Abbildungen der Seite
PDF
EPUB
[ocr errors][merged small]

3d.

"1.

"2.

Cui servit Hibernia, Salve.
Gallia cui titulos, terras dant cetera,
Salve.

Quem divisa prius colit una'Brittannia Salve. "3d. Summe, Monarcha Brittanniæ, Hibernæ, Galliæ, Salve, &c. &c.* Walter Stuart or Stewart, High Steward of Scotland, whose office had given name to his family, was married to Marjory, the daughter of Robert Bruce, the

deliverer of Scotland. Their son, Robert, succeeded to the throne on the death of his uncle David, with whom the male line of Bruce became extinct.*

ROBERT II., the first of the Stuarts, came to the throne in right of his mother. He was aged and infirm at his accession, and his reign was neither happy nor tranquil. He was succeeded by his son John,t who, on being crowned, assumed the name and title of

ROBERT III. This prince was lame in body and enervated in mind: his reign was unquiet. The wild conduct and cruel murder of his eldest son, David, and the subsequent unjust detention of James, his surviving son, by Henry IV. of England, caused him to die of sorrow.

JAMES I., for eighteen years a captive in England, found his country in a greatly disturbed state on his return to it; he fell by the hands of assassins at Perth.

JAMES II., constantly in civil wars, basely murdered a Douglas with his own hand, and was killed by the bursting of a cannon at the siege of Roxburgh.

JAMES III. was murdered by his rebellious subjects, after a battle with them near Bannockburn.

JAMES IV. lost his life in Flodden Field.

JAMES V. died of a broken heart, after his defeat at Solway, in the belief that his nobles and generals had been false to him.

MARY, his daughter, experienced a life of strange vicissitudes; she was treacherously deceived, and, after languishing many years in prison, was basely murdered by her kinswoman, Elizabeth.Whether guilty or not of the crimes laid to her charge, will, probably, ever remain a point for doubt; but, as her latest his

Nichols's Progresses, Processions, &c., of James the first, vol. I. p. 545.

Le Sage's Historical, Atlas No, 16; also Hist. of Scotland passim.

Scott's History of Scotland, vol. i.

torian remarks, "This may be truly sand, that if a life of exile and misery, endured with the most saintly pat. nce, could atone for crimes and errors of the class imputed to her, no such penalty was ever more fully discharged than that of Mary Stuart." Her son united the two crowns

ENGLAND and SCOTLAND.

JAMES I. Adversity remitted, during his time only, the persecution of his race; although the early part of his reign, as king of Scotland, was any thing but felicitous. The change of style on this king's accession is said to have fulfilled an old prophecy. "The prophecy," says Bacon, 66 I heard when I was a child, and Queen Elizabeth was in the flower of her years,

was

" When HEMPE 15 spun, England is done ! Whereby it was generally conceived, that after the princes had reigned which had the principal letters of that word HEMPE, which were Henry, Edward, Mary, Philip, and Elizabeth, England should come to utter confusion, which thanks be to God is verified in the change of name; for that the king's style is now no more England but Britain."

CHARLES I., who deluged his country with his subjects' blood, was dethroned and beheaded. Howel notices a curious error which was made at his proclamation,

King Charles," says he, "was proclaimed at Theobald's Court Gate by Sir Edward Zouch, Knight Marshal, Master Secretary Conway dictating unto him, 'Whereas it has pleased God to take to his mercy our gracious Sovereign King James, of famous memory, we proclaim Prince Charles his rightful and indubitable heir, &c. &c.,' the Knight Marshal mistook, and said, 'his rightful and dubitable heir,' but he was rectified by the secretary."

CHARLES II. experienced a long series of misfortunes, both in exile and on the throne. During his reign, the Dutch fleet, under De Ruyter, appeared in the

Scott's History of Scotland, vol. ii.
+ Bacon's Essays.

A narrative of the dangers to which he was exposed after the Battle of Worcester is published in a little volume entitled "Boscobel," from the name of the house in which he lay concealed. This has been lately reprinted, in a collection of otner pieces relating to the king's escape.

Thames, took Sheerness and burnt many ships of war, and almost insulted the capital itself in their predatory incursion. Virtue was depressed and vice and levity countenanced throughout the land. His death was sudden and not without suspicion of poison, although some historians say there is no ground for such belief. +

JAMES II., a weak, intolerant, and be. sotted prince, whose intentions, it was suspected, were to replace the kingdom under the papal jurisdiction; for which, and various acts of despotism, he was deposed, and transmitted to his offspring (male) exile and seclusion from the throne. He died at St. Germains, in 1701.

Of his daughters, MARY, married to WILLIAM of ORANGE, with whom she reigned jointly; and ANNE, married to GEORGE of DENMARK, who reigned in her own name, no further notice need be taken than that they died without issue. In 1714, the crown of Great Britain passed to the House of Hanover.

In 1711, the Jacobite party in Scotland made no scruple of avowing their attachment to the Pretender, and the duchess of Gordon went so far as to cause medals to be struck with the head of the Chevahier de St. George on one side, and on the other the British Isles, with the motto "Reditte;" these she presented to the faculty of advocates, who passed her a vote of thanks for them. I

CHARLES JAMES, more known by the name of the Chevalier de St. George, the first Pretender, was the only son of James

I. He might almost be termed a wanderer, from his seeking a home among various powers on the continent, and being occasionally driven from his asylum, through political motives, whilst striving to interest the court so as to render him assistance in his design of gaining possession of the British throne.

He died at Rome, 1st Jan. 1766, and left two sons.

Among the various attempts made by the Stuarts, with the aid of foreign powers, to regain possession of their lost dominions, in two instances only did they wear any thing like a formidable appearance, those in 1715, and 1745, the latter headed by Charles Edward in person, when so many of the Scotch nobility sealed with * Temple, vol. iii. + Hume's Hist. England. Smollet's Hist. England.

For a History of these rebellions, see 1. Register of the Rebellion 1715, and

blood, on the scaffold or in the field, their fealty to him whom they considered as their rightful sovereign. §

The extraordinary perils and escapes of the prince Charles Edward, when every hope in his cause was crushed, in traversing, under various disguises, those realms over which his progenitors had, for upwards of three centuries, swayed the sceptre, seeking for the opportunity of some friendly sail to waft him in security to the opposite shore, wear more the appearance of a tale of romance than of reality. To the immortal honor of the Scottish nation, though a great number of persons of all ranks must, necessarily, have been entrusted with the secret, and though the head of the pretender was "worth its weight in gold," there was not to be found one recreant dastard base enough to betray an unfortunate gentleman for the sake of lucre. I

The young prince did at length succeed in quitting the British territories, but it was only to experience fresh vicissitudes, as in a short period afterwards, through the political intrigues of the British court, he was refused an asylum in France. The conduct of Louis XV. towards the prince on this occasion was highly censured, and is thus noticed by Mr. Douglas :-"The fondness of the French for their monarch had been considerably impaired before my arrival in Paris. It was considered as unworthy of a monarch, and an ignominy to the French nation, to abandon the young pretender, and to exclude him from a retreat in France; though the success of the war might have justified the king in making this one of the conditions of peace, and though it had been promised him expressly by treaty. manner, also, in which this prince, the great grandson of Henry the Fourth, was treated when he was arrested, by being pinioned like a felon, awakened a strong feeling of popular displeasure. It was surprising to hear the remarks of the French on this transaction. Paris was in

The

1745, 1 vol. 8vo., containing the names, &c., of all who suffered in the Stuart cause. 2. Memoirs of the Rebellion in 1745-6, by Chevalier de Johnstone, 1 vol. 8vo.

The history of his escape is thought to be pretty faithfully delineated in a little work which was published under the title of "Ascanius."

Thirty thousand pounds were offered for his apprehension. Vide Smoliet's History of England.

a ferment, sufficient to have produced another affair of the Barricades; every tongue was loud and every pen satyrical; epigrams and verses flew about the streets and were posted up in the most public places on the occasion, severely reflecting on the conduct of the court. And, though I did not visit the French capital until seven or eight months after, I found this one of the first topics of conversation, and the praises of Prince Edward in every mouth. Louis the XV. is no longer le bien aimé."*

The campaign of 1745 proved so decisive that it terminated the struggle, and the Stuarts retired from the contest.

"That the present pretender," says Hume, "was in London in the year 1753, I know with the greatest certainty, because I had it from Lord Marechal, who said it consisted with his certain knowledge.

Two or three days after he gave me this information, he told me that the evening before he had learned several curious particulars from a lady (who I imagined to be the Lady Primrose, though my lord refused to name her). The pretender came to her house in the evening, without giving her any preparatory information, and entered the room where she had a pretty large company with her, and was herself playing at cards. He was announced by the servant under another name: she thought that the cards would have dropped from her hands on seeing him; but she had presence of mind enough to call him by the name he assumed, and asked him when he came to England, and how long he intended to stay.

"After he and all the company went away the servants remarked how wonderfully like the strange gentleman was to the prince's picture, which hung on the chimney piece in the very room in which he had entered. My lord added (I think from the authority of the same lady) that he used so little precaution that he went abroad openly in the day light in his own dress, only laying aside his blue ribbon and star, walked once through St. James's

and took a turn in the Mall.

"About five years ago I told this story to Lord Holderness, who was Secretary of

Travels of John Douglas, afterwards Bishop of Salisbury, in the years 1748-9. † Charles Edward.

State of 1753, and I added that I supposed this piece of intelligence had es caped his lordship at the time. By no means,' said he, and who do you think first told me; it was the King himself, who subjoined, and what do you think I should do with him? Lord Holderness owned that he was puzzled how to reply, for if he declared his real sentiments they might favor of indifference to the royal family. The king perceived his embarrassment and extricated him from it, by adding, 'My lord, I shall just do nothing at all; when he is tired of England he will go abroad again.'

6

"But, what will surprise you more, lord Marechal, a few days after the coronation of the present king, told me that he believed the young pretender was at that time in England, or at least had been so very lately, and had been over to see the show of the coronation, and had actually seen it. I asked my lord the reason for this strange fact, why,' said he, a gentleman told me so that saw him there and even spoke to him, and whispered in his ear these words, your royal highness is the last of all mortals whom I should expect to see here. It was curiosity that led me, said the other, but I assure you that the person who is the object of all this pomp and magnificence, is the man I envy least.' You see this story is so near traced from the fountain head as to wear a great face of probability. Query—What if the pretender had taken up Dymock's gauntlet? I find that the pretender's visit to England, in 1753, was known to the Jacobites, and some of them assured me that he took the opportunity of formally renouncing the Roman Catholic religion, under his own name of Charles Stuart, in the church in the Strand, and that this is the reason of the bad treatment he met with at the court of Rome. I own that I am a sceptic with regard to the last particular."*

CHARLES EDWARD, or, as he was generally called, Prince Edward, the eldest son of Charles James, died at Rome, 31st Jan., 1788, without issue. In the proclamation for his apprehension when heading the forces in Scotland, in 1745, he is called the "Prince Adventurer." +

* David Hume's letter to Sir John Pringle, M. D., dated St. Andrew's-square, Edinburgh, Feb. 10, 1773.

+ Smollet's Hist. England

After the death of his father, he also went by the name of the "Pretender."

GENEALOGICAL TREE OF THE HOUSE OF STUART.

WALTER STEWART,-MARJORY BRUCE.
ROBERT II. 1376.

Elizabeth Mure of Rowallan.
JOHN, 1390,

who changed his name tc

ROBERT III.

Annabella Drummond of Stobhall David.

JAMES I, 1406,

from the signal defeat his brother met with in 1745, devoted himself to the church, and in 1747 received the scarlet hat from Benedict XIV., taking the title of Cardinal York.

In 1800, being infirm in body, and beggared by the change of power in Rome, George III. granted him a pension of £4000 per annum, which became his sole support until 1807, when he died at Rome in his eighty-third year.

An act with respect to the attainder of Johanna of England, niece to Richard II. blood, it is understood, was to expire at

JAMES II. 1437.

Mary of Gueldres.

JAMES III. 1460.

Margaret of Denmark. JAMES IV., 1438,

the death of Cardinal York.

In a letter to Sir Jas. Coxe Hippisley, dated 26th Feb. 1800, after acknowledging the first half yearly payment of his

Margaret of England, daughter to Henry VII. annuity, the Cardinal thus proceeds:—

Dauphin

afterwards

Francis II.

no issue.

JAMES V., 1513
Mary of Guise.

MARY. Henry Steward.
Lord Darnley.

Resigned 1567,

Beheaded 1587.

JAMES VI. and 1-1567,-1603.

Anne of Denmark.

CHARLES I., 1625,
Henrietta of France.

"I own to you that the succor granted to me could not be more timely, for without it it would have been impossible for me to subsist, on account of the irreparable loss of all my income, the very funds being also destroyed, so that I should otherwise have been reduced, for the short remainder of my life, to languish in misery and indigence.'

"

The Cardinal left as a legacy to the Prince of Wales, afterwards George IV., the order constantly worn by Charles

CHARLES II. Ann Hyde, JAMES II. Mary of I., and a valuable ring, which was worn

1648,

Restoration 1660.

Catherine of Portugal.

No issue.

MARY, 1688

who reigned with her

husband

William III.

No issue.

Modena.

ANNE, 1702, George of Denmark. Died 1714. No issue.

In 1714, the Crown went to the House of

Hanover. CHARLES JAMES, the first pretender, generally called the Chevalier de St. George

married

Maria Clementina Sobieski. Died 1765.

[merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][merged small]
[blocks in formation]

HENRY BENEDICT, the second son of Charles James, as soon as he found the designs of his house rendered abortive

August 31. Day breaks

Sun rises

sets

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

Twilight ends

Pheasants' eyes in flower. Large crimson agaric begins to spring up

In the Every-Day Book there is an engraving of a medal struck by cardina. York, as Henry IX. King of England, with particulars concerning him.

THE OWL'S CONCERT AND BALL.

BY A YOUNG LADY.)

[For the Year Book.]

On a dew-besprinkled lawn,
In the summer time so gay,
A Blackbird met a Thrush
At early dawn of day.

Said he, of course, we meet

To night at Crumble Tower,

Where the OWLS receive their company Who love a latish hour.

As every bird of ton

Is certain to be there,

I, also, must make one,

Or all my friends would stare.

The Throstle said, I well

With such visit might dispense
Yet Owls are soonest ruffled,
So I fear to give offence.
Now, as we shall have music,
They'll ask us both to sing;
Therefore I must advise you
Your sweetest airs to bring.
I'm going home to practise,
So, Blackbird, dear, good bye!
And, if I find I'm not in voice,
To sing I'll never try.

As evening was approaching,
Each bird, both great and small,
Began to plume its toilette
In full feather for the ball.

LORD OWL was so much troubled
With that shocking pain, the gout,
That, had he wished it ever so,
He could not walk about.
He sat in stately grandeur,
On a mouldering mass of stone,
Whilst his lady and her daughter
Received the guests alone.
Dr. Goose's well-fed goslins
First waddled up the room;
Then, strutting, came lord Peacock,
With his showy crest and plume;
Squire Pheasant, yeoman Partridge,
Miss Lark, so light and airy;
A Bullfinch fam'd for piping,
And an elegant Canary;

Thrush, Blackbird, Martin, Swallow,
With a Turkey and Pea hen,

And also sir Cock Robin,

With little Jenny Wren.

Beau Starling never came,
But sent a civil note,

In which he said that he was caged,

And could not then get out.

[blocks in formation]

DAME OWL, whose eyes were weak,
This splendor dazzled so,
That all, with much politeness,
To another room did go.
'Twas every bird's endeavour
To dance, to sing, or say
Something new and tonnish
To pass the time away.

MISS OWL, with much entreating,
Screamed out a loud bravura,
So bad her voice, so out of tune,
That no one could endure her.
When the Lark rose up to sing,
The Owlet walked away,
Because, she said, it put her so
In mind of vulgar day.

Then, from a thorn, sweet Philomel
Warbled a plaintive strain
With such pathetic sweetness
All begg'd for it again.

To rouse their drooping spirits,
Cornet Bullfinch tuned his pipe.
And dandy Chaffinch waltz'd
A round with Mrs. Snipe.

Parson Rook, who 's always hoarse,
Affected them a song,
Which, like his drawling homilies,
Was half an hour too long.

Two timid, twinlike demoiselles,
Strangers, but no: from France,
A minuet and a pas-de-deux
Most gracefully did dance.

Lady Swan, fat, fair, and forty,
Was known to walk so ill,

That, like lord Owl, she found it was
More prudent to sit still.

And also of her singing

She knew she could not boast,
So sat and chatted all the night
With her most learned host.
Dick Sparrow and Miss Swallow,
Birds known to be ill-bred,
Twitter'd so long and loudly,
That more was heard than said.
And the Pie said to the Jay,
Which, you know, was very port,
The room is so ill lighted
That I cannot see you flirt.
A Bat announced the supper,
And all adjourned soon
To a fine old Gothic cloister,
Well lighted by the moon.

And every thing was there

That the daintiest bird could wish; So they pecked about accordingly, Each at his favorite dish.

The supper was scarce over

When the Lark proclaim'd the day; Then, nodding all a kind farewell, They flew their several way.

« ZurückWeiter »