secured the affection of his subjects, his dispute with the Pontiff might have freed England from the humiliating authority which the see of Rome had arrogated. As it was, his precipitate opposition was succeeded by as disgraceful a concession. The Pope instigated the King of France to invade England; and John, to escape the immediate peril, surrendered his authority into the hands of the Pope's Legate-for five days resigned the possession of his crown and sceptreand agreed to pay an annual tribute, as an acknowledgement that England and Ireland were feudatories of the holy see. This degradation was in all probability deeply felt by the Barons and the people.

From this moment the imbecile King gradually perceived his authority weakening; and though he continued to pursue his subjects with the most grievous exactions, he was never free from that fear and suspicion which always haunt the mind of the

oppressor.

The year 1215 is amongst the most remarkable in English history. The Barons, exasperated by the continual tyranny of the King, took arms for the assertion of their own power. It is probable that the first impulse to this memorable contest was derived from their own pride and ambition ;-but the results which they obtained by their firmness allow us to believe, that they felt that their own rights could not be preserved, without an extension of the blessings of just government to those beneath them,and that a system which was built up of various degrees of oppression could have no better foundation than in the fears of those who endured it. The Barons demanded the restoration of those ancient privileges which they had formerly possessed; and they insisted upon such immunities for the clergy and people, as would ensure the observance of the great principles of civil government, After various suc

cessful contests with the power of the King, he at last consented to a solemn adjustment of their differences; and a place of meeting was appointed. The King and the Barons met at Runnemede, a plain

between Staines and Windsor, where, on the 19th of June, 1215, was signed Magna Charta, or the Great Charter of English Liberty.

The advantages which Magna Charta afforded to the Barons and the clergy, are not particularly interesting to the present age, as the hardships they were meant to lessen were only a part of the oppressions of the feudal system. But the immunities which this charter bestowed upon the great body of the people have been the foundation of those liberties which we enjoy to this day. They provided that no Baron should levy money from his vassals, except in particular cases of public service;-that weights and measures should be equal through the realm;-that merchants should not be illegally taxed; that free egress and regress should be afforded to freemen; that London and all chartered places should preserve their privileges, and not be taxed, except by the great council;that bridges should be equitably built and supported; -that freemen should dispose of their goods by will, or that, dying intestate, their next heirs should peacefully succeed; that courts of justice should be open and equal to all men;-that justice should not be paid for, or refused to any one; that the Sheriff should put no one on his trial without good cause and lawful witnesses;-that no freemen should be injured in person or goods except by the law of the land; and that redress should be given to all who had suffered illegally.

Imperfect as these regulations may appear in our own happy days of personal freedom and security, they were an immense stride towards good government from the unmitigated despotism of the feudal system. The unhappy tyrant, John, soon contrived to violate the Charter he had given;-but his reign was short. During the next half century the Charter was frequently disregarded;-but in the reign of Edward I. it was solemnly confirmed, and became the great root from which the laws of England have grown up into that system of equitable jurisprudence which has rendered them the admiration of the world.

Runnemede, the place so memorable in English history as the scene of this great triumph, is a narrow plain, about two miles in length. It is bounded on

the south by a line of fertile hills, on which it is said the Barons were encamped; and on the North by the river Thames, in which there is a small island, upon which, it is recorded, the treaty was signed. Runnemede, though possessing great picturesque beauty, might not, without its associations, excite the particular notice of the traveller;-but when it is regarded as the scene of one of the greatest national triumphs, from which the humblest amongst us has derived his birthright of freedom, it impresses the mind with a lofty and impassioned feeling, and becomes a sacred. spot, glowing with all the inspirations of patriotism. The following attempt to express the thoughts which this scene suggests, is amongst the imperfect productions of our boyhood:

RUNNEMEDE.

Fair Runnemede! oft hath my lingering eye
Paus'd on thy tufted green and cultur'd hill;
And there my busy soul would drink her fill
Of lofty dreams, which on thy bosom lie.--
Dear plain! never my feet have passed thee by,
At sprightly morn, high noon, or evening still,
But thou hast fashion'd all my pliant will
To soul-ennobling thoughts of Liberty.-
Thou dost not need a perishable stone

Of sculptur'd story;-records ever young
Proclaim the gladdening triumph thou hast known:—
The soil, the passing stream, hath still a tongue;
And every wind breathes out an eloquent tone,
That Freedom's self might wake, thy fields among.

K.

THE DEATH OF PIERS GAVESTON.

ON the edge of the road that leads from Warwick to Coventry, is a knoll now almost covered with trees, which was the scene of one of the most remarkable events in our history. It was

on this

mount that Piers Gaveston, the favourite of a weak monarch, (Edward II.), was beheaded. The original name of this place was Blacklow-hill. It is now called either by that name, or by that of Gavestonhill. We have visited this spot;-and the murder which was there committed appears to us to present a very appropriate illustration of the fierce and troublesome times, when force was opposed to force, and the conflicts of power had not yet submitted to the sacred dominion of law and justice.

In the preceding paper we have given a sketch of one of the most important transactions of English history-the granting of the Great Charter by King John. This event took place in the year 1215. The establishment of general freedom, and of legal obligations, in a rude and martial state of society, is generally the work not of a few years, but of whole generations. Though the terms of Magna Charta evidently imply that the great principles of civil liberty were very early developed in England, yet it is evident that the condition of the great body of the people was still slowly improved, and that the crown and the nobility were too often involved in disputes for power, which would not admit of any very decided social amelioration. During the long reign of Henry III. the country was distracted by civil contests; and in the succeeding sway of Edward I. the bold and martial character of the prince was communicated to the age in which he lived; and though many wholesome laws were established, the balance of authority and of interests in our constitution was still very imperfectly exhibited. The vices and frivolity of Edward II. again stirred up the con

tests between the Monarch and the Barons. The event which we are about to record shows to what daring extremities these contests would sometimes lead.

Previous to the accession of Edward II. to the throne, in the year 1307, he had submitted himself, with the most blind and obstinate confidence, to the councils of his favourite, Piers Gaveston. This

young man was a Gascon by birth. He is represented by historians to have been possessed of singular personal and mental acquirements;-to have been handsome, active, enterprising, and courageous-and superior in spirit and talent to the rough and unpolished Barons of the English Court. But he was notoriously unprincipled and profligate, and his pride and ambition were altogether of the most extravagant character. During the life of his father the young Prince Edward had exhibited marks of a vicious and dissolute disposition. He had incurred the displeasure of the King by his irregularities;-and his crimes being ascribed to the evil suggestions of Gaveston, the companion of his vices was banished the kingdom. The first act of the accession of Edward II. was to recall his favourite, and to load him with fortune and honours. He made a grant to him of the whole estate belonging to the earldom of Cornwall; and also bestowed upon him a sum of money, which, in the currency of our own days, would appear to exceed the most extravagant donations of the most thoughtless and luxurious princes of antiquity. Gaveston soon acquired an unbounded influence over the weak King. He removed all the high and responsible officers of the Court from their stations, and filled their places with his dependents. He procured himself to be appointed Great Chamberlain of the kingdom, and he became, indeed, the sole ruler of the English dominions. The Monarch bestowed upon him his own niece in marriage;-and consummated the greatness of his favourite by appointing him guardian of the realm during a voyage which he made to France. Had Gaveston possessed the greatest discretion, it is probable that these honours would have excited the utmost jealousy amongst the English nobles. But he was vain and presuming;-and his pride and insolence laid the foundation of an enmity, as extensive as it was bitter and unrelenting.

The unbounded power and ostentation of Gaveston soon called forth the fierce and uncompromising spirit