famous battle of Flodden Field was fought, in which James IV. King of Scotland, with the flower of his nobility, fell. Henry had six wives; Catherine, who was his brother's widow, from whom he was divorced-Anna Boleyn, who was falsely accused and beheaded-Jane Seymour, who died in child-bed-Ann of Cleves, whom he disliked and divorced-Catherine Howard, who was beheaded-and Catherine Parr, who survived him. He left three children; Edward, Prince of Wales, by Lady Jane Seymour, who succeeded him; Mary, his daughter by his first queen; and Elizabeth, daughter of Anna Boleyn, afterwards queen.

Edward VI. succeeded his father, at the age of nine years and three months, A. D. 1547: he was a very amiable, learned, and pious young man, and died July 6, 1553, in the 16th year of his age. He left the crown to Lady Jane Grey, his cousin; who reigned only ten days, and was then deposed by Mary, Edward's sister.

Mary, the daughter of Henry VIII. was crowned Oct. 1, 1553. She was extremely bigoted to the Catholic religion; also proud, imperious, and revengeful: she was married to Philip II. King of Spain. The most remarkable event in the reign of Mary was the persecution of the protestants, great numbers of whom were burnt in Smithfield, as heretics. Amongst the most remarkable were bishops Latimer, Cranmer, Hooper, and Ridley. Calais, the only place which was left us in France, was also lost in her reign. Mary reigned about 5 years; she died, Nov. 17, 1558, aged 42; and was succeeded by her sister Elizabeth.

Elizabeth was the daughter of Henry VIII. by Anna Boleyn, and sister to Mary and Edward. She was a woman of great spirit, judgment, and address; understood the dead and living languages, and had made a good proficiency in the sciences, and was well read in history; but her putting Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, to death, is a great stain in her character. Mary, Queen of Scots, was the daughter of James V. King of Scotland, and cousin to Elizabeth; she was famed for her beauty and misfortunes. She was prisoner in England eighteen years, and was at length beheaded at Fotheringay Castle, in Northainptonshire.

The principal events in the reign of Elizabeth were the destruction of the Spanish Armada, in 1588, which was intended for the conquest of England, and perhaps was the largest fleet ever fitted out by any nation; the Reformation, a most important event, which fixed the present religious

establishment of the country; and the discovery of Virgi nia in America. Elizabeth reigned 44 years: she died, March 24, 1603, aged 69, and was succeeded by James 1. of England, and VI. of Scotland.

James I. was the great grandson of Margaret, eldest daughter of Henry VII. who married James IV. of Scotlaud, and son of the unfortunate Mary Stuart, Queen of Scotland.

The principal event in this reign was the gunpowder plot, which was a scheme of the Roman Catholics to blow up both houses of parliament, by laying a train of gunpowder under them, when the king, princes, lords, and commons should be assembled, Nov. 5, 1605. The conspirators had hired a cellar under the parliament house, under the pretence of a store-house for coals, in which they placed thirty-six barrels of gunpowder; these they covered over with coals and faggots; and one Guy Faux, who was to have set fire to the train, was actually taken in the cellar with a dark lantern, tinder-box, and matches in his pocket. The plot was discovered by an anonymous letter being sent, through private friendship, from one of the conspirators, to Lord Mount Eagle, in order to prevent his going that day to parliament, and thus to avoid the dreadful catastrophe. James was King of Scotland thirty-six years before he succeeded to the English crown, and twenty-one years King of England. He died A. D. 1625, aged 58. He was crowned King of Scotland when he was only a year old, Charles I. second son of James I. of England, succeeded his father, March 27, 1625.

The most striking events in this reign were the wars between Charles and his Parliament; the execution of Lord Strafford, and Archbishop Laud; and afterwards that of the king himself, who was taken prisoner by the Parliament, and at last beheaded.

Oliver Cromwell was chosen Protector of England, A. D. 165%, being four years and three months after the commencement of the Commonwealth; which before was managed by the Parliament. He was protector five years, and died, September 3, 1658: he was succeeded in the protectorship by his eldest son, Richard, who, however, retained the situation only three months.

Oliver Cromwell was a man of great courage, but an enthusiast to the highest degree. The principal events of his time were a war with the Dutch, who were defeated; and

Jamaica conquered, and made an English province. The great poet Milton lived in the time of Cromwell, to whom he was Latin Secretary.

Charles II. son of Charles I. on July 3, 1646, went from Jersey into France, and remained abroad till May, 1660, when he arrived at Whitehall, and was proclaimed King of England the 29th of the same month.

The principal events of his reign were, the great fire in London, 1666, and the plague the year before; in this reign the Royal Society was established. Several men of genius flourished in this reign; as Boyle, Dryden, Otway, Butler, Temple, Waller, Cowley, Halley, and the Earl of Arundel. Charles II. reigned 24 years, and died, Feb. 1685, in the 55th year of his age, and was succeeded by his brother James.

James II. was a bigot to the Romish religion, and fond of arbitrary power. In his reign the Duke of Monmouth rebelled; he was proclaimed king at Taunton, but being afterwards taken prisoner, was beheaded in London. The attempts of James II. to restore the Roman Catholic religion, obliging him to abdicate the throne, he retired to France, where he died, A. D. 1701, leaving three children, James, Mary, and Anne.

James having deserted the throne, the Prince and Princess of Orange were declared joint sovereigns, July 13, 1689. William III. was the son of William, Prince of Orange, and of Henrietta Maria, daughter of Charles I. He was born at the Hague, in Holland, 1650, and was married to Mary, the eldest daughter of James II. William was a great warrior, and a steady friend to the protestant religion, and civil liberty: and Mary, though her father was a strong papist, was also a firm protestant; she was excellent as a wife, and a truly pious woman. Her person was very handsome; she died before William, in 1694.

The principal events of this reign were, the battle of the Boyne, in Ireland, where King James II. was defeated; the French fleet destroyed at La Hogue; and the Bank of England established. Newton, Locke, Tillotson, Prior, and Burnet, flourished in this reign.

William and Mary had no children; they were succeeded by Anne, second daughter of James II. who was married to Prince George, brother to the King of Denmark. Queen Anne is said to have possessed many excellent qualities. The principal events of her reign were, the battles of Bien

heim, Ramillies, and several others, won by the great Duke of Marlborough; the defeat of the combined fleets, by Sir George Rooke; Gibraltar taken by the English; and the union of England and Scotland, under the title of Great Britain, 1707. Queen Anne reigned twelve years and a half. The most celebrated literary characters in her reign were, Pope, Swift, Congreve, Rowe, Bolingbroke, Shaftesbury, Addison, and Steele.

George I. who was previously Elector of Hanover and Lunenburgh, and a descendant of James I. succeeded to Anne; he was a good king, and an enemy to every species of tyranny. The principal events of this reign were, the rebellion of the Scots, in favour of the Pretender, son of James II. but which was soon quelled, and the Pretender obliged to retire into France, 1717; the Electorate of Hanover annexed to the British crown; innoculation first introduced into England, and successfully tried upon two condemned criminals, who were pardoned on submitting to the operation.

George I. was succeeded by his son, George II. who reigned from 1727 to 1760. In this reign the river Thames was frozen, and a fair held on it, 1740; the Scots again rebelled in favour of the Pretender, but were defeated in 1745; Westminster bridge was built; Admiral Anson took a Spanish ship, with treasure to the amount of £1,500,000; Quebec was taken and General Wolfe killed. George II. had seven children; two sons, and five daughters; the eldest son, Frederic, Prince of Wales, died before his father, but left nine children, the eldest of whom is George William Frederick, our present king.

George III. succeeded his grandfather to the crown of England, on the 25th of October, 1760, being then 24 years of age. He was married to Charlotte Sophia, Princess of Mecklenburg Strelitz, and they were crowned the 20th of Sept. 1761. In the early part of his reign war was declared with America, which led to that country eventually throwing off its allegiance to Great Britain, in the year 1776. The levying of certain duties to be payable by the American colonies in aid of the public revenue being resisted, it became necessary to use measures, which brought forward an open defiance on the part of that country to the restraint of the British government.

The revolution in France commenced in the year 1789, and for a long time France exhibited a coutinued scene of

bloodshed, rapine, and misery, under a delusive idea of civil liberty being substituted for the old regal government; in which the king, Louis XVI. was made a sacrifice by the guillotine, together with the queen and many of the nobility, and innumerable other persons of every rank, who became objects of dislike to the various factions in power. The tranquillity of England was much disturbed by the French revolution; for after the death of the King of France, England and Holland engaged in war with that country; Austria and Prussia, being alarmed with the principles disseminated by the French, having previously declared war against France in their own defence. The continental powers being defeated, and their kingdoms overrun by the French, they were obliged to make peace, and Great Britain was for a time left to contend alone with France.

After that country had been successively in the power and control of various succeeding factions, a form of government was at length settled, under the dominion of three consuls, whereof the first, as chief, was Napoleon Buonaparte, a Corsican by birth, and a general in the French service, who afterwards altered the government, and caused himself to be declared Emperor of France. But previously to this the French had sent an expedition to subdue Egypt, under Buonaparte; their fleet was attacked, in the Bay of Alexandria, by Admiral Lord Nelson, who completely defeated them, with a great loss both of ships and men, which memorable action was called the victory of the Nile. The French army also was beaten by Sir Ralph Abercrombie, who lost his life in the moment of victory. These great events at length obliged the enemy to abandon their views on Egypt. The war between England and France was brought to a conclusion in the year 1802; but it was of short duration, for the restless ambition of the French Ruler, gave reason to suspect he was preparing for new aggressions; and disputes taking place between the two governments, war was resumed the following year. Soon after the renewal of hostilities, a great naval advantage was gained by this country at the ever memorable battle of Trafalgar, in which the undaunted hero, Admiral Lord Nelson, achieved a splendid victory, but unhappily for his country he was himself slain. In testimony of grateful respect, his remains were honoured with a public and splendid funeral in St. Paul's church; and his death was justly deplored as a national calamity.