Charles I. "3 Temporary provision was made for the government; writs were issued for a general election; and then that memorable Parliament which had in the course of twenty eventful years experienced every variety of fortune,-which had triumphed over its sovereign, which had been enslaved and degraded by its servants, which had been twice ejected and twice restored,-solemnly decreed its own dissolution." *

Charles, who was staying at 4 Breda, was well informed of all that was going on, so that when the new Parliament met one of the first things which came under its notice was a declaration from him. He promised that he would pardon all who had taken part against him or his father, except such as Parliament did not wish pardoned, and that no man should "be • Macaulay.

disquieted or called in question for differences of opinion in matters of religion" which did not "disturb the peace of the kingdom." Both Houses at once agreed to recall him. He landed at Dover on May 25th, 1660. The cliffs were covered by crowds of people who seemed beside themselves with joy. He reached London on the 29th, and was received with wild 5 enthusiasm. "It must be my own fault," he remarked smilingly to one of his companions, "that I have been absent so long, for I see nobody who does not say that he ever wished for my return."

3

1Sway, rule, authority, government. veteran, an old soldier. temporary, only meant to last for a short time. Breda, a town in the south of Holland, about midway between Antwerp and Rotterdam. 5 enthusiasm, great zeal.

CHARLES II.

THE high hopes entertained of Charles II. were grievously disappointed, for he proved to be a bad king and a bad man. He was good tempered, and a ready, amusing talker, but his pleasing manners covered a selfish heart, and his word was not to be trusted. He hated work and delighted in low pleasures. Possessing little virtue himself, he did not believe in the virtue of others. He acted as though the chief duty of the nation were to find him money, and his chief duty to spend it. He liked having his own way, and was ready to lie for it, but would rather forego it than suffer any inconvenience. "Whatever else may happen," he used to say, I have no wish to go again upon my travels." His character was summed up by one of the lords of the court in a well-known 2 quatrain,—

Here lies our sovereign lord the king,
Whose word no man relies on,
Who never said a foolish thing,
Nor ever did a wise one.

Notwithstanding his promise from Breda Charles was anxious to be revenged on those who had sat in judgment upon his father. They were brought to trial, and some of them were executed, while others were imprisoned. Cromwell, Bradshaw, and Ireton were beyond the reach of punishment, but the Cavaliers were not above the mean malice of digging up and insulting their dead bodies.

Another of the Breda promises was more disregarded even than the promise of pardon. Charles had said that he would grant toleration to all religious opinions which did not "disturb the peace of the kingdom; yet the year after the Restoration the Corporation Act was passed, ordaining that every person holding office in a town should take the communion according to the rites of the English Church, should forswear the Solemn League and Covenant, and should declare it unlawful to take up arms against the king.

3

Next year the Act of Uniformity was passed. The use of the Prayer-book was enforced, and every clergyman was required to give his 5“ unfeigned consent and assent to everything contained therein." Those who had not obeyed by 6 St. Bartholomew's Day were to be turned out of their livings. In consequence of this law nearly two thousand of the most learned and most pious ministers were driven away from their parishes. They were the first 7 Nonconformists or 8 Dissenters.

The spirit of intolerance was not satisfied even then. Next year the Conventicle Act was passed, making the attending a meeting for worship not according to

the rites of the State Church a crime to be punished with fine, imprisonment, or 10 transportation. A year later the Five Mile Act became law. By it the Nonconformist clergymen were required to swear that it was wrong to take up arms against the king under any circumstances, and that they would not "endeavour any alteration of government in Church or State." If they refused, they were forbidden to go within five miles of any borough or place where they had ever preached. These several measures were not allowed to remain 11 a dead letter. The prisons swarmed with Dissenters; the Quakers were only a small sect yet in 1672 twelve thousand of them were in gaol.

While the bitter persecution was going on Charles plunged into a war with Holland. After two years of fighting the 12 combatants began to talk of peace. The king, thinking he would have no further need for his sailors, dismissed them, and pocketed the money voted by Parliament to pay them. A Dutch fleet at once sailed up the Thames, forced the boom which protected the Medway, and burned the ships which lay at Chatham. There had been a war with the Dutch in the days of the Commonwealth, but then they had been so thoroughly beaten that they were ready to agree to anything short of union with England. Men, therefore, could not help contrasting Charles with Cromwell, and it is no wonder that when the thunder of foreign guns was heard in London, 13 one of the king's servants should hear everybody reflect upon Oliver, and commend him -what brave things he did, and how he made the neighbour princes fear him.

2

Forego, to do without. quatrain, four lines of poetry rhyming alternately. ordain, to enact, to make as a law. forswear, to renounce, deny solemnly. unfeigned, sincere, true, without

pretence. 6 St. Bartholomew's Day, August 24th. 7Nonconformist, one who does not conform with the Church of England. Dissenter, one who dissents or differs from the Church of England. 9conventicle, an assembly for worship, especially an assembly of Dissenters. 10 transportation, being carried abroad. 11 a dead letter, a law not enforced. 12 combatant, one who is fighting. 13 one of the king's servants, Samuel Pepys.

THE GREAT PLAGUE OF LONDON. WHILE the war with the Dutch was in progress, London suffered two terrible calamities. In those days men knew little of the value of light and air and cleanliness. The houses were dark and ill-ventilated, the streets dirty and undrained. Hence the people were always liable to the attacks of disease, and when a contagious sickness broke out it spread with fearful rapidity.

The most dreaded of all contagious diseases was the plague, a strange malady which was supposed to be brought, in the first place, from abroad. London was hardly ever free from it; in some years the victims numbered many thousands, though in others they did not reach a dozen.

In 1665, the pestilence raged with a severity unknown before or since. It broke out beyond the city walls towards the end of 1664, but as, during the winter months, little was heard of it, people thought the attack would be brief and mild. By May however it was known the sickness had appeared within the city, and then great fear fell upon all. Multitudes sought safety in the country; for weeks the Lord Mayor's door was besieged by crowds coming for the certificates of health, without which the citizens were not allowed to travel.

As the plague kept spreading, orders were issued for the care of the sick and the burial of the dead. When a