this circumstance he was always represented with a key in his right hand. 31. WILLIAM LEARNS THE TONGUE OF HIS SUBJECTS. knew not the tongue of his It was William's duty to go, like Alfred and Cnut, through the shires and cities of his kingdom, and to see with his own eyes that those who ruled in his name refused, sold, or delayed justice to no man. But this duty could not be thoroughly done by a king who people, who had to hear their complaints and to pronounce his judgments through the mouth of an interpreter. William then, at the age of forty-three, in all the pomp of kingship and the renown of victory, again bowed his neck to the yoke of the schoolmaster. As Charles the Great had striven in his later years to learn the art of writing, so now William the Great strove to master the tongue of his English subjects. In neither case were the efforts of the royal student crowned with any great measure of success. We are told that he found his age a hindrance, and that, as we might have expected, other affairs called him away from his studies. 32. STEPHEN. Henry I. had done everything in his power to secure the crown to his daughter. An usurper sprang up where he would least1 have expected one, in his favourite nephew Stephen, who was the second son of his sister Adela and the Count de Blois, and to whom he had invariably shown the utmost kindness, and a preference above all his other relations. But all this could not inspire Stephen with gratitude. As soon as he heard of the king's death he hastened to England; and though he met with a little opposition at first, yet he soon procured himself to be crowned at Westminster. Stephen, we are told, had a very graceful person; he was strong and active, and had a degree of courage that amounted to rashness. His deportment was particularly popular and engaging, and he had much pleasantry in his conversation. He was already a great favourite with the people; and to this, more than to any other cause, is attributed the success of his attempt on the crown. 33. RIVALRY BETWEEN THE TWO QUEENS. Thus far the reign of Mary had been eminently prosperous; but a fatal crisis approached. She had no children by her deceased husband, the King of France, and her subjects were desirous that she should marry a second husband, a purpose which she herself entertained and encouraged. It was necessary, or politic at least, to consult Queen Elizabeth on the subject. That princess had declared her own resolution never to marry, and if she should keep this determination, Mary of Scotland was the next heir to the English crown. In expectation of this rich and splendid inheritance, it was prudent that, in forming a new marriage, Mary should desire to have the advice and approbation of the Queen. Elizabeth of England was one of the wisest and most sagacious queens that ever wore a crown, and the English to this day cherish her memory with well-deserved respect and attachment. But her conduct towards Mary, from beginning to end, indicated a degree of envy and deceit totally unworthy of her general character. 1 34. LIFE IN LONDON AT THE TIME OF GEORGE I. A foreigner who visited London in the time of George I. says in a letter: 'A fine gentleman passes his time in this way: He rises late, puts on a frock, takes his cane and goes where he pleases.' The park is commonly the place where he walks. The grand walk, called the Mall, is full of 1 In forming = when she formed it pleases him, gefallen (to please) being an imper sonal verb. people at every hour of the day, but especially at morning and evening, when their Majesties walk with the Royal family, who permit all persons to walk at the same time with them. The ladies and gentlemen always appear in rich dresses. Even the beggars look more respectable than elsewhere. 35. PARIS IS WELL WORTH A MASS. 1 The Armada had hardly been dispersed when the assassination of Henry the Third, the last of the line of Valois, raised Henry of Navarre to the throne; and the accession of a Protestant sovereign at once ranged the Catholics of France to a man on the side of the 'League' and its leaders. The League rejected Henry's claims, admitted the ridiculous pretensions which Philip advanced to the vacant throne, and received the support of Spanish soldiery and Spanish treasure. This new effort of Spain forced Elizabeth to aid Henry of Navarre with men and money in his seven years' struggle; but, valuable as was her support, it was by the king's amazing courage and energy that victory was at last wrested from his foes. 'Paris is well worth a mass,' was the famous phrase which dissolved the League, and enabled Henry to force Philip to acknowledge his title and to consent to peace in the Treaty of Vervins. 36. MORDAUNT BECOMES A SAILOR. 'You are a handsome active young man,' said the captain; 'come with us and we will make a sailor and a man of 2 you.' 'I should like it well enough,' replied Mordaunt, who eagerly longed to see more of the world than his lonely situation had hitherto permitted; 'but then my father must decide.' 1 'Paris vaut mieux qu'une messe', the saying of Henry IV., when Paris would not open the gates to him as long as he was Protestant. Thus he became a Roman Catholic. 2 To make. of.... machen... aus (dat.) . . . 'Your father!' said the captain; 'but you are very right,' he added, checking himself; 'I have lived so long at sea that I cannot think that any body has a right to think except the captain and the master. But you are very right. I will go up to the old gentleman this instant, and speak to him myself. He lives in that handsome modern-looking building, I suppose, that I see a quarter of a mile off?' 'In that old half-ruined house,' said Mordaunt, 'he does indeed live; but he will see no visitors.' Nevertheless they went and Mordaunt became a sailor. 1 37. THE DEATH OF GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS. At eleven the mist cleared away and the sun shone out. The king gave his last orders to his generals. Then, looking to heaven, 'Now,' he said, 'in God's name, Jesus, give us to-day to fight for the honour of Thy holy name.' Then, waving his sword over his head, he cried out, 'Forwards!' The whole line advanced, Gustavus riding at the head of the cavalry at the right. After a fierce struggle, the enemy's lines were broken through everywhere. But Wallenstein was not yet mastered. Bringing up his reserves, he drove back the Swedish infantry in the centre. Gustavus, when he heard the news, flew to the rescue. The horsemen, whom he had ordered to follow him, struggled in vain to keep up with the long strides of their master's horse. The fog came down thickly once more, and the king, left almost alone in the darkness, dashed unawares into a regiment of the enemy's cuirassiers. One shot passed through his horse's neck. A second shattered his left arm. Turning round to ask one of those who still followed him to help him out of the fight, a third shot struck him in the back, and he fell heavily to the ground. 1 To shine out, durchscheinen. 38. THE MISER IN HELL. A miser being dead and fairly interred, came to the banks of the Styx, desiring to be ferried over along with the other ghosts. Charon demands his fare, and is surprised to see the miser, rather than pay it, 1 throw himself into the river, and swim over to the other side, notwithstanding all the clamour and opposition that could be made to him. All hell was in an uproar, and each of the judges was meditating some punishment suitable to a crime of such dangerous consequences to the infernal revenue. Shall he be chained to the rock along with Prometheus? or tremble below the precipice in company with the Danaïdes? or assist Sisyphus in rolling his stone? No, says Minos, none of these; we must invent some severer punishment. Let him be sent back to the earth, to see the use his heirs are making of his riches. 2 39. THE RETURN OF THE BRITISH FROM AFGHANISTAN IN 1842. 3 All was now accomplished. The honour of the British arms had been avenged, the captives delivered, and the treachery of the enemy punished in a signal and enduring manner. Nothing more remained to be done; there was no longer any cause of discord or hostility with the Afghans. The king whom, in an evil hour, and misled by a false opinion of his popularity, we had put on the throne, had been murdered by his subjects; his son, a boy of eighteen, was invested with only a shadow of royalty, and Russian ambition had been turned into another channel. It was, therefore, resolved to retire within the Indus while it could yet be done with credit and safety; and on the 1st October (1842) a proclamation to this effect was issued by the 1 Render the sentence thus: is surprised as he the miser (Acc.) instead of (anstatt) to pay himself into the river throw and swim over sees, notwithstanding ... 2 I. e. to (um zu) see the use which his heirs make . . . . |