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large army, under pretence of deciding their differences. He summoned the Scottish barons before him, and declared in favour of Baliol, whose feeble character made him unsuspicious of duplicity. He then proceeded to treat Baliol and the Scots as his subjects; and, on Baliol unexpectedly revolting against such treatment, Edward defeated his army at Dunbar, took him prisoner, obliged him to renounce his crown, and then allowed him to retire into France, where he died.

Edward now treated the Scots like a conquered people, till, roused by the example of the celebrated Sir William Wallace, they rose against their oppressor. Under this brave leader they maintained a glorious but unequal contest for eight years. Scotland at length was overwhelmed by the great forces of Edward; and the unfortunate Wallace, who refused to surrender, wandered among the mountains with a few adherents; but was at length betrayed into Edward's hands, and brought to London; where, after being treated with great indignity, he was condemned and executed as a traitor, on the 23rd of August, 1305.

The death of Wallace has fixed an everlasting stain on the memory of Edward.

The Scots regained possession of their ancient kingdom under Robert Bruce, the grandson of the rival of Baliol, who was crowned king. Edward, inflamed with rage, vowed that he would march into Scotland and never return till he had subdued it. He kept his vow, for he never returned. After many fruitless attempts against Bruce and his adherents, Edward was taken ill at Carlisle, and died, 7th July, 1307, enjoining his son, with his last breath, never to give up the enterprise, till Scotland was subdued.

X.

CHARACTER OF EDWARD THE SECOND.

THIS prince strikingly resembled his father in the accomplishments of his person as well as in his countenance; but in other respects he seems to have inherited only the defects of his character, for he was cruel and illiberal, without his courage or capacity. He had levity, indolence, and irresolution, in common with other weak princes; but the distinguishing foible of his character was that unaccountable passion for a reigning favourite, to which he sacrificed every other consideration of policy and convenience, and at last fell a miserable victim to his folly. He abandoned the attempt to conquer Scotland, and allowed himself to be entirely governed by Piers Gavestone, the dissolute companion of his youth, whom his father had banished the kingdom. In his society he spent his time in frivolous amusements, till the barons, provoked by the insolence of the favourite, and the imbecility of the monarch, had recourse to arms and put Gavestone to death.

HISTORICAL EVENTS.

BATTLE OF BANNOCKBURN.-The king was at length compelled to prosecute the war with Scotland; and, calling out the whole military force of the kingdom, marched into that country at the head of a hundred thousand men. Bruce could muster only thirty thousand, and these unequal forces met at a place called Bannockburn, near Stirling. A battle took place on

the 25th of June, 1315, in which the English were defeated with great slaughter, and Edward himself narrowly escaped by flight. This battle decided the contest, and secured the independence of Scotland.

THE SPENCERS.-Edward, unmindful of the fate of Gavestone, made choice of a new favourite, in the person of Hugh de Spencer, and thus again roused the enmity of the nobility. Another rebellion broke out, headed as before, by the Earl of Lancaster. The rebels, however, were defeated, and Lancaster being taken was put to death with the same cruelty which he had shown to Gavestone. But Spencer and his father soon incurred the general hatred, and Queen Isabella, a violent and profligate woman, flying to France with her son, the nobility sent for her. She returned, and collected a numerous party of the banished nobles. The king fled at her approach, and the unfortunate Spencers were taken, and both put to death, the father being in the ninetieth year of his age.

EDWARD'S DEATH.-The king was seized while attempting to take shelter in Wales. He was placed under the custody of two ruffians, Maltravers and Gournay, whose instructions from the infamous queen may be learned from their actions. They endeavoured to put an end to his life by a course of brutal treatment. They hurried him from place to place in the middle of the night and half-naked. Among other acts of cruelty, it is said they shaved him for sport in the open fields, using filthy water from a neighbouring ditch; an insult which his fortitude, hitherto great, could not withstand. Finding that he continued to live notwithstanding their brutalities, they resolved to murder him, and having conveyed him to Berkeley Castle, in Gloucestershire,

they accomplished their design in the most diabolical and unheard of manner. His horrid shrieks, however, betrayed the dreadful secret, and the crime was soon afterwards made known by the confession of one of the murderers. This shocking deed was done on the 21st of September, 1327, in the twentieth year of his reign. "The shrieks of death through Berkeley's roofs that ring, Shrieks of an agonising king."

In this reign there happened the most terrible earthquake that had ever been felt in England: also, a famine, which lasted three years, and destroyed a vast number of the people.

XI.

CHARACTER OF EDWARD THE THIRD.

EDWARD THE THIRD was one of the greatest princes that ever swayed the sceptre of England, whether we consider him as a warrior, a lawgiver, a monarch, or a man. He was tall, majestic, and well-shaped, with a piercing eye, and aquiline visage. He excelled most of his contemporaries in feats of arms and personal address. He was courteous, affable, eloquent, and agreeable in conversation; and had the art of commanding the affections of his subjects without seeming to solicit popularity. He was a constitutional knight-errant. and his example diffused the spirit of chivalry through the whole nation. The love of glory was certainly the predominant passion of Edward, to the gratification of which, he did not

scruple sometimes to sacrifice the feelings of humanity, the lives of his subjects, and the interest of his country. Nothing could have induced or enabled his people to submit to the weight of taxes with which they were encumbered in this reign, but the love and admiration of his person, the fame of his victories, and the wisdom of his legislation.

HISTORICAL EVENTS.

THE military spirit of Edward the Third tended considerably to impoverish his country, both by withdrawing the services of the ablest part of its population, and by the direct taxation required to support his troops. War was esteemed the noblest profession; the soldier was paid at a rate double that of the labourer and cultivator of the soil. But need for money compelled Edward to increase the privileges which the middle classes already began to enjoy. They had now considerable weight in the legislature, for the representatives of the commons were allowed to form a distinct legislative body. In 1343, the knights of the shires. were separated from the barons, and sat with the burgesses, which gave much additional influence to the Lower House of Parliament. Their Speaker not only presided in their deliberations, but pleaded for their rights and privileges. They remonstrated against official misconduct, and chose the person who should preside over them.

Seventy parliaments were summoned during this reign; and the members or representatives received regular "wages" from their constituents for their services in the House of Commons.

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