the rebellions against him, and made the executions, though not remarkably fevere, which he found neceffary for the maintenance of his authority, appear cruel, as well as iniquitous to his people. Yet, without pretending to apologize for thefe crimes, which must ever be held in deteftation, it may be remarked, that he was infenfibly led into this blaracable conduct, by a train of incidents, which few men poffefs virtue enough to withftand. The injuftice with which his predeceffor had treated him, in first condemning him to banifhment, and then defpoiling him of his patrimony, made him naturally think of re

fions, particularly in the dangerous infurrections of the crown, he acted with a degree of fpirit and prudence fuperior to his years. But his education was miferably neglected: or, rather, he was intentionally corrupted and debauched by three ambitious uncles, who, being defirous of retaining the management of his affairs, encouraged him to fpend his time in the company of diffolute young people of both fexes, in a continual courfe of fcafting and diffipation. By this means, he Contracted a tafte for pomp and pleasure, and a dislike to bufinefs. The greatest foible in the character of this unhappy prince, was an exceffive fondness for, and unbounded livenge, and of recovering his loft rights; the berality to his favourites, which enraged his headstrong zeal of the people hurried him uncles, particularly the duke of Gloucefter, into the throne; the care of his own fecurity, and difgufted fuch of the nobility as did not as well as his ambition, made him an ufurper; partake of his bounty. He was an affec-and the steps have always been fo few between tionate husband, a generous mafter, and a faithful friend; and, if he had received a proper education, might have proved a great and good king. Henry.

the prifons of princes and their graves, that we need not wonder that Richard's fate was no exception to the general rude. All these confiderations made the king's fituation, if he retained any fenfe of virtue, very much to be § 50. Character of HENRY IV. lamented; and the inquietudes with which The great popularity which Henry enjoyed he poffeffed his envious greatnefs, and the before he attained the crown, and which had remorfes by which, it is faid, he was confo much aided him in the acquifition of it, tinually haunted, rendered han an object of was entirely loft, many years before the end our pity, even when feated upon the throne. of his reign; and he governed the people But it must be owned, that his prudence, more by terror than affection, more by his vigilance, and forefight in maintaining his own policy than their fenfe of duty and alle-power, were admirable; his command of giance. When men came to reticet in cold Blood on the crimes which led him to the throne; and the rebellion against his prince; the depofition of a lawful king, guilty foinetimes of oppreffion, but more frequently of imprudences; the exclufion of the true heir; the murder of his fovereign and near relation; thefe were fuch enormities as drew on hin the hatred of his subjects, sanctified all

temper remarkable; his courage, both military and political, without blemish and he poffcffed many qualities which fitted him for his high station, and which rendered his ufurpation of it, though pernicious in aftertimes, rather falutary during his own reign, to the English nation.

Died 1413. Aged 43.

Hume.

51.

Another Character of HENRY IV.

Henry IV. was of a middle ftature, well proportioned, and perfect in all the exercifes of arms and chivalry: his countenance was fevere, rather than ferene, and his difpofition four, fullen, and referved: he poßeffed a great fhare of courage, fortitude, and punetration; was naturally imperious, though he bridled his temper with a great deal of caution; fuperftitious, though without the leaft tincture of virtue and true religion; and meanly parfimonious, though juftly cenfured for want of economy, and ill-judged profufion. He was tame from caution, humble from fear, cruel from policy, and rapacious from indigence. He rofe to the throne by perfidy and treafon; and established his authority in the blood of his fubiects, and died a penitent for his fins, becaufe he could no longer enjoy the fruit of his tranfgreffions. Smollett.

52. Character of HENRY V. This prince poffeffed many eminent virtues; and, if we give indulgence to ambition in a monarch, or rank it, as the vulgar do, among his virtues, they were unitained by any confiderable blemish; his abilities appeared equally in the cabinet and in the field: the bidrefs of his caterprizes was no lefs remark - | able than his perfonal valour in conducting them. He had the talent of attaching his friends by adability, and gaining his enemics by address and clemency.

armies, made fome amends to both nations for the calamities infeparable from those wars in which his fhort reign was almoft occupied. That he could forgive the Earl of Marche, who had a better right to the throne than himfelf, is a fure proof of his magnanimity; and that the carl relied fo on his friendship, is no lefs a proof of his eftablished character for candour and fincerity.

There remain, in hiftory, few infiances of fuch mutual trust; and ftill fewer, where neither found reason to repent it.

His

The exterior figure of this great prince, as well as his deportment, was engaging. ftature was fomewhat above the middle fize; his countenance beautiful, his limbs genteel. and flender, but full of vigour; and he excelled in all warlike and manly exercifes.

Home.

Died 31ft August, 1422; in the year of his age 34; of his reign, the 10th.

53- Another Chara&er of HLNRYV. Henry was tall and flender, with a long neck, and engaging afpe&t,, and limbs of the noft elegant turn. He excelled all the youth of that age, in agility, and the exercite of arms; was hardy, patient, laborious, and more capable of enduring cold, hunger, and fatigue, than any individual in his armv. His valour was fuch as no danger could startle, and no difficulty oppofe; nor was his policy inferior to his courage

He managed the diffentions among his enemies with fuch addrefs, as fpoke him confummate in the arts of the cabinet. He fomerted their jealoufy, and converted their I mutual relentment to his own advantage.

The English, dazzled by the luftre of his character, till more by that of his victories, were reconciled to the defects of his title. The French almost forgot he was an chey; Henry poffeffed a self-taught genius, that and his care of maintaining justice in his civil blazed out at once, without the aid of inftructration, and preferving difcipline in histion and experience; and a fund of natural

fagacity,

fancity, that made ample amends for all thefe dies. He was chaffe, temperate, moderate and devote, fcrupuloufly juft in his adminifration, and feverely exact in the difcipline of his army; upon which he knew his glory and fuccefs, in a great meafure, depended. In a word, it must be owned, he was without an equal in the arts of war, policy, and government. But we cannot be fo far dazzled with his great qualities, as to overlook the defects in his character. His pride and imperious temper loft him the hearts of the French nobility, and frequently fell out into outrage and ale; as at the fiege of Melun, when he cared the Marechal Tifle d'Adam with the urmet indignity, although that nobleman had given him no other offence, than that of coming into his prefence in plain decent apparel.

HUME's Account of HENRY VI. (For there is no regular Überafter of this Prime given be this Hytorian) is expreffed in ice following Manner.

|

us, at this diftance of time, to determine! There reinain no proofs on record of any confiderable violation of the laws, except in the death of the duke of Gloucefter, which was a private crime, formed no precedent, and was but too much of a piece with the ufual ferocity and cruelty of the times.

55. SMOLLET'S Account of the Death of HENRY VI. with fome Strictures of Character, is as follows.

This infurreétion in all probability haftened the death of the unfortunate Heary, who was found dead in the Tower, in which he had been confined fince the reftoration of Edward. The greater part of hiftorians have alledged that he was affaffinated by the duke of Gloucefter, who was a prince of the mott brutal difpofition; while fome moderns, from an affecurions of fingularity, athrm that Henry died of grief and vexation. This, no doubt, might have been the f; and it mult be owned, that nothing appear in hittory, from which either Edward or Richard could be convicted of having contrived or perpetrated his murder: but, at the fame time, we must obferve some concurring circunftances that amount to frong prefump-" tion against the reigning monarch. was of a hale corvitution, but wất turestor dity, naturally in nibe of alition, and hackeneyed in the vicifhtudes of ratune, of " that one would not expect he fhould have died of age and iminiity, or that ins gifer would have been affected by grief aring from his latt difader. 1; fudden deata was

In this manner finished the reign of Henry VI. who, while yet in his cradle, had been proci imed king both of France and England, I and who began his life with the most splendid, projects which any prince in Europe had ever cmoved. The rev om was unhappy for h people, as it was the fource of civil Wars; | but was almost entirely fadifferent to Henry hmielf, who was utteris inespable of exercifang his unthority, and who, provided he met Parsenndly with good ulaže, ves equally ely as he was equally entlased, in the hands of his enemies and of his friends. His weak-fufpicious, as well as the confuricure at Lefs, and his difputed tide, were the chief which he died, immediately after the fiɩpprocrics of his public vais fortunes: but whether fion of a revellion, which feemed to dedure

queen and his minifters were not guilty of fome great abules of power, it is not cafy for

*Revolt of the bastard of Falconbridge.

that

though capable of activity in great emergencies; and lefs fitted to prevent ills by wife precautions, than to remedy them after they took place, by his vigour and enterprize. Hume.

$ 57. Another Caller of EDWARD IV.

He was a prince of the most elegant perfon and infinuating addrefs; endowed with the utmoft fortitude and intrepidity; poffcffed of like all his ancestors, was brutally cruel and uncommon fagacity and penetration; but, vindictive, perfidious, lewd, perjured, and rapacious; without one liberal thought, without one fentiment of humanity. Smollett. § 58. Another Character of EDWARD IV.

that Edward would never be quiet, while the head of the house of Lancaster remained alive; and lafty, the fufpicion is confirmed by the characters of the reigning king and his brother Richard, who were bloody, barbarous, and unrelenting. Very different was the difpofition of the ill-fated Henry, who, without any princely virtue or qualification, was totally free from cruelty or revenge: on the contrary, he could not, without reluctance, confent to the punishment of those malefactors who were facrificed to the public fafety; and frequently fuftained indignities of the groffeft nature, without discovering the leaft mark of refentment. He was chafte, pious, compaffionate, and charitable; and to inoffenfive, that the bishop, who was his confeffor for ten years, declares, that in all that time he had never committed When Edward afcended the throne, he was any fin that required penance or rebuke. one of the handfomeft men in England, and In a word, he would have adorned a perhaps in Europe. His noble mien, his cloifter though he difgraced a crown; and free and eafy way, his affable carriage, went was rather refpcctable for thofe vices he want-the hearts of all at firft fight. Thefe qualied, than for thofe virtues he poffeffed. He founded the colleges of Eaton and Windfor, and King's College, in Cambridge, for the reception of thofe fcholars who had begun their ftudies at Eaton.

On the morning that fucceeded his death, his body was expofed at St. Paul's church, in order to prevent unfavourable conjcctures, and, next day, fent by water to the abbey of Chertsey, where he was interred; but it was afterwards removed, by order of Richard III. to Windfor, and there buried with great funeral folemnity.

§ 56. Character of EDWARD IV. Edward IV. was a prince more fplendid and fhewy, than either prudent or virtuous; brave, though cruel; addicted to pleasure,

ties gained him efteem and affection, which ftood him in great ftead in feveral circunnftances of his life. For fome time he was exceeding liberal; but at length he grew covets ous, not fo much from his natural temper, as out of a neccffity to bear the immediate expences which his pleafure ran him into.

Though he had a great deal of wit, and a found judgment, he committed, however, feveral overlights. But the crimes Edward is moft juftly charged with, are his cruelty, perjury, and incontinence. The first appears in the great number of princes and lords he put to death, on the fcaffold, after he had taken them in battle. If there ever was reafon to thew mercy in cafe of rebellion, it was at that fatal time, when it was almoft impoffible to ftand neuter, and fo difficult to chute

the