The spilling of her blood by foreign knife, Nor dared revenge her death who gave him life: Nay, by fond Fear and fond Ambition led, Struck hands with those by whom her blood was shed. [throne, Call'd up to power, scarce warm on England's He fill'd her court with beggars from his own; Turn where you would, the eye with Scots was [thought;
Or English knaves who would be Scotsmen
To vain expense unbounded loose he gave,
The dupe of minions, and of slaves the slave;
On false pretences mighty sums he raised,
And damn'd those senates rich, whom poor he
[bread,
From empire thrown, and doom'd to beg her
On foreign bounty whilst a daughter fed,
He lavish'd sums, for her received, on men
Whose names would fix dishonour on my pen.
Lies were his playthings, parliaments his sport; Bookworms and catamites engross'd the court: Vain of the scholar, like all Scotsmen since, The pedant scholar, he forgot the prince; And having with some trifles stored his brain, Ne'er learn'd nor wish'd to learn the arts to reign. Enough he knew to make him vain and proud, Mock'd by the wise, the wonder of the crowd; False friend, false son, false father, and false king, False wit, false statesman, and false every thing: When he should act he idly chose to prate, And pamphlets wrote when he should save the Religious, if religion holds in whim,, [state. To talk with all, he let all talk with him: Not on God's honour but his own intent, Not for religion's sake but argument;
More vain if some sly, artful, High Dutch slave,
Or, from the Jesuit school, some precious knave
Conviction feign'd, than if, to peace restored,
By his full soldiership, worlds hail'd him Lord.
Power was his wish, unbounded as his will,
The power, without control, of doing ill;
But what he wish'd, what he made bishops preach
And statesmen warrant, hung within his reach,
He dared not seize; fear gave, to gall his pride,
That freedom to the realm his will denied.
Of treaties fond, o'erweening of his parts,
In every treaty, of his own mean arts
He fell the dupe: peace was his coward care,
E'en at a time when justice call'd for war:
His pen he'd draw to prove his lack of wit,
But rather than unsheath the sword submit.
Truth fairly must record; and, pleased to live
In league with mercy, justice may forgive
Kingdoms betray'd and worlds resign'd to Spain,
But never can forgive a Raleigh slain.
At length (with white let Freedom mark that year),
Not fear'd by those whom most he wish'd to fear,
Not loved by those whom most he wish'd to love,
He went to answer for his faults above,
To answer to that God from whom alone
He claim'd to hold and to abuse the throne,
Leaving behind, a curse to all his line,
The bloody legacy of Right Divine.
With many virtues which a radiance fling Round private men, with few which grace a king And speak the monarch, at the time of life When passion holds with reason doubtful strife, Succeeded Charles, by a mean sire undone, Who envied virtue even in a son.
His youth was froward, turbulent, and wild; He took the man up ere he left the child; His soul was eager for imperial sway, Ere he had learn'd the lesson to obey. Surrounded by a fawning, flattering throng, Judgment each day grew weak,and humour strong; Wisdom was treated as a noisome weed, And all his follies left to run to seed.
[spring!
What ills from such beginnings needs must
What ills to such a land from such a king!
What could she hope! what had she not to fear!
Base Buckingham* possess'd his youthful ear;
Strafford and Laud, when mounted on the throne,
Engross'd his love, and made him all their own;
Strafford and Laud, who boldly dared avow
The traitorous doctrine taught by Tories now;
Each strove to' undo him in his turn and hour,
The first with pleasure, and the last with power.
Thinking (vain thought, disgraceful to the
throne!)
That all mankind were made for kings alone,
That subjects were but slaves, and what was whim,
Or worse, in common men, was law in him;
Drunk with Prerogative which Fate decreed
To guard good kings and tyrants to mislead;
* George Villiers, raised to the rank of Duke of Buckingham, from the condition of a page, by the perverted affection of James, succeeded to an uncontroled influence over the more amiable Charles, and became a principal cause of the early unpopularity of that monarch.
The following lines, written by Churchill, were engraved on a cup of 5007. value, presented by Mr. Stephenson, of Ludgate Hill, to Mr. Wilkes:
Proud Buckingham, for law too mighty grown,
A patriot dagger probed, and from the throne
Sever'd its minion. In succeeding times
May all those favourites who adopt his crimes
Partake his fate, and every Villiers feel
The keen, deep searchings of a Felton's steel.
Which in a fair proportion to deny
Allegiance dares not, which to hold too high
No good can wish, no coward king can dare,
And held too high no English subject bear;
Besieged by men of deep and subtle arts,
Men void of principle and damn'd with parts,
Who saw his weakness, made their king their tool,
Then most a slave when most he seem'd to rule;
Taking all public steps for private ends,
Deceived by favourites whom he call'd friends;
He had not strength enough of soul to find
That monarchs, meant as blessings to mankind,
Sink their great state, and stamp their fame undone,
When what was meant for all they give to one.
Listening uxorious whilst a woman's prate*
Model'd the church and parcel'd out the state,
Whilst (in the state not more than women read)
High churchmen preach'd and turn'd his pious
Tutor'd to see with ministerial eyes,
Forbid to hear a loyal nation's cries;
Made to believe (what can't a favourite do?)
He heard a nation, hearing one or two;
Taught by state quacks himself secure to think,
And out of danger e'en on danger's brink;
Whilst power was daily crumbling from his hand,
Whilst murmurs ran through an insulted land;
As if to sanction tyrants Heaven was bound,
He proudly sought the ruin which he found.
Twelve years, twelve tedious and inglorious
[fears,
Did England, crush'd by power and awed by
* The meddling character and religious prejudices of Henrietta Maria contributed in no small degree to the destruction of her deluded husband.
Whilst proud Oppression struck at Freedom's root,
Lament her senates lost, her Hampden mute :
Illegal taxes and oppressive loans,
In spite of all her pride, call'd forth her groans;
Patience was heard her griefs aloud to tell,
And Loyalty was tempted to rebel. -
Each day new acts of outrage shook the state, New courts were raised to give new doctrines State Inquisitions kept the realm in awe, [weight; And cursed Star Chambers made or ruled the law; Juries were pack'd, and judges were unsound; Through the whole kingdom not one Pratt was found.
From the first moments of his giddy youth He hated senates, for they told him truth: At length against his will compell'd to treat, Those whom he could not fright he strove to cheat; With base dissembling every grievance heard, And often giving often broke his word. Oh! where shall hapless Truth for refuge fly, If kings, who should protect her, dare to lie?
Those who, the general good their real aim, Sought in their country's good their monarch's fame;
Those who were anxious for his safety; those
Who were induced by duty to oppose,
Their truth suspected, and their worth unknown,
He held as foes and traitors to his throne,
Nor found his fatal error till the hour
Of saving him was gone and pass'd; till power
Had shifted hands, to blast his hapless reign,
Making their faith and his repentance vain.
Hence (be that curse confined to Gotham's foes) War, dread to mention, Civil War arose;
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