The laurels reaped by an Edward and a Henry are still fresh and unfading; and the voice of fame will proclaim their exploits to the remotest posterity. Scenes of intestine commotion succeeded: and the houses of York and Lancaster combated with the malice of demons, and the fierceness of barbarians, for the crown of the meek and pious Henry the sixth. A. D. 1400, &c. The country was abandoned to the desolation of war, the blood of the noblest families was shed in the fatal battles of St. Alban's, Wakefield, Towton, and Tewkesbury; but no advantage accrued from such inhuman contests to the general good of the people. The voice of law and humanity was drowned by the rude clash of arms; and the incredible slaughter that was made by the contending factions was a melancholy proof of the prevalence of the feudal system, and of the alacrity with which the people flew to arms, whenever the standard of war was raised by the imperious barons.

While we remark the exorbitant influence of a martial aristocracy, and the indiscretion and violence of some of the kings, whose measures they controlled more frequently from motives of self-aggrandizement, than ardour for the public good, let us not forget to pay the tribute of justice to unfortunate monarchs. The castles of Berkley and Pomfret, and in a later age, the tower of London, witnessed the sufferings of Edward the second, Richard the second, and Henry the sixth, and were stained with their foul and nefarious murders. The temporising members of the parliaments, who had deposed them, denied them even the privilege of a common subject, and refused to hear them in their own defence. The act of deposition was virtually an order for their execu

2:

tion; since the experience of ages proves, that to a prince, when the allegiance of his subjects is withdrawn, the passage is short from the throne to the grave. Although neither Edward nor Richard were much beloved in their prosperity; yet, by a revolution of opinions, natural to mankind, their sufferings, aggravated by an untimely and cruel death, excited the pity, and even the veneration of their subjects. The proceedings of the houses of parliament upon these trying occasions proved the wretched defects of the laws, and the uncontrolled power of the vindictive sword. The fortunate pretender to the crown, however black his perjury, or flagrant his rebellion, was allowed and even encouraged to trample upon the rights of humanity and justice, and wrest the sceptre from his lawful sovereign. Yet after these severe conflicts, the royal prerogative regained its ascendancy: the general liberties of the country were disregarded, and all orders of the state united with equal servility to prostrate themselves before the throne, and to present their swords and their estates to the disposal of the conqueror. A. D. 1485.

The succession of the Tudor family to the crown produced some important acquisitions to the cause of freedom. Henry VII. whose conduct was influenced by oppressive avarice as well as consummate policy, weakened the power of his nobles, by permitting them to alienate their lands. This privilege, as we have remarked in our survey of the feudal system, gave a deep and incurable wound to that institution, and raised the respectability of the lower orders of the community, who were enabled, by the increasing supplies of trade and commerce, to become the purchasers of estates. By dividing the lands among

many proprietors a competition of small interests was produced; and those great and formidable confederacies of the aristocratical power, which had so frequently excited the alarms of kings, and subverted the throne in former ages, were prevented by this salutary measure, or at least rendered very difficult to be formed.

The conduct of HENRY VIII. exhibited a perpetual struggle of violent passions. The condemnation of two of his queens, of the gallant and accomplished Lord Surry, and of the facetious and learned Sir Thomas More, must consign him to the hatred of all posterity. A. D. 1509. Rapin, vol. i, p. 794, &c. Carte, vol. iii, p. 1, &c. Hume, vol. iv, p. 35. His passion for the beautiful and unfortunate Ann Boleyn induced him to free his kingdom from the shackles of papal supremacy, and introduce the reformation of religion. This event formed a new and extraordinary epoch in the English history. It repressed the inordinate power of the clergy, abolished the monastic orders, and, by founding religious principle upon reason and scripture alone, improved the manly seriousness and inherent dignity of the British character. The reformation was highly favourable to civil as well as religious rights, and encouraged that spirit of free inquiry, from which it derived its origin. Men, who had the intrepidity to demolish the fabric of popery, supported as it was by the antiquity of its establishments, the splendour of its ceremonies, and the sacred character of its ministers, were not to be checked in their researches into the imperfections and abuses of government. The seeds therefore of politi cal innovation were deeply sown; and although they were for some time checked in their growth, as all

orders of his subjects bowed with the most abject servility before this impetuous and tyrannical monarch, yet in succeeding times thèir fruits sprung up in the greatest abundance.

Splendid as the reign of ELIZABETH appears, with respect to her transactions with foreign countries, she inherited the temper of her father: the imperfections of her mind were those for which the Tudor family was remarkable, and she ruled with the most despotic sway. A. D 1558. Uncontrollable in the indulgence of her passions, and by turns the slave of love and hatred, she sentenced her favourite Essex to death, and consigned to a miserable and tedious imprisonment, and finally to the axe of the executioner, a cousin and a sovereign, whose charms excited her envy, and the suspicion of whose conspiracies provoked her revenge. Mary, queen of Scotland, many particulars of whose history are perplexed by contradictory accounts, and involved in obscurity, has been made the object of admiration to succeeding ages, as much, perhaps, on account of her misfortunes, captivity, and cruel death, as her incomparable beauty, sweetness of disposition, and excellent understanding*. The nobles feared and venerated Elizabeth; and the members of her house of commons, more obsequious to her demands and caprice than the ancient parliaments of Paris ever were to the dictates of a French mo

*The learned Camden, a contemporary writer, ascribes to her a constant steadiness in religion, a singular piety to God, an invincible greatness of mind, and a wisdom above her sex, besides her personal charms. Carte, as if enamoured of the subject, has drawn her character with a degree of eloquence far superior to his usual style. Vol. iii, p. 619. Appendix, p. 817.

narch, assembled only to learn and obey her will, and to tax their constituents for her support. Her subjects were exempted from the privileges and cares of political power; and, at once dazzled by the splendour of her court, and the success of her arms, the strength of her understanding, the extent of her learning, and the masculine intrepidity of her temper, were blind to her obstinacy, avarice, and cruelty.

JAMES I. was remarkable for the mildness of his disposition, and the attention he always paid to removing the grievances of his subjects*, in which circumstance he afforded an illustrious contrast to his immediate predecessors. In his pacific reign many encroachments were made upon the royal prerogative; or rather all the different orders of his kingdom began to feel their own importance, and were determined to exert their power. A. D. 1602. The flourishing state of commerce raised the merchants to great respectability; and their rapid increase of wealth naturally claimed suitable distinctions and privileges. The members of corporations were active in augmenting their rights; and the king, by an impolitic imitation of his predecessors, added to their number. The citizens of London were not so blinded by the condescension of their royal master in becoming a member of a company of merchants as not to solicit large concessions from the throne. The spirit of fanaticism, discontent, and ambition, prevailed in the house of commons; and all the actions of the king, and his immediate successors, their folly or wis

* "Sir Edward Coke, at a time when he was out of favour and a malecontent, declared, that he never knew any complaint made to the king of any abuse out of parliament but he gave orders immediately to have it reformed." Carte, vol. iv, p. 129.