[Blog] [MP3
Musica] [MP3 Audiobook]
[Letture Creative]
[Musica Creativa]
[Italiano] [English]
[Francais] [Deutsch]
[Espanol] [Portugues]
[Danish] [Esperanto]
[Norwegian] [Sanskrit]
[Tagalog] [Bulgarian]
[Swedish] [Finnish]
[Latin] [Greek]
[Polish] [Icelandic]
[Lithuanian] [Russian]
[Punch] [Appunti
di informatica libera] [Wikipedia
School]
The Project Gutenberg eBook, A Museum for Young Gentlemen and Ladies, by
Unknown
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
Title: A Museum for Young Gentlemen and Ladies
A Private Tutor for Little Masters and Misses
Author: Unknown
Release Date: January 9, 2007 [eBook #20301]
Language: English
Character set encoding: utf-8
***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A MUSEUM FOR YOUNG GENTLEMEN AND LADIES***
E-text prepared by J. Paul Morrison
Transcriber's Notes:
- This 15th edition of A
MUSEUM FOR YOUNG GENTLEMEN AND LADIES was published ca. 1799.
- Each page repeats the first word of the next page at the bottom
right - this has not been reproduced in this text version.
- As can be seen on the title page below, the book uses the long 's' (ſ) in
non-final positions - this has not been reproduced in this text
version, as it would make the text less easily searchable. A
non-final
double 's' is sometimes written with two long 's's, and sometimes with
a long 's' followed by a short (or final) 's' (somewhat like the
ß of German).
- 'st' and 'ct' are usually written with a ligature - this has not
been preserved in the text; 'ae' and 'oe' ligatures
have been preserved, however.
- Colons, semicolons, question marks, and brackets are usually
surrounded by spaces - in this
text, the modern convention has been followed.
- The book consistently uses '&c.' where we today use 'etc.' -
this has been preserved.
- The dimensions of the book are approx. 13½ cm. by 9 cm.,
so each line contains 8-9 words on average. This means that the
layout of the
following text does not usually match that of the book.
- Compound words like "every body" are often written with a space
in the middle - this has been preserved where it appears.
- Page numbers have been omitted.
- '[sic]' has been inserted at many places in the text to let the
reader know that the preceding word or phrase appeared as such in the
original. These appear in blue in the HTML version.
- A number of names are spelled differently from present-day usage,
e.g. Anna Bullen (Anne Boleyn) - in most cases, these have not been
marked.
- On one page, a letter is corrupted, and on the following line
letters appear to be missing - these have been marked with a comment in
square brackets.
- One major point of confusion should be mentioned: In the
section on the Seven Wonders of the World, what is usually described as
the Lighthouse of Pharos (shown in the woodcut) appears to have been
merged with the so-called Egyptian Labyrinth (described by Herodotus) -
see the title and the description in the text. In the next
section (the Pyramids of Egypt), there is a reference to a black marble
head on the third pyramid - perhaps this represents some confusion with
the Sphynx.
A
MUSEUM
FOR
YOUNG GENTLEMEN
AND LADIES
OR A
FOR LITTLE
MASTERS AND
MISSES.
Containing
a Variety of
uſeful Subjects;
AND, IN
PARTICULAR,
With Letters, Tales and Fables, for
amuſement
and
Inſtruction.
ILLUSTRATED
WITH CUTS.
THE FIFTEENTH
EDITION,
WITH CONSIDERABLE ADDITIONS AND ALTERATIONS.
Printed
for DARTON and HARVEY,
Gracechurch-ſtreet, CROSBY and LETTERMAN, Stationers-Court, and
E. NEWBERY, St. Paul's Church-yard; and B.C. COLLINS,
Saliſbury.
[Reverse
of title page]
Printed by B.C. COLLINS, Canal,
Saliſbury.
MUSEUM
FOR
YOUNG GENTLEMEN AND LADIES.
NOTES AND POINTS
USED IN
Writing and Printing.
Before I begin to lay down rules for
reading, it will be necessary to take notice of the several points or
marks used in printing or writing, for resting or stopping the voice,
which are four in number, called
1. The Comma
(,)
|
3. Colon
(:) |
| 2. Semicolon
(;) |
4.
Period (.) |
These points are to give a proper time for breathing when you read, and
to prevent confusion of sense in joining words together in a sentence.
The Comma stops the reader's
voice till he can tell one,
and divides the lesser parts of a sentence. The Semicolon divides the greater parts
of a sentence, and requires the reader to pause while he can count two.
The Colon is used where the
sense is
complete, and not the sentence, and rests the voice of the reader till
he can count three.
The Period is put when the
sentence is ended, and requires a pause while he can tell four.
But we must here remark, that the Colon
and Semicolon are frequently
used promiscuously, especially in our bibles.
There are two other points, which may be called marks of affection; the
one of which is termed an Interrogation,
which signifies a question being asked, and expressed thus (?); the
other called an Admiration or
Exclamation, and marked thus
(!). These two points require a pause as long as a period.
We have twelve other marks to be met with in reading, namely,
1. Apostrophe
(’)
|
7.
Section (§
)
|
2.
Hyphen (-)
|
8. Ellipsis
(―)
|
3. Parenthesis ( )
|
9. Index
( )
|
4.
Brackets [ ]
|
10. Asterisk (*)
|
5. Paragraph
(¶ )
|
11.
Obelisk (†)
|
6.
Quotation (“)
|
12.
Caret (^)
|
Apostrophe is set over a word
where some letter is wanting, as in lov'd.
Hyphen joins syllables and
words together, as in pan-cake.
Parenthesis includes something
not necessary to the sense, as, I
know that in me (that is in my flesh) liveth, &c. Brackets include a word or words
mentioned as a matter of discourse, as, The little word [man] makes a great noise, &c.
They are also used to enclose a cited sentence, or what is to be
explained, and sometimes the explanation itself. Brackets and Parenthesis are
often used for each other
without distinction. Paragraph
is chiefly used in the bible, and denotes the beginning of a new
subject. Quotation is
used to distinguish what is taken from an author in his own
words. Section shews
the division of a chapter. Ellipsis
is used when part of a word or sentence is omitted, as p―ce. Index denotes some remarkable
passage. Asterisk
refers to some note in the margin, or remarks at the bottom of the
page; and when many stand together, thus ***, they imply that
something is wanting, or not fit to be read, in the author. The Obelisk or Dagger, and also parallel lines
marked thus (||), refer to something in the margin. The Caret, marked thus (^), is made use
of in writing, when any line or word is left out, and wrote over where
it is to come in, as thus,
had
A certain man two sons:
^ |
Here the word had was left
out, wrote over, and
marked by the Caret where to
come in.
It may also in this place be proper to
mention the crooked lines or Braces,
which couple two or three
words or lines together that tend to the same thing; for
instance,
This is often used in poetry, where
three lines have the same rhyme.
The other marks relate to single words, as Dialysis or Diæresis, placed over vowels
to
shew they must be pronounced in distinct syllables, as Raphaël. The Circumflex is set over a vowel to
carry a long sound, as Euphrâtes.
An Accent is marked thus
(á), to shew where the emphasis must be placed, as negléct; or to
shew that the consonant following must be pronounced double, as hómage. To these
may be added the long ( ¯) and short ( ˘) marks, which denote the
quantity of syllables, as wātĕr.
RULES
FOR READING.
When you have gained a perfect knowledge
of the sounds of the letters, never guess at a word on sight, lest you
get a habit of reading falsely. Pronounce every word
distinctly. Let the tone of your voice be the same in reading as
in speaking. Never read in a hurry, lest you learn to
stammer. Read no louder than to be heard by those about
you. Observe to make your pauses regular, and make not any
where the sense will admit of none. Suit your voice to the
subject. Be attentive to those who read well, and remember to
imitate their pronunciation. Read often before good judges,
and thank them for
correcting you. Consider well the place of emphasis, and
pronounce it accordingly: For the stress of voice is the same
with regard to sentences as in words. The emphasis or force of
voice is for the most part laid upon the accented syllable; but if
there is a particular opposition between two words in a sentence, one
whereof differs from the other in parts, the accent must be removed
from its place: for instance, The
sun shines upon the just and upon the unjust. Here the
emphasis is laid upon the first syllable in unjust, because it is opposed to just in the same sentence, without
which opposition it would lie in its proper place, that is, on the last
syllable, as we must not imitate the
unjust practices of others.
The general rule for knowing which is the emphatical word in a
sentence, is, to consider the design
of the whole; for particular directions cannot be easily given,
excepting only where words evidently oppose one another in a sentence,
and those are always emphatical.
So frequently is the word that asks a question, as, who, what, when, &c. but not always.
Nor must the emphasis be always laid upon the same words in the same
sentence, but varied according to the principal meaning of the
speaker. Thus, suppose I enquire, Did my father walk abroad yesterday?
If I lay the emphasis on the word father,
it is evident I want to know whether it was he,
or somebody else. If I lay it upon walk, the person I speak to will
know, that I want to be informed whether he went on foot or rode on horseback. If I put the
emphasis upon yesterday, it
denotes, that I am satisfied that my father went abroad, and on foot,
though I want to be informed whether it was yesterday, or some time before.
RULES
TO READ VERSE.
There are two ways of writing on a subject, namely, in prose and verse. Prose is the common way of writing,
without being confined to a certain number of syllables, or having the
trouble of disposing of the words in any particular form. Verse requires words to be ranged
so, as the accents may naturally fall on particular syllables, and make
a sort of harmony to the ear: This is termed metre or measure, to which rhyme is
generally added, that is, to make two or more verses, near to each
other, and with the same sound; but this practice is not absolutely
necessary; for that which has no rhyme is called blank verse.
In metre the words must be so disposed, as that the accent may fall on
every second, fourth, and sixth syllable, and also on the eighth, tenth, and twelfth, if the lines run to that
length. The following verse of ten syllables may serve for an
example:
The
mónarch spóke, and stráit a múrmur
róse.
But English
poetry allows of frequent variations from this rule, especially in the
first and second syllables in the line, as in the verse which rhymes
with the former, where the accent is laid upon the first syllable.
Lóud
as the súrges, whén the témpest blóws.
But there are two sorts of metre, which
vary from this rule; one of which is when the verse contains but seven
syllables, and the accent lies upon the first, third, fifth, and seventh, as below:
Cóuld
we, whích we
néver cán,
Strétch our
líves beyónd their spán;
Beáuty líke a
shádow flíes,
Ánd our yóuth
befóre us díes. |
The other sort has a hasty sound, and
requires an accent upon every third syllable; as,
'Tis the vóice of the
slúggard,
I heár him compláin,
You have
wák'd me too soón, I must slúmber
agáin. |
You must always observe to pronounce a verse as you do prose, giving
each word and syllable its natural accent, with these two
restrictions: First, If
there is no point at the end of the line, make a short pause before you
begin the next. Secondly,
If any word in a line has two sounds, give it that which agrees
best with the rhyme and
metre; for example the word glittering
must sometimes be pronounced as of three syllables, and sometimes glitt'ring, as of two.
The
USE of CAPITALS, and the different LETTERS used in PRINTING.
The names of the letters made use of in printed books are distinguished
thus: The round, full, and upright, are called Roman; the long, leaning,
narrow letters are called Italic;
and the ancient black character is called English.
You have a specimen as
follows, viz.
The Old English is seldom
used but in acts of parliament, proclamations, &c. The Roman is chiefly in vogue for books
and pamphlets, intermixed with Italic,
to distinguish proper names, chapters, arguments, words in any foreign
language, texts of scripture, citations from authors, speeches or
sayings of any person, emphatical words, and whatever is strongly
significant.
The use of capitals, or great letters, is to begin every name of the
Supreme Being, as God, Lord, Almighty, Father, Son, &c.
All proper names of men
and things, titles of distinction, as King, Duke, Lord, Knight, &c.
must also begin with a capital. So ought every book, chapter,
verse, paragraph, and sentence after a period. A saying, or
quotation from any author, should begin with a capital; as ought every
line in a poem. I and O, when they stand single, must always be
capitals; any words, particularly names or substantives, may begin with
a capital; but the common way of beginning every substantive with a
capital is not commendable, and is now much disused.
Capitals are likewise often used for ornament, as in the title of
books; and also to express numbers, and abbreviations.
A CONCISE
ACCOUNT OF ANCIENT BRITAIN.
CHAP. I.
ENGLAND
and Scotland, though but
one
island, are two kingdoms, viz. the kingdom of England and the kingdom
of Scotland; which two kingdoms being united, were in the reign of
James
I. called Great-Britain. The shape of it is triangular, as thus
,
and 'tis surrounded by the seas. Its utmost extent or length is
812 miles, its breadth is 320, and its circumference 1836; and it is
reckoned one of the finest islands in Europe. The whole
island was anciently called Albion, which seems to have been
softened from Alpion; because the word alp, in some of the original
western languages, generally signifies very high lands, or hills; as
this isle appears to those who approach it from the Continent. It
was likewise called Olbion, which in the Greek signifies happy; but of those times there is
no certainty in history, more than that it had the denomination, and
was very little known by the rest of the world.
The people that first lived in this island, according to the best
historians, were the Gauls, and afterwards the Britons. These
Britons were tall, well made, and yellow haired, and lived frequently a
hundred and twenty years, owing to their sobriety and temperance, and
the wholesomeness of the air. The use of clothes was scarce known
among them. Some of them that inhabited the
southern parts covered their nakedness with the skins of wild beasts
carelessly thrown over them, not so much to defend themselves against
the cold as to avoid giving offence to strangers that came to traffic
among them. By way of ornament they used to cut the shape of
flowers, and trees, and animals, on their skin, and afterwards painted
it of a sky colour, with the juice of woad, that
never wore out.
They lived in woods, in huts covered with skins, boughs, or
turfs. Their towns and villages were a confused parcel of huts,
placed at a little distance from each other, without any
order or distinction of streets. They were
generally in the middle of a wood, defended with ramparts, or mounds of
earth thrown up. Ten or a dozen of them, friends and brothers,
lived together, and had their wives in common. Their food was
milk and flesh got by hunting, their woods and plains being well
stocked with game. Fish and tame fowls, which they kept for
pleasure, they were forbid by their religion to eat.
The
chief commerce was with the the Phœnician merchants, who, after
the discovery of the island, exported every year great quantities of
tin, with which they drove a very gainful trade with distant nations.
In
this situation were the Ancient Britons when Julius Cæsar, the
first Emperor of Rome, and a great conqueror, formed a design of
invading their island, which the Britons hearing of, they endeavoured
to divert him from his purpose by sending ambassadors with offers of
obedience to him, which he refused, and in the 55th year before the
coming of our Saviour upon earth, he embarked in Gaul (that is France)
a great many soldiers on board eighty ships.
At his
arrival on the coast of Britain he saw the hills and cliffs that
ran out into the sea covered with troops, that could easily prevent his
landing, on which he sailed two leagues farther to a plain and open
shore, which the Britons perceiving sent their chariots and horse that
way,
whilst the rest of their army advanced to support them.
The largeness of Cæsar's vessels hindered them from coming near
the
shore, so that the Roman soldiers saw themselves under a necessity of
leaping into the sea, armed as they were, in order to attack their
enemies, who stood ready to receive them on the dry ground.
Cæsar perceiving that his soldiers did not exert their usual
bravery,
ordered some small ships to get as near the shore as possible, which
they did, and with their slings, engines, and arrows so pelted the
Britons, that their courage began to abate. But the Romans were
unwilling to throw themselves into the water, till one of the
standard-bearers leaped in first with his colours in his hand, crying
out aloud, Follow me, fellow
soldiers, unless you will betray the Roman Eagle into the hands of the
enemy. For my part I am resolved to discharge my duty to Caesar
and the Commonwealth. Whereupon all the soldiers followed
him, and began to fight. But their resolution was not able to
compel the Britons to give ground; nay, it was feared they would have
been repelled, had not Cæsar caused armed boats to supply them
with recruits, which made the enemy fall back a little. The
Romans improving this advantage advanced, and getting firm footing on
land, pressed the Britons so vigorously that they put them to the
rout. The Britons, astonished at the Roman valour, and fearing a
more obstinate resistance would but expose them to
greater mischiefs, sent to sue for peace and offer
hostages, which Cæsar accepted, and a peace was concluded four
days after their landing. Thus having given an account of Ancient
Britain, and Cæsar's invasion, we shall proceed to the History of
England, and the several Kings by whom it has been governed.
A COMPENDIOUS
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP. II.
AS England was long governed by
Kings
who were natives of the country, so it may not be improper to
distinguish that tract of time by the name of the British Period.
Those Kings were afterwards subdued by the Romans, and the time that
warlike people retained their conquest we shall call the Roman
Period. When the Saxons brought this country under their
subjection, we shall denominate the time of their sway the Saxon
Period. Lastly, when the Danes invaded England, and conquered it,
we
shall term the series of years they possessed it the Danish Period.
This country was originally called Albion; but one Brutus, a Grecian
hero, having landed here about 1100 years
before Christ, changed the ancient name to
Britannia;
from which time, to the arrival of Julius Cæsar here, there had
reigned sixty-nine Kings, all natives of England.
In respect to the Roman Period we may observe, that Julius Cæsar
first landed in Britain from Gallia, and made it tributary to the
Romans; but soon after the birth of Christ the Emperor Claudius brought
this country entirely under his subjection, and the Emperor Adrian built
the long wall between
England and Scotland.
In the beginning of the second century the Christian religion was
planted in England; and in the fifth century the Britons, finding
themselves overpowered by the Scots, called over the Saxons to their
assistance, who were so charmed with the country that they determined
to continue here, and subdue it.
The most remarkable occurrences in the Saxon Period are, that such of
them who embarked for England had been particularly distinguished by
the name of Angles, and from them the name of Britannia was changed to
that of Anglia. The Saxons also divided the country among
themselves into seven kingdoms, known by the name of the Saxon
Heptarchy, viz. 1. Kent, 2. Essex, 3. Sussex, 4. Wessex, 5. East
Anglia, 6. Mercia, 7. Northumberland. But at length Wessex
over-powering
the rest, formed them all into one monarchy.
One of those West-Saxon Kings, called Ina, made many good laws, some of
which are still extant: he also was the first that granted Peter's
pence to the Pope.
In regard to the Danish Period we shall only remark, that the Danes had
for a long time acted as pirates or sea robbers upon the English
coasts, and made several incursions into the country, when their King
Canute
possessed himself of the crown of England; however their government did
not continue long.
Canute reigned eighteen years, and left three sons, Harold, Canute, and
Sueno; to the first he gave
England, to the second Denmark, and to the third Norway.
Harold reigned five years, and was succeeded by his half-brother
Hardi-Canute,
who died two years after, and with him ended the tyrannical government
of the Danes in England.
THE
INTERMEDIATE HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP. III.
WE shall divide this part of our history
into four periods;
1. The Kings of the Norman
Line; 2. Those of the House of Anjou; 3. Of the House of Lancaster; 4.
Of the House of York.
The
NORMAN
KINGS.
WILLIAM I. sirnamed [sic]
the Conqueror, gained a signal victory over King Harold, by which means
he procured the crown of England. This Prince was the son
of Robert, Duke of Normandy, by one of his mistresses called Harlotte,
from whom
some think the word harlot is derived; however, as this amour seems
odd, we shall entertain the reader with an account of it. The
Duke riding one day to take the air passed by a company of country
girls, who were dancing, and was so taken with the graceful carriage of
one of them, named Harlotte, a skinner's daughter, that he prevailed on
her to cohabit with him, and she was ten months after delivered of
William, who, having reigned 21 years, died at Rouen, in September,
1087.
WILLIAM II. sirnamed Rufus, succeeded his father; he built
Westminster-hall, rebuilt London-bridge, and made a new wall round the
Tower of London. In his time the sea overflowed a great part of
the estate belonging to Earl Goodwin, in Kent, which is at this day
called the Goodwin Sands. The King was killed accidentally by an
arrow in the New Forest, and left no issue. He reigned fourteen
years, and was buried in Winchester Cathedral.
HENRY I. youngest son of William the Conqueror, succeeded his brother
William II. in 1100. He reduced Normandy, and made his son Duke
thereof. This Prince died in Normandy of a surfeit, by eating
lampreys after hunting, having reigned 35 years.
STEPHEN, sirnamed of Blois, succeeded his uncle Henry I. in 1135; but
being continually harassed by the Scotch and Welsh, and having reigned
19 years in an uninterrupted series of troubles, he died at Dover in
1154, and was buried in the Abbey at Feversham, which he had erected
for the burial place of himself and family.
HENRY II. son of Geoffrey Plantagenet, Earl of Anjou, succeeded Stephen
in 1154. In him the Norman and Saxon blood was united, and with
him
began the race of the Plantagenets, which ended with Richard III.
In this King's reign Thomas à Becket, son to a tradesman in
London,
being made Lord High Chancellor, and
afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury, affected on
all occasions to oppose and to be independent of the court. The
King
hearing of his misbehaviour, complained that he had not one to revenge
him on a wretched priest for the many insults he had put upon
him. Hereupon four of his domestics, in hopes to gain favour, set
out immediately for Canterbury, and beat out Thomas's brains with
clubs, as he was saying vespers in his own cathedral, in so cruel a
manner, that the altar was covered with blood. King Henry subdued
Ireland, and died there in 1189, in the 34th year of his reign.
RICHARD I.
succeeded his father Henry II. and was no sooner crowned than he took
upon him the cross, and went with Philip, King of France, to the Holy
Land in 1192. On
his return he was detained by the Emperor
Henry VI. and was obliged to pay 100,000 marks for his ransom. In
a war which succeeded between England and France, Richard fought
personally in the field, and
gained a complete victory over the enemy, but was afterwards shot by an
arrow at the siege of the Castle of Chalus, and died of the wound April
6, 1199.
JOHN, the fourth son of Henry II. took possession of the crown on
Richard's decease, though his nephew Arthur of Bretagne, son of his
elder brother Geoffrey Plantagenet, had an undoubted title to it.
His encroachments on the privileges of his people called forth the
opposition of the spirited and potent Barons of that day: John
was reduced to great straits; and Pope Innocent III. with the usual
policy of the Holy Fathers, sided with John's disaffected subjects, and
fulminated the thunders of the church against him, till he had brought
him to his own terms: the King surrendered his crown at the feet of the
Pope's Legate, who returned it to him on his acknowledging that he held
it as the vassal of the Holy See, and binding himself and successors to
pay an annual tribute thereto. The Barons and their cause were to
be sacrificed to the Pope's interest, and the Legate commanded them to
lay down their arms; they were however bold enough to make head against
this powerful league, and by their steady opposition to the King, and
their moderate demands when their efforts were crowned with success,
immortalized their names: John was obliged to sign out two famous
charters -- the first called Magna Charta, or the Charter of Liberties;
the second the Charter of Forests; which two charters have since been
the foundation of the liberties of this nation. Some time after,
having thrown himself into a fever by eating peaches, he died at Newark
October 28, 1216.
HENRY III. succeeded his father John in 1216, being but nine years
old. He reigned 56 years, during the greatest part of which he
was
embroiled in a civil war. He founded the house of converts,
and an hospital, in Oxford, and died at St. Edmundsbury in 1272.
EDWARD I. though in the Holy Land when his father died, yet succeeded
him, and proved a warlike and successful Prince. He made France
fear him, and forced the King of Scotland to pay him homage. He
created his eldest son Prince of Wales, which title has been enjoyed by
the eldest son of all the Kings of England ever since. In his
last moments he exhorted his son to continue the war with Scotland, and
added, "Let my bones be carried before you, for I am sure the rebels
will never dare to stand the sight of them." He died of a bloody
flux at Burgh on the sands [sic],
a small town in Cumberland, July 7, 1337, having reigned 34 years, and
lived 68.
EDWARD II. succeeded his father, but proved an unfortunate Prince,
being hated by his nobles, and slighted by the commons: he was first
debauched by Gaveston his favourite, and afterwards by the two
Spencers, father and son, whose oppressions he countenanced to the
hazard of his crown. But the Barons taking up arms against the
King, Gaveston was beheaded, the two Spencers hanged, and he himself
forced to to resign the crown to Prince Edward his son. Soon
after which he was barbarously murdered at Berkeley Castle, by means of
Mortimer, the Queen's favourite. He reigned twenty
years, and was buried at Gloucester.
EDWARD III. who succeeded his father on his resignation, claimed the
crown of France, and backed his claim by embarking a powerful army for
that country, where he made rapid conquests: the Scots favouring the
French, invaded Cumberland, but were defeated by Edward's Queen
Philippa, who took David Bruce, their King, prisoner. Edward's
eldest son, sirnamed the Black Prince, gained two surprizing [sic]
victories, one at Cressi,
the
other at Poitiers, in which he took King John, with his youngest son
Philip, prisoners. Thus England had the glory to make two Kings
prisoners in one year. This reign is also memorable for the
institution of the most noble Order of the Garter, and for the title of
Duke of Cornwall being first conferred upon the Black Prince, and
continued as a birthright to the Prince Royal of England.
In this reign lived John Wickliff, who strenuously opposed the errors
of the Romish Church. Peter's Pence were now also denied to the
church of Rome; and the manufacture of cloth was first brought into
England.
Edward the Black Prince died in 1336, and his untimely end hastened that
of his father, who died soon after at Shene, in Surry,
having reigned thirty
years, and was buried at Westminster.
RICHARD II. son to Edward the Black Prince, succeeded his grandfather;
but he had neither his wisdom nor good fortune. He was born at
Bourdeaux in France: his
conduct in England made his reign very uneasy to his subjects, and at
last deprived him of his crown. He raised a tax of 5d. per head,
which caused an insurrection by the influence of Wat Tyler, who being
stabbed by William Walworth, Mayor of London, the storm was quelled.
The smothering of the
Duke
of Gloucester, and the unjust seizure of the Duke of Lancaster's
effects, with an intent to banish his son, were the two circumstances
which completed the King's ruin.
For after this tyranny and cruelty, being forced to resign the crown,
he was confined in Pomfret Castle, in Yorkshire, where being
barbarously murdered, he was buried at Langley, having reigned
twenty-two years. In his time lived Chaucer, the famous poet.
The
House of Lancaster, called the RED ROSE.
HENRY IV. who succeeded his cousin
Richard on his resignation in 1399, was the son of John of Gaunt, Duke
of Lancaster, who was fourth son of Edward III. In his turbulent
reign, which lasted thirteen years and a half, we find little
remarkable, except the act then passed for burning the Lollards or
Wickliffites,
who separated from the church of Rome.
HENRY V. succeeded his father, and, though a loose Prince in his youth,
proved a wise, virtuous and magnificent King. He banished all his lewd
companions from court, and claimed the English title to the crown of
France in so heroic and effectual a manner, that with 14,000 men he
beat the French at Agincourt, though 140,000 strong. Hereupon Queen
Katherine prevailed upon her husband Charles VI. then King of France,
to disinherit the Dauphin, and to give Katherine his daughter to Henry,
so that he was declared heir to the crown of France, and regent during
the King's life, which measures were ratified and confirmed by the
states of that kingdom, though he did not live to sit on the
throne. He reigned but ten years, died at Vincennes, a
royal palace near Paris, and was buried at Westminster, in 1422, in the
39th year of his age.
HENRY VI. when only eight years old, succeeded his father, but was no
less unfortunate at home than abroad; and though he was crowned at
Paris King of France, in the year 1423, yet he lost all that his
predecessors had acquired in that kingdom, Calais only excepted.
The crown of England was disputed between him and the house of York;
which occasioned such civil wars in England as made her bleed for 84
years, when all the Princes of York and Lancaster were either
killed in battle or beheaded. The
French laying hold of this favourable opportunity, shook off the
English yoke, and recovering their liberty in five years, placed the
young Dauphin upon the throne, who was then Charles VII. The
crown of England was now settled by Parliament upon the House of York
and their heirs, after the death of King Henry, whose heirs were
excluded for ever. This Prince passed through various changes of
life, and was at last stabbed to the heart by Richard Duke of
Gloucester, who had before murdered Edward, the only son of this
unfortunate King.
The
House of York, called the WHITE ROSE.
EDWARD IV. who had dispossessed Henry
VI. in 1460, was the first King of the line of York, and nobly
maintained his right to the crown by mere dint of arms; till at last
subduing the party which opposed him, he was crowned at Westminster
June 28, 1461. In this King's reign the ART OF PRINTING was first
brought into England. At this time also the King of Spain was
presented with some Cotswold sheep, from whose breed, 'tis said, came
the fine Spanish wool, to the prejudice of England. Edward
reigned 22 years, and was buried at Windsor in 1483.
EDWARD V. eldest son of Edward IV. succeeded his father when only
twelve years old; but his bloody uncle, Richard Duke of Gloucester,
caused both him and his brother to
be smothered in their beds in
the
Tower of London, in the second month of his reign, and before his
coronation.
RICHARD III. having dispatched his two nephews, succeeded to the crown,
and was the last King of the House of York. He was an usurper,
and his cruelty had incensed the Duke of Buckingham, his favourite, to
such a degree, that he contrived his ruin, and offered the crown to
Henry Earl of Richmond, the only surviving Prince of the House of
Lancaster, then at the court of France, on condition that he would
marry Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of Edward IV. in order to unite
the Houses of York and Lancaster -- Richard being informed of the
affair, ordered the Duke to be instantly beheaded without a
trial. However, this did not discourage Henry, who had accepted
the offer. He came over with a small force, and landed in Wales,
where he was born, his army increasing as he advanced. At length
having collected a body of 5000 men, he attacked King Richard in
Bosworth field, in Leicestershire, in 1485. Richard fought
bravely till he was killed in the engagement, which made way for Henry
to the crown of England.
THE
MODERN HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP. IV.
We shall divide this branch of English history into four periods,
namely: 1. The Kings of the House of Tudor. 2. The Kings of the
Stuart family. 3. King William of the House of Orange, and Queen
Anne. 4. The Kings of the House of Hanover.
The
House of TUDOR.
HENRY VII. succeeded Richard III. in
1485: he obtained the crown by force of arms, tho' he pretended a tight
to it by birth; being of the House of Lancaster. The name of his
father was Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond; and he married Elizabeth,
the daughter of King Edward IV. by which marriage the Houses of York
and Lancaster were united. This Prince had great sagacity, but
was very cruel and unjust. Edward Plantagenet, Earl of Warwick,
and the last Prince of the House of York, was beheaded by him for
attempting his escape, after being imprisoned from nine years old;
for which cruel
act Henry's name will be hated for ever. As he grew old, he
grew covetous, and to increase his treasure, he caused all penal laws
to be put in execution. His chief instruments herein were Empsom
and Dudley, who afterwards paid dear for their extortion. He
built the chapel at Westminster which is at this day called Henry the
Seventh's. The 48 gentlemen of the privy chamber, and the band of
gentlemen pensioners, were first settled in his reign. He died at
the palace of Richmond, which he built, and left in ready money to his
successor 1,800,000l. having reigned 24 years.
HENRY VIII. born at Greenwich, in 1491, the only surviving son of Henry
VII. came to the crown in the 18th year of his age, and in 1509.
He reigned for some years with great applause; but being vitiated by
Cardinal Woolsey, luxury and cruelty obscured his virtues, and stained
his former glory. He had six wives, of whom he divorced two, and
caused two to be publicly beheaded. In his reign began the
reformation; and the King was, by act of parliament, declared supreme
head of the church of England. Before he fell off from the Pope,
he wrote a book against Luther. On this account Pope Leo honoured
him with the title of defender of the faith; which the parliament made
hereditary to all succeeding Kings of England. His government was
more arbitrary and severe than that of any of his predecessors
since William the Conqueror. He reigned about 38 years, died Jan.
28, 1547, and was buried in Windsor chapel.
EDWARD VI. only son of Henry VIII. succeeded his father at ten years
old; and in the six years during which he reigned, he, by the
indefatigable zeal of Archbishop Cranmer, made a great progress in the
reformation. This good Prince founded our two famous hospitals,
called Christchurch and St. Thomas, one in the city of London, the
other in the suburbs. This reign is memorable for the discovery
of the north-east passage to Archangel, made by Richard Chalinour, till
then unknown, and since become the common passage from Asia into
Europe. Edward reigned but six years, and was buried at
Westminster.
MARY, eldest daughter of Henry VIII. by his first wife, succeeded her
half brother Edward VI. She restored the Roman Catholic Bishops,
and commenced a hot persecution against the protestants; in which
Archbishop Cranmer, and six other Bishops, were burnt alive. In
her reign, Calais was taken by the French, after it had been in our
possession 200 years; and the same year, which was 1558, she died of
grief for the loss of that city. With her life ended a reign,
begun,
continued, finished in blood, and happy in nothing but its short
duration. She was
buried at Westminster.
ELIZABETH, daughter
of Henry VIII. by Anna Bullen, his second wife, succeeded her
half-sister Mary. She proved an
excellent Queen, the glory of her sex, and admiration of the age she
lived in. She was crowned at Westminster, Jan. 15,
1558. In her time the protestant religion was again
restored. She humbled the pride of Spain, both in Europe and
America. Memorable is the year 1588, for the Spanish invasion
attempted by King Philip, with his invincible armada; the
greatest part of which was destroyed by the English fireships and a
providential storm. The very names of our chief commanders,
Howard, Norris, Essex, Drake, and Raleigh, struck a terror in her
enemies. They took and burnt several places in Spain,
particularly Cadiz and the Groyne;
intercepted their plate fleets, and
reduced that haughty monarch so low, that he has never since recovered
it. This Queen quelled the two rebellions of O'Neal
and
Tir-Owen
in Ireland. She protected the new republic of Holland,
and the protestants of France. She commanded the ocean, which
spread her fame around the globe, and made her name respected every
where. With much reluctance she signed the dead warrant [sic]
for the execution of Mary
Queen of Scots, charged with high treason. She grieved much for
the death of the Earl of Essex, whose fall was owing to her favour, and
survived him only two years. In her reign the two English
inquisitions were erected, I mean the Star-Chamber, and the High
Commission Court, which grew oppressive, and the judges so arbitrary,
that they were suppressed by an act of Charles I. She had a
peculiar taste for learning, which flourished in her reign. She
spoke five or six different languages, translated several books from
the Greek and French, and took great pleasure in the study of
mathematics, geography, and history. She died in 1603, in the
45th year of her reign, and the 70th year of her age, leaving her
kinsman James VI. of Scotland, her successor.
The
STUART FAMILY.
JAMES I. of England, arrived at London
May 7, 1603, and the feast of St. James following was fixed for his
coronation. In 1604, Nov. 5, the powder plot was
discovered, the memory whereof has been hitherto religiously observed.
Among the
remarkable things of this
reign, may be reckoned the two visits his Majesty received from
Christian IV. King of Denmark, whose sister Ann was King James's
consort: the creation of a new order called Baronets, next to a Baron,
and made hereditary: the fall of Lord Chancellor Bacon, and of Sir
Walter Raleigh, at the instigation of the Spanish Ambassador: the
office of the master of the ceremonies was first established. As
to the
character of this Prince, it must be confessed, that he was too much of
a scholar, and too little of the soldier. Though he was brought
up in the Scotch presbytery, he thought episcopacy so necessary for the
support of his crown, that he often used to say, No Bishop, No King. He died at
Theobalds, March 27, 1625, in the 23rd year of his reign, and 59th year
of his age. Thus ended a peaceable but inglorious, a plentiful
but luxurious reign, to make room for another more turbulent and
tragical.
CHARLES I. the only son of King James, succeeded next: he was born at
Dumferling, in Scotland, 1600, and crowned at Westminster, 1625.
His crown may be called a crown of thorns, as his reign ended in
blood. He married Henrietta, daughter to Henry IV. King of
France, who was bigotted to the catholic religion, and gained the
ascendancy over him. His wonderful compliance with the Queen
caused him to act in many respects contrary to the laws of the kingdom,
and his unbounded favour to the Duke of Buckingham, incensed the people
to that degree, that this favourite was afterwards stabbed by Felton,
merely for the public good. These, and such like weaknesses, made
him continually at variance with the parliament, which at last broke
out into a civil war. Several battles were fought between the
royalists and republicans or rumps.
The King
was taken prisoner by the Scots, who sold him to
the parliament for 200,000l.
Hereupon the parliament erected a high court of
justice, and gave them power to try the King; and though the
generality of the people were against such arbitrary proceedings, yet
they arraigned him of high-treason. The King maintained his
dignity, and refusing to acknowledge the authority of these pretended
judges, had sentence of death passed upon him, and was accordingly
beheaded on a scaffold erected for that purpose, before the palace,
Jan. 30, 1648. In this reign two great ministers, viz.
Archbishop Laud, and the Earl of Strafford, were beheaded.
CROMWELL, one of the most considerable members of the high court who
condemned King Charles, was now sent to subdue Ireland. After
which he marched against the Scots, who had taken up arms in favour of
the late King. The Dutch also, who had sent a fleet to assist the
King, having met with many losses and disappointments, sued for peace,
which Cromwell sold them at an exorbitant price. Now Cromwell was
made Lord Protector to the British dominions, and acted with the same
authority as if he had been King. He was a terror both to France
and Spain, and died Sept. 3, 1658. His son indeed succeeded to
that high station, which his father filled with universal applause; but
having neither an equal share of ambition, nor a head turned for
government, modestly resigned to the right heir
CHARLES II. son of Charles I. succeeded his father, but was
kept from
the crown above eleven years, during which time England was reduced to
a commonwealth. The King was at the Hague when his father was
beheaded. But on his yielding to some conditions imposed on him
by the kirk of Scotland, he was received by the Scots, and being
crowned at Scoon,
they sent an army with him into England to recover
that kingdom; which being totally defeated at Worcester, he wandered
about for six weeks, and made his escape to France, then to Spain, but
without any hopes of restoration, till the death of Oliver
Cromwell: when a free parliament, having met in April 1660, voted
the return of King Charles II. as lawful heir to the crown. The
power of the Rump Parliament, by the conduct and courage of General
Monk, had been on the decline for some time, and the King's interest
greatly increased, especially in the city of London, where he was
proclaimed May 8. He landed at Dover, and made a most magnificent
entry, May 29, 1660, being his birthday; and the 23d [sic]
of April following, being
St. George's day, he was crowned at Westminster with great state and
solemnity. Among the remarkable things of this reign, we may
reckon the parting with Dunkirk to France for a paltry sum; the blowing
up Tangier in the Streights, after immense sums had been expended to
repair and keep it; the
shutting up the Exchequer when
full of loans,
to the ruin of numerous families; the two Dutch wars, which ended
with no
advantage on either side, but served only to promote the French
interest; the great plague with which this nation was visited during
the first Dutch war; the fire of London that happened soon after; and
the Popish plot, for which many suffered death. On the 2d of Feb.
1684, the King fell sick of an apoplexy; he died four days after, in
the 37th year of his reign, and was privately buried at Westminster.
JAMES II. succeeded his brother Charles, but proved very unfortunate to
himself and his people, on account of his zeal for the Romish
religion. He invaded the rights of the universities, and made
Magdalen
College in Oxford a prey to his violence. He sent seven bishops
as criminals to the tower, who upon trial were honourably
acquitted. Father Peters, a Jesuit, and several Popish Lords, sat
in the Privy Council, and some Popish Judges on the bench.
The Pope sent a Nuncio from Rome, who was suffered to make his public
entry in defiance of our constitution. These barefaced practices
made the Protestant party think it high time to check the growth of
popery. Hereupon the Prince of Orange was requested to vindicate
his consort's right, and that of the three nations. In the
beginning of this reign the Duke of Monmouth was proclaimed King in the
West, in opposition to King James; but his party being defeated, he was
beheaded July 15, 1685. Judge Jeffries was afterwards sent
by the King to try those who had
assisted the Duke, of whom he hanged no less than 600, glorying in his
cruelty, and affirming, that he had hanged more than all the Judges
since William the Conqueror. The Chevalier St. George
was born July 10, 1688, two days after the bishops were
imprisoned.
The Prince of Orange landed at Torbay Nov. 5, and King James abdicated
the crown, and went over to France, Dec. 23. Hereupon an
interregnum ensued till the 13th of February, 1688-9, when William and
Mary, Prince and Princess of Orange, were offered the Crown, and
accepted it.
The
House of ORANGE.
WILLIAM III. and MARY II. succeeded James II. upon the vote of the
Convention. The day after their arrival in London, which was Feb.
13, 1688-9, they were seated under a canopy of state in the
Banqueting-house, and both Houses of Convocation waited upon them,
proffering them the crown in the names of the Lords Spiritual and
Temporal, and the Commons, assembled at Westminster: Accordingly they
were proclaimed King and Queen of Great-Britain the following day, and
solemnly crowned at the Abbey on the 21st of April. Several plots
were formed against the King, but all of them proved abortive. He
carried out a war with France, and with King James's party in
Ireland, for nine years successively,
till at last France was obliged to acknowledge him lawful King of
Great-Britain, in the peace of Ryswic, 1697. He died March 8,
1701, aged 51, after he had survived his consort Mary Stuart, daughter
to James II. five years, who died Dec. 21, 1696, and whose funeral was
performed with great elegance and solemnity. July 2, 1700,
William Duke of Gloucester, the only surviving issue of Princess Anne
of Denmark, departed this life at Windsor, aged twelve years. And
King James died at St. Germains in Sept. 1721.
ANNE, second daughter to James II. succeeded King William, whose
death was joy to France, but a great misfortune to England. Anne
was
born Feb. 6, 1664, and married George Prince of Denmark, who was High
Admiral of England, and a happy assistant to her in steering the ship
of state. She was crowned Queen of Great-Britain April 23,
1702. On the 4th of May following war was proclaimed at
London, Vienna, and the Hague, against France and Spain. The
success of this war is worthy admiration [sic],
and almost
incredible. The conquest of the Spanish Guelderland,
the Electorate of Cologn [sic],
and the Bishopric of Liege; the prodigious
victory over the French and Bavarians at Blenheim, under the surprising
conduct of the Duke of Marlborough; the retaking of Landau; the
conquering all the estates of the Duke of Bavaria in Germany; the
forcing the French and Bavarians out of their
lines in Brabant, which was deemed a thing impracticable; the battle of
Ramillies; the victory at Oudenard; the taking of Lisle and Tournay;
the defeat of the French army at Blarenies; the reducing of Mons,
&c. &c. are such events as will render her Majesty's reign
famous to all posterity. If we look towards Spain, how bold and
successful was our attempt upon Vigo, where we took and destroyed their
whole plate fleet, both men of war and others, to the amount of 38
sail, of which not one escaped: Did we not also take Gibraltar
with a small force in one morning, and keep possession of it against
the joint strength of France and Spain? Barcelona likewise being
taken by the English and Dutch, under the conduct of the Earl of
Peterborough, was soon after besieged by King Philip with a great army,
which was soon forced to a shameful retreat into France. Hereupon
Catalonia, Arragon, Valencia, and other provinces, submitted to Charles
III. by the influence of
her
Majesty's arms. Who could have expected the dismal turn of the
affairs of France and Italy, which happened in 1707, by the powerful
interest of England? A numerous army of French and Spaniards were
destroyed before the walls of Turin, by the Duke of Savoy and Prince
Eugene. Thus Piedmont was abandoned, the Mantuan, the Milanese,
the Modenese, Parmasan, and Montferrat, yielded up.
This Queen also brought about the strict union between England and
Scotland, after sundry fruitless attempts of the same kind for a
century past. In short, the successes of her reign justly
denominate her one of the most triumphant Monarchs of former ages, and
her piety and virtue will ever be acknowledged by the British nation.
The four last years of Queen Anne's reign were attended with much
perplexity, which was owing to her Ministers, who prevailed upon her to
consent to the peace of Utrecht; and, 'tis said, her death was
occasioned by her ill conduct, which she laid too much to heart.
She died Aug. 1, 1714;
and in her the
succession of the Stuart line ended.
The
House of HANOVER.
GEORGE I. who was heir-apparent to the crown of Great-Britain on the
death of Queen Anne, and which had been confirmed to him some years
before by various Acts of Parliament, and by a special article in the
peace of Utrecht, was born 1666, and proclaimed King the very day Queen
Anne expired. He landed at Greenwich Sept. 18, 1714, and was
crowned Oct. 20. A thorough change in the ministry was made on
his accession, wherein he distinguished his friends from his enemies.
Among the latter
the chief were the Duke of Ormond, the Earl
of Oxford, and the Viscount Bolingbroke, who were deemed to be firmly
attached to the interest of the Pretender. In 1715 a plot
was
supposed to be brooding in the West, where several gentlemen were
suspected of having a design to bring in the Pretender, and to place
him on the throne of his ancestors. He had already been
proclaimed King of Scotland, by the Earl of Mar, against whom the Duke
of Argyle marched. On the 13th of November they came to a
decisive battle near Dumblain, where the rebels were defeated, and put
to flight. At the same time a body of 5000 rebels assembled at
Preston in Lancashire, headed by the Earl of Derwentwater, of whom
General Wills, who commanded some of his Majesty's troops on the
borders of Scotland, being informed, he marched directly against them,
and obliged them to surrender prisoners of war. They were
afterwards sent up to London, and many of the ringleaders tried and
condemned. Among these were the Earls of Derwentwater and
Kenmure, who were beheaded on Tower-Hill; several others were executed
at Tyburn, and the remainder pardoned. Some other conspiracies
were formed against the King's person; but, by timely discovery,
prevented from being carried into execution. Aug. 2, 1718, the
quadruple alliance was signed between their Imperial, Christian, and
Britannic Majesties;
and the Spanish fleet was destroyed in the Mediterranean by the
English. In 1720 Spain acceded to the quadruple alliance, and a
fleet was sent into the Baltic in favour of Sweden. This year was
also remarkable for the South-Sea scheme,
by which many families were deluded and entirely ruined; and the
government was obliged to interpose, to prevent the ill consequences of
the people's despair. On enquiry into the affair it appeared,
that besides stock-jobbers and directors some persons of distinction
were concerned in it. This fatal stroke to the British trade was
in some measure remedied by the assiento contract, concluded at Madrid
in 1722.
In the same year, the funeral of the Duke of Marlborough, who, since
the accession of King George, had been restored to the honours he so
justly deserved, was solemnized with great pomp. In 1723, a
conspiracy for raising an insurrection was discovered; hereupon the
Duke of Norfolk, Lord North and Grey, the Bishop of Rochester, and
Counsellor Layer, were taken into custody; after a long trial the
Bishop was banished, and Layer was hanged. In 1724, the Ostend
East-India Company was established. In 1725 the Hanover treaty
was agreed to, between France, Great-Britain, and Prussia. June
11,
1727, George I. died at Osnaburgh, in the very chamber where he
was born, in the 67th year of his age, and the 13th year of his reign.
GEORGE II. was proclaimed as soon as as the news of his father's death
came to London, and his coronation was solemnized in October
following. The new Parliament met on the 2d of January, and chose
for their Speaker Arthur Onslow, Esq. and loyal and affectionate
addresses were presented
to the King by both houses. The land forces were fixed at 22,950
men, and the number of seamen at 15,000. An enquiry was
made
into the state of the public gaols, and from this it appeared that
great cruelties and oppressions had been exercised on the prisoners,
particularly on Sir William Rich, Baronet, who was found in the fleet
prison loaded with irons, by order of the Warden. For these and
the like barbarities, Thomas Bambridge, the Warden, and several of his
accomplices, were committed to Newgate. In May, 1729, his Majesty
declared his intentions of visiting his German dominions, and leaving
the Queen as Regent. His design in going to Germany was to
compromise some differences that had lately arisen between the Regency
of Hanover and the King of Prussia; and about this time the Duke of
Mecklenburgh was deposed by the Emperor, for his cruelty, tyranny, and
oppression. By the fall of Emperors and Kings it is that we learn
the Omnipotence of the Almighty, whose arm strengthens and supports the
crown of the righteous and takes away the kingdom from unjust
Princes. About this time great licentiousness prevailed among all
ranks of people, particularly among those of the lower class, who
indulged themselves in every kind of wickedness; and among other
methods of injuring their fellow subjects, circulated incendiary
letters, demanding sums of money of certain individuals, on pain
of reducing their houses to ashes;
this species of
villainy had never been known before in England. In the course of
the summer seven Indian Chiefs were brought over to England. In
1731 a duel was fought in the Green Park, between Sir William Pulteney
and Lord Hervey, on account of a remarkable political pamphlet.
Lord Hervey was wounded, and narrowly escaped with his life. The
Latin tongue was abolished in all law proceedings, which were ordered
for the future to be in English. Rich. Norton, Esq. of Southwick,
in Hampshire, left his estate of 600l.
per annum,
and a personal estate of 60,000l. to
be disposed of in charitable uses by the
Parliament. One Smith, a book-binder, and his wife, being reduced
to extreme poverty, hanged themselves at the same time, and by common
consent, after having made away with their only child.
On the 27th of April, 1736, his Royal Highness Frederic, Prince of
Wales, espoused Augusta, sister to the Duke of Saxe Gotha.
In
the course of this year a remarkable riot happened at Edinburgh,
occasioned by the execution of one Wilson, a smuggler. Porteus,
captain of the city guard, a man of a brutal disposition, and abandoned
morals, being provoked by the insults of the mob, commanded his
soldiers to fire upon the crowd, by which precipitate orders several
innocent persons were killed; Porteus was tried and condemned to
die, but obtained a reprieve from the Queen, who was then
Regent. The mob, however, were [sic]
determined to execute the
sentence; they accordingly rose in a tumultuous manner, forced open the
prison doors, dragged forth Porteus, and hanged him on a dyer's pole;
after which they quietly dispersed. On the 24th of May,
1738, the Princess of Wales was delivered of a Prince, who was
christened by the name of George, now our most gracious
Sovereign. One Buchanan, a sailor, who had been condemned for
murder, was cut down from the gallows by his companions, who actually
brought him to life, and carried him off in triumph.
War was declared in form against Spain, at London and Westminster, Oct.
23, 1739. The same year Admiral Vernon destroyed Porto Bello, and the
March following demolished Fort Chagre. In 1740 there was a
severe and lasting frost, which extended all over Europe, and
occasioned a fair to be kept on the River Thames. In 1741 Admiral
Vernon, with a strong fleet, joined with General Wentworth, who had a
considerable number of forces under his command, made an unsuccessful
attempt on Carthagena [sic];
the greater part of the land forces being either killed or cut off by
an epidemical distemper. In 1742, Captain Middleton made a
fruitless attempt to discover the North West passage into the South
Seas. The year following the battle of Dettingen was
fought. There was also this year a bloody engagement before
Toulon, between the English fleet and that of the French and
Spaniards; when that brave commander
Captain Cornwall was killed in the Marlborough, after a most resolute
and surprising resistance. Commodore Anson returned to England,
having made a voyage round the globe; and war was mutually declared
between England and France.
In 1745 the battle of Fontenoy was fought, in which the French had the
advantage, which was followed by the taking of Tournay. A
rebellion broke out in Scotland; the rebels defeated Sir John Cope, at
Preston Pans, came forward into England, took Carlisle, and marched to
Derby, from whence they were obliged to make a precipitate retreat,
being closely pursued by the Duke of Cumberland, who retook
Carlisle. When the rebels were returned into Scotland, they
defeated the King's forces under General Hawley, near Falkirk, and laid
siege to Stirling, but raised it on the Duke's approach. This
year Cape-Breton was taken by Admiral Warren. In 1746 the
memorable battle of Culloden, in Scotland, was fought, wherein the
rebels were totally destroyed: The Earls of Balmerino and Kilmarnock,
with Mr. Ratcliff, brother to the late Earl of Derwentwater, were taken
prisoners, and beheaded on Tower-Hill; as was Lord Lovat in the year
following. Now also the French took all Dutch Flanders, and there
was a battle between them and part of the allied army, after which the
latter retreated under the cannon of Maestricht. Admirals Anson
and Warren, after a hot engagement, took several French men of
war in the Mediterranean, among which was the ship in which their
Admiral sailed. In 1748 a Congress was held at Aix-la-Chapelle
for a general pacification, and the articles of peace therein agreed to
were signed in April.
A Bill was passed for the encouragement of the British herring fishery;
and a proclamation issued for inciting disbanded soldiers and sailors
to settle in Nova Scotia. Mr. Pelham now lowered the interest of
money in the funds, first to three and a half per cent.
afterwards to three.
The importation of iron from America was allowed; and the African trade
laid open.
In the year 1752, the French spirited up the Indians against our
colonies of Nova Scotia, and built a chain of forts on the back of our
American settlements. This occasioned a new war, carried on with
great cruelty in those parts. Monckton drove the French from
their encroachments in Nova Scotia; and General Johnson gave them a
defeat; but Braddock, through his own rashness, was defeated and
slain. The English took many ships from the enemy, without
declaring war.
In 1756, the Hessians and Hanoverians were brought over, to the number
of ten thousand. Presently after Minorca was taken by the French;
and Admiral Byng was shot at Portsmouth for not having relieved
it. On the 17th of May, war was declared in form,
and the King entered into
a treaty with the Empress of Russia
for the
security of Hanover; and afterwards into an alliance with
Prussia. This was followed by an unnatural [sic]
treaty
between France and the
Queen of Hungary, to which the Empress of Russia acceded. And a
war was
kindled by the
intrigues of France
between Prussia and
Sweden; while the Elector of Saxony favoured the Austrians. The
King of Prussia therefore entered Saxony, and obliged the Saxon troops
at Pirna to surrender prisoners of war. He invaded Bohemia,
defeated the Austrian General, and gained another victory near
Prague. But attacking the Austrians at a disadvantage near Kolin,
he was defeated, and obliged
to raise
the siege of Prague.
The French now passed the Weser, and drove the Hanoverians before
them. They made a stand however at Hastenbeck, under the Duke of
Cumberland, where they were
attacked,
and forced to retreat towards Stade, and laid down their arms in
consequence of the treaty of Closterseven.
In the East-Indies we were also successful; for, by Colonel Clive's
vigilance and courage, the province of Arcot was cleared of the enemy,
the French
general taken prisoner, and the favourite Nabob, whom we supported, was
reinstated in his government. But some months after, the Viceroy
of Bengal declared against the English, and took Calcutta by
assault. Here one hundred and forty-six persons were crowded into
a narrow prison, called the Black-Hole, where they were suffocated
for want of air, only
twenty-three surviving; several of whom died by putrid fevers, after
they were set free.
The Dutch at Batavia now dispatched seven armed ships to Bengal, having
eleven hundred land forces, with orders strongly to fortify their
settlement at Chincura, and secure the salt-petre trade to
themselves. But the ships were all taken by three English
East-India ships, which were in the river, and their troops were
totally defeated at land by Colonel Ford.
Colonel Coote also took the city of Wandewash,
reduced the
fortress of Carangoly, and defeated Lally.
This was followed by the surrender of the city of Arcot.
Pondicherry now sustained a siege in turn, and the French therein were
reduced to feed on dogs and cats. Eight crowns were given for the
flesh of a dog. At length the English took possession of the
place. And this conquest terminated the power of France in India.
Mr. Pitt was at the head of the English Ministry, when Louisbourg in
Cape Breton was besieged by General Amherst, and surrendered by
capitulation. The French lost a fine navy in the harbour.
Fort Du Quesne
also was taken. But the operations against Crown Point and
Ticonderoga miscarried.
The year 1759 was remarkable for the conquest of Canada. The
French deserted Crown Point and Ticonderoga, which were possessed by
General Amherst. Sir William Johnson defeated them, and
became master of the Fort of Niagara. And the
Admirals Saunders, Holmes, and Durel, sailed for Quebec, attended by a
land army, under General Wolfe. In the battle which ensued, both
Wolfe and Montcalm, the chief commanders on each side, were slain, and
Quebec surrendered.
In 1760 the French forces endeavoured to recover Quebec, but the place
was relieved by an English fleet under Lord Colvill. Montreal
submitted to General Amherst, and that extensive country fell totally
under the power of Great Britain; a larger territory than ever was
subject to the Roman empire. The prodigious march of Amherst, on
this occasion, can be compared only to that of Jenghiz Can,
or Tamerlane, who over-ran all Asia with their Tartars.
In Europe the operations of war were astonishing, and the great efforts
of the King of Prussia secured his safety beyond all human
expectation. Almost the whole power of the Continent was united
against him. The King of Great Britain, his only ally, seemed
inclined to forsake him. In this terrible situation he relied on
his natural subjects, and still adhered to his fortitude. Yet he
expostulated warmly, and his expostulations at last succeeded.
The French forces, and those of the Imperialists, had made a successful
campaign in the summer; yet seemed determined that the rigour of the
winter should not interrupt their proceedings. In the depth of
it, they laid siege to Leipsic,
and
were confident of carrying that important city. This greatly
alarmed his Prussian Majesty. He contrived his measures so
artfully, as to appear before the place when he was least
expected. Vanquished as he was, the terror of his arms raised the
siege. The French army, though greatly superior in number, rose
and retreated with precipitation.
His Prussian Majesty, not satisfied with having raised the siege of
Leipsic, followed the French army, whose fears, he imagined, would
befriend him. He came up with them near a little village, called
Rosbach. An action
came
on, and he obtained one of the most signal victories recorded in
history. Had not the night saved them, their whole army had been
devoted to destruction.
In another part of the empire the Austrians were again victorious, and
took the Prince of Bevern, the King of Prussia's Generalissimo,
prisoner. The King himself, in the depth of winter, made a march
of two hundred miles, and engaged the enemy in the neighbourhood of
Breslau, the capital of Silesia. He was much inferior in
strength, but his forces were disposed with such admirable
judgment [sic],
that he
gained a compleat [sic]
victory, in which he took
fifteen thousand prisoners. Breslau itself, after the battle,
surrendered to the Conqueror, tho' it had a garrison of ten thousand
men. These successes disheartened his enemies, and raised the
spirit of his friends.
The magnanimous King of Prussia now began to fight with his enemies
upon more equal terms. He attacked them every where, was attended
for the most part with remarkable success, and rarely met with any
considerable disadvantage. He carried on the campaign throughout
the winter, escaped many dangers, was exhausted by no fatigues, nor
terrified by any numbers.
England is so happily situated, that she has little need to concern
herself with the disturbances on the Continent. Yet the people in
general at this time seemed in a disposition to encourage and assist
the German subjects of their King.
At the meeting of the Parliament, the reasonableness of engaging in a
war upon the Continent was taken into consideration, and
admitted. Liberal supplies were granted, to enable the army, now
collected in the King's Hanoverian dominions, to act with vigour, in
conjunction with the King of Prussia. Supplies were also granted
to his Prussian Majesty.
A spirit of enterprise now seemed to animate all ranks of people.
A body of British forces was sent into Germany, under the command of
the Duke of Marlborough, to assist Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick and
the Hanoverians; and who afterwards behaved with great bravery.
The English fleet in the mean time invaded France, and burnt the French
shipping at St. Malo's. It then moved towards Cherburgh,
but was obliged by the weather
to return home.
On the 1st of August, 1758, the fleet under Commodore Howe, with the
transports, again set sail for Cherburgh. They landed with little
opposition from the French, and entered the town. Immense sums
had been there laid out upon the fortifications, and the harbour was
one of the strongest in Europe. The work of all this labour and
expence [sic]
was now
totally destroyed by the English, who found more difficulty in
demolishing than in conquering the place. All the ships in the
harbour were burnt, and a contribution raised upon the town.
On the 16th of August, the British fleet and army having remained in
France unmolested for ten days, set sail for Cherburgh, and carried off
all the brass cannon and mortars taken there.
The English troops landed again in the Bay of St. Lunar, in the
neighbourhood of St. Malo, but found it impracticable to make any
impression upon the place. While the troops were ashore the
Commodore found himself obliged, from the danger of the coast, to move
up to the Bay of St. Cas, about three leagues to the westward; while
the army marched over land to the same place, where they all embarked,
except the last division, consisting of the grenadiers of the army, and
the first regiment of guards. These were attacked by the Duke
d'Aiguillon, Governor of Brittany, at the head of twelve
battalions, and six squadrons of regulars,
besides two regiments of militia, against whom, though they made a most
gallant resistance, about six hundred of them were killed, and four
hundred taken prisoners, not being able to reach the boats.
The English had already made themselves masters of Senegal and Goree,
in Africa; and
though they had
now lost Minorca, yet they remained victorious in the Mediterranean,
and continued to ruin the French marine.
Towards the end of the year, a squadron of nine ships of the line, with
sixty transports, containing six regiments of foot, was fitting out for
the conquest of Martinico.
But tho' a conquest of that island was
judged, after a slight attempt, to be impracticable, they achieved the
more important reduction of Guadaloupe.
On the 28th of July, the Hereditary Prince was detached with six
thousand men to cut off the enemy's communication with Paderborn.
And on the 29th, Prince Ferdinand advanced from his camp on the Weser,
leaving a body of troops under Wangenheim, on the borders of that river.
The next day was fought the battle of Minden, as glorious to the
English, as those of Cressy
and Agincourt had been to their ancestors. The centre of the
French was entirely composed of horse, who attacked six English
regiments, supported by two battalions of Hanoverian guards.
These sustained the whole shock of the battle, and, to the
amazement of the German General
himself, obtained a compleat victory. The French lost seven
thousand men, and the English twelve hundred.
The French were greatly disappointed in their views by sea this
year. Thurot, a marine freebooter,
with three ships and a
considerable body of
land forces, landed in Ireland, and alarmed the people of Carrickfergus
. Putting to sea again, he was met by three British
frigates, of a force inferior to his own, and after a severe encounter
he was killed, and his ships led in triumph by the English commanders
to the Isle of Man.
A grand fleet was intended to invade England, under Marshal Conflans
and the Duke d'Aiguillon; but this fleet was ruined by Admiral Hawke on
the 20th of November.
In the year 1760, Lord George Sackville was tried by a court-martial
for his conduct in the battle of Minden, and declared incapable of
serving his Majesty for the future in any military capacity whatever;
he was however afterwards
raised to the highest civil
employments, being secretary of state to George III. and having a
considerable share in those unfortunate councils, which severed for
ever thirteen provinces from the crown of England. On the 5th of
May, Lawrence Shirley, Earl Ferrers, was hanged at Tyburn for the
murder of Mr. Johnson, his steward. On the 25th of October,
between seven and eight o'clock in the morning, died King George II. in
the 77th year of his age, and the 34th of his reign. He had
risen at his
usual hour, called his page, drunk his chocolate, and inquired about
the wind, as if anxious for the arrival of foreign mails; soon after
which he fell speechless on the ground, and being laid on his bed,
expired in a few minutes.
GEORGE III. grandson of George II. and eldest son of the late Frederick
Prince of Wales, succeeded to the throne, and was proclaimed King on
the day after the death of his grand father. He was married on
the 8th of September, 1761, to his Queen, Charlotte, Princess of
Mecklenburgh Strelitz, and they were solemnly crowned together on the
22d of the same month.
The war was still carried on betwixt France and England, in Germany,
when Augsburgh was pitched upon by both parties as a proper place to
negociate [sic]
a peace
in; and, with respect to the disputes in America, Mr. Bussey was named
by the French Court to repair to London, as Mr. Stanley was by the
English to treat at Paris.
The former of these offers a memorial
to the British minister, importing that the King of Spain apprehended a
new war, unless the British court would make satisfaction to Spain for
ships taken under Spanish colours; permit the claim of Spain to a share
in the Newfoundland fishery; and destroy the English fortifications in
the bay of Honduras. This put an end to the negociation.
The French and Spanish courts now entered into a Family Compact, in
which the two Sicilies were included; the most extraordinary treaty
which this age can produce; it being a consolidation of the rights and
interests of the two crowns and their subjects in all respects, but
those relating to the Spanish American commerce.
Mr. Pitt, the British minster, gained intelligence of the family
compact, and made strong remonstrances at the council-board for an
immediate declaration of war against Spain, which were not
relished. On this Mr. Pitt resigned.
The flota arrived in the bay of
Cadiz, and the Spaniards resolved on a war with England.
January 2, 1762, his Britannic Majesty's proclamation of war against
Spain was published in London. And the King of Spain proclaimed
war against England on the 16th of the same month.
The French and Spaniards insisted upon the King of Portugal's taking
part in the war against England. He declined the invitation, and
vindicated his alliance with England.
The Spanish army marched towards the frontiers of Portugal, and all
commerce between the two kingdoms was prohibited. And war was
declared by the King of Spain against that kingdom on the 15th of June.
Many English officers repaired to the assistance of the King of
Portugal, and were followed by large supplies of troops, artillery,
arms, provisions, and money.
A small army of English and Portuguese take the field. Count La
Lippe is sent over to command them. Brigadier Burgoyne
surprizes [sic]
Valenca
d'Alcantara in Spain, and destroys one of their best regiments
there. A sejeant [sic]
and six men only engage a Spanish subaltern with twenty-five dragoons,
unbroken, kill six of their men, and bring in the rest prisoners, with
every horse of the party. Soon after Brigadier Burgoyne and
Colonel Lee surprize the
Spanish camp at Villa Vehla; and the
Spaniards are obliged to leave Portugal, and to make winter quarters in
their own country.
On the 12th of August, his Royal Highness George Augustus-Frederick,
Prince of Wales, was born.
The English take Martinico and Granada
from the
French, and the city of Havannah,
in the island of Cuba, from the Spaniards. This induces both
powers to think of peace, for which a negociation was set on foot; and
the negociators on all sides having adjusted the points in dispute
between Great Britain and Portugal on the one side, and France
and Spain on the other, a definitive treaty was signed at Paris on the
10th of Feb. 1763; by which peace was once more restored to Europe.
By this glorious war, England acquired the large and extensive province
of Canada, East and West Florida, in America, together with several
large and valuable islands in the West Indies; among which is the
island of Granada, one of the most extensive and important colonies
belonging to the empire. This island, which produces
pine-apples, oranges, citrons, and all the most delicious tropical
fruits, is beautifully interspersed with an infinite variety of rivers,
which, with the warmth and salubrity of the climate, render it the most
pleasing situation between the tropics;
it is the residence of a number of rich planters and merchants, who
have acquired large fortunes therein, and live in the greatest
splendour and hospitality. It is not improperly called the
Princess of the isles of the Western world.
From the year 1763 to 1774, England felt all the blessings of
peace; agriculture
and
commerce were improved and extended; the polite arts, such as painting
and sculpture, were patronized by his Majesty, and a royal academy
instituted for the purpose, in the year 1768. We might call this
the Augustine age; and Great-Britain promised to its posterity
universal empire. But the colonies of North America revolted from
their allegiance to Great-Britain in the year 1775, and formed a
congress, under the title The
Congress of the Thirteen United Provinces, which assumed all the
powers of government; in the following year it declared the
States of America independent of the crown and parliament of
Great-Britain. The government of France assisted them against the
forces of this nation both by sea and land; and Spain also declared war
against this country, as a diversion to its arms in favour of
America. Holland also became a
party in the cause, to humble a nation which had arrived to such a
pitch of greatness; and the general struggle at last terminated in the
peace of 1783, in which the government of Great-Britain acknowledged
the Americans to be independent; in consequence, the provinces of
Canada and Nova Scotia only remain to us, of all our immense
possessions on the continent of America.
This country, in the year 1787, began to arm in favour of the Prince
Stadtholder of the Seven United Provinces, who had been driven from his
palace by a French party; but that business was terminated by their
submission to the Duke of Brunswick, who entered Holland, and restored
the former government. The Spaniards dispossessing our settlers
at Nootka Sound, in 1790, was made the pretext for equipping a
formidable armament; and though the difference with the Spaniards was
speedily settled by negociation [sic],
the jealousy entertained of the French Anarchists occasioned our
Government to keep the country in armed preparation; till the
indignation universally excited by the decapitation of the unfortunate
French King, and the invasion of Holland by the armies of the French
Republic, caused us to enter into that war, whose wide-extended fluence
has deluged the continent of Europe with blood, tumbled the papal
throne in ruins, dethroned the Kings of Naples and Sardinia, the former
of whom is however yet struggling for his rights, annihilated the
ancient Republics of
Venice, Genoa, &c. &c.
extinguished the authority of
the House of Orange in Holland, endangered the very existence of the
House of Austria and the Germanic Empire, and by the invasion of the
Egypt and Syria, has even alarmed the Sultan of the Turks for the
safety of his capital, whilst the hardy bands of Russia have been
called forth into action both to defend her former inveterate foes, and
to wrest the classic ground of Italy from the gripe [sic]
of the modern
Vandals, the French! Yet amid all this carnage, the horrors of
the
war, if we except the enormous expenditure attending it, have scarcely
been felt in this country; two attempts of invasion by the enemy have
been frustrated; the captured fleets of France, Spain, and Holland,
have been triumphantly brought into our harbours; our own Colonies and
distant settlements have been secured, many of the most important of
those of the enemy have been taken; and the India Company has
established its power, by the complete conquest of the kingdom of
Mysore, Tippoo Sultaun having fallen in defending his palace at
Seringapatam. But it is a remarkable feature in this war, that after so
sanguinary a contest for seven years, Peace appears, at the close of
the year 1799, more distant than it did at its commencement.
THE HISTORY
OF THE
PRESENT STATE OF ENGLAND.
Its
Situation.
SOUTH-BRITAIN, that is, properly
speaking, ENGLAND and WALES, is
situate in the Atlantic Ocean, between two degrees east, and six
degrees odd minutes western longitude, and between 49 degrees 55
minutes, and 55 degrees 55 minutes north latitude; and being of a
triangular figure, is bounded by Scotland on the north; the German sea,
which separates it from Germany and the Netherlands, on the east; by
the English Channel, which divides it from France, on the south; and by
St. George's Channel, which separates it from Ireland, on the
west. It is 525 statute miles in length on its west side, 345 on
its east side, and 340 on its south side, nearly in straight lines; and
about 100 only across the north.
Its Air.]
Is much warmer
here than in the Netherlands and Germany, tho' under the same parallel;
and, unless in the fens and marshy grounds, it is for the most part
very healthy.
There are very few mountains; the
highest hills, however, are in Wales,
and in the west and north of England. The rest of the country
consists of moderate hills and vallies [sic],
woodlands, pasture and
meadow grounds; extensive corn fields, and plains which feed numberless
flocks of sheep, horses, and other cattle. Though the largest
oxen,
horses, and sheep, are to be met with in Lincolnshire and
Leicestershire; yet the finest breed of horses for running and hunting
are produced in Yorkshire. And besides there are a great number
of royal forests, chaces,
and parks, which afford plenty of deer and
other game.
Its Soil.] Is either
clay, or gravel, or sand; the clays produce excellent wheat and beans;
the gravel and sand, rye, barley, peas, and oats; and of late years the
light lands have been improved, and rendered as valuable as the clays,
by sowing them with turnips, clover, saintfoin, &c. but more
particularly in wet
years; a wet season, however, by no means agrees with the clay.
In such years, for the most part, there is a great scarcity of wheat;
but then, to compensate for that deficiency, there is a plenty of
pasture and other grain.
Its Trees.] The
timber
that grows in England is oak, ash, elm, beech, and hornbeam. The
walnut-tree is particularly used in cabinets, and other curiosities of
the like nature. But besides these, there are a great
number of other trees, which, though they do not fall, indeed, under
the denomination of timber, serve for shade, ornament, and
inferior uses.
In Kent there are extensive orchards, the trees whereof produce
abundance of cherries. In Devonshire and Herefordshire likewise
are vast quantities of apple-trees, the produce whereof makes far
better cider than any other county whatever can boast of.
Its Plantations.] In
Kent, as well as Worcestershire, Surrey, &c. are large plantations
of hops; and in divers other counties, of flax and hemp.
In Essex and Cambridgeshire are large plantations of saffron; and
in
Bedfordshire there are large fields of woad or wad,
for
the use of dyers.
Its Rivers.] Its
principal rivers are, 1. The Thames, 2. The Medway. 3. The
Trent. And, 4. The Severn.
The Thames, on which the two cities of London and Oxford stand,
runs
generally from west to east. This river is navigable for ships as
high as London, which is one of the largest ports in the world.
The Medway unites with the Thames near its mouth, and receives the
largest men of war as high as Chatham; where, if we except our own
arsenals at Portsmouth and Plymouth, are the finest docks, yards, and
magazines of naval stores, in Europe.
The Trent runs from the south-west to the north-east across
England,
and divides it into north and south. When united with other
streams near its mouth, it is called the Humber, which discharges
itself into the German ocean.
The Severn rises from North Wales, and, running for the most part
south, falls into the Irish sea. On this river stand the two
cities of Worcester and Gloucester.
Its Contents.] In
England and Wales there are 52 counties, 2 archbishoprics, 24
bishoprics, 2 universities, 29 cities, upwards of 800 towns, and near
10,000 parishes; in which are about seven millions of people.
There are scarce any manufactures in Europe which are not brought to
great perfection in England.
Its Constitution.]
England is a limited monarchy; the power of making and altering laws,
and raising taxes, being lodged in the King, Lords, and Commons.
Its Administration of Justice.]
This is the business of the courts in Westminster-hall, viz. the Court
of Chancery, the Courts of King's Bench, Common Pleas, and Exchequer;
the courts of the respective corporations, the sheriffs, and other
inferior courts; the last resort, in all civil cases, being to the
House of Peers.
Its Ecclesiastical Government.]
Is in the archbishops and bishops, who administer justice in their
respective courts by their chancellors, officials, archdeacons, and
other officers.
Of the Convocation.]
Whenever a parliament is called, the King always convokes a national
synod of the clergy, to consider of the state of the church.
The clergy of the province of
Canterbury, of the generality, assemble
in St. Paul's cathedral, in London, and from thence adjourn to the
chapter-house, or Westminster.
In this province there are two houses, the upper and the lower; the
former consists of 22 bishops, of whom the archbishop is president; the
latter consists of all the deans, archdeacons, the proctors of every
chapter, and two proctors for the clergy of each diocese; in all 166.
The archbishop of York may hold a convocation of his clergy at the same
time; but neither the one nor the other has been suffered to enter upon
business for many years, though they are always regularly summoned to
meet with every parliament, being looked upon as an essential part of
the constitution.
Of the Parliament.]
Every parliament is summoned by the King's writs to meet forty-eight
days before they assemble. A writ is directed to every particular
lord, spiritual and temporal, commanding him to appear at a certain
time and place, to treat and advise of certain weighty affairs relating
both to church and state.
Writs also are sent to the sheriff of every county to summon those who
have a right to vote for representatives, to elect two knights for each
county, two citizens for each city, and one or two burgesses for each
borough.
Every candidate for a county ought to be possessed of an estate of
600l. per annum; and every candidate for a city, or corporation, of
300l. per annum.
The Lord Chancellor, or keeper for the
time being, is always Speaker in
the House of Peers; but the Commons elect their Speaker, who must be
approved by the King.
No Roman Catholic can sit in either house; nor any member vote till he
has taken the oaths to the government.
The
ancient STATE of
ENGLAND.
Having thus given our young readers a
transient idea of the present state of South-Britain; we shall now
proceed to give a succinct account of the ancient state of England,
which, in regard to its constitution, was originally a monarchy, under
the primitive Britons; after that, a province, subordinate to the
Romans; then an heptarchical government under the Saxons; then again a
kingdom in subjection to the Danes; next after them, under the power
and dominion of the Normans; but at present, (after all the
before-mentioned revolutions,) a monarchy again under the English; of
all which we shall treat, as briefly as possible, in their proper order.
The whole island was anciently called Albion, which seems to have been
softened from the word Alpion; because the word Alp, in some of the
original western languages, generally signifies high lands, or hills,
as this isle appears to those who approach it from the Continent.
It was likewise called Olbion, which, in the Greek language,
signifies happy; but of those times there
is no certainty in history, more than that it had the denomination, and
was very little known by the rest of the world.
As the name of Britain, however, excepting that of Albion, or Olbion,
just before mentioned, has been liable to as many derivations as the
origin of the Britons; we shall content ourselves (for brevity's sake)
with the following extract from Camden, who has given (in our humble
opinion at least) the best and most natural derivation of the term.
"The ancient Britons (says he) painted their naked bodies and small
shields with woad of an azure-blue colour, which by them was called
Brith; on this account the inhabitants received the common appellation
from the strangers who came into the island to traffic from the coasts
of Gaul, or Germany; to which the Greeks, by adding the word tania, or
country, formed the word Britannia, or the country of the painted men,
and the Romans afterwards called it Britannia."
Here it may be observed, that the Romans were extremely fond of giving
their own terminations to many uncivilized countries, and of forming
easy and pleasant sounds out of the harshest and most offensive, to
such elegant tongues and ears as their own.
Their
GOVERNMENT.
Their government, like that of the ancient Gauls, consisted of several
small nations, under divers petty Princes, apparently the original
governments of the world, deduced from the natural force and right of
paternal dominion; such were the hords [sic]
among the Goths, the clans
in Scotland, and the septs in Ireland: but whether these small British
principalities descended by succession, or were elected according to
merit, is uncertain.
Their language and customs were, for the most part, the same with those
of the Gauls before the Roman conquests in that province; but they were
entirely governed in their religion and laws by their Druids, Bards,
and Eubates.
Their Druids were held in such high veneration by the people, that
their authority was almost absolute. No public affairs were
transacted without their approbation; nor could any malefactor (though
his crimes were ever so heinous) be put to death without their consent.
Their Bardi, or Bards, were priests of an inferior order of their
Druids; their principal business being to celebrate the praises of
their heroes in verses and songs, which were set to music and sung to
their harps.
Their Eubates were a third sort of priests, who applied themselves to
the study of philosophy.
Each order of these priests led very simple and innocent lives, and
resided either in woods, caverns, or hollow trees. Their food
consisted of acorns, berries, or other mast;
and their
drink was nothing but water. By this abstemious course of life,
however, they procured an universal esteem, not only for their superior
knowledge, but their generous contempt of all those enjoyments of life
which all others so highly valued, and so industriously pursued.
The
most remarkable TENETS of
their DRUIDS.
1. Every thing derives its
origin from heaven.
2. Great care is to be taken in the education of children.
3. Souls are immortal.
4. The souls of men after death go into other bodies.
5. If ever the world should happen to be destroyed, it will
be either by fire or water.
6. All commerce with strangers should be prohibited.
7. He who comes last to the Assembly of the states ought to
be punished with death.
8. Children should be brought up apart from their parents,
till they are fourteen years of age.
9. There is another world; and they who kill
themselves to accompany their friends thither will live with them there.
10. All masters of families are kings in their own houses; and
have a power of life and death over their wives, children, and
slaves.
Their
ANCIENT STATES.
STATES.
|
COUNTIES.
|
1. Danmonii,
|
Cornwall
and Devon.
|
2. Durotriges,
|
Dorset.
|
3. Belgæ,
|
Somerset,
Wilts, and the
north part of Hants.
|
4. Attrebatii,
|
Berks.
|
5. Regni,
|
Surrey,
Sussex, and the south
part of Hants.
|
6. Cantii,
|
Kent.
|
7. Trinobantes,
|
Middlesex,
Hertfordshire, &
Essex.
|
8. Iceni,
|
Suffolk,
Norfolk, Cambridge,
and Huntingdon.
|
9. Catieuchlani,
|
Bucks
and Bedford.
|
10. Dobuni,
|
Gloucester
and Oxford.
|
11. Silures,
|
Hereford,
Monmouth, Rad-
nor, Brecon, & Glamorgan.
|
12. Dimetæ,
|
Carmarthen,
Pembroke, and
Cardigan.
|
13. Ordovices,
|
Flint,
Denbigh, Merioneth,
Montgomery, & Carnarvon.
|
14.
Cornavii,
|
Chester,
Salop, Stafford,
Warwick, and Worcester.
|
15.
Coritani,
|
Lincoln,
Nottingham, Derby,
Leicester, Rutland, and
Northampton.
|
16.
Brigantes,
|
York,
Lancaster, Westmore-
land, Cumberland, &
Durham.
|
17.
Ottadini,
|
Northumberland.
|
Their
general CHARACTER.
They were a great and glorious people,
fond of liberty and property; but peculiarly remarkable for their rigid
virtue, and their readiness to die with pleasure for the good of their
country. They long lived in a perfect state of peace and
tranquility till the year of the w