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A PLAIN AND SHORT 
 
 HISTORY OF ENGLAND, 
 
 FOB 
 
 CHILDREN: 
 
 IN LETTERS FROM A FATHER TO KIS SON, 
 
 WITH A 
 
 SET OF QUESTIONS 
 
 AT THE END OF EACH LETTER. 
 
 GEORGE jDAVYS, D.D. 
 
 LORD BISHOP OF PETERBOROUGH. 
 
 ELEVENTH EDITION. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 RIVINGTONS, WATERLOO PLACE. 
 
 1854. 
 
LONDON : 
 GILBERT AND RIVINGTON, PRINTERS, 
 
 ST. John's square. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The following Letters are little else than a 
 reprint of a very short History of England, 
 first published in the " Cottager's Monthly 
 Visitor."" A few alterations, omissions, and 
 additions, have been made, for the sake of 
 adapting the remarks to children of all classes 
 of society, as well as those for whom they were 
 originally written. The same plainness of 
 style, which was the chief recommendation of 
 the Letters in the " Monthly Visitor," has still 
 been attempted to be preserved. 
 
LETTER I. 
 
 MY DEAR BOY, 
 
 As you are likely to be absent from me for a con- 
 siderable time, I know you will be glad to hear 
 from me frequently ; — and, that my Letters may 
 not be entirely uiprofitable to you, I intend to 
 send you something like a History of England, — 
 our own country : it will be but a short one, yet 
 it may do instead of a longer, till you grow bigger. 
 Now, as you are, at present, but a very little gen- 
 tleman, you must expect me to tell you about 
 some very little matters, — such, however, as little 
 people are not always acquainted with. — And first 
 I shall tell you that Great Britain is an " island," 
 which perhaps you know very well already ; and 
 you know also that an " island " means " a piece 
 of land wholly surrounded by water." 
 
 By " Great Britain " we mean England, Scot- 
 land, and Wales. Look at your map, and yati 
 will see that Scotland is the most northern part of 
 
2 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 the island, and that Wales is on the western side. 
 Ireland^ too, makes a part of our nation, but that, 
 you will see, is a distinct island, lying across the 
 sea, on the left hand, or west of us : so that, if you 
 or I wanted to go to Scotland, or Wales, we might 
 go in a stage-coach ^ ; but if we wanted to go to 
 Ireland, we must go in a ship. 
 
 France lies to the south of us, across that part 
 of the sea which is called the " British Channel," 
 within "iTfew hours' sail. The French were for- 
 merly called Gauls ; and the Roman emperor, 
 Julius Caesar, who was a great warrior, more than 
 eighteen hundred years ago, got possession of the 
 greater part of France, cr Gaul ; and, not content 
 with that, he must needs send over his troops to 
 take possession of our little island too. This was 
 the beginning of the Roman power in England. 
 The Britons were, in those days, a very different 
 sort of people from what they are now. They 
 had nothing better for clothing than the skins of 
 beasts ; and such of their limbs as were not 
 covered, they painted blue. Some people may, 
 perhaps, tell you that they were a very mild, and 
 
 * Not so easily now, as when this little history was first 
 written. 
 
THE HEPTARCHY. 3 
 
 gentle, and harmless set of people ; — but don't 
 believe a word of it. These good dispositions do 
 not come naturally ; they come from right educa- 
 tion, and true religion ; and, as these people had 
 neither, you may depend upon it that they were a 
 very fierce and savage race. 
 
 But still they were a brave people ; and the 
 Romans, you may be sure, did not get possession 
 of our island without a great deal of struggling and 
 fighting; however, they kept a sort of possession 
 here for about four hundred years. 
 
 Then after the Romans came .the Saxons, a 
 people from Germany. The English had, very 
 foolishly, sent for the Saxons to help them against 
 their troublesome neighbours the Picts and the 
 Scots, Wifio lived in the northern part of vhe island ; 
 and, when once these Saxons had got into Eng- 
 land, they were not willing to go out again, liking 
 our fruitful country better than their own. These 
 people, after a time, divided England into seven 
 different kingdoms, which were called the Saxon 
 Heptarchy \ Things continued in this state for 
 about four hundred years more; and then Egbert, 
 
 * Heptarchy means seveu kingdoms. Hepta is a Greek 
 word, which means ieven. 
 
 B 2 
 
4 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 the king of the West Saxons, united all the seven 
 together, and made them one kingdom. 
 
 I shall now write down the names of the Saxon 
 kings that followed. It will be us^eful for you 
 to try to remember these kings, though I do not 
 mean to say much about them : but we must be 
 more particular in our account of these kings who 
 lived in times nearer to our own. 
 
 SAXON KINGS BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 1 Egbert. 9 Edmund I. 
 
 2 Ethelwolf. 10 Edred. 
 
 3 Ethelbald. 11 Edwy. 
 
 4 Ethelbert. 12 Edgar. 
 
 5 Ethelred I. 13 Edward II. 
 
 6 Alfred. 14 Ethelred II. 
 
 7 Edward I. 15 Edmund II. (Ironside.) 
 
 8 Athelstane. | 
 
 During the reign of these Saxon kings, the 
 Danes, a people inhabiting the north of Europe, 
 kept making continual encroachments on the Eng- 
 lish ; and there were a great number of bloody 
 battles fought between them and the English. At 
 length, during the reign of Edmund Ironside, the 
 fifteenth of the Saxon kings, Canute, king of the 
 Danes, was so successful, that he forced Edmund 
 to give him half the kingdom ; and, after the death 
 
WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR. 5 
 
 of Edmund, Canute got the whole. After him, 
 his two sons reigned in succession. Thus we got 
 three Danish kings. 
 
 1 Canute. 
 
 2 Hkrold. 
 
 3 Hardicanute. 
 
 The English were, however, soon tired of these 
 Danish kings, and were very glad to have one of 
 the old Saxon race again. This was 
 Edward (the Confessor). 
 
 He died without children, and then followed 
 Harold {the Second). 
 
 Harold had no just title to the throne ; but as, 
 at first, there was no one to oppose him, he was 
 quietly crowned king. JHe did not, however, reign 
 long without interruption : his opponent was no 
 less a person than William, duke of Normandy, 
 who was afterwards called William the Conqueror. 
 
 Normandy, you perhaps know, is a province i« 
 France, and of this province William was duke ; 
 and he had often entertained Edward the Confes- 
 sor in his court, and he declared that Edward had 
 left the crown of England to him by his will. Be 
 this however as it might, he thought proper to try 
 B 3 
 
6 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 a surer way of getting it. He raised an army and 
 crossed the channel, and landed at Pevensey Bay, 
 on the coast of Sussex: and there, after a bloody 
 battle with Harold, near Hastings, he gained the 
 victory. Harold was killed, and William then 
 became king of England. This is called the 
 Conquest; and we trace all our race of kings from 
 William the Conqueror. The battle of Hastings 
 was in the year 1066. You will do well to re- 
 member this date, and to give great attention to 
 all such particulars as may now occur in the 
 History of England. 
 
 The knowledge of the Christian religion had 
 been introduced into England during the time of 
 the Romans : — but the Saxons, by their persecu- 
 tions, had almost destroyed it ; and the nation had 
 become heathen again. It was during the time 
 of the Saxon kings that Pope Gregory sent mis- 
 sionaries to teach Christ's religion to these igno- 
 rant pagans. It is said that Gregory, before he 
 was pope, had seen some beautiful children set up 
 for sale in a slave market at Rome, and having 
 asked what country they came from, he was told 
 that they were Angles (English). " They would," 
 said he, " not be Angles^ but Angels^ if they were 
 
Conversion of the saxons. 7 
 
 Christians.^* From that time he was struck with 
 a great desire to convert the heathen English to 
 the religion of Christ ; and he sent over several 
 Christian teachers^ for the sake of accomplishing 
 that Christian work. Since that time, there has 
 always been a profession of Christianity in Eng- 
 land : — may God grant that there may always be 
 the power of it ! How thankful we ought to be 
 that the knowledge of the Gospel, which is still 
 kept from many nations, has been given to us I 
 and how anxious ought we to be to show our- 
 selves worthy of so great a gift, by the effect that 
 it produces on our lives and practices ! How 
 thankful ought we to be that we have churches to 
 go to ! and how regular ought we to be in our 
 attendance there ! and how desirous of becoming 
 better by the opportunities of good thus put in our 
 power ! How stedfast ought we to be in the faith 
 which is publicly and regularly preached to us! 
 and how diligent ought we to be in seeking to 
 bring others to the knowledge and the love of the 
 same faith, whether they be the ignorant and the 
 profane, in our own land, or the unconverted and 
 unenlightened among the heatheii, who have 
 1 A. D. 597- 
 
8 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 never yet heard those " glad tidings of great joy," 
 which were intended to be made known to " all 
 people !" 
 
 I am your affectionate Father. 
 
 P.S. Pray don't read over this little history in 
 a hurried manner, but consider it well as you go 
 along. And that you may remember it the better, 
 I shall generally put a few questions at the end of 
 my letters ; and you must get somebody to ask you 
 these questions, to see whether you can give the 
 proper answers to .them. In looking at a map, 
 remember that the top is the north, the bottom 
 south, the right hand east, and the left hand west. 
 
 LETTER II. 
 
 MY DEAR BOY, 
 
 I TOLD you, in my last Letter, that the Romans, 
 and the Saxons, and the Danes, at different times, 
 had possession of England. I told you, likewise, 
 that in the year 1066, William the Conqueror 
 came over from Normandy in France, and that he 
 conquered King Harold at the battle of Hastings. 
 
WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR. 9 
 
 I shall now go on to tell you a little of what 
 happened after this conquest ; and you must now 
 give great attention to remember these things, 
 and you must be very particular about the dates : 
 and, that you may not be puzzled, I shall tell you 
 but a little at a time : and I think you will then 
 recollect what I tell you, and so get a little 
 knowledge of the History of England ; as much, 
 perhaps, as you will want just at present. 
 
 Remember, then, that William the Conqueror 
 landed near Hastings, in the year 1066. After 
 conquering Harold, he marched immediately to 
 London, and was crowned king at Westminster, 
 by the Archbishop of York, and took the usual 
 oaths to defend the Church, and observe the laws, 
 and govern the people with impartiality. William 
 was glad to find that the people received him 
 willingly ; and he chose to make them think that 
 they had given him his power. The truth was, 
 however, that he had taken it by force, — and ho 
 soon made them to feel this. He plundered many 
 of the English of their property, for the sake of 
 giving it to his Norman officers and soldiers, and 
 he thus reduced the old inhabitants to the great- 
 est distress, and gave all his benefits to the new 
 
10 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 comers! This is generally the case with invaders; 
 and, therefore, every man who knows what he is 
 about, will do all he can to defend his country 
 from their attacks. 
 
 William, with all his power and greatness, had 
 a very troublesome life. The people were con- 
 tinually rebelling against him ; and the English 
 and Normans were perpetually quarrelling. Wil- 
 liam took part with his Normans ; and, however 
 ill the English were used by them, there was no 
 remedy to be had by law ; and the English were, 
 therefore, constantly seeking some method of pri- 
 vate revenge ; and this miserable state of things 
 made many of the Normans wish themselves well 
 back again. Then William, to tempt them to stay, 
 increased their possessions ; and, for this purpose, 
 he again plundered the English, and thus added 
 to their burden. Miserable times these must have 
 been! How thankful we ought to be that we live 
 under a mild king*, and are governed by just and 
 equal laws ! William the Conqueror was a cruel 
 king. He was so, angry because the people did 
 not submit quietly to him, that he at one time 
 ordered the county of Northumberland to be laid 
 » 1822. 
 
WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR. 11 
 
 waste, and all the inhabitants to be turned out of 
 doors, and all their furniture and tools to be 
 burned ; it is said that above a hundred thousand 
 persons were thus destroyed, either by sword or 
 famine. So much for what many people call 
 " good old times ! " 
 
 But, besides these public troubles, William was 
 very unhappy in his own family. He had three 
 sons living, Robert, William, and Henry. Robert 
 was a bold daring youth, but of a very bad and 
 angry temper. One day when the brothers were 
 playing together, the two younger ones threw a 
 can of water upon Robert, and thus put him into 
 a violent passion ; and such was his violence, that 
 he took a sword, and rushed upon his brothers to 
 take revenge. See the dreadful effects of anger ! 
 This youth might, in his passion, have shed the 
 blood of his brothers, and have thus made him- 
 self miserable for ever. How careful th'enought 
 we to be, to govern our tempers, and to seek to 
 bring them to that gentleness which we read of in 
 the Scriptures, as one of the "fruits of the Spirit!" 
 Robert was, however, prevented from killing his 
 brothers by the old king, who heard the disturb- 
 ance. He next turned his anger against his father ; 
 and, after this, he rebelled against him, and fought 
 
12 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 against him : and, on one occasion, he was very 
 near killing the king, his father, without knowing 
 him. In those days it was the custom to have the 
 body almost wholly covered with plates of steel 
 armour; and their helmets covered their heads 
 and faces, so that they could not know one person 
 from another. The king and his son met in battle. 
 They fought for a long time : at length Robert 
 beat down the old king, and was just going to kill 
 him, when the king's helmet fell off, — and Robert 
 saw that it was his father. Robert fell on his 
 knees, and begged that his father would forgive 
 him, and promised for the future to behave like 
 a good son. William was, however, very angry 
 with him — though, after a time, he became re- 
 conciled. 
 
 William was a great lover of hunting, and he 
 actually destroyed all the villages in Hampshire 
 for thirty miles round, and turned out the inha- 
 bitants, for the sake of making himself a forest * 
 to hunt in : and, that he might not be interrupted 
 in his hunting, he made very cruel laws to pre- 
 vent any body from hunting in this forest besides 
 himself. In those days, if any one killed a deer, 
 
 1 StiU called the « New Forest." 
 
CHARACTER OF WILLIAM I. 13 
 
 or a boar, or a hare, he was punished by having 
 his eyes put out; and they thought less about the 
 life of a man^ than of one of these animals. People 
 might well talk of tyranny and oppression in those 
 days; and, when we think of such times, we have 
 great reason to be thankful for the liberty and 
 protection which we experience now. 
 
 William died in France, by an accident, in the 
 year 1087. He had got into a quarrel with the 
 king of France, and was attacking one of his 
 towns, when his horse happened to put his fore- 
 feet upon some hot ashes, which caused him to 
 plunge so violently, that the injury which the king 
 received was the cause of his death. 
 
 His eldest son Robert became duke of Nor- 
 mandy, and William became king of England. 
 But I must leave the account of this second Wil- 
 liam till my next letter. Remember that William 
 the First (called the Conqueror) reigned twenty- 
 one years ; having come to the throne in 1066, 
 and having died in 1087. 
 
 Short character of William the Conqueror. 
 {From Goldsmith's History.) 
 
 ** William was a prince of great courage and 
 capacity ; ambitious, politic, cruel, revengeful, and 
 
14 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 rapacious. He was fond of glory, and was saving 
 at one time, that he might be ostentatious at an- 
 other. Though sudden and impetuous in his en- 
 terprises, he was cool, deliberate, and unwearied 
 in times of danger. He is said by the Norman 
 writers to have been above eight feet high, his 
 body strong-built and well-proportioned ; and his 
 strength such, that none of his courtiers could 
 draw his bow. He talked little ; he was seldom 
 affable to any, except to Lanfranc, Archbishop of 
 Canterbury ; with him he was ever meek and 
 gentle ; with all others stern and austere. Though 
 he rendered himself formidable to all, and odious 
 to many, yet he had policy enough to transmit 
 his power to posterity ; and the throne is still 
 occupied by his descendants." 
 
 Now think well of what you have read, and try 
 whether you can answer these 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 In what year did William the Conqueror come to England I 
 
 What part of the world did he come from 1 
 
 la what part of England did he land ? 
 
 Who was king of England at that time J 
 
 Was a battle fought ? 
 
 Where 1 
 
WIL1,IAM II. 13 
 
 How did William behave to the English ? 
 
 What cruel act did he do in the county of Northumberland ! 
 
 How many sons had William 1 
 
 What were their names ? 
 
 Do you remember any anecdote respecting these brothex's \ 
 
 How did the eldest son behave to his father ? 
 
 What dreadful consequences had almost followed from the 
 
 eldest son's rebellious conduct ? 
 What amusement was the king particularly fond of ? 
 % What tyrannical act did he commit to enable him to pursue 
 
 this amusement ? 
 Where did William die, and what was the cause of his death 1 
 In what year was this ? 
 Who became king of England after William ? 
 
 LETTER III. 
 
 « 
 
 MY DEAR BOY, 
 
 In my last letter I told you that William die 
 Second came to the throne in the year 1087. 
 
 This William was called Rufus, because he had 
 red hair, rnfus being the Latin word for red. 
 
 You know that Robert was the eldest soi;i of 
 William the Conqueror, and therefore he ought 
 to have been king of England ; but his father 
 c 2 
 
16 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 refused to leave him the kingdom on account of 
 his bad behaviour: William Rufus, however, was 
 not, in the least, better than his brother ; but he 
 had the art to conceal his bad disposition. 
 
 The two brothers had frequent quarrels, and 
 many battles, about the possession of the king- 
 dom ; but William was generally victorious. 
 
 It is in this reign that we first hear about the 
 Crusades : and these seem to have occupied the 
 thoughts of all the great Christian warriors of 
 those days. — But perhaps you never have heard 
 of these Crusades. 
 
 You must know, then, that there was in France 
 a man called Peter the Hermit, and he had gone 
 on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and there his spirit 
 was grieved within him to think that the land 
 %vhich our Lord had trod, should be in possession 
 of the Pagan enemies of the cross ; and that these 
 enemies should harass and persecute the Christian 
 believers. He, therefore, thought that it would be 
 a good Christian work to deliver the Holy Land 
 from the hands of these unbelieving persecutors, 
 the Saracens, and to get it into the possession of 
 the Christians. This Peter, therefore, went about 
 all Europe, exhorting kings and warriors to engage 
 
THE CRUSADES. 17 
 
 in this pious cause; and he was so successful, 
 that people of all ranks seemed ready to join in 
 the undertaking. Robert, duke of Normandy, 
 was so eager for this holy war, that he became 
 perfectly careless about getting the kingdom of 
 England from his brother William ; and he was so 
 indifferent, too, even about his dukedom of Nor- 
 mandy, that he mortgaged it to William for a sum 
 of money, and then set off for the holy war. 
 
 When I think of the Crusades, I never can help 
 admiring the zeal and devotion of those warriors, 
 who went forth in the cause of the Christian reli- 
 gion. At the same time, I think that they were 
 quite mistaken in their notions of religion, in 
 expecting to propagate the mild spirit of the 
 Christian faith by means of war and bloodshed. 
 Still, however, these great soldiers showed a zeal 
 and earnestness in the cause of the Gospel, which 
 may well make us ashamed of our carelessness 
 and indifference in the same cause. 
 
 The warriors who went on these Crusades wore 
 a red cross on their right shoulder : and you see 
 that many noblemen and gentlemen who are de- 
 scended from these ancient soldiers, have, at this 
 day, red crosses on their coats of arms. I do not 
 c 3 
 
18 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 expect that they will now draw their swords, as 
 their forefathers did, in the cause of the Gospel ; 
 but many of them are encouraging the knowledge 
 of it by means much more likely to succeed, and 
 much more likely to be favoured with the Divine 
 blessing. But, not to keep you too long, I shall 
 hasten to the end of the reign of William Rufus. 
 
 William was, like his father, a great lover of 
 hunting : and as he was one day taking his fa- 
 vourite diversion in the New Forest, attended by 
 Sir Walter Tyrrel, a French knight, who generally 
 accompanied him, the king wounded a stag with 
 an arrow from his bow. And, as he was pursuing 
 the animal in hopes of seeing him fall, Tyrrel let 
 fly an arrow at the stag, which, glancing from a 
 tree, struck the king to the heart. He dropped 
 down dead on the spot; and Sir Walter Tyrrel, 
 fearful of the consequences, put spurs to his horse, 
 and galloped away to the sea-shore, and set off' 
 for France, and joined a Crusade which was 
 then going to Jerusalem. William's body, being 
 found by some countrymen, was laid across a 
 horse and carried to Winchester, where it was 
 buried the next day in the cathedral without any 
 marks of respect, as nobody had any regard or 
 
CHARACTER OF WILLIAM RUFUS. 19 
 
 value for this king. The death of William Rufus 
 was in the year 1100. 
 
 Character of William Rufus {^from Smollett). 
 
 " William the Second had neither learning, 
 principle, nor honour : he was haughty, pas- 
 sionate, and ungrateful ; a scoffer at religion, a 
 scourge to the clergy; vain-glorious, talkative, 
 rapacious, lavish, and dissolute. He took all 
 opportunities to fleece and enslave his English 
 subjects, and at one time imprisoned fifty of the 
 best families in the kingdom, on the pretence of 
 their having killed some deer. He was likewise 
 a great profligate." 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 In what year did William the Second come to the throne! 
 
 What was this William called ! 
 
 Why was he so called ? 
 
 Was William the eldest son of the Conqueror I 
 
 What was the name of the eldest son \ 
 
 Why was not this eldest son king ? 
 
 What country did he rule over ? 
 
 What do you mean by the Crusades ! 
 
 Wh(3 was Peter the Hermit? 
 
 Did the king's eldest brother join the Crusades ? 
 
20 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 What particular badge did the warriors in the Crusadea 
 
 wear on their dress ? 
 What particular amusement was William Rufus fond of ? 
 What was the cause of liis death? 
 Who shot him? 
 In what year was this ? 
 Was he buried with due marks of respect ? 
 Why not ? 
 
 Where was he buried ? 
 Was he a good or a bad king ! 
 
 LETTER IV. 
 
 MY DEAR BOY, 
 
 I SUPPOSE you pay great attention to what I write 
 to you, and that you will be glad to hear more 
 about the kings of England. You must know, 
 then, that there were no less than eight kings of 
 England of the name of Henry. The one that I 
 am now going to write about is Henry the First ; 
 he came to the throne after William the Second. 
 Henry was the younger brother of William, and 
 therefore he had no right to the crown ; for that 
 belonged properly to Robert, the elder brother ; 
 
HENRY I. 21 
 
 but at this time Robert was at Jerusalem, en- 
 gaged in the holy wars. However, when he re- 
 turned, he took possession of his own dukedom 
 of Normandy, and then came and demanded to 
 be king of England. He was, however, an idle, 
 vain sort of person ; and Henry bribed him with 
 a sum of money, and easily persuaded him to go 
 quietly home again ; and then they agreed, that, 
 if either of them died without children, the other 
 should have both England and Normandy. 
 
 However, Robert, instead of being fit to govern 
 both, soon showed that he could not manage one» 
 His country of Normandy was soon in such a 
 wretched state, that the people were obliged to 
 send over for Henry to put things in order for 
 them. Henry was glad enough to do this, and 
 he went over to France with a large army, and 
 he engaged in a battle against his brother, took 
 him prisoner, and kept him for the rest of his life 
 a prisoner in Cardiff Castle, in Glamorganshire. 
 Glamorganshire, you know, is a county in South 
 Wales, bordering on the sea. 
 
 Henry now had nothing to disturb him in his 
 government. He was in possession of both Eng- 
 land and Normandy ; he had a son for his heir, 
 
22 HISTORY OY ENGLAND. 
 
 a fine young man about eighteen years of age : 
 arid he had likewise a daughter, named Matilda, 
 who was married to the emperor of Germany. In 
 short, the w^orldly affairs of this king seemed 
 altogether flourishing and prosperous. But, alas! 
 how little is any thing in this world to be depended 
 on, and how vain it is to expect that all the great- 
 ness and dignity upon earth will ward off affliction 
 and sorrow! Nay, great riches often bring great 
 troubles with them ; and the fear of losing them 
 often leads to grievous misery and distress. It 
 was just so with this king. He was afraid that 
 he, or his son after him, might lose the dukedom 
 of Normandy ; he therefore took his son over to 
 France, to have him acknowledged as his. heir. 
 After this was over, the king was returning to 
 England in great state and splendour, with a vast 
 retinue of his chief nobility. The king's son, and 
 a number of young noblemen, were to return 
 together in one ship, but they did not set sail so 
 soon as the king. They stayed behind to indulge 
 in feasting and drinking ; and danger, you know, 
 generally comes of that vice, whether among the 
 rich or the poor. The sailors drank so much 
 that they were not able to manage the ship, and 
 
HENRY r. 23 
 
 they ran her against a rock — and she was imme- 
 diately dashed to pieces. The young prince was' 
 put into a boat, and might have been saved, but 
 he heard the shrieks of his sister Maude, and 
 ordered his boat to be rowed to her, to try to save 
 her. Many of the poor creatures who were on 
 the broken ship then jumped into the boat, and, 
 there being too many of them, the boat went down 
 to the bottom with them all. It is said that 140 
 young noblemen of England and Normandy all 
 perished together. One man only, instead of 
 venturing into the boat, clung to the mast of the 
 ship, and was taken up by some fishermen the 
 next morning. 
 
 The king, who had arrived safely in England, 
 was expecting his son with the greatest anxiety 
 for three days ; and when at last he was assured 
 that the prince was drowned, he seemed quite 
 overburdened with grief; and it is said that he 
 was never seen to smile from that moment to the 
 day of his death. Thus we may see the misery 
 that every man is exposed to, who rests his happi- 
 ness on any thing in this world ! It is our duty, 
 as well as our happiness, to love our children ; but 
 we should so love them as to feel that they may 
 
24 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 be at any moment taken away from us. How 
 excellent are the words of the poet — 
 
 *' death, all eloquent ! you only prove. 
 What dust we dote on when 'tis man we love." 
 
 Pope. 
 
 This is true indeed ! there is nothing sure and 
 lasting in this world below. How beautiful then, 
 and how noble is that advice which we read in 
 Scripture I " Set your affections on things above.'* 
 Henry the First died in the year 1135. 
 
 Character of Henry the First {from Smollett), 
 
 " Henry was of a middle stature and robust 
 make, with dark brown hair and blue serene eyes. 
 He was facetious, fluent, and affable to his fa- 
 vourites. His capacity, naturally good, was im- 
 proved and cultivated in such a manner that he 
 obtained the name of Beau Clerk (or, the fine 
 scholar) by his learning. He was cool, cautious, 
 penetrating, and bold ; but cruel, revengeful, rigid, 
 and severe. His Norman descent and connexions 
 caused him to despise the English, whom he 
 oppressed in the most tyrannical manner.'* 
 
STEPHEN. 25 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 How many English kings were there of the name of Henry ? 
 
 Whose son was Henry the First? 
 
 In what year did he begia to reign? 
 
 Who ought to have been king ? 
 
 Why was not Robert king ? 
 
 On his return from the Holy Land, did Robert assert his 
 
 right to the Crown ? 
 How was it that he did not succeed ? 
 What agreement was made between Robert and Henry ? 
 How did Robert go on in Normandy ? 
 What became of him ? 
 Had Henry any children ? 
 What happened to Henry's son ? 
 Did any other persons perish with the young prince ? 
 How many were saved ? 
 How did the king bear his loss ? 
 In what year did king Henry die ? 
 
 LETTER V. 
 
 MY DEAR BOY, 
 
 In my last letter I finished the history of Henry 
 the First. The next king to him was Stephen. I 
 shall copy out for your amusement, a little account 
 
 D 
 
26 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 of Stephen's reign, which I have met with in a 
 very pretty book, called "Stories selected from 
 the History of England : for Children." 
 
 " You must remember that Henry the First 
 died in the year 1135. His only son, you know, 
 was drowned ; but he had one daughter, named 
 Matilda ; and before he died, he had ordered 
 that his daughter should be queen of England ; 
 and the lords, and bishops, and all the people, 
 accepted Matilda for their queen, and took an 
 oath to be faithful and obedient to her. But 
 there was a cousin of Matilda's, whose name was 
 Stephen^ who was a great soldier, very brave, and 
 very wicked ; and although he had sworn, like 
 all the rest, to have Matilda for queen, no sooner 
 was the old king dead, than Stephen, wickedly 
 breaking his oath, collected an army, and pro- 
 claimed himself king. Then there began long 
 and bloody wars ; for most of the lords, bishops, 
 and people, remembered the oath they had taken, 
 and were true to Matilda, and so an army was 
 raised for her, which fought with the army of 
 Stephen ; and sometimes Matilda's army won the 
 battle, and sometimes Stephen's. 
 
 " But at last Stephen succeeded in driving 
 
STEPHEN. 27 
 
 Matilda out of England, and in getting possession 
 of the kingdom ; but this did not last long, for 
 Stephen was a very unjust king, and oppressed 
 the people ; and they all rose against him, and 
 invited Matilda to come back to England, and to 
 bring her little son, who was called Henry, after 
 the old king, his grandfather. 
 
 " So she and little Henry came to England, 
 and a great army was raised for them ; and it 
 fought Stephen's army several times, and at last 
 took Stephen himself prisoner, and he was then 
 thrown into a prison, where he Was kept a whole 
 year ; and during that time Matilda was queen ot 
 England. 
 
 " But Stephen getting out of prison, the wars 
 began again, and there were a dreadful number of 
 people killed, and many a poor father and mother 
 lost their children in the bloody battles on both 
 sides. 
 
 *' So you see what sad misfortunes were occa- 
 sioned by Stephen's wickedness in breaking hii 
 promise ; but you shall hear how Stephen himself, 
 by the justice of Heaven, suffered the same mis- 
 fortunes that he caused to others, 
 
 " For his chief object was that his own son 
 
 T- 2 
 
28 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Eustace should be king of England after him, and 
 this was the chief reason of his wicked conduct ; 
 but, as if to punish him for his crime, just as 
 he had again got quiet possession of the king- 
 dom, this very son, Eustace, died. 
 
 " And Stephen himself died soon after ; and 
 then young Henry became king, to the great joy 
 of all the nation." 
 
 As I think the above account is expressed 
 better than I could do it myself, I have written 
 it out for you. I hope you attend to the little 
 pieces of history that I send. And I hope that 
 you will try to remember what title each king 
 had to the throne, and the times when they began 
 to reign, and when they died. Take great pains 
 to have all these things in your memory, so as 
 to bring them out at once, without hesitation and 
 stammering. Stephen died in 1154. He was the 
 son of Adelaide, the sister of the last king, and 
 had certainly no right to have the crown, when 
 there was a daughter of the late king living, 
 Adelaide had married the Count of Blois, a French 
 nobleman, and thus King Stephen was called 
 Stephen of Blois. 
 
 I am your affectionate Father. 
 
STEPHEN. 29 
 
 P.S. You will find it very useful, in reading 
 history, to make a little table of kings as you go 
 on, marking the times when they began to reign, 
 something in this way : — 
 William 1st (1066) 
 
 William 2nd (1087)— Henry 1st (1100)— Adelaide 
 
 MatUda Stephen (1136). 
 
 Henry 2nd (1154). 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 In what year did Henry the First die ? 
 Did he leave a son behind him I 
 Did he leave a daughter ? 
 What was that daughter's name 1 
 Ought she not to have been queen ? 
 Who did actually take possession of the throne ? 
 What relation was Stephen to Matilda ? 
 Whose son was Stephen ? 
 
 Did Stephen and Matilda contend for the tlirone ? 
 Had Matilda a son I ^ 
 
 What was his name I 
 Had Stephen a son ? 
 What was his name ? 
 Did Stephen's son live to be king ? 
 Who was king after Stephen's death I 
 d3 
 
80 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 In what year did Stephen die ? 
 
 Whom had Stephen's mother married i 
 
 What was Stephen called 1 
 
 Now try if you can make a table of kings by yourself, as 
 
 far as Henry the Second, and put the dates of the years 
 
 when they began to reign. 
 
 LETTER VI. 
 
 MY BEAR BOY, 
 
 As I hear that you pay great attention to what 
 I write, I go on with the English kings. We 
 have now got to the reign of Henry the Second, 
 who, as you know, was the son of Matilda, who 
 ought to have reigned instead of Stephen. In 
 this King Henry's reign lived the famous Thomas 
 a Becket. This celebrated man rose from a very 
 low station to be Archbishop of Canterbury. He* 
 made great pretensions to piety, but he appears 
 to have known very little of the nature of 
 true religion, and seems to have thought that it 
 consisted wholly in outward observances, and 
 severe bodily penances and mortifications. How 
 different is this from the true religion of the 
 
THOMAS A BECKET. 31 
 
 Gospel, which is a message of peace, and con- 
 tains the most glad tidings which were ever made 
 known to man ! The Christian rehgion requires 
 no self-inflicted punishments — it enjoins no hard 
 observances — but it invites us to happiness, and 
 shows us the way. The religion of Christ, it is 
 true, calls upon us to " deny ourselves," but it 
 is only when self-denial is the way to make us 
 truly happy. It is, then, real kindness which 
 bids us to avoid such things as Will lead us to 
 misery : — and such are all those things which are 
 forbidden in the Scriptures. They are forbidden, 
 because they would hurt us. And those things 
 which we are commanded to do, we are com- 
 manded to do because such obedience will make 
 us happy. How anxious, then, ought we to be to 
 avoid all that the Scriptures forbid, and to obey 
 all that they command ; and how cheerfully ought 
 we to do so, when we consider that this is all 
 contrived for our good ! But how different is 
 this from the mistaken severity practised by such 
 men as Thomas a Becket ! We read that " he 
 was in person the most mortified man that could 
 be seen ; that he wore sackcloth next his skin ; 
 that he changed it so seldom, that it was filled 
 
32 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 with dirt and vermin ; that his usual diet was 
 bread, and his drink water, which he rendered 
 further unpalatable by the mixture of unsavoury 
 herbs. His back was mangled by frequent scourg- 
 ing ! He every day washed on his knees the 
 feet of thirteen beggars." Such is the account 
 of the habits of Thomas a Becket, when he was 
 nearly the greatest man in tlie kingdom. But, 
 under this appearance of humility, Becket had a 
 heart full of pride and ambition. He had very 
 great power among the clergy ; but, instead of 
 using it in support of the king, as a Christian 
 subject ought to do, he employed it in opposition 
 to his sovereign, and wished to have the clergy a 
 rich and powerful body, thinking more about their 
 earthly dignity than their heavenly calling. In 
 short, the power of these popish priests was a 
 constant torment to the king ; and he one day, in 
 the midst of his anger, seemed to wish that he was 
 ** well rid of Becket." 
 
 You must remember that those old times were 
 not like these in which we live, Now^ if our 
 king *, instead of being one of the best-tempered 
 
 * This was written in the year 1822. The argument 
 has all its force in the year 1852. 
 
HENRY II. 38 
 
 men in the kingdom, was savage enough to wish 
 for the death of the meanest of his subjects, he 
 could not hurt a hair of the poor man's head : — 
 but, in former days, if a king wished any person 
 out of the way, there were plenty of people to do 
 the bloody work ; and a king might then easily 
 get rid of an enemy. And thus it was that 
 Becket was despatched. Four of the king's at- 
 tendants, who knew their master's wishes, set 
 off to Canterbury, and cruelly murdered Becket 
 whilst he was kneeling at the altar at his prayers. 
 You may be sure that, after this cruel deed, the 
 king's conscience would not let him rest, and he 
 afterwards vainly tried to make amends for his 
 crime by doing penance at Becket's tomb. He 
 accordingly went down towards Canterbury. 
 When he got within sight of the church he 
 alighted from his horse, and walked barefoot to- 
 wards the town. Then he proceeded to the tomb 
 of " St. Thomas of Canterbury," for so Becket 
 was now called. Such pilgrimages were common 
 in those days : and, if ever you go to see the 
 cathedral of Canterbury, you will see the stones 
 worn away with the knees of the pilgrims who 
 went to worship at the shrine of St. Thomas a 
 
34 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Becket. What a foolish zeal for the errors of 
 religion ! I heartily wish we were all as earnest 
 for its important truths ! 
 
 It was in this king's reign that we took pos- 
 session of Ireland, which has belonged to the 
 English ever since. The Irish were, at the time 
 we are speaking of, in a state of great ignorance. 
 Since those days they are much improved, and 
 are, in many respects, a fine people ; but many 
 of the poor among them are still in a state to 
 require every help that good education and Chris- 
 tian instruction can give them. 
 
 Pray did you ever read the story of Fair Hosa- 
 mond ? O yes, you must have read it, or heard of 
 it. Well, it was in the reign of this King Henry 
 that Fair Rosamond lived. King Henry had mar- 
 ried his wife (Queen Eleanor) merely for her for- 
 tune. This, you know, was wrong. However, when 
 he had married her, it was his duty to have been 
 faithful to her. But, instead of this, he formed 
 an attachment to Rosamond Clifford : and, that 
 he might conceal her from the queen, he made 
 a labyrinth (or a sort of winding passage) in a 
 bower, in Woodstock Park, in Oxfordshire. The 
 queen, however^ found out this place of retreat, 
 
HENRY 11. 35 
 
 and, with the help of a clue of thread, contrived 
 to make her way through all the windings of the 
 labyrinth, till she found the retreat of Fair Rosa- 
 mond. She had brought with her a dagger and 
 a bowl of poison : and she held the dagger to 
 Rosamond's breast, and compelled her to swallow 
 the poison. Thus was the wicked adultery of the 
 king and Rosamond punished by his wfcked and 
 bloody queen. And so it is, — one wicked person 
 is often made the instrument of punishing the 
 wickedness of others. 
 
 This King Henry was very unhappy in his 
 children. They all rebelled against him, and 
 made the latter days of his life very miserable. 
 A man who has unthankful wicked children never 
 can be happy, in whatever station he may be. If 
 you are a good Christian, my dear boy, I shall be 
 more happy than if I were a king. 
 
 The undutiful behaviour of his children was 
 such a grief to the king, that he gave himself quite 
 up to despair : and he was particularly grieved 
 to find that his favourite, good-for-nothing, son, 
 John, was amongst those who had rebelled against 
 him. Nothing afforded him any pleasure ; his 
 health failed, and he was soon brought to his 
 
36 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 grave. He died in the year 1189, in the fifty- 
 eighth of his age, and the thirty-fifth of his 
 reign. 
 
 Many writers of history give this king an ex- 
 cellent character ; but I cannot help differing very 
 widely from those who so represent him. I be- 
 lieve, indeed, as a king, he was very useful to his 
 country, and was likewise amiable and agreeable 
 in his disposition. But writers of history may do 
 a deal of harm by praising those who do not 
 deserve to be praised. Henry had caused Becket 
 to be put to death, and he had neglected his wife 
 that he might livp with Rosamond. Here is both 
 murder and adultery. 
 
 I am your affectionate Father. 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 Who became king after Stephen ! 
 
 In what year did Henry the Second come to the throne ? 
 
 Who was Archbishop of Canterbury at this time I 
 
 What was the character of Thomas k Becket I 
 
 How did he clothe himself 1 
 
 What was his usual diet 1 
 
 Did he inflict severe punishment on his body ! 
 
 Is this sort of penance required by the Christian religion 1 
 
HENRY II. 37 
 
 Was Becket humble -minded, or proud 1 
 Was the king oflfended by Becket's desire of power! 
 Did he express a wish to be " well rid of Becket?" 
 Did any of the king's attendants act upon this hint ? 
 What did they do ? 
 Where did they murder Becket ? 
 Was the king's conscience easy after this murder ? 
 What did the Hng do 1 
 
 Is there any sign in Canterbury cathedral of many pil- 
 grims having gone to worship at Becket's tomb ? 
 In whose reign did the English get possession of Ireland I 
 Have we kept possession of it ever since ! 
 Who was fair Rosamond I 
 Who killed her I 
 Where ? 
 
 In what manner? 
 
 How did King Henry's children behave to him! 
 Was their behaviour a great grief to the king ? 
 In what year did Henry II. die ? 
 How old was he ? 
 How long had he reigned ? 
 
 Is Henry considered by historians as a good king? 
 But was he not guilty of great crimes? 
 
LETTER VII. 
 
 MY DEAR BOY, 
 
 Henry the Second was the last king I wrote to 
 you about. After his death came his son Richard 
 the Firsts who was a very brave man, and was 
 therefore called Richard Cceur de Lion, which, 
 in French, means Richard the Lionhearted. His 
 wars were chiefly carried on against the Infidels 
 in the Holy Land. These wars, as I have already 
 explained to you, were called the Crusades. He 
 went with Philip ', king of France, to this enter- 
 prise, and their two armies amounted to a hundred 
 thousand fighting men. The king of France did 
 not stay long in the Holy Land, but went home 
 again on account of the badness of his health : 
 or this might, perhaps, be only a pretence. He, 
 however, left ten thousand of his men with the 
 king of England, to assist in the war. Richard 
 was very successful in conquering all before him. 
 The infidel Saracens were beaten in every battle. 
 Richard took the city of Ascalon, and many others 
 1 Philip II. 
 
RICHARD I. 39 
 
 of less note, and was going to besiege Jerusalem; 
 but he found that his army was so wasted with 
 famine and fatigue, and even with victory, that it 
 was necessary to give up the war for the present. 
 A truce (that is, a rest from war) was agreed on 
 for three years, on conditions favourable - to the 
 Christians. 
 
 There is a curious story told about this King 
 Richard. In returning home, he took the road 
 through Germany, dressed in the habit of a pil- 
 grim. He was, however, seized by the duke oJ 
 Austria, and put into prison. This same duke of 
 Austria had been with his armies in the Holy 
 Land, and whilst he was there, the king ot 
 England and he had frequent quarrels : for 
 Richard Coeur de Lion was not only a very brave 
 man, but he was also a very violent, haughty 
 man, and could not keep his temper within any 
 bounds, if he might not have his own way in 
 every thing. Now this, you may be sure, the 
 other leaders did not like, and this led to great 
 disputes amongst them. The duke of Austria 
 was, therefore, glad enough to get the haughty 
 king of England into his power: and thus the 
 king, who had filled the world with his greatness, 
 E 2 
 
40 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 was now thrown into a dungeon, and loaded with 
 irons. It was a long time before the English 
 people knew what was become of their beloved 
 king. His place of confinement is said to have 
 been found out by a poor French musician, who 
 was near the prison, and was playing upon his 
 harp a tune which he knew the king of England 
 to be fond of. The king answered from within, by 
 playing on his harp the same tune. The English 
 gladly gave above three hundred thousand pounds 
 for his deliverance, and thus this loyal people had 
 the happiness to set their monarch free. 
 
 You may be sure that the English people were 
 full of joy at the return of their king. Reentered 
 London in great triumph, and was soon afterwards 
 crowned anew at Winchester. His cruel brother 
 John had, during this time, been acting as king, 
 and doing all he could to get Richard detained in 
 prison ; — but the king generously forgave him. 
 
 There was something singular in the death of 
 Richard. A person who held some land in 
 France under the king of England, found a trea- 
 sure in his field, and sent a part of it to the king. 
 Richard knew that he had a right to the whole, 
 and msisted upon having it. The treasure was 
 
RICHARD I. 41 
 
 placed in a strong castle in France, and Richard 
 attacked the castle. As he was riding round the 
 place on the fourth day of the siege, he was shot 
 in the shoulder by an arrow from the castle. Th 
 wound was badly treated, and it mortified, and 
 brought on the death of the king. 
 
 Before his death, he is said to have ordered the 
 archer who shot him to be brought into his pre- 
 sence ; and he nobly forgave him, and ordered 
 him to be set at liberty. His attendants, however, 
 full of rage, put the man to death as soon as he 
 had quitted the presence of the king. 
 
 Richard died in the tenth year of his reign, in 
 the year 1199. He had no children, and there- 
 fore his brother John became king. 
 
 I hope you try to remember what I tell you, and 
 I shall then be encouraged to write to you often. 
 I am your affectionate Father, &c. 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 Who was king of England after Henry II. ? 
 In what year did Richard I. come to the throne I ^ 
 What French name was given to him ? 
 What is the meaning of this French name I 
 Why was this name given to him ? 
 E 3 
 
4^ HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Where did Richard chiefly carry on his wars I 
 Against what people ? 
 What were these wars called ? 
 Tho went with Richard on the Crusade 1 
 ^llow many fighting men did the English and French army 
 
 together amount to 1 
 Did the king of France stay long in the Holy Land 2 
 Did he leave Richard any of his soldiers ? 
 How many | 
 
 Was Richard successful in this war ? 
 What town did he take ? 
 Did he then agree upon a truce I 
 What do you mean by a truce ? 
 For how long a time was this truce agreed upon ! 
 What happened to King Richard on his return ? 
 How had Richard treated the duke of Austria when they 
 
 were in the Holy Land together 1 
 How was his place of confinement found out ? 
 How did the king obtain his liberty 1 
 What sum did the English pay to deliver their king ? 
 Who had been acting as king, m England, during Richard's 
 
 absence ? 
 Was John's behaviour good ? 
 What was the cause of Richard's death ? 
 In what year did this happen ? 
 Had King Richard any children ? 
 Who then became king after his death ? 
 How long did Richard I. reign ? 
 In what year d.'d he die 2 
 
LETTER VIIT. 
 
 MY DEAR BOY, 
 
 I TOLD you, in my last Letter, that after the death 
 of Richard, his brother John became king. Now, 
 in those days, as well as now, the crown was to 
 go to the next of kin, as rightful heir : but this 
 nictter does not seem to have been so well settled 
 and understood as it is in our own days, so that, 
 when any king died, there was often a dispute 
 about who should be the next. Now John knew 
 that, strictly speaking, he was not the true heir 
 to the throne ; for this belonged to a little boy 
 about twelve years old, named Arthur, the son of 
 Geoffrey, who was dead, but who was the next 
 brother to King Richard. Now John was a cruel 
 tyrant, and was hated by all his people, and he 
 was afraid they would try to make Arthur king 
 instead of him. He therefore conceived the 
 dreadful thought of killing this little boy. ,And 
 
44 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 it was not long before he executed his horrid 
 intention. He had him confined in a prison, and 
 he sent some bloody-minded ruffians to murder 
 him. We read that the sweet and innocent looks 
 and language of this beautiful child almost melted 
 the stony hearts even of those savage murderers. 
 One man, however, put his eyes out : and, whilst 
 this man was gone out of the apartment, the dear 
 boy, trembling for his danger, tried to make his 
 escape out of the window, and in attempting this 
 he fell down from a high turret, and was dashed 
 to pieces. This is one of the accounts which we 
 read, and this is adopted by Shakspeare in his his- 
 torical play of" King John ;" but there are several 
 different accounts of the manner in which this 
 poor little boy was put to death : some say, that 
 King John killed him with his own hand. It 
 seems certain, however, that it was by means of 
 his cruel uncle that Arthur was destroyed. In 
 this dreadfully wicked manner did King John 
 seek to possess his throne in peace : but it was 
 not very likely that such wickedness should pros- 
 per. He had a miserable reign; and his subjects 
 were perpetually rebelling against hirn. You 
 have, perhaps, heard of the Magna Chartat the 
 
JOHN MAGNA CHARTA, 45 
 
 great bulwark, as it is called, of our liberties. 
 King John, you must know, was constantly striv- 
 ing to destroy the liberties of his people ; and, in 
 those days, the barons, or great nobles, alLhad 
 their tenants and dependants trained up as war- 
 riors, ready to fight for them, whenever they 
 might have occasion for their help. This led to 
 perpetual quarrels, and sieges, and battering of 
 castles, and all the miseries of war, among those 
 who ought to have lived like friends and neigh- 
 bours. Those barons, too, would often join and 
 oppose the power of the king himself, being afraid 
 that he should encroach on their greatness and 
 dignity. But we must allow, that, in the reigti 
 of King John, they were the means of doing a 
 great deal of good ; they drew up a charter, in 
 which they laid down certain rules by which the 
 kingdom was to be governed, and which were in- 
 tended to prevent the king from acting according 
 to his own wicked intentions, and to bind him to 
 such laws as should be for the good of all classes 
 of the people as well as of the king. This char- 
 ter was signed at Runnymede, a field between 
 Staines and Windsor, where the king and the 
 barons all met in complete armour. This took 
 
46 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 place in the year 1215, and this charter is some- 
 times called the charter of Runnymede, and 
 sometimes the Magna Charta, which you know 
 is Latin for " Great Charter." 
 
 One should have hoped that things would now 
 hrve been all settled, and the kingdom restored 
 to peace and quietness : but, when there is a tur- 
 bulent and wicked spirit abroad, it is not signing 
 charters that will restore order and happiness. 
 The king and the barons still quarrelled ; and the 
 regulations of the Great Charter were forgotten 
 and despised. The barons sent to beg assistance 
 of the king of France ; the worst method they 
 could have adopted, as the kingdom, if it escaped 
 from the tyranny of John, would be compelled to 
 submit to the power of France. This difficulty 
 was, however, soon ended by the death of the 
 king. He was marching with a large army from 
 Lynn towards Lincolnshire, along the sea-coast, 
 without knowing that this road would be over- 
 flowed at high water : the consequence was, that 
 the tide destroyed all his waggons, and baggage, 
 and treasures ; and he himself with difficulty 
 escaped. He arrived, however, at the abbey of 
 Swinstead. But his loss so distressed him, that 
 
CHARACTER OF KING JOHN. 47 
 
 it brought on a fever which seemed likely to end 
 in his death. He was next day carried to Slea- 
 ford ; and, after that, was removed to Newark, 
 where he died, in the fifty-first year of his age, 
 and the eighteenth of his reign. This was in the 
 year 1216. 
 
 I am, &c. 
 
 Character of King John {chiejly from Hume), 
 *' The character of this prince is nothing but 
 a collection 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 evidently appeared in the several in- 
 cidents of his life. It is hard to say whether his 
 conduct to his father, his brother, his nephew, or 
 his subjects, was the worst. His dominions, when 
 they came to him by the death of his brother, were 
 greater than any other Enghsh monarch ever 
 possessed. But he lost, by his misconduct, the 
 flourishing provinces of France, the ancient patri- 
 mony of his family. He subjected his kingdom 
 to a shameful submission to the pope of Rome ; 
 he saw the power of his crown diminished by law, 
 
48 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 and still more reduced by faction ; and he died at 
 last, when in danger of being totally ruined by a 
 foreign power, and of either ending his life in a 
 prison, or seeking shelter as a fugitive from the 
 pursuit of his enemies." 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 Who was king of England after Richard the First 1 
 
 In what year did King John come to the throne ? 
 
 What relation was John to the late king 1 
 
 Was John the rightful heir to the throne ? 
 
 Who was ? 
 
 What was the disposition of John ? 
 
 What cruel plan did he contrive ? 
 
 Did he execute his bloody intention ? 
 
 Relate the circumstances which are said to have attended 
 
 the death of Arthur. 
 Did John enjoy the throne in peace after he had gained it 
 
 by such unjust and horrible means 1 
 What do you mean by Magna Charta 1 
 Where was this Great Charter signed ? 
 Where is Runnymede ! 
 Who forced the kmg to sign this Charter? 
 In what year was it signed 1 
 
 Did the king attend to the regulations of the Great Charter ! 
 Whose assistance did the barons call in? 
 
HENRY III. 49 
 
 What caused the death of King John ? 
 
 Where did he die ! 
 
 In what year did he die ? 
 
 How long had he reigned ? 
 
 What was the general character of King John 1 
 
 LETTER IX. 
 
 MY BEAR BOY, 
 
 As I find that you take great pains to remember 
 the little portions of the History of England 
 which I send you, I continue to write on the same 
 subject. 
 
 After the death of King John, in the year 1216, 
 his son Henry, a boy only nine years old, was 
 the rightful king ; but, by the ill management of 
 his father, the kingdom had got into the hands of 
 the French king. Young Henry, however, found 
 friends ; and, after some difficulties and struggles, 
 was put in possession of his kingdom. 
 
 This king, Henry the Third, seemed to be well 
 disposed, and to wish to make his people happy ; 
 he gave them a charter of liberties, much the 
 
50 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 same as the great charter of King John — with 
 some other privileges besides. It was, however, 
 soon found that he had not spirit and energy 
 enough to manage the people in such turbulent 
 times. He soon got into troubles and difficul- 
 ties. As he grew older, he grew no wiser ; he 
 often gave away places and dignities to very unfit 
 persons, and thus had the duties of those places 
 ill done, besides causing ereat dissatisfaction and 
 jealousy. This went on for many years ; his wars 
 cost the nation large sums, and he had no success 
 in them, so that altogether the country was in a 
 terrible state of discontent. It was then that an 
 ambitious man named Simon Montford, earl of 
 Leicester, raised a strong party and rebelled 
 against the king ; and, in the same battle, he 
 took both him and his son prisoners. The young 
 prince was named Edward ; and a fine gallant 
 prince he was ! You may be sure he was very 
 desirous of gaining his liberty, and of restoring 
 the character of his country ; and accordingly he 
 contrived to make his escape. A curious story 
 is told of the manner in which he did this. You 
 must not, however, suppose that he was actually 
 shut up in a prison all the time he was in Mont- 
 
HENRY in. 51 
 
 ford's power ; he was allowed to walk and ride 
 out; but he was attended by guards to prevent 
 him from escaping. One day, as he was riding 
 with these guards, he proposed to them that they 
 should ride races together, whilst he should look 
 on and judge which was best. When they had 
 rode several races, so that all their horses were 
 completely tired, the young prince, on his fine 
 fresh horse, galloped away, leaving all his guards 
 in the lurch, staring and wondering at one an- 
 other's folly. 
 
 When Edward had got amongst his friends, he 
 soon raised an army, and made an attack upon 
 Montford, hoping to deliver his country as well 
 as to set his old father at liberty. He soon 
 reached Montford's army ; and a bloody battle 
 was fought, in which the young prince was the 
 conqueror, and Montford was killed. The poor 
 old king had been put in front of Montford's 
 army, that he might be killed by his own men, 
 who would not know him, because he was closely 
 cased up in his armour : and he was indeed 
 wovmded by one of his own soldiers, and would 
 have been killed ; but, just then, he cried out that 
 he was "The King." Then the young prince 
 r 2 
 
O'^ HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 knew the voice of his father, and rode directly up 
 to him, and took him to his own tent, and had his 
 wound dressed ; and the old king lived for some 
 years afterwards. 
 
 This King Henry died in the year 1272. He 
 had reigned fifty-six years, which is the longest 
 reign of any of the English kings — except our late 
 good king, George the Third. 
 
 To assist your memory, it may be worth while 
 to observe, that there have been only three kings 
 of England who have reigned more than fifty 
 years, and these all happen to be thirds ; — Henry 
 the Third, Edward the Third, and George the 
 Third. 
 
 It is in the reign of Henry the Third that we 
 first heaf of regular parliaments. Before this 
 time, there were constant wars between the king 
 and the barons ; and things never seemed to be 
 going on well. To endeavour to remedy this, 
 representatives of the people were now to be sent 
 up from every county, as well as from boroughs ; 
 and the kingdom was to be governed by king, 
 lords, and commons. This is the best of all 
 forms of government ; and it continues in England 
 to this day. 
 
HENRY III. 53 
 
 A nation governed by a king alone is called a 
 Monarchy; if by nobles alone, it is called an 
 Aristocracy ; if by representatives of the people 
 alone, it is called a Democracy. Either of these 
 forms of government, taken separately, is often 
 exposed to great inconvenience, and productive of 
 great evil ; but, when united together, the benefit 
 of each is gained, and the inconveniences of each 
 avoided. The interests of these three estates are 
 closely connected ; and, if we are wise, we shall ' 
 be glad to see them all flourishing together. By 
 this form of government, the good of all ranks is 
 consulted: and, if either linking, or the lords, or 
 the people, should attempt to exceed the limits of 
 tlut power assigned to them, the qthers are ready 
 t& see jthat all things are properljB^fiiced. I 
 think it is to our f^sent form o^Rvernment, 
 under Providence, thS|j^ owe the great power 
 of this na Jon. Look at th^^ap, and see what a 
 little place England is ; and look what power^this 
 little island possesses ; and you may be sure^ that 
 it never could have been so, if the goverr^nent 
 had not been a good one. Whilst, thereforef, we 
 have the privilege of living under good govern- 
 ment, and being protected by good laws, it seems 
 F 3 
 
54 . HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 to me the duty of us all to be thankful for these 
 blessings, and to consult the good of our country, 
 by a loyal, peaceable, and grateful obedience to 
 those whom Providence has set over us. Even 
 such insignificant people as you and I may be of 
 some use to our country. Every good man, in 
 every station, is an honour and an ornament to 
 the nation in which he lives. If every man would 
 try, not how great he could be, but how good ; if 
 every man who is called a Christian would make 
 it his' great aim to be faithful to the religion 
 which he professes, and to adorn that religion by 
 the uprightness and purity of his life and morals, 
 this would be the true way to make a people 
 happy, and a nation great : there would be then 
 no cause for the complaints which are now made ; — 
 and there would be no complaints without cause. 
 I would not, however, have you suppose that we 
 are to be religious and good, merely for the sake 
 of our present happiness, or as a plan for civilizing 
 the community. These advantages will always 
 accompany Christianity; and we may well rejoice 
 in seeing these its present triumphs. But we 
 have a still higher object in view, and are respon- 
 sible for our conduct to a Master, who is high 
 
HENRY III. 55 
 
 above all earthly powers ; who may indeed be 
 expected to bless us even here, if we study to 
 serve Him ; and who will, then, assuredly take us 
 to eternal and unmixed happiness in the world to 
 come. 
 
 I am your affectionate l^'ather, .&c. 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 Who was king of England after the death of King John I ' 
 
 How old was Henry the Third when his father died ? 
 
 In what year did Henry come to the throne 1 
 
 Did John leave the kingdom in a bad state ? 
 
 Did Henry wish well to the people ? 
 
 Did he renew to them the charter of liberty ? 
 
 Had he spirit and energy of mind enough to govern the 
 people properly "i 
 
 What powerful nobleman rebelled against him ? 
 
 Was Montford successful in his contest with the king I 
 
 Whom did Montford take prisoners I 
 
 What story is related of the manner in which Prince Ed- 
 ward escaped ? 
 
 How did the prince proceed, after he had made his escape ? 
 
 Was there a battle fought between the prince and Montford? 
 
 Which side conquered ? 
 
 Where was the king during this battle 1 
 
 What is related of the young prince during this battle t 
 
56 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 How long did King Henry reign ? 
 
 In what year did he die ? 
 
 How many kings of England have there ever been who 
 
 have reigned more than fifty years 1 
 Who were they ? 
 
 When do we first hear of regular parliaments in England ? 
 What has been the form of the English constitution since 
 
 that time ? 
 
 LETTER X. 
 
 MY DEAR BOY, 
 
 The last king we spoke of was Henry the Third ; 
 who reigned, as we said, fifty-six years, and died 
 in the year 1272. His son Edward had been 
 for some time in the Holy Land, engaged in 
 a war againvit the Saracens. There is a very 
 pretty story told of the affection of Edward's 
 wife. Whilst in the Holy Land, he was wounded 
 by an assassin in the arm, with a poisoned dagger, 
 but the queen is said to have sucked the poison 
 out of the wound, and thus to have saved the life 
 of her husband. 
 
 Edward was returning from Palestine, (which 
 you know is another name for the Holy Land,) 
 
EDWARD I. 57 
 
 ■when he heard of the death of the king, his 
 father. He, and his faithful wife, Queen Eleanor, 
 arrived safely in England, and they were crowned 
 at Westminster, in the year 1274. The people 
 rejoiced at the thoughts of having such a king, 
 for they took him to be a brave and noble-minded 
 prince : and he certainly was a great warrior, and 
 an active king, and he exerted himself greatly to 
 make his country prosperous. He confirmed the 
 Magna Charta ; which charter, as you know, gave 
 great privileges to the English people. His wars, 
 too, added to the power and greatness of the 
 nation. It was this king that first united the 
 Welsh nation to the English. You know where 
 Wales is : you have seen it in your map of Eng- 
 land, on the left side ; that is — the west. You per- 
 ceive that it is joined to England ; and King Ed- 
 ward's ambition led him to wish to have it in his 
 own power ; for, in the days we are speaking of, 
 it was a separate kingdom, and had its own prince 
 to govern it. The people who lived in Wales 
 were the ancient Britons, who had never been 
 driven from their territories by foreign invaders ; 
 and the present people of Wales are descended 
 from those ancient Britons. Whilst other parts 
 
58 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 of this island were overrun by Romans, Saxons, 
 Danes, and Normans, these ancient Britons, 
 guarded by their high mountains, and their high 
 courage, never submitted to any of these con- 
 querors. King Edward was determined to try 
 what he could do towards conquering these brave 
 people ; and, upon a slight quarrel with Llewellyn, 
 then the prince of that country, he made war 
 against them. But the brave Welsh resisted his 
 encroachments, and refused to submit to him ; 
 and they were encouraged in their high spirit by 
 their bards (or poets), who made war- songs in 
 praise of their country, and sang them to their 
 harps, thus raising the courage of the people, and 
 lifting up their minds to a resolute determination 
 to defend their native land. Edward saw, that, 
 so long as the bards remained, he should never be 
 able to conquer the Welsh : and some historians 
 say, that he ordered all these ancient minstrels to 
 be hunted down and put to death. If this stGry 
 be true, we may talk of the greatness of Edward 
 the First — but I never can think of him without 
 calling to mind his horrible cruelty. I cannot help 
 feeling some of that indignation which must have 
 glowed in the heart of our poet Gray, when he 
 
EDWARD I. 59 
 
 wrote the following lines, which he supposes the 
 last of these bards to have uttered against this 
 cruel king : 
 
 " Ruin seize thee, ruthless king ! 
 Confusion on thy bannei'S wait ! 
 Though, fann'd by conquest's crimson wing, 
 
 They mock the air with idle state. 
 Helm nor hauberk's twisted mail, 
 Nor all thy virtues, tyrant, can avail 
 To save thy soul from uightly fears, 
 From Cambria's curse, from Cambria's tears." 
 
 You will, perhaps, have a pleasure in learning 
 these lines by heart ; the remainder of Gray's 
 Ode goes on to show the miseries which, for a long 
 time, fell upon the descendants of Kinsj Edward ; 
 these, the last Welsh minstrel is supposed to see 
 with a sort of prophet's eye — but this you know 
 is all poetry ; we don't believe that these bards 
 could foresee future events ; though the poet, w^ho 
 lived after the events had come to pass, was very 
 well able to describe them. You will, however, be 
 pleased with reading the Ode ; and, besides, it 
 will be a little practice for you in English history. 
 Cambria, you know, is the ancient name for 
 Wales, 
 
60 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 The Welsh, although they were so fiercely 
 harassed by King Edward, made a most resolute 
 and persevering defence. They refused to have him 
 for their king, and declared that they would have 
 none but a countryman of their own, who could 
 speak no language but theirs, and who had been 
 born and bred among them. King Edward then 
 tried to come to terms with them ; and he said 
 that, if they would submit to him, he would give 
 them just such a king as they had asked for. To 
 this they agreed ; and then Edward produced his 
 own little son, who was but a few days old, and 
 who had been born in Wales, at Caernarvon, and 
 who could speak no language at all to offend 
 ^^ them. 
 
 In this manner, Edward the First is said to 
 have united Wales with England ; and the king 
 of England's eldest son has still, as you know, 
 the title of Prince of Wales. We cannot be 
 pleased with the manner in which this union was 
 
 ,_Jbrought about, although we can see that it is much 
 
 " "-^'le advantage of both nations. 
 
 Soon after this, there was a dispute about the 
 crown of Scotland, there being several persons 
 who considered themselves as the rightful heirs. 
 
EDWARD 1. 61 
 
 The dispute was referred to King Edward ; and 
 his ambitious spirit led him to see, that with a 
 little management, he might get Scotland into his 
 own hands. He declared that John Baliol was 
 the proper king ; but Edward kept all the power 
 in his own hands ; and Baliol had the name of a 
 king, without any of the privileges belonging to a 
 sovereign. But this the Scottish nation did not 
 at all approve of, and they tried all they could to 
 deliver themselves from their subjection to the 
 king of England. There was a very brave war- 
 rior named William Wallace ; and such was the 
 high spirit of this great man, that he could not 
 bear to see his beloved Scotland under the power 
 of the English. He accordingly roused his^ 
 countrymen to exert themselves for their deliver- 
 ance. King Edward marched into Scotland to 
 resist the force of Wallace, and a very great bat- 
 tle was fought at Falkirk, in which the English 
 gained the victory. The high spirit of the Scots 
 was not, however, yet subdued : Wallace still 
 persevered in his endeavours to deliver his coun- 
 try. The king of England again took the field, 
 and gained several victories over the Scotch, and 
 at length he took William Wallace himself pri- 
 
 G 
 
62 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 soner. And here King Edward again showed 
 the cruelty of his disposition ; for he ordered his 
 brave enemy to be brought to London in chains, 
 and then to be hanged, drawn, and quartered. 
 Still, however, the Scots resisted ; and, fighting 
 under Robert Bruce, they drove the English 
 out of Scotland, and then made Bruce their 
 king. 
 
 Edward saw, after all his fighting, and all his 
 victories, that still he had little or no power re- 
 maining in Scotland. This thought made him 
 extremely angry and violent ; and he was re- 
 solved to leave no means untried for recovering 
 his authority there. He accordingly sent another 
 large army to oppose Bruce, and he gained a 
 complete victory. Then he went again into 
 Scotland, where he found the people more humble 
 and submissive than he had ever seen them, and 
 he seemed to expect that he should then bring 
 them entirely into subjection. Vain, however, are 
 all the projects of ambitious man ; and a grievous 
 thing it is to make the misery of others the object 
 of our desires ! Edward had not long to live. 
 He died at Carlisle, in the year 1307. But such 
 was his animosity against the Scotch, that, even 
 
EDWARD I. 63 
 
 with his dying breath, he begged of his son Ed- 
 ward never to give up the contest against them, 
 till he had made a complete conquest of their king- 
 dom. What a melancholy end, — for a man to 
 die with such feelings on his mind ! But so it is ! 
 If we encourage wrong feelings during our lives, 
 they will be with us at our deaths, — either leading 
 us astray by their bad influence, or harassing 
 and tormenting us with a consciousness of their 
 guilt. 
 
 But to such a king as Edward the First, his- 
 torians are generally ready to give a high cha- 
 racter. And it is indeed true, that his warlike 
 spirit led him to perform such exploits as brought 
 glory and greatness to his kingdom. But how 
 little does this contribute to the happiness of a 
 people, compared with those peaceful and useful 
 qualities which make a nation truly flourishing ! 
 And how can we admire the private character of a 
 man who gave way to a temper so full of cruelty 
 and violence ? 
 
 We are told that his person was very fine and 
 
 comely, and that he was very tall, but that his 
 
 legs were too long in proportion to his body. 
 
 And thus he got the name of Longshanks I Ed- 
 
 G 2 
 
64 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 ward Longshanks ! What a name and title for a 
 king! 
 
 Ever yours, &c; 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 Who was king of England after Henry the Third ? 
 
 Where was Prince Edward when his father died I 
 
 Who was Edward's wife ? 
 
 What instance of affection is recorded of this iady ? 
 
 In what year did Edward come to the throne ? 
 
 Was Edward brave and warlike ; or the contrary ! 
 
 What country did Edward endeavour to add to England ! 
 
 Where is Wales ? 
 
 Who was prince of that country before Edward attacked it ? 
 
 What description of people are said to have been a great 
 check to King Edward's progress in Wales 1 
 
 How did Edward treat these bards or poets ? 
 
 What stratagem is King Edward said to have made use of 
 to get his son acknowledged Prince of Wales ? 
 
 What has the eldest son of the king of England been called, 
 since the time when Edward thus got possession of 
 Wales ? 
 
 What country did Edward next endeavour to gain posses- 
 sion of? 
 
 What events in Scotland opened a way for Edward's 
 ambitious designs I 
 
 Whom did Edward appoint king of Scotland ? 
 
 Who resisted Edward in Scotland ? 
 
EDWARD II. 65 
 
 Was there a great battle ? 
 
 Where ? 
 
 Who conquered 1 
 
 How did the king treat William Wallace ? 
 
 Did the Scots stiQ persevere ? 
 
 Under whom ? 
 
 Who was then crowned king of Scotland 1 
 
 Where did Edward the First die ? 
 
 In what year 1 
 
 What dying request did he make to his son ? 
 
 What was his personal appearance 1 
 
 What name was he sometimes called by ? 
 
 LETTER XI. 
 
 MY DEAR BOY, 
 
 In my last letter I gave you some account of the 
 life of Edward the First. We now come to Edward 
 the Second. This young prince w^as twenty- 
 three years of age when he began to reign. He 
 was born, as I told you, at Caernarvon in Wales; 
 and he has commonly been distinguished by the 
 name of Edward Caernarvon. This young king 
 was received with great joy by the people. He 
 G 3 
 
66 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 had a fine manly form, and a kind and gentle dis- 
 position. But something more than this is required 
 to enable a king to govern a nation properly. It 
 was soon found that he had neither abilities nor 
 spirit enough to manage the great affairs of a 
 kingdom. 
 
 His father, you remember, had told him, with 
 his dying breath, never to be at peace till he had 
 completely conquered the Scotch. This was in- 
 deed a barbarous request, especially for a dying 
 man ; — and we know, moreover, that a king who 
 delights in peace is much wiser than one who would 
 seek for war : — at the same time, if a king does 
 go to war, he ought to do it with spirit, and as if 
 he were determined to conquer. 
 
 Edward did indeed persevere in the war against 
 the Scotch, but he managed it so ill, that he was 
 completely beaten by Robert Bruce, king of Scot- 
 land, in the great battle of Bannockburn ; and thus 
 Edward lost all the power in Scotland that his 
 fighting father had gained. 
 
 But, besides his bad success in war, his affairs 
 at home seemed to be constantly going wrong. 
 Instead of carefully considering in his own mind 
 what was best for his people, or of consulting his 
 
EDWARD II. 67 
 
 parliament, or of taking the advice of wise and 
 learned counsellors, he was always guided by 
 some silly favourite, who had nothing to recom- 
 mend him but a pleasing outside appearance. At 
 one time Piers Gaveston was the favourite, at 
 another time Hugh Spencer. You may be sure 
 that this would give great oifence to all ranks of 
 his subjects. And indeed it did so, for there 
 were constant quarrels and disputes between this 
 king and his people. In the days we are speaking 
 of, the barons could arm their tenants and depend- 
 ents, and bring them out against any of their 
 neighbours with whom they were at variance, 
 and would often oppose even the king himself. 
 Several of these nobles now joined their powers 
 together, and raised a great army in opposition 
 to the king. In one of their battles they took 
 Gaveston prisoner, and cut off his head. Some 
 time afterwards they took Spencer, and him they 
 hanged. At length they made the king himself 
 prisoner, and it would be a very long and very 
 grievous story to tell you of all the cruel ways in 
 which they abused and tormented him. He was 
 confined in Berkeley Castle, where he was to be 
 taken care of by lords Berkeley, Montravers, and 
 
6S HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Gournay, who were each to guard him a month 
 at a time. Lord Berkeley was a tender-hearted 
 man, and was disposed to treat him kindly ; but 
 the other two were prepared for every kind of 
 cruelty. They wished, if they could, to break his 
 heart by their savage treatment. Besides many 
 other cruelties, they shaved him in the open fields, 
 using the dirty water from a neighbouring ditch. 
 This insult is said to have greatly affected the 
 king, and he burst into tears, and said that the 
 time might come when he should be better waited 
 on. This, however, never happened ; for when 
 Lord Berkeley was confined by sickness, the other 
 two keepers went into the prison, and murdered 
 the king in the most cruel manner. They tried 
 to kill him in such a way that his body might 
 show no marks of violence. But his shrieks rung 
 through all Berkeley Castle, and thus the murder 
 was discovered — as murder generally is. Gournay 
 was some time afterwards taken and beheaded ; 
 but Montravers lived to be tormented in his con- 
 science for this foul deed. This murder was com- 
 mitted on the 21st of September, 1327. 
 
EDWARD II. 69 
 
 " Mark the year, and mark the night, 
 When Severn shall re-echo with affright 
 The shrieks of death through Berkeley's roof that ring — 
 Shrieks of an agonizing king." — Gray. 
 
 You perhaps know that Berkeley Castle is 
 situated on the banks of the Severn, in Glouces- 
 tershire, and then you will very well understand 
 these verses. 
 
 I hope you try to remember the dates which I 
 mark for you ; for if you do not remember your 
 chronology (or the time when things happened), 
 you are pretty sure to forget your history/, 
 
 I am, &c. 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 Who was king of England after the death of Edward the 
 
 First? 
 How old was Edward the Second when he began to reign I 
 In what year did he come to the throne ? 
 Where was he horn ? 
 What name was he called by 1 
 What was his personal appearance I 
 What was his disposition ? 
 Do you remember what was his father's dying request 
 
 respecting Scotland 2 
 
70 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Did Edward the Second act up to his father's desire on 
 
 this point 1 
 How did he succeed in his war against the Scots I 
 Who beat him ? 
 In what battle 1 
 
 Did his affairs at home go on well 1 
 By whose advice was he chiefly guided I 
 Were the people offended at his weak conduct, and his 
 
 attachment to unprincipled favourites ! 
 Who were his chief favourites ! 
 What became of them ? 
 What happened to the king ? 
 
 After the king was taken prisoner, where was he confined ? 
 Who had the custody of him at Berkeley Castle ? 
 How was he treated there ? 
 Where is Berkeley Castle I 
 Near what river ? 
 
 What particular acts of cruelty did they show to the king ! 
 Was the king ever released from this imprisonment 1 
 What death did he die 1 
 What became of his murderers ? 
 In what year was this murder committed t 
 
LETTEE XII. 
 
 MY DEAR BOY, 
 
 I HAVE already given you a short history of 
 Edward the First, and Edward the Second ; we 
 must now, therefore, turn our attention to Ed- 
 ward the Third. This prince was only fourteen 
 years old when he came to the throne ; and his 
 wicked mother, and her favourite Mortimer, en- 
 deavoured to keep all power from him, and to 
 manage every thing themselves. Edward, how- 
 ever, would not long submit to this, and he there- 
 fore attacked the queen and her lover in Notting- 
 ham Castle, and seized them both. Mortimer was 
 condemned by the parliament and hanged. The 
 queen was confined for life to the Castle of 
 Risings, with a pension of three hundred a-year. 
 The king, every year, paid her a visit of ceremony, 
 but she was never respected by any one during 
 the rest of her life, which continued about twenty- 
 five years. 
 
72 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Edward the Third was an ambitious and a brave 
 king. He set about conquering Scotland, which 
 his father had lost ; and in one of his battles, at 
 Halidown-hill, he is said to have left thirty 
 thousand of the Scotch dead on the field. 
 
 He likewise attempted to get the kingdom of 
 France into his power, and he pretended, that, 
 through his mother, he was the rightful heir to 
 the throne* He accordingly went over to France, 
 to endeavour to make a conquest of that king- 
 dom. You have, perhaps, heard of the great 
 battle of Cressy, This great battle was fought 
 by Edward the Third, or, I may rather say, by 
 his son, Edward the Black Prince, for the king 
 did not actually engage in the battle, but took his 
 station on a hill at some little distance, with a 
 body of men, in case his help should be wanted. 
 It is said, that, in this battle, the English had 
 only thirty thousand men, whilst the French had a 
 hundred and twenty thousand. The English had 
 indeed the advantage of position, and, it is said 
 besides, that the sun shone in the faces of the 
 French, and dazzled their eyes ; and, moreover, 
 that there had been a shower of rain, which re- 
 laxed the bow-strings of the French, whilst the 
 
EDWARD Hi. 73 
 
 English, to prevent this, had kept their bows in 
 cases. I do not know how all this might be, but 
 it is certain that the English gave the French 
 a complete beating. I mentioned the king's son 
 Edward, the Black Prince, He is supposed to 
 have been called the Black Prince, because he 
 generally wore black armour. If you were ever 
 to go to Windsor Castle, you might see the very 
 armour which this prince wore. There was one 
 part of the battle of Cressy, when the young 
 prince was fighting so desperately, and rushing 
 into such great dangers, that some of his officers 
 thought he must be cut to pieces, and that he 
 was in need of help ; they, accordingly, went up 
 to the king, and begged him to come to the assist- 
 ance of the prince. The old king saw plainly 
 that his son was winning the battle, and he, 
 therefore, refused to come. " Tell the prince," 
 he said, "that the honour of this day shall be all 
 his own." This speech added such courage to 
 young Edward, and to the soldiers, that they 
 quickly carried all before them, and gained a most 
 complete victory. 
 
 Soon after this, Edward besieged Calais, You 
 know where Calais is. It is the town where you 
 
 H 
 
74 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 land, in France, when you cross the sea from 
 Dover, Edward was very anxious to get pos- 
 session of Calais, that he might have a place in 
 France where he could land his men, and thus 
 might with more ease conquer the country. He 
 accordingly surrounded Calais with his army ; 
 but the brave citizens made a long and bold 
 defence. For a whole year, all the attempts of 
 Edward to take the town were vain. The citi- 
 zens, during this time, were suffering dreadful 
 hardships for want of food ; and it was indeed hun- 
 ger alone that obliged them to surrender at last. 
 When they did submit, Edward was so angry 
 with them for holding out so long, that he at first 
 threatened to put every one of them to death. 
 He was, however, afterwards, content with having 
 six of the principal citizens brought out to exe- 
 cution with halters about their necks. These 
 brave men would every one of them have been 
 hanged, (for nothing but their good and brave 
 conduct,) had not the queen of England herself 
 fallen on her knees before the king, and entreated 
 him to pardon them. The king listened to the 
 mild entreaties of queen Philippa, and set these 
 excellent citizens at liberty. 
 
EDWARD III. 75 
 
 Whilst Edward was in France, the Scotch, 
 taking advantage of his absence, made an attempt 
 to invade England with a large army, commanded 
 by their king, David Bruce. This was at a time 
 when the queen, whom we have mentioned before, 
 was in England ; and she, without delay, set off 
 herself with an army to oppose them ; she met 
 them at Neville's Cross, near Durham ; she at- 
 tacked them, won the battle, and took the king of 
 Scotland himself prisoner. 
 
 The Black Prince, shortly afterwards, fought 
 another great battle in France, the famous battle 
 of Poictiers ; here he took John, king of France, 
 prisoner ; so that there were two kings at the 
 same time prisoners in England. 
 
 Thus, you see that the reign of Edward the 
 Third is what is called a glorious one, and has 
 brought great honour to the name of England. 
 
 But warlike glory will not give happiness, nor 
 ward off afflictions. The Black Prince, you may 
 be sure, was the joy of his father, and the delight 
 of the nation ; but his race of glory was soon 
 run ; his health began to fail him : and he was 
 wasting away by a consumption. During this 
 time, the possessions which had been gained in 
 K 2 
 
76 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 France were lost, both for want of a supply of 
 men from England, and on account of the prince's 
 illness, which prevented liim from cairying on the 
 war with his usual spirit. Soon after this, the 
 prince died, to the great grief of his father and of 
 all the English people. The poor king, they say, 
 never looked up again. He could not go on with 
 public business, but gave it all up, and left the 
 cares of the state to a set of people who conducted 
 matters in a miserable manner, and laid aside all 
 reverence for their king. He died at Shene, 
 (now called Richmond,) in Surrey, deserted by all 
 his courtiers, and by those who had grown rich in 
 his service. 
 
 " Mighty victor, mighty lord ! 
 
 Low on his funeral couch he lies : 
 No pitying heart, no eye afford 
 
 A tear to grace his obsequies." — Gray. 
 
 He died in the year 1377, after a long reign of 
 fifty years. There are very few kings who have 
 reigned so long. I have mentioned them before 
 to you. I hope you take my advice, and try to 
 remember the dates ; I suppose ycu make a sort 
 of table of kings, according to the plan that I 
 
CHARACTER OF EDWARD 111. 77 
 
 mentioned to you before. You can write the 
 dates against every one of them, as I have done 
 below. There is a little boy, a friend of yours, 
 who knows every king of England, and every 
 date, and can write them all down. His little 
 sister can do so too ; and I expect that you will be 
 able to do the same. 
 
 I am your affectionate father, &c. 
 Waiiam 1st. (1066) 
 
 William 2nd. (1087)— Henry 1st. (1100)— Adela. 
 
 Matilda Stephen ( 1 1 35) 
 
 Henry 2nd. (1154) 
 
 Richard 1st. (1189)— John (1199) 
 
 Hen. 3rd. (1216) 
 
 Edw. 1st. (1272) 
 
 Edw. 2nd. (1307) 
 
 Edw. 3rd. (1327) 
 
 Character of Edward III. {as given hy Smollett.') 
 
 "Edward's constitution had been injured by 
 the fatigues of his youth ; so that he began to 
 feel the infirmities of old age before the usual 
 H 3 
 
78 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 time ; and now he was seized with a malignant 
 fever, attended with eruptions that soon put a 
 period to his life. When his distemper became 
 so violent that no hope of his recovery remained, 
 all his attendants forsook him, as a bankrupt no 
 longer able to requite their services. He was left 
 without one domestic to close his eyes, and do the 
 last offices to his breathles's corpse. In this de- 
 plorable condition, bereft of comfort and assist- 
 ance, the mighty Edward lay expiring; when a 
 priest, not quite so savage as the rest of his do- 
 mestics, approached his bed ; and, finding him still 
 breathing, began to administer some comfort to his 
 soul. Edward had not yet lost all perception, 
 when he found himself thus abandoned and forlorn 
 in the last moments of his life. He was just able 
 to express a deep sense of sorrow and contrition 
 for the errors of his conduct, and died pronouncinfij 
 the name of Jesus. 
 
 '* Such was the end of Edward the Third, un- 
 doubtedly one of the greatest princes that ever 
 swayed the sceptre of England ; whether we respect 
 him as a warrior, a lawgiver, a monarch, or a man. 
 * * * * He was tall, majestic, finely shaped, with a 
 piercing eye, and aquiline visage. He excelled 
 
CHARACTER OF EDWARD III. 79 
 
 all the people of his time in feats of arms, and 
 personal address. He was courteous, affable, and 
 eloquent, of a free deportment and agreeable con- 
 versation, and had the art of commanding the af- 
 fections of his subjects, without seeming to solicit 
 popularity. The love of glory was certainly the 
 ruling passion of Edward : for the sake of which 
 he did not scruple to sacrifice the feelings of hu- 
 manity, the lives of his subjects, and the interests 
 of his country. And nothing could have induced 
 or enabled his people to bear the load of taxes 
 with which they were encumbered in his reign, but 
 the love and admiration of his person, the fame of 
 his victories, and the excellent laws and regula- 
 tions which the parliament enacted with his advice 
 and concurrence." 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 In what year did Edward the Third begin to reign ? 
 
 What age was he when he came to the throne ? 
 
 Who endeavoured to keep the power out of the hands of 
 
 the young king 1 
 Where did the king seize upon the queen-mother and 
 
 Mortimer I 
 What became of Mortimer ! 
 What of the queen I 
 
80 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 What was the disposition of Edward the Third ? 
 
 What kingdom did he attempt to conquer ? 
 
 Did he fight a great battle against the Scotch ! 
 
 What battle ? and who conquered I 
 
 What nation did he next attempt to conquer 1 
 
 What great battle did he fight in France 1 
 
 Was the king's son in this battle ! 
 
 What was the young prince called ? 
 
 Can you relate any of the particulars of the battle of Cressy I 
 
 What town in France did Edward besiege ? 
 
 In what part of France does Calais lie ? 
 
 How long was it before Calais surrendered I 
 
 How did Edward treat the citizens of Calais after their 
 
 surrender 1 
 When king Edward was in France, did the Scots attempt 
 
 to invade England ? 
 Who commanded them 1 
 Do you remember the particulars of the battle of Neville's 
 
 Cross ? 
 Who was taken prisoner 1 
 What other great battle did the Black Prince fight in 
 
 France ? 
 Who was taken prisoner ? 
 Did the Black Pi'ince ever live to be king ! 
 How did the king bear the loss of his son I 
 How was he treated by liis courtiers when oppressed with 
 
 age and infirmities ? 
 In what year did Edward the Third die ! 
 How long had he reigned I 
 
RICHARD II. 81 
 
 Can you make a table of English kings from William the 
 Conqueror to Edward the Third, with the dates of the 
 years when they began to reign ? 
 
 LETTER XIII. 
 
 MY DEAR BOY, 
 
 I AM very happy to find, by the letters which I 
 receive from you, that you pay so much attention 
 to the accounts which I send you. This is a 
 great encouragement to me to go on. I told 
 you, in my last letter, that. Edward the Black 
 Prince died before the king, his father ; so that 
 the heir to the throne was the son of the Black 
 Prince, a boy only eleven years *old, called 
 Richard. This Richard, the Second, being too 
 young to govern, the affairs of the kingdom were 
 managed by his uncles, the dukes of ^Lancaster, 
 York, and Gloucester. The wars which the late 
 king had begun, were so dreadfully expensive, 
 that very large taxes were obliged to be raised to 
 carry them on. In our days, taxes are so con- 
 trived, if possible, that but little of the burden of 
 them may fall upon the poor : but, in this king 
 
82 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Richard's reign, a tax of four groats was laid upon 
 every person above the age of fifteen. This 
 caused a great rebellion. One Wat Tyler ^y a 
 blacksmith, refused to pay it, and he headed a 
 great mob, and went to London to endeavour to 
 excite a commotion. King Richard, then just 
 sixteen years old, agreed to meet him in Smith- 
 field, to listen to his account of the grievances of 
 the people, and to try to remedy them. This 
 was nobly done of the young king, who was in- 
 deed a very fine promising young man. Nothing 
 could be better than his behaviour : but Tyler 
 behaved in so insolent a manner, shaking his 
 sword as if he were threatening the king, and 
 conducting himself so rudely, that the lord 
 mayor, William Walworth, knocked him down 
 with his mace ; and one of his attendants killed 
 him with his sword. You may be sure that 
 Wat Tyler^s people were angry enough when they 
 saw their leader killed ; and they were just pre- 
 paring for a violent attack, when the young king 
 
 ^ The leaders of this mob assumed feigned names ; such 
 as Wat Tyler, Jack Straw, Hob Carter, and Tom Miller, 
 by which they were fond of denoting their mean origin. 
 
 HUMi^ 
 
RICHARD n. 83 
 
 said to them, in the most kind and endearing man- 
 ner, " You have lost your leader : but I will be 
 your leader ; follow me, and your wishes shall be 
 granted." Thus the king, by his courage and 
 good conduct, at once put an end to the fury of 
 the mob ; and they quietly went to their homes. 
 As the king's life seems to have been preserved 
 by the Lord Mayor, the coat of arms of the city 
 of London was honoured with the representation 
 of the bloody dagger which was the cause of his 
 deliverance ; and you know that this dagger is in 
 the city arms at the present day. 
 
 The young king began his reign well, but he 
 did not go on so ; in short, he soon showed that 
 he was a very weak king ; and all his affairs, 
 therefore, went on ill. It would be tedious to tell 
 you of all his mismanagement ; but one thing is 
 worth mentioning, as it was, perhaps, the cause 
 why he lost the crown. The dukes of Norfolk 
 and Hereford had had a quarrel ; and, instead of 
 hearing which was right and which was wrong, the 
 king ordered them both to be banished. The 
 duke of Norfolk died abroad ; but Hereford came 
 back again rather sooner than the king ex- 
 pected him. Thi&duke of Hereford was the first 
 
84 HISTORY OF ENGLAMD. 
 
 cousin of the king, being the son of John of 
 Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, the king's uncle. Now, 
 as the king governed so badly, and every body 
 was dissatisfied with him, this Hereford (who 
 was now become duke of Lancaster by the death 
 of his father) thought he could get the crown for 
 himself; and accordingly landed at Ravenspur in 
 Yorkshire, and was joined by a great number of 
 powerful people, so that he was soon able to get 
 rid of the king, and to be crowned in his stead. 
 This was, in truth, a most wicked piece of in- 
 justice ; for this duke of Lancaster had no right 
 at all to the throne whilst Richard was alive ; 
 and, indeed, if Richard had been dead, still Lan- 
 caster had no right to it, as it belonged of right 
 to the family of Richard's uncle, the duke of 
 Clarence, who was older than the late duke of 
 Lancaster. This family is called the house of 
 York ^ ; and it was the disputes between these 
 two families which made the civil wars which so 
 long raged in England between the houses of 
 York and Lancaster, 
 
 * It was called the house of York, because a duke of 
 York married a female of the Clarence line, and thus the 
 title was changed. 
 
RICHARD II. 85 
 
 The poor king Richard was barbarously mur- 
 dered in Pomfret Castle. Some say that eight 
 murderers were sent to kill him, and that he 
 snatched a pole-axe from one of them, and laid 
 four of them dead at his feet ; and was then him- 
 self knocked on the head with a pole-axe. Some 
 say he was starved to death, not having had any 
 thing given him to eat for a fortnight. Whicv'ever 
 it was, it was horrible enough. This murder was 
 committed in the year 1399. The power which 
 Richard's grandfather had gained in France was 
 lost again in this weak king's reign. So much for 
 the benefits of fighting ! 
 
 I am your affectionate father, &c. 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 Whose son was Edward the Black Prince I 
 
 r>id he die before his father ? 
 
 Who was then heir to the throne ? 
 
 How old was Richard the Second when his father died ? 
 
 In what year did he come to the throne I 
 
 Who managed the affairs of the kingdom while Richard^ 
 
 was too young to govei'n 1 
 Were large taxes required, to pay the expenses of the late 
 
 king's wars ? 
 What tax was considered very severe on the poor I 
 
 I 
 
86 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 After what age were they reqmred to pay this 1 
 
 Who resisted it I 
 
 Who headed a mob and marched to London ? 
 
 Where did the king meet Wat Tyler and his followers ? 
 
 How did the younf king conduct himself on this occasion 1 
 
 How did Tyler behave i 
 
 How did the Lord Mayor act ? 
 
 What was the Lord Mayor's name ? 
 
 When Wat Tyler was killed, were not his people very 
 
 much enraged ? 
 How were they pacified ? 
 Did king Richard the Second continue to act as well as he 
 
 had begun ? 
 What two noblemen had a quarrel ? 
 How did the lung act towards them I 
 Did one of them return 1 
 Did he try to get the kingdom I 
 Who was this ? 
 
 Whose son was he, and what relation was he to the king ? 
 Had he any right to the throne during the king's lifetime 1 
 Would he have had any right to it, even if the king had 
 
 been dead ? 
 What family ought to have had the throne after the deatli 
 
 of Richard ? 
 What caused the disputes between the houses of York and 
 
 Lancaster ? 
 What was the end of Richard ? 
 Where was he murdered l 
 In what year was this ? 
 
LETTER XIV; 
 
 MY BEAR BOY, 
 
 In our last letter, we saw that the duke of Lan- 
 caster was made king, under the title of Henry 
 the Fourth. We saw, too, that he had no right 
 at all to the throne, as it properly belonged to 
 the duke of York's family, which was descended 
 from Lionel, duke of Clarence, the elder brother 
 of John of Gaunt, Henry's father. 
 
 There is no happiness to be enjoyed from 
 what is gained by foul means ; and this Henry 
 soon found out. He was constantly harassed by 
 plots and rebellions. Those very persons who 
 had helped him to get the crown, were now the 
 first to endeavour to take it from him, when they 
 saw how haughtily he carried himself toward his 
 former friends. The duke of Northumberland, a 
 powerful nobleman, was one of those who had 
 formerly assisted him, and who now rebelled 
 I 2 
 
88 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 against him : and this duke had a son, a brave 
 and gallant youth, but so fierce and fiery, that 
 they called him Hotspur. This family, an^l many 
 others, raised a powerful army against djf; king ; 
 and a great battle was fought between them at 
 Shrewsbury ; where, however, the rebels were 
 completely beaten, and Hotspur was killed. The 
 king himself was in this battle, and fought bravely. 
 His son, too, was there, the same who was after- 
 wards that brave king, Henry the Fifth. Here 
 this prince, young as he was, showed that he 
 knew how to fight, and gave a sort of earnest of 
 the kind of man he was afterwards to be. He 
 did wonders in this battle ; and some people say 
 that it was he that killed Hotspur. This prince, 
 however, though he could fight so well, is gene- 
 rally represented as a bad sort of young man ; and 
 his loose behaviour, his fondness for bad company, 
 and his profligate living, were said to be the cause 
 of great affliction to his father. All the riches and 
 all the greatness in the world will never make any 
 one happy who has the affliction of having an 
 unthankful son. It is true that this young prince 
 did, afterwards, become a wise and a great king. 
 The old king, plagued by rebellions, and tormented 
 
HENRY IV. 89 
 
 in his conscience by the remembrance of his own 
 cruelty to the late king, and of the unjust means 
 by which he gained his crown, seems to have had 
 no peace and no happiness \ 
 
 You know that Shakspeare wrote several plays 
 from the History of England ; he has given us a 
 beautiful speech of Henry the Fourth, on " Sleep," 
 where the king seems to have been so harassed 
 with cares and vexations, and the stings of con- 
 science, that he could get no sleep to close his 
 eyes ; and he seems most anxiously to wish to lay 
 aside the troubles of state, and the torments of 
 mind which accompanied them, and to change 
 places with the lowest of his subjects. 
 
 " How many thousands of my poorest subjects 
 Are, at this hour, asleep ! Sleep, gentle Sleep, 
 Nature's soft nurse, how have I frighted thee, 
 That thou no more wilt weigh my eyelids down, 
 And steep my senses in forgetfulness 1 
 Why, rather. Sleep, liest thou in smoky cribs, 
 Upon uneasy pallets stretching thee, 
 
 * Historians have generally given this unfavourable ac- 
 count of the early days of Prince Henry. The Rev. J. E. 
 Tyler, in his Memoirs of Henry V., has shown the false- 
 hood of their represents t;ons. 4th edition. 
 I 3 
 
90 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 And hushed with buzzing night-flies to thy slumber ; 
 Than in the p^rfum'd chambers of the great, 
 Under the canopies of costly state, 
 And luU'd with sounds of sweetest melody 2 
 
 Wilt thou, upon the high and giddy mast, 
 
 Seal up the ship-boy's eyes, and rock his brains 
 
 lu cradle of the rude imperious surge ? 
 
 Canst thou, O partial Sleep, give thy repose 
 To the wet sea-boy in an hour so rude ; 
 And, in the calmest and the stillest night. 
 With all appliances and means to boot. 
 Deny it to a king ? Then, happy low, lie down, 
 Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown." 
 
 You see, the king seems to think " low'* people 
 the happiest, and considers that they "lie down" 
 in peace, while the great are harassed on all sides 
 wdth cares and torments. A man, however, whose 
 conscience torments him, will never sleep soundly, 
 whether he be high or low, 
 
 Henry the Fourth died in the year 1413. 
 
 I am your affectionate father, &c 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 After Richard the Second was mvirdered, who was king of 
 
 England I 
 To whose family did the crown properly belong ? 
 
HENRY IV. 91 
 
 Did Henry the Fourth enjoy his power m peace T or did 
 any of his subjects rebel against him i 
 
 Who raised an army to fight against the king ? 
 
 What great battle was fought ? 
 
 Which side gained the victory, and who was killed I 
 
 Was the king in the battle 1 
 
 Was his son ? 
 
 Who was that son ! 
 
 Was this prince a good young man or not I 
 
 Did his behaviour greatly distress his father 1 
 
 Did he afterwards improve ? 
 
 Was the king's mind disturbed with the thoughts of the 
 unjust way in which he got the throne, and with his 
 cruelty to the late king ? 
 
 Will the remembrance of past wickedness torment the con- 
 science, and drive away the refreshment of sleep ? 
 
 Which is the happier, a poor labourer, whose mind is at 
 ease ; or a king, whose mind is filled with cares, and 
 whose conscience is stung with the remembrance of 
 sin? 
 
 In what year did Henry the Fourth die I ^ 
 
LETTER XV. 
 
 MY DEAR BOY, 
 
 In my last letter, I gave you a short account of 
 the history of Henry the Fourth. The next king 
 was Henry the Fifth, his eldest son. I told you 
 what a wild young man this prince is said to have 
 been ^ 
 
 You may be sure that, when this young prince 
 came to be king, all his riotous companions would 
 expect that they should be in great favour, and 
 that they should be enabled to indulge in all their 
 profligate schemes and wicked pleasures. But 
 they soon found the difference ; for the king sent 
 for them, and told them that he was thoroughly 
 ashamed of his past behaviour : he gave them each 
 a small allowance, sufficient to enable them to live 
 honestly, without being tempted to unfair means 
 
 * We have left this account nearly as it was in the 
 former editions ; but Mr. Tyler's new work gives us an 
 entirely different view of the subject. 
 
HENRY V. 93 
 
 of supporting themselves ; and he, at the same 
 time, ordered them never to come into his pre- 
 sence again, till they had completely altered their 
 maryiers and practices. 
 
 The orderly and good people, on the other 
 hand, expected that they should find no favour ; 
 but they soon experienced, to their great joy, the 
 altered disposition of the new king. There is a 
 pretty story of Sir Wilhara Gascoyne, who had once 
 sent the young prince to prison for his riotous and 
 bad behaviour. This upright judge felt it to be 
 his duty to punish what was wrong, wherever he 
 found it ; he knew that the laws of England made 
 no difference between the rich and the poor, and 
 he was honest enough to execute these laws in a 
 fair and impartial manner. He thought of his duty 
 rather than of liis interest, and, therefore, he com- 
 mitted the prince to prison for his ill conduct, just 
 the same as he would have done the poorest per- 
 son in the kingdom. But, when this young prince 
 came to be king, Sir William Gascoyne naturally 
 expected that he should suffer for his former con- 
 duct : but, instead of this, the young king sent 
 for him ; told him that he had acted rightly and 
 nobly, encouraged him to go on in the same 
 
94 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 honest and independent manner, and bestowed 
 on him great marks of approbation and favour. 
 Thus did this young king begin to govern, pur- 
 suing exactly the course to make his kingdom 
 prosperous, and his people happy ; encouraging all 
 those whose characters were good, and setting his 
 face wholly against flatterers, and drunkards, and 
 profligates. 
 
 You know, that in the times of which I am 
 writing, the Roman Catholic form of religion was 
 professed in England ; the religion of this country 
 and of many others, being then very much under 
 the power of the Popes of Rome, whose ambition 
 and pride had led them, in many respects, to 
 corrupt and pervert the true religion of Christ. 
 It seemed to be their wish to keep the people in 
 ignorance. The Bible and Prayer Book were in 
 the Latin language ; so that the people knew little 
 of the real meaning of the Gospel, and had but 
 little opportunity of knowing more. When we 
 get to the reign of Henry the Eighth, we shall 
 see that these things were altered : there was a 
 Reformation; and those who opposed and pro- 
 tested against the religion of the pope were called 
 Protestants ; which is the name, as you know, by 
 
HENRY V. 95 
 
 which we are called now. But though, I say, 
 the Protestant religion was not established in 
 England till the reign of Henry the Eighth, yet 
 there were some good men who endeavoured to 
 enlighten the minds of the people, long before 
 that time. So early as the reign of Richard the 
 Second, Wickliffe translated the Bible into Eng- 
 lish ; but this gave great offence, and people were 
 forbidden to read it ; and many were actually 
 put to death, because they wished to read the 
 Bible. 
 
 There was one nobleman, in particular. Lord 
 Cobham, who was very desirous of bringing 
 about a reformation ; and he encouraged the 
 people to read Wickliflfe's Bible. For this he 
 was seized, and sent a prisoner to the Tower ; 
 and, some time afterwards, he was put to death 
 in the most cruel and dreadful manner that can 
 be conceived. They applied all sorts of tortures 
 to him ) and, at last, they fastened a chain round 
 his body, and actually roasted him alive over a 
 slow fire. 
 
 It was by such cruelties as these that the 
 enemies of religion endeavoured to keep down 
 the knowledge of the truth ; and, as we go on in 
 
96 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 our history, we shall see a great deal more about 
 these dreadful persecutions. 
 
 These cruelties could not, however, put a stop 
 to the progress of religion ; on the contrary, they 
 were the means of giving strength to the cause. 
 They proved how little of true Christianity these 
 persecutors had, and thus made the real Christians 
 more anxious for a reformation. The patience, 
 too, with which the Protestant martyrs bore their 
 sufferings, was a convincing proof that they felt 
 their cause to be good ; and they were supported 
 under their trials by the almighty power of God. 
 The Papists did indeed persecute the Protestants 
 in a most dreadful manner, and inflicted every 
 torture that their malice could invent. It is 
 true, that cruelties were practised on both sides ; 
 and, indeed, where there is a want of the true 
 spirit of Christ's religion, whatever a man may be 
 called, he will be ready to commit any kind of 
 wickedness to which he may be tempted. We 
 shall, however, see more of this subject when we 
 come to the time of the Reformation in the reign 
 of Henry the Eighth ; and more still, when we 
 look at the cruelties in the time of his daughter, 
 the bloody queen Mary. But I think that, even 
 
HENRY V. 97 
 
 at the time we are writing about, we can see some- 
 thing like the beginning of the reformation ; and 
 we can see why Wickliffe is sometimes called the 
 father of the Reformation. 
 
 It seems that king Henry the Fifth, of whose 
 reign we are now treating, was desirous of putting 
 a stop to these dreadful persecutions ; and that he 
 thought the most likely way of doing so was to 
 turn the minds of the people to foreign wars. He, 
 therefore, made war against the French, and 
 attempted to get the crown of France from their 
 king, declaring that he himself was their proper 
 king. He went over to France, with as large an 
 army as he could raise, determined, if possible, to 
 gain the kingdom. 
 
 At first, every thing appeared to go wrong 
 with him. A dreadful sickness prevailed in his 
 army, and he lost a great number of his men : he 
 was, moreover, hemmed in, in a place where he 
 had no means of escaping ; and he was obliged to 
 come to an engagement, although it is said that 
 the enemy had ten times as large an army as his 
 own. This was the famous battle of Agincourt, 
 where, notwithstanding the smallness and the 
 sickness of his army, he gained a complete victory 
 
 K 
 
98 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 over the French. After this, the French were 
 glad to make peace ; and it was agreed that king 
 Henry should marry the daughter of the king of 
 France, and that he should have the crown of 
 France after the death of the present king. 
 
 This being settled, Henry determined to live at 
 Paris (the capital town of France) ; and there he 
 had a grand court, and lived in much greater state 
 than the French king himself. One day the two 
 kings and their two queens dined together in 
 state, with their crowns on their heads : but the 
 poor king of France received very little respect, 
 all the honour being bestowed upon king Henry. 
 This was indeed a grand and proud day for 
 Henry : but pride was not made for man ; and 
 there is always enough in this world to remind 
 the rich,. as well as the poor, of the vanity of all 
 earthly things. King Henry was seized with a 
 dangerous and painful illness, which soon put a 
 stop to all his earthly greatness, and brought him 
 to his grave at the early age of thirty-four. This 
 king was one of the greatest warriors that we read 
 of in history, but his glory was soon at an end. 
 He died in the year 1422. 
 
 How much may we learn from history of the 
 
CHARACTER 01? HENRY V. 99 
 
 vanity of all worldly ambition : — may this teach us 
 to " set our affections on things above !" And, 
 when we see that troubles belong to the great as 
 well as to the small, may this teach us to be con- 
 tented in the station in which Providence has 
 placed us, and make us anxious to perform the 
 duties of our calling with cheerfulness and Chris- 
 tian thankfulness ! I am, &c. 
 
 Character of Henry the Fifth (from Smollett). 
 
 " Henry was tall and slender, with a long neck, 
 and engaging countenance, and limbs of the most 
 elegant form. He excelled all the young men of 
 that age in activity and the exercise of arms. He 
 was hardy, patient, and laborious ; and more ca- 
 pable of enduring cold, hunger, and fatigue, than 
 any soldier in his army. His bravery was such 
 as no danger could startle, and no difficulty op- 
 pose. He was chaste, temperate, moderate, and 
 devout, exact and just in his conduct, and strict in 
 the discipline of his army, on which he knew that 
 his glory and success in a great measure depended. 
 He was, perhaps, never equalled in the arts of war 
 and of government. We cannot help seeing, how- 
 ever, that, like many other great warriors, he was 
 K 2 
 
100 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 ambitious, and sometimes cruel \ We must, how- 
 ever, acknowledge that he was one of the greatest 
 soldiers recorded in history." 
 
 As T have mentioned Wickliffe, I cannot help 
 sending you the following short account of him. 
 
 WickhfFe was born in 1324, and died in 1384. 
 He was a strong opposer of the corruptions and 
 usurpations of the Church of Rome ; and from 
 him we are to date the dawn of the Reformation 
 in this kingdom. He pubhshed a translation of 
 the whole Bible in the English language then 
 spoken ; but not being sufficiently acquainted 
 with the Hebrew and Greek languages to trans- 
 late from the originals, he made his translations 
 from the Latin Bibles, which were at that time 
 read in the churches. So offensive was his trans- 
 lation of the Bible to those who were for taking 
 away the key of knowledge, that a bill was brought 
 into the House of Lords, in the 13th year of 
 Richard the Second, a.d. 1390, for the purpose 
 of putting it down ; on which the duke of Lan- 
 caster, the king's uncle, is reported to have spoken 
 to this effect : " We will not be the dregs of all, 
 
 * Mr. Tyler defends Henry V. from this accusation. 
 
WICKLIFFE. 101 
 
 seeing other nations have the law of God, which 
 is the law of our faith, written in their own 
 language." At the same time he declared, in a 
 very solemn manner, " That he would maintain 
 our having this law in our own tongue, against 
 those, whoever they should be, who brought in 
 this bill \" The bill, through the influence of 
 the duke, was rejected ; and this success gave 
 encouragement to some of WicklifFe's followers to 
 publish another and more correct translation of 
 the Bible. But in the year 1408, it was decreed, 
 " That no one should thereafter translate any text 
 of the Holy Scripture into English, by way of a 
 book, or little book, or tract ; and that no book of 
 this kind should be read, that was composed lately 
 in the time of John Wickliffe, or since his death." 
 This led the way to great persecution : and many 
 persons were punished severely, and some even 
 with death, for reading the Scriptures in English. 
 — Bjp, Tomline. 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 In what year did Henry the Fifth begm to reign ? 
 What sort of company is this prince said to have delighted 
 in? 
 
 ^ Lewis's History of the Translations of the Bible. 
 ¥ 3 
 
102 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Did he encourage such people after he became king I 
 
 How did he treat them ? 
 
 Can you relate the anecdote of the Lord Chief Justice, Sir 
 
 William GascojTie ? And do you remember how the 
 
 king behaved to this upright judge ? 
 What was the estabUshed religion in England at the time 
 
 we are speaking of ? 
 Was there any disposition, at that time, shown to get rid 
 
 of the Roman Catholic religion I 
 What nobleman endeavoured to bring about a reformation ? 
 How was he treated ? 
 Were those who opposed the Roman Catholic religion 
 
 generally ill-treated ? 
 By what means did the king hope to put a stop to these 
 
 religious persecutions I 
 Of what coimtry did he declare that he was the rightful 
 
 king I 
 Did he carry on a war against the French in their own 
 
 country ? 
 Was he successful at first ? 
 What great battle did he fight ! 
 Who conquered ? 
 What agreement was entered into, on peace being made 
 
 between England and Fi-ance ? 
 Where did king Henry keep his court after this agree- 
 ment was made 1 
 To what age did he Hve ? 
 In what year did he die ? 
 Who was Wickliffe, and what is he sometimes called ! 
 
LETTER XVL 
 
 MY DEAR BOY, 
 
 In my last letter I told you something about king 
 Henry the Fifth, and his great wars in France ; 
 and I must now bring you to the reign of Henry 
 the Sixth, who was the next king ; but, at the 
 time of his father's death, he was only a year old. 
 The duke of Bedford was, therefore, appointed 
 Protector of the kingdom, till the little king 
 should be old enough to govern for himself. The 
 duke of Bedford continued to carry on the war in 
 France ; but the affairs of that country took so 
 strange a turn, that the English power in France, 
 in a very few years, was brought entirely to an 
 end. This was accomplished in a way so extra- 
 ordinary, that it seems almost beyond belief. 
 
 There lived in a village in France, a country 
 girl, called Joan of Arc, who had been servant at 
 
iU4 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 an inn; and this girl had got a notion that she 
 was fated to deliver her country from its enemies. 
 She gave it out that she had particular messages 
 from Heaven on this business : and this notion so 
 inflamed the minds of the people, and so raised 
 their spirits, that they were excited to wonderful 
 deeds of courage ; and this girl, clad in armour, 
 sword in hand, led the soldiers against the English 
 army, which was then besieging the town of 
 Orleans, and completely drove them away ; and, 
 with her help, the French continued to gain great 
 advantages against the English. This poor girl 
 was, however, some time afterwards, taken in 
 battle by the EngHsh, and was burned alive as a 
 witch. I don't know which to wonder at most, 
 the ignorance of the people in those days, who 
 believed in witches, or the cruelty of burning a 
 poor young woman alive. The French, however, 
 continued their successes, till the English had 
 scarcely a place left in France. 
 
 Things were going on grievously ill, too, all this 
 time, in England. The king had not abilities 
 enough to govern such a nation, and there was 
 dissatisfaction, and a disposition to rebellion, all 
 
HENRY VI. 105 
 
 over the kingdom. I think I have already told 
 you, that Henry the Fourth (grandfather of this 
 king) had no just title to the throne, but that he 
 got it by force. He was the son of John of Gaunt, 
 duke of Lancaster, the third son of Edward the 
 Third ; but the crown, of right, belonged to the 
 family of the second son (on the failure of the 
 first). Now the duke of York was descended 
 from this second branch, and therefore was the 
 right person to be king. The people, therefore, 
 having so much reason to be dissatisfied with their 
 present king, began to turn their thoughts to the 
 house of York. 
 
 In this state of things, a fellow named John 
 Cade pretended that he belonged to the York 
 family, and that he was the proper king ; and he 
 persuaded many people to believe him, and to 
 follow him. He had as many as twenty thousand 
 followers — he got as near to London as Black- 
 heath, and there he encamped his mob of an army, 
 and then marched to London. He was soon, how- 
 ever, driven back as far as Rochester ; and there 
 many of his friends forsook him. A reward was 
 offered to any one who would put him to death, 
 and bring his head as a proof that he had done the 
 
106 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 deed. Cade was then soon seized, and put to death, 
 and his head was set up on London Bridge. 
 
 The duke of York rejoiced in all these disturb- 
 ances, as they gave him a better chance of having 
 his real claim listened to, and of possessing him- 
 self of the crown. He soon began to show his 
 intention. The king about this time was seized 
 with an illness, and the duke of York was ap- 
 pointed to govern in his place. Having once acted 
 as king, he did not choose to give up his power, 
 even when the king was restored to health. Now, 
 perhaps, the king's gentle disposition would have 
 led him to give way to the claims of the duke of 
 York : but Margaret, his queen, was a person of 
 a very different disposition, and she proceeded 
 to open war against the duke and his friends. 
 This was the beginning of the wars between the 
 houses of York and Lancaster, which raged for so 
 many years, and was the cause of so many dread- 
 ful battles, and such bloodshed, and savage con- 
 tentions. War at all times is a dreadful scourge 
 to a nation : but a civil war, where those of the 
 same country, and many relations and neighbours, 
 are fighting one against another, is, perhaps, the 
 most dreadful of all kinds of war. I shall not 
 
HENRY VI. 107 
 
 attempt to describe to you the different places 
 where these battles were fought : but sometimes 
 one side gained the victory, and sometimes the 
 other. There was a battle at Blore-heath, and 
 another at Wakefield, and two at St. Alban's, ana 
 many more at other places besides. 
 
 At the battle of Wakefield, the duke of York's 
 army was beaten, and he himself was killed. 
 However, his party soon recovered themselves, 
 and in a battle at Tewkesbury were victorious. 
 The son of the duke of York was then proclaimed 
 king, by the title of Edvvaid the Fourth, in the 
 year 1461. 
 
 Poor king Henry, it is said, was afterwards 
 murdered in his chamber by king Edward's brother, 
 the duke of Gloucester, who was afterwards 
 crooked-back king Richard the Third, of whose 
 cruelty we read such terrible accounts : — and the 
 son of Henry was likewise stabbed by this same 
 Gloucester and the duke of Clarence, after the 
 battle of Tewkesbury. Thus I have given you an 
 account of this reign, in which we read of little 
 else besides battles and cruel murders. I think 
 you will now understand what is meant by the 
 wars between the houses of York and Lancaster. 
 
108 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 These are sometimes called the wars of the 
 " Roses," because the Lancaster party wore red 
 roses in their hats, and the York party wore white 
 ones. In the season when real roses were not to 
 be had, I suppose they were contented with roses 
 made of red and white ribbons. 
 
 You see we have had three kings together of 
 the house of Lancaster, and now we get into the 
 house of York. And you see, too, that the family 
 of Lancaster had no title to the throne ; hence 
 they are sometimes called "usurpers," because 
 they first, by means of Henry the Fourth, got the 
 crown, not by right, but by force. Here you see 
 the reason why Gray calls the pious Henry the 
 Sixth "the meek usurper." 
 
 " Revere his consort's faith, his father's fame, 
 And spare the meek usurper's holy head." 
 
 S^s^s^s^o^t^^'^^i,^ 
 
 aUESTIONS. 
 
 In what year did Henry the Sixth begin to reign 1 
 How old was he when his father, Henry the Fifth, died ? 
 Who was appointed Protector whilst the king was too 
 young to govern ! 
 
HENRY VI. 109 
 
 Did the duke of Bedford carry on the war ia France ? 
 
 Was he successful ? 
 
 By what strange means were the English affairs in France 
 
 entirely changed ? 
 "Who was Joan of Arc ? 
 What French town did she relieve by driving the English 
 
 away ? 
 Was she, at length, taken in battle by the English ! 
 How did they treat her ] 
 
 How were things going on in England during all this time ? 
 What relation was Henry the Sixth to Henry the Fourth ? 
 Had this branch of the royal family a right to the throne ? 
 Was not this the Lancaster family ? 
 Was not the duke of York descended from an elder branch 
 
 of the family ? 
 Ought he not therefore to have been king ? 
 When the people were dissatisfied with the present king, 
 
 did they not wish to have one of the York family in- 
 stead of him ? 
 Did this lead to rebellions ? 
 Who first pretended to be of that family, and tried to raise 
 
 the comitry in his favour ? 
 Did many people follow Cade ? 
 How many ? 
 What became of Cade 1 
 During an Ulness of the king, who was appointed to govern 
 
 instead of him ? 
 Did the duke of York, having once got possession of power, 
 
 endeavour to keep it in his own hands ? 
 
 L 
 
110 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Did this lead to the wars of York and Lancaster ? 
 
 Who was king Henry's wife ^ ? 
 
 How did this queen act I 
 
 Were many battles fought between the York and Lancaster 
 party? 
 
 In what battle was the duke of York's army defeated and 
 himself killed 1 
 
 In what battle did the duke's party recover itself ? 
 
 After this success of the York party, who was proclaimed 
 king? 
 
 In what year was this ? 
 
 What became of Henry the Sixth, after Edward the Fourth 
 was proclaimed king ? 
 
 Who was the duke of Gloucester, and what was his cha- 
 racter ? 
 
 Why were the wars of York and Lancaster sometimes 
 called the wars of the Roses ? 
 
 Which party wore a red rose, and which wore a white one ! 
 
 How many kings have we had of the house of Lancaster ! 
 
 LETTER XVII. 
 
 MY DEAR BOY, 
 
 As you seem desirous of attending to these 
 short accounts which I send you of the reigns of 
 the English kings, I am glad to write to you 
 
 * Margaret of Anjou. 
 
EDWARD IV. Ill 
 
 on this subject. It you remember well what I 
 write, you will get a view of some of the prin- 
 cipal parts of our history ; and, when you are old 
 enough to study a larger History of England, you 
 will, perhaps, be able to gain more advantage 
 from it than if you had begun with a large one at 
 first; and even now, by means of these short 
 accounts, you will not be wholly ignorant of the 
 history of your own country. 
 
 In my last letter, I told you that Edward, the 
 son of the duke of York, was proclaimed king, in 
 the year 1461, by the title of Edward the Fourth. 
 We are informed that he was one of the finest 
 and handsomest looking men in the kingdom. 
 But I have no respect for him on that account, 
 I cannot read of any thing that was good in his 
 conduct, — ^but I read of a great deal that was 
 very disgraceful and wicked. He was dreadfully 
 cruel, and revengeful, and profligate. The fol- 
 lowing story will show you the cruelty of his 
 disposition, and his revengeful spirit. It hap- 
 pened one day, that he was hunting in the park of 
 a gentleman, named Thomas Burdett. Now this 
 gentleman was a great friend of the duke of Cla- 
 rence, the king's brother ; and as the king was 
 L 2 
 
112 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 angry with his brother, on account of an old quar- 
 rel, he was glad to do a spiteful action to his 
 brother's friend ; and he accordingly killed a 
 white buck which belonged to this gentleman, and 
 which was a great favourite. Upon this, Burdett 
 flew into a passion, and said, he wished the horns 
 of the deer were in the belly of the man who ad- 
 vised the king to this insult. For these words, 
 Burdett was tried for his life, and hanged at Ty- 
 burn. A horrible piece of cruelty, the thoughts of 
 which make us glad that we do not live in such 
 days of tyranny and oppression. We may be 
 sure that the duke of Clarence was grieved and 
 angry at this savage act of revenge, as well as at 
 the loss of his friend ; and he spoke out his sen- 
 timents plainly, and said that the sentence was 
 both unjust and cruel. For speaking these words, 
 the king ordered the duke of Clarence himself to 
 be put to death ; and there is a strange story 
 about the manner in which this sentence was ex- 
 ecuted. It is said, that the duke was allowed to 
 choose what death he would die : and he chose 
 to be drowned in a butt of Malmsey, a wine of 
 which it seems he was very fond. Accordingly 
 a large cask of this wine was brought into the 
 
EDWARD IV. 113 
 
 Tower, and into this the duke was thrown, with 
 his head downwards, and thus was drowned. 
 
 The king was preparing for a war against the 
 French, when he was seized with an illness of 
 which he soon afterwards died, at the age of 
 about forty-one. This was in the year 1483. 
 
 It is impossible to read the history of former 
 times, without shuddering at the horrible cruel- 
 ties which were committed, and the tyrannical 
 manner in which many of the kings of England, 
 in those days, reigned over their people. And 
 it seems that, in the days we are reading of, they 
 were allowed to commit most dreadful acts of 
 oppression, without any sort of check or control. 
 How happy ought we to think ourselves, that we 
 are secure, in these days, from such cruelties and 
 oppressions ! There are many people now who 
 complain of the want of liberty, and talk a 
 great deal against rule, and government, and 
 seem full of anger and envy against every body 
 who is richer and greater than themselves. I 
 cannot help seeing that the greater part of these 
 complaints are made without any reason at all. 
 I am sure, if we would fairly consider these 
 things, as we ought to do, that, instead of mur- 
 L 3 
 
114 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 muring and complaining, we should find a great 
 deal indeed to be thankful for. Such cruehies, 
 as we read of in history, could not be practised in 
 our days. Our king and our nobles do not seem 
 to have any wish to injure their inferiors ; but, if 
 they had such a wish, the laws would not allow 
 them to do it; and we ought to consider it a 
 great blessing that we live under such just and 
 merciful laws. The poor, as well as the rich, are 
 defended against any injury to their persons or 
 their possessions ^ and we have all liberty to do 
 every thing that is good and right for us to do. 
 I never could make out what people meant by 
 the cry of liberty, which we often hear so much of. 
 I have lived to be an old man : and I never in all 
 my lifetime found that there was any law to pre- 
 vent me from doing any thing that a Christian 
 anan ought to wish to do. As to my going and 
 taking any other man's property, I am thankful 
 to say, that I never had any wish for it : if I had, 
 the laws would have checked me, and very pro- 
 perly too ; but the same laws protect my pro- 
 perty likewise. If a person is richer than I am, 
 I have no liberty to go and take away his pro- 
 perty from him ; and this is very proper : — ■ 
 
EDWARD IV. 115 
 
 and nobody has any right to take away mine. 
 This sort of restraint is good and necessary for us 
 all ; and, instead of taking away real liberty, is 
 the very way to give us true security and happi- 
 ness. But I am getting away from the History 
 of England, and shall therefore stop 
 I am, my dear boy, 
 
 Your aiFectionate father. 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 In what year did Edward the Fourth come to the throne ? 
 
 What was his appearance I 
 
 What was his character ! 
 
 Can you relate the story of king Edward and the duke of 
 Clarence and Sir Thomas Burdett 1 Try to relate it 
 to me in a clear and distinct manner ; I don't require 
 
 ' every word as it is in the hook, but show me that you 
 remember it ; and it will be a piece of good practice 
 for you, that you may learn to express yoiu'self in a 
 straightforward manner, without hesitating and stam- 
 mering. 
 
 What relation was the duke of Clarence to the king ! 
 
 Was the king about to engage in war ? 
 
 Against what nation ? 
 
 What prevented this ? 
 
 How old was the king when he died ? 
 
 In what year did he die I 
 
LETTER XVIII. 
 
 MY DEAR BOY, 
 
 I TOLD you, in my last letter, that Edward the 
 Fourth died in the year 1483. He left three 
 children, two sons and a daughter. The eldest 
 son was named Edward, and the next Richard ; 
 the daughter's name was Elizabeth. The eldest 
 son was, therefore, now Edward the Fifth : but, 
 as he was too young to govern, being only thir- 
 teen years of age, his uncle, Richard duke of 
 Gloucester, was appointed Protector. This was 
 the sai[ne man, as I have already told you, who 
 was afterwards Richard the Third, and some- 
 times called Crooked-back Richard ; because they 
 say that he was born with a shrivelled and crooked 
 form : — and his mind was still worse than his 
 body. Instead of taking care of his little ne- 
 phews, he determined to kill them, that he miglkt 
 be king himself. But, as these children had many 
 
EDWARD V. 117 
 
 friends ready to defend and protect them, their 
 bloody-minded uncle thought, that, before he could 
 kill them, he must get rid of their friends. 
 
 There was a powerful man. Lord Hastings, 
 who was a great friend to the young king and his 
 brother; and therefore Crooked-back Richard 
 was determined to kill him : and, for this pur- 
 pose, he one day summoned him to a council, in 
 the Tower of London. When the council was 
 assembled, Richard came in, frowning and look- 
 ing very frightful ; and the Lords of the council 
 saw that something terrible was going to happen. 
 Then Richard showed them his bare, withered 
 arm, and said that Jane Shore and her accom- 
 plices had withered it by their witchcraft ; which, 
 you know, was a mere pretence, because all sto- 
 ries about witchcraft are idle taies : and, besides, 
 they all believed that Richard's arm was shrivelled 
 when he was born. Lord Hastings said, " If 
 they have done so, they deserve to be punished." 
 " If! " said the Protector with a loud voice ; " dost 
 thou answer me with *Ifs?' I tell thee, that 
 they have laid a plot for my death ; and that tholi 
 thyself art one of them." He then struck the 
 table twice ! and a number of armed soldiers im- 
 
118 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 mediately came in. Richard ordered them to 
 take Lord Hastings away ; and he made a vow 
 that he would not dine till he had seen his head 
 taken off. And his head was immediately struck 
 off on a block of wood that happened to be near 
 the place. 
 
 The more we look back upon the history of 
 our country, the more reason we have to be 
 thankful that we live in times when no person, 
 however high his rank, would be allowed to com- 
 mit such dreadful barbarity. I have often made 
 this remark to you before, and I see fresh reason 
 to repeat it, the more I consider the true state of 
 things in former days and at present. 
 
 I mentioned Jane Shore. She was the wife of 
 a citizen of London, a goldsmith in Lombard- 
 street ; and she had left her husband to live with 
 the late king, Edward the Fourth. For this wick- 
 edness she was severely punished ; yet it was not 
 because of her real crimes that Richard was en- 
 raged against her, but because she felt compassion 
 for the late king's children, and was desirous of 
 taking their part against their cruel uncle. It 
 was formerly the custom for persons who had 
 been guilty of any notorious crime, to do penance 
 
EDWARD V. 119 
 
 as it was called : that is, to walk to church bare- 
 footed, in a white sheet, with a candle in their 
 hands. Jane Shore walked in this manner through 
 the sg'eets of London to St. Paul's Church ; and, 
 after this, every one was forbidden to give her 
 any thing to eat or drink, or to take her into 
 their houses : and thus she wandered about in 
 the greatest misery and poverty ; which she must 
 have felt the more severely, from having formerly 
 been accustomed to every kind of luxury and splen- 
 dour ; — and the sense of her own sins, no doubt, 
 hung heavy upon her mind. Every body, however, 
 pitied her, because, though she had been guilty of 
 a great crime, she had been kind and generous 
 when she had the power. But nobody dared 
 assist her; and after wandering about a long 
 time in rags and poverty, she at last sunk down 
 and died. 
 
 The wicked Richard now began to think of 
 taking possession of the throne ; and, by his hy- 
 pocrisy and false pretences, he persuaded many 
 of the people to be on his side. And then the 
 mayor and aldermen of London came and ofFes ed 
 him the crown. He pretended that he did not 
 wish to be king ; but this was only a piece of 
 
120 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 deceit to hide his wicked design. He thought, 
 nowever, that he could not reign in peace, as long 
 as his nephews lived; and, therefore, he deter- 
 mined to murder the young king and his^ little 
 brother, the duke of York. He ordered Brack- 
 enbury, the governor of the Tower, to put them 
 both to death. This merciful man refused to be 
 guilty of such a crime ; he was, therefore, removed 
 from his office, and another person, called Sir 
 James Tyrrel, was put into his place. This Tyrrel 
 hired three cruel wretches to do the dreadful 
 deed ; they came at night, when the dear children 
 were fast asleep, and they went into the chamber 
 and smothered them both with pillows, whilst 
 the wretch Tyrrel stood at the door. Then they 
 buried the bodies at the foot of the stairs, and 
 covered them, up, and put the stone pavement in 
 its place again, so that, for a long time, nobody 
 knew where the bodies were. They were found 
 by some workmen under the stairs, many years 
 afterwards. 
 
 The reign of poor Edward the Fifth, you see, 
 was very short, not many months ; and, indeed, 
 as he was, during this time, shut up in the Tower, 
 and was there cruelly murdered in his child- 
 
RICHARD III. 121 
 
 hood, he cannot properly be said to have reigned 
 at all. 
 
 And now this wicked duke of Gloucester was 
 king, by the title of Richard the Third. His reign 
 was so cruel and tyrannical, that he was detested 
 by all his subjects, and they heartily wished to get 
 rid of him. This encouraged the duke of Rich- 
 mond to raise an army, and to endeavour to get 
 the crown from the detested Richard. This duke 
 of Richmond belonged to the red-rose party, that 
 is, the house of Lancaster ; and he had been 
 obliged to quit the kingdom whilst the kings of 
 the house ol York were in power. Trusting that 
 the people, from hatred of their tyrant, would 
 support his cause, he came over from France with 
 a small army, and landed at Milford Haven, in 
 Wales, without opposition. Richard, who was a 
 bold man, soon prepared to meet him. Richmond 
 had been joined by many of the English ; and the 
 two armies met at Bosworth Field, in Leicester- 
 shire, when Richmond was completely successful, 
 and Richard was killed. 
 
 Richmond was then proclaimed king by the 
 title of Henry the Seventh^ to the great joy of the 
 nation. It is true that he had no real right to the 
 
 M 
 
122 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 crown; he got it by conquest: but the people 
 
 were so glad to get rid of Richard, that they did 
 
 not seem desirous of inquiring too strictly into 
 
 the claims of Henry. 
 
 In this letter I have given you an account of two 
 
 kings, Edward the Fifth and Richard the Third. 
 
 The first was king about two months ; the other 
 
 about two years, being killed in Bosworth Field, 
 
 in the year 1485. 
 
 I am, &c. 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 In what year did Edward the Fourth die ? 
 How many children did he leave \ 
 What were their names ? 
 How old was the eldest when his father died I 
 Who was appointed Protector ? 
 What was the Protector's character I 
 What nobleman did the Protector put to death ? 
 Under what pretence I 
 
 What was the real reason why he destroyed Lord Hastings ! 
 Who was Jane Shore ? 
 How was she punished ? 
 
 How did the Protector treat the young king and his brother 1 
 Is it supposed that the bodies of these young princes were 
 found some years afterwards \ 
 
HENRY VIl. 123 
 
 Who became king after the death of these children ! 
 
 How did Richard conduct himself 1 
 
 Who raised an army against him 1 
 
 What was the consequence of the duke of Richmond's 
 
 opposition to Richard ? 
 Where was the battle fought between them ! 
 Who then became king I 
 In what year was Richard the Third killed ? 
 
 LETTER XIX. 
 
 MY DEAR BOY, 
 
 I SUPPOSE you were, like all people who read the 
 History of England, very glad that Richard the 
 Third was killed, and that Henry the Seventh 
 was made king in his place. And I suppose you 
 would have been, like the people of England in 
 those days, so glad to have had a new king instead 
 of Richard, that you would not have been very 
 scrupulous to inquire what right this new king 
 had to the throne. It is, however, necessary that 
 the true line of succession should be observed ; 
 otherwise we should have endless disputes and 
 M 2 
 
124 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 pretensions to the crown, — all which are prevented 
 by giving it to a known and fixed heir. But Henry 
 the Seventh was not the right heir to the throne. 
 The proper person was the princess Elizabeth, the 
 sister of the young princes whom Richard had 
 murdered in the Tower. Henry, however, mar- 
 ried this princess, and thus no reason was left 
 for disputing ; and there were no more quarrels 
 between the houses of York and Lancaster ; for 
 Henry was of the Lancaster family, and Elizabeth 
 of ' the York ; and thus the two houses were 
 united, and there was a happy peace. Henry 
 endeavoured, by all the means in his power, to 
 govern the kingdom properly : — but there are 
 some people who are never satisfied, and who 
 cannot rest contented without trying to excite 
 rebellion and disturbance. So it was in the reign 
 of Henry the Seventh, and so it would be in our 
 days, if the greater part of the people had not more 
 sense and judgment than to listen to the clamour 
 of those who would persuade them that they are 
 at all times ill-used and oppressed. 
 
 Henry, by prudence and good management, 
 studied to render the nation flourishing and pow- 
 erful ; he tried, too, by his gentle behaviour, to 
 
HENRY VII. 125 
 
 pacify those whose minds had long been harassed 
 by disturbances and rebellions. There were, how- 
 ever, some people, who were too turbulent to 
 live at ease, and be satisfied, — and they had been 
 so long accustomed to plots and conspiracies, that 
 they still endeavoured, by some means or other, to 
 raise disturbances and discontent. These people 
 set up a man of the name of Lambert Simnel, 
 the son of a baker, who pretended that he was 
 the son of that duke of Clarence who was drowned 
 in a butt of Malmsey in the Tower. This was, 
 however, so plain a piece of imposition, that 
 few were found willing to join the rebels: — ■ 
 some people, however, did join them ; and, among 
 these, some powerful people ; and an army was 
 raised on the side of the rebels ; but the greater 
 part of the nation remained loyal to their king. 
 A battle was, however, fought between the king's 
 forces and the rebels, at Stoke, in Nottingham- 
 shire, and the rebels were beaten. The king did 
 not think it worth while to use any great severity 
 towards this Simnel, because he was a poor weak 
 young man, led on by his superiors, who ought 
 to have known better. He was made a scullion 
 in the king's kitchen, and afterwards raised to be 
 m3 
 
126 HISTORY OF ENGLAND, 
 
 keeper of the king's hawks, in which employment 
 he died. 
 
 Not long afterwards, another pretender to the 
 crown was set up. This was one Per kin Warbeck. 
 He gave it out that the younger of the children, 
 said to have been murdered in the Tower, was, in 
 fact, not murdered, but was still living ; — and 
 Warbeck said that he was this young prince, 
 Richard duke of York. Many people supported 
 this youth's pretensions ; and his manners were 
 so good, and he managed himself with so much 
 prudence, that he found himself very powerfully 
 supported ; and his story was believed by many 
 persons of rank and consequence. The king took 
 great pains to learn the history of Perkin's birth, 
 and to find out who were the contrivers of the 
 plot. Many of those were taken and executed, 
 and some were pardoned. 
 
 When a check was thus given to this youth's 
 progress in England, he went into Scotland, where 
 he found great support from the Scotch king, 
 James the Fourth ; and then he came again 
 to England with a considerable army, but he 
 found few of the English willing to join him. 
 Then he went to Ireland, to try his success there. 
 
HENRY VII. 127 
 
 *Then he came again to England, landed in Corn- 
 wall, and was joined by several of the Cor- 
 nish men, and took upon himself the title of 
 Richard the Fourth. He had now an army of 
 seven thousand men. Soon, however, he heard 
 that the king was coming with an army to oppose 
 him, and he then gave up all hopes of success, 
 and left his army to the mercy of the king. Some 
 of the ringleaders were executed, the rest were 
 pardoned. A pardon was offered to Warbeck, 
 upon condition that he would deliver himself up, 
 and confess the circumstances of his imposture ; 
 this he consented to do ; — but there was so much 
 contradiction in this confession, that, even at this 
 day, some persons believe that his pretension to 
 be the duke of York was not without founda- 
 tion. I cannot tell how this is ; but we know that 
 strange things are set down by writers, according 
 to their own views, or the party to which they 
 belong. 
 
 If any of the favourers of Richard the Third 
 had written the history of these times, they would 
 perhaps have made the best of his character, and 
 said every thing that they could find amiss against 
 the character of Henry the Seventh. Just so, as 
 
128 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 the history which has come down to us was pro- 
 bably written by the friends of Henry, it has, per- 
 haps, made the worst of Richard's character, and 
 the best of Henry's. It has, however, generally 
 been understood that the two young princes were 
 murdered in the Tower ; and, if it w*ere so, then, 
 of course, Warbeck was an impostor ; — -but this 
 matter I shall not attempt to decide. We may 
 learn, however, to be cautions how we believe the 
 accounts of party writers. There are many such 
 in our own days ; and if we were to believe all 
 tbey tell us, we might imagine that we were even 
 now grievously oppressed and ill-used, and that 
 we were living in a miserable country, and that 
 all our liberty was gone. And some people will 
 read such accounts till they fancy themselves sur- 
 rounded with every misery, and reduced to wretch- 
 edness and slavery. How strange all this seems 
 to you and me, who feel that we have liberty to 
 do just any thing we please, that a Christian man 
 would wish to do! We know, too, that many 
 people are living in great wretchedness, and we 
 hear them complain against the government : but 
 we can see plainly enough that the government 
 has no share in causing tlieir misfortunes, but that 
 
HENRY VII. 129 
 
 they are \ ery frequently brougbt on by themselves ; 
 — we see that sober and prudent people are gene- 
 rally thriving and prosperous, and that drunken 
 and careless people are generally in distress and 
 poverty. It is true, that sorrow and affliction 
 sometimes visit us, notwithstanding all our exer- 
 tions ; but no government can possibly prevent 
 this. 
 
 I am, however, forgetting my history. Henry 
 seems to have been of a gentle disposition ; but 
 the perpetual disturbances and rebellions which 
 occurred in his reign, appear to have forced him 
 to frequent acts of severity. 
 
 Towards the latter end of his reign, the country 
 became more calm and composed. He died in the 
 year 1509. 
 
 Believe me, my dear boy, 
 
 Your affectionate fathei- 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 In what year did you say that Richard the Third was killed I 
 Who became king- after him 1 
 
 Was Henry, duke of Richmond, the rightful heir to the 
 crown ? 
 
130 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Who was ? ^ 
 
 Whom did Henry VTl. marry ? 
 
 How was it that this marriage put an end to the wara 
 
 of the houses of York and Lancaster I 
 Did Henry govern the kingdom well ? 
 And yet were rebellions excited against him ! 
 Who made pretensions to the crown 1 
 Whom did Lambert Siranel pretend to be ? 
 Was any battle fought between the king's troops and the 
 
 rebels ? 
 Where was it fought 1 
 Which side conquered I 
 What became of Simnel 1 
 Did any other pretender to the crown arise ! 
 What was his name ? 
 
 Whom did Perkin Warbeck pretend to be ? 
 Was he supported by many people of rank ? 
 Are there people who still believe that Perkin Warbeck 
 
 was really the duke of York, who was said to have 
 
 been murdered in the Tower by Richard the Third I 
 In what year did Henry the Seventh die ? 
 
LETTER XX. 
 
 MY DEAR BOY, 
 
 W E have now got as fa/ in our history of Eng- 
 land, as the reign of king Henry the Eighth ; and 
 as we come nearer to our own times, it becomes 
 so much the more necessary for us to remember 
 all the particulars of what we read. The reign of 
 Henry the Eighth is highly deserving of our atten- 
 tion. It was in this king's reign that the great work 
 of the Reformation was begun in England. By the 
 Reformation we mean the changing the religion 
 of the country from the Roman Catholic to the 
 Protestant. Whilst the Roman Catholic religion 
 prevailed in the Christian world, many practices 
 were allowed and encouraged which were very 
 different from what the Gospel taught and re- 
 quired. The power, too, over religious affairs, 
 was wholly in the hands of the Pope of Rome ; and 
 he would often interfere in temporal matters too. 
 This was altogether wrong ; for what right had 
 
132 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 the pope, who lived at Rome, to attempt to regu- 
 late any of the affairs of this kingdom, or of any 
 other ? But the worst part of the Roman Catholic 
 religion was, that we could get no Bibles and 
 Prayer Books in our own language ; they were 
 all written in Latin, so that they were of no use 
 at all to the greater part of the nation. People, 
 indeed, went to church, and there were many 
 grand processions and splendid shows ; but, as 
 the Bible was shut up, there was no knowledge 
 of the truth ; and even the public worship could 
 be of no use to any but those few who understood 
 Latin. A great deal of abuse had, indeed, crept 
 into the church ; and those things which were, at 
 first, perhaps, intended for a good purpose, were 
 now applied to very bad ones ; and it suited the 
 plans of the Popish clergy to keep the people in 
 ignorance, — for a knowledge of the truth would 
 have shown how far they had gone from the direc- 
 tions of Scripture. The people, were, for a long 
 time, thus kept from the knowledge of scriptural 
 truth ; and it was very easy to keep them in such 
 ignorance before the art of printing was known, 
 and when books were very dear and difficult to be 
 got at ; for there were, indeed, no books at all, 
 
HENRY VIII. 133 
 
 but manuscripts, that is, books written by the 
 hand ; and these, we may be sure, could be but 
 few. But, in the reign of Henry the Eighth, the 
 art of printing had become pretty generally 
 known ; and, as books became more common, 
 people were able to read them, and judge for 
 themselves. I do not exactly know when the art 
 of printing was invented ; but they say that the 
 first book printed in England was by Caxton, in 
 the year 1471, which was, you know, in the reign 
 of Edward the Fourth ; but I believe that there 
 were printed books in England rather sooner than 
 that time. 
 
 When we speak of the Reformation in England, 
 we generally think of Henry the Eighth, and are 
 thus apt to give him the credit of it ; which is in- 
 deed much more than he deserved : for whatever 
 he did, he did from self-interest, and not from any 
 wish, as far as I can see, of doing good. First he 
 supported the pope, and then he opposed him, 
 just as his humour or his interest inclined him : 
 sometimes he would punish people for being Pa- 
 pists, and sometimes for being Protestants, £ind 
 there was indeed no principle and no consistency 
 in any thing that he did. It is impossible, in the 
 
134 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 space of a letter, to give you any thing like a full 
 history of the Reformation ; you may, perhaps, 
 read more on the subject in some books that you 
 may meet with : — but we shall see, as we go on 
 in our history, that it was not completed, but only 
 begun, in Henry's reign, and that the greater 
 part of the work was done in the reign of his son, 
 Edward the Sixth. Henry the Eighth was, how- 
 ever, made an instrument, in the hands of Provi- 
 dence, of doing much good ; and, by allowing the 
 Bible to be translated into English, and read, 
 he afforded encouragement to good and learned 
 men to lay the truth before the people; and thus 
 the way was paved for that further progress in the 
 Reformation, which was made in the days of his 
 son. 
 
 But we must now look at other affairs that hap- 
 pened during the reign of Henry the Eighth, 
 
 Henry was eighteen years of age when he came 
 to the throne. He was extravagant and fond of 
 pleasure ; and soon began to waste, in his expen- 
 sive vanities and follies, those sums which his 
 wiser father had carefully saved. His chief minis- 
 ter and adviser was cardinal Wolsey, a haughty, 
 proud man, and ^s extravagant and profligate as 
 
HENRY VIII. 135 
 
 his master. He was born in a humble station of 
 life ; but the king raised him to the highest ho- 
 nours and dignities in the state, — which made him 
 an object of envy and hatred to all ranks and con- 
 ditions of the people. But miserable is that man 
 who builds his hopes on earthly greatness ! Wol- 
 sey's high honours only made his fall the more 
 ruinous : for he did fall, as soon as the king's in- 
 clinations, and his interests disagreed. You have 
 often heard that Henry the Eighth had six wives, 
 — the first was Catherine of Arragon. And, 
 when Henry was tired of her, and could not 
 fairly get rid of her, he made a strange excuse 
 for parting with her, and he expected Wolsey to 
 help him ; but this did not suit the cardinal, and 
 the king, therefore, was determined to ruin him. 
 Wolsey was compelled to give up his palace at 
 York, where he was archbishop ; and the king 
 seized all his splendid plate and rich furniture, 
 and then ordered him to be arrested, and brought 
 to London, to take his trial for high treason. He 
 began his journey, and proceeded as far as Lei- 
 cester ; but he had great difficulty in performing 
 this long journey, for he was then old, and sick, 
 and feeble. When he got to Leicester, he went 
 ^^ 2 
 
136 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 to the abbey : and the monks came out to meet 
 him. He told them, that he was come to die 
 among them, and begged them to give him, for 
 charity's sake, a little earth to cover his weary 
 bones. 
 
 With easy roads, he came to Leicester, 
 
 Lodged in the abbey ; where the reverend abbot, 
 With all the convent, honourably received him ; 
 To whom he gave these words : " father Abbot, 
 An old man, broken with the storms of state, 
 Is come to lay his weary bones among you ; 
 Give him a httle earth for charity." 
 
 Shakspeabe. 
 
 Soon after this, he died full of sorrow and re- 
 morse, grieving that he had wasted all his life 
 in pursuit of worldly greatness, instead of aiming 
 at that heavenly kingdom, where the happiness 
 and rich rewards are all-glorious and everlasting ! 
 " Had I but served my God," he cried, " with 
 half the zeal that I have served my king, He would 
 not in mine age have given me over to mine ene- 
 mies." 
 
 The reason which Henry pleaded to get rid of 
 his wife was, that his marriage was not lawful, as 
 she was the widow of his elder brother, Arthur. 
 
HENRY VTII. 137 
 
 This howiever, he did not think of, till the queen 
 had lived eighteen years with him, and had a 
 daughter by him (who was afterwards the bloody 
 queen Mary). The truth was, that he had found 
 a young and handsome lady in his court, whom 
 he liked better than his wife ; this was Anna 
 Bullen ; and he was determined to divorce Ca- 
 therine, that he might marry her; this did not 
 please Wolsey and the Papists, because Anna 
 Bullen was inclined to the Protestant religion ; 
 and it was Wolsey's unwillingness to encourage 
 this match, which first provoked the king's anger 
 against him, and brought on his fall. The king, 
 soon after this, married Anna Bullen privately ; 
 and, after a time, he publicly acknowledged her ; 
 — she brought him a daughter, who was after- 
 wards the famous queen Elizabeth. Soon, how- 
 ever, the king grew weary of this queen, as he 
 had done of the former one, and he seemed deter- 
 mined to get rid of her, and to marry another 
 beautiful lady, called Jane Seymour. To effect 
 his purpose, he endeavoured to find some accusa- 
 tion against the queen, which might justify him in 
 cutting her off ; she was accused of loose beha- 
 viour and high treason, and she was condemned to 
 N 3 
 
138 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 death ; and was soon afterwards executed on Tower 
 Hill. She was beheaded by the executioner of 
 Calais, who was brought over from France on 
 purpose, being considered more expert than any in 
 England. Her body was thrown into a common 
 chest, and was buried in the Tower. If you ever 
 go to see the Tower of London, they will show 
 you the very axe which was used in beheading 
 Queen Anna Bullen. 
 
 The very next day, the cruel tyrant married 
 Jane Seymour ; and he declared that both his 
 daughters, Mary by his first wife, and Elizabeth 
 by the second, were illegitimate, and that they 
 were neither of them to succeed to the crown. 
 Such savage and tyrannical acts of the king, we 
 may be sure, excited great hatred in the minds of 
 the people, and there were many insurrections and 
 rebellions ; ~ the king denied the power of the 
 pope, but still he held the doctrines of popery, so 
 that he persecuted the Papists for supporting the 
 pope's supremacy, and he persecuted the Protest- 
 ants for denying the popish doctrines ; — his angry 
 passions, indeed, were dreadful ; and the discon- 
 tents and oppositions of his subjects filled him with 
 fury. He was, however, put in better humour for 
 
HENRY VIII. 139 
 
 a time, by the birth of a son, (who was afterwards 
 that excellent prince, Edward the Sixth,) but his 
 queen died two days afterwards. 
 
 Not long after this the king resolved to have ano- 
 ther wife, and here he took a foreign lady, whom he 
 had never seen ; this was Anne of Cleves ; —her pic- 
 ture was painted for him ; and the artist (Holbein) 
 had made it handsome : but when she came over, 
 and the king met her at Rochester, he declared 
 that she was a fat ugly person, and that he never 
 could like her. However, he still determined to 
 marry her, because it was a match that would gain 
 him friends and allies on the continent, and add 
 to his power. The king's dislike, however, to this 
 lady continued, and he resolved to get rid of her; — 
 and, moreover, he had fixed his affections upon 
 another lady, Catherine Howard, and he turned off 
 his queen and married this new favourite. Henry 
 seemed for a time delighted with his new wife, — 
 he was soon, however, informed that her character 
 was bad, and that she had been guilty of much 
 improper conduct, both before and after her mar- 
 riage. She was tried, and found guilty, and be- 
 headed on Tower HiU. 
 
 All this time the king pretended to be con- 
 
140 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 cerned about the affairs of religion ; he had, in- 
 deed, a good deal of what is called learning on 
 these matters ; but religious learning is a very 
 different thing from true religious faith and prac- 
 tice. The king wrote some books on the disputes 
 of that day between the Catholics and Protestants. 
 He had, some time before this, written a book in 
 defence of the seven Sacraments ; for the Catholics 
 say there are seven Sacraments ; we Protestants 
 say that there are only two, namely, Baptism and 
 the Lord's Supper ; and we say this, because we 
 do not find any thing in Scripture which justifies 
 us in saying that there are any more Sacraments 
 than these two. Henry, however, pleased the 
 pope by defending the seven Sacraments, and 
 gained the title of " Defender of the Faith," which 
 was indeed a good title in itself, and has been 
 kept by the kings of England ever since ; there 
 was, however, nobody who ever deserved it less 
 than Henry the Eighth. About a year after the 
 death of the late queen, Henry married another 
 wife, Catherine Parr, a widow ; she was a discreet 
 and pious woman,, and studied, by her gentle 
 behaviour, to calm the savage temper of the king. 
 This, however, was beyond her power; and at 
 
HENRY VIII. 141 
 
 one time she was in great danger of losing her 
 own life, in consequence of some difference with 
 the king on religious subjects. However, she 
 managed to pacify him on this point ; but his 
 savage temper broke out towards his subjects ; 
 and many excellent and worthy people were put 
 to death by him. As his end approached, the 
 pains of his body seemed to increase the violence 
 of his temper. He had a painful disorder in his 
 legs, which, growing worse and worse, at length 
 carried him off in the year 1547. There is a 
 great deal of very interesting matter in this reign ; 
 but I only attempt to give you a few heads of the 
 History of England, and you may, perhaps, when 
 you have leisure and opportunity, read more fully 
 for yourself, on this subject. 
 
 I am your affectionate father. 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 In what year did Henry VIII. begin to reign 1 
 
 What great change was made in the state of religion durinjj 
 
 his reign ? 
 What is meant by the Reformation 1 
 
142 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Who was considered at the head of the Church before the 
 
 Reformation ? 
 Where does the pope live ? 
 In what language were the Bibles and Prayer Books 
 
 written, before the Reformation 1 
 Was the art of printing books known in the reign of Heiiry 
 
 VIII. 1 
 Had it been long known 1 
 
 Who was the first person that printed a book in England ? 
 Had not the art of printing a great effect in leading the 
 
 minds of the people to right thinking ? 
 How were books made before printing was known ? 
 Were they then very scarce and dear, and difficult to 
 
 come at 1 
 Was Henry a real and steady friend to the Reformation ? 
 Was the Reformation completed in Henry's time, or only 
 
 begun 1 
 Who was Henry's chief minister and adviser J 
 What was Wolsey's character t 
 Who was Henry's first wife ? 
 
 When the king wished to get rid of his first wife, would car- 
 dinal Wolsey encoirrage and assist him in this plan ? 
 How did the king then treat Wolsey ! 
 Can you tell me where Wolsey died, and can you relate the 
 
 circumstances of his death I 
 What plea did the king make for getting rid of his wife ? 
 How long had they been married 1 
 Had they a daughter, and what was her name 1 and what 
 
 was she afterwards * 
 
HENRY VIII. 143 
 
 Whom did the king wish to marry 1 
 
 Was Amia BuUen a Papist or a Protestant 1 
 
 Had Anna Bullen any child ? 
 
 What was its name ? and what did it afterwards become 1 
 
 Did the king, at length, grow tired of Anna Bullen ? 
 
 What was her fate ? 
 
 Whom did the king next marry ? 
 
 How did the king treat the Protestants and the Papists I 
 
 Had his third queen, Jane Seymour, any child 1 
 
 What was its name 1 and who was it afterwards I 
 
 What was the end of this queen ? 
 
 After her death did the king seek for another wife ? 
 
 Who was she ? 
 
 What was her appearance ? 
 
 Who had painted her picture for the king to see, before he 
 married her ? 
 
 Was the picture like her ? 
 
 Was the king, at that time, attached to another person ? 
 
 How did he get rid of his present wife, Anne of Cleves ? 
 
 How many Sacraments do Papists acknowledge ? 
 
 But how many do we Protestants say that '* Christ or- 
 dained in his Church I** 
 
 Did king Henry pretend to be skilled in explaining religious 
 matters ? 
 
 Did he write a book on the subject of the Sacraments ? 
 
 Did he take the Popish or the Protestant side in this ques- 
 tion ? 
 
 Did the king's book please the pope 1 
 
 What title did the pope then confer on the king ! 
 
144 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Have the kings of England kept that title ever since ? 
 
 Did the king marry another wife I 
 
 What was her name 1 
 
 What became of Catherine Howard 1 
 
 After the execution of Catherine Howard, did Henry marry 
 
 another wife 1 
 What was her name ? 
 Was she a good queen ? 
 Did Catherine Parr outlive the king ! 
 In what year did this king die ? 
 
 LETTER XXI. 
 
 MY DEAR BOY, 
 
 I TOLD you that Henry the Eighth left behind 
 him two daughters and a son. The daughters 
 were Mary and Elizabeth, and they both after- 
 wards became queens ; but the son reigned before 
 either of his sisters. This son was Edward the 
 Sixth. He was no more than nine years old 
 when liis father died, and he only lived till he was 
 sixteen. He was a prince of excellent qualities, 
 seeming to find all- his pleasure in the pursuit of 
 what was good. He was a good scholar ; and, 
 what was much better still, he studied to cultivate 
 
EDWARD VI. 145 
 
 . . . . .^ . 
 
 a religious spirit in himself, and to encourage it in 
 others. He was particularly anxious to promote 
 the great cause of the Reformation, and to get rid 
 of those errors which the Roman Catholics had 
 grafted on the religion of the Bible ; and, during 
 his reign, the superstitious practices of the Church 
 of Rome were almost wholly laid aside. The 
 nation was glad to receive this change, and re- 
 joiced to see the king so earnest in his support of 
 the truth. The people now were encouraged to 
 think for themselves, and were able to judge what 
 was the true doctrine of the Scripture ; for the 
 Bible was translated into the English language, 
 and they could now read it themselves ; and this 
 led them to see, that many of the cej-emonies, 
 which were taught by the Romish Church to be 
 necessary, had no foundation at all in Scripture, 
 and that they ought, therefore, not to be con- 
 tinued. There were, besides, many learned and 
 enlightened bishops, who strove earnestly to pro- 
 mote the Protestant religion. You have heard o^ 
 archbishop Cranmer, and bishops Ridley and 
 Latimer, who, with other good men, took great 
 pains to make known the Gospel of Christ, and 
 to bring the people to the knowledge and love of 
 
14(> HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 the truth. The young king took great pleasure 
 in hearing these good men preach, and in reading 
 the books which they wrote, for he wished to 
 know the doctrines of the Gospel, and the duties 
 which belonged to his station ; and he was 
 anxious that his subjects should learn the same 
 things. We have reason to be thankful, even at 
 this day, that it pleased the Almighty to graft in 
 the heart of this young prince the love of his 
 name. The mercy has come down to ourselves, 
 — we are ourselves partakers of it, — the vain cere- 
 monies of popery are laid aside by us. But we 
 have all need to examine ourselves, to see whether 
 we really, from our hearts, embrace the religion 
 which we profess, and whether we are really 
 anxious to live according to those Divine instruc- 
 tions, which it is our happiness and our great 
 privilege to have now within our reach. The 
 great object of the Reformation was to get rid 
 of those abuses which had been introduced into 
 the Church. There are, no doubt, good and 
 excellent men among the Papists ; and such per- 
 sons, being naturally attached to the religion in 
 which they have been educated, are inclined to 
 defend those practices in the Romish Church 
 
EDWARD VI. 147 
 
 which we condemn ; they tell us that these prac- 
 tices either have their foundation in Scripture, 
 or that they were introduced for some good pur- 
 pose. Whatever might have been the original 
 intention of the Roman Catholic ceremonies, that 
 religion had certainly introduced many practices 
 among the people which we cannot at all con- 
 sider to be scriptural, and many which lead to 
 very mistaken notions of the religion of Christ. 
 They had their churches filled with images, and 
 pictures of saints, and of the Virgin Mary : and 
 to these the people would kneel down, and offer 
 a sort of worship, which we consider to belong 
 only to the Supreme Being Himself. Then they 
 thought, that, by inflicting punishment on them- 
 selves, and undergoing severe mortifications, they 
 could atone for their past sins ; and this was an 
 opinion which would naturally lead them to trust 
 to their own penances for the forgiveness of sin, 
 and thus draw their thoughts from the only true 
 atonement made for sin — the sacrifice of Christ. 
 On the merits of our blessed Saviour we are to 
 depend for the pardon of our sins ; — and, whilst 
 we receive this our atonement for our past sins, 
 we are to make it our great desire and endeavour, 
 o2 
 
148 HISTORY OF ENGLA.KD. 
 
 for the time to come, to forsake sin : — for, miless 
 this be our aim, we are not living in a state of 
 preparation for that kingdom which Christ hath 
 purchased for us. The Gospel of Christ teaches 
 us, that we are to cultivate a spirit of holiness, and 
 of obedience to the will of God, and shows us, 
 that from Him we are to derive our help, to enable 
 us thus to live to his service. 
 
 How thankful, then, ought we to be, that, in 
 this country, the Protestant religion is established, 
 which enables us to search the Scriptures, and thus 
 puts us in possession of those important truths 
 which concern our everlasting happiness ! And 
 how anxiously ought we to endeavour to live ac- 
 cording to the teaching of those Scriptures, which 
 are now within the reach of us all ! 
 
 When king Henry the Eighth died, his son 
 Edward was too young to govern the nation ; and 
 the business of the state was committed to the 
 management of executors and guardians. At the 
 head of these was the duke of Somerset, the 
 king's uncle, who was called the Protector, This 
 nobleman was an earnest supporter of the Refor- 
 mation ; and his exertions were of great service 
 to the cause. It flourished in a wonderful manner, 
 
EDWARD VI. 149 
 
 and v\ as favoured by nearly all the nation, although 
 there were some persons who still adhered to the 
 ancient opinions, and tried to check the progress 
 of the reformed religion. Some disturbances were 
 excited by these, and some blood unhappily was 
 shed. Two bishops, Gardiner and Bonner, of 
 whom we shall hear more by and by, still clung 
 to the Romish faith, and for their opposition 
 they were sent to the Tower. We cannot help 
 lamenting when we see tliat not only Papists, but 
 Protestants also, should have recourse to violence, 
 for the sake of propagating their opinions. The 
 Papists, we know, were dreadfully cruel towards 
 those who differed from them. JVe ought to 
 show a better spiiit. So good a cause does not 
 require to be supported by oppression and force. 
 This king's short reign, though so happy for the 
 nation, was one of much grief and trouble to him- 
 self. You recollect that he had two sisters, Mary 
 and Elizabeth ; and, in case of the king's death, 
 tiie crown would naturally belong to the eldest of 
 these sisters. But it was said that the late king 
 had set them both aside by his will, declaring 
 that they were not born in lawful wedlock, as he 
 acknowledged neither of their mothers to have 
 o 3 
 
150 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 been his lawful wife. This was exactly in ac- 
 cordance with the tyrannical spirit of Henry the 
 Eighth. If these daughters had really been ille- 
 gitimate, the next heir to the throne would have 
 been the queen of Scotland, for she was the 
 grand- daughter of a sister of Henry the Eighth. 
 There was, however, another lady, called Jane 
 Grey, an excellent lady, who was related to the 
 king, but not near enough to give her any claim 
 to the crown. 
 
 This good lady Jane, indeed, never wished to 
 put in any such claim ; but there happened to be 
 a proud ambitious nobleman, the duke of North- 
 umberland, who had contrived that his son, lord 
 Guilford Dudley, should marry lady Jane: and 
 then he entered into a scheme to get this lady to 
 be acknowledged the heir to the throne ; and he 
 even prevailed on the young king to declare that^ 
 lady Jane should be his successor. 
 
 I ought to tell you that this young king had a] 
 very delicate constitution ; and his health was now 
 in a very bad state, and he began to show strong 
 symptoms of decline : and this was probably the 
 reason why the duke of Northumberland was so 
 desirous of having lady Jane at once declared heir 
 
EDWARD VI. 151 
 
 to tiie tlirone. The king's illness Increased ; and 
 his end seems to have been hastened by bad 
 management. The duke of Northumberland was 
 constantly about him : he sent away the regular 
 physician, and had the king entrusted to the care 
 of an ignorant old woman, who declared that she 
 could cure him. Whether this was a contrivance 
 of Northumberland to get rid of the king, as some 
 historians say, I will not pretend to determine. 
 From the time, however, that the old woman was 
 introduced, the king continued to grow worse. 
 This indeed was likely enough to be the case, 
 without our being obliged to believe the severe 
 accusation against the duke. The king died in 
 the year 1553, at Greenwich — where there was 
 then a royal palace — in the sixteenth year of his 
 age, and the seventh of his reign. His loss was 
 lamented by all the good people in the kingdom ; 
 for so early a love of all that was excellent did, 
 indeed, give the best hopes of a happy and pros- 
 perous reign. I am, &c. 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 In what year did Henry VTII. die ? 
 Hosv many children did he leave ? 
 
152 HISTORY or ENGLANl'. 
 
 What were their names I 
 
 Which of these reigned fii'st ? 
 
 How old was Edward VI. when he began to reign I 
 
 What was his character I 
 
 Did he encoui-age the Reformation I 
 
 What does the Reformation here mean I 
 
 What tliree bishops are particularly mentioned as great 
 
 eucouragers of the Reformation I 
 Did the young king take great pleasure in hearing these 
 
 good men preach ? 
 In the Roman Cathohc times, had the people the Bible in 
 
 their own language I 
 Did not the ignorance of Scriptui'e lead to many supersti- 
 tious practices I 
 Will making long praj'ers, and kneeling before the statues 
 
 of the Virgin Mary and of Saints, — or will any pain or 
 
 penances that we can inflict on ourselves, take away 
 
 the guilt of our sins 1 
 Who is it alone that can atone for our sins ? 
 But may we go on in the practice of sin, because Christ 
 
 has atoned for our past offences ? 
 Are you aware, then, that it is the duty of one who believes 
 
 in Christ, to forsake sin, and to be desirous of serving 
 
 God ; or, as the Scripture expresses it, to be "zealous 
 
 of good works 1 " 
 Ought we Protestants, then, who can read the Scriptures, 
 
 to be very anxious to believe what tliey teach us, and 
 
 to live according to their directions I 
 As the king was vei'y young, was it not necessary that he 
 
MARY, 153 
 
 should have guardians to manage the afifairs of the 
 
 nation ? 
 Who was at the head of these ? 
 What was he called ? 
 
 Did Protector Somerset favour the Reformation ? 
 And did the cause of the Reformation flourish during this 
 
 young king's reign 1 
 What two bishops, in particular, still clung to the Roman 
 
 Catholic cause ? 
 Were they sent to the Tower 1 
 Who was mentioned, by some persons, as the right person 
 
 to reign, in case of the king's death 1 
 Who encouraged lady Jane Grey to claim the crown 1 
 What was now the state of the king's health 1 
 In what year did the king die \ 
 How old was he ? 
 How long had he reigned ? 
 
 LETTER XXII. 
 
 MY DEAR BOY, 
 
 Whoever reads the history of Edward the Sixth, 
 must be grieved to think that he lived so short a 
 time ; and it is still more melancholy to find, that 
 his successor was a most cruel and violent perse- 
 cutor of the Protestants. This was queen Mary, 
 his eldest sister, commonly known by the name 
 
154 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 of Bloody Mary. We saw how much good was 
 done in the reign of king Edward ; but we shall 
 now see that Mary undid it all. She was a 
 bigoted Papist, and she set herself against all the 
 good and pious men who had been the means ol 
 bringing about the Reformation ; and she en- 
 couraged the violent and cruel people who were 
 the enemies of the Protestants, and who were 
 desirous of bringing the nation back again to all ' 
 their old bad customs and errors. There were 
 two bishops, Bonner, bishop of London, and Gar- 
 diner, bishop of Winchester, both Papists, and 
 great enemies to the Reformation. I think I told 
 you before, that these bishops had been sent to 
 the Tower. Queen Mary set them at liberty, 
 and they lent all the aid they could to assist her 
 in persecuting the Protestants. Some of the best 
 and most pious men in the nation were burnt 
 during these cruel persecutions ; five bishops, 
 twenty other clergy, and some hundreds of people 
 besides : and all this because they would not 
 agree to support a religion, which, in their con- 
 sciences, they believed to be full of error. You 
 have heard of those truly pious and worthy men, 
 bishops Ridley and Latimer. These two aged 
 
MARY. ]o5 
 
 servants of God were put to death at the same 
 time and place \ When Ridley was brought tc 
 the stake to be burned, he found that his old 
 friend Latimer was there before him. They 
 helped to comfort one another in this trying hour ; 
 and they were wonderfully supported from above, 
 and enabled to undergo, in the cause of truth, all 
 the torments which their enemies could inflict : 
 and they died, encouraging one another, and offer- 
 ing up their prayers and praises to God. These 
 were truly devout and excellent men, and learned 
 in the Scriptures ; and they had done much, by 
 their writings, to spread the knowledge of the Gos- 
 pel, and to further the work of the Reformation. 
 
 Soon after this, that good and learned man, 
 archbishop Cranmer, was burned to death. He 
 once, in an evil hour, had been tempted, by the 
 love of life, to sign a paper, declaring that he was 
 no friend to the Reformation. But, if a good man, 
 at any time, by the power of temptation, does fall 
 into a sin, his conscience will not allow him to be 
 happy : and so it was with Cranmer ; for, after 
 signing this paper, he could no longer be at p'^ace 
 with himself; and he then spoke his real senti- 
 i At Oxford. 
 
156 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 merits, and declared himself the friend of the 
 Protestant religion. For this he was brought to 
 the stake ; and he seemed to glory in being called 
 to suffer in so righteous a cause. As soon as the 
 fire was kindled around him, he thrust his right 
 hand into the midst of the flames, and there held 
 it till it was consumed ; it was that hand which 
 had signed the paper which so tormented him, 
 and he was, therefore, determined that that hand 
 should be the first to suffer ; and, in the midst of 
 his torments, he frequently cried out, " That un- 
 worthy hand !" 
 
 Besides these persecutions for the sake of reli- 
 gion, I should have told you that, at the beginning 
 of her reign, queen Mary caused lady Jane Grey, 
 and her husband, lord Guilford Dudley, to be 
 put to death, because their ambitious friends had 
 persuaded them that this lady was heir to the 
 throne, and because she did not refuse the offer 
 so firmly as she ought to have done. This cruel 
 execution raised the pity and compassion of all 
 ranks and descriptions of people ; for neither 
 lady Jane nor her husband had any wish to dis- 
 turb the queen in her government, but had been 
 only brought forward by the ambition of their 
 
MARY, 157 
 
 relations. Lady Jane and her husband were very 
 young, and handsome, and amiable , but Mary 
 had no compassion on them, and they were both 
 beheaded at the Tower on the same day. Lord 
 Guilford was the first that suffered ; and, whilst 
 lady Jane was going to the place of execution, 
 she met the officers of the Tower carrying the 
 headless body of her husband streaming with 
 blood. She looked at the body for some time, 
 and then, sighing, bade her conductors to lead 
 her on. She behaved, at her execution, with the 
 greatest firmness, submitting with a serene coun- 
 tenance to the stroke of the executioner. 
 
 Queen Mary was married to Philip the Second, 
 king of Spain, who was himself a stern Catholic, 
 and encouraged her in her opposition to the Re- 
 formation. We cannot suppose, that, in the midst 
 of these dreadful scenes, the queen herself could 
 be happy. No, her dark and cruel disposition was 
 torment enough to her ; and the miseries which 
 she caused could give no feeling to her mind but 
 that of gloomy wretchedness. 
 
 The temporal affairs of the kingdom, too, were 
 in a wretched state. Calais, which had been in 
 possession of the English ever since the reign of 
 
 p 
 
158 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Edward the Third, was now taken from us by the 
 French ; and such was the wretchedness of the 
 queen upon this loss, that she was heard to say 
 that, when she was dead, " the name of Calais 
 would be written on her heart." It seems to me, 
 that there were other things which might have 
 pressed upon her mind, and tormented her more 
 than this. 
 
 All things at this time seemed to combine to 
 harass and disturb the queen. Her husband had 
 no affection for her ; the people murmured against 
 her ; the Protestant religion increased in spite of 
 all her cruelties, and she was unsuccessful in all 
 her warlike attempts ; all these things, together, 
 worked upon her body as well as her mind, and 
 brought on a consumption. Her dark and cruel 
 temper gave strength to her disease, and threw 
 her into a lingering fever, and of this she died in 
 the forty-third year of her age, after a miserable 
 reign of about five years. This happened in the 
 year 1558. 
 
 Now, though most of the accounts which we 
 find in history relate to the affairs of kings and 
 queens, yet they read us a lesson which may be 
 useful to persons in any condition of life : may 
 
MARY. 159. 
 
 God grant that we may pro6t by it ! And, when 
 we know the misery and wretchedness which is 
 brought on by a want of regard to the religion of 
 the Gospel ; and when we see what cruelty of dis- 
 position will often possess the heart, if it be not 
 softened by the gracious influences of true reli- 
 gion, it becomes us, indeed, to make it our prayer 
 and our study, to receive, in humble faith, the 
 pure doctrines of Christ's religion, to seek for 
 Divine grace, that we may be guided by its rules, 
 and to labour to convey to others the knowledge 
 of the Holy Scriptures, which will lead them to 
 all truth, and all duty, and all happiness Aere, and 
 show them the way to everlasting salvation in the 
 world to come. And, when we see how the faith- 
 ful followers of Christ are supported in the midst 
 of the most severe trials and the most acute suf- 
 fering, what a lesson is this for us to embrace that 
 faith which gives its followers such constancy in 
 the hour of trial ! May we always be thankful for 
 the knowledge of the trudi, and may we ever 
 make it our desire and endeavour to follow its 
 heavenly guidance ! 
 
 I am your affectionate father, &c. 
 
 p 2 
 
160 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 In what year did Edward the Sixth die ? 
 
 Who reigned after him ? 
 
 What relation was queen Mary to Edward the Sixth 1 
 
 What was her character and disposition ? 
 
 Did Mary encoiirage the Protestant religion, or not ? 
 
 What two bishops assisted her in persecuting the Protest- 
 ants ! 
 
 Were many persons put to death in Mary's reign for pro- 
 fessing the Protestant religion ? 
 
 What two bishops are particularly mentioned as having been 
 burnt to death for the sake of the Pi'otestant religion ? 
 
 Had Ridley and Latimer exerted themselves greatly, by 
 preaching and writing, to spread the Protestant religion I 
 
 What other bishop soon afterward suffered death in the 
 same cause ? 
 
 Had archbishop Cranmer ever failed in showing a firmness 
 of resolution in support of the Protestant cause ? 
 
 Had he signed a declaration in which he showed a want of 
 courage in support of his opinion 1 
 
 How did he feel, after he had signed this I 
 
 How did he act afterwards ? 
 
 Why did he thrust his right hand into the fire, and what 
 did he say on doing so ! 
 
 Was a claim to the crown set up in favour of any other 
 pei"son, against queen Mary 1 
 
 Who was this person 1 
 
 What became of lady Jane Grey ? 
 
 Who was her husband, and what became of him ? 
 
ELIZABETH. 161 
 
 Was queen Mary n-arried I 
 
 Who was hei' husband i 
 
 Did the temporal affairs of the nation go on well, during 
 
 Mary's reign 1 
 What town in France, belonging to the English, was lost 
 
 during this reign I 
 How did the queen bear this loss, and what did she say ? 
 What was the disposition of her husband I 
 What religion did he profess ? 
 How did he behave to the queen I 
 Was she happy ? 
 In what year did she die ? 
 How long had she reigned I 
 
 LETTER XXIII. 
 
 MY DEAR BOY, 
 
 After the death of queen Mary, her sister Eliza- 
 beth became queen. The people had suffered so 
 much under the cruel Mary, that they received 
 Elizabeth with real delight. Elizabeth was a very 
 thoughtful and considerate person, and she saw 
 plainly, that her sister Mary's notions about reli- 
 gion had been entirely wrong ; and she, therefore, 
 determined to encourage the Protestant religion, 
 which she well understood, and which she knew 
 p 3 
 
162 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 to be right. Through her means, therefore, the 
 Roman Catholic religion was laid aside, and the 
 Protestant religion established in its place, nearly 
 in the same manner as we have it at present. 
 
 Queen Elizabeth soon experienced, that the 
 highest station in this life is not without its trou- 
 bles. There were many persons in England who 
 still favoured the Roman Catholic religion, and 
 these were desirous of getting rid of Elizabeth, 
 and of putting Mary, queen of Scots, upon the 
 English throne. This Mary was a near relation 
 of Elizabeth, and was in truth the rightful heiress^ 
 to the throne, in case Elizabeth should not marry, 
 and have children. Mary was a Catholic, and 
 she listened to the proposals of those who were 
 plotting against Elizabeth, and she became en- 
 gaged in their conspiracies. A battle was fought, 
 which went wholly against Mary. She surren- 
 dered herself up to Elizabeth, who ordered her to 
 be secured, that she might be prevented from en- 
 gaging in any more schemes to disturb the king- 
 dom. It appears, however, that, even during her 
 confinement, she secretly encouraged those who 
 
 ^ Margaret, sister of Henry VIII., married James IV 
 ©f Scotland ; their son, James V., was the father of Mar/. 
 
ELIZABETH. 163 
 
 were conspiring .^gainst the queen. She was 
 brought to her trial, and was condemned. We 
 are told that Elizabeth was very unwilling to sign 
 the death-warrant, and that the persons around her 
 took great pains to persuade her to do it, knowing 
 that they should find no favour if Mary should 
 ever become queen. They are said to have alarmed 
 the queen with rumours of plots and conspiracies, 
 so that she one day signed the warrant, and sent 
 it to the chancellor to have the seal put upon it, 
 intending to keep it by her, and not to have it 
 executed unless Mary should attempt to escape 
 from Fotheringay castle*, where she was then 
 confined. Her secretary is said to have gone to the 
 chancellor and to have got the warrant sealed, and, 
 instead of bringing it back to the queen, to have 
 laid it before the council, who resolved that it 
 should be immediately put in execution. It was 
 accordingly directed to four noblemen, who imme- 
 diately set out for Fotheringay castle, accompanied 
 by two executioners. There is much reason, how- 
 ever, to doubt the truth of Elizabeth's unwilling- 
 ness to get rid of Mary, as well as the whole story 
 about Davison the secretary, and the death-warrant. 
 * In Noi-thamptonshire. 
 
164 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 As soon as they arrived, they ordered Mary to 
 prepare for death by eight o'clock the next morn- 
 ing. She was ready at the appointed time, dressed 
 in a rich habit of silk and velvet, with a long veil 
 on her head, and a crucifix ^ in her hand. The 
 scaffold was covered with black. The two execu- 
 tioners kneeled down, and asked her to forgive 
 them. She said she forgave them, and all who 
 were concerned in her death. She declared that 
 she was innocent ; she repeated a psalm, and 
 some pious expressions ; and her head was then 
 severed from her body by two strokes of the exe- 
 cutioner. Whatever were the faults of Mary, we 
 cannot help grieving for her tragical end, especially 
 when we think that it was ordered by a near rela- 
 tion, a female, and a queen. 
 
 Soon after this, Elizabeth was exposed to fur- 
 ther troubles. Philip, king of Spain, was a bigoted 
 Catholic, and he could not bear to see the 
 Protestant religion flourishing in England. Ac- 
 cordingly, he fitted out a vast fleet of ships, and 
 so large an army, that he thought nothing could 
 withstand him. English people, however, are, you 
 
 » A little image of our Saviour on the jCross, much used 
 by Roman Catholics. 
 
ELIZABETH. 165 
 
 know, not fond of being invaded ; and, therefore, 
 instead of being frightened at the king of Spain's 
 preparations, they prepared to oppose him with all 
 the power they could collect. The queen herself 
 went down to Tilbury Fort, and, mounted on horse- 
 back, rode amongst her soldiers and sailors, and 
 encouraged them to oppose the invaders manfully, 
 declaring, that, though she was a woman, she would 
 fight, like a man, for her country, before an inch of 
 it should fall into the hands of the king of Spain. 
 The Spaniards had such confidence in their im- 
 mense fleet, that they called it the Invincible Arma- 
 da. However, the Englisli soon showed them that 
 their fleet was not invincible^ for, as it came up the 
 English channel, with its ships, in size and number 
 sufficient to alarm anybody but British sailors, 
 our little fleet came out of Plymouth harbour, and 
 harassed them and drove them in all directions, so 
 that very few of them ever returned home again to 
 tell the tale. 
 
 If we had been then conquered by the Spani- 
 ards, the Roman Catholic religion would probably 
 have been again restored in England. But a good 
 Providence protected us, and seemed to fight for 
 us : for the Spanish fleet was dreadfully harassed 
 
166 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 by the winds and storms as well as by the attacks 
 of the English fleet. Queen Elizabeth w-as so 
 thankful for this providential deliverance, that she 
 went in state to St. Paul's Church, to return 
 thanks to the Almighty for the great blessing con- 
 ferred upon the nation. You have perhaps seen 
 some old pictures of this great fight. In the 
 House of Lords, the defeat of the Spanish Armada 
 is worked in old tapestry on the walls ' ; and there 
 you see the noble admirals and captains of the 
 English fleet, who had so boldly fought in defence 
 of their country. 
 
 Queen Elizabeth showed her great wisdom 
 by choosing upright and good ministers ; and, 
 by their advice, and her own good sense be- 
 sides, the afi^airs of the nation were managed pro- 
 perly. But there were some things in which this 
 queen seemed to show a weakness which was in 
 contradiction to the rest of her character ; she 
 had always some persons about her who seemed 
 to be chosen for nothing but their handsome 
 appearance, and their taste for gaudy show and 
 splendour. Lord Leicester was one of these ; 
 
 * The houses of Parliament have been since . burned 
 down. 
 
ELIZABETH. 16? 
 
 and he seemed to have nothing to recommend 
 him but his fine person, and his splendid houses, 
 and his rich furniture. The queen was fond of 
 going about the country, and paying visits to the 
 houses of different noblemen and rich gentlemen. 
 We read that lord Leicester entertained her ma- 
 jesty for many days at his princely mansion at 
 Kenilworth, in Warwickshire ; which is now no- 
 thing but a fine old ruin, just enough to show 
 what it has been. During this visit, all sorts of 
 fine sights were exhibited, and games, and mas- 
 querades, and every kind of show that the people 
 of that age delighted in. There were all sorts of 
 strange wild figures dressed up : and men and 
 women were made to imitate the strange appear- 
 ances of heathen gods ; and there were sham 
 fights, and tilting, and all sorts of sports ; and 
 the queen seemed to take as much delight in 
 those things as any of the people that surrounded 
 he^. This sort of entertainments brought my 
 lord Leicester into great favour ; but sometimes 
 the queen's mind would be all changed, and the 
 favourite would be in disgrace ; and this kind of 
 humour she often showed to her courtiers, accord- 
 ing to the change of her temper and fancy : thus 
 
168 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 she sometimes showed herself to be as little- 
 minded as other people ; though, generally speak- 
 ing, we have reason to look upon Elizabeth as a 
 great and wise queen. 
 
 There was the earl of Essex, too, who was, 
 sometime afterwards, in great favour with the 
 queen. But he was too proud and haughty to 
 bear with all the changes in her temper ; and, 
 when she refused him any of his requests, he 
 would put himself into a violent rage ; and once 
 he even raised an army in rebellion against her. 
 He was however overpowered, and seized, and 
 sent to the Tower, and tried for his life. He was 
 found guilty, and was condemned to be be- 
 headed : — ^but he, all along, thought he should 
 escape, never believing that the queen would sign 
 the warrant for his execution. The story told is, 
 that he had a ring which the queen had once 
 given him when he was high in her favour: and 
 she had told him, that, whenever he was in tre- 
 ble, if he would but send her that ring, he should 
 be delivered. Accordingly, when he was con- 
 demned to be beheaded, he gave the ring to the 
 countess of Nottingham, beseeching her to de- 
 liver it safely into the queen's hands. Essex 
 
ELIZABETH. 169 
 
 every moment expected to receive an answer that 
 his life was to be spared. But the deceitful 
 countess never gave the ring to the queen. Her 
 husband was an enemy to Essex ; and, to please 
 him, she agreed to this piece of cruel wickedness. 
 The queen wondered, all the time, why Essex 
 did not send the ring ; and she was angry to think 
 that he should be too proud and haughty to ask 
 her forgiveness. It is said, that Elizabeth was 
 all the while dreadfully disturbed and distressed 
 in her mind, and that it was very long before she 
 could bring herself to sign the warrant for the 
 execution of the earl. At length, however, she 
 did sign it — and she was never seen to enjoy a 
 happy day afterwards. It is said, that when the 
 countess of Nottingham was on her death-bed, 
 her conscience stung her for her wicked conduct 
 towards the earl of Essex ; she begged that the 
 queen would come to her, and she then told her 
 the whole truth about the ring : and they say, that 
 the queen was so angry that she even shook the 
 countess on her very death-bed. The queen, 
 soon after this, sunk into a gloomy and melan- 
 choly state ; and she died, in the seventieth year 
 of her age, and the forty-fifth of her reign. 
 
 Q 
 
170 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 If you cannot very much admire the personal 
 character of Elizabeth, yet her public conduct as 
 a queen was dictated by a strong desire to do 
 good to the nation. Manufactures and commerce 
 greatly increased during her reign : and every 
 encouragement was given to good and learned 
 men ; so that knowledge also increased greatly 
 throughout ihe kingdom : and it seems a most 
 happy and providential thing, that, when there 
 was a desire to study the Scriptures and to gain 
 religious instruction, there should be so many 
 great and enlightened scholars who were able to 
 explain all these things, and to lay them, in our 
 own language, before the people. 
 
 But I shall say no more at present, excepting 
 to remind you, that, whilst you are reading history, 
 you must be careful to remember tlie dates. 
 Queen Elizabeth died in the year 1603. 
 
 I am your affectionate father, &c. 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 In what year did queen Mary of England die ? 
 
 Who became queen after her ? 
 
 What relation was queen Elizabeth to queen Mary ? 
 
ELIZABTTU. 171 
 
 What religion was established in England by Elizabeth 1 
 What person laid claim to be considered heiress to the 
 
 throne of England I 
 Did Mary, queen of Scots, enter into any conspiracies 
 
 against Elizabeth ? 
 What religion did Mary, the queen of Scotland, profess ? 
 Was any battle fought between Elizabeth's forces and 
 
 Mary's ? 
 Which succeeded ? 
 
 Did Mary surrender herself to the queen of England ? 
 Was she kept in confinement ? 
 Where I 
 
 What became of the queen of Scotland ? 
 From what quarter was an invasion planned againstEngland? 
 What religion did the Spaniai'ds profess ? 
 What did the Spaniards call their great fleet which was 
 
 fitted out to invade England ? 
 What became of the Spanish Armada ? 
 How did queen Elizabeth show her gratitude to Providence 
 
 for the dispersion of the Spanish fleet ? 
 What sort of people did queeu Elizabeth choose for her 
 
 ministers ? 
 What sort of people did she like to have about her com-t 1 
 Who was lord Leicester ? 
 
 Is there any account of a great entertainment, which Lei- 
 cester gave to the queen I 
 Where was this ? 
 Who was the earl of Essex ? 
 What was the end of Essex I 
 q2 
 
172 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Do you x'ememLer the story of the countess of Nottingham 
 
 and the ring ? 
 Did lady Nottingham ever confess the truth about the ring ? 
 How did the queen receive this confession ? 
 What was the general character of queen Elizabeth l 
 Had the Reformation the effect of improving the state of 
 
 the country 1 
 In what year did queen Elizabeth die ! 
 
 LETTER XXIV. 
 
 MY DEAR BOY, 
 
 As we have seen that queen EHzabeth was never 
 married, and consequently left no heirs, you will 
 perhaps wonder who is to be the next king. We 
 must, therefore, look back a little into our history 
 to find the right heir to the throne. We must go 
 back as far as Elizabeth's grandfather, Henry the 
 Vllth. This king's daughter Margaret married 
 the king of Scotland, James the IVth ; and their 
 direct descendant, James the Vlth of Scotland, 
 was consequently the right heir to the crown of 
 England too. Accordingly he was crowned under 
 the title of James the First of England; and thus 
 the crowns of England and Scotland became 
 united under the same king. Though James was 
 
JAMES I. 173 
 
 undoubtedly the rightful king of England, it was 
 not long before a number of persons entered into 
 a conspiracy to dethrone him. This was set on 
 foot by lord Grey, lord Cobham, and sir Walter 
 Raleigh, who were all condemned to die. Lords 
 Cobham and Grey were, however, pardoned : but, 
 that they might feel some punishment for their 
 crime, they were made to suffer all the terrors of 
 death, for their pardon did not come till they had 
 actually laid their heads on the block, expecting 
 that in a moment's time they would be cut off. 
 Sir Walter Raleigh was reprieved, but was still 
 confined in prison, where he remained many years. 
 He was, at length, as we shall see by and by, 
 cruelly and unfairly executed. 
 
 As James the First was the son of Mary, queen 
 of Scots, many of the Papists expected that he 
 would encourage popery ; and they were, there- 
 fore, grievously disappointed when they found, 
 that though he was too wise to oppress and 
 persecute them, he still was a true and faithful 
 friend to the Protestant cause. On this account, 
 they contrived a plot to destroy him and his fa- 
 mily, and both houses of Parliament together. 
 This is the horrid " Gunpowder Plot," that you 
 Q 3 
 
174 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 have SO often heard of. The conspirators hired 
 a house adjoining to that where Parliament met, 
 from which they could get into the cellar under 
 the Parliament-house. Into this cellar they con- 
 veyed thirty-six barrels of gunpowder, and these 
 they covered with coals and fagots, so that who- 
 ever saw the cellar could perceive nothing par- 
 ticular in the appearance of it, as it had been 
 generally used to keep coals in. At the opening 
 of the Parliament, the king, queen, and prince 
 Henry their eldest son, were expected to be pre- 
 sent, and the conspirators seemed to think, that 
 nothing was likely to happen to check their wicked 
 design ^ 
 
 However, Providence mercifully prevented this 
 dreadful destruction. One of those concerned in 
 the plot was Sir Henry Percy ; andt he was very 
 desirous of saving the life of lord Monteagle, 
 who was his intimate friend. About ten days 
 before the loieeting of Parliament, this nobleman 
 received a letter .j^ithout any name to it, which 
 was brought by a .-^^son who made his escape 
 the moment Ke iiad delivered it. The following 
 strange words were in the letter : — " My lord, 
 * In the year 1G05. 
 
JAMES I. 175 
 
 stay away from this Parliament, for God and man 
 have concurred to punish the wickedness of the 
 times. And think not slightly of this advertise- 
 ment, 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. This 
 counsel is not to be contemned ; because it may do 
 you good and can do you no harm. For the danger 
 is past as soon as you have burned this letter." 
 
 This mysterious letter greatly puzzled lord 
 Monteagle, and he at first thought that it was 
 meant only to frighten him, and laugh at him. 
 He, however, judged it safest to carry the letter 
 to lord Salisbury, who was then secretary of 
 state. Lord Salisbury, too, was inclined to think 
 the letter not much worth attending to : yet he 
 considered it the safest course to lay it before the 
 king in council. None of the council knew what 
 to make of it ; and it is s^d^; that the king was 
 the first person v»'ho found'^but the meaning of 
 this strange letter. He thought he saw in it 
 something of a plot to produce a great destruc- 
 tion by means of gunpowder ; and upon diis, they 
 
176 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 s€t about examining the cellars and vaults below 
 both houses of Parliament. Here they found 
 large heaps of fagots under the House of Lords, 
 and they found a strange-looking man, dressed in 
 a cloak and boots, and with a dark lantern in his 
 hand. This was Guy Fawkes, who was laying 
 the train and getting every thing ready for the 
 dreadful explosion, which was planned for the 
 next day. This wretched man did not seem to 
 be in the least sorry for what he was doing ; but 
 he told the officers who took him, that he should 
 have been glad to have blown them all up, and 
 himself too. His spirit, however, was a little 
 humbled when he was threatened to be tortured 
 to make him confess all he knew of the plot ; 
 and he then made a full discovery of all his ac- 
 complices. When the dreadful plot was thus dis- 
 covered, the principal conspirators prepared for re- 
 sisting the authority that was to seize and punish 
 tliem. They accordingly shut themselves up in 
 a house in Warwickshire, determined to defend it 
 to the last. But a dreadful accident happened to 
 them, and just such a one as they had themselves 
 contrived for others. A spark of fire fell am'ongst 
 some gunpowder which was laid to dry ; it blew 
 
JAMES I. 177 
 
 up, and made terrible destruction among the con- 
 spirators. Some of them endeavoured to rush 
 out of the gate, but were soon cut to pieces by the 
 soldiers who surrounded the house. Some few 
 escaped the slaughter, but were afterwards exe- 
 cuted ; and some experienced the king's mercy. 
 
 I have told you, that sir Walter Raleigh was 
 kept in prison, having been condemned for a sup- 
 posed conspiracy against the king. There he re- 
 mained for thirteen years. He, at length, got leave 
 to go on an expedition to America, having said 
 that he had discovered a rich gold-mine there. 
 They found no gold, however; but Raleigh at- 
 tacked the Spaniards who were settled there ; and 
 this gave offence to the king of Spain ; and king 
 James declared that Raleigh had his orders to 
 avoid all disputes with the Spaniards : and then, 
 to please the king of Spain, he signed the warrant 
 for his execution, not for his present offence, but 
 for his former conspiracy. This seems very hard 
 upon Raleigh ; he, however, suffered with the 
 greatest calmness and resignation : he took hold 
 of the axe, and he felt the edge of it, saying, that 
 " it was a sharp but a sure remedy for all suffer- 
 ings in this world ;" he then made a calm address 
 
178 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 to the people, and laid his head on the block, 
 without the least appearance of terror. 
 
 There were several circumstances, too long for 
 me to mention, which prevented king James from 
 having an easy or a happy reign. He was very 
 fond too of trying how far he might carry his 
 own authority, without consulting the Lords or 
 the Commons ; and this made him many enemies. 
 He had, besides, many expensive friends and fa- 
 vourites about him, and he was constantly apply- 
 ing for money to supply their extravagant wants. 
 In short, the people were full of dissatisfaction ; 
 and their discontents gave the king great trouble ; 
 they broke out still more violently, as we shall 
 ee, in- the reign of his son, Charles the First. 
 
 The discontents of the people, and the bad suc- 
 cess of the king in his war against the emperor 
 of Germany, might perhaps have had some effect 
 on his constitution ; but, however this might be, 
 he was seized with a tertian ague. His courtiers, 
 thinking to please him, told him of a foolish 
 saying, that " an ague was health for a king :" but 
 the king knew better, and said that the proverb 
 was meant for a young king. After some fits, he 
 became extremely weak ; and he expired in the 
 
JAMES I. 179 
 
 year 1625, after a reign, over England, of twenty- 
 two years. He was about sixty years of age. 
 
 I am, &c. 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 In what year did queen Elizabeth die ! 
 
 Was she ever married ? 
 
 As therefore she could leave no direct heirs behind her, who 
 was the proper person to succeed to the throne I 
 
 Can you tell me how it was that James the Sixth of Scot- 
 land was ' heir to the crown of England ? 
 
 Was any conspiracy formed for the pui-pose of setting aside 
 king James ? 
 
 Who was at the head of this conspiracy ? 
 
 What became of lord Grey, lord Cobham, and sir Walter 
 Raleigh ? 
 
 Was James the First a Papist or a Protestant ? 
 
 What is the story of the Gunpowder Plot ? 
 
 How was this plot discovered ? 
 
 How did lord Monteagle act when he received a private 
 letter from one of the conspirators ? 
 
 * James the Sixth of Scotland was son to Mary queen of 
 Scots, who was daughter to James the Fifth, who was son to 
 Margaret (the wife of James the Fourth), which Margaret 
 was^^aughter to Henry the Seventh of England, 
 
180 , HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Who was the first person to discover that destruction by 
 gunpowder was meditated ? 
 
 What steps were taken on the king's suggesting his sus- 
 picions ? 
 
 What discovery was made when the cellars were searched 1 
 
 How did Guy Fawkes act when he was seized ? 
 
 What became of the rest of the conspirators ! 
 
 What became of sir Walter Raleigh 1 
 
 Had king James a happy reign I 
 
 What was his character 1 
 
 Of what disease did he die ? 
 
 How did his flatterers tr^ to persuade him that his illness 
 was not dangerous I 
 
 What reply did he make to them 1 
 
 In what year did he die I 
 
 How old was he t 
 
 How long had he reigned over England 1 
 
 In what year was the gimpowder plot 1 
 
 LETTER XXV. 
 
 MY DEAR BOY, 
 
 I TOLD you, in my last letter, that, during the 
 reign of James the First, there was great dis- 
 satisfaction and discontent among the people. 
 The king had given great offence by carrying his 
 prerogative too far, and by thus neglecting to 
 
CHARLES I. 181 
 
 consider the wishes of the people, and to give 
 them their constitutional privileges. This was a 
 very great disadvantage to his son, Charles the 
 First, when he came to the throne. This king 
 was of a mild and gentle disposition, and would 
 have been glad to have been at peace with all 
 men : but yet, such were the times in which he 
 lived, that he was in constant trouble and distress. 
 When his father died, the nation was engaged in 
 a war with the emperor of Germany ; and the ex- 
 pense of this war obliged kmg Charles to apply to 
 the parliament for money. They would not grant 
 him so much as he required, and he was obliged 
 to try other methods, and to endeavour to raise 
 supplies without the aid of parliament : and this 
 caused great murmurings throughout the nation. 
 War was made against the French too ; but this 
 was unsuccessful, and increased the general dis- 
 content. There was soon an open quarrel be- 
 tween the king and the parliament. Several mem- 
 bers of the House of Commons were accused of 
 sedition, and committed to prison ; and many were, 
 besides being imprisoned, made to pay large fines. 
 This increased the opposition to the king, and ex-: 
 cited great compassion for the sufferers. 
 
 R 
 
182 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Another circumstance gave great distress to the 
 king. There was a duke of Buckingham, who was 
 a great favourite of the king ; and his regard for 
 this nobleman brought him many enemies among 
 the people. This duke of Buckingham was at 
 Portsmouth for the purpose of hurrying on an ex- 
 pedition against France. Whilst he was in a room 
 surrounded by his officers, and was talking to one 
 of them, a man, named Felton, struck him in the 
 breast with a knife. The duke had only time to 
 say, "The villain has killed me!" and he then 
 instantly fell down dead. No one saw the person 
 who gave the blow, but a hat was soon picked up, 
 which it was immediately supposed belonged to 
 the murderer. Whilst they were considering whose 
 hat this could be, a man without a hat was seen 
 very quietly walking before the door, and was 
 heard to say, " I am he !'* He seemed to glory 
 in his crime ; and, to the last moment, he never 
 would, confess that he had done any thing wrong 
 in committing this murder. 
 
 I <;annot attempt to describe to you all the 
 troubles of this reign ; the history of this rebellion 
 takes up whole volumes. The parliament took up 
 arms against the king, and there were many battles 
 
CHARLES I. 183 
 
 between the king's army and theirs. It is dread- 
 ful to think of the miseries and slaughter which 
 filled the kingdom, and to reflect, that these were 
 all among fellow-countrymen, who ought to live 
 like friends and brothers, instead of quarrelling, 
 and killing one another. 
 
 During these wars, Oliver Cromwell came for- 
 ward as an officer in the parliamentary army, and 
 he beat the king's army at the battle of Marston- 
 moor \ But it was at the battle of Naseby, in 
 Northamptonshire, that the king suffered such a 
 loss as he was never able to recover. He was in 
 this battle in person, but was obliged to retreat ; 
 and Cromwell and his friends gained a complete 
 victory. King Charles fled to Oxford, where he 
 had always found steady and loyal supporters; but 
 the place was not strong enough to protect him, 
 and he would soon have fallen into the hands of 
 the parliamentary forces, commanded by Fairfax, 
 had he not resolved to put himself under the pro- 
 tection of the Scotch army, where he was in hopes 
 that he should find friends. He was, however, 
 deceived. The parliament offered a large sum of 
 
 * Near York. 
 r2 
 
184 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 money to the Scots, and they gave up their king. 
 The Scotch army returned home loaded with the 
 riches which they had earned by this treacherous 
 and disgraceful action. 
 
 Oliver Cromwell may now be considered as the 
 chief man in this great rebellion. He was the son 
 of a gentleman in Huntingdonshire ; his fortune 
 was but small, and there seemed nothing in his 
 character which could give any reason to expect 
 that he should ever become so important a man. 
 He was rough in his person, very slovenly in his 
 dress, and had a stammering and awkward man- 
 ner of expressing himself. By perseverance, how- 
 ever, he got to be the leader in this rebellion, and 
 to carry every thing his own way. The king, 
 after being harassed and imprisoned, and moved 
 from one place to another, was now a prisoner in 
 Hampton-court. After this, he w^as confined in 
 Carisbrook-castle, in the Isle of Wight ; then he 
 was conveyed to Hurst-castle, in Hampshire : he 
 was afterwards brought to Windsor, and then to 
 London. Many of his subjects who saw him could 
 not help grieving to perceive his altered appear- 
 ance : he looked pale and sickly ; his hair had 
 become grey with sorrow ; he had suffered his 
 
CHARLES I. 185 
 
 beard to grow, and his apparel showed all the 
 marks of poverty and distress. Nobody could see 
 him without feeling for his sufferings. 
 
 He was soon brought to trial : and, when he 
 was produced before the judges, he sat down with 
 all the dignity of a king, without moving his hat, 
 or showing, by any such sign, that he acknow- 
 ledged their power to try him. The charge against 
 him was then read, and he was accused of being 
 the cause of all the blood shed since the beginning 
 of the rebellion. At this the king could not help 
 showing by his looks how false and unjust he 
 considered this accusation. He was four times 
 brought before this assembly of the commons, 
 but never would allow that it was a fair court of 
 justice, or that it had any right to try him. They 
 were, however, determined to bring him to exe- 
 cution ; and on the fourth day, they accordingly 
 pronounced sentence against him. When he 
 returned to Whitehall, he begged to be allowed 
 to see his children, and to have the bishop of 
 London (Dr. Juxon) to assist him in his prayers. 
 He was allowed three days to prepare for exe- 
 cution. All the members of his family then in 
 England, were the princess Elizabeth, and the duke 
 R 3 
 
186 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 of Gloucester, a child of about three years of age. 
 He gave the princess some pious and good advice ; 
 and then he took his little son in his arms, and 
 said, " My child, they will cut off thy father's 
 head, and will, perhaps, make thee a king ; but 
 remember, thou must not be a king as long as thy 
 brothers Charles and James are alive. They will 
 cut off their heads when they can take them : and 
 they will cut off thy head at last, and, therefore, 
 I charge thee do not be made a king by them." 
 The child, bursting into tears, replied, " I will be 
 torn in pieces first." 
 
 It is said that the king's mind was so firm, that 
 he slept as well as usual every night between the 
 sentence and the execution, though the noise of 
 the workmen who were raising the scaffold was 
 continually within reach of his ears. 
 
 It was on the 30th of January that the bloody 
 sentence was put in execution. The scaflTold was 
 so contrived that it was on a level with one of the 
 windows at Whitehall : it was covered with black, 
 and upon it were the block and the axe, and two 
 executioners in masks. The king then came 
 forth, attended by his faithful friend and servant, 
 bishop Juxon. 
 
CHARLES I. 187 
 
 Whilst he was preparing himself for the block, 
 the good bishop said to him, " There is, sir, but 
 one stage more, which, though turbulent and 
 troublesome, is yet a very short one. It will 
 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." " You 
 exchange," replied the bishop, " a temporal for 
 an eternal crown ; a good exchange !" Then the 
 king laid his neck on the block, and one of the 
 executioners severed his head from his body at 
 one blow : and the other, holding it up, exclaimed, 
 *' This is the head of a traitor." The people who 
 saw this sad sight, showed the most mournful signs 
 of grief and sorrow, and seemed to blame them- 
 selves for being patient spectators of so horrible a 
 deed. 
 
 Charles was executed in the year 1649, in the 
 49th year of his age, and the 24th of his reign. 
 " He was of a middling stature, robust, and well 
 proportioned. His countenance was pleasing, but 
 melancholy, and this mournful cast was probably 
 
188 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 brought on by the troubles and afflictions which he 
 had so long endured." 
 
 Believe me your affectionate father. 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 in what year did king James the First die ! 
 
 Who came after him ? 
 
 What was the disposition of Charles the First ? 
 
 Was the nation at war, or at peace, when James the First 
 died ! 
 
 Did the parliament readily grant the king supplies for car- 
 rying on the war 1 
 
 Did the king and the parliament quarrel I 
 
 What nobleman was, at that time, in great favour with the 
 king? 
 
 What became of the duke of Buckingham ? 
 
 Were there dreadful civil wars soon after that time I 
 
 In what battle do we first bear of Oliver Cromwell I 
 
 In what battle was the king's army dreadfully beaten 1 
 
 To what place did the king go, after the battle of Naseby I 
 
 In whom did the king hope to find protection 2 
 
 How did the Scotch army treat him ? 
 
 Who was Oliver Cromwell 1 
 
 What was his appearance I 
 
 What became of the king ? 
 
 Was the king brought to trial I 
 
THE COMMONWEALTH. 189 
 
 Did the king's children visit him in prison ? 
 
 Which of them ? 
 
 What did he say to his son, the duke of Gloucester ? 
 
 Was the king put to death ? 
 
 What bishop attended him ? 
 
 Where was he executed 1 
 
 How did he behave ? 
 
 What did bishop Juxon say to him ? 
 
 How old was king Charles when he was beheaded ? 
 
 How many years had he reigned i 
 
 In what year was this ? 
 
 In what month 1 
 
 On what day of the month I 
 
 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 MY DEAR BOY, 
 
 My last letter ended with the melancholy account 
 of the death of Charles the First. Oliver Crom- 
 well, as we have seen, had a principal hand in 
 that bloody deed, pretending to have a great de- 
 sire to give liberty to the country, and to deliver 
 it from the power of kings. He soon, however, 
 showed how little he cared for the liberty of the 
 
190 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 people ; for he took upon himself a greater de- 
 gree of power than any English king had ever 
 exercised — though he was cunning enough to 
 avoid the name of a king. He was, therefore, called 
 Protector. He was, however, a bold and daring 
 fellow, and had great success in his wars. He 
 had a brave admiral called Blake ; and, with his 
 help, he beat both the Dutch and the Spaniards at 
 sea. It was in Cromwell's time, too, that Admi- 
 rals Penn and Venables took the island of Jamaica 
 in the West Indies, which still belongs to the 
 English, and is considered a place of great im- 
 portance to us, though the commanders who took 
 it, instead of being thanked for their conquest, 
 were sent prisoners to the Tower, because they 
 did not do all that was expected of them. Crom- 
 well likewise boldly attacked all those who op- 
 posed his government, in Ireland, in Scotland, and 
 at home. 
 
 But you perhaps wish to know what became of 
 the eldest son of Charles the First all this time, 
 who was, in truth, the real king of England. 
 You may be sure that there were many people 
 who would have been glad to have seen their true 
 king on the throne, instead of submitting to the 
 
THE COMMONWEALTH. 191 
 
 power of one who had no right whatever to the 
 kingly power, and who had taken it only by main 
 force and violence. Yes, there were many loyal 
 subjects ; but these were so terrified at the power 
 of Cromwell, and the great army which he com- 
 manded, that none of them dared come forward in 
 support of their young king. The Scotch, indeed, 
 made an attempt, and they sent for him from 
 Holland, where he was living for the sake of 
 security. They were but badly prepared, however, 
 to resist the forces of Cromwell ; a battle was 
 fought, and the Scotch army was soon beaten, and 
 many of them killed, whilst very few men were 
 lost in the army of Cromwell. 
 
 Young Charles then formed the bold resolution 
 of marching directly into England, with such of 
 the Scottish army as remained, hoping that he 
 should find many friends to join him in England. 
 In this, however, he was disappointed, for every 
 body seemed struck with terror at the power and 
 the success of Cromwell. Charles got as far as 
 Worcester ; but Cromwell had made haste to fol- 
 low him, with an army of forty thousand men. 
 Here was a terrible battle, and the king's little 
 army was soon completely beaten, and the king 
 
192 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 himself, though he fought boldly, was at last 
 obliged to escape for his life. 
 
 Cromwell tried every means he could think of, 
 to get the king into his power ; and it is quite 
 wonderful how Charles escaped, when he was pur- 
 sued in all directions, and spies set to watch him, 
 and great rewards offered to any one who should 
 take him. The young prince, however, found 
 friends who were firm and true to him, and who 
 contrived to keep him out of the hands of his ene- 
 mies, sometimes by hiding him, and sometimes 
 by dressing him in shabby clothes, that he might 
 not be known. 
 
 On one occasion, he mounted an oak tree, and 
 actually saw the soldiers, who were searching for 
 him, pass under the very tree where he was con- 
 cealed. At another time he was concealed in the 
 house of an honest and loyal cottager. Often he 
 slept in a hay-loft. Many times he was in great 
 distress for want of food and sufficient clothing. 
 He perfonned a long journey on horseback in the 
 dress of a servant, carrying behind him, for the 
 sake of concealment, a lady, Mrs. Lane, the wife 
 of a warm and loyal friend, who himself also kept 
 within sight, that he might assist the king in case 
 
THE COMMONWEALTH. 193 
 
 of necessity. Thus, after many narrow escapes, 
 they brought the king to the seaside, near Brigh- 
 ton, where a boat was provided for him : — and 
 in this way he got fairly out of the kingdom, and 
 was landed safely in France. 
 
 Cromwell, we may be sure, acquired great ap- 
 plause amongst his friends for his boldness and 
 success in battle ; he returned from the battle of 
 Worcester, in great triumph, to London ; and he 
 and the Parliament now possessed the whole 
 power of the nation. Cromwell was, however, 
 too ambitious to allow the Parliament to have its 
 share of power ; and, on the other hand, the Par- 
 liament was jealous of him and the army. But 
 the protector soon showed the Parliament what 
 was his way of settling such affairs. He actually 
 went to the Parliament-house himself, taking 
 with him three hundred soldiers, who were to re- 
 main on the outside till he stamped with his foot. 
 There he listened awhile to the debate ; but he 
 soon told them that he did not like their way of 
 proceeding, and that they need sit no longer. Then 
 he stamped with his feet, and the armed soldiers 
 appeared. Then he used every sort of abusive 
 language to the members of Parliament. " Ge» 
 
194 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 you gone," said he, " give place to honester men. 
 You are no longer a parliament : I tell you, you 
 are no longer a parliament." He called one of 
 them a "drunkard," another a "glutton," and 
 all the frightful names that he could think of. He 
 pointed to the mace which lay upon the table, and 
 said, " Take away that bauble." Then he turned 
 out all the members, and locked the door, and 
 put the key in his pocket, and returned home to 
 Whitehall. 
 
 After this new way of dissolving a Parliament, 
 it was necessary that another should be appointed. 
 But Cromwell was resolved to keep the power in 
 his own hands : and, for this purpose, he got toge- 
 ther a Parliament of such poor miserable crea- 
 tures, as could do nothing towards managing the 
 affairs of the State, so that Cromwell, in fact, did 
 every thing according to his own will and plea- 
 sure. One of these fine members of Parliament 
 was called Barebone, a foolish leather-seller ; and 
 this strange assembly was called, after him, the 
 Barebone's Parliament. We may be sure that 
 nothing could be done by such a set of people as 
 these ; so that there was soon an end of this Par- 
 liament ; and thus, according to his intention, 
 
THE COMMOJ^WEALTH. 195 
 
 Cromwell had every thing his own way. In his 
 wars, as I have already told you, he had great 
 success : but when he proved himself to be such 
 a tyrant, and w^as for carrying every measure 
 according to his own will, and was content with 
 nothing but absolute power, many of his old 
 friends forsook him, and there were many plots 
 and conspiracies set on foot to take away his life. 
 He was tormented in his mind, too, with the con- 
 stant fear of being murdered. He wore steel 
 armour under his clothes, and kept pistols in his 
 pockets, and had a miserably gloomy and sus- 
 picious countenance. He always travelled in a 
 great hurry, and never without a number of men 
 to guard him. He seldom came back from any 
 place by the same way that he went, and he was 
 constantly changing his bed-chamber, that nobody 
 might know where he slept ; he was miserable 
 when he was in company, for he thought every 
 man was his enemy ; and he was so full of fears 
 too, that he hardly knew how to be alone. 
 
 His end, however, was approaching. He was 
 
 seized with a tertian ague, which soon carried 
 
 him off; and he died in the year 1658, in the 
 
 59th year of his age. He had been in possession 
 
 s2 
 
196 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 of the government about ten years. He had 
 appointed his son Richard Cromwell to succeed 
 him ; and Richard was accordingly proclaimed 
 protector. He was not, however, in the least, 
 fitted for such a station, and was soon willing to 
 give it up. The people then began to wish for 
 their rightful king ; and, accordingly, Charles 
 was sent for, from Holland, where he was then 
 living ; and he entered London on the 29th of 
 May, which was his birth-day. This was in the 
 year 1660. This is called the Restoration, and 
 was principally brought about by general Monk, 
 a brave soldier, who had long possessed great 
 power in the army, and who now turned it to a 
 good purpose, by employing it in support of his 
 rightful sovereign. You know that, on the 29th 
 of May, we still celebrate the Restoration, and 
 carry about oak branches, in remembrance of the 
 king's escape in the oak tree. But I must tell 
 you more about king Charles the Second in my 
 next letter. 
 
 Ever yours. 
 
THE COMMONWEALTH. 197 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 After king Charles the First was beheaded, who exercised 
 the kingly power in England ? 
 
 Was Oliver Cromwell called king ? 
 
 What was he called ? 
 
 What sort of a man was he ? 
 
 Was he successful in his wars ? 
 
 What great admirals were there in Cromwell's time ? 
 
 What success had admiral Blake at sea ? 
 
 Who took the island of Jamaica 1 
 
 Where is Jamaica I 
 
 Who was properly the king of England at that time 1 
 
 Were any attempts made to put the young king in pos- 
 session of his throne 1 
 
 How did the Scotch succeed in this attempt ? 
 
 What great battle was fought in F.ngland between the 
 young king and Cromwell ? 
 
 What became of the young king, Charles the Second, after 
 the battle of Worcester ? 
 
 Can you relate any of the particulars of his escape to France 1 
 
 How did Cromwell treat the parliament ? 
 
 After Cromwell had dissolved the parliament, what sort of 
 a new one did he make I 
 
 Had Cromwell then all the power in his own hands I 
 
 Was he then happy I 
 
 How did he show his fears ? and how did he endeavour to 
 guard his person from attack ? 
 
 Of what disease did he die ? 
 
 s 3 
 
198 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 In what year ? 
 
 Who had the power after him ? 
 
 What sort of person was his son, Richard Cromwell ? 
 Did he keep the government long in his possession ? 
 Were any steps taken to bring the king over from Holland ? 
 Who was principally concerned in bringing back the king s 
 In what year did Charles the Second return ? 
 On what day of the month ? 
 
 In what way do we now call to mind the restoration of 
 Charles the Second on the 29th of May I 
 
 LETTER XXVII. 
 
 MY DEAR BOY, 
 
 By the good management of general Monk, 
 Charles the Second was brought back to Eng- 
 land to take possession of the throne. The 
 people had tried a new sort of government, but 
 they found, by experience, that the best thing 
 they could do was to go back to their old consti- 
 tution again, and to give the crown to the right- 
 ful heir, the son of the king who had been so 
 cruelly murdered. The young king accordingly 
 landed at Dover, and he entered London on the 
 
CHARLES II. 199 
 
 29th of May. This, as I have said, is called the 
 Restoration. People of all ranks were pleased to 
 have the kingly government restored again ; and 
 the second Charles was received with the greatest 
 joy and delight. After all the troubles that this 
 young prince had undergone, one might have 
 supposed that he would have learned wisdom ; 
 but it was quite the contrary : he seerned to think 
 of little else besides indulging his pleasures ; and 
 he encouraged all such sorts of people as were of 
 loose and profligate characters like himself. In 
 the time of Cromwell there was a great profession 
 of religion in the country, and you will perhaps 
 think that tliis was the best thing that they could 
 profess. And so it was ; but profession, you 
 know, is not practice. I do not mean to say 
 that all the professors of religion, at that day, 
 were hypocrites : for I believe that many of them 
 were indeed sincere men, and true Christians : 
 but many of them had the language of religion 
 in their mouths, whilst their conduct shows us 
 that they had not the right principles of it in 
 their hearts. The good Christians were earnest 
 in their desire to give up those sinful pleasures 
 and vanities which are such hindrances to true 
 
 t 
 
200 HISTORY OF ENei^AND. 
 
 religion ; and there were many others who were 
 willing to join in this strictness of outward be- 
 haviour^ who yet showed no wgns at all of the tem- 
 per and spirit of real Christians. Now the way to 
 cure wrong religion, is to introduce right religion : 
 to be as earnest in the cause of truth, as others 
 are in the cause of error ; and to show which is 
 the true religion, by the effect which it produces in 
 regulating our hearts, in teaching us kindness and 
 gentleness of temper, and in rendering our con- 
 duct upright, and pure, and good. But Charles 
 the Second had no notlpn of this way of proceed- 
 ing. He seemed to think that the best way was 
 to encourage every kind of gaiety and profligacy, 
 and to let the people be as careless and thought- 
 less about religion as they pleased. This is a sort 
 of doctrine the people are always willing enough 
 to listen to ; and this kind of teaching is sure to 
 get abundance of followers. There is no grace 
 wanted for this kind of work : nature itself is 
 quite sufficient. Accordingly, all the loose and 
 profligate people were delighted with their new 
 king. Charles, moreover, not only encouraged 
 those who had no appearance of religion, but he 
 harassed and persecuted those who had ; and this^ 
 
CHARLES II. 201 
 
 of course, made those who were sincere still more 
 persevering ; though it forced, indeed, to the 
 king's party, a few who. were not worth having. 
 You are not, however, to suppose that the king 
 gave up all forms and all appearances of reli- 
 gion. Oh ! no. There were preachers about him, 
 and some very good ones too, who exhorted the 
 people to obedience and to good works : but 
 what can be expected from this, when that reli- 
 gious principle, that Christian faith, which is to 
 be the foundation of all good works, is ridiculed 
 and despised ? And so, notwithstanding the ex- 
 ertions of many good and learned men, I believe 
 there was no time when there was more vice and 
 profligacy in this country, than in the " merry 
 days " of Charles the Second. 
 
 But we must go on with our history. When 
 Charles was restored, he seemed but little anxious 
 to reward his friends, or to punish his former ene- 
 mies. This arose probably frorri his easy temper, 
 and love of pleasure, rather than from any other 
 feeling. If he could get money for his pleasures, 
 he cared for little else. He had an excellent 
 minister. Lord Clarendon : but this good man was 
 in no great favour with the king, as his wish was 
 
202 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 to advance the prosperity of the country, instead 
 of seeing it injured by the bad example and ex- 
 travagance of the king The king married a 
 princess of Portugal for the sake of her money, 
 that he might be enabled to go on in his expen- 
 sive profligacy. After this he got rid of his 
 adviser, the earl of Clarendon, and took into his 
 confidence a set of men better suited to his pur- 
 pose. These ministers went by the name of the 
 ' Cabal," because, I suppose, they were thought 
 to be caballing together against the people ; — and 
 the first letters of their names happened to make 
 this word. They were, sir Thomas Clifford, lord 
 Ashley, the duke of Buckingham, lord Arlington, 
 and the duke of Lauderdale. 
 
 The people were, at that time, much dissatis- 
 fied : and it is likewise said that the Papists were 
 contriving secret plans for murdering the king 
 and regaining their power : there is a terrible 
 story of a Popish plot, but it is told in so strange 
 a manner, that we scarcely know whether to 
 believe it or not, and it is too long for me to write 
 to you about. 
 
 I must not, however, forget to tell you, that, in 
 this king's reign, there was a terrible plague in 
 
CHARLES II. 203 
 
 London. It broke out in the month of October, 
 in the year 1665, and carried off, it is said, more 
 than seventy thousand of the inhabitants. 
 
 The next year, on the third of September, an- 
 other dreadful calamity happened in London. A 
 fire broke out at a baker's shop, near London- 
 bridge, which lasted three days and three nights, 
 and reduced a great part of the city of London to 
 ashes : it is said that thirteen thousand dwell- 
 ing-houses were destroyed, besides eighty-nine 
 churches ; and that the ruins covered 436 acres 
 of land. These are dreadful calamities, however 
 indifferently we may think about them at this dis- 
 tance of time. One benefit, however, did arise 
 out of the fire ; the new streets were built much 
 wider than the old ones, and thus the city was 
 rendered more airy and wholesome, and the danger 
 of the plague was thus greatly lessened. I most 
 sincerely believe that every thing in this world 
 is brought about by the direction of an Almighty 
 Providence, and I believe that, however myste- 
 rious his dealings may sometimes appear to his 
 people, yet in the end they will be all found to 
 be for their good. At the same time I am not 
 
204 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 fond of attempting to declare the particular de- 
 sign of Providence in any event that happens ; 
 for we cannot form any certain judgment on the 
 subject: but, when we are disposed to indulge in 
 such considerations, we cannot help thinking that, 
 by the fire and the pestilence, the Almighty pun- 
 ished a profligate nation for its sins ; but that, 
 in his mercy, He made this visitation productive 
 of good in the end. Since the time of rebuilding 
 the city, London has been no more visited with 
 the plague. 
 
 In the year 1685 the king was seized with a 
 sudden fit of apoplexy ; he was bled, and ap- 
 peared better, but he survived only a few days 
 afterwards. He died in the fifty-ninth year of 
 his age, and the twenty-fifth of his reign, reck- 
 oning from the time of his restoration. It is said 
 that he was attached to the Roman Catholic re- 
 ligion ; for when some Clergymen of the Church 
 of England came to him during his illness, he 
 paid very little attention to them, but he listened 
 to the Catholic priests, and received the rites of 
 the Church from them. Whatever his religion 
 was, it produced but little effect on his conduct, 
 
CHARLES II. 205 
 
 and his could not, therefore, be anything like true 
 religion. — But I must conclude. 
 
 Believe me, my dear boy, 
 
 Your affectionate father. 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 In what year did you say that Charles the Second was re- 
 stored to the throne of England ? 
 
 And what general did you say was the chief instrument in 
 restoring him 1 
 
 Where did the king land ? 
 
 What is the return of king Charles called ? 
 
 Were the people glad to have a kingly government again ? 
 
 Had the king learned wisdom by his misfortunes ? 
 
 Then what sort of character was he ? 
 
 Were the profligate people pleased with the king ? 
 
 Did he encourage religious people ? 
 
 Was the reign of Charles the Second a time of wickedness 
 and profligacy ? 
 
 Was the king anxious to reward his friends who had sup- 
 ported him in the time of his misfortunes 1 
 
 What excellent minister had the king I 
 
 Was lord Clarendon in great favour with the king I 
 
 Whom did the king marry ? 
 
 Why did he marry her ? 
 
 T 
 
206 HISTL-llY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Did he get rid of his faithful minister, the earl of Clarendon ? 
 
 Whom did he then take into his confidence ? 
 
 What were the names of those ministers who were called 
 the "Cabal?" 
 
 Was there not a supposed conspu'acy against the king, 
 called the " Popish plot ?" 
 
 Are the accounts of this clear and satisfactory ? 
 
 Do you remember in what year the great plague broke out 
 in London ? 
 
 How many persons are supposed to have then died of the 
 plague I 
 
 What happened in the next year ! 
 
 Where did the fire of London break out ? 
 
 How long did it last ? 
 
 How many dwelling-houses are supposed to have been de- 
 stroyed by the fire I 
 
 How many churches 1 
 
 How many acres of land is it said that the ruins covered ? 
 
 Was the city of London improved after the fire ? 
 
 Has London been visited by the plague, since the time we 
 are speaking of ? 
 
 In what year did the king die 1 
 
 Of what disease ? 
 
 How old was he ! 
 
 What religion is it supposed that king Charles was at- 
 tached to I 
 
 But do you think that he was really attached to any reli- 
 gion ? 
 
 Why do you think he was not 
 
LETTER XXVIIL 
 
 MY DEAR BOY, 
 
 After the death of Charles the Second, his bro- 
 ther, the duke of York, became king. His name 
 was James, and he was the second king of that 
 name. We have already seen what pains the 
 good bishops and other Christian men had taken 
 to get rid of the Roman Catholic religion, and 
 how they had suffered, in this cause, during the 
 reign of queen Mary. Since that time, the Pro- 
 testant religion was professed and established in 
 this kingdom ; but James the Second was not 
 attached to the reformed religion ; he was a Papist 
 at heart ; and it is moreover said, that he sent 
 over to the Pope of Rome, and begged to put 
 himself and his kingdom under his authority in 
 all matters of religion. This, you may be sure, 
 caused great discontent ; and a rebellion broke 
 out, which was headed by a young man, called 
 the duke of Monmouth, who pretended to be the 
 lawful son of the late king. People were so dis- 
 t2 
 
208 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 satisfied with James, that they willingly listened 
 to this youth, and would have been very glad to 
 have had him for their king, especially as he was 
 a very fine, graceful, pleasing young man. He 
 came over from Holland, and landed in Dorset- 
 shire, with a small army, expecting to be joined 
 by numbers of the discontented English. Many, 
 indeed, did join him, but not enough to enable 
 him to overcome the army which the king sent 
 out against him. There was, however, a bloody 
 battle fought at Sedgmore ^ ; and, at one time, the 
 young duke appeared to have a good prospect of 
 success ; but, in the end, the king was victorious — 
 the rebels fled; about three hundred of them 
 were killed in battle, and about a thousand in the 
 pursuit ; and thus an end was put to this rash 
 expedition. The duke of Monmouth had no right 
 whatever to the throne, and it was, therefore, a 
 wicked act of rebellion in him to attempt to 
 disturb the king or the country ; but still his 
 sad fate must excite our compassion. After the 
 battle, he fled for his life. He rode for twenty 
 miles, expecting every moment to be overtaken 
 and seized. At length, his horse, exhausted with 
 ^ Near Bridge water, in Somersetshire. 
 
JAMES II. 209 
 
 fatigue, could go no further. He was obliged 
 then to alight and to proceed on foot ; then, to 
 avoid being seized, he exchanged clothes with a 
 shepherd. He was soon completely worn out 
 with hunger and weariness, and was obliged to 
 stop. He lay down in a rough field, and covered 
 himself with fern. The poor shepherd was soon 
 found in the duke's clothes ; and this discovery 
 encouraged the pursuers to search more diligently 
 for the duke himself. They pursued him with 
 blood-hounds, and they found him in his dirty 
 clothes, and in a most miserable situation, with 
 raw peas in his pocket, which he had gathered in 
 the fields, having no other food to keep him alive. 
 He was then seized, and carried before the king ; 
 he earnestly begged for pardon ; but it was de- 
 nied him — he was tried, and condemned, and be- 
 headed. When he was on the scaffold, he begged 
 of the executioner to strike boldly, that he might 
 not have to strike a second blow, as he had done 
 in the case of lord Russell. But this, instead of 
 giving courage to the man, put him into such a 
 trepidation, that he could scarcely strike at all. 
 After the first feeble blow, the duke raised his 
 head from the block as if to chide him ; then he 
 
210 HISTORY Of ENGLAND. 
 
 gently laid It down again : and the executioner 
 struck him several times without any effect, and 
 at length threw down his axe and gave up the 
 attempt. The sheriff, however, obliged him to 
 perform his office, and then, after two more blows, 
 the head was taken off. 
 
 There was another rebellion going on at the 
 same time in Scotland, under the duke of Argyle, 
 which was intended to assist the design of the 
 duke of Monmouth ; but this was put down by 
 the king's troops, and the duke himself was 
 wounded and taken prisoner ; he was found stand- 
 ing up to his neck in a pond of water. He was 
 carried to Edinburgh ^ ; and, after enduring great 
 sufferings with a brave spirit, he was publicly 
 executed. 
 
 The commanders of the king's army treated 
 the prisoners which they took in battle with dread- 
 ful severity ; and judge Jeffries, a monster of 
 cruelty, showed every kind of savage barbarity in 
 his treatment of those who were tried by him as 
 rebels. 
 
 In religious matters, too, there was as much 
 
 * The capital of Scotland. 
 
JAMES II. 211 
 
 cause for discontent. The king encouraged Popery ; 
 and if any clergyman attempted to preach against 
 it, he was prevented from preaching at all, or of 
 performing any of the religious duties of his 
 parish. 
 
 A measure, apparently the very contrary to 
 this, was next adopted. A declaration of in- 
 dulgence to every sect and sort of religion was 
 put forth, and liberty of conscience was to be 
 proclaimed to all. This had the appearance of 
 liberality ; but the intention of the king is sup- 
 posed to have been to give an opportunity to the 
 Catholics of again getting into power ; and, indeed, 
 he at that time showed them many very parti- 
 cular acts of favour. By-and-by, it was ordered 
 that this declaration of liberty of conscience 
 should be read in all the churches of the kingdom. 
 The clergy saw that this measure would be dan- 
 gerous to the Protestant cause ; and the greater 
 part of them, therefore, refused to read the decla- 
 ration. Seven bishops sent an address to the 
 king, saying that they could not order their clergy 
 to read the declaration, without acting quite 
 against their own consciences, and betraying the 
 Protestant religion. The king was violently angry 
 
212 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 with them, and they were sent to the Tower. This 
 made a great noise at the time, and the seven 
 bishops received the congratulations and ap- 
 plauses of all the good Protestant subjects in 
 the _ kingdom. They were afterwards tried for 
 sedition at Westminster-hall ; but the jury, after 
 sitting up all night, returned into the court, and 
 said, Not Guilty. There was a shout of delight 
 tlirough the whole hall, which was caught by the 
 people on the outside, and presently spread 
 through all London and its neighbourhood. It 
 is said that the king heard it at Hounslow-heath, 
 where he was encamped. When his majesty 
 asked the cause of those rejoicings, he was told 
 that it was " nothing but the soldiers shouting 
 because the bishops were acquitted." " Do you 
 call that nothing?" said the king ; " but so much 
 the worse for them." 
 
 When every thing seemed to be going on as ill 
 as possible, the people began to think that the 
 only way to preserve the Protestant religion, 
 was to encourage William, prince of Orange, to 
 endeavour to get possession of the kingdom, and 
 thus to prevent all the evils which seemed to 
 threaten it. 
 
JAMES II. 213 
 
 This prince had married the king's daughter, 
 and, therefore, the thoughts of the people were 
 naturally directed towards him ; but they chiefly 
 wished for him, because he was a Protestant. 
 
 He came over from Holland with a large army, 
 and landed in Devonshire, on the 5th of Novem- 
 ber. He waited many days before he was joined 
 by a sufficient force to give him much confidence 
 in his attempt. At length vast numbers of the 
 leading people of the country joined him, so that 
 he seemed to carry every thing his own way. Poor 
 king James was deserted by almost all his friends : 
 and even his daughter Ann, with her husband, the 
 prince of Denmark, went over to the party of 
 William. When the king heard this, he fell into 
 the deepest grief, and said, that even " his own 
 children had forsaken him." 
 
 He was now advised to leave the kingdom. He 
 sent away the queen and his little son ; and they 
 arrived safely in France : but the poor king was 
 seized and brought back a prisoner. Soon after 
 this, however, he contrived to make his escape 
 from Rochester, where he was confined, and he 
 then went to France. 
 
 As the king had thus abdicated (or given up) 
 
214 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 the throne, it was agreed that the prince and 
 princess of Orange should reign in his stead, 
 under the title of king William and queen Mary. 
 This change, which is called the Revolution, took 
 place in the year 1688. 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 In what year did Charles the Second die I 
 
 Who became king after him 1 
 
 What relation was James the Second to Charles the Second 1 
 
 Was James the Second a favourer of the Protestant re- 
 ligion, or of the Roman Catholic i 
 
 Was any rebellion raised against the king ? 
 
 Who headed this rebellion ? 
 
 Did the duke of Monmouth raise an army in opposition to 
 the king 1 
 
 Was any battle fought 1 
 
 Where 1 
 
 Which side conquered ? 
 
 Had the duke of Monmouth any right to the throne ? 
 
 What became of the duke of Monmouth, after the battle 
 of Sedgmore ? 
 
 Was the duke executed ? 
 
 Was any rebellion going on, at the same time, in Scotland ? 
 
 Who headed that rebellion ? 
 
 What became of the duke of Argyle I 
 
JAMES IT. 215 
 
 How were the prisoners, taken at Sedgmore and other 
 
 places, treated by the commanders of the armies ? 
 What judge tried the rebels, and how did he treat them, 
 
 and what was his character ? 
 Did the king try to encourage Popery ! 
 How did he treat the clergy who felt it to be their duty 
 
 to show what they considered wrong in the Roman 
 
 Catholic religion I 
 Did the king soon after this, put forth a declaration of 
 
 indulgence to every sect of religion ? 
 Is it not supposed that he did this for the sake of opening 
 
 a way for bringing back the Roman Catholics into 
 
 power ? 
 Was this declaration ordered to be read in all the churches 
 
 of the kingdom ? 
 Did any of the bishops resist this order ! 
 How many I 
 What became of them ? 
 Were they acquitted, or not I 
 Did the people rejoice greatly at their acquittal ? 
 Where was the king ? — Did he hear the sound of their re- 
 joicing ? — And what did he say 1 
 Did the people turn their thoughts to any other person 
 
 to be king, for the sake of preserving the Protestant 
 
 religion ? 
 Who was this ? 
 How was William, prince of Orange, connected with the 
 
 royal family of England 1 
 Did this prince come over to England I 
 Where did he land l 
 
216 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 In what year, and on what day of the month 1 
 
 Was he joined by the people generally ! 
 
 How did king James receive the tidings of the landing of 
 
 the prince of Orange, and the desertion of hia own 
 
 children J 
 What became of king James ? 
 Was the prince of Orange then chosen king ? 
 Under what title 1 
 What was the name of his queen ? 
 What is this change of affairs generally called I 
 
 L E T T E E XXIX. 
 
 MY DEAR BOY, 
 
 We saw, in my last letter, that when James the 
 Second abdicated the throne, king Wilham and 
 queen Mary were chosen instead of him. The 
 people of England had such a wish to have a 
 true Protestant king, that they rejoiced at getting 
 rid of James, and having William and Mary in 
 his stead. But it was not so in Ireland, where 
 there were many papists, who still supported 
 king James. He, therefore, went and joined his 
 friends in Ireland ; he found the old army steady 
 in his cause, and he raised a new one in addition 
 to it. This army harassed the Protestants, who 
 
WILLIAM AND MART. 217 
 
 were friends of WilHam, and caused many of them 
 to fly for protection to Scotland and to England. 
 About ten thousand of them, however, got into 
 the town of Londonderry, in the north of Ireland, 
 and there resolved to make a stand against their 
 enemies. James then attacked the town; and 
 there never was a braver defence than that which 
 was made by the friends of William. The town 
 was weak in its fortifications ; but the men were 
 brave and resolute ; and they were determined to 
 hold out to the last moment in defence of the 
 town, and of their Protestant king. After de- 
 fending the town for a long time, they began to 
 be in great distress, and there was a great deal of 
 disease among them for want of food. They sup- 
 ported their lives by eating horses, dogs, and every 
 thing that could possibly be used for the purpose 
 of sustaining life. At length, very happily, a ship 
 with provisions was sent to their relief, and it 
 succeeded in reaching the town, notwithstanding 
 all the difficulties of the attempt, and all the pains 
 which were taken to prevent it. After this, the 
 siege was given up. 
 
 Still, however, James and his friends continued 
 to harass the supporters of the Protestant cause ; 
 
 u 
 
218 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 till, at length, William determined to go over to 
 Ireland, himself. The two armies met near the 
 river Boyne : they were encamped on opposite 
 sides of this river, and expected soon to come to 
 an engagement. While William was riding along 
 the bank of the river, he was seen by the enemy ; 
 and a cannon was fired at him. The shot killed 
 several of his attendants, and wounded the king 
 in the shoulder ; and there was a report that he 
 was dead, which caused great grief in his army. 
 But William presently rode through his camp to 
 show himself to his men ; at which they were all 
 restored to their good spirits, and ardent desire of 
 victory. The next morning king William deter- 
 mined to try to force a passage over the river ; 
 this the enemy resisted, and so the battle began ; 
 and it ended in favour of king William and 
 the English. This put an end to the hopes of 
 James. Some of his friends, indeed, continued 
 for a time to support his cause with great bravery. 
 Many battles were fought ; the last effort of the 
 Catholics was in the defence of the city of Lime- 
 rick, which they were at length obliged to surren- 
 der ; and king William granted them favourable 
 terms 
 
WILLIAM AND MaRY. 219 
 
 James was, at this time, in France ; for the 
 king of France, Louis the Fourteenth, was his 
 friend, and did all he could to restore him to his 
 power in England ; but every attempt failed. 
 James lived a life of religious retirement till the 
 year 1701, when, after a very tedious sickness, he 
 died. 
 
 William was a great soldier ; and he employed 
 almost the whole of his reign in wars against 
 France. His constitution was not strong, and his 
 constant anxiety and exertions seemed to be wear- 
 ing him away. He rode much on horseback for 
 the sake of his health ; and one day, as he was 
 riding from Hampton Court to Kensington, his 
 horse fell under him, and his collar-bone was 
 broken. He was then carried back to Hampton 
 Court, where his fracture was attended to. In 
 the evening he proceeded to Kensington in his 
 carriage, the jolting of which separated the bones 
 again. They were afterwards replaced : but the 
 king was in a bad state of health at the time, and 
 every attempt in his favour turned out ill. He 
 died in the fifty-second year of his age, in the 
 fourteenth of his reign. This was in the year 
 1702. 
 
 u2 
 
220 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Queen Mary died in the thirty-third year of 
 her age, of the small-pox. This, as you know, is 
 a very dangerous disease, if taken in the natural 
 way. The art of inoculating persons for the 
 small-pox, and thus rendering the disease more 
 mild, was not then known in England. In our 
 time, vaccination has been discovered by Dr. Jen- 
 ner, which produces a disease still milder, scarcely 
 to be called a disease ; but which is generally 
 found to prevent the liability to small-pox as 
 effectually as inoculation. 
 
 Ever yours, &c. 
 
 Character of William the Third, 
 
 William the Third w^as of a middle stature ; 
 thin, and of a delicate constitution ; subject to an 
 asthma and continual cough from his infancy. 
 He had an aquiline (hooked) nose, sparkling eyes, 
 and a large forehead. He was a great warrior, 
 but not a pleasing companion. He was consi- 
 dered to be religious, temperate, and sincere ; but 
 his ambition led him into continual wars. 
 
WILLIAM AND MARY. 221 
 
 aUESTIONfl, 
 
 When king James had abdicated the throne of England, 
 
 who was chosen in his place ? 
 What relation was the new queen to king James ? 
 Wliat was the religion of king William and of queen Mary ? 
 Did the English rejoice in having William and Mary, in- 
 stead of James 2 
 Why did they ? 
 
 Were the Irish also glad of this change ! 
 Why were they not ? 
 Did king James go to Ireland ! 
 What town was besieged by king James and his Irish 
 
 supporters ? 
 Can you mention any of the particulars of the siege of 
 
 Londonderry 1 
 Did James and the Roman Catholics of Ireland continue 
 
 to oppose the Protestant army of king William 1 
 Where was a great battle fought I 
 Which side was victorious ! 
 In what city did the Irish Catholics make their last stand 
 
 in favour of king James ! 
 Where did James the Second reside during the latter part 
 
 of his life ! 
 Did the king of France lend him his assistance ? 
 Who was king of France at that time I 
 Were many attempts made to restore king James to the 
 
 throne of England 1 
 Did they succeed ? 
 
 u 3 
 
222 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 In what manner did James pass the latter years of his life, 
 and where did he die, and in what year ! 
 
 Was king William a great soldier, and was he, dui'ing a 
 great part of his reign, engaged in war ? 
 
 Against whom chiefly 1 
 
 What was the cause of his death t 
 
 Where did he die ? 
 
 In what year was this 1 
 
 What was the cause of queen Mary's death ! 
 
 LETTER XXX. 
 
 MY DEAR BOY, 
 
 In the last letter which I wrote to you, I told you 
 that, after king James the Second had given up 
 the crown of England, king William was chosen 
 to be king in his stead. I think I told you, also, 
 that queen Mary, William's wife, was the daughter 
 of James the Second. Now there was no ob- 
 jection to having Mary for a queen, for she was 
 not a Papist, like her father ; she had embraced 
 the Protestant religion. King James had also 
 another daughter, whose name was Anne ; and, 
 as she was a Protestant likewise, she was ap- 
 
ANNE. 223 
 
 pointed to be queen, after the death of William ; 
 for William died without children. The rest of 
 the family of James were not allowed to reign in 
 England, because they still continued to follow 
 the Popish religion. They made, indeed, several 
 attempts to get possession of the kingdom, but 
 could never succeed ; for the people now saw the 
 excellence of the Christian religion, as it is held 
 by Protestants, and, therefore, it was settled, by 
 law, that no Papist should be king of England. 
 The male descendants of king James did, indeed, 
 call themselves kings and princes of England ; 
 they are, however, usually called, by the English, 
 Pretenders ; but I may, perhaps, say more of them 
 in another letter. 
 
 Queen Anne was thirty- eight years of age when 
 she came to the throne. 
 
 I told you that the greater part of the last 
 king's reign was taken up in wars ; because the 
 king was himself a great soldier : but we shall see 
 that, even in the reign of Anne, there was a great 
 deal of fighting too. The queen herself, it is true, 
 could not be expected to fight ; but she had a 
 great general, the duke of Marlborough, and he 
 fought a great many battles against the French, and 
 
224 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 generally beat them. The French king, Louis the 
 Fourteenth, thought, that when our king William 
 was dead, and England was governed by a woman, 
 he should have nothing to fear ; but he soon found 
 that he was deceived in holding this opinion ; for 
 the queen was determined to keep up the character 
 of the country for bravery, and her friend, the 
 duchess of Marlborough, encouraged her in this, 
 and the duke fought for her ; so that things were, 
 perhaps, never carried on with more spirit in 
 England than in the reign of queen Anne. Many 
 battles were won, and many towns on the Con- 
 tinent were taken, and a great deal of honour was 
 gained to the general, and the soldiers, and the 
 nation ; but whether any real advantage was got 
 by these wars, or any addition to the nation's real 
 prosperity or happiness, is a matter which I shall 
 not pretend to determine. 
 
 The greatest battle which the duke of Marl- 
 borough fought was the battle of Blenheim. It 
 was so called, because it was fought in the neigh- 
 bourhood of the village of Blenheim, near the river 
 Danube, in Germany. The duke gained a com- 
 plete victory. The queen and the people were 
 filled with joy at this success. The duke had a 
 
ANNE. 225 
 
 grant given him of the manor of Woodstock, near 
 Oxford, with a noble park. A splendid house was 
 likewise built for him in the park ; which belongs 
 to the family now, and is called Blenheim, in 
 honour of the duke's great victory. 
 
 But, whilst we are speaking of this great Eng- 
 lish general, and the brave English soldiers, we 
 must not forget to mention the brave admirals and 
 sailors too. At the beginning of queen Anne's 
 reign, indeed, we were not so successful by sea as 
 we have been since : I cannot, however, help tell- 
 ing you of the brave admiral Benbow ; he fought 
 like any English admiral of our own days ; but 
 his officers treated him most cruelly, and behaved 
 quite in a different manner from what any of our 
 naval captains w^ould do now. 
 
 Admiral Benbow was placed near the West 
 Indies with a fleet of ten ships to annoy the 
 enemy's trade, and he was informed that the 
 French admiral was in those seas, with a force 
 equal to his own. He presently found the ene- 
 my's ships, and immediately formed the line of 
 battle, and began the attack ; but he soon saw 
 that he was left almost alone to bear the whole 
 fire of the enemy. The admiral, however, kept. 
 
226 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 fighting on till night, and he determined to re- 
 sume the attack the next day. In the morning, 
 he found, to his great dismay, that all his ships, 
 but one, had fallen back. Still, however, this 
 brave admiral, with only one ship to assist him, 
 continued to pursue and engage the enemy, for 
 four days. The last day's battle was more furi- 
 ous than the rest, and in this, his leg was taken 
 off by a cannon ball. He then ordered that they 
 should place him in a cradle on the quarter-deck, 
 and he continued to give his orders till his ship 
 was so completely disabled that he could go on no 
 longer. 
 
 When one of his lieutenants, during the fight, 
 expressed his sorrow for the loss of the admiral's 
 leg, " Yes," said Benbow, " I am sorry for it too; 
 but I had rather have lost both my legs than 
 have seen the dishonour of this day. But, do you 
 hear ? if another shot should take me off, behave 
 like men, and fight it out." The admiral soon 
 died of his wounds ; and the officers who had de- 
 serted him were severely punished. Two of them 
 were shot, by the sentence of a court-martial at 
 Plymouth. 
 
 I must not forget to tell you, too, that it was 
 
ANNE. 227 
 
 in queen Anne's reign that Gibraltar was taken. 
 This is a town, as you will see in your map, a 
 the very bottom (or south) of Spain. It was 
 taken from the Spaniards by Sir George Rooke : 
 you may be sure that this was not done without 
 severe fighting, as the place is defended, perhaps, 
 more strongly than any other place in the world. 
 The English, however, took it, and they have kept 
 it ever since ; and, as you see that it is just at the 
 straits, or narrow sea, by which the Mediterranean 
 is entered, it give* us great power and command 
 in that sea. 
 
 There are so many things to write about in this 
 reign, that it is impossible to give you an account 
 of them all, in my short letters ; and, if I were to 
 attempt to describe all the battles that were 
 fought, and all the politics of the day, and the 
 changes of ministers, and the Whigs and the 
 Tories, and other things of this nature, you would 
 not at present, perhaps, take much interest in 
 such things. I must not, however, forget to tell 
 you, that it was in this reign that the union of 
 Scotland and England was made. You know 
 that James the First of England was also king of 
 Scotland. He was lavful heir to both kingdoms: 
 
228 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 and, since that time, the two kingdoms were 
 governed by the same king ; but still they were 
 separate kingdoms, and had different parliaments. 
 It was, however, thought likely to be an advan- 
 tage to them both to have them united under one 
 government; and this, after much debating and 
 delay, was at last agreed upon. The greater part 
 of the nation seemed to approve of the measure ; 
 and it appears to have answered their expecta- 
 tions, and to have been a great benefit to both 
 countries. 
 
 In queen Anne's reign an act was passed for 
 building fifty new churches in and about London. 
 This was an excellent measure ; for London kept 
 increasing in size, and, therefore, there was not 
 sufficient room to accommodate those who might 
 wish to worship in the Established Church. It 
 was, therefore, highly necessary to remedy this 
 evil. When people neglect religious worship, 
 they generally become forgetful of all religious 
 duty, and are then led into the practice of any 
 crime to which they may be tempted. Church- 
 room should be provided for all, the poor as well 
 as the rich, that they may attend if they please. 
 If they then neglect the duty of religious worship, 
 
ANNE. 229 
 
 — or rather, I should say, give up so great a pri- 
 vilege, — then they are themselves to answer for 
 it ; the fault will be their own, not that of the 
 government. 
 
 A few only of these churches were, however, 
 then built ; and there has been a general com- 
 plaint of want of church-room in the neighbour- 
 hood of London ever since : and it has been par- 
 ticularly felt in our own day, since so much has 
 been added to the size of London within the last 
 few years. Happily, however, many new churches 
 have been lately built ; so that we will now hope 
 that no one need be absent from church for want 
 of room : — what a happiness it would be if no one 
 were absent for want of desire to worship God» 
 to hear his word, and to learn his will ! 
 
 I must, however, bring my letter to a conclu- 
 sion. The poor queen, notwithstanding all the 
 victories, and the prosperity of the nation, was 
 harassed and tormented by the quarrels and jea- 
 lousies and changes of her ministers : first one 
 party was in favour, then another ; then she found 
 that those whom she considered as her best friends, 
 were accused of laying plots and snares to oppose 
 her wishes ; and, during all these perplexities, 
 
 X 
 
230 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 her health began to give way, and she had not 
 strength to bear the fatigues and difficulties of 
 state affairs. She sunk into a sort of insensible 
 and indifferent state of mind ; and all that the 
 physicians could do seemed to be of very little 
 use. 
 
 On the 13th of July, 1714, she seemed some- 
 what relieved by medicines; she rose from her 
 bed about eight o'clock, and walked a little. 
 After some time, casting her eyes on a clock that 
 stood in her chamber, she continued to gaze at 
 it for some minutes. One of the ladies in wait- 
 ing asked her what she saw there, more than 
 usual; to which the queen only answered by 
 turning her eyes upon her with a dying look. 
 She was presently afterwards seized with a fit of 
 apoplexy, from which, however, she was somewhat 
 recovered by the assistance of Dr. Mead. She 
 continued all night in a state of stupefaction. She 
 gave some signs of life between twelve and one 
 the next day : but expired the following morning, 
 in the forty-ninth year of her age, after a reign of 
 twelve years. 
 
 Queen Anne was married to prince George ol 
 Denmark ; but we do not consider her husband 
 
ANNE. 231 
 
 as king of England, because the crown came to 
 queen Anne in her own right, and not in her hus- 
 band's ; and, therefore, she became reigning queen ; 
 her husband having nothing to do with the nation 
 in the character of a king. 
 
 Anne died without children : she had had 
 several, but they all died: it therefore became 
 necessary to inquire who should reign after her. 
 This question had already caused a good deal of 
 debate during her reign ; some people wished for 
 the male descendants of James the Second ; but 
 those who were against the Papists, chose rather 
 to look to another branch of the royal family who 
 were Protestants ; and these last were in favour 
 of the elector of Hanover. 
 
 The first sort were called Jacobites, which 
 means followers of James*; and the others were 
 called Hanoverians, because they were in favour 
 of the house of Hanover. There were many 
 quarrels between these two parties, of which I 
 need not speak just now. The nation, however, 
 for the most part, were for the elector of Hanover, 
 very wisely choosing to have a Protestant king. 
 
 * Jacob is the old name of James. 
 x2 
 
232 HISTORY OF ENGLAND, 
 
 This king was George the First, of whom I intend 
 to write to you in my next letter. 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 In what year did queen Anne come to the throne ? 
 
 Whose daughter was she I 
 
 Why was not the son of James the Second allowed to be king ? 
 
 Were any attempts made in favour of the son of James 1 
 
 Did the papists consider this person to be the rightful king ? 
 
 What do we generally call him J 
 
 How old was queen Anne when she began to reign ? 
 
 Was queen Anne much engaged in war I 
 
 Who was her principal general I 
 
 Who was king of France at that time ? 
 
 Which is considered to be the greatest of all the many 
 
 battles which the duke of Marlborough fought ? 
 How did the queen reward the services of the duke of 
 
 Marlborough ? 
 What is the mansion called where the duke of Marlborough 
 
 resides I 
 Where is it ? 
 
 What admiral ismuch celebrated in the reignof queen Anne ? 
 What is related of him during a sea engagement near the 
 
 West Indies ? 
 Where is Gibraltar ? 
 When was it taken i 
 Who took it I 
 
GEORGE I. 233 
 
 Was there much party spirit in this reign, between the 
 
 Whigs and Tories ? 
 What do you mean by the union between England and 
 
 Scotland, and during whose reign was this made 1 
 Was any thing done towards accommodating the people 
 
 with church-room ? 
 What was it I 
 Was the queen much disturbed by the disputes of her 
 
 ministers ? 
 Can you relate the circumstances of her death, and tell me 
 
 in what year it happened 1 
 Who was the queen's husband I 
 Was he considered as kmg 1 
 Why not 1 
 
 Did she leave any children I 
 Who succeeded her ? 
 What do you mean by Jacobites ? 
 
 LETTER XXXI. 
 
 MY DEAR BOY, 
 
 After the death of queen Anne, George the 
 First became king of England, He was a Ger- 
 man, but his mother was a grand- daughter of 
 James the First ; and his relationship to the 
 royal family of England was the great reason 
 X 3 
 
234 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 why he was fixed upon to be king : but, besides 
 this, he was a Protestant, and an act of Parliament 
 was therefore passed to make him king, the fa- 
 mily of James the Second being excluded because 
 they were Papists. George the First was fifty- 
 four years of age when he became king of Eng- 
 land : and this mature age gave the people great 
 confidence in him, and he was joyfully received 
 by the greater part of the nation. Kings, how- 
 ever, as well as their subjects, have their trou- 
 bles ; and the disputes among the ministers, and 
 the quarrels about Whigs and Tories, and Ja- 
 cobites and Hanoverians, were at this time a 
 great torment to the king, and to all the country. 
 Some of the people were still friendly to the son 
 of king James the Second, who, as I have already 
 told you, was called the Pretender, and many 
 attempts were made to get the kingdom out of the 
 hands of king George, and to give it to him. 
 Many of the principal lords and great people 
 were concerned in a conspiracy to restore the 
 Pretender, and especially the Scotch lords, who 
 still clung to the Popish religion, and did all they 
 could to oppose king George and his government. 
 The earl of Mar raised an army in Scotland in 
 
GEORGE I. 235 
 
 support of the Pretender, and he was assisted by 
 lord Lovat, and other powerful people ; but his 
 friends forsoolc him, and the duke of Argyle was 
 sent with an army to oppose him, and there was 
 quickly an end of this attempt. After this, the 
 rebels, under the earl of Derwentwater, made an 
 attempt in the north of England, and were joined 
 by the Scotch, and got as far as Kendal in West- 
 morland, and took possession of the town; but 
 they were soon driven from this place ; and, in 
 short, all the attempts of the Pretender and his 
 friends seemed to come to nothing. This is what 
 is called the rebellion of seventeen hundred and 
 fifteen. There was one afterwards, in the time of 
 George the Second, in favour of the Pretender, 
 headed by prince Charles his son, which is called 
 the rebellion of forty-five ; but, I may, perhaps, 
 speak about that another time ; I only mention it 
 here that you may not confuse the two together. 
 The Pretender's attempts in this rebellion o^ fif- 
 teen all failed, and many of the principal leaders 
 were taken. They were brought to trial ; and 
 lord Derwentwater and several others were con- 
 demned to death, and beheaded on Tower-hill ; 
 and many more were hanged^ drawn, and quar- . 
 
236 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 tered at Tyburn ; several were executed at Pres- 
 ton and Manchester ; and a vast number were 
 transported to North America. 
 
 It was in the year seventeen hundred and 
 twenty that a grand plan was set about, called 
 the South- Sea scheme, which was to make every 
 body rich that engaged in it; but, instead of 
 that, great numbers were ruined by it : but this is 
 an affair that I shall not trouble you about just 
 now. We may observe, however, that there is 
 always some scheme or other going forward which 
 professes to make men rich ; but, after all, plain 
 honest industry and prudence are the best, and 
 most frequently succeed ; they will generally 
 supply a man with what is sufficient, and they 
 lead to no risks and desperate losses. Wherever 
 there is any thing like gambling, it generally leads 
 to ruin ; or, if some few have got rich by it, I 
 have observed that their riches seldom do them 
 any good. And the truth is, that the money- 
 making schemes in George the First's time, in- 
 deed, in many instances, introduced riches into 
 the country ; but these riches led to extravagance 
 or covetousness, and a great deal of profligacy 
 ^ and wickedness. 
 
GEORGE I. 237 
 
 As the king was elector of Hanover, as well as 
 king of England, he felt it his duty sometimes to 
 visit that country ; and, whilst he was making a 
 journey thither, he was taken ill. He had crossed 
 the sea, and was travelling forward in his carriage. 
 He had supped heartily one night, and appeared 
 in perfect health: he went to bed, and set off 
 early in the morning to pursue his journey. Be- 
 tween eight and nine, he ordered his coach to 
 stop. It was soon perceived that he had lost the 
 use of one of his arms. A gentleman who was 
 with him attempted to quicken the circulation by 
 rubbing it between his hands. But this seemed 
 to do no good ; and the surgeon, who followed on 
 horseback, was then called, and he rubbed it with 
 spirits. Soon afterwards, the king's tongue be- 
 gan to swell, and he had just strength enough to 
 bid them hasten to the next town. He expired 
 about eleven o'clock the next morning, in the 
 sixty-eighth year of his age, and the thirteenth of 
 his reign. This was in the year seventeen hun- 
 dred and twenty-seven. 
 
238 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 Who reigned in England next to queen Anne 1 
 
 What countryman was George the First ? 
 
 How was he connected with the royal family of England ? 
 
 For what reason was he made king of England, and the 
 
 son of James the Second excluded ? 
 What age was he when he came to the throne ? 
 Was his reign free from troubles ? 
 
 Were attempts made, during his reign, to restore the Pre- 
 tender ? 
 Who were the persons principally concerned in this 
 
 attempt ? 
 Who raised an army ia Scotland in behalf of the Pre- 
 tender ? 
 Who commanded the English army in opposition to him ? 
 Who afterwards led an army into England, and how far 
 
 did they advance ? 
 In what year was this rebellion ? 
 Were any of the rebels executed 1 
 In what year were great losses sustained in consequence of 
 
 the South-Sea scheme ? 
 Had the king any dominions in Germany, as well as ia 
 
 England ? 
 Did he ever visit his Hanoverian dominions ? 
 What occurred during one of his journeys to Hanover I 
 In what year did king George the First die I 
 How long had he reigned ? 
 How old was he when he died f 
 
LETTER XXXII. 
 
 MY DEAR BOY, 
 
 As I find that you pay attention to what I write 
 to you, I must go on with my short History of 
 England; though now we come so near to our 
 own times, and have therefore accounts so much 
 more particular of all that is going on, I hardly 
 know what to fix upon for your amusement, that 
 will come within the short compass of one of my 
 letters. 
 
 George II., the son of George I., came to the 
 throne in the year 1727. He took sir Robert 
 Walpole for his principal minister, who had, in- 
 deed, been a leading character in the two former 
 reigns. But I must not pretend to enter into the 
 histories, or disputes, of the ministers and poli- 
 ticians of that day. 
 
 It was not long after George the Second began 
 his reign, that war was declared against the Spa- 
 
240 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 niards, which was chiefly carried on in their settle- 
 ments in America. Then there was war with 
 France, about which I do not now intend to enter 
 into a particular account. But I must tell you of 
 the rebellion of the year forty-Jive^ when prince 
 Charles (the son of the old Pretender), assisted 
 by the king of France, landed in Scotland, and 
 endeavoured to excite a rebellion against the go- 
 vernment of king George, and to get his own fa- 
 mily restored to the throne. At one time, indeed, 
 there seemed to be some chance of his success ; 
 and the country was in a state of great agitation. 
 As soon as it was known that the young Pretender 
 had landed, the king's troops were sent to oppose 
 him : they met at Preston Pans, not far from 
 Edinburgh ; and the young Pretender and his 
 fierce Highlanders, who had joined him, attacked 
 the king's troops with such fury, that they soon 
 put them to flight. The young adventurer was 
 then received at Edinburgh, as if he had really 
 been the heir to the throne. He continued there 
 for some time, and lost, in idle show, the advan- 
 tage which he had gained by the battle of Preston 
 Pans. However, he at length consulted with his 
 officers, and it was agreed that they should march 
 
GEORGE II. 241 
 
 into England, and accordingly, they did march 
 forward, the prince and his followers in Highland 
 dresses, till they actually got as far as Derby. 
 When I was young, I remember to have conversed 
 with several people who recollected the coming of 
 prince Charles to Derby quite well, and the alarm 
 that many people were in, to think that the rebels 
 had got within a little more than a hundred miles 
 of London. 
 
 The young Pretender, however, entirely failed 
 in this expedition. In tiuth, the officers in his 
 army did little else but quarrel amongst them- 
 selves ; and the prince could not keep them to- 
 gether : he was disappointed in his hopes of 
 having others to join him ; so that his affairs were 
 reduced to a desperate condition, and he was 
 obliged to march back again to Scotland, to do 
 the best he could with his wild and discontented 
 troops. 
 
 The duke of Cumberland, the king's son, was 
 then sent in pursuit of him ; but he did not over- 
 take him till he got to a place called Culloden, in 
 Scotland : here they came to an engagement. In 
 the battle of Culloden, the duke of Cumberland 
 gained a most complete victory over the rebels, 
 
 Y 
 
242 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 slaughtering them in a most dreadful manner ; 
 and thus ended all the hopes of the young prince. 
 After this, he wandered about the country, and 
 was almost starved to death, for want of food and 
 clothes ; but he had many friends, who would not 
 betray him, though they might have got very large 
 sums for delivering him up to his enemies. At 
 length he escaped in a vessel to France. Me was 
 dressed in a short coat of black frieze, threadbare, 
 over which was a common Highland plaid, girt 
 round with a belt, from which hung a pistol and a 
 dagger. He had not changed his linen for many 
 weeks ; his eyes were hollow, his face pale, and his 
 constitution greatly injured by hunger and fatigue. 
 Several of the rebel lords and officers were exe- 
 cuted ; some of them were beheaded on Tower- 
 hill, in London ; others were hanged, drawn, and 
 quartered on Kennington-common ; and some at 
 York and Carlisle ; and so ended this rebellion. 
 Among the most distinguished of the noblemen 
 who suffered were lord Kilmarnock, lord Balma- 
 rino, lord Lovat, and lord Cromarty. 
 
 There was war during almost all the remainder 
 of this king's reign. It was carried on against the 
 French possessions in America, as well as in 
 
GEORGE II. 243 
 
 Europe. The French made an attack on the island 
 of Minorca, in the Mediterranean sea. Admiral 
 Byng was sent with a fleet to the relief of the 
 place, and, whilst he was considering how he could 
 assist the English, the French fleet appeared ; and 
 the admiral seemed to be in great difficulties to 
 know how to act. Whenever an enemy's fleet 
 appears, the English, you know, generally are able 
 to give a good account of it. It was not so here, 
 however ; the admiral let the French fleet escape 
 from him. He was afterwards tried by a court- 
 martial, and was shot on board a man-of-war, at 
 Portsmouth, for not having done his utmost to 
 destroy the enemy. 
 
 I must tell you about the hlach hole at Calcutta. 
 One of the Indian chiefs made an attack upon the 
 town of Calcutta, in the East Indies, which be- 
 longed to the English. He took the garrison, 
 consisting of a hundred and forty-six men, pri- 
 soners. These poor creatures, instead of receiving 
 the usual treatment of prisoners, were all crowded 
 together in a narrow prison, called the black hole, 
 only about eighteen feet square ; and this was in 
 the burning climate of the East, so that the 
 greater part of them died of suffocation : for, out 
 y 2 
 
244 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 of the hundred and forty-six which were shut up 
 at night, there were only twenty-three found alive 
 in the morning; and the greater part of these 
 soon afterwards died of putrid fevers. The English, 
 however, quickly regained possession of Calcutta, 
 and made many other additions to their possessions 
 in India. 
 
 You have heard of the death of general Wolfe. 
 This happened in America. The young general, 
 who was only thirty-five, was carrying on a most 
 desperate attack against the town of Quebec; 
 and, after having overcome many dreadful diffi- 
 culties, he received a shot in the wrist. He did 
 not, however, leave his post, but wrapped his 
 hand in his handkerchief, and went on, giving his 
 orders as if nothing had happened ; and, whilst 
 leading forward his grenadiers with their bayonets 
 fixed, another shot came and entered his breast. 
 He fell, and struggling in the agonies of death, 
 and just expiring, he heard a voice cry, " They 
 run !" upon which he seemed, for a moment, to 
 revive, and, asking " who ran ?" was informed, 
 " the French :" he then sunk on the breast of the 
 soldier who supported him ; and his last words 
 were, *' I die happy :" words expressive of the deep 
 
GEORGE II. 245 
 
 interest which a good soldier feels, as to the suc- 
 cess of his endeavours to benefit his country. 
 
 On the 25th of October, in the year 1760, the 
 king was found by one of his servants dying in 
 his chamber, at Kensington Palace. He had risen 
 at his usual hour, and had taken a walk, with some 
 of his attendants, in Kensington Gardens. In a 
 few minutes after his return, when he was alone 
 in his room, he was heard to fall down upon the 
 floor. The noise of this brought a servant into 
 the apartment, — and the king died a few minutes 
 afterwards. This was in the thirty-third year of 
 his reign, and in the seventy-seventh of his age. 
 
 QUESTIONS, 
 
 In what year did George the Second come to the throne ] 
 
 Whom did he take for his prime minister ? 
 
 Had sir Robert Walpole been in power during any of the 
 
 preceding reigns ? 
 Were there any wars during the reign of George the 
 
 Second ! 
 Against whom ? 
 
 What is meant by the rebellion in the year forty-fite 7 
 What battle was fought in which the young Pretender \» ag 
 
 successful I 
 How was he received at Edinburgh I 
 y 3 
 
246 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 What was resolved upon in a council of war, as to the 
 
 prince's future plans ? 
 Did the prince and the Scotch rebels come into England ? 
 How far did they advance ? 
 Were there disputes and dissensions among the Highland 
 
 chiefs and ofi&cers who marched with the prince I 
 Did many people join him I 
 Did he march back to Scotland ? 
 Who was then sent to oppose him ? 
 What great battle did the duke of Cumberland fight, and 
 
 which side was victorious ! 
 What became of prince Charles after the battle of Culloden I 
 Can you relate the circumstances of his escape ? 
 Did any of the Scotch lords suffer for joining in this rebel- 
 lion ! 
 Do you remember their names ! 
 Did foreign wars continue during this reign ! 
 What island in the Mediterranean sea did the French 
 
 attack ! 
 What English admiral was sent to the relief of this island I 
 Relate what you know about admiral Byng. 
 Can you remember the circumstances of the sufferings of 
 
 the English soldiers in the black hole at Calcutta ? 
 Where was general Wolfe killed ! 
 
 What do you remember of the circumstances of his death ! 
 In what year did king George the Second die ! 
 Where did this occur, and what were the circumstances 
 
 attending his death ? 
 How long had he reigned ? 
 What was his age ! 
 
LETTER XXXm. 
 
 MY DEAR BOY, 
 
 In our last letter we proceeded as far as the death 
 of George the Second, and we must now come to 
 the reign of George the Third. The reign of this 
 good king was the longest we read of in our his- 
 tory ; he came to the throne in the year 1760, 
 and continued, as you know, till the year 1820. 
 I am old enough to remember a good deal of 
 what happened in the early part of George the 
 Third's reign ; and most of us remember his latter 
 days. The great length of this reign, and the 
 knowledge which we have of all the particulars, 
 would make a regular account of it a great deal 
 too long for one of my letters to you ; I must 
 therefore be content with sending you such por- 
 tions as seem most worthy of your notice. 
 
 You must remember that George the Third was 
 not the son of George the Second, but the grand- 
 son ; his father, Frederick prince of Wales, having 
 died before the old king. George the Third was 
 
248 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 married on the 8th of September, 1761, to a 
 German princess. This was the excellent queen 
 Charlotte, who lived to a great age, and died but 
 a little while before the king. But I must now 
 consider what are the principal subjects which I 
 must attempt to touch upon. 
 
 It was about the year 1766, that the power of 
 the English in the East Indies began to increase 
 in a wonderful manner under lord Clive. 
 
 About the year 1768, we hear of the commo- 
 tions excited by the election of John Wilkes for 
 Middlesex : he seems to have been an unsettled, 
 violent sort of man, and to have had great plea- 
 sure in raising disturbances. 
 
 In the same year, the Royal Academy in London 
 was established by the king, to encourage skill 
 and diligence among artists ; and there is still an 
 exhibition of pictures every year, in London, at 
 Somerset House \ 
 
 You have often heard of Captain Cook ; it was 
 in this year that he set out, on his voyage round 
 the world. You know that the world is round — 
 like an orange — so that if a person sets off in one 
 
 * Since the former Editions, this exhibition has been 
 removed to the National Gallery, in Trafalgar Square. 
 
GEORGE III. 249 
 
 direction, and goes straight forward, he will come, 
 in time, to the place from which he set off. Cap- 
 tain Cook finished his voyage round the world in 
 about three years. 
 
 In 1772 he made another voyage, and returned 
 in 1775. About this time, the American war 
 broke out, and the first battle was fought between 
 the English and the Americans. By this war we 
 lost much of our power in America. I believe, 
 however, we are quite as well without it. In the 
 year 1776, the Americans declared themselves 
 independent of the crown of England. General 
 Washington was the great commander of the Ame- 
 rican army. In the year 1778, the French joined 
 the Americans against the English. About this 
 time died the earl of Chatham, who had been for 
 many years a man of great weight and importance 
 in the state. He was the father of Mr. Pitt, whom 
 we so well remember. 
 
 About the year 1779, the Spaniards acknow- 
 ledged the independence of America, and joined 
 them against us, so that we had to fight against 
 France, and Spain, and America, all at the same 
 time. In this year. Captain Cook, in his third 
 voyage, was killed by the native savages of 
 
250 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Owhyhee, an island in the Pacific Ocean. Look 
 for this place in your map ; and, indeed, for all 
 the places you read of, if you do not know where 
 they are — and even if you think you do. 
 
 You have often heard me speak of the riots in 
 the year 1780. The mob was supposed to have 
 been collected together and encouraged by lord 
 George Gordon, in opposition to the parliament, 
 which had granted some indulgences to the Ro- 
 man Catholics. This mob pulled down all the 
 Romish chapels in and about London ; they also 
 burned the prisons of Newgate, the Fleet, and the 
 King's Bench, and many private houses besides ; 
 and they would probably have demolished the 
 Bank, if they had not been stopped by the volun- 
 teers of the city of London, and some regular 
 troops which were called in. About two hundred 
 of the rioters were killed or wounded. Lord 
 George Gordon was tried for this, but was ac- 
 quitted, as it could not be proved that he had 
 encouraged the mob to any of their savage vio- 
 lence. 
 
 In the year 1782, admiral Rodney greatly dis- 
 tinguished himself; he gained a signal victory 
 over the French by sea, and was raised to the 
 
GEORGE III. 251 
 
 peerage as a reward for his courage and success. 
 In America, things went on very unfavourably for 
 us. 
 
 I have already mentioned to you the situation 
 of Gibraltar, and told you when it was taken by 
 us ; you therefore know that it lies just at the 
 south point of Spain, and that it has long been in 
 possession of the English. The Spaniards, you 
 may be sure, were most unwilling that we should 
 have possession of this place ; and, about the time 
 we are writing of, they tried to take it from us ; 
 but they could not now succeed, for General 
 Elliot, the governor, with his boldness and his 
 red-hot balls, put an end to all their attempts. 
 
 In the year 1783, peace was made with America. 
 All parties seemed weary of this long war ; and, 
 as we were not likely to get any real advantage 
 from it, the wisest and best thing we could do was 
 to make peace. 
 
 The time of peace is the truly hapj^y time for 
 a nation, but it is accounts of wars and battles 
 that fill our books of history, and perhaps make 
 them the most interesting. There are many things, 
 however, which excited great interest at thetime 
 they occurred, though you perhaps will not think 
 
252 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 them much worth your notice now. However, I 
 will send you a few of them. 
 
 In 1784 there was a strong contest about the 
 Westminster election, between sir Cecil Wray and 
 Mr. Fox. 
 
 I believe that Sunday-schools were first opened 
 in the same year. The first of these was at Glou- 
 cester, established by an excellent gentleman, Mr. 
 Raikes. 
 
 Tn 1786 a mad woman, named Margaret Nichol- 
 son, attempted to stab the king with a knife, as he 
 was getting out of his carriage. This unhappy 
 creature was confined in Bedlam, where she died 
 only a few years ago. 
 
 About this time began the trial of Mr. Hastings, 
 for supposed ill- conduct as governor of India. 
 This trial lasted about nine years, and at last ended 
 in his favour. 
 
 In the year 1788 the king was seized with a 
 serious illness, so that he could not attend to the 
 affairs of the nation. Happily, however, whilst 
 arrangements were making about appointing the 
 prince of Wales as Regent, his majesty recovered. 
 There were rejoicings, and a general thanksgiving 
 for this good news all over the kingdom ; and the 
 
GEORGE III. 253 
 
 king, like A pious Christian, went to St. Paul's 
 (Church to return thanks to the Almighty for hav- 
 ing restored him to his family and his subjects. 
 This was on the 23d of April, 1789. 
 
 About this time, the Revolution in France be- 
 gan. You have heard of the miseries which this 
 occasioned, and the dreadful cruelties which were 
 practised. The people talked much of liberty and 
 equality, and held some strange and dangerous 
 opinions. The people in France, it is true, had 
 not the liberty which we have in England ; but 
 the methods by which they attempted to better 
 themselves only reduced them to a much worse 
 state. There seemed' to be nothing but force and 
 violence ; the government of a furious mob, at 
 one time ; and, at another, the dreadful cruelties 
 of their National Assemblies. These things went 
 on for several years, with first one man at their 
 head and then another : but almost all of them 
 were monsters of cruelty. At length they made 
 Buonaparte first consul : they gave him the title of 
 consul, because they did not like the title of king. 
 Afterwards he was made Emperor ; so that, with 
 all their complaints against arbitrary power, and 
 all their opposition to their king, and all their 
 
 z 
 
254 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 bloodshed, they were now under a more tyran- 
 nical government than ever they had been before 
 the Revolution. There is a great deal to write 
 about, during all the troubles in France ; but, as 
 these do not properly belong to English History, 
 we need not attempt particularly to describe 
 them. All nations, however, seemed so much 
 interested in these things at the time, that we 
 listened to the accounts which came over to us, as 
 much as if they had belonged to our own country. 
 You know that they beheaded their king, Louis 
 the Sixteenth ; this was in the year 1793 '. Soon 
 afterwards ^, they also beheaded the queen, as well 
 as other members of the royal family : and, in 
 short, they pursued their dreadful work, as if 
 their only object was cruelty and bloodshed. 
 When these things began in France, there were 
 people in England who seemed as if they wished 
 to have a revolution here too : the miseries, how- 
 ever, which were experienced in France, taught 
 us to be thankful for the blessings we enjoyed, 
 instead of bringing troubles and distresses on 
 ourselves for no purpose. I think we have quite 
 
 > January 21st. ' October 15th. 
 
GEORGE III. 255 
 
 as much liberty as is good for us : we have full 
 liberty to do all that is right ; — and I am sure we 
 ought not to wish for liberty to do wrong. And 
 as to equality, which during the French Revo- 
 lution was so much spoken of, people are now 
 grown wise enough to see that there can be no 
 such thing. If we were all equal to-day, if all the 
 property in the country were to be equally divided 
 amongst us, we should not be all equal to-morrow. 
 In a twelvemonth, an idle careless person would 
 be in gaol, and a careful one would have doubled 
 his property ; so that there would presently be 
 inequality again ; there would presently be gentle- 
 men, and there would be beggars. 
 
 You are aware that the nations of Europe did 
 not look quietly on, and witness all the cruelties 
 which were practised in Frande. They could not 
 help seeing that their own states were in danger 
 from the violence of the French, and the bad 
 ^^rinciples which they encouraged and spread 
 abroad. The Austrians and the Prussians went 
 to war with the French; and, about the year 
 1793, the English joined them. From that time, 
 there was war for more than twenty years. 
 z 2 
 
256 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 There was, indeed, a short peace ^ about the year 
 1802, which, however, lasted but a very short 
 time^ for Buonaparte was too ambitious to be 
 long at peace. During this war the French over- 
 ran almost all Europe : however, Buonaparte was 
 at length completely beaten, by the duke of Wel- 
 lington, at the battle of Waterloo in the year 
 1815. If I were not afraid of making my letter 
 too long, I could tell you about the great battles 
 that were fought at sea, when the British sailors 
 showed that, whenever they fought, they made 
 sure of conquering. There was a great victory 
 gained by lord Howe, in the year 1794 ; and 
 another, in the year 1797, by sir John Jervis, who 
 was, in consequence of his bravery and skill, made 
 lord St. Vincent. Then lord Duncan gained a 
 grand victory over the Dutch fleet, in the same 
 year; and in 1798, lord Nelson won the great 
 battle of the Nile ; and the same great and noble 
 admiral lost his life, in 1805, at the battle of Tra- 
 falgar, after having completely beaten the French 
 fleet, I could tell you of many more of our 
 
 ' The peace of Amiens, March 27th, 1802. 
 2 About a year. 
 
GEORGE III. 257 
 
 gallant sailors who fought like true Englishmen 
 during this long war ; but I must be short. Our 
 soldiers, too, showed themselves equally brave : 
 and, when you grow older, you will read in a 
 larger history of England, of all that they did in 
 the battles in Spain and other parts of the world ; 
 and we all know how nobly they fought at 
 Waterloo. I must, however, end my letter. 
 
 Our excellent king, George the Third, died in 
 the year 1820, after a long illness, during which 
 his late gracious Majesty, George the Fourth, then 
 prince of Wales, acted as regent. I think I must 
 now conclude my history, as you know what hap- 
 pened during George the Fourth's and the late 
 king's reign as well as I do. I think you have 
 tried to remember what I have written ; and my 
 letters will serve as an introduction to any larger 
 history that you may meet with hereafter. 
 
 I am your affectionate father. 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 In what 5'ear did king George the Third come to the throne 
 
 of England ? 
 Whose son was George the Thu'd I 
 z 3 
 
258 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Was his father ever king of England 1 
 
 Whom did he marry ? 
 
 In what year { 
 
 About what time did lord Clive add greatly to the power 
 of the English in India ? 
 
 Who was John Wilkes ; and about what time was it that tho 
 country was agitated by commotions on his account ? 
 
 In what year was the Royal Academy instituted in London 1 
 
 ;ifn what year did Captain Cook make his first voyage round 
 the world ? 
 
 How long was he in doing this ? 
 
 Did he make a second voyage ? 
 
 In what year ? 
 
 How long was he absent ? 
 
 About what time did the American war break out ? 
 
 In what year did the Americans declare themselves inde- 
 pendent of England ? 
 
 Who was the great commander of the American armies ? 
 
 What nations were opposed to us in the American war ? 
 
 Did Captain Cook undertake a third voyage ? 
 
 Did he ever return home 1 
 
 Can you remember the circumstances of his death, and 
 where he was killed ? 
 
 In what year were the riots in London ? 
 
 On what account ? 
 
 Who was supposed to be principally concerned in these 
 riots ? and what steps were taken on the occasion ! 
 
 In whht year did lord Rodney gain a great victory over the 
 French at sea I 
 
ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 259 
 
 Was an attempt made to take Gibraltar from the English I 
 
 Who was govei-nor of Gibraltar at the time 1 
 
 Was it taken from us ? 
 
 In what year was peace made with America I 
 
 In what year was the contest between sir Cecil Wray and 
 
 Mr. Fox for the representation of Westminster ? 
 About what time were Sunday Schools established ; and 
 
 by whom, and where 1 
 In what year was the king's life attempted by a mad 
 
 woman ; and what was her name 1 
 When did the trial of Mr. Hastings begin ; and how long 
 
 did it last ; and for what was he ti-ied j and what was 
 
 the result 1 
 In what year was the king's illness ! 
 About what time did the French Revolution begin ? 
 In what year was Louis the Sixteenth, king of France, 
 
 beheaded 1 
 Did any of the nations of Europe go to war against the 
 
 French ; and which of them 1 
 Can you remember who gained the piincipal naval vic- 
 tories during the war ; and in what years I 
 When was the battle of Waterloo I 
 In what year did George the Third die 1 
 
 ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 The following list of the Sovereigns of England 
 shows that the present Queen of England is con- 
 nected, by blood, with William the Conqueror, 
 
260 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 and that every king or queen of England, since 
 the conquest, has been so connected. Our young 
 readers may be glad to see all these sovereigns in 
 one point of view, and may have an opportunity 
 of learning them by heart. 
 
 The following is the genealogy of the Sove- 
 reigns of England, from her present Majesty 
 to William the Conqueror ; — Victoria is the niece 
 of William the Fourth, who was the brother 
 of George the Fourth, who was the son of George 
 the Third, who was the grandson of George the 
 Second, who was the son of George the First, who 
 was the cousin of Anne, who was the sister-in-law 
 of William the Third ', who was the son-in-law 
 of James the Second, who was the brother of 
 Charles the Second, who was the son of Charles 
 the First, who was the son of James the First, who 
 was the cousin of Elizabeth, who was the sister of 
 Mary, who was the sister of Edward the Sixth, 
 who was the son of Henry the Eighth, who was the 
 son of Henry the Seventh, who ^ was the cousin of 
 
 * The above genealogy is copied from a newspaper 
 paragraph. — The line is, however, broken in Henry the 
 Seventh and William the Third ; but is complete if traced 
 through their queens. 
 
ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 261 
 
 Richard the Third, who was the uncle of Edward 
 the Fifth, who was the son of Edward the Fourth, 
 who was the cousin of Henry the Sixth, who was 
 the son of Henry the Fifth, who was the son of 
 Henry the Fourth, who was the cousin of Richard 
 the Second, who was the grandson of Edward the 
 Third, who was the son of Edward the Second, 
 who was the son of Edward the First, who was 
 the son of Henry the Third, who was the son of 
 John, who was the brother of Richard the First, 
 who was the son of Henry the Second, who was 
 the cousin of Stephen, who was the cousin of 
 Henry the First, who was the brother of Wil- 
 liam Rufus, who was the son of William the Con- 
 queror, 
 
A TABLE OF KINGS AND QUEENS OF ENGLAND,! 
 FROM THE CONQUEST. 
 
 Kings and 
 Queeus. 
 
 REIGNS 
 BEGAN. 
 
 
 Where buried. 
 
 William Conq.... 
 A^'illiain Ruftis.. 
 Henr>' I. -.~.~™ 
 Stephen ^...^^ 
 
 1027 1066 nee. 25 
 
 1057 1087.Sept.2D 
 
 1068 HOC Aug. 5 
 
 1105, Xl35Dec.26 
 
 20' 8 15 1087 Sept. 9 60 Caen,Normandy 
 12 10 7 1100 Aug. 2 43 Winchester. 
 35 3 27 ,1135 Dec. l|67 Reading. 
 18 10 1 1154 Oct. 25i49 Fevershain. 
 
 Henry II. ........ 
 
 Kichard I. «. 
 
 John ^,„ 
 
 Henry III. 
 
 Edward I _ 
 
 Edward II.,..„..„ 
 iEdward III. ....„ 
 jRichardll 
 
 THE SAXON LINE 
 
 1133 1154 Dec. 19 34 6 
 
 1156 1189 Sept. 3. 
 Ilu5 1199May27, 17 
 
 1207 11216 Oct. 28 56 
 1239 |1272Nov.20 37 
 1284 1307 July 8 19 
 1312 11327 Jan. 25 50 
 1366 il377June22 22 
 
 RESTORED. 
 
 18 1189 July C55|Fontevrault. 
 3 11199 April 6 43 Fontevrault. 
 23 1216 Oct. l9 60 Worcester. 
 
 1272 Nov.16 651 Westminster 
 
 1307 July 7 
 1327 Jan. 20 
 l377June21 
 
 67 Westminster. 
 43 Gloucester. 
 65 Westminster. 
 
 Sept.29 33 Westminster. 
 
 ] THE LINE OF LANCASTER. 
 
 (Henry IV ....^.1 1367 1 1399 Sept. 3( 
 
 I Henry V. .......... 1389 1 1413 Mar. " 
 
 iHenry VL — ....| 1421 JHgZSept. li 
 
 .301 13 5 20 1413 Mar 20j4S[Canterbury. 
 
 .2l| 9 5 10 i 1422 Aug.31 133 Westminster. 
 
 " " 6 3 1461 Mar. 4149 1 Windsor. 
 
 ■Ed\7ard IV. ..^..i it 
 
 |Eawa!-dV J 1471 ll'W 
 
 jflichard III.. ' i443 |14S3June26| 
 
 THE LINE OF YORK, 
 
 1442 11461 JIar. 41 22 1 5 |1483 April 
 
 41 Windsor. 
 
 2 16 11483 June25|12 Unknown. 
 2 1 26 1 1485 Aug.22 [42 Leicester. 
 
 THE FAMILIES UNITED. 
 
 Henry VII. 
 
 Henry VIII | 1492 
 
 jEdward VI. : ]537 
 
 Queen Mary I 1516 
 
 Queen Elizabeth' 1533 
 
 1456 1485 Aug.22 23 7 30 
 
 1509April22 37 9 6 
 
 1547 Jan. 28 6 5 9 
 
 1553July 6] 5 4 11 
 
 1558 Nov. 171 44 4 7 
 
 1509 Apr.21 52 Westminster. 
 1547 Jan. 28 55 Windsor. 
 1553 July 6jl5 Westminster. 
 1558 Nov.17 42 -Westminster. 
 1603 Mar.24 69, V\'estminster. 
 
 I THE UNION OF THE ENGLISH AND SCOTCH CROWNS. 
 
 James I „| 1565 1603 Mar .24 22 3 11625 Mar.27 58 Westminster 
 
 Charles I -.1600 1625 Mar.27 23 10 3 1649 Jan. 30 48 Windsor. 
 
 Charles IL „.......! 1630 1640 Jan. 30 36 7 1685 Feb. 6 54 Westminster. 
 
 James II i 1633 1685 Feb. 6 3 10 5 168S Dec. 11 67 Paris. 
 
 WiUiam&Mary — 1689Fe}^.13 13 20 1 1702 Mar. 8 — Westminster. 
 
 THE UNION OF THE TWO KINGDOMS*. 
 
 Queen Anne„„- 1665 1702 Mar. 8 
 
 George I 1 1660 1714 Aug. 1 
 
 George II 1 1683 1727 Junell 
 
 George III \ 1738 1760 Oct. 25 
 
 G€orge IV „l 1762 1820 Jan. 
 
 WUliamlV. ......' 1765 :l830June26 
 
 Victoria -.>....; 1819 11837 Juae20 
 
 12 4 24 1714 Aug. 1 49 Westminster. 
 
 12 10 10 1727 Junell 67 Hanover. 
 
 33 4 14 1760 Oct. 25 77 Westminster. 
 
 59 3 4 1820 Jan. 29 82 Windsor. 
 
 10 4 28 1830 June26 68, Windsor. 
 
 6 11 25 1837 June20 711 Windsor. 
 
 Whom GOD preserve! 
 
 * Ireland united to these Kingdoms, Januaijr, 1801. 
 
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