and fond of money: but selfish, and unamiable. Disliking to be dependent on the Commons for supplies of money, he sought to amass hoards of his own; and jealous of the power and wealth of the Lords, he devised a plan by which these might be reduced. Hitherto, the property of a noble had descended entire to his eldest son; and this restriction, known as "entail," is still enforced by what is called the "law of primogeniture." One effect of this law is, that the other members of the family, being simply commoners, a constant connexion is kept up between the common people and the aristocracy. Now Henry managed to abolish this law for a time, and the result was that many of the nobles divided and sold their estates; by which means their power became lessened, while others of inferior rank took their places as owners of the soil, without succeeding them in influence. In order to obtain money, Henry did not scruple to use even the most unworthy means. An instance of this occurred in connexion with the Earl of Oxford, one of his favourite generals. In his attempts to reduce the power of the nobles, Henry had procured the passing of a law which did away with "maintenance;" that is, the keeping of retainers or servants with badges and liveries. Now the Earl of Oxford, after entertaining Henry on one occasion, ordered a large body of men to draw up as a guard of honour for the king at his departure. "My lord," said the king, "these handsome gentlemen whom I see on both sides of me are no doubt your servants." The earl replied that these were persons assembled not to serve himself, but to do honour to their king. "By my

faith," said Henry, "I thank you for your good cheer; but this matter you must settle with my attorney." And so this loyal earl had to pay £10,000 for his hospitality.

For the greater security of his throne, Henry procured from the parliament an act, and from the pope a bull, acknowledging

him as king and his heirs as successors to the crown. The only persons likely to trouble him with rival claims were the Earl of Lincoln, whom Richard III. had made his heir; and the Earl of Warwick, a youth of 15, son of that duke of Clarence who is said to have been drowned in wine. Lincoln did homage to the new king, and was allowed to go free; but Henry thought it safest to shut up Warwick within the Tower. Now, there was a baker's boy whose name was Lambert Simnel, whom a clever priest of Oxford had taught to personate young Warwick, and sent to Ireland where the people were much attached to the family of York. Believing him to be the earl, the whole Irish people, except those of Waterford, declared in his favonr, and he was crowned king at Dublin. In order to undeceive his subjects, Henry caused the real earl to be paraded through the streets of London. Simnel, joined by Lincoln, landed in England, and succeeded in gain. ing over to his cause some of the nobles and a large body of the people. At length a battle was fought at Stoke, (in Notts). Lincoln was killed, and Simnel and his tutor 1487 were captured. The priest was sent to prison, and the baker's boy to the king's kitchen: Simnel was afterwards promoted to the post of falconer.

Some years after this there appeared a person who gave himself forth as being that Duke of York whom everybody supposed to have been murdered along with his brother Edward V. in the Tower. The king's party said that his real name was Perkin Warbeck: the Duchess of Burgundy declared that he was indeed her nephew, Richard of York; and gave him a suitable equipage: the French king received him at his court, regarding him as the heir to the English crown and James IV. of Scotland gave him his niece in marriage, and coined his plate in order to raise an army to prosecute his claims. In the autumn of 1496, this army invaded England, hoping to find many there 1496 who would join them. But the English, heartily tired of disputing the succession to the throne, refused to do so; and James was obliged to retire, content with pillaging as he passed the northern counties without mercy. He afterwards made a second invasion, and besieged the castle of Norham, but without success. Warbeck also attempted to effect a landing in Kent, but 169 of his followers were captured and executed. length Henry's fondness of money-his demanding "benevolences," which were now illegal, and levying heavy taxes, led to an insurrection in Cornwall; and Warbeck took advantage of this to unite the discontented to his own cause. Raising an army amongst them, he marched against Exeter, (in Devonshire). Here,

At

the people were short of artillery; but they kindled a large fire in the gateway of their city, and cleverly kept him at bay. He then retired to Taunton (in Somersetshire); whence, despairing of success, he secretly withdrew to the sanctuary of Beaulieu, (in Hants). Throwing himself on the king's mercy, he was then led in mock triumph to London, and shut up with Warwick in the Tower. Both prisoners were afterwards tried and executed for planning an escape. The latter had spent nearly the whole of his life in prison, merely because he was the last male heir of the Plantagenets. The former read in public a formal confession of imposture, declaring himself to be the son of respectable parents at Tournay, (in France); but to this day it remaius a matter of historical doubt who he was, Shortly before Warwick's death, strange to say, a youth named Wilford, the son of a shoemaker in Kent, also attempted to personate this earl; but was tried and executed before any serious results arose from the imposture.

Henry's business-tact led him to devise important marriages for his children. Fixing his keen eye on Spain, as a country of growing wealth as well as power, he selected Catherine of Arragon as a desirable bride for Arthur his eldest son. They were married accordingly, and the princess brought with her a handsome dowry, but Arthur died about six months after. Now, mark what follows, as it bears not only on the next reign, but on the whole of the future history. To secure this dowry, Henry VII. made his next son, the prince Henry, a boy only 11 years of age, enter into a contract with Catherine, that when old enough he would marry her. Now this proceeding would have been null and void, had it not been sanctioned by a Bull from the Pope; for the contemplated marriage was contrary to the ordinary laws of the church. The prince himself, too, when 14 years old, that he might be free to choose his own bride, protested against this contract; but the sequel belongs to the next reign. Another important marriage which Henry planned, was that which took place between his eldest daughter Margaret, and James IV. of Scotland. Mark it well: for it was the same source of union afterwards of the crowns. Some of his counsellors foreseeing the issue, expressed their fears lest England might thus come to belong to Scotland; but Henry wisely replied that the larger would rather attach the lesser; and that, in any case, such a union for England would be far safer than one with France. Happily a more complete union than even that of the two crowns, has since been secured for England and Scotland without a forced surrender by either.

Henry tried hard to avoid foreign war; but on one occasion

a misunderstanding with France led him to cross the channel and lay siege to Boulogne. The French king, 1492 however, knowing Henry's love for money, promised to pay him a large sum, and Henry at once returned to England: whereupon, the English people having been heavily taxed in preparation for war, were much displeased; especially the nobles, many of whom had sold their estates to contribute to the expenses. In this way Henry fleeced both parties; his subjects for war, and his enemies for peace.

It is usually supposed that in this reign the court which afterwards came to be called the "Star-chamber" had its origin; a court alien to the spirit of the Constitution and obnoxious to Englishmen. It got this name because the starra, or money-contracts of the Jews, were kept in a chest in the chamber where it sat. It professed to deal with offences against the government, and conduct its trials regardless of the forms of law, and without a jury. It was presided over by the king in person; and besides the chief judges of the realm, its officers consisted of three privy counsellors, one lord spiritual, and one lord temporal. Its punishments consisted of mutilations, imprisonment, and fines.

Not least among the important events of this reign was the discovery of America, of the Cape of Good Hope, and of the East and West Indies. Great progress was also made in commerce, which Henry favoured by securing treaties with other nations. He also caused a two-decked war-ship to be built of 1000 tons burthen. She was called the "Great Harry," and cost about £14,000. The first standing army was now established. It consisted of 50 yeomen, each six feet high. A new style of architecture began to be introduced, known as the Tudor or Florid. It is distinguished by its flat arches and profusion of ornament. One of the finest specimens is the tomb of Henry VII. in Westminster Abbey. Here he was buried in 1509, having died 1509 of consumption, in the 52nd year of his age and 24th of his reign.

Henry VIII., the young prince mentioned in the last reign, was 18 years old when he became king.

1509

He was the first who had ascended the English throne with an undisputed title, since Richard II. Strong, handsome, brave, and learned, he yet lacked both wisdom and virtue. While we look with gratitude on the result of his reign, we must ever abhor the meanness of his motives.

Soon after he ascended the throne, the pope, who wished to recover certain lands which had been seized from the church, invited him to join with other kings of Europe in a "holy_league" for this purpose, and placed him at the head of it. The French king, though formerly belonging to this league, was now opposing it. Henry, therefore, to punish him, as well as to acquire fame for himself, resolved to deprive him of what had formerly been an English possession-the province of Guienne in France, Parliament readily supplied money, and troops were sent into Spain to invade France from the south; but the Spanish king cunningly took advantage of their presence to make them fight for himself,