solemn thanksgiving to God for the success of their arms.

He permitted the English to bury their dead in peace. He dismissed with ignominy one of his soldiers for inflicting a wound on the dead body of Harold, as it lay stretched on the ground; and sent the corse to Githa, the mother of the deceased, without accepting the offered ransom. After some slight resistance, London surrendered to the victorious Norman, who did not immediately enter the city, though its gates were thrown open, and the hostages delivered which he had demanded. He dispatched a body of troops thither to take possession of it, to erect a fortification therein, and to make the necessary preparations for his coronation, which he appointed to take place in Westminster Abbey, on the Christmas day following. In the mean time, to show his perfect security, he amused himself with hunting and hawking in the neighbourhood.

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Early on the morning of Christmas day, A. D. 1066, William, attended by the chief nobles of England and Normandy, repaired to Westminster Abbey, where he was crowned King of England, by Aldred, archbishop of York, assisted by Goisfred, bishop of Constance. former of these prelates, who was renowned for his eloquence, made an oration to the English in their own language; and concluded with asking them if they chose William for their King. To this they signified their assent with shouts and outcries. The bishop of Constance then put the same question to the Normans in their language, who replied in the same manner. The arch

bishop then administered to the duke of Normandy the oath which had been usually administered to the Saxon sovereigns, seated him on the throne, and placed the crown upon his head. Loud acclamations resounded on all sides; acclamations which so alarmed the Norman guards stationed without the abbey, that in a sudden transport of fear lest the English should be offering violence to their prince, they set fire to the neighbouring houses, and began to massacre the populace. Nor was their rage appeased till great mischief had been done. This incident was considered, in those times of darkness, as an omen of a turbulent unhappy reign.

CHARACTER OF WILLIAM I.

WILLIAM I., commonly called the Conqueror, was strong and graceful in his person, but his countenance was stern, and in the latter part of his life he became very corpulent. He excelled in horsemanship, archery, and in all manly and martial exercises. His passion for hunting was excessive; for the gratification of which he committed shameful acts of cruelty and injustice. He had ambition and boldness to attempt, and wisdom and courage to execute, the most arduous enterprizes. Temperance and chastity were his greatest virtues; ambition, avarice, and cruelty his predominant vices. His government was harsh and tyrannical. In short, he was one of the most illustrious generals and politicians, but one of the most arbitrary and cruel kings that ever sate upon the throne of England. Henry.

FIRST ACTS OF THE REIGN OF HENRY II. -CHA

RACTER OF HENRY II.

HENRY PLANTAGENET, eldest son of the Empress Matilda, and great-grandson of the Conqueror, was besieging the castle of a rebellious baron in Normandy, when he received the unexpected news of the death of king Stephen, to whom he was the appointed successor. Having finished the siege in which he was engaged, he began to make preparations for his voyage to England. He landed in that country, December 8th, 1154, and was crowned at Westminster, on the 19th of the same month, by Theobald, archbishop of Canterbury, in a numerous assembly of prelates and nobles.

This event gave great satisfaction to the people of England, as it put an end to the irregular succession of their kings, and to those destructive civil wars, which had brought their country to the very brink of ruin.

The first acts of Henry's government were equally wise and vigorous, confirming the high opinion, and pleasing promise, which his former conduct had afforded, of his spirit and abilities.

He immediately issued a proclamation, commanding all the foreign mercenaries who, in the former reign, had committed the most horrible depredations, to depart the kingdom by a certain day, under pain of death. Before the day appointed they all disappeared. He gave

orders to level with the ground, the numerous castles which had been erected in all parts of England, during the struggle between Stephen and Matilda. In a parliament held at London, he voluntarily granted a charter of liberties; or, rather renewed and confirmed that which had been granted by his grandfather, Henry I. The coin, which had been shamefully adulterated in the preceding reign, Henry restored to its standard purity; and the laws, which had been as shamefully relaxed, he raised to their proper dignity and vigour. To secure all these blessings to his subjects, and to prevent all disputes about the succession, he made his barons and prelates take an oath of fealty to his eldest son, prince William, and failing him, to his second son, Henry. In a word, it may be said that no king of England, since Alfred the Great, had ever done so much good, or gained so much love, in so short a time as Henry II. And this he did in the first year of his reign, though it was only the twenty-first of his age. Henry II. was certainly the greatest and most accomplished prince of the Norman line, and inferior to very few of our princes at any period. In his person, he was of middle stature, remarkably strong and active, but inclining to corpulence, against which he guarded himself by abstemiousness, and regular exercise. His countenance was comely, and his eyes had a mild lustre, except when he was angry, and then they became fierce and sparkling. In the very last years of his life, he mounted a horse with great agility, and rode with greater spirit than any of his attendants,

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either in hunting or on a journey. In his deportment he was polite and affable, except to persons of a haughty disposition and behaviour, whom he delighted to humble. His conversation was pleasant and facetious; his elocution easy and graceful. His heart was warm, and his passions strong; he was a zealous friend, a formidable enemy, a kind master, a too indulgent parent. His understanding, which was naturally good, was improved by an excellent education, by assiduous reading of the best books of the time, and by frequent conversation with the wisest men; by which means he became the most learned prince and the greatest politician of the age in which he flourished. His memory was so tenacious, that he remembered almost all he read or heard, and never forgot a face he had once seen. He avoided war from principles of prudence and humanity; but when it became apparently necessary, he carried it on with so much courage, conduct, and activity, that he constantly baffled all the schemes of his enemies. In the arts of peace he greatly delighted and excelled; being a strict and vigorous, but not unmerciful justiciary; a munificent patron of learning and learned men, and a great encourager of the arts; spending large sums in fortifying towns and castles, repairing old, and building new palaces, and adorning them with gardens, parks, and fish-ponds. So that one of his greatest enemics acknowledged, "That he was endowed with so many excellent qualities, both natural and acquired, that there was no prince in the world comparable to him."

Henry.