in poverty in Scotland, made promises | dignity led him to side with the Roboth to the Romanists and to the Puri- manists rather than the Protestants, tans of something like toleration; but from dislike to the republican form of he at once joined himself to the Esta- government. On the same ground blished Church, which gave them oc- he eagerly sought alliances for his casion to charge him with insincerity, sons with the royal families of France and, apparently, to unite for the pur- and Spain, regardless of the apprehenpose of dethroning him. This scheme sions of his people on the score of failed, as did the revolting Gunpowder religion; and to attain his ends he Plot, and the rest of his reign was did not hesitate to sign treaties propassed in coercing his Scottish sub- mising a toleration of Romanism, jects into a temporary re-acceptance of which was directly contrary to the episcopal government, and in quarrels statutes of his kingdom, and could with his English parliaments; the lat- only have been carried out by his exter were often hastily dissolved, and ercising the power he was so unwise their members imprisoned, but they as sometimes to claim, of being superemonstrated freely on matters both of rior to all law. His project failed as Church and State, impeached his mi- regarded Spain, and he was involved nisters, controlled his foreign policy, in a war against that power (reluctand exhibited unmistakable tokens of antly undertaken, though the domithat puritanical and republican spirit nions of his son-in-law, the Elector which led his unhappy successor to the Palatine, were at stake,) at the time scaffold. Commerce, however, flourish- of his death, which occurred at his ed; the newly opened trade with India hunting-seat of Theobalds, near Cheswas steadily pursued, and many at- hunt, March 27, 1625. He was buried tempts were made by Hudson, Baffin, in Henry VII.'s chapel, Westminster. and others, to discover a north-western passage; America, too, began to be systematically settled by the English. James's conduct towards foreign states was weak and discreditable. There is no reason to doubt that he was personally a sincere Protestant; but his exalted notions of the kingly • Some writers have supposed that the alleged conspiracy was really a base contrivance of Cecil to get rid of Ralegh and others, who had courted the friendship of James as eagerly as he himself had done, and were likely to prove successful rivals in the distribution of honours and rewards. Such a supposition ought not to be lightly entertained, but still it is difficult to conceive what objects could be common to Romish priests, Puritans and professed free-thinkers, or atheists as they were then termed; yet such men were found among the conspirators, and James's lenity has been taken as a presumption of their innocence; only the priests and one gentleman suffered death. He told his parliament, that as it was blasphemy to question what the Almighty could do by His power, so it was sedition to inquire what a king could do by virtue of his prerogative. He was easily persuaded that the Hollanders, as successful rebels, were "an ill example for a monarch to cherish." James married, in 1590, Anne of Denmark, daughter of Frederic II. She was born in 1574, was handsome, active, and intriguing, but seems to have had far less influence over her husband than his unworthy favourites, Carr and Villiers, exercised. She was fond of pomp and pageantry, in made a knight of the Garter, and created viscount Rochester and earl of Somerset. He at length contracted an infamous marriage with Frances, daughter of the earl of Suffolk, the divorced wife of the earl of Essex, and from this circumstance his ruin may be dated. He and his wife were convicted in 1616 of the murder of Sir Thomas Overbury, who had opposed their union, though it seems probable that she only was guilty. Somerset was imprisoned until 1621, and being then released, lived in comparative poverty to the time of his death, in 1645, his wretched wife, who had confessed herself a murderess, having died in 1632. George Villiers, the son of a Leicestershire knight, was born in 1592. He was early sent abroad, and on his return in 1615, he attracted James's notice, was made a gentleman of the chamber, and so grew in favour, that in less than three years he was appointed master of the horse, knight of the Garter, chief justice in eyre north of Trent, Lord Whaddon, Viscount Villiers, and earl of BuckA quarrel concerning Church property in Bo-ingham. He afterwards attained the higher dignities hemia, beteen the Romanists and the Protestants, induced the latter to attempt to throw off the rule of the house of Austria; the Elector Palatine was chosen king by the insurgents, but the attempt miscarried, and in the end he lost even his paternal states, dying broken-hearted in the year 1632. * Robert Carr, a younger son of a family on the Scottish border that had suffered in the cause of Mary of Scotland, was early received as the king's page, and was knighted at his coronation in EngLand. The high offices of lord-treasurer and lordchamberlain were soon bestowed on him, he was of marquis and duke, and was as great a favourite with Charles I. as he had been with his father. His conduct, however, had a very unhappy influence on the relations between Charles and his people; he was impeached, and, though screened from parliamentary vengeance by his master, fell a victim to assassination, Aug. 23, 1628. He had married the daughter of the earl of Rutland, a rich heiress, and he left two sons, one killed in the civil war, and the other the profligate minister of Charles II., con demned to an odious immortality as the Zimri of Dryden. volved James in difficulties through | became the sinister supporter, Elizabeth's motto was soon replaced by "BEATI PACIFICI;" and the thistle, sometimes dimidiated with the rose, appeared in addition to her royal badges. her extravagant expenses, and was suspected of carrying on a secret correspondence with Rome'. She died March 1, 1619, and was buried at Westminster, May 13. Their children were, Henry, born Feb. 19, 1593, to whom Queen Elizabeth was godmother. He was created prince of Wales, and made a knight in 1610, on which occasion a feudal aid was demanded, and reluctantly paid, though the young prince was himself popular, being looked on as likely to prove an enterprising king. He died, greatly regretted, Nov. 5, 1612. CHARLES became king. Elizabeth, born Aug. 19, 1596, was married Feb. 14, 1613, to the Elector Palatine; she became for a short time queen of Bohemia, and, after a life of great vicissitudes, died in London, Feb. 13, 1662. The princes Rupert and Maurice, who bore a conspicuous part in the civil wars, were her sons; and her daughter Sophia was the mother of the first king of the House of Brunswick, George I. Robert, Mary, Margaret and Sophia died young. A material alteration in the royal arms marked the reign of this king. In judging of the character of James, it is necessary to make ample allowance for the unfavourable circumstances under which he grew up. He never experienced a parent's care, and he fell early into the hands of worthless favourites. His poverty rendered him a mere tool in the hands of the unprincipled English ministers, and he was obliged to submit to many mortifications at the hands of his native subjects, which gave him a fixed dislike to Presbyterianism. When he came to England, the clergy of the Church offered, by their deferential manner, and their expressed admiration of his learning, a gratifying contrast to the stern, if not rude behaviour of the Scots; he resolved at once to identify himself with episcopacy, and was easily persuaded that its enemies were also enemies to monarchy. Events have proved that this conclusion was perfectly just, but James did not possess the firmness to curb his parliaments as his predecessor had done, and his imprudent measures only prepared the way for the ruin of the state. James had been carefully educated by the celebrated George Buchanan, and he was the author of several works, both in prose and poetry, which, though now censured as pedantic, shew him to have possessed a cultivated mind, and a style quite equal to the generality of writers of his time; he also aspired to theological learning, and he founded a seminary for champions in the Romish controversy). His amusements, however, were of the coarsest description: cock-fighting, bull, bear, and lion-baiting, and the more ordinary field sports occupied his time to the utter neglect of public affairs', which his ministers managed of Charles II. and the well-known Chelsea Hospital for invalided soldiers erected on the site. * Stow, in his Chronicle, records the care taken for the accommodation of the wild beasts in the Tower, and the frequent combats between them and fierce dogs in the presence of the court, in as grave a style as if he were dealing with the most important public affairs. In answer to remonstrances on the subject, he declared "he would rather go back to Scotland than sit at a desk for a day." Attempts are made to re-establish the Romish worship in Ireland, but they are checked by the deputy (Lord Mountjoy). almost at their own pleasure. Though for England, reaching Berwick April his jealous fears brought his unhappy 6, and London May 7. He is crowned, cousin, Arabella Stuart ", to destruc- with his queen, at Westminster, July tion, and his wish for the Spanish | 25. alliance led him to sacrifice Ralegh, he was, on principle, averse to bloodshed, and habitually merciful in his dealings with offenders. He was a patron of learning", and promoted the present translation of the Holy Scriptures; and, though weak and vain, he must be considered a kindly-disposed, well-meaning man, although unfortu-gether with several partisans. nately a very indifferent king. m She was the daughter of Charles, earl of Lenox, his father's brother, and was by some lawyers considered to have a better title to the crown than the king himself. One of the objects attributed to Ralegh and others was to raise her to the throne, and she was in consequence held in a kind of honourable custody to prevent her marriage. She was, however, clandestinely united to William Seymour, Lord Beauchamp (afterwards duke of Somerset, like herself a descendant of Henry VII.) in 1611, attempted to escape with him to the continent, but was retaken, and died a lunatic in the Tower in 1615. She was buried beside Mary, queen of Scots, and Prince Henry, but without funeral pomp, "lest,' says Camden, "it should seem to reflect on the king's justice." Two eminent men of his era may be mentioned, Sir Edward Coke and Sir Francis Bacon. The first was born in Norfolk in 1554, and was a member of Trinity College, Cambridge. He became eminent as a lawyer, was Speaker of the House of Commons in 1593, and long held the office of attorneygeneral, in which post he shewed much zeal in prosecuting to conviction the earl of Essex and Sir Walter Ralegh, as well as the Gunpowder Plot conspirators, overwhelming all alike with the coarsest language. In 1606 Coke was made a judge, but he fell into disgrace after the trial of the murderers of Sir Thomas Overbury, and was removed from the bench. He endeavoured to gain the protection of the favourite, Buckingham, but failing in this, from a vehement defender of prerogative he became conspicuous for his opposition to the measures of the court. He was in consequence imprisoned at one time, and at another made sheriff, in order to disqualify him from a seat in parliament; and on his death, which happened in the year 1634, his papers were seized, though without finding anything to justify the levy of a fine on his heir. He was the author of works which are of authority in the courts of law to the present day, but his conduct as a judge has been censured, and as a member of parliament was clearly the result of faction. Francis Bacon was born in 1561, and was the son of Sir Nicholas Bacon, and nephew of Lord Burghley. He was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, and when only sixteen was sent abroad in the suite of Sir Amias Paulet, ambassador to France. On his return he studied the law, attained in succession the offices of attorney-general, lord keeper, and lord chancellor, and was made a peer, as viscount St. Alban's. But this seeming A conspiracy to place Arabella Stuart on the throne is discovered. Sir Walter Ralegh, the lords Cobham and Grey, are seized, in July, to Many new peers created, as also knights of the Bath, and knights bachelor P. Sir Walter Ralegh and the other prisoners are removed early in November to Winchester, and there tried and convicted; but three only are executed'. prosperity proved his ruin. Though a profound philosopher, and worthy of the highest honour for his scientific researches and writings, he was a weak, vain, ostentatious man, and involved himself in debts, to relieve which he was said to receive bribes from suitors in his court; the charge was believed, and, after a brief tenure of office, he was impeached, condemned, and sentenced to fine and imprisonment, though it does not appear that any of his judgments were reversed as unjust. Bacon descended to the most abject supplications to the king, and was soon set at liberty, his fine also being remitted. He lived in retirement for a few years, and then died rather suddenly, April 9, 1626. Thomas Nevil, dean of Canterbury, dispatched by Archbishop Whitgift, was one of the carliest of these, and was gratified by the king's declaration of his firm intention to maintain the Church in the state his predecessor had left it. The Puritans met him on the road with what they termed the Millenary Petition, from the thousand ministers, "all groaning as under a common burden of human rites and ceremonies," who were expected to, but did not sign it; the actual number was but about 750. The Universities issued formal replies to its allegations, which were also discussed at the Hampton Court conferences. P The knights bachelor alone, according to Stow, amounted to "three or four hundred." This profusion in the bestowal of honours contrasted strangely with the conduct of the deceased queen, and was made the occasion of popular satire, a new "Art of Memory" being said to be necessary if a man would keep in mind the names and titles now first heard of. The courts were then held there, in consequence of the plague prevailing in London. George Brooke, Bartholomew Brookesby, Anthony Copley, Sir Griffin Markham, and two priests, William Clarke and William Watson, were convicted, and Sir Edward Parham acquitted, Nov. 15; Sir Walter Ralegh was condemned Nov. 17: Lord Cobham, Nov. 25; Lord Grey, Nov. 26, Brooke (brother to Lord Cobham) was beheaded Dec. 5: Clarke and Watson were hanged Nov, 20: Cobham, Grey, and Markham were reprieved on the scaffold, Dec. 9. Lord Grey died in the Tower in 1616, and Ralegh was temporarily set at liberty about the same time; Cobham was, after a long imprisonment, released, and died in poverty in 1619; Sir Griffin Markham, Copley, and Brookesby were banished. A.D. 1604. Conferences held before the king at Hampton Court, between the archbishop of Canterbury (Whitgift), eight bishops, five deans, and two doctors, and Dr. Reynolds and three more of the Puritan party, Jan. 14, 15, 16. Some slight alterations in the Book of Common Prayer are agreed on, and a new version of the Holy Scriptures ordered. Jesuits and seminary priests ordered, by proclamation dated Feb. 22, to quit the realm before March 19. Archbishop Whitgift dies, Feb. 29. He is succeeded (Dec. 10) by Richard Bancroft, bishop of London. The parliament meets March 19, and sits until July 7. The king addresses a speech to them, in which he recommends the union of England and Scotland; professes himself a member of the Church of England; and censures the doubtful loyalty of the Romanists, and "the sect rather than religion of the Puritans and Novellists." The first act of the parliament was "a most joyful and just recognition of the immediate, lawful, and undoubted succession, descent, and right of the crown," [1 Jac. I. c. 1]. Commissioners were appointed to treat with the Scots for the union of the two countries He was a Lancashire man, born in 1544. He had been chaplain to Whitgift, having gained his notice by his active opposition to the Puritans at Cambridge, while he was college tutor. He preached a celebrated sermon at Paul's-cross, in 1589, which gave great offence to many of the courtiers, as he truly remarked that the main cause of the complaints daily made against the governors of the Church was the desire to possess their revenues; he was, however, favourably noticed by the queen, was in 1597 made bishop of London, and attended her at her death. Bishop Bancroft bore a leading part in the Hampton Court conferences, and, shortly after becoming primate, he held the Puritanical party in check; the well-known canons of 1604 were prepared under his direction, and he laboured to re-establish episcopacy in Scotland. He died Nov. 2, 1610, and was buried at Lambeth. These, the original of our present customs duties, consisted, beside some less important matters, of a duty of 3s. on each tun of wine imported, and of 15. in the pound on the value of other goods; aliens generally paid double. The preamble states that these duties had been enjoyed, time out of mind, by the king's predecessors, "by authority of parliament, for defence of the realm and keeping and safeguard of the seas." Tunnage had been granted to Edward III. in 1372, and poundage to Henry V. in 1415. Both had been granted, in similar terms to those now used, ever since the time of Edward IV., but only for the life of each monarch. Charles I., when they were refused by the Parliament, levied them as on his own authority, a step which had the most fatal consequences. [c. 2]; the statutes of Elizabeth against Jesuits, seminary priests, and recusants in general, were confirmed [c. 4]; and, to correct an abuse that had prevailed in her days, bishops were disabled to alienate any of the possessions of their sees [c. 3]; tunnage and poundage were granted to the king [c. 33]; and as the plague raged at the time, provision was made for a rate for the support of the infected [c. 31], who were not to leave their houses, "having any infectious sores uncured," under the penalty of death. Another act [c. 12] declared witchcraft felony without benefit of clergy. The convocation meets, under the presidency of Bancroft, bishop of London. A book of Canons, prepared by him, is accepted by the convocation, and assented to by the king". A treaty of peace and commerce concluded with the king of Spain and the archdukes of Austria, Aug. 18. The king bound himself thereby to give no further aid to the "Hollanders, or other enemies of the king of Spain and the archdukes," and to endeavour to procure a peace between them and the restoration of the cautionarytowns". In return, commercial privileges were granted, and "moderation to be had in the proceedings of the Inquisition" "These canons, 141 in number, are mainly a republication of older ones, but some new ones were introduced, which authoritatively condemn the dogmas of the Puritans; hence they have been represented, though unjustly, as merely designed to augment the power of the Church. They have never received parliamentary sanction, and therefore are considered by the courts of common law to be obligatory on the clergy only. Albert, brother of the emperor Rudolph, and his wife Isabella, sister of the king of Spain. As in the instance of Philip and Mary, they were both styled archdukes. See A.D. 1585. The king was bound by treaty not to give up these towns to the Spaniards; but he declared that if the States refused to enter into a pacification, he should consider himself at liberty to act as he should judge just and honourable regarding them; meanwhile his garrisons were forbidden to take any further part in the war. Among these was the liberty of carrying goods from Germany to Spain; but as it was to be apprehended that the English merchants would allow the use of their names and ships to the Hollanders, this was strictly forbidden, as was any connivance of English magistrates, upon peril of the king's majesty's indignation, loss of their offices, and other more grievous punishments to be inflicted at the king's pleasure." The Hollanders regarded themselves as abandoned; and a dislike grew up between the two nations, which resulted in the massacre of Amboyna, and the naval wars of the time of the Commonwealth. Attempts are made to re-establish the Romish worship in Ireland, but they are checked by the deputy (Lord Mountjoy). almost at their own pleasure. Though | for England, reaching Berwick April his jealous fears brought his unhappy 6, and London May 7. He is crowned, cousin, Arabella Stuart ", to destruc- with his queen, at Westminster, July tion, and his wish for the Spanish 25. alliance led him to sacrifice Ralegh, he was, on principle, averse to bloodshed, and habitually merciful in his dealing with offenders. He was a patron of learning", and promoted the present translation of the Holy Scriptures; and, though weak and vain, he must be considered a kindly-disposed, well-meaning man, although unfortu nately a very indifferent king. A conspiracy to place Arabella Stuart on the throne is discovered. Sir Walter Ralegh, the lords Cobham and Grey, are seized, in July, together with several partisans. Many new peers created, as also knights of the Bath, and knights bachelor P. Sir Walter Ralegh and the other prisoners are removed early in November to Winchester, and there tried and convicted; but three only are executed. prosperity proved his ruin. Though a profound philosopher, and worthy of the highest honour for his scientific researches and writings, he was a She was the daughter of Charles, earl of Lenox, his father's brother, and was by some lawyers considered to have a better title to the crown than the king himself. One of the objects attributed to Ra-weak, vain, ostentatious man, and involved himself legh and others was to raise her to the throne, and she was in consequence held in a kind of honourable custody to prevent her marriage. She was, however, clandestinely united to William Seymour, Lord Beauchamp (afterwards duke of Somerset, like herself a descendant of Henry VII.) in 1611, attempted to escape with him to the continent, but was retaken, and died a lunatic in the Tower in 1615. She was buried beside Mary, queen of Scots, and Prince Henry, but without funeral pomp, "lest," says Camden, "it should seem to reflect on the king's justice." Two eminent men of his era may be mentioned, Sir Edward Coke and Sir Francis Bacon. The first was born in Norfolk in 1554, and was a member of Trinity College, Cambridge. He became eminent as a lawyer, was Speaker of the House of Commons in 1593, and long held the office of attorneygeneral, in which post he shewed much zeal in prosecuting to conviction the earl of Essex and Sir Walter Ralegh, as well as the Gunpowder Plot conspirators, overwhelming all alike with the coarsest language. In 1606 Coke was made a judge, but he fell into disgrace after the trial of the murderers of Sir Thomas Overbury, and was removed from the bench. He endeavoured to gain the protection of the favourite, Buckingham, but failing in this, from a vehement defender of prerogative he became conspicuous for his opposition to the measures of the court. He was in consequence imprisoned at one time, and at another made sheriff, in order to disqualify him from a seat in parliament; and on his death, which happened in the year 1634, his papers were seized, though without finding anything to justify the levy of a fine on his heir. He was the author of works which are of authority in the courts of law to the present day, but his conduct as a judge has been censured, and as a member of parliament was clearly the result of faction. Francis Bacon was born in 1561, and was the son of Sir Nicholas Bacon, and nephew of Lord Burghley. He was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, and when only sixteen was sent abroad in the suite of Sir Amias Paulet, ambassador to France. On his return he studied the law, attained in succession the offices of attorney-general, lord keeper, and lord chancellor, and was made a peer, as viscount St. Alban's. But this seeming in debts, to relieve which he was said to receive bribes from suitors in his court; the charge was believed, and, after a brief tenure of office, he was impeached, condemned, and sentenced to fine and imprisonment, though it does not appear that any of his judgments were reversed as unjust. Bacon descended to the most abject supplications to the king, and was soon set at liberty, his fine also being remitted. He lived in retirement for a few years, and then died rather suddenly, April 9, 1626. • Thomas Nevil, dean of Canterbury, dispatched by Archbishop Whitgift, was one of the earliest of these, and was gratified by the king's declaration of his firm intention to maintain the Church in the state his predecessor had left it. The Puritans met him on the road with what they termed the Millenary Petition, from the thousand ministers, "all groaning as under a common burden of human rites and ceremonies," who were expected to, but did not sign it; the actual number was but about 750. The Universities issued formal replies to its allegations, which were also discussed at the Hampton Court conferences. P The knights bachelor alone, according to Stow, amounted to "three or four hundred." This profusion in the bestowal of honours contrasted strangely with the conduct of the deceased queen, and was made the occasion of popular satire, a new " Art of Memory" being said to be necessary if a man would keep in mind the names and titles now first heard of. 4 The courts were then held there, in consequence of the plague prevailing in London. George Brooke, Bartholomew Brookesby, Anthony Copley, Sir Griffin Markham, and two priests, William Clarke and William Watson, were convicted, and Sir Edward Parham acquitted, Nov. 15; Sir Walter Ralegh was condemned Nov. 17: Lord Cobham, Nov. 25; Lord Grey, Nov. 26. Brooke (brother to Lord Cobham) was beheaded Dec. 5: Clarke and Watson were hanged Nov. 29; Cobham, Grey, and Markham were reprieved on the scaffold, Dec. 9. Lord Grey died in the Tower in 1616, and Ralegh was temporarily set at liberty about the same time; Cobham was, after a long imprisonment, released, and died in poverty in 1619; Sir Griffin Markham, Copley, and Brookesby were banished. |