liffe and his followers, the severity with which he had satirized the prevailing vices of the clergy, and the rapacity of the Roman court, together with the low estimation in which the poetical art was then held, all concurred to expose him to obloquy and suffering. After having expended abroad, in acts of benevolence towards his fellow-exiles, the wealth he had previously accumulated, necessity compelled him to return to England, where he fell into the hands of his enemies, who treated him with great cruelty, and long detained him in dreary captivity. During this period of suffering, some of his best poems are supposed to have been composed. But the tide of prosperity and honour turned in his favour before his death. Henry Bolingbroke, the young duke of Lancaster, on his accession to the English crown, restored him to his former possessions, which he continued to enjoy till his death, which took place at Donnington castle, A. D. 1400, in the seventy-third year of his age. This great poet, (for such he must be deemed by all who take into their estimate of his writings the darkness of the age in which he lived,) stands alone in that department of literature to which his talents were chiefly devoted. But such was the mighty influence of his genius, that from the time in which he flourished, must be dated the origin and rapid progress of an art, to which we are indebted for our most refined intellectual enjoyments, and in which Britain is not inferior to any nation under heaven. M. Paris. R. Bacon. Oper. Brucker. Hist. Phil. A. Wood. Athen. Oxon. Dugdale. Leland, &c. &c. REFLECTIONS. Knowledge, like light, is diffusive and penetrating. It may, indeed, meet with temporary obstructions; it may be partially obscured by ignorance and error; the conflict may be long and arduous between the murky shades of superstition, and the radiance of intellectual light; but it will ultimately force its way through every intervening medium, and shine more and more unto the perfect day. So have we sometimes seen the celestial luminary, whose beams enlighten and fertilize the earth, struggling with the mists and vapours of the morning; his glorious orb is now dimly seen piercing through the dense atmosphere that surrounds us, and again it is shrouded and obscured by the circumambient vapour; until at length, after many alternate intervals of light and shade, the mists are dispersed, the sky becomes clear and cloudless, and the sun shines forth in his strength. The period of English history which has just been reviewed, was that in which an arduous struggle was maintained between light and darkness, between superstition, ignorance and mental delusion, and the knowledge of natural, moral, and revealed truth. In the issue of this contest we are deeply interested; for the light of the Reformation which dawned upon our island in the days of Wickliffe, though it was again obscured for a time, is that which still continues to shine with effulgence and glory upon our favoured land. It is truly gratifying to observe, the intimate connexion that may be frequently discovered between genuine philosophy and true religion. So far from being adverse, they are allies, instead of counteracting, they assist and strengthen each other,-often are they seen in close alliance, walking hand in hand together. Who are these distinguished luminaries of a former generation? They are not the Beckets, the Urbans, or the Innocents, whose only fame consists in the priestly ambition they displayed, and the spiritual tyranny they exercised. No! they were a Grosteste, a Bacon, a Wickliffe; men distinguished no less by their zeal in stemming the torrent of papal corruption, than by their labours for the advancement of science and learning. The vain-glorious sceptic, the half-witted infidel, may affect to ridicule religion as a mental infirmity, or an evidence of a weak and imbecile mind; but the history of all ages proves, that philosophy and religion are lovely plants, frequently nurtured in the same soil, and flourishing or decaying together. How humbling, how mortifying is it to human pride to observe, that men of mighty genius and almost bound the less erudition, were carried away by popular delusions, and cherished, in common with the unlettered vulgar, most visionary expectations! How forcibly are we reminded by this fact of the inefficacy of unassisted reason, however comprehensive and vigorous, to lead to the knowledge of the truth, and consequently of the necessity of divine instructions to the wisest no less than to the most ignorant of mankind. "The world by wisdom. knew not God." The mental vision must be purified by him who first "commanded light to shine out of darkness." How thankful should we be for an increasing measure of that wisdom which comes from above,-for that " sure word of prophecy which is as a light shining in a dark place!" Let us gratefully avail ourselves of the guidance of this celestial luminary, instead of leaning with presumptuous confidence to our own understandings. That which men of science in former ages fondly anticipated, is in reality enjoyed by us. Religion is that powerful agent, which has been found, by frequent trial, of sufficient efficacy to transmute whatever it touches into pure gold, however base and degenerate may have been the subject of this wondrous transformation. He that was before unprofitable and vile, becomes both useful and ornamental; a blessing to his immediate connexions, and an ornament to Christian society. Religion is also that sovereign panacea, that universal remedy, which alone can heal all the moral diseases of our nature; can restore, prolong, and perpetuate life, while immortality endures. With what ardour then should we seek, and with what gratitude receive, this inestimable boon! "Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift!" THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. PERIOD THE FIFTH. THE HOUSES OF LANCASTER AND YORK, INCLUDING 86 YEARS. ESSAY I. The Reign of HENRY IV., surnamed Bolingbroke. THE ambition which prompted the young duke of Lancaster to avenge the personal injuries he had sustained, by taking up arms against Richard II., hurling him from his throne, and usurping the crown of that much-esteemed prince, was attended with the most calamitous consequences. It led to a lengthened train of conspiracies, insurrections, and intestine feuds, which crowded the scaffold with illustrious victims, and deluged the kingdom with human blood. It is the painful task of the annalist,. who records the events of that sanguinary age, to present to his readers nothing but a sickening detail of treasonable, alliances and public executions, occasionally varied, but not relieved, by the melancholy recital of foreign wars, If the duke of Lancaster, who, at his accession, assumed the title of Henry IV., had been content to rest his claim on the choice of the people over whom he aspired to reign, the validity of that title would have been universally admitted: but by endeavouring to maintain it on the untenable grounds of conquest and hereditary right, he only rendered his usurpation more apparent, and prepared the way for future revolts. In vain did he pretend to have obtained the crown by his sword, when it was well known that he had landed in England with but eighty followers. Equally vain was the attempt to establish his hereditary claim; since, besides the unfortunate Richard, whom he had deposed, there were several descendants of elder branches of the family of Edwa III. than that from which he was derived; and particularly it had been determined by parliament, that Edmund Mortimer, the earl of March, stood next to the throne by hereditary succession. To compensate for the deficiency of his title, Henry had recourse to various prudential measures, calculated to impress the public mind, and secure the favour of the people. His coronation was conducted with peculiar soTemnity; the oil used on that occasion was generally believed to have been brought from heaven by the Virgin Mary, and presented to St. Thomas à Becket, to cheer and comfort him amidst his persecutions. An act of parliament was obtained, which cut off from the succession the other descendants of Edward III., by entailing the crown on Henry and his heirs all the peers of the realm who were supposed to be strongly attached to the deposed sovereign, were removed from places of trust, and degraded; while his most zealous partisans, (the chief of whom were the Piercies of Northumberland, and the earl of Westmoreland,) were laden with dignities and possessions. In order to secure the favour and zealous support of the clergy-whose influence was still considerable, though far inferior to that which had been possessed in former ages he avowed his intention of protecting the church against the assaults of the Lollards, and of crushing that heretical sect; though he himself, previously to his elevation, had openly espoused their cause. Some obnoxious statutes, passed during the preceding reign, were also repealed at the express desire of the king. |