                     Killed, 493.                Murray, Earl of, 322. Regent,
Nilnon, General, 684, 688, 689. -, embassador at Pails, in-  326. Submits to Elizabeth,
Mensehikoff, Prince, 743.       forms. against Daniby, 505.    328. Assassinated, 330.
Mra,20. The M1archs 27.  -  Sir James, 585.                     Lord Gerjon
history of, 37.             Montcalm, Marquess de, gov-  Charles Edward, 616, 617,
Mieres, Sir Thomas, speaker,  ernor of Canada, 629.            618, 619. Escapes, 620.
507.                        Monteagle,  Lord,  discovers Muscovy, trade with, 312.'Meroz, curse of, 428.          Gunpowder Plot, 373.           Musgrave, Sir Philip, 444.
Mesise lords, 129.            Monteith, Sir J., betrays Wal- Mutiny at Spithead and the
Methodists, 753.                lace, 165.                     Nore, 680.
Middlesex, Earl of, treasurer, Montfort, Simon do, Earl of Mutiny Bill, origin, 549.
impeached, 356.,              Leicester (see Leicester, Earl            N
Middlesexe, kingdom, 2G.        of)Y                                      N
Milan Decree, 702.            -, Count do, claims Britta- Najara, battle, 187.
Millenarians,- 451.  Conspire   ny, 178.                     Namur taken, 560.
against Cromwell, 470.      Montmorency, Constable, 319, Nantes, edict, revoked, 527.
Milton, 539.                    320, 332.                    Nantwich, battle, 429.
Miuden, battle, 628.          Montrose, Earl of, victories, Napier, Sir Charles, occupies
Minorca, taken by the French,  434.  Routed, 437. Defeat-  Scinde, 748.
624, 625. Surrendered, 657.  ed and hanged, 454.            -, Admiral Sir Charles,
Minute-men, 645.              Moore, Commodore, 694.           743.
Mi1rabeanu besieged, 157.         I General Sir John, 704. Naples taken by the French,
Mfiss of Lewes, 151.            Invades Spain, ib. Killdd,  682.
Misprision of treason, 276 and   705.                        Napoleon I., besieges Toulon,
ssote..                     MorcarEarl of Northumber-  673.  Threatened invasion
Modena, Mary  of, marries  land, 66. Proclaims Edgar  of England, 681.  ExpediDuke of York, 496.            Atheling, 51. Submits, 82,  tion to Egypt, iM. To PalMoidart, seven men of, 615.    83. Rebels, 84. Joins Here-  estine,  683.   Returns  to
Mompesson, Sir  Giles, tin-  ward, 86.                         France, 684. First conlul,
poached, 381.               Mordaunt, Earl of Peterbor-  ib.  Power and  magnifiMona (Anglesey), hO,            ougb, 547.                     cence, 690. Insults our em



780   NAPOLEON  I.                   INDEX.                        OLCASTLE.
bassador, 693.   Emperor, Nimeguen, peace of, 498.      Northumberland, Earl of, rises
694.  King  of Italy, 695. Nithisdale, Lord, escape  of,  against Henry  IV., 203.
bEnters Vienna,.  Seizes  598.                           Second rebellion, i.
Portugal, 02.  And Spain, Nivelle, battle at the, 715., Earl Warwick, becomes.   Enters Vienna, 701. Noailles, Marshal, 6132, 613.  Duke of (see Warwick), 30.
Marries Maria Louisa, ib. Nobles, English, condition of,  Ruins  Somerset,.  AtExcommunicated, ib.  Ex-  130.  Degrees of, 238.       tempts on the crown, 301.
pedition   to  Russia, T14. Non-addresses, vote of, 444.  Deserted, 304. Executed,.
Strugles in Germany, 716.  Repealed, ib. Renewed, 446. —, Earl of, conspires to liAbdicates, TT.  Lands at Nonconformists, penal  laws  erate the  Queen of Scots,
Cannes,  19.  Enters Bel-  against, suspended by proc-  329.  Executed, 333.
gum,  20.   Defeat  and   lamation, 493., Earl of, sides with the
flight,  21,  22.  Goes on Nonjurors, 548.    Deprived,   Commons, 41.
board the Bellerophon, 722.    54.                   Northumbri, 20, 2.
Conveyed to St. HIelena, ib. Non-resistance, oath of, 481.   Norway, Maid of, 19.
Napoleon I., 122.        Norfolk, insurrection in, 298. Norwegians in Scotland, etc.,
- L, Emperor, 743.  At-, Duke of, quells an in-  39.
tempt to assassinate, 749.  surrection, 266.  Another.Nott, General, 4.
Naseby, battle, 43.          282. Arrests Cromwell, 285. Nottingham, royal standard
Nation   debt,  41, 663, 723,  Prime minister, 287.  Corn-  erected at, 419.
mands against the Scots, tb.       Castle, Isabella and Mo30.              Attaint and narrow escape,  tinmer seized at 1.  BurnNvarre, King of, 19.         290.  Restored, 305.            ed, T34.
Navigation-laws, 459. Repeal- -, Duke of, commissioner Nottingham, Earl o          anceled, 141, 158.          to try the Queen of Scots,    r, 4(6.   Secretary,  6
uNavy, increase of, nder Eliz-  327.  Proposes marriage to   Bill to prevent occasional
abeti, 366, 541.         er, 329.  Committed, but  conformity,.  President
Nelson loses an eye, 676. At  released,  330.   Conspires  of council, ] 4.
St. Vincent, 6.  Rear Ad-  with Alva, 333.  Executed, Novel dissesi, assize of, 14.
iral, 69.  Loses an arm,  ib..                 Noy, Attorney General, 398..  At Aboukir, 6S2.  A Normandy, Marquess of, privy Nuncio received by Jaes.
tbaron,  tes Leg-  seal, 573, 574.                     530.
horn, i. Bombards Copen- Normandy (Neustria) seized
hagen, 68. Attempts Bou-  by the Northmen, 40.  His-                   0.
one, 68.   Cliases  the   tory of, 77.  Name, when Oak, royal, 4.
French fleet, 696.  At Tra-  first oril  7.  Reduced by Oates, Titus,  sistory,  01.
feigns,' 691.   Death, 698.   1-enry  1., 99.  Legislation   Pensioned, 503.  Evidence
Funeral, it.                   in, 130. Ileunited to France,  against Stafford, 612. Fined
N~ero, 10.                       138.  Lower, subdued  by   and imprisoned, 620. Fined,
Neutlality, armed, 6313, 6813.    Henry V., 209.                 wlsipped, and pilloried, 624.
Neville, EarlofWestusoroland, Normans, influence of, in En-  Pensioned, 661. 
203.                           gland, 62. Cisaracter of the, GOsthls, value of, amnong the
Neville's Cross, bottle, 181.     80.  Langmlage, it.  Amal-  Angglo-Sixons, 14.
Newark, Scotecs army at, 438.   gamate witis  the  Saxons, 0 Brien, Susitis, transported,
Newburn, battle, 404.             136 and soete.                1741.
Newbury, battles, 421, 431.    Norris, Sir John, 3692.  Corn- Oclsta, 23.
Newcastle, seized  by  Cove-  mnands in Ireland, 365.          O'Connell, Daniel, 121.  Ornanters, 406, 430.             -, Sir Johsi, Admiral, 699.   ganizes  Cathsolic  Associa~,Marquess of, forms a North, Lord, Chancellor of Ex-  tion, 130.  Returned   for
league for Cisarlos I., 436.  clsequer, 642.  Prime minis-  Clare, 131.- Advocates reAttenspts I-lull, 428.  R~e-  toy, 643.  Measure respect-  peal of Union, 134, 136.
treats, 429.  Rletires to the   lug tea, 11413. Attempts to   Supports Lord Melbourne,
Continent, 430.                 conciliat  tlse  Amiericans,  131. 1-is "1Tail," 138. Con-, Duke of, secretary, 608,  650.  Resigns, 661.  Secre-  victed   of  sedition, 13.
610.  Prime sninister, 623.  tary, 664.  Dismn -sod, it.  Death, it.
Vacillating policy, 626. Re-  Regubli~ng Act, 666.           Oden (see Woden).
signs, it.  Returns, it. -Re-  _-   Anierican  colonies, do- Ode, Arcisbishop  of Cantersigns, 634.                    scribed, 638.  Discontents   burcy, brultality to Elgiva, 61.
Newfoundland, colonized, 318.  in, 639, 643.  War breaks -,  Bishop  of Daleux, 88.
Newport, riots atj 138.           out in, 646.                   Conspires  against  Rufus,
Newspapers, 643, 631.          -     Br-iteos paper, 634.  No.  94.
Newton Butler, battle, 661.       Forty-dyve, 631, 638.         Oestrymnides, 2.
New York acquired from  thse        Foreland, battle off, 4813. Offa, King of Mercia, 96.
Dutch, 489.                  Nsirthampton, council of, 114. Officers, Comuncil of, 472.  ReNey, Marshal, 120.              -,battle, 221.                    stores the Long Parliament,
Niagara taken, 628.             Northington, Lord Chancellor,  419.  Expels it, it.
Nicholas, Sir Edward, secreta-  641..          O'Hara, General, 613.
ry, 418..                    Nomrhusen (Danes, etc.) land Olave of Norway invades En-, Czar, quarrels with the   in  Northunibria,  33,. 39.  gland, 153.
Porte, 142. -Death, T46.       Manners, 39.  Seize  Nor- Oldcastle, Sir Johsn (Lord Cob.
Nighstingale, Flomence, 146.      mandy, 40.  Ravage  En-  hami)' heads tlse Lollards,
Nile, battle of the, 68`2.        gland, it.                      206.  Executed, it. 




"OLIVE BRANCH.-i'            INDEX.                        PENDRAGON
Olive Branch," the Ameri- Oudenarde, battle, 582.         Parma, Duke of, commands
can petition, 641.       Overbury, Sir Thomas, advises  the Spanish army of invaOtenitza, battle of, 43.     Carr, 376.  Poisoned, 377.      sion, 350, 31.
Omar Paoha, 143.          Oxford, provisions of, 149, 150. Parma, Duchess of, governs
ONeale, Sir Phelim, rebels,  Annulled, 151.  Parliament  the Netherlands, 332.
~~~~~412.~                assembled at, 389.  Occu- Parnell, Sir H., 33.
Onslow, Speaker, address to   pied byCharles I., 425. Par- Parr, Catherine, marries HenQueen Elizabeth, 363.      liamient at, 429.  Invested   ry VIII.,28,288,289. MarOpdam, Dutch admiral, 485.    by Fairfax, 435. Parliament  ries Lord Seymour, 296.
Orange, Prince of, founds the   at, 486, 513. Violence of, 513. Parry, design to assassinate
Dutch republic, 335. Assas- -   University, 45.  Decree   Queen Elizabeth, 339.
sanated, 339.          of, condemned by the peers, Parsons, Jesuit, 338.
-     William, Prince of (Wil-  585.                       Parties, court and  count,
am.), defense of Hol-, Earl  of, treats   with   381.  At outbreak of civil
land, 494.  Insurrection in   James IL, 536.           war, 423.
favor of, ib.  Marries Prin- -, Harley, Earl of (see Har- Partition   treaty  (Spanish),
cs Mary, 498. Invitation   ley), treasurer, 58T.  Dis-  first, 562. Second,565. Dsto Enland, 533. Declara-  missed, 591. Impeached and   approved  by  Parliament,
tio  534. Lnds in Torbay,  committed, 5915.  Interview   567..   Marches  to London,   with Ormond, ib.               Pascal II., Pope, 100.
536.  Summons a Conven-                                  Passaro, action off, 600.
tion, 53   Crown settled on,            P.               Patrick, St., 118.
538  William Ill.).  Pack, Alderman, 468.            Paul, Czar, 686.  AssassinlPrince of, 64, 675.  Paine, Thomas, 647, 6T1.       ated, 68T.
Prince  of, at Quatre- Pale, English of the, join the Paulet, Sir Ams, 341, 342.
Bras, 20. Wounded, 722.   Irish rebellion, 413.      Paulinus, Suetonius, 9.
Orangemen, 685.          Palliser, Sir Hugh, court-mar-, Archbishop of York, 32.
Ordeals, 5.  Abolished, 131.   tial on, 652.               Pavia, battle, 265.
Ordovies, 9, 11.         Palmerston, Lord, 708.  See- Paw, Pensionary, 460.
Orford, Earl of (Russell), 561   retary-at-war, 731. Foreign Pecquigni, teaty of, 22. Vi(sc ~ Russell).          Secretary, 734.   Premier,   lated by Louis XI., 229.
Orkney, Countess of, 564.    745.  Resigns, T49.           Peel, Sir Robert, 2.  Home
Orleans, besieed by English, Pampluna taken, 715.            secretary,   29.   Resigns,
211.    elieved  by  Joan Pandolf, papal envoy, 139.      170.  Returns,  31. Introd'Arc, 210.           Papists, fire  of London  as-  duces Catholic Relief Bill,
-I Maid of, 213 (cee Joan   cribed to, 48T.                   32.  Resigns,  33.  Short
d'Arc).                      Paris, evacuated by the En-   premiership, 131.  Premier,
-,Ducieses of, negotiates-  glish, 215.                        139.  Corn -law, Mb.  Intreaty of Dover, 491.    ~,peace of (1163), 635.         come-tax, Mb.  Bill abolishDuke of, regent, 599.,entered by Allies, T11,  lug corn-laws, 140. Resigns,
Orusesby, justiciary of Scout-  722.  Peace of (1814), 123;  ib.  Deaths, 141.
land, 164.                      (48S51), 146.                Peerage, original right of, by
Ormond,, Duke, of, lord lieu- Parker, Archbishop of Canter- tenure, 238. By writ, ib.
tenant in Ireland, 429.  De-  bury, 315, 338.                   By letters patent, ib.
livers Dublin, etc., to Par- -, Bishop of Oxford, Pres- Peers, I-ouse of, abolished,
liament, 438, 453. Proceeds   ident of Magdalen College,  449. Restored by Cromwell,
to  France, Mb.   Sueccses   530.                               469.  Resume their authorand reverses in Ireland, ib.  -, Sir Hyde, admiral, 651,  ity, 415. Creation of twelve,
Leaves it, 454.  Conspires   687.                               589.
against Cromwell, 410. Cre- -, Riclsard, 680. Hanged. Pelsgius, 13.
ated a Duke, 418.  Recalled   680.                           Pelham, hsead of treasury, 613.
from Ireland, 528.           Parliament, Anjlo - -Norman,I Negotiates with Pitt, 614.
-,Duke of, attacks Vigo,  130.  When assembled, ib.1 Death, 623.
514. Lord LieutenantoflIre-  Mad, 149.  Leicester's, 152.11Pussier, General, 4145.
land, 586.  Commands in   Advanceiunder EdwardlIII.,IPeltier convicted  of libeling
Flanders, 583.  Impeached   189.  Progress of, 231. Di-  Bonaparte, 632.
and, ataintd 595. Invades   vision into two hsouses, 239. Pembroke, William, Earl of, a
England, 591.                  Long, 405.  Bill for trien-   founder of English liberty,
Osmoelsuss, 153.                  uial, 498.   Subjected  by   140.  Protector, 145.  ReOrthez, battle of, 716.           army, 441. Proposals to the   news Magna Charts, ib.
O'Ruare, Prince of Breffny,  king, 443. Rumsp, 446. Dis- -, Aymer do Valence, Earl
1IS.                          missed by Cromwell, 461.  of, defeats Bruce, 166..ConOsborne, Sir Thomas, 496 (s3ee  Barcbene'.c, 462.  Restored   spires  against  Gaveston,
Da-nby).                        by the  officers, 413.  Ex-   169.
Ostoriuo (see Scapu_-la).         pelled, lb.   Restored, Mb.., Jasper Tudor, Earl of,
Oswald, King of Northumbria   Renounces military author-  210, 221.
and Brefscal&fa, 33.  Slain,  ity, 414.  Bill for Septen-  -, Earl of, expedition ts
ib..                           nial, 598.                      Netherlands, 311.
Oowy, King of Northumbria -, Scotch, meets Edward I. Penda, King of Mercia, 21, 33.
and Br-eftsvldo, 33.           at Norham, 159.               Penderell conceals Charles II.,
Otiso, King of Greece, 131.,Irilsh, independence ac-  451.
Otterbourne, battle, 194.         knowl,,edged, 658.-          Pendrogon (British chief), 28.




782   PENINSULAR.                   INDEX.                      PRETENDER.
Peninsular war 703, 704, 710,  Anjou), 578. Driven from Pollock, General,.
~~~714.                   Madrid, 579.  Offer to re- Pomfiret Castle, Lancaster exPenn, Admiral, 460, 43. Con-  linquish  Spain, 5S3. De-  ecuted at, 170.
quers Jamaica, 466.       feated, ib.  Hostile designs Pompadour, Madame de, 63.
-     William, 542.     of, 600. Accedes to Quad- Pondicherry taken, 633. RePennsylvania, 542       ruple Alliance, 601.           stored, 635.
Pepys, Secretary, 541.    —, Archduke, detained by Ponsonby, General, Sir WilPerceval, Spencer, Chancellor  Henry VII., 252.           liam, killed, 722.
of Exchequer, 700.  Prem- Philip-haugh, battle, 437.    Pont Achin, battle, 65.
ier0. Assassinated, 711. Philippa of Holland, affianced Poor-laws, 736, 756.
Percy, Earl, defeats David  to Prince Edward, 171.      Pope, exactions of the, 148.
Bruce, 181.          Philippine Islands taken, 635. Popham, Sir Home, exped
feuds with Douglas, 194. Phoenicians trade with Brit-  tion to Ostend, 681.
Supports  Wickliffe,  198.  ain, 2.                    Popish Plot 501.
Revolt of the, 202.     Pichegru, 675.                 Population  nder William I.,
engages in Gunpowder Pickering, 5J1. Executed, 506.  91. End of Plantagenets,
Plot, 32. Killed, 374.    Picton, General, 720. Killed,  237. Under Charles, 540.
Perkins, Sir William, execu-  722.                        Last census, 75.
~ted, 561.  ~          Picts, 12,17.                  Port, 25.
Perrers, Alice, 189.      Picts' wall, 11.              Portland, battle off, 460.
Persecution under Mary, 309. Piedmont united to France, -, Earl of, 54.  Negotiate
Peter, Bishop of Winchester,  689.                        peace of Ryswick, 561
juticiary, 146.      Pierre, Eustace de, 182., Duke of, 659. Premier,
-     the Cruel, of Castile, re- Pilgrimage of Grace, 28S.  664, 700.  Deah, 708.
stored by Black Prince, 187. Pilnitz, conference at, 671.   Porto Bello taken, 610.
the Hermit, 95.    Pinkie, battle, 295.           -    Novo, battle, 668.
i., of Portugal, joins Pitt, William  (see Chatham, Portsmouth, Ducess of, misGrand Alliance, 576.  Earl of).                     tress of Charles., 491, 512.
Peterborouh, Earl of, expedi- -, William   the younger, Portugal, alliance with, 481.
tion  to Spain  578.  (See  enters public life, 658.  Ad-  Seized by French, 702, 703.
~Mordaunt.)           vocates Parliamentary re- Post establised,540. ReformPeterlo," 725.        form, ib.'Chancellor of Ex-  ed, 752.
Peter's pence, 36.      cheauer, 659. Prime minis- Potato rot, 739.
Peters Hugh, executed, 479.   tel, 664.   India bill, ib. Potteries, T.
Petition, right of, 239.    Reform   bill rejected, ib. Powys, Lord, impeached, 503.
Petition of  ight, 393, 420.  Speech on impeachment of Poynings, Governor of IrePe nr511.               t,. A         tie  land, 249. His" Law," iM.,
Petre, Lord, impeached, 503.   French    Loyalists,   676.  soste.
Plmiladelphia, Congress at, 646.  Abandons   Parliamentary Prwmeunire, statute of, 199,
Tsken, 649.                   reform,   6 85.   Advocates  270. Whole church guilty
PhIlibert, Duke of Savoy, 311.  Catholic emancipation, 686.  of, 274.
Philip, of Spain, proposed to  Letter to George, Ill., ib. Pragmatic Sanction, 611.
Mary, 300. Marriage, 307.  Resigns3, ib. Premier again, Prance, evidence in Popish
Protects Pr-incess Elizabeth,  693. Popularity, ib. Death   Plot, 506.
398.  Political views, 311.  and public funeral, 698.    Pratt, Chief Justice, declares
Proposes to marry Eliza- -, Lady Hester, Bareness general warrants illegal,
beth, 314. Foments a re-  Chathamu, 634.                     638. Made Lord Camden,
hellion in Ireland, 333. Pre- Pius V., Pope, excommuni-  641 (see Camden).
pares to invade England,   estee Elizabeth, 330.           Preaching regulated, 2C!5. Si348. Again,354. Deats, 355. -     VIL., Pope, carried to Sa-  lenced, 305, 314.
--  IL,1 of France, supports   vona, 707.  Restored, 718. Prendergrass  betrays  BarPrince Richard, 122. Ac- Placemnen, their election to clay's conspiracy, 510.
companies hino in a crusade,  Parliament regulated, 507. Presbyterians, 431.
124. Quits Palestine, 125. Plague,'yellow, 83.  Great, Preston Pans, battle, 617.
Invades  Normandy, 126.  473.                              Pretender (James), attempted
Supports Arthur of Brit- Plantagenet, etymology, 108.  invasion,.582.  Issues  a
tany, 136, 137.  Condemns  House of, 110. Period., char-  manifesto,  595.   Invades
King  John, ib.  Regains   acteristics of, 236.              Scotland, 597, 598. ClharNormna  dy, Anjou, etc., 138. Plassy, battle, 636.           acter, 598. Flight, ib. ExPrepares to invade England, Plymouth, battle off, 460.       polled  France, 5)9. Mar139. Cajoled by the Pope, Poitiers, battle, 185.            ries Princess Sobieski, ib.
ib.  Victory at Bovines, ib. Pole, do Ia, Earl of Suffolk and   Strange manifesto, 603. ApAssists the English barons,  chancellor, 194.                points his son regent, 613.
143.                         -    Cardinal Reginald, eit- -       (Charies Edward), do-the Fair of France, 158.  tacks  Henry. VIII., 283.  scent  in  Scotland, 615.
Cites Edward L. as his yes-  Abets a rebellion, 286. Le-  Erects his standard, 616.
sal, 1061.                    gate, 307, 308.  Primate,  Proclaims James VIHI., 617.
--  VI., 176.  Peace with   311. Death, 312.                   Defeats Sir J. Cope, ib. EnEdward HI,1. 177.           Police, new, 734.                tore  England, 610.  Ad_ —-, Duke of Anjon, appoint- Poll-tax, under Ricimard. II,  vances to Manchester and
ed to Spanish throne, S6S.    191.                           Derby, ib.  Retreats, it.
Philip V. of Spain (Duke of Pollilore, battle, 660.            Defeated at Culloden, 619.




P.RIDE'S PLitGE.      INDEX.                       ROCHFORT.    783
Escapes  to MAaix, 621. Ransom, feudal, 132, 141.    Richborough,.
Expelled from  France, 622. Rapes, Saxon, 25.         Richelieu, Cardinal, besieges
Subsequent fate, ib.    Rapparees, 553.                  Rochelle, 392.  Assists the
Pride's Pue, 446. Petition Rastadt, Congress of, 682.     Covenanters, 402.
against office of king, 468.  Ratcliffe, Sir Richard, 230.   Richmond, Edmund  Tudor,
Priestley, Dr., 671.      Ravaillac assassinates Henry   Earl of, 210.
Prier seisn 132.            IV., 375.                   -, Henry, Earl of, descent,
Pimicris, title of, 72.  Read, Alderman, enrolled as  233.  Engages  to  marry
Prince Edward's Island taken,  a soldier, 362.            Elizabeth  of  York,  i.
~62T~.   ~           Reading taken by Essex, 425.  Lands at Milford Haven,
Printing, introduction of, 237. Recognitors, 121, 154.    235. Defeats Richard III.
Privy council remodeled, 507, Recusants, acts against, 353.  at Bosworth, i.  Saluted
1~~~508.  ~           Compositions with, 398.        King, 243 (ee Henry VII.).
Proclamation, king's, made Redwald, King of East Angles,, Duke of, son of Charles
law, 284. Penal laws sus-  and Bretwalda, 31.       II., 521 note.
pended by, 493.      Reform, Parliamentary, advo-,Duke of, moves address
Prophesyings, 338.      cated by Lord Chatham and   for peace with America,  1.
Protectionists," 740.      WVilliam Pitt, 658. Partial, Ridley, Bishop of London, 30.
Protector, title of, 211.   effected, 659. Pitt's bill for,  Burned, 309.
Protectorate, Cromwell's, es-  lost, 664. Becomes a na- Rights, declaration  of, 538.
tablished, 42, 463.   tional question, 723. Lord   Bill of, 51, 59.
Provisions, papal, 199.     John  Russell's  bill, 734. Rikenild Street (see Ikenild).
Provisors, statute of, 190, 270.  Riots respecting, ib.  Car- Rinuccini, nunco in Ireland,
Prussia, subsidized, 674. Ac-  ried, 735. Provisions of, ib.  453.
cdes to armed neutrality, Reformation, progress, 264, Riot on burning of the North
86.  Seizes Hanover ib.  289, 294.  Opposed by Gar-  Briton, 638.
Conquered by the French,  diner, 295. Scotch, ib. Im- Ripon, treaty of, 40.
99. Joins coalition against  ages, etc., abolished, 296,-    Earl (see Goderich).
France, 710.          297. Discontent at, i. Op- Rivers, Earl, tutor of Edward
Prynne, pilloried and fined,  posed by Mary, 305. For-  V., 229.  Imprisoned  by
~~~399.  ~            warded by Elizabeth, 314.  Gloucester, 230. Killed,.
Pulteney, Secretary at War,  In Scotland, 316. In France, Rizzio, David, 322. Murdered,
594.  Earl of Bath, 611.  319.  Finally established in  323.
Supports inquiry about Wal-  England, 320. Review  of, Roads, 540, 752.
pole, ib.             364.                           Robert the Devil, 9.
Punishments, Anglo - Saxon, Regalia, Scotch, carried  to, son of William the Con74.                           London, 458.                   querer-, rebels, 88. Obtains
Puritans, rise of the, 331. Fa- Reged, kingdom, 28.            Normandy and Maine, ib.
vored by Cecil, Leicester, Regent, title rejected by Par-  Stipulation with Rufus, 94.
and otihers, iM.  Different  liament, 211.                   Subdues Malcolm, 93. Mortkinds of, 396. Emigrate to Regicides, fats, 478, 479.       gages his dominions, iM. InAmerica, 400.               Reginald elected to see of Can-  vades England. 99. Treaty
Pymn carries up Strafford's im-.terbury, 138.                 with Henry I., ib. Captured
peachment, 405.  Charac- Belief's, 131, 141.                 by him, ib. Dies at Cardiff
tei, 406.  Accused of trea- Remonstrance, grand, 414.        Castle, ib.
son, 415. Death, 429.       Representation, Parliamenta —    Ill., of Scotland, his misPyrenees., battles of the, 715.   ry, 239.                     fortunes, 204.
Restitutus, Bishop, 15.         -, Earl of Gloucester, reQ.Revenue, Anglo-Norman, 131.  volts from Stephen, 103. InQuakers, origin of, 542.        Under James lL., 543.          vades England, 104. CapQuatre Bras, 720.             "Rex  Anglorum," title as-  tures Stephen, ib. Captured,
Quebec taken, 628, 629.         sumed by Edward the Elder,  105.
Querouaille (see, Portsmouth,  36, 72.                       Robespierre, executed, 675.
Duchess of).                Rhine, Confederation of the, Robinson, Mr. (see Goderieb).
Quiberon, battle off, 627, 028.  096.                         -, Sir Thsmas, secretary,
Expedition to, 676.         Rhutupice, 14.                   023.'Quo Werranto, writ of, 516. Ribaumont, vanquished   by Rochelle, Buckingham's expeR.           ~~~Edward Ill., 183..      dillon to, 392.  Surrendered
K.Rich, Lord, Cromwelrs son-in-  395.
"Radicals," 725.               law, 471.                    Roches, Peter des, Bishop of
Raglan,  Lord,   expedition Richard, "1Sans Pour" of Nor-  Winchester, 146.
against Russia, 743. Death,  mandy, 79.                    Rochester,. bishopric founded,
745-                        -    II. of Normandy, 79.        31.
Railways, 752.                RICHARD   I.,  rebels, when -  Castle besieged by King
Raleigh, Sir Walter, founds  prince, 120, 122. Reign of,  John, 143.
Virginia, 340. Imprisoned,  123-128.                        -, Earl of (Hyde), 516.
353. Expedition to Guiana.,    IL.,reign of, 191-199.        Treasurer, 524. Dismissed,
334.  Plot against James L.,     III., reign of, 232-233.    528.  Lord Lieutenant of
971.  Reprieved, ib.  Sec- -    son of the Conqueror,  Ireland, 5635, President of
ond expedition to Guiana,  death, 90.                        ceuncil, 586.
979. Execution, ib.          -    Earl of Cornwall, King Rochfort,' Viscount, brother of
Ramliles, battle, 57.           of the Romans, 148, 1SL1       Anne Boleyn, 280.




784    ROCFORT.                    INDEX.                      SCIR-GEREFA.
Rochfort, Viscountess, accuses  556.  Queen Mary's letter Saint Vincent, Cape, battles
2Anne   oleyn  280.  Exe-  to, ib. Defeats the French   off, 656, 678.
c~uted, 287.          fleet at La Hogue, ib., 557. — Vincent, Earl (see Jervis).
Rckingham,  Marquess  of,  Earl of Ga'ford, 567 (see Or- Saintes, Grnier   des,  deprime minister, 64). Again  ford).                   nounces Pitt, 63.
prime minister, 658. Death, Russell, Lord, quells insurrec- Saladin takes Jerusalem, 122.
~~~659)~.              tion in Devonshire, 297, 298.  Richard's truce with, 125.
Rderick O'Connor, King of, Lady, pleads for her hus- Salamanca, French barbarit
Connaught, 118, 119.  band, 519.                    at, 712.  Battle of i
Rodney, Admiral Lord, bom- _, Lord William, conspires Sale, General, 74.
bards Havre, 627.  Takes  against Duke of York, 517. Salisbury, Earl of, attacks the
Martinico, 634. Victory at  Projects an insurrection, ib.  French harbors, 139.   eCape  St.  Vincent,  656.  Trial and  execution, 518.  feats Louis VIII., 146.
Takes  St. Eustatia, 657.  Attainder reversed, 551.  E, Earl of, beheaded, 221.
Defeats  De  Grasse, 659. _-, Lord John, carries re-    Countess of, attainted,
Made a baron, ib.     peal of Test and Corporation   283. Executed, 286.
Roger, Archbishop of York,  Acts, 740. Introduces Par- I, Lord (Cecil), discovers
crowns Prince Henry, 115.   liamentary Reform Bill, 733.  Gunpowder Plot, 373. In
-, Earl of Hereford, 87.    Its provisions, 735. Declares  stitutes   baronetcy,  375.
RogersPrebendary, burned,  against the corn-laws, 740.  Death, 36.
~308.    ~            Premier, ib.                 Sancroft, Archbishop of CanRokesby,  Sir  T.,  defeats Russia, subsidiary treaty with,  terbury, 530. A  nonjuror,
Northumberland, 204.      624, 675. League with, 695,  548. Dprived, 554.
Rolia, battle, 704.     714. Attacks the Turkish Sandwich, Lord, ridiculed by
Rollo or Rof the Ganger, ob-  dominions, 742. War with,  Wilkes, 638.
tas Neustria, 78.     743.                         Sandys, Sir Edwin, 3
Romans abandon Britain, 13. Ruthven, Lord, murders Riz-, chancellor of exchequer,
vilization under the, 14.    zio, 323.              611.
Rome, sacked by Bourbon's -, Earl of Brentford, 431. Saragossa, battle, 583.
troops, 267.         Rutland, Earl of, betrays a Saratoga, Convention of, 650.
n-feoh, or Rome Scot (see  plot against Henry IV., 202.  Violated by the Americans,
Peter's pence)., Duke of, privy seal, 664.  it.
Romilly, Sir Samuel, 753.  Ruyter, De, Admiral, 460. Sardinia sends an  army to
Rooke, Admiral Sir G., 557.  Defeated by Albemarle, 4S6.  Crimea, 745.
Attk  Vigo, 574. Takes   Sails up the Thames, 488.  Sarsfield, 554.
Gibraltar, 57.         yder, Sir Dudley, 625.      Sautre, William, burned, 202.
Rosamond, Fair, 123., I-Ion. R., home secretary, Savage, John, meditates assesRoses, symbols of Yorkr and   708.                             sinating  Queen Elizabeth,
Lancaster, 224.             Rye House Plot, 1518.            341.
Rosetta Stone, 689, note.     Ryswick, treaty of, 561.       Saville, Sir George, 653.
Ross, General, 719. Killed, ib.             S.Savoy, Duke of, joins Grand
Rouen, peace of, 79. Prince                                    Alliance,  576.   Invades
Arthur murdered at, 137. Sacheverell, Dr., sermon, 553.  France, 582.
Surrendered, to Philip, 138.  impeached, ib.  Suspended, -, conference in the, 480.
Taken by Henry V., 208. it.' Journey to Wales, 586. Saxe, Marshal, 614.
Joan d'Arc burned at, 215. Sackville, Lord George, 627. Saxon pirates, 12. Called in
Roundheads, 41.5.               Misbehavior at Minden, 628.  by the Britons, 14.
Rouse, Speaker, 462.            Dismissed, it.               -    tribes, 20. Religion, 21.
Rowena, 23.                   Sadler, Sir Ralph, 327.-         ships, 22. Arms, it).  First
Roxburgh ceded to EAngland, Saint Alban' s, battle, 220, 222.  settlement, it.  Conquest,
121.  Sold by Richard I.,.-   Amand, battle, 673.           24. Historical value of, iM.,
124.                        -     Andri, Jean Ben, 676.      note.  Second  settlement,
Royal George sinks, 659, 660. -     George, Chevatlier (Pre-  24. Third  settlement, it.
Royal Society founded, 543.     tender), 515.                  Fourth, fifth, and sixth setR~uins (Thanet), 37.-         -      Helen's, Lord, treaty  tlements, 26'.   Kingdoms
Rumbold.engaged  in  Rye  with Russia, 687.                  united by Eghert, 36. SaxHouse Plot, 518.                 B Idefonso, treaty of, 677.   e ns amalgamate with NorRumford,  Colonel,  betrays -          John, Lord, treasurer-,  mans, 136 and nsote.
Monmouth's   conspiracy,  299.                            Say, Lord, privy seal, 478.
518.                        -     John, Oliver,~ character, Scandinavians (see Northmen,
Runnymede, Magna  Charta  406. An Independent, 432.  Danes).
signed at, 141.               Commissioner to settle Scot- Scapula, Ostorius, 9.
Rupert, Prince, rents the Par-  land, 459. Embassy to Hol- Scarsdale, Earl of, 556.
liamentary  cavalry, 424.  land, it.                      Schism Act, 588.
Takes Bristol, 426. Defeat- -     John (see Bolingbroke).  Schosnberg,  Marshal,  405
ed' at Marston Moor, 430. -  Paul's, 14, 31.                 Lands in Ireland, 551. KillSurrenders   Bristol,  436. -  Petersburg,  treaty  of,  ed, 352.
Dismissed, it.  Chased by   687.                          Schiinbrunn, peace of, 707.
Blake, 458.,Commands in -     Quentin, battle, 311.      Schwartz, Martin, 246.
English fleet, 485, 486. High -     Roque, lines of, 608.  Sciudiah, 746, 747.
admiral, 436.               -     Ruth, 553. Killed, ib.   S~cir-gesosd (shire mote), 73.
Russell, Admiral, a Jacobite,, — Sebastian taken, 715.       -gmesfe (sheriff ), 73.




SCONE.               INDEX.                       sTANOPE.    785
Scone, Charles II. crowned   Monmouth, 506, 507. Pres- Sleda, 26.
~at, 456.  ~          ident of the Council, 508. Slingsby, Sir H., beheaded,
Scotia (Ireland), 13.       Advises the Exclusion Bill,l  470.
Scotland claims to crown of,  ib. Dismissed, 510. Indicts Sluys, battle,.
15.   First alliance with  the Duke of York, 511. In- Smetonj 280.
France, 161. Overrun by   dicted   for  treason, 515. Smith, Sir Sydney, at Tolon,
Edward.,162. Again, 165.  Conspires against the duke,  673. Defense of Acre, 683.
Delivered  by  Bruce, 169.  511. Retirement and death,, Spencer, 694.
Truce with, 170. Part of  ib.                      Smyrna fleet attacked, 57.
ceded to Edward III., 176. Shah Alum, 666.        Sobraon, battle, 748.
Reduced nder the Comn- Shannon, frigate, takes the Societies, religious, 753. Somonwealth, 459. How ruled,  Chesapeake, 719.        ciety, Royal, 543.  Socity
46.  Royal authority re- Sharpe, Archbishop of St. An-  for the Diffusion of Useful
stored in, 479. William III.  drews, 480. - Murdered, 509.  Knowledge, 754.
acknowledged in, 549. Par-  -, Granville, 700.         Socnianni (soemen), 2, 132.
liament rejects bill for Han-, Dr., sermon, 528, 529.   Somers, Lord, 56, 573, 56.
overian succession, 580 sq. Shaw, Dr.. sermon at Paul's Somerset, Duke of, minister of
Effect in England, ib. Un-  Cross, 232.              Henry VI., 219.
ion  ith 579-51.    Sheerness taken by the Dutch, -, Duke of (Hertford, Pr
Scots  13  1.  Defeated by   488.                         tector), overturns  Henry
Edward     at Falkirk, 165. Shelburne, Earl of, secretary,  VIII.'s will, 294. Invades
nvade    England,   173.  641, 658. Prime minister,  Scotland,  295.  Ambition
Treaty with the, 174. De-  659, 661. Resigns, 664.   and unpopularity, 29. Exfeated at Halidown Hill, 176. Shephard betrays Monmouth's  ecuted, 300.
Assist the dauphin (Charles   plot, 518.             -, Countess  of, poisons
VI.), 210. Routed at Sol- Sheridan, Richard  Brinsley,  Overbury, 377. Pardoned,
way, 28.  Impose condi-  65S, 659, 669.              378.
ions on  Charles I., 439. Sheriffmuir, battle, 597.  _  house built, 298.
Deliver  im  up, ib. Dis- Ship-money, 391, 399.  Op- Sophia, Electres of Hanover,
pleased with English Parlia-  posed by Hampden, 400.  566. Succession to England
ment, 444.  Protest against Ships, Saxon, 22.        and  Scotland  established,
the king's trial, 448. Pro- Shires, or counties, 73.     580.  Death, 591..claim Charles, 452.  Shore, Jane, penance, 232.   -     Dorothea of Zelle, conScro pe, Archbishop of York, —, Sir John, governor gen-  sort of George., 604.
erebellion   and   xecution,  eral of India, 746.     Soult, Marshal, 04, sq., 708203.                        Shovel, Sir Cloudesley, 578.  711, 714-717.
Lord, executed, 207.      Blockades Toulon, 582.      Southampton, Earl (Wri.th.Scutage (escuage), 131, 141.   Shrewsbury, battle, 203.        ley), removed by Somerset,
Sebastiani, Marshal, 701, 706.   -, Earl of, superintends tlse  294. Helps to remove him,
Sebastopol. invested,   743.  execution of Queen Mary,  299.
Taken, 745.                   345.                         -,Earl, engaged in Essex's
Sebert, King of Essex, 31.,Earl of, secretary, 546.    conspiracy, 359, 360.
Secret  service  money, 611. -    Duke of, lord chaamber- -, Earl of, embassador to
Limited, 659.,                lain, 586.  Defeats Doling-  the Parliament, 423.
Security, act of (Scotch), 580.   broke's schemes, 591, 592.  -, Earl, high treasurer-, 478.
Se dgemnoor, battle, 5  5.      Treasurer,  592.  Resigns, Southcote., Joanna, 754.
Segontiaci, 7..594.                         South Sea Company, 601. ExSelby, battle, 429.           Sibthorpe, sermon of, 331.       posoed, 602.
Selden, 389, 395.             Sidmouth, Lord (Addington), -     Sexe (Sussex), 25.
Select men of Boston, 647       president of council, 694. Southwold Bay, battle in, 493
Self-denying Ordinance, 432.   Retires, 729.                 Spa-fields riots, 724.
Senlac (field of Hastings), 70. Sidney, 539.                 Spain  seized by Bonaparte,
Septennial Act, 598.,       Sidney, Algernon, joins Mon-  702, 703.
Serfs, 73.                      mouth's  conspiracy, 517. Spanish succession, 562. War
Sergeantry, Grand, 130.         Apprehended, 1518. History,  of, 568, 578, 581.
Serin-a-patam, taken, 746.      519.  Execution, ib.  At- Speaker, bow elected, -507.
Settlement, Act of, 566.        tainder reversed, 55).       Sponsors, favorites of Edward
Seven Years' War, 626, 635.  Sidonius, 22.                     IT., 169.  Executed, 171.
Severus  dies  at York, 12. Siegfrid the pirate, 45.         Spinsla invades the palatinate,
Wall of, ib.                Silures, 9.                      381.
Seville, treaty of, 608.      Sim-nel, Lambert, personates Spinsteir, Etymology of, 75.
Seymour, Jane, wife of Henry  thse Earl of Warwicki, 245, Stafford,- Lord,  impeached,
V11L, 280, 281. Death, 282.  246.                            503.  Execution, 513 sq.
--—,Admiral, Lord, 295. Mar- Simon, Richard, incites the Stair, Earl of, 612.
ries the Queen dowager, 296.  pretender Simnel, 245, 246. Stamp Act (North American),
Executed, ib..              Simpson, General, 745.           638.   H-ow   received  in
-,  Mr., impeaches Claren- Siward,_ Earl of Northunaber-  America, 639.   Repealed,
don, 489.                     land, 63, 64.                  641.
-,Sir Edward, supports Six Articles, law of, 283. Re- Stendard, battle of the, or
Prince of Orange, 555.        pealed, 296.                   Nortlhallerton, 103, 104.
Shaftesbury, Earl of, ums- Slavery abolished, 736            Stanford Bridge, hattie, 68.
ed, 496. Abets the Duke ofiSlave-trade abolished, 700..,  Stanhope, General, expeditionx




786tSTANHOPE.           _DEX.                     TOWNSHEND.
to Spain, 5.  Secretary,  Queen Mary, 304.  Rebels,  Triple Alliance, 490.  Re594,3599. First lord of treas-   06.  Executed, 307.  called, 493.  Ilans a new
ury, 600.  Made viscount Suffolk, house of, appointed to   privy council, 507, 508.
and  earl, ib.  Concludes  succeed by Henry YIII.'s Tenants in capite, 129. Numl
qadruple   alliance,   ib.  will, 3T70.              ber of, 130.
Death, 603.          -, battle off, 485.           Tenchebray, battle, 99.
Stanhope, Earl, chairman of Silly, his character of James Tencin, Cardinal, 613.
Revolution Society, 61.  I., 370.                  Tennison, Archbishop of Can.
mStanley, Lord, declares  for Sunderland, Earl of, secretary,  terbury, 558.
Richmond, 25.         508.  Advocates the Exclu- Tenures, Anglo- Saxon, T3.
Sir William, services at  sion Bill, 512. Re-enters the   Per baroniam, 129.
Bosworth, 235.  Executed   ministry, 516, 524.  Turns Test Act, 496, 498.
fr treason, 249.      Roman Catholic, 528.  Cor- -     Parliamentary, 498, 504.
-, Lord (see Derby).    responds  with  Prince  of        and Corporation acts re
Star Chamber, 253, 364. Ac-  Orange, 533.  Corresponds  pealed, 731.
count of,  66, 399. Abl-  with James, 558.         Tewkesbury, battle, 228.
~ished, 411.         -,  Earl of, son-in-law  of Thanes, 72.
Stareberg, Count, 5.    Marlborough, 586.   Lord Thanet, isle of, 23, 37.
Steam-engines, 751.     Lieutenant of Ireland, 594. Thelwall, prosecution of, 67T.
-    vessels, increase of, 752.   Secretary, 600. Death, 603. Theobald, Archbishop of CanlSteinkirk, battle, 557.  Supremacy, Act of, 315.      terbury, 111.
ST N, King, reign Of, 102- Surajah Dowlah, 636, 667.    Theodin, legate, 117.
~~~106.             Surinam conquered, 683.        Theodosius, Emperor, 13.
Stewart, Colonel, 656.  Surrey, Earl of, minister of -, General, 13.
Stigand, Arbisop of Can-  Henry VIII., 256. Defeats Theowas (serfs), 73.
terbury, 1, 8. Degraded,  the Scots at Flodden, 259. Thistlewood executed, 728.
58~~6.   ~Lands at Calais, 264. De- Thomas, St., of Canterbury
Stilicho, 13.           feats Albany, ib. (see Nor-  (Becket), shrine  pillaged,
Stirling taken by Monk, 45.  folk).                   282.
Besieged by Pretender, 619. -, Earl of (son of Norfolk), Thor, 21.
Stoke, battle, 246.     executed, 290.              Thorouzgh, the, 411.
Stolbeg, Louisa of, marries Suspending power, 483, note. Throgmorton, Sir Nicholas,
the Pretender, 622.  Sussex, Earl of, 327.           embassador to Scotland, 325.
Stonehenge, 5, 23.    Swarrow, 683.                 Thulrlow,  Lord  Chancellor.
Storm, great, 576.    Sweyn of Denmark, 53-55.         651, 658.
Strachan, Admiral Sir Rich-  son of Canute, 60..     Tiberiu, S,.,, 
ard, 698, 707.,son of Godwin, 62, 69.  Ticonderoga ae,60
Strafford,Earlof (Wentworth),,King of Denmark, takes Then-oanena tale, 74.
chief minister, 398.'Im-  part against the Conqueror, Tilbury, Elizabeth at, 350.
peached, 405.  Trial, 408.  84.                           Tillotson, Archbishop of CanAttainted, ib.  Executed, Swift, attacks Wood's half-  terbury, 554.
410.                          pence, 603.                 Tilsit, peace of, 701.
Strahan defeats Montrose, 454. Sydenham. proposes  Crom- Tin-trade, British, 2.
Strathclyde, kingdom, 28.       well's protectorate, 462.    Tippos, 668. Reduced, 746.
Straw, Jack, 192.             Sydney, Sir P., death, 340.   Titchfield, Charles L. at, 442.
Strode- accused  of treason,  -, Lord, secretary, 664.   Tithes in England, 41.
4156.                                  Toleration Act, 54.
Str-ongbow (see Clare).                     T.Tollendal, Lally, 627, 637.
Stuart, Arabella, plot in her Tacitus, account of Br-itons, 3, Tone, Theobald Wolfe, 684.
favor, 371.                   4.                          Tongs, Dr., 501, 512.
-dynasty, review of, 538. Taillefer, Count of Angou- Tonnqge and poundage, what,
-'Sir John, invades Italy,   Imne, 136 sq.                  372 and note. How granted,
699, 707.                   Talavera, battle, 706.           395.  Levied without conSub-Infeudation, 129.         Talbot, slain, 217.              sent of Parliament, 398.
Succession, lineal, when estab- "1Talents," party so called, Tonstal, Bishop, 305.
*lisbed, 106.  Regal, ques-  694. In office, 699.           Tories, name, 511.  Support
tion respecting, 160, 361.   Tallages, 131.                  William III., 554.
Suetonius (see Paulinus).     Tallard, Marshal, 577.        Torres Vedras, lines of, 709.
Suffolk, Earl of, besieges Or- Talleyrand, 692.             Torrington, Ear' of (Herbert),
leane, 212. Negotiates Hen- Talmash, General, slain, 5,58.   conduct at Beachy Ilead,
ry  Vi'1s  marriage,  216. Tangiere, dowry of Catherine  553.
Made a duke, 217. Accused   of Bi-aganza, 481.            Tosti, son of Godwin, 63, 65,
of treason, 219.  Murdered, Tasciovanus, 8.                  66, 68.
ib.                         Taxes collected by Archbishop Toulon, siege of, 582. Occu-, Edmund de la Pole, Earl  of Canterbury, 178.                pied by English and Spanof, surrendered  to Henry Taylor, Parson, burnt, 308.    ishs, 673.
VII., 252. Deatls, ib., coste. Tea, introduction of, 543. Toulouse, battle of, 717.
-, Charles Brandon, Duke   Duties,   American,  644. Tourville, 553, 5,50, 557.
of, marries Mary, dowager Ships, how treated in Amer. Towns, Roman, in Britain, 17,
queen of France, 260.         ice, 645.                      18.
-, Marquis of Dorset made Teignmouth burned, 553.            Townshend, Lord, dismissed,
Duke of, 301. Declares for Temple, Sir William, fornos the 599. Lord lieutenant of Ire



TrOWNSHEND.                     iNDEX.                        WARBECK.  787
land, ib.  Dismissed, 600. Union, Scotch, 579.  Articles Vikings, 9. Flag, 40.
President of the  council,  of, 581.  Carried in Scot-  le de Paris taken, 659.
601.  Secretary, 602.  Re-  land, ib. Act of, ib.         Villeins protected by Magna
signs, 608.                 Union, Irish, 684, 685.         Chart, 142.
Townshend, Charles, chancel- United Irishmen, 684.          Villenage,  Anglo - Norman,
lor of exchequer, 641. Amer- United States of America, in-  132. Extinguished, 23.
ican taxes, 642.  Death, ib.  dependence recognized, 661. Villeneuve, Admiral, 696.
-, Thomas, secretary, 659.   Pass non - intercourse act, Villero, Marshal, 560, 577.
Towton, battle, 224.            713.  Declare war, ib.        Defeated at  amillies, 579.
Tracy, William de, 116.      Universities, European, con- Villiers, Barbara, 521, note.
Trade, 751.                     suited on Henry VIIL's di-, George (e  BuckigTrafalgar, battle, 696-698.     vorce, 271.                   ham).
Transtamare, Henry of, 187. University of London, 754.   Vimiera battle, 704.
Treason, High, law  of, 190, Urban VII., Pope, obstcts Vinegar  ll, battle, 685.
305. Amended, 559.            Spanish match, 385.         Virginia colony, 40, 378.
Treasurer, Lord High, office Ushant, action off, 652.       Virius Lups, 11.
extinguished, 594.          Utrecht, conference at, open- Viscount, title of, 238.
Tredings (ridings), 73.        ed, 588. Peace of 590.    Visitors, ecclesiastical, 295.
Trelawney, Bishop of Bristol, Uvedale, Sir William, 423.   Vittoria, battle of, 715.
530.                        Uxbridge, conference at, 433. Vortigern, 14, 23.
Tresham, Francis, joins Gunpowder Plot, 373, 374.                    V.
Trevor, Sir John, speaker, ex- Valenciennes taken, 673.                  W.
pelled, 558.                Valentia, 13.                 Wade, Marshal, 618.
Triennial Act repealed, 483. Valentine holds the speaker in Wagram, battle,.
Bill passed, 558. Repealed,  the chair, 397.               Wakefield, battles, 221, 42.
598.                        Valentinian I., 13.            Wakeman, Sir George,501.
TriMInmers, party of, 516.   Vane, Sir H., character, 406.  Trial, 509.
Trinity  College, Cambridge,  Negotiates   the   Solemn Wacheren expedition,.
founded, 291.                 League, 428.  An Indepen- Wales conquered, 156. United
Trinobantes, 7.                 dent, 432.  Commissioner   with England, 279.
Trivoda necessitas, what, 73.  for Scotland, 459. Excepted Wales, Prince of, title, 158.
Tromp,  Admiral,  combats  from indemnity, 478. Trial, Wales, Dowager Princess, apwith Blake, 459, 460. His  481. Execution, 482.              pointed regent, 623.
bravado, 460.  Killed, 463. Van Paris burned, 297.         Walker, a clergyman, defends'Trotter, MIr., 695.         Vansittart, Mr., Governor of   Londonderry, 550.  Killed
Trowbridge, Captain, 679.       India, 665.                    at the Boyne, 552.
Troyes, treaty of, 209.,Mr., Cisancellor of the'Wall, Roman, 16.
Trutsulensis, Portus, ii.       Exchequer, 711.             lWallace, William, history of,
Tudor, Sir Owen, 210. Bs- Varangians, 85..         164-166.
headed, 222.                Vassalage, Scotch,  -5, 121.,Wailer, Sir William, Parlia-,house of, 215. Period,  Sold by Richard I., 124.          mentary general, 425, 426,
review of, 361.             Vassals~, condition of, 129.     431, 432. Conspires against
Tuisco, 21.                   Vaudois, the, supported  by   Cromwell, 470.
Tunis, Dey of, cha,.tisea by   Cromwell, 467.                  -, Edmund,  conspiracy,
Blake, 465, 466.            Venables, Admiral, 466.          426.
Turcoing, battle, 674.        Vendfime, Marshal Duke de, Walpole, Sir Robert, 585. ExTurks declare war, 701.         583.                           pelled the Commons, 589.
Turner, Bishop of Ely, 530.   Verdun, English5 detained at,  Restored, 59-5. Resigns, 000.
Turnpikes, 540.                 693.                           Paymaster of the forces, 6003.
Tyler, Wat, 192.  Blain by Vere, Earl of Oxford, governs  Chancellor- of exchequer,
Walworth, ib..Richard II., 193.              602. Systens of corruption,
Tyndale's  New  Testament, -, Sir Horace, defends the  604. Receives the Garter,
277.                          Palatinate, 381.               ib. Reappointed by George
Tyrconnel, Earl of (Talbot), Vernon, Admiral, takes Porto  IL, 007.  AdminIstration,
violence in  Ireland, 528,  Bello, 010.                      607, 608, 610.  Resigns, 611.
S49. Supports James II., ib. Versailles, treaty, 626. Peace -, Horace, IHistoric Doubts,
Tyrone, Earl, rebellion, 355.  of, 661.  Unpopular, 664.       232, note.
Surrenders, 360.            Verulamhsnm taken by Caesar, Wdlsch (Welshi), 27.
Tyrrel shoots Rufus, 97.        8.                           Walsinghami, Sscretary, 342,
-,   Sir  James,  nmurders Vespasian subdues the Isle of   347.
Gloucester's nephliwo, 232,  Wight, S.                    Walters, Lucy, 15,00.
248.                        Vicar-general, Cromwell ap. Waltham Abbey, 70.
Tythings, 74.                   pointed, 279.                Waltheof, Earl, 83, 84, 87, 8S.
U.              Victor, Marshal, 706, 710.    Walworth, Mayor of London,
VICORInA, reign of, 737 sq.     slays Wet Tyler, 192.
Uffa, King of East A,, iglia, 26. Vidomnar of Lim6ges, 127.    Wandebash, battle, 637.
L7~Jlgas, 26.                 Vienna, treaty of, 604.  En- Wesstsumss, the, 37.
Ulster,  kingdom    f   118.  tei~ed  by  Napoleon, 695. Wapenteke, 14.
Planted, 375.                 Congress of, 719, 723.      Warbeck, Perkin, personates
Uniformity, Act. of, 215, 481, Vienne, John de, 181.           Richard, Duke  of York,
499.                        Vigo taken, 352.                 247-250.




OWARBRTN.                   INDEX.                          WOLVES.
Warburton, Bishop, 638.      vance into Spain, ib.  De-  79.  Obtains an oath fro
Wardle, Colonel, 705.        feats Marmont, ib.  Enters   Harold, 65.  Demands th
Wardship (feudal), 132.      Madrid, ib.   Retires, ib.  crown from  him, 6.  DeWarehousing system, 752.     Grant to, 714.  Re-enters  feats Harold  at Hastings,
Wargaum, battle, 668.        Spain, 715.  Enters France,   69.   Enters  London, 81.
Warham, Archbishop of Can-  ib. Pursues Soult,716. Made   Reign of, 80-92.
terbury and chancellor, 260.   duke, 718.  Grant to, ib. WILLIAMI I reign of, 93-9.
Warrenne  Eai, 156.  Gov-  Opinion on Bonaparte's es- -     III., reign of, 54-569.
ernor of Scotland,162. De-  cape, 720.  Defeats him  at -     IV., reign of, 733-73.
feated by Wallace, 164.  WVaterloo, 721, 722.  Master -       Longsword, of Norman
War, private, 130.           general of ordnance, 725.  dy, 78.
Warwick, Guy, Earl of, 169.    Resigns, 730. Premier, 731.,- son of Robert of NormEarl of, banished  by   Duel with Lord Winchelsea,  mandy   9, 100.
Richard, 195.       732.  Death and character,, son of Henry., 101.
Earl of, tutor of Henry   743.  Achievements in In-  -  Duke of Guienne, 97.
V., 210. The King-maker,   dia, 746.                       of Poitiers, account of
218.  Flies to Calais, 220. " Welsh kind" (Vealas), 27.    English nobility, 83.
Captures HenryVI., ib. De- TVends, or Sclavonians, 59.   -,  King  of Scotland, infeated at S. Albans, 222. Wentworth, Peter, sent to the   vades England, 120,121.
Victorious at Towton, 224.  Tower, 353.                -, Archbishop  of CanterAlienated by Edward IV.'s -, Sir Thomas, leader of the   bury, 103
marriage, 225. Agreement, Colmmons, 369, 393. Made Williams, General, defends
with Queen'Margaret, 226. Earl of Strafford and minis- Kars, 745.
Invades England, 227. Pro-   ter, 398 (see Strafford).   Willis, Dr., 670.
claims Henry VI., ib.  Re-, General, 610.          Wilmington, Lord,  ead  of
gent, i.  Sla   at Barnet, Werg-ild, what, 74.         treasury, 611.  Death, 613.
~~ib.'~~W~esley, John, 754.           Wilson, Sir Robert, 706.
-,  Edward  PlantagenetlWessex, 20, nsote.                Wilson, General, 749.
Earl of, imprisoned, 244. lWVest, Admiral, 624.      Winchelsea, Lord, retires, 614.
Led throug   London, 2-15. Westminster Abbey, 14, 31,, Earl of, duel with WelBeheaded, 250.          6T.                             lington,'32.
-     Earl of (Dudley), opposes-  Hall, 97.                Winchester palace, 91.
Somerset, 296, 298, 299. WXestmoreland, Earl of, con- Windebank, Sir F., secretary,
arl Marshal,. Becomes   spires to liberate the Queen   absconds, 406.
uke  of Northumberland,   of Scots, 329, 330.        Windsor Castle, how  built,
300 (see Northumberland).  West Sexe (Wessex), kingdom    190.
-,  Earl  of, Parliament-  of, 25.                             Winter, Thomas, engage,3 in
ary  general, resigns, 432. Wharton, Earl of, 586, 583.         Gunpowder Plot, 372, 374.
Grandson  marries  Crom-  -, Duke of, 602.                   Winton Ceaster (Venta Belwell's daugister, 469.       Whig, origin-of name, 511.        gaminm), 26.
Washington, George, appoint- Whitbread, Mr., 694.   Im- Winwood, Sir Ralphs, 377.
ed commander.-in-chief by peaches Lord Melville, 695. Wiseman, Cardinal, 741.
the Americans, 646, 648, White, Colonel, ejects the Par- Wisisart burnt, 295.
6153.                          liament, 462.                  lVitceso-gemssd, 73.
-, American capital, taken, —, Bishop of Peterborough, Witnesses, judicial, when first
719.                           530.                            snmmoned, 154.
Waterloo, battle, 720.         Whitebread, Jesuit, 508.        Witt, De, Admiral, 460.
Watling Street, 14, 44.        Whitelock, account of Straf-  -, Pensionary, 488.  NegoWatt, Jasnes, 751.               ford's behavior, 409             tiates  with  Temple, 490.
Wealos (II Welsh kind") 34.  Whitfield, 5., 754.                 Massacred, 494.
Wedderburn, Solicitor Gener- WhItgift, Archbishop of Can- Wlencing, 25.
al, 644.  Made chief justice   terbury, character, 338.    Woden, 21.
a. nd Lord Loughborough, Whitworth, Lord, insulted by Wodnesbeorg, battle, 30.
656.                           Bonaparte, 693.               Wolfe, General, 626. ExpediWedgewood, 751.                Wibbandun, battle, 29.             tion  against Quebec, 628.
Weights and measures, 141.  WVic-gerefo (town-reeve), 76.    Killed, 629.
Wellesley, Marquess (Lord Wickliffe, John, account of, Wolsey, Cardinal, history,
Mornington), foreign secre-   198 sq.                          2S7.  Obtains the revenues
tary, 708, 711.  Governor Wiglaf, King of Mercia,'36.         of Tournay? 259. ArchbishGeneral of India, 746.       Wihtgar, 25.                      op of York, etc., 260. Mag.
-        (see, Wellington).    Wilberforce, William, 700.        nificence of, ib. Treaty with
Wellington, Duke of (Sir Ar- Wilkes writes against Lord   Francis, 261.  Legate, etc.,
thur Wellesley), at Copen-  Bute, 634, 637.  Arrested,  ib.  Gained by Charles V.,
hagen, 702.  In Peninsula,   637, 638.  Duel, 638.  Out-  263.  Expostulates with the
-703, 704.  Superseded, 704.  lawed, ib.  Returned  for   Commons, 264.  Inclines to
hlesumes command, 706. In-  Middlesex,. 642, 643.  Sen.  Francis I., 265.  Disgraced,
vades Spain  ib   At Tala-  tence and riot, 642.  Popu-  269.  Condemned, but parvera, 706. VIade Viscount  larity, ib.   Expelled, ib.   doned, 270.  Charged -with
Wellington, ib.   Occupies   Active against the Gordon   high treason', 271.  Death,'Torces Vedras, 709.  Be-  riots 655.                           it. Founded Christ Church,
fea.ts Masoena, 711.  DukeiWebseAT1 IL, Duke  of Nor-   Oxon., 291.
of Ciudad Rlodrigo, 712. Ad- I iuandy (time Conqueror), 64,I Wolves. extirpated, 521.




WOOD'S HALFPENCE.                   INDEX,                      ZUYLESTEIN.  789
Wood's halfpence, 603.        Yonge, Sir William, 614.         Mary  f Modena,.  Ex
WVoodstock,  labyrinth, 123. York, archbishopric founded,  epted  o  Parliamentary
Manor conferred on Marl-  33.  Cathedral, ib.  Coun-  test, 04. Retires to Bsborough, 579.                 cil at, 405. Taken by the   sel,  06.  High  comisWoodville, Elizabeth  (Lady   Roundheads, 431.                 sioner  in  Scotland,   10.
Grey), marries Edward IV., York, Archbishop of, rebels,  Cruelty,.  Indicted by
225.  Takes sanctuary, 230.  281, 282.                      Shaftebury, 11.  Conspr
Wool, grant of, 178.          -.-, Duke of, guardian, joins  acy against, 1. Restored
Woolen manufacture, 23T.        Henry of Lancaster, 196.      as admiral,  20 (   James
Worcester, Earl of, revolts, Richard, Duke of, re-.).
against  I-enry  IV., 203.  gent of France, 215. His York, Frederick, Duke  of,
Beheaded, ib.                 claim to the English crown,  lands at Ostend, 63. Nar-, battles, 424, 456.           217. Marches on London,  row  escape, 64.  Resigns
Wotton, Dr., 317.               220.  Gains the battle of St.  command, 65. Expedition
WVren, Sir Christopher, 543.    Albans, ib. Killed at Wake-  to Holland, and capitulaWriothesley,      Chancellor,  field, 221.                     tion, 683. Colonel Wardle's
abused by IHenry VIII., 290. -, Edward, Duke of (Ed-Re
Executor,  293.   Created   ward IV.), gains the battle  signs  commandership,.
Earl Southampton, 294.        of Mortimer's Cross, 221.  Reinstated,  110.   Death,
Writs established by Magna   Proclaimed king, 222.              30.
Charta, 141.                  -, Richard, Duke of, son          Place, Wolseys palace
Wulstan, Bishop of WVorcester,  of Edward IV., murdered,  (Whitehall), 269.
86.                           232. Inquiry into his death, Yorktown  capitulates,  66,
Wurtembsrg, a kingdom, 696.  248.                              651.
Wyatt's  insurrection,  306.,1 Duke  of (James II.), Young, gives evidence againstcz
Executed, ib.                 marries Ann Hyde, 419. A   Marlborougis, 5506.
Y.           ~~~Roman Catholic, 482. 3m- Ypwineo-fieet, 24.
Y.           ~~~~proves naval tactics, 4805.Z
Yarmouth, Countess of (So.  Defeats the Dutch at South.                   Z
phia de Walmoden), 608.       wold  Bay, 493.   Resigns Zotphen, battle, 3940,
—, Lord, 699.                  command, 496.   Marries Zuylestein, 503, 5-1.
TE ErJA