verses.

celebrated writers and historians. Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury, divided our Bible into chapters and The Earl of Salisbury, who defeated the French fleet. Robert Fitzwalter, chosen General of the Baron's army. John de Courcy, Earl of Ulster, famous for his strength and prowess. Fitzpeter, great justiciary of England.

COTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS.

Popes.

Innocent III. 1198.

Honorius III. 1215.

Emperors.

Of the East.-Alexis III. 1195. Alexis IV. 1203. Alexis V. 1204. Theodore I. 1205.

Of the West.-Philip, 1197. Otho IV. 1208. Frederick II. 1211.

Kings.

Of France.-Philip II. 1180.

Of Portugal.-Sancho I. 1185. Alphonsus II. 1212.

Of Denmark.-Waldemar II. 1202.

Of Scotland.-William, 1165. Alexander II. 1214.

JOHN.

JOHN.

"When England's ancient Barons, clad in arms,
"And stern with conquest from their tyrant King

(Now render'd tame) did challenge and secure "The charter of thy freedom."

AKENSIDE.

"When faithless JOHN usurp'd the sully'd crown,
"What ample tyranny! Six tedious years

"Our helpless fathers in despair obey'd
"The Papal interdict; and who obey'd
"The Sov'reign plunder'd."

"Throw thine eye

"On yon young boy.-I'll tell thee what, my friend,

"He is a very serpent in my way,

"And wheresoe'er this foot of mine doth tread

"He lies before me."

SHAKESPEARE.

"No Italian Priest

"Shall tithe or toll in our dominions;

"But, as we, under heav'n are supreme head,
“So under him, that great supremacy,
"Where we do reign, we will alone uphold.
"So tell the Pope; all reverence set apart

"To him, and his usurp'd authority." IBIDEM.

K. JOHN. "Thus have I yielded up into your hands "The circle of my glory."

PANDULPH.

"Take again,

"From this my hand, as holding of the Pope
"Your sovereign greatness and authority."
SHAKESPEARE.

Ar length a dawn of freedom 'gins to streak
The gloomy horizon! and Lackland's reign,

Most

Most inauspiciously begun, concludes

With privilege for which our fathers fought, Knee-deep in slaughter; and, to which their sons, True to each other, ever will adhere.

Success but seldom blest the claim of right

In days when strength and skill too frequent won The regal circle; else had ARTHUR's name,

With supercession legal, graced the roll

Where JOHN's is now recorded-but what is,
We're told is right.-Had ARTHUR, haply, reign'd
His milder sway had fail'd create the cause
Which did the glorious great effects produce,
Of England's freedom, and of England's rights.
As if too conscious of his tottering claim,
And, that his crown sat lightly on his head,
Four times inaugurated was the King.

PHILIP of France, whose envy ne'er cou'd bend The warlike mind of RICHARD, now declares Against the title of his brother JoHN,

And in behalf of ARTHUR, claims the throne.

ARTHUR!

ARTHUR! unfortunate! thy seat usurp'd
By an ambitious uncle, and thy right
Made, by pretended friendship, but a plea,
To sanctify it's interested views!

The ENGLISH BARONS murmur and deny
Their aid to JOHN, who yet o'ercoines his foes;
And ARTHUR, captive, youthful, innocent,
Nor author of the war that Phillip wag'd,
Dies in imprisonment.-By some we read,
And our great Bard, with magic minstrelsy,
Has sung the tale, that from his prison walls,
Attempting hopeless egress, he was dash'd
Against the earth below, and found, alas!
The spirit of his uncle "in those flints
With which 'twas bedded."* Other stories tell
That murder, (that so frequent blot upon
Our English reigns, related, and to come,)

* ARCENTRE, in his "Histoire de Bretagne,” says that, John came late one evening, and took his nephew out of prison; that he rode with him to a cliff that overhung the sea; that there he stabb'd him, and drawing his body by the heels to the brink of the precipice, threw it into the ocean.

With

With circumstantial cruelty, depriv'd

The Prince of life.*

PHILIP of France, on this pretext, proclaim'd King JOHN a traitor and a murderer;

Seiz'd on his French possessions, while the PoPE In all concurring, and, pretending right

To chuse our Church Directors, JOHN defies

(The sole good deed he did) the pow'r of Rome;
The Vatican, with thunder loud, replies;
And England excommunicate, cut off

From ev'ry human privilege, cou'd still,
Firm in herself, have scorn'd th' unblest decree,
Which dared to arrogate an awful right

By heaven's almighty power alone possess❜d.

* "Fair Eleanora!

wou'd no gallant mind
"The cause of love, the cause of justice own,
"Matchless thy charms, and was no life resign'd,
"To see them sparkle on their native throne?
"Oh, shame of Britons! in one sullen tow'r
"She wet with royal tears her daily cell,
"She found keen anguish ev'ry rose devour,

66

They sprung, they rose, they faded, and they fell.

SHENSTONE.

ELEANOR, of BRETAGNE, the lawful heiress of the English Crown

upon the death of Arthur,-esteem'd the beauty of her time, she died in Bristol Castle, after suffering forty years imprisonment.

At