fuperior eloquence and judgment would have given him an afcendant, even if he had been born in a private ftation; and his perfonal bravery would have procured him refpect, even though it had been lefs fupported by art and policy. By his great progrefs in literature he acquired the name of Beau Clerc, or the Scholar; but his application to fedentary purfuits abated nothing of the activity and vigilance of his government; and though the learning of that age was better fitted to corrupt than improve the understanding; his natural good fenfe preferved itself un near thirteen; during which time he oppreffed his people in every form of tyranny and infuit. He was equally void of learning, principle, and honour; haughty, paffionate, and ungrateful; a fcoffer at religion, a fcourge to the clergy; vain-glorious, talkative, rapaclous, lavith, and diffolute; and an inveterate enemy to the English, though he owned his crown to their valour and fidelity, when the Norman lords intended to expel him from the throne. In return for this inftance of their loyalty, he took all opportunities to fleece and enflave them; and at one time imprifted fifty of the beft families in the king-tanted both from the pedantry and fuperftidon, on pretence of killing his deer; fo that they were compelled to purchase their liberty at the expence of their wealth, though not be fore they had undergone the fey ordeal. He lived in a fcandalous commerce with proftitates, profeffing his contempt for marriage; 2nd, having no legitimate iffue, the crown devolved to his brother Henry, who was fo intent upon the fucceffion, that he paid very little regard to the funeral of the dectaled king. Smollett. § 29. Character of HENRY I. This prince was one of the most accompithed that has filled the English throne; and poffeffed all the qualities both of body and mind, natural and acquired, which could ft him for the high ftation to which he atturned: his perfon was manly; his counteDance engaging: his eves clear, ferene, and penetrating. The affability of his addrefs encouraged these who might be overawed by enfe of his dignity or his wifdom; and ragh he often indulged his facetious huour he knew how to temper it with, difere, , and ever kept at a diftance from all inpont familiarities with his courtiers. His tion which were then fo prevalent among men of letters. His temper was very fufceptible of the fontiments as well of friendfhip as refintment; and his ambition, though high, might be efteemed moderate, had not his conduct towards his brother thewed, that he was too much difpofed to facrifice to it all the maxims of juftice and equity. Died December 1, 1135, aged 67, having reigned 35 years. Hume, 30. Another Chara&er of HENRY I Henry was of a middle ftature and robust make, with dark brown hair, and blue ferene eyes. He was facetious, flucut. and affable to his favourites. His capacity, naturally good, was improved and cultivated in fuch a manner that he acquired the name of Beau Clere by his learning. He was cool, cautious, politic, and penetrating; his courage was unquestioned, and his fortitude invincible. He was vindictive, cruel, and implacable, inexorable to offenders, rigid and levere in the exccution of justice; and, though temperate in his dict, a voluptuary in his arsours, which produced a numeros fa mily of illegitimate fue. Is Norman der K 6 fcent and connections with the continent in- | and liberal; and, during the fhort calm that fpired him with a contempt for the English, whom he oppreffed in the moft tyrannical Smollet. manner. 31. Character of STEPHEN. England fuffered great miferics during the reign of this prince: but his perfonal character allowing for the temerity and injuftice of his ufurpation, appears not liable to any great exception; and he feems to have been well qualified, had he fucceeded by a juft title to have promoted the happiness and profperity of his fubjects. He was poffeffed of industry, activity, and courage, to a great degree; was not deficient in ability, had the talent of gaining men's affections; and, notwithstanding his precarious fituation, never indulged himself in the exercife of any cruelty or revenge. His advancement to the throne procured him neither tranquillity nor happiness. Died 1154. Humè. $32. Another Character of STEPHEN. Stephen was a prince of great courage, fortitude and activity, and might have reigned with the approbation of his people, had he not been harraffed by the efforts of a powerful competitor, which obliged him to take fuch menfures for his fafety as were inconfiftent with the dictates of honour, which indeed his ambition prompted him to forego, in his firft endeavours to afcend the throne. His neceffitics afterwards compelled him to infringe the charter of privileges he granted at his acceffion; and he was inftigated by his jealoufy and refentment to commit the moft flagrant outrages againft gratitude and found policy. His vices, as a king, feem to have been the effect of troubles in which he was involved; for, as a man, he was brave, open, fuccceded the tempeft of his reign, he made a progrefs through his kingdom, published an edict to restrain all rapine and violence, and difbanded the foreign mercenaries who had preyed fo long on his people. Smollett. § 33. Character of HENRY II. Thus died, in the 58th year of his age, and thirty-fifth of his reign, the greateft prince of his time for wifdom, virtue, and ability, and the most powerful in extent of dominion, of all thofe that had ever filled the throne of England. His character, both in public and private life, is almoft without a blemish; and he feems to have poffeffed every accomplishment, both of body and mind, which makes a man eftimable or amiable. He was of middle ftature, strong, and well proportioned: his countenance was lively and engaging; his converfation affable and entertaining; his elocution eafy, perfuafive, and ever at command. He loved peace, but poffeffed both conduct and bravery in war was provident without timidity; fevere in the execution of juftice without rigour; and tem perate without aufterity. He preferved health, and kept himself from corpulency, to which he was fomewhat inclined, by an abftemious diet, and by frequent exercife, particularly by hunting. When he could enjoy leifure, he recreated himself in learned conversation, or in reading; and he cultivated his natural talents by ftudy, above any prince of his time. His affections, as well as his enmities, were warm and durable; and his long experience of ingratitude and infidelity of men never detroyed the natural fenfibility of his temper, which difpofed him to friendship and fociety. His character has been tranfmitted to by his houfhold provifions to the poor, and in time of dearth he maintained ten thousand indigent perfons, from the beginning of spring till the end of autumn. His talents, naturally good, he had cultivated with great affiduity, and delighted in the converfation of learned men, to whom he was a generous benefactor, His memory was fo furprizingly tenacious, that he never forgot a face nor a circumstance that was worth remembering. Though fuperior to his contemporaries in ftrength, riches true courage, and military skill; he never en gaged in war without reluctance, and was fo averfe to bloodfhed, that he expreffed an un by many writers who were his contempo- | was temperate in his meals, even to a degreo raries; and it resembles extremely, in its of abftinence, and feldom or ever fat down, most remarkable ftrokes, that of his material except at fupper; he was eloquent, agreeable, grandfather, Henry 1. excepting only that and facetious; remarkably courteous and poambition, which was a ruling paffion in both, lite; compaffionate to all in distress; so chafound not in the first Henry fuch unexception-ritable, that he conftantly allotted one tenth of able means of exerting itself, and pushed that prince into measures which were both crimimal in themselves, and were the cause of further crimes, from which his grandfon's conduct was happily exempted. Died 1189. Hume. $34. Another Character of HENRY II. Thus died Henry in the fifty-feventh year of his age (Hume fays 58) and thirty-fifth of his reign, in the courfe of which he had, on fundry occafions, difplayed all the abilities of a politician, all the fagacity of a legiflator, and all the magnanimity of a hero. He lived revered above all the princes of his time; and his death was deeply la-common grief at the lofs of every private fol mented by his fubjects, whose happinets feems to have been the chief aim of all his endeavours. He not only enacted wholefome laws, but faw them executed with great punctuality. He was generous, even to admiration, with regard to those who committed offences against his own perfon; but he never forgave the injuries that were offered to his people, for atrocious crimes were punished feverely without refpect of perfons. He was of a middle ftature, and the most exact · proportion; his countenance was round, fair, and ruddy; his blue eyes were mild and engaging, except in a tranfport of paffion, when they sparkled like lightning, to the terror of the beholders. He was broad-chefted, strong, mufcular, and inclined to be corpulent, though he prevented the bad effects of this difpofition by hard exercife and continual fatigue; he dier: yet he was not exempt from human frailties; his paffions, naturally violent, often hurried him to excefs; he was prone to anger, tranfported with the luft of power, and particularly accused of incontinence, not only in the affair of Rofamond, whom he is faid to have concealed in a labyrinth at Woodstock, from the jealous enquiry of his wife, but alfa in a fuppofed commerce with the French princefs Adalais, who was bred in England as the future wife of his fon Richard. This infamous breach of honour and hofpitality, if he was actually guilty, is the fouleft ftain upon his character; though the fact is doubtful and we hope the charge untrue. Smollett 35. Character of RICHARD I. The most fhining part of this prince's cha racter was his military talents; no man ever in Of an in that romantic age carried courage and in- § 36. Another Character of RICHARD I trepidity to a greater height; and this quality gained him the appellation of the lon This renowned prince was tall, ftrong, kearted, cour de lion. He paflionately loved ftraight, and well-proportioned. His arms glory; and as his conduct in the field was were remarkably long, his eyes blue, and full not inferior to his valour, he feems to have his countenance fair and comely, and his air of vivacity; his hair was of a yellowish colour; petfulled every talent neceffary for acquiring st: his refentments alfo were high, his pride majeftic. He was endowed with good natural unconquerable, and his fubjects, as well as understanding; his penetration was uncomhis neighbours, had therefore reafon to ap-his converfation was fpirited, and he was admon; ho poffeffed a fund of manly eloquence; prehend, from the continuance of his reign, amired for his talents of repartee: as for his perpetual scene of blood and violence. impetuous and vehement fpirit, he was dif- courage and ability in war, both Europe and tinguifhed by all the good as well as the bad Alia refounded with his praife. The Saracens qualities which are incident to that character. ftilled their children with the terror of his He was open, frank, generous, fincese, and name! and Saladine, who was an accomplishbrave; he was revengeful, domineering, amed prince, admired his valour to fuch a degree bitious, haughty, and cruel, and was thus of enthufiafm, that immediately after Richard better cale alated to dazle men by the fplen- fent hin a couple of fine Arabian hores, in had defeated him on the plains of Joppa, he dour of his enterprizes, than either to promote token of his cftecm; a police compliment, their happines, or his own grandeur, by a found and well-regulated policy. As mili- which Richard returned with magnificent tary talents make great impreffion on the prefents. Thefe are the flining parts of his people, he feems to have been much beloved character, which, however, cannot dazzle the by his English fubjects; and he is remarked judicious obferver fo much, but that he may to have been the first prince of the Norman Perceive a number of blemishes, which no hif line who bore a fincere affection and regard torian has been able to efface from the monofor them. He paffed, however, only fourry of this celebrated monarch. His ingratimonths of his reign in that kingdom: the tude and want of filial affection are unpardoncrufade employed him near three years: heable. He was proud, haughty, ambitious, was detained about four months in captivity; choleric, cruel, vindictive, and debauched the rest of his reign was spent either in war, nothing could equal his rapacioufhefs but his er preparations for war against France: and profufion, and, indeed, the one was the fet he was fo pleated with the fame which he had of the other; he was a tyrant to his wife, as acquired in the Eaft, that he feemed deter-well as to his people, who groaned under his mind, notwithflanding all his paft misfor-taxations to fuch a degree, that even the glory tunes, to have further exhutted his kingdom, of his victories did not exempt him from their and to have expofed himfulf to new hazards, excerations; in a word, he has been apely conducting another expedition against the compared to a lion, a fpecies of an mals which Fodels: Died April 6, 1199, aged 42. he refembled not only in courage, but likewitg keigned ten years. in ferocity. Smollett. § 37. The Character of JOHN. utterly improbable, except that there is nothing fo incredible as may not become likely from the folly and wickedness of John. Died 1216. Hume. The character of this prince is nothing but a complication of vices, equally mean and edious, ruinous to himfelf, and destructive to his people: cowardice, inactivity, folly, levity, § 38. Another Character of JOHN. licentioufn.fs, ingratitude, treachery, tyranny, John was in his perfon taller than the and cruelty; all these qualities too evidently middle fize, of a good shape and agreeable appear in the feveral incidents of his life, to countenance; with refpect to his difpofition, give us room to fufpect, that the difagreeable it is ftrongly delineated in the tranfactions of picture has been anywife overcharged by the his reign. If his understanding was conprejudice of the ancient hiftorians. It is hard temptible, his heart was the object of detefto fay, whether his conduct to his father, his tation; we find him flothful, fhallow, proud, brother, his nephew, or his fubjeéts, was moft imperious, cowardly, libidineus, and inconculpable; or whether his crimes in thefe re- ftant, abject in adverfity, and overbearing in fpects were not even exceeded by the bafenefs fuccefs; contemned and hated by his fubjects, which appeared in his tranfactions with the over whom he tyrannized to the utmost of his king of France, the pope, and the barons. power; abhorred by the clergy, whom he opHis dominions, when they devolved to him prefed with exactions; and defpited by all by the death of his brother, were more exten- the neighbouring princes of Europe: though five than have ever face his time been ruled he might have paffed through life without inby any English monarch. But he firft loft, by curring fuch a load of odium and contempt, his mifconduct, the flourishing provinces in had not his reign been perplexed by the turFrance; the ancient patrimony of his family.bulence of his barons, the rapacioufnels of the He fubjected his kingdom to a thameful vaffalage, under the fee of Reme; he faw the prerogatives of his crown diminished by law, and in more reduced by faction; and he died at last when in danger of being totally expelled by a foreign power, and of either ending his life miferably in a prifon, or fecking thelter as a fugitive from the purfuit of his enemies.. The prejudices against this prince were fo virlent, that he was believed to have fent an ebay to the emperor of Morocco, and to have offered to change his religion and become Makornetan, in order to purchate the protection of that monarch; but, though that flory & told us on plaufible authority, it is in itfelf pope, and the ambition of fuch a monarch as Philip Auguftus: his character could never have afforded one quality that would have exempted him from the difguit and fcorn of his people: nevertheless, it must be owned, that his rein is not altogether barren of laudable tranfactions. He regulated the form of the government in the city of London, and fiveral other places in the kingdom. He was the firit who coined sterling money. Smellett. $39. Character of HENRY III. The most obvious circumftance of Henry the Third's character, is his incapacity for government, which rendered in a much a prifoner |