When Henry II. divided his property among his family, he intended Ireland for his favorite son John. But as this inten-. tion was frustrated, John found himself in the peculiar position of a nobleman without an estate. This is why he was called LACKLAND. His brother Richard, however, left him the English crown, which by right ought to have been given to Arthur, son of his elder brother "The Child of Perdition." The clergy and barons supported John's claim, on condition that he was to respect their rights; and he was crowned on Ascension- 1199 day, 1199. The youthful Arthur, aided by his friends in

France, asserted his own claim. But John cast him into the dungeon of Rouen, (in Normandy;) after which all trace of him is lost although as some say, John, distrusting the keepers of the prison, afterwards put him to death with his own hand. Be this as it may, the French king made John's treatment of

Arthur, a pretext for war; invaded Normandy, and 1204-5 after two years, severed it from the English crown.

In

ARMS OF JOHN.

In person John was tall and stout. character he was a coward, a tyrant, a liar, and a villain. A quarrel which he had with the pope, exhibits his character in these respects. The pope appointed a most excellent man, Stephen Langton, an Englishman, to be archbishop of Canterbury: but John swore he would not allow him to become archbishop; and giving way to passion, ordered all the monks out of Canterbury, and drove them beyond the sea. The pope then threatened what is called an 'interdict;" that is, the withdrawal from the kingdom of all religious privileges, except to the dying and to infants. John boasted in return, that if the bishop of Rome or any other bishop, dared to lay his kingdom under interdict, he would send all the clergy to Italy, with their eyes plucked out and their noses slit. At length in 1208, the interdict was published. In 1209, the king was excommunicated. In 1211, his 1208 people received permission from the pope to rebel against to him. In 1212, the pope declared him to be no longer king; and ordered the king of France to take possession 1213 of his throne. In 1213, the French king raised an army to dethrone him. And now John became so greatly alarm ed that he at once made over his kingdom to the pope, and agreed to pay a yearly rent for it of a thousand marks. But when the pope told the English people they must now obey John, the barons refused to do so; unless the king, as a pledge of better government, would confirm the charter of Henry I.

Under the able direction of the good Stephen Langton, the barons at length met the king in a field at Runnymede near Windsor, where they asked him to sign a new char- 1215 ter, containing all that was in the old one, and so much beside, that it got the name of MAGNA CHARTA, that is-the great charter. John refused to sign it, saying:- 66 as well may you ask my crown!" But the barons being armed, compelled him to sign it. Magna Charta contains sixty-three clauses, written on two pieces of parchment, and is still preserved in the British Museum. Among its provisions are these: 1st.-That the Church of England shall continue free. 2ndly. That no man shall be kept in prison without trial. 3rdly.-That trial shall be by jury. 4thly. That any man may leave the kingdom, and return to it when he pleases. 5thly.-That no rich man shall use a poor

man's cart and horse without his leave. 6thly. That a poor man may bring an action against a rich man, &c.

Thus, once more, (as you remember, was the case in the time of Henry I.) the rival interests of king, clergy, barons, and people, helped to work out the problem of the general good, and to lay anew the foundation of England's present, free, and happy Constitution. And Magna Charta, as one of our greatest historians has said "is still the keystone of English liberty."*

himself

John cursed and raved, as soon as the barons left Runnymede; and set about collecting an army of foreigners, to revenge upon them. First he took Rochester Castle, then advancing to St. Albans, ordered his generals to destroy Essex, Middlesex, and the adjoining counties; while he himself proceeded to Nottingham, and burnt all the esates and castles that lay in his route. Taken unawares, the barons were obliged to seek the aid of the French king; whose son Louis landed in England in 1216, and would have been made king; but that John, crossing 1216 the Wash, (in Norfork,) was overtaken by the tide, and lost all his treasures, including the crown itself; and further that John laying this mishap to heart died a few days after it, in the 18th year of his reign, aged 49.

The name of Archbishop Langton repeatedly mentioned in this reign, is worthy of remembrance not only on account of what has already been told, but because he nobly asserted the ancient independence of the Church of England; by refusing to obey the pope, when he ordered him to excommunicate certain English bishops and barons, who sought to restrain the tyranny of the king.

Had it not been for one wise and brave man, (William Marshall,) England would now have become a mere province of France. Already had the French prince Louis, who was in London when John died, been acknowledged by the citizens as king. William Marshall was earl of Pembroke, and had married one of John's daughters. By his influence Henry, John's eldest son, a boy of ten, was made king at Gloucester: where, as the crown was lost, a circlet of gold was placed on his 1216 brow. The earl was appointed regent, and died in three years. But he lived long enough to save England! For, by his wisdom he won over to Henry many of the rebellious barons, who would otherwise have supported the French King; and by his bravery, he defeated the rest of them in 1217, in a battle that bears the odd name of "the Fair of Lincoln." 1217 In this same year the French king, who had tried hard to possess himself of England, sent over a fleet which Hubert de Burgh defeated off Dover; by throwing up into the air a quantity of quick-lime, which got into the eyes of the 1217 French, and put them in such disorder that their ships soon became an easy prey.

In appearance, Henry was of middle size; and his face had an

odd expression caused by a droop in the left eye-lid. In character, he was weak, worthless, and contemptible. After the earl of Pembroke's death he invited over into his kingdom hosts of foreign favourites, on whom he bestowed various offices of state, and even money to such an extent that he himself was always poor. He would then tax his people for more money, and waste it on favourites, or spend it on extravagance. This foolish conduct so roused the indignation of the barons, that at length they insisted upon his calling a council of nobles to redress his subjects'

wrongs.

A council of this kind-called the MAGNATUM CONVENTUS, that is, the assembly of nobles-had existed in England from the time of the Conqueror. It was composed of prelates and barons who sat along with the king, for the purpose of redressing the wrongs of the kingdom; and is in fact, the origin of our present House of Lords. After the days of Rufus, Westminter Hall was the place where this parliament met. Any person who had suffered public wrong, no ARMS OF HENRY III. matter what his rank, could appear before it to make complaint or hand in a petition; and officers called "receivers," were stationed in different parts of the hall to take charge of the various complaints and petitions, so as to bring them systematically before the king.* This assembly did not meet regularly, but at such times as the king had a mind to summon, or as the grievances of the people compelled him. Some days beforehand, he used to send out an officer into one of the leading thoroughfares of London, who stood up, and with solemn face and loud voice read from a roll of parchment, that on such-and-such a day, our Sovereign lord, king, So-and-so, would hold a Magnátum Conventus; and that "all of you," who have been in any way wronged by any of the king's officers, by unlawful taxation, imprisonment, or otherwise, are to deliver your petitions to the receivers, whom for that purpose our lord the king hath appointed; and who will sit openly from day to day, ready to listen to you, ready to attend to you, in the great hall of the king's palace at Westminster, at the foot of the staircase on the left hand side, just as ye enter the same." Many of the mob would then toss up their

66

The division of our Modern law courts into Exchequer, Chancery &c., is but the development of this ancient arrangement for conducting legal business before the king in person, in Westminster Hall.