too decidedly unsuited to the purpose it was intended to answer, to have been the device of any but a few infatuated men.

JAMES I. was a learned, religious, and pacific prince; his reign is chiefly distinguished by the encouragement and improvement in the arts, civic liberty, and the extension of commerce. The greatest weakness in James was his encouragement of favourites who were anworthy of his countenance. Of these, the most remarkable were Robert Carr, whom James created Earl of Somerset, and George Villiers, afterwards Duke of Buckingham, who rendered himself odious to the people, and was at length, in the succeeding reign, assassinated by Fellon.

To his high notions of kingly prerogative, which gave great disgust to his subjects, his unhappy son, Charles, owed those mistaken principles which induced measures that brought him at ength to the scaffold.

James died, after a peaceful reign of 22 years, in 1625; thus happily escaping the sorrows which a longer life would probably have heaped upon him, from the change which was taking place in men's minds on the subject of monarchical government. Shortly after the death of Elizabeth, a conspiracy had been entered into, for raising to the throne Lady Arabella Stuart, first cousin to James; in which conspiracy Sir Walter Raleigh was accused of taking part; and after a confinement of twelve years in the Tower, was beheaded. During his imprisonment, he wrote his incomparable "History of the World."

In this reign flourished the celebrated painter, Reubens, and Inigo Jones, the architect. Baronets were first created in England by James I., in the year 1611.

Among the cotemporaries of James I. were Ferdinand II., Emperor of Germany; Pope Gregory XV.; Louis XIII., King of France and Navarre; Philip IV., King of Spain and Portugal; Maurice, Stadtholder of Holland; Sigismund, King of Poland; Amurath IV., Emperor of the Turks; Michael, Czar of Russia; Christian IV., King of Denmark; Charles IX., King of Sweden.

The high notions which Charles entertained of his royal prerogative, and his tenacious attachment to episcopacy, embroiled him with his Scotch subjects, on whom he wished to force the appointment of bishops, hence was occasioned a rebellion in that kingdom.

In 1627, war was declared against France; but as the expenses far exceeded the revenue of the state, Charles ventured to raise money by illegal means, by which he gave great umbrage to his people. Indeed, many of nis subjects resisted the impositions, and the steps taken by Charles to enforce the payment, occasioned the breaking out of a civil war in 1642.

Many battles were fought with various success, though generally to the disadvantage of the king. At length, in 1645, the fatal battle of Naseby totally ruined the royal cause, and the king threw himself for protection upon the Scottish army. The unfortunate have seldom any friends, Charies soon found this to be too true. The Scots, instead of protecting the fallen monarch, sold him into the hands of his enemies for £400,000.

The unhappy monarch was removed from place to place, and treated with great indignity. He was once fortunate enough to escape from confinement, and might have taken refuge in a foreign land, had not the folly or the treachery of his pretended friends, betrayed him into the hands of the governor of Carisbrook Castle, in the Isle of Wight, who was a republican.

He was now brought to trial, and condemned to be beheaded, which sentence was carried into effect at Whitehall, January 30, 1648. The Scols, when too late, repented of their perfidy, and raised an army in his favour, but were defeated by CROMWELL, the most successful commander of his age.

The misfortunes of Charles appear to have arisen, chiefly from his continuing to exercise that arbitrary power which had been practised with impunity by his ancestors, but which, the times would no longer bear.

The principal battles fought between Charles and the parliament, were those of Edgehill, Newbury, Marston Moor, and Naseby, above-mentioned. When Charles was beheaded, he was in the forty-ninth year of his age. He reigned twenty-four years, and was buried at Windsor.

CHARLES I.

Never did monarch come to the throne of England with greater prospects of enjoying a happy and glorious reign, than did CHARLES I. He found himself possessed with a peaceful and flourishing kingdom, his right undisputed by rival claimants, strengthened by an alliance with one of the most powerful monarchs that ever reigned in France, whose sister he had married; and to add to all this, loved by his subjects, whom he had won by his virtues and address.

But that very union, which now looked so fai and promising was, in after times, the cause of his downfal, and of the expulsion of his family from the throne, in consequence of his sons imbibing from their mother, a partiality for the Roman Catholic religion

COMMONWEALTH.*

CHARLES, the son of the late monarch, assumed the title of King, but his hopes were crushed at the battle of Worcester, where the Scottish army, which had espoused his cause, was entirely defeated, September 3, 1651. The king was now hotly pursued, and

A Commonwealth is that form of government in which the supreme power is lodged in the people; sometimes called a Republic, at others a Democracy.

Shortly after, the House of Commons, under the influence of the army, abolished the House of Peers, and professed itself to be the representative of the people, in whom the right of government was vested.

But this assembly found itself too feeble to withstand the influence of CROMWELL, who was at the head of an army devoted to him. His unifor.n good fortune, and especially his recent conquest of Ireland, had rendered him too formidable to be resisted. Finding the Parliament at times refractory, he caused it to be dissolved by force, and was immediately proclaimed LORD PROTECTOR of the Realm. He was soon after offered the crown, but thought it prudent to decline the dangerous honour.

Cromwell governed with vigour, and caused the nation to be respected by foreigners. He made war upon the Dutch and Spaniards, and g ined many signal victories over their fleets. Ile also subdued Scotland, and annexed that country to England as a conquered province. England was never more powerful than at this period.

Cromwell compelled the Dutch to make peace upon his own terms; and every nation with whom the English had any connexion, courted his alliance. He sent a fleet to the West Indies, and took Jamaica, which has ever since appertained to England.

But a power maintained by the sword, must necessarily be precarious. Cromwell was so annoyed by frequent conspiracies, attempts at assassination, pamphlets containing severe invectives against his person and government, and family misfortunes, that he fell ill and died September 3, 1658, in the sixtieth year of his age. The character of Cromwell has been variously delineated; by some, he has been described as a consummate hypocrite; by others, as a deluded fanatic. All, however, allow him to have been a man of great abilities both as a statesman, and a military commander. His son RICHARD succeeded to the Protectorate, but the reins of government soon fell from his feeble grasp, and he quietly returned to a private station. After a considerable interval of anarchy, Charles II. was restored to his kingdom.

Milton, the poet, lived during the period of the Commonwealth, and was employed by Cromwell as his Latin secretary.

The cotemporary sovereigns in the time of Oliver Cromwell were Leopold I., Emperor of Germany; Pope Innocent X.; Louis XIV., King of France; Philip IV., King of Spain; Alfonso IV., King of Portugal; Mahomet 1V., Emperor of the Turks; William II., Stadtholder of Holland; John II., King of Poland; Alexis, Czar of Russia; Frederick III., King of Denmark; Charles X., King of Sweden.

he was recalled from exile, and placed on the throne. His first care was to reform the many abuses that had crept into the government; and had he followed the advice of wise counsellors, his reign, no doubt, would have been tranquil and happy. But adver sity does not appear to have taught him a very useful lesson. His morals had been corrupted by licentious associates abroad, and the extravagance which he practised at home, soon brought him into difficulties, and compelled him to be guilty of meanness and tyranny.

War having been declared against the Dutch, several brilliant and obstinate naval actions took place, in some of which the king's brother James took a very active part. In 1665 a terrible plague carried off 100,000 of the inhabitants of London; and the next year a dreadful fire consumed above 13,000 houses. This last calamity proved, ultimately, a blessing, as London was rebuilt on a better plan, and the plague has never visited it since.

In this reign the celebrated "Act of Uniformity" was passed, by which 8000 persons were subjected to imprisonment for their religious opinions, many of whom died in confinement. Vast numbers fled to America, to avoid persecution.

The latter part of Charles's reign was remarkable for real or pretended plots against the government, and the Protestant religion Encouragement was given to the most infamous characters to inform against the Jesuits and others, and many suffered death in consequence. Of the higher classes, Lord Russell and Algernon Sydney, perished on the scaffold. Essex was immured in prison, and Shaftesbury was compelled to flee into Holland.

To supply his extravagances, Charles married the Infanta of Portugal for the sake of her portion of 500,000l.; sold Dunkirk to the French for five millions of livres, and accepted a pensio from the French king. From this time, he neglected to assemble his Parliament, and governed with an absolute sway.

In 1682 Charles was suddenly seized with an illness, which was denominated apoplexy, but there is reason to believe was the consequence of poison. After languishing a short time, he expired on the 6th of February, in 1685, having previously professed himself of the Roman Catholic persuasion.

Charles was of gay and sprightly manners, and greatly addicted to pleasure and extravagance; which compelled him to acts of meanness and oppression of which it is probable he was heartily ashamed. He founded the Royal Society in 1662. The use of tea was first adopted in England about the year 1666. St. James's Park was planted and made a thoroughfare in 1668. The Habeas Corpus Act, to secure all persons residing in Great Britain against false imprisonment, was passed in 1669.

In 1670 was formed the celebrated Cabinet Council, called the Cabal, from the first letters of the names of its members,-Clifford, Arlington, Buckingham, Astley, and Lauderdale. In 1678 was erected the statue at Charing Cross.

In this reign, Blood, a disbanded officer, stole the crown and other regalia from the Tower, but was detected before he could get off with his booty. The king undertook to examine him privately, and instead of punishment, ordered him an annual pension.

Cotemporary with Charles II. were Peter the Great, of Russia; Louis XIV., King of France; &c. &c.

JAMES II.

JAMES, Duke of York, ascended the throne on the death of his brother Charles, at the mature age of fifty-two, and would probably have reigned prosperously, had not his bigoted attachment to the Roman Catholic religion induced him to attempt its restoration.

Almost his first act was to punish Coates, Dangerfield, and other informers, who had procured the condemnation of the popish priests and Jesuits in the last reign.

Knowing the aversion of the nation to popery, and that attempts had been made to set aside the succession of James, on account of his religion, the Duke of Monmouth, natural son of Charles II;

This Act was passed against the Nonconformists, and is usuall known by the name of the Test Act; importing that every person in the employ of the government should take the oaths of allegiance and su

raised an army, and laid claim to the crown. He was, however, defeated, taken prisoner, and soon after beheaded.

The design of the king to restore popery now becoming evident; seven bishops remonstrated with his majesty on the subject, for which freedom they were sent to the Tower. They were afterwards tried at Westminster Hall for a libel, and acquitted.

These and other arbitrary measures of James, so greatly disgusted the nation, that some of its leading men invited over William, Prince of Orange, who had married the Princess Mary, James's eldest daughter, to interpose, and put a stop to them.

WILLIAM accordingly appeared off Torbay with a fleet and army, and was received with enthusiasm by the people. Soon after his arrival, James fled the kingdom, and, the throne being declared vacant, WILLIAM and his consort MARY were proclaimed joint sovereigns, February 13th, 1689.

This great event is generally called "The Glorious Revolution of 1688."

James II. not being formed to govern, he prudently laid down his sceptre, when he could no longer hold it. His rival William, therefore, had no honour in depriving James of what he had no spirit to vindicate. All the glory that attached to William was, the spirit with which he maintained his throne, and the liberal blessings of liberty he confirmed on his subjects.

WILLIAM III. AND MARY II.

On the accession of WILLIAM, the papists were removed from offices of trust and emolument, and most of the penal statutes against Nonconformists were repealed. Presbyterianism was declared to be the national religion of Scotland, and episcopacy abolished.

The prevailing religion in Ireland being the Roman Catholic, James had many partisans in that kingdom; he, therefore, having been assisted by the French king with men and money, came over to Ireland: but being defeated at the battle of the Boyne, he once more fled into France.

In 1692, a formidable French fleet appeared off the coast, for the purpose of invading England in favour of James, but it was met, and defeated by Admiral Russell, with the loss to the French of twenty-one ships.

The cause of James having now become desperate, the King of France turned his arms against the continental powers; William, in consequence, immediately put himself at the head of the French opponents, and firmly withstood the French monarch's ambitious attempts. Although he seldom gained a victory, he rendered those of his adversary very dearly bought.

In 1694 died William's consort, Queen Mary; who was greatly lamented for her amiable qualities. And on the 5th of September 701, James II. expired at St. Germans. As France was then

at war with England, the son of James was proclaimed at Paris King of England.

In 1702, the king, whose health had some time been declining had the misfortune to fall from his horse, and break his collar-bone; this brought on a fever, of which he died, March 8, in the fiftysecond year of his age.

WILLIAM appears with all the characteristics of a Dutchmancool, phlegmatic, and taciturn. He was a brave and skilful, but not a very fortunate general, and his interference with the wars on the continent, entailed an expense on the nation which laid the foundation of the national debt.

In this reign the Bank of England was established; and the Land-tax dates its origin from the same period. In 1695, the Czar of Muscovy came into England and worked as a ship-carpenter, but incognito.

Among the cotemporary 20veroigns with William were Peter I., of Russia; Frederick I., King of Prussia; Charles XII., King of Sweden; Augustus I., King of Poland; Philip V., King of Spain; John V., King of Portugal; Louis XIV. King of France; Charles VI., Emperor of Germany; Achmet III., Emperor of the Turks.

On the death of William without issue, he was succeeded by

nis wife's sister, ANNE. She was married to George, Prince of Denmark, but the title of king was not conferred on her husband. Almost immediately on her accession, war was declared against France, and a series of brilliant victories, achieved by the Duke of Marlborough, reduced the proud Louis XIV. to a most distressed condition, and compelled him to sue for peace.

So great was the national gratitude towards the Duke of Marlborough, that a splendid palace was built for him at the public expense, and named Blenheim House, from the glorious victory of Blenheim, gained under his command, and a large estate annexed

to it.

At sea the English arms were equally successful, and the French navy was reduced to a state of comparative imbecility. In 1704 Gibraltar was taken, and has remained in our possession ever

since.

In 1706 the union of Scotland with England was effected, by which both kingdoms became one, under the title of the "Kingdom of Great Britain, to the great advantage of both countries, especially the former.

At this time there were two competitors for the crown of Spain: Charles, son of the Emperor of Germany, and Philip, grandson of Louis XIV-Anne supported the former, and, by the assistance of her forces, he was, for a time, maintained on the throne; but Philip finally prevailed.

Towards the close of the queen's reign, the Duke of Marlborough lost his influence at court, and disputes ran so high between the parties of the Whigs and Tories, that the anxiety they caused in the mind of her majesty is supposed to have hastened her death. which took place August 1, 1714, in the fiftieth year of her age.

Queen Anne was considered rather amiable than great; and, like all her family, she was better calculated for the private duties of life than for a throne. In this reign literature flourished, and produced some of the greatest characters on record. St. Paul's Cathedral, as it now appears, was finished by Sir Christopher Wren, in the year 1710.

PERIOD XII.

This ill success did not, however, prevent another attempt in 1722, but the conspiracy was happily dissolved before it was put into execution. Several noblemen were committed to the Tower, but not prosecuted; Bishop Atterbury was banished the realm; and one Christopher Sayer, convicted of enlisting men for the Pretender, was hanged.

In

In 1727, the Spaniards made an unsuccessful attempt on Gibraltar; and soon after a negotiation for peace was set on foot. June, the same year, the king set out to visit his Hanoverian dominions, but died at Osnaburg, June 11th, in the sixty-eighth year of his age, and was buried at Ilanover

Among the cotemporary sovereigns of George I. were Peter the Great, of Russia; Charles VI., Emperor of Germany; Louis XV., King of France; Philip V., King of Spain; John V., King of Portugal; Victor Amadeus, King of Sardinia; Augustus, King of Poland; Frederick William, King of Prussia; Charles XII., King of Sweden; Achmet III., Emperor of the Turks.

GEORGE II.

GEORGE II. ascended the throne at the mature age of fortyfive. The war with the Spaniards was now renewed, in consequence of their unjust and cruel treatment of the English logwood cutters, in the Bay of Campeachy.

The naval enterprises against Spain were eminently successful; many ships laden with treasures, from America, falling into the hands of the English, and enriching the captors. One of the most fortunate commanders in this respect was Commodore Anson.

The King of Prussia having attacked the hereditary dominions of the Archduchess Maria Theresa, France sided with that monarch, and the English monarch took the part of the injured princess. A battle was fought in 1743, at Dettingen, in Flanders, where George commanded in person, and gained a complete victory.

To create a diversion in favour of the Prussian monarch, and of the French operations on the continent, Louis furnished the Protender with some money and ships for the invasion of England. In 1745, Charles Edward, his son, landed in Scotland, and erected his standard on behalf of his father.

Being joined by numerous bodies of Highlanders, he at first gained some advantages, and advanced as far as Carlisle, and Manchester, and from thence to Derby, and had he taken advantage of the general consternation, and marched immediately to London, the consequence might have been very serious.

Great dissensions, however, having broken out in his army, he determined to retreat, but was met at Culloden, near Inverness, by an army under the Duke of Cumberland, and totally defeated after bloody contest, April 16, 1746.

a

The young Pretender escaped from the field of battle, and, after wandering about under various disguises, and in imminent danger,