the light of his own genius only, and was soon seen to have all the courage, the conduct, and the precipitancy of a good sea officer. Clarendon says of him, "that he was the first man that declined the old track, and made it apparent that the sciences might be attained in less time than was imagined. He was the first man that brought ships to contemn castles on shore, which had ever been thought very formidable, but were discovered by him to make a noise only, and to frighten those who could rarely be hurt by them. He was the first that infused that proportion of courage into seamen by making them see by experience what mighty things they could do if they were resolved; and who taught them to fight in fire as well as upon water; though he has been very well imitated and followed, was the first that gave the example of that kind of naval courage and bold and resolute achievement."

and

Such is the royalist historian's evidence of this great man, whose impetuous courage, verging on temerity in many instances, only escapes that judgment by the extraordinary success that attended his movements.

One of such instances occurred in his first encounter with Tromp. The states of Holland having arrived during our civil troubles at the height of naval power without opposition, and without competition, seem to have sought for and provoked the war of 1652, solely for the purpose of combating the longmaintained supremacy of the English flag in the narrow seas, a supremacy enforced against all foreigners almost down to our times, by compelling them to strike their colors on meeting our flag. Hostilities had not yet been declared, when Tromp, with a fleet of forty-five men-of-war, appeared in the Downs, where Blake was lying... The latter, who had but twenty ships under his orders, upon the approach of the Dutch admiral, fired three single shots across his bows to require that he should, by striking his colors, show that respect to the flag which had been always customary in what were considered the seas under British dominion. Tromp answered with a broadside, at the same time hanging out the red flag under the Dutch colors, as the signal for a general engagement. Blake, in a vehement passion, and curling his whiskers, as the old writers say he used to do when angry, commanded his men to answer the Dutch in their kind, and for some time stood alone in his flag-ship against the whole force of the enemy, when the rest of the squadron coming up, the fight was continued from four in the afternoon until nine at night; the Dutch then retreating, and leaving two of their ships in his hands. Blake, in his public letter reporting the action, concludes by recapitulating his losses, and states:

"We have six men of ours slain and nine or ten desperately wounded, and twenty-four more not without danger. We have received about seventy great shot in our hull and masts, in our sails and rigging without number; being engaged with the whole body of the fleet for the space of four hours, and being the single mark at which they aimed." Such was the first of those sea fights in which Robert Blake nobly upheld the honor of the English flag against the most renowned admirals of Holland.

This action was quickly followed up by others, not only with the Dutch, but with the Barbary states and Spaniards, in which success seems invariably to have attended all his movements; but his last and crowning victory occurred on the 20th of April, 1657, a few months before his death; and this was the scene of Nelson's defeat 150 years afterwards.

Blake had received intelligence that the Spanish fleet lay at anchor in the Bay of Santa Cruz, in the island of Teneriffe, where they were protected by the castle and seven other forts, close under which they were able to ride at anchor. Nothing daunted by their apparently impregnable position, he determined to attack them, and with this object, ordered his second in command, with the largest ships, to occupy the attention of the land batteries, while he himself attacked the Spanish galleons. These, after a gallant resistance, were at length abandoned by their crews, though the least of them was larger than the largest of Blake's ships, and the forts and smaller vessels having been meantime silenced, the whole fleet was set on fire, the Spaniards sustaining a great loss in ships, money, men, and merchandise, while the English gained nothing but glory.

Clarendon says, "The whole action was so miraculous that all men who knew the place wondered that any sober man, with what courage soever endowed, would ever have undertaken it; and they could hardly persuade themselves to believe what they had done; whilst the Spaniards comforted themselves with the belief that they were devils and not men who had destroyed them in such a manner "... So much the strong resolution of bold and courageous men can bring to pass, that no resistance and advantage of ground can disappoint them. It can hardly be imagined how small a loss the English sustained in this unparalleled action: not one ship being left behind, and the killed and wounded not exceeding 200 men, while the slaughter on board the Spanish ships and on shore was incredible.

Cromwell, on the receipt of the intelligence of this victory, communicated it to the parliament then sitting, by whom a public thanksgiving was ordered; a diamond ring was directe

to be sent to Blake, and the thanks of the House were conveyed to all the officers and seamen engaged.

This was almost his last exploit, and Blake only just survived to receive the honors and rewards voted to him by parliament. His anxiety, like that of our modern hero Collingwood, seems to have been once more to look upon his native land, but this was denied him..." Leaving Cadiz," says Dixon, "and hoisting his pennon on his old flag-ship, the 'St. George,' Blake saw for the last time the spires and cupolas, the masts and towers before which he had kept his long and victorious vigils. "I beseech God to strengthen him!' was the fervent prayer of the English resident at Lisbon as he departed on the homeward voyage. While the ships rolled through the tempestuous waters of the Bay of Biscay, he grew every day worse and worse. Some gleams of the old spirit broke forth as they approached the latitude of England. He inquired often and anxiously if the white cliffs were yet in sight. He longed to behold the swelling downs, the free cities, the goodly churches of his native land, but he was now dying beyond all doubt... Many of his favorite officers silently and mournfully crowded round his bed, anxious to catch the last tones of a voice which had so often called them

to glory and victory. Others stood at the poop and forecastle, eagerly examining every speck and line on the horizon, in hope of being the first to catch the welcome glimpse of land. Though they were coming home crowned with laurels, gloom and pain were on every face... At last the 'Lizard' was announced; shortly afterwards the bold cliffs and bare hills of Cornwall loomed out grandly in the distance, but it was now too late for the dying hero. He had sent for the captain and other great officers of his fleet to bid them farewell, and while they were yet in his cabin the undulating hills of Devonshire, glowing in the full tints of early autumn, came full in view. As the ships rounded Rance Head, the spires and masts of Plymouth, the woody height of Mount Edgecumbe, the low island of St. Nicholas, the rocky steepes of the Hoe, Mount Batten, the citadel, the many picturesque and familiar features of the magnificent harbor, rose one by one in sight... But the eyes which had so yearned to behold this scene once more were at that very instant closing in death. Foremost of the victorious squadron, the 'St. George' rode with its precious burden into the Sound; and just as it came in full view of the eager thousands crowding the beach, the pier-heads, the walls of the citadel, or darting countless boats over the smooth waters between St. Nicholas and the docks, ready to catch the first glimpse of the hero of

Santa Cruz, and salute him with a true English welcome, he, in his silent cabin, in the midst of his lion-hearted comrades, now sobbing like little children, yielded up his soul to God." Deeds of Naval Daring.

CHARACTER OF CHARLES II.

CHARLES II., in the station of a private gentleman, would have been universally liked. Few men had such captivating manners, and no man ever united wit and good nature in society to a greater degree. He had a natural kindness of temper, which influenced his moral conduct, and prevented him from becoming an oppressor... His brother, the Duke of York, and his son, the Duke of Monmouth, had equal reasons to be grateful for his indulgence. Though the one was the cause of all his troubles, and the other helped to foment them, his behaviour was in almost every instance kind and affectionate... But the cares and duties of a throne were fitted to expose the defects of Charles in the most glaring light. It was evident that he was indolent, mean, false, unprincipled and selfish. The most important affairs could not make him active; the most solemn engagements, true; the most shameful proposals could not rouse his pride, nor the affection of a great people induce him to sacrifice the least or lowest of his pleasures.

He wasted a capacity for which the mighty cares of government afforded ample scope, in the sciences of chemistry and mechanics which he could not forward; and he lowered the character of the country abroad that he might establish a despotism at home.

It is certain that adversity had not improved the character of Charles. Surrounded by his father's old friends, who had suffered from a popular revolution, he learnt to esteem his own authority too highly, and to regard with suspicion and aversion the inclinations of his people... The want of money and of consideration abroad, led him into a vagabond course of life, and obliged him to practise the arts of a courtier, when he ought to have maintained the dignity of a sovereign. While those immediately about him persuaded him that he was King of England by divine right, he could not go out of this narrow circle without encountering the rebuffs of Cardinal Mazarin or Don Lewis de Haro.

His residence in Scotland had disgusted him with religious fanaticism. He is said to have reconciled himself to the Church of Rome at Paris some years before the Restoration

but however that may be, it is certain that the little religion he possessed was Roman Catholic.

The character of the Duke of York was essentially different from that of his brother. Charles was quick, fickle, and indolent; James was dull, obstinate, and busy: the king was indifferent about religion, the Duke was one of the greatest bigots that ever lived. The Duke of Buckingham described their characters very well in a few words by saying, "Charles could see things if he would, James would see things if he could."

The court of Charles II. carried the dissolution of morals to the greatest pitch. And the stage at that time united the profligacy of French with the coarseness of English manners. The king loved to practise, and was forward to encourage, the most unbounded licence in conversation as well as in conduct... The loosest jest and the most indecent words were admitted into polished society, and even disgraced the literature of the day. Nor was it found possible to import the gallantry and dissipation of other climates without some mixture of the darker vices. Sir John Denham and Lord Chesterfield have both been accused of murdering their wives by poison, and the latter is said to have added deeper horror to his crime by administering death in the cup of communion ... These stories, whether true or false, could only have found belief in a profligate age. It seemed as if the domestic character of the nation was about to undergo an alarming change.

But the mass of English gentry did not follow the example of their sovereign; and he who examined beneath the surface would have found the soil rich in honor and virtue. The same age which produced the poetry of Rochester and the plays of Dryden, gave birth to the writings of South, Taylor, and Barrow. And whilst the wits of the court were ridiculing the epic poem of Milton, that sublime work was passing through the hands of thousands *, and obtaining for its author that better sort of immortality which is gained by uniting the sentiments of a good man with the inspiration of a great poet. Lord John Russell.

TRIAL OF LORD RUSSELL: THE RYE-HOUSE PLOT.

ON Friday, the 13th July, 1683, Lord Russell was placed within the bar of the Old Bailey, to take his trial for high treason.

*

It is not true that Milton's poems were not popular at first: 1500 copies were sold in two years.