[By W. Behnes.]
464.Lord Ashburton.English Peer.
[Born 1774. Died 1848. Aged 74.]
The head of the great mercantile house of Baring. As Ambassador toAmerica during the government of Sir Robert Peel, Lord Ashburton concluded the treaty between England and the United States which settled the much-vexed “Oregon question.” His marriage with an American lady attached an interest to his person in America, and his high character gave him weight and authority at home.
[By Macdonald, of Rome.]
465.Daniel O’Connell.Orator and Lawyer.
[Born at Cahir, in Ireland, 1775. Died at Genoa, 1847. Aged 72.]
The great Irish agitator. A man of extraordinarily powerful talents and influence. His oratory, especially adapted to sway the hearts of an Irish multitude, obtained for him a rule throughout Ireland that has never been equalled. Thousands upon thousands of his fellow-countrymen were content to be governed by his will for good or for evil. The unprecedented opportunity was used by Daniel O’Connell, less for the advantage and happiness of his afflicted country, than for his own selfish ends. When the wrongs of Ireland clamoured loudly for redress, O’Connell was an agitator with a righteous cause sustaining his great eloquence. When those wrongs were in course of remedy—were remedied—he was still an agitator, but unsustained by any cause save that of his own pecuniary necessities. It is lamentable to think how much good might have been effected by the energies of O’Connell, and to what deplorable straits his policy had reduced Ireland before death took him from it. Had it been as much to his personal and pecuniary interest to render his country contented, peaceful, prosperous, as to keep her in a ferment of discontent, discord, and semi-rebellion, O’Connell would have proved one of the greatest benefactors of his kind. As it was, he left behind him a name, which is not uttered with opprobrium—simply because it is already nearly forgotten. The associations connected with his memory have nothing in common with the new epoch of tranquillity, order, and steady industry, upon which Ireland has entered. O’Connell was not so eloquent in the House of Commons as out of it. He was born for the multitude. His power of invective, his faculty of humour, his facility of illustration, his familiar tones, his burly form, his winning voice, were all elements that go to make up the successful demagogue.
[By J. E. Jones.]
466.Joseph Hume.Political Reformer.
[Born at Montrose, 1777. Still living.]
Has sat in the House of Commons for upwards of forty years. Was educated for the medical profession, and is member of the Colleges of Surgeons of Edinburgh and London. Acted in India as Persian interpreter to the army, during the Mahratta war, from 1802 to 1807. Joseph Hume is a consistent Reformer, and by his steadiness, earnestness, and faithful adherence to the principles of his life, has secured the respect and good-will of all political parties. When he entered parliament, his views were considered extreme and theoretical. Many of these views have been gradually adopted by the leading statesmen of the time, and there is every probability that Mr. Hume will outlive all his grievances. He is a rigid economist, and a thoroughly honest politician.
467.Henry, Lord Brougham.Lawyer, Statesman, Educator.
[Born 1779. Still living.]
A name that will be identified for ever with the advances in civilisation made in this country, during the first half of the present century. For the great reforms effected in our criminal law, for the impetus which has been given to education among all classes, we are chiefly indebted to the influence of Lord Brougham, and to the indomitable exertion of his strong, practical, energetic, and versatile mind. He has been Lord High Chancellor of England; but his legal attainments constitute his very smallest title to respect. He is a great orator, a man of science worthy of taking rank with scientific men, a metaphysician, an historian, an essayist. He has addressed himself to every branch of knowledge, and is distinguished in all. Before he was elevated to the peerage he was one of the foremost men in England, honoured for his resolute and fiery opposition to abuses of every kind, and beloved for his eager anxiety to remove the shackles from the negro, and every disability from the limbs of his fellow-creatures nearer home. Social elevation has not added to the popularity of Lord Brougham, for the ermine has in part withdrawn the idol from the people. All his magnificent qualities are depressed and dwarfed beneath his coronet. His eloquence is not so overpowering nor so thrilling, his sympathies for the classes below him are apparently deadened, his respect for his “order” proportionately increased. He has ceased to be “the first man” out of doors, without becoming the first lord within. If he has not survived his reputation he has manifestly damaged it. Yet for his former permanent and vital services to his country, his name shall be held by Englishmen in lasting, grateful, and affectionate remembrance.
[By Deer.]
467A.Henry, Lord Brougham.Lawyer, Statesman, Educator.
[An admirable seated portrait statue, by E. G. Papworth, Sen., which will be found at the South end of the Nave, Presented by the sculptor.]
468.Martin Van Buren.Ex-President of the United States.
[Born 1782. Still living.]
A lawyer, and an active politician in the democratic interest. From 1812 until 1820, a member of the United States Senate, during which time a keen supporter of the war with England, and, for a short period, Attorney-General. In 1828, Governor of the State of New York—then Secretary of State in the cabinet of General Jackson. Vice President in 1832, and during General Jackson’s second term of office. In 1836, elected President by a large majority. The principal measure of his administration was the re-establishment of the independent treasury. In 1840, again nominated for the Presidency, but defeated by General Harrison, the Whig candidate. Since the close of his presidential term in 1841, Mr. Van Buren has lived in retirement. His popularity was not so great at the close as at the beginning of his political life.
[By Hiram Powers.]
469.John Caldwell Calhoun.American Statesman.
[Born at Abbeville, in South Carolina, U.S. 1782. Died at Washington, 1850. Aged 68.]
Of Irish descent. Educated at Yale College, and studied law at Lichfield,in Connecticut. In 1807, admitted to the Bar. In 1811, elected to Congress. Secretary of War in 1817; and from 1825 to 1832, Vice-President of the United States. He asserted that the American constitution was a mere federal treaty, from the conditions of which an individual State might at any time withdraw itself, if the inhabitants of the State so desired. This dangerous principle was combated by Webster, and—luckily for the Union—with success. Calhoun had great eloquence, and rapid powers of generalisation. He was inflexible in integrity, firm of purpose, energetic, laborious, and endowed with a high sense of honour; devoted to his country, with an inextinguishable love of liberty. A moderate democrat, nevertheless, and a free-trader. In person he was tall and lank; his face indicated great firmness of character and determination. His manner of speaking and of gesticulation was remarkable. He would walk constantly up and down during his discourse, his right arm moving all the while regularly backwards and forwards, like the pendulum of a clock.
[By Hiram Powers.]
469.*Daniel Webster.American Statesman and Orator.
[Born, in New Hampshire, U.S., 1782. Died 1852. Aged 70.]
Descended from one of those pilgrim-fathers of New England, who emigrated, in 1636. A lawyer. In 1813, took his seat in Congress for New Hampshire, war then raging with England. He advocated the war with fervid eloquence. In politics a “Whig,” a term corresponding to our “Conservative.” An avowed opponent of the Democratic party, but a still stronger friend to the true interests of his country, and, like our own Sir Robert Peel, preferring these to a dogged and an injurious persistance in his own preconceived political views. Hence, though no friend to slavery, Webster carried on no bitter crusade against it; and hence his conciliatory policy which, in dealing with the unhappy institution, maintained, through difficulty and danger, the political Union that contributes so largely to the strength and greatness of the American people. The oratory of Webster was of a high order: the most classical that America has yet displayed. It was powerful, argumentative, and as remarkable for passion, as for logical acumen. He was also a scholar, with a refined taste, and deeply attached to the literature of the old country. In person he was thick-set and burly. The countenance indicated force, without delicacy of taste and perception: but in this respect the countenance of Daniel Webster belied his mind. His death, at the close of a vehement career, was serene and happy.
[By Hiram Powers.]
470.Sir Frederick Pollock.Chief Baron of the Exchequer.
[Born in London, 1783. Still living.]
Educated at Cambridge, where he obtained high mathematical distinction. Has been Attorney General.
[By W. Behnes.]
470.*Sir Henry Pottinger.Diplomatist.
[Still living.]
Went to India as Cadet in 1804, and became Major-General in the East India Company’s service. During his long sojourn in India he fulfilled many appointments. In 1841, selected by the Government to proceed toChina as Plenipotentiary and Envoy Extraordinary for the adjustment of the differences then existing between the two empires. Amongst his other rewards for his success in this mission, he received from the House of Commons a pension of 1500l.a-year. Afterwards Governor of the Cape of Good Hope: now Governor of Madras.
[By J. E. Jones.]
471.Henry John Temple, Viscount Palmerston.Statesman.
[Born 1784. Still living.]
A Minister under many governments. Secretary-at-War from 1809 until 1828. Foreign Secretary, with a slight interval of repose, from 1830 until 1841. Again Foreign Secretary in 1846. At the present moment, Home Secretary in the administration of Lord Aberdeen. A statesman of vast knowledge and acquirements; of sterling business habits; quick and decided in action. An admirable debater, with a facile, ready, but not lofty eloquence. The upholder of constitutional government wherever his name and position have acquired influence in the world. Friendly to efforts made abroad for the recovery of liberty, he has been held in terror by those who would still keep liberty in chains. Of all living Ministers, Lord Palmerston is the most personally popular. He has served with many parties, and yet is no party man. The Whigs do not love him; the Conservatives cannot claim him; the Radicals own him not. Yet the eye of England glances involuntarily towards him as one with qualities to be exercised on great occasions, in the interests of his country. We cannot enumerate his followers; but his admirers are countless. He has many practical virtues that constitute a bond, uniting him to Englishmen, and make him an object of interest in the national mind. He is bold, outspoken, courageous, patriotic; genial in temper, and unaffected in intercourse. He has infinite “pluck.” When he strikes, he hits straight and effectually. In self-defence his “parry” is inimitable, and always successful.
[Executed in 1846 by Christopher Moore.]
472.Sir Robert Peel.Statesman.
[Born near Bury, in Lancashire, 1788. Died in London, 1850. Aged 62.]
The House of Commons was to Peel—what it had been to Pitt, his illustrious predecessor—his world of thought and action. Pitt was 20 when he took his seat in Parliament by the influence of Sir James Lowther. Sir Robert was 21 when he was returned for Cashel, by the influence of his father. Both lived, and, so to speak, died on that grand stage. If Pitt is to be recognised as the boldest and bravest Minister that ever conducted a country through the perils and disasters of a protracted war, Peel must be regarded as the most courageous statesman that ever dared to guide a busy nation through the peculiar dangers that environ a period of long peace. Pitt set up a principle of action as his guiding star, and steered his course by its light, against the bitterest opposition and the most vehement remonstrance, and died, still proclaiming the safety of his chosen path. Peel, in a later age, and under different circumstances, sacrificed, year after year, his strong convictions, in order to direct within safe channels the popular current which in spite of all his efforts to resist it, flowed on until it threatened to destroy and drown all obstacles—good or evil—that opposed its progress. Had Pitt lived in the days of Peel, his sagacity would have compelled the samepolicy. The proof of Peel’s sound wisdom was emphatically witnessed when he ceased to be Minister in 1846, but continued, until his cruel and untimely end, to exercise the greatest influence of all living men, over the destinies of his country. More potent than even the Prime Minister who had unseated him, was Sir Robert Peel, from 1846 until 1850. Many are the claims of Peel upon our gratitude. He reformed our criminal code; he advanced the cause of religious freedom; he repealed the corn laws. His attainments as a scholar were great, and he was a warm encourager of literature and art. His secret charities to men of genius—revealed since his death—declare the goodness of his heart. It is said that he had few friends in public life. It may be difficult for a politician to enjoy this luxury. In the bosom of his own family he was beloved.
[This fine colossal statue, which will be found at the south-west angle of the great Transept and Nave, is by Baron Marochetti. It is executed in bronze.]
473.Sir Michael O’Lochlen.Lawyer.
[Born 1789. Died 1842. Aged 53.]
A judge in Ireland, of high legal attainments, great practical knowledge, and unwearied industry. The first Roman Catholic created law officer of the Crown, and raised to the bench, since the Revolution of 1688. A member of the Church of Rome, he owed his promotion to the Liberal party. Appointed Attorney-General 1835, Baron of the Exchequer 1836, and Master of the Rolls 1837. He was earnest in his endeavours to promote the ends of justice, courteous in manners, and kind in disposition. All parties esteemed and admired him for his judicial conduct, and, after his decease, Lord Lyndhurst, a political opponent, paid a just and feeling tribute to his memory.
[By Christopher Moore, for the Incorporated Law Society of Dublin.]
474.Lord John Russell.Statesman.
[Born 1792. Still living.]
The third son of the sixth Duke of Bedford. Has served many offices of state, amongst others that of Prime Minister of England. The recognised leader of the Whig party, and the representative of the school of Charles James Fox. The author of a work on the Constitution of England, of a tragedy, and of other books. The editor, also, of the Memoirs of Thomas Moore, the poet. Lord John Russell is considered one of our first constitutional statesmen. His course is not always so distinctly marked as to be obvious and intelligible to every looker-on. Now he is too liberal for Conservatives, now too conservative for Liberals; to-day he offends the lovers of religious toleration by his legislation against spiritual freedom; to-morrow he will distress bigotry by his zeal for religious independence. Yet Lord John is a man of mark and influence: and when he suffers his soul to be kindled into warmth, the sympathies of men rally involuntarily around him. The prominent feature in the character of this distinguished statesman, is the supreme absence of self-mistrust, be the matter in hand what it may.
475.David Salomons.Alderman.
[Born in London, 1797. Still living.]
The first Hebrew gentleman who has held civic appointment, and sat as member of parliament, though but for a day, in the House of Commons. Was elected sheriff of London in 1835, and alderman of Aldgate-ward in1836; but could not take his seat in consequence of the existing state of the law, which practically excluded Jews. In the year 1844, elected alderman of the ward of Portsoken, but the election again annulled. The law having been altered by Sir Robert Peel’s government in 1847, elected without opposition, in that year, alderman of Cordwainers’ ward. In 1851, returned to parliament for the borough of Greenwich. Taking his seat, he maintained his right to remain there; but he was ordered to withdraw, the law of the land forbidding his presence until he could take the necessary oaths. The claims of the Jews to equal rights with their fellow citizens are identified with the name of David Salomons, as they have been maintained chiefly by his untiring exertions.
[From the marble by Edward Davis.]
476.Sir William Follett.Lawyer.
[Born in Devonshire, 1798. Died in London, 1845. Aged 46.]
The most celebrated advocate of his time. Remarkable for the lucidity of his intellect, for his extensive and accurate legal knowledge, for his acute discrimination, his intuitive sagacity, and for his power of rapidly transferring his whole attention to anything that might be brought before it. His reasoning faculties were of the highest order, and his memory was singularly quick and retentive. His manner calm, dignified, and graceful, and his temper serene and unruffled. His labours at the bar were excessive, and prosecuted in the midst of pain and sickness. He died comparatively early, worn out by disease and work. He had served Her Majesty as Solicitor-General, and, had he lived, would inevitably have taken the highest position open to his profession.
[By W. Behnes.]
477.The Earl of Derby.Statesman.
[Born 1799. Still living.]
Has been Chief Secretary for Ireland, Secretary of State for the Colonies, and Prime Minister. Has served with the Whigs under Lord Grey, and with the Conservatives under Sir Robert Peel. Since the death of Sir Robert, has headed the extreme Tory party. Lord Derby is one of the readiest, most eloquent, clever, and fluent speakers in the House of Lords. When in the House of Commons, he was styled by Mr. Disraeli “The Prince Rupert of Debate.” As a lieutenant, he was brilliant, fierce, and irresistible in assault. As a leader, he did not discover the comprehensive grasp, the knowledge, and administrative skill of his illustrious predecessor and chief, Sir Robert Peel.
[By Christopher Moore. 1839. Executed for Lord Skelmersdale.]
478.George William Frederick Villiers, Earl of Clarendon.Statesman.
[Born 1800. Still living.]
A Minister who has honourably and usefully served his country in many capacities. Has been Envoy Extraordinary at Madrid, President of the Board of Trade, and, during a stormy period of incipient rebellion, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. At present, Her Majesty’s Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. An excellent man of business, and a consistent Liberal in politics.
[By J. E. Jones.]
479.Sidney Herbert.Statesman.
[Born 1810. Still living.]
Half brother of the Earl of Pembroke. Was educated at Oxford. Entered Parliament in 1832. Has been ever since a follower of the policy identified with the name of Sir Robert Peel. From 1841 to 1845, Secretary to the Admiralty. In 1845, appointed Secretary at War. Retired from office with Sir Robert Peel in 1846, but became again Secretary at War, in Lord Aberdeen’s administration, 1853. Mr. Herbert has acquired a well deserved reputation for his benevolent exertions on behalf of the unemployed industrious classes of both sexes.
[By Macdonald of Rome.]
480.Lord Canning.English Peer.
[Born 1812. Still living.]
The only surviving son of George Canning, Prime Minister of England. Has been Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs; and for a short time, in 1846, was Chief Commissioner of Woods and Forests. He was Chairman of the Council of Juries in the Great Exhibition of 1851.
[By Macdonald.]
480.*William Hulme Hooper.Naval Officer.
[Born in London, 1826. Died there 1854. Aged 27.]
One of the intrepid Arctic explorers, whose spirit of enterprise has impelled them to invade the ocean, in his sternest and most terrific domain, through hope to solve the mystery hanging over the fate of Sir John Franklin. Lieutenant Hooper commanded the second cutter in the remarkable voyage of the boats of Her Majesty’s ship “Plover” from Icy Cape to Cape Bathurst. Lost for three days and nights in an Arctic snow storm, quartered two long and lonely winters away from his ship in log-huts with a few of his men, under every privation, he brought home the fastened malady of the lungs which so early cut short his ardent career.
[This bust is by David Dunbar.]
481.Cardinal Wolsey.Minister of State.
[Born at Ipswich, 1471. Died at Leicester, 1530. Aged 59.]
A butcher’s son, with an inordinate appetence for place, power, and money. A magnificent pluralist, whose insatiable desire for wealth was redeemed only by the noble uses to which he applied a portion of his worldly goods. His revenues almost equalled those of the crown, and many of his acts were princely, as became the rival of a king. Wolsey founded several lectures at Oxford, built Christ Church in that University, and erected Hampton Court, which, in his splendid generosity, he presented to Henry VIII. He owed his first advancement to Henry VII., who sent him on an embassy to the Emperor of Germany, and afterwards made him Dean of Lincoln. His rise was, thenceforwards rapid. He became, underHenry VIII., Cardinal, Lord Chancellor, and Pope’s Legate. His fall was headlong. Offending the king by refusing to sanction his divorce, he was disgraced in an hour, and compelled to disgorge his enormous acquisitions. He was arrested at York, but, falling sick on his way to London, died at Leicester. Much of Wolsey’s wealth was, no doubt, ill-gotten; his ambition knew no bounds; his insolence was intolerable;—but he had in many respects a grand and royal mind, and the benefits conferred by him upon learning are never to be omitted in a history of his remarkable life.
[Presented by Mr. John Archbutt, London.]
482.Charles James Blomfield.Bishop of London.
[Born 1786. Still living.]
Educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, of which he was Fellow. Bishop of Chester, 1824—of London, 1828. Distinguished for his classical attainments, and before his elevation to the bench, known as the accomplished editor of the tragedies of Æschylus. As a churchman, Charles James Blomfield has endeavoured to take a middle and conciliatory course, notwithstanding his decided bent towards the high church party. It is no reproach to the Bishop of London to say that he has occasionally stumbled, upon a difficult and slippery path.
[By W. Behnes.]
482A.Charles James Blomfield.Bishop of London.
[By Henry Weigall.]
483.Father Theobald Mathew.Temperance Reformer.
[Born at Thomastown, in Ireland, 1790. Still living.]
A modern crusader, who has drawn his spiritual sword against one of the deadliest foes to religion, civilisation, and human happiness. An apostle who carries glad tidings to every hearth, irrespectively of the altar raised there for divine worship. A proselytiser who converts Romanist and Protestant, with equal advantage and safety to both. He was educated at Maynooth; is a Romish priest; and his whole life has been spent in an anxious and a humane endeavour to release mankind from the self-imposed yoke of Drunkenness. He is the founder of the “total abstinence” principle, in virtue of which self-denying ordinance “pledged” men abstain from any use whatever of intoxicating liquors. The success of the good and courageous man has been equal to his deserts: both are inestimable. Under his teaching the most hardened drunkards have become abstemious, and the most reckless and improvident have been won to self-respect and virtuous conduct. No preacher in the olden or the modern time has surpassed his earnestness or his labour. Hundreds of thousands have taken the pledge from his hands in Ireland, in this country, and in the United States. If some of the number have been unfaithful to their plighted word, the weakness of humanity will explain the defection. That thousands are the better, the wiser, the happier, and the purer for his labours, is beyond all doubt. A few patriots like Father Mathew, would have changed the face of nature in Ireland years ago. His work, now, is productive of hourly good. The man who only checks the growth of Drunkenness is a benefactor of his kind. He who extinguishes the vice in a hundred thousand beasts, is one of the mightiest of human conquerors.
[By Christopher Moore, 1845.]
484.Cardinal Wiseman.Chief of the Romish Church in England.
[Born at Seville, in Spain, 1802. Still living.]
Came to England in 1808. Educated at the English college in Rome, where he took his degree of D.D. in 1824. Consecrated Bishop of Melipotamus in 1840, and made Vicar Apostolic of the London district in 1849. Created Cardinal, 1850. Cardinal Wiseman is a man of vast learning and eminent ability. His lectures on the Connexion between Science and Revealed Religion constitute a noble and masterly vindication of the cause which the lectures are intended to maintain, and are full of the happiest illustration. The style of Cardinal Wiseman is forcible, logical, and eloquent; and it is said that he writes with equal ease the language of nearly all the European nations. He is the seventh English Cardinal since the Reformation.
[By Christopher Moore. 1850.]
485.Edward III.King of England.
[Born 1313. Died 1377. Aged 64.]
An accomplished monarch, brave, and for his time enlightened. In his day, and by his act, the power of the Commons rose, and the pretensions of the Barons were reduced; several constitutional acts found their way to the statute book, and greater security was given by law to property and person. Glorious battles were fought in France; the field of Cressy was won, and Calais surrendered in 1346. Edward, Prince of Wales, surnamed the Black Prince, was the worthy son of this redoubtable sire. Following in the steps of his father, he won, in 1355, the battle of Poitiers, took the French king and his son prisoners, and brought them to London. In this reign, Queen’s College, Oxford, and Clare Hall, Pembroke Hall, Trinity Hall, and Caius, all colleges at Cambridge, were founded. Windsor Castle also was built by Edward III., William of Wykeham, afterwards Bishop of Winchester, and Chancellor of England, and the founder of Winchester College, being “Clerk of the works.” Under Edward III., the first toll was levied for mending the highways; the highway concerned being the road between St. Giles’s and Temple Bar. Upon the whole, a grand time for England.
[From the Effigy.]
486.Eleanora of Castile.Surnamed The Faithful. First Queen of Edward I., of England.
[Born in Castile, 1243. Died at Grantham, 1290. Aged 47.]
A queen who has been described as “a loving mother to our nation, the column and pillar of the whole realm,”—godly, modest, merciful. The united influence of loveliness, virtue, and sweet temper, inspired in the heart of her renowned lord an attachment as deep as it was true. She was the mother of the first Prince of Wales. When, in 1269, her husband took up the Cross, Eleanora resolved to share the dangers of his Syrian campaign.Her ladies of the Court endeavouring to dissuade her from the journey, she replied, “Nothing ought to part those whom God has joined; and the way to heaven is as near, if not nearer, from Syria, as from England or my native Spain.” She was a patroness of literature and art, and civilisation advanced under the auspices of her well-regulated Court. Taken ill at Grantham, whilst her husband was in Scotland, she expired there. Edward followed her body thence to Westminster in the bitterest grief, and on the spot marked by the close of every stage, vowed to erect a cross in memory of hischère reine. The crosses of Northampton and Waltham still remain, models of architectural beauty. Charing Cross was the last resting-place before the body was carried into Westminster Abbey.
[From the Effigy.]
487.Henry VII.King of England.
[Born 1456. Died 1509. Aged 53.]
A monarch whose greatest vice was avarice. He was inordinately fond of money. He had 14,000l.a-year allowed him by his first Parliament for his Household expenses, and 2000l.a-year for his wardrobe; yet he left behind him a sum equivalent to 16,000,000l.at the present day. With no worse quality than avarice, he had no quality that can be called great. He was brave, politic, attentive to business, reserved, suspicious. His chief merit consisted in closing the civil wars, and securing peace and order in the country. He died at Richmond, and was buried in the magnificent chapel at Westminster, erected by himself. He also built “The Great Harry,” the first ship in the English Navy, ships before this time having been hired or pressed from merchants. It cost 14,000l.The King seems to have had remorse for his rapacity on his death-bed. He issued a general pardon for all offences, released all debtors, himself paying the debts of many; converted the Palace of the Savoy into an hospital; built several religious houses; and ordered restitution to be made to all men whom he had wronged by his extortions. It is unnecessary to state that his successor being his son, Henry VIII., not the slightest effect followed from the “restitution” clause.
488.Elizabeth.Queen of England.
[Born 1533. Died 1603. Aged 70.]
A mighty sovereign, and the last of our absolute monarchs. Her rule, despotic, but grand, and wholly in the interests of her country. A true Englishwoman, ambitious of England’s glory, and capable of inspiring her servants by her example, with unbounded zeal, patriotism, and heroism. As a woman, the picture less fascinating. Too selfish to be amiable, she was vain, imperious, violent. She had favourites, but none whom she would raise to the throne, for she hugged power with a passionate embrace, which no generous sentiment could unfasten, and no tender consideration induce her to divide. She stood above law, and she knew it. A man sharing her throne might have been less fortunate. Her successor proved so; and the son of that successor, trying the perilous ascent, lost his head in the attempt. Wondrous was the reign of Elizabeth in its effects upon the civilisation of the world. It produced Bacon in philosophy, Shakspeare and Spenser in poetry, Gresham in commerce. Drake and Raleigh also belong to this time. It was the era of the re-establishment of Protestantism, and of the rescue, on the sea, of spiritual liberty from the threatened onslaught of Spain. Undoubtedly Elizabeth was surrounded by great men, buther masculine spirit sat at the helm, and directed, for nearly fifty years, the course of the State vessel. Her vigilance was sleepless, her ability unbounded, her sagacity penetrating and quick; yet she had a love of finery that was frivolous, and to the last laboured under the impression that she was beautiful. The spirit of maritime discovery was now alive in England, and commerce flourished. When dying, Elizabeth was asked by Cecil who should succeed her. She answered, “No rascal. My seat has been the seat of kings. Who should succeed me but a king?”
[From the Effigy.]
489.Edward VI.King of England.
[Born 1537. Died 1553. Aged 16.]
The son of Henry VIII. by Jane Seymour, who died two days after the birth of her child. Edward was ten years old at the time of his accession to the throne. Before his character could be permanently formed he died, yet his form stands out in English history illuminated with intelligence, gentleness, and wisdom. He was fond of books, diligent in business, a lover of justice. He kept a diary, which still exists. Therein he noted down the characters of the good men by whom he was surrounded, how they lived, and what example they offered for his pious imitation. Well acquainted with foreign matters, and with the history and geography of his own country; zealous for knowledge, and ambitious of governing well. In this reign the first journal of the proceedings of the House of Commons was kept; the Common Prayer Book was established by Act of Parliament; Sternhold translated the psalms into English metre; and the king gave his palace at Bridewell for the lodging of poor travellers, and for the correction of vagabonds. Christ’s hospital, for the education of youth, and the hospitals of St. Bartholomew and St. Thomas, for the reception of the sick, were also founded by him. His concern, Alfred-like—and so young!—for exalting the character, by the instruction, of his people, was shown in the foundation of numerous free schools throughout the kingdom, which still bear and endear his name. Edward was very handsome. He died of consumption, brought on by an attack of small-pox and measles.
[Presented by Mr. John Archbutt, London.]
490.Mary Stuart.Queen of Scots.
[Born, 1542. Died, 1587. Aged 45.]
A queen whose calamities fill our eyes with tears, so that we can hardly see the frailties of the woman. Her loveliness, her learning, her misfortunes, her wit, and fascinating manners, have attached to her memory an interest and affection which even the deeply-founded suspicion of her crimes cannot efface. Various judgments have been pronounced upon her conduct. But one report has come down to us of her perfect beauty of countenance, her winning manners, and her elegance of form. Grave historians speak with admiration of her jet black hair, her exquisite complexion, her delicate white arm and hand, her stature that rose to a majestic height. Her treatment of Darnley, brutal though he was, and her marriage with Bothwell after Darnley’s assassination, are blots that still cling to her character. But even these offences would seem more than expiated by her eighteen years’ imprisonment, and her unwarranted execution, that foulest stain upon the reign of our own Elizabeth. Mary Stuart was violent in her attachments,vivacious, indiscreet, fond of flattery, and conscious of the power of her charms. It is said that her heart was warm and unsuspicious. It may be questioned whether she was always sincere. One of her recent biographers in France has styled her the “eternal enigma of history,” “the most problematical of all historical personages.” Disastrous as was her own story, the fate of her immediate descendants was even worse. A curse was upon the line. Yet her lineage flourishes now. It is found in England, Prussia, Denmark, and Hanover; in Spain, Portugal, Austria, Naples, Sardinia, and Modena.
[From the Effigy.]
490.*Charles the First.King of England.
[Born 1600. Beheaded 30th January, 1649. Aged 49.]
Grandson of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, whose misfortunes and drear fate he inherited, if he did not invite. A monarch whose exaggerated notions of prerogative, whose obstinacy, wilfulness, untruthfulness, and double-dealing, justified the resistance of a people awakened to a sense of their rights, and roused to the vindication of their liberties; yet a man whose sorrows, whose dignified bearing in misfortune, whose private virtues, love of literature and art, and gentle demeanour, render him an object of the deepest commiseration, and the most plaintive interest. His death was deliberate murder; and there is too much reason to fear that they who thought least of defending liberty, were the most thirsty of his blood. Yet some palliation for the guilt is found in the circumstance that in the public dealings of Charles with his Parliament his plighted word was not worth the paper upon which it was given. Irresolute and double-minded, he had never kept faith with his people. It was the misfortune of Charles to be born at a period when the conflicting elements of Royalty and Democracy were seething into tumult. Had he lived a little earlier, or a little later he would not have lost his head upon the block. A little earlier, the “divinity that doth hedge a king” would have shielded him in England from the sacrilege. A little later, he would have been hunted from English soil, as his son was. The catastrophe of his unhappy reign can never be re-enacted. His blood purchased that security. Never had the character of Englishmen, in many respects, looked so fair to the world as during the civil wars of Charles the First. The true-hearted loyal gentlemen who, knowing by experience the character of their master, yet clung to his cause and to his person until the last extremity, counting all sacrifice as delightful service, were not surpassed by the professed knights of chivalry. The devoted Republicans, who for the sake of man’s rights and God’s blessing seized arms for the first time in their lives, and became great Generals and Admirals—the glory of their country, and the terror of the world—take rank in the estimation of history, side by side with her most splendid heroes. We receive from them our cherished charters, and the liberty which finds no harm even when Europe is in conflagration. Terrible indeed must have been the state of the atmosphere in 1649, when the thunderbolt fell that struck down Charles, but purified the air for ever afterwards.
[The statue of Charles the First, which is in the South Transept, is from the bronze equestrian statue by Hubert le Sueur, which was erected at Charing Cross in the year 1674. It had been cast in 1633, near the church in Covent Garden, but never placed: and during the wars it was sold by Parliament to a brazier “living at the Dial, near Holborn Conduit,” with strict orders thathe should break it up. The brazier concealed the statue and horse underground until after the Restoration. Le Sueur was a Frenchman, and pupil of John of Bologna. He arrived in England about 1630, and died here. The pedestal is by Grinling Gibbons, who was born about the middle of the 17th century.]
491.James II.King of England.
[Born in England, 1633. Died in France, 1701. Aged 68.]
The second son of Charles I., whose fate he challenged by his obstinacy, wilfulness, and double dealing. He was a Roman Catholic, and in the blind defence and advocacy of his faith against the Constitution and laws of the country he governed, he perilled his crown which he lost, and his life which he ignominiously saved. He was not without good qualities. He was personally brave—not unmindful of the services of friends, and he exhibited devotion in the maintenance of the religious cause which he believed it his paramount duty to uphold. But he was bigotted, cruel, and wrongheaded. He could not be trusted whenever he was acting in the interests of the Pope. Louis XIV. in vain remonstrated with his royal cousin of England. James II. was too sincere a zealot to listen to reason. Louis Quatorze was too fine a gentleman, and too practised a courtier, to be betrayed into fanaticism. When James went a fugitive and an exile to France, Louis received him with a magnificence worthy of a triumphal progress.
[From the well-known statue by Grinling Gibbons in Privy Gardens, Whitehall. Represented in the costume of a Roman Emperor, according to the taste of the day.]
492.George III.King of England.
[Born 1738. Died 1820. Aged 82.]
The grandfather of her Majesty Queen Victoria. He reigned during sixty years, although during the last ten, he could take no part in public affairs. A king with many good qualities of heart and head, but obstinate, self-willed and not always sincere in his dealings with his Ministers. He is styled “The father of his people;” and his honest desire to secure their well-being and happiness, according to his own ideas of government, entitled him to the enviable distinction. In private life, George III. offered an admirable example for imitation to his subjects. But his wilful persistence in the maintenance of what he conceived his Royal prerogative, plunged England into war with America, and caused the premature loss to the country of that magnificent British colony.
[By John Bacon, R.A., when the King was 30 years old.]
493.George IV.King of England.
[Born 1762. Died 1830. Aged 68.]
In 1811, during the lifetime of his father, this prince was appointed Regent: and in 1820, upon the death of George III., he succeeded to the throne. The reign of this monarch is rendered memorable, by the scandalous proceedings instituted against Queen Caroline, and by the passing of the Act in 1829, which tolerated the Roman Catholic religion in the United Kingdom. George IV. was considered the first gentleman in Europe whilst he lived. Since his departure, history has pronounced him heartless, sensual, self-absorbed, and negligent of the true interests of his subjects, though not without some kingly qualities.
494.William IV.King of England.
[Born 1765. Died 1837. Aged 72.]
The third son of George III., and uncle of Queen Victoria. He succeeded his brother George IV. in 1830. His reign is remarkable as that in which the Reform Bill passed, changing the constitution of England by widening its basis. This King was before his marriage the father of several children, since ennobled, the mother being Mrs. Jordan, one of the most fascinating actresses and kind-hearted women of her time.
494A.William IV.King of England.
[Medallion by Chantrey, modelled for the coinage.]
495.The Duke of Cambridge.Prince of England.
[Born 1774. Died 1850. Aged 76.]
Youngest son of King George III., and one of the most popular princes of his family. He was for many years Viceroy of Hanover, where he endeared himself to the people. An amiable and innocent man.
496.Her Majesty Queen Victoria.Whom God Preserve!
[Born May 24th, 1819.]
497.His Royal Highness Prince Albert.Consort of Queen Victoria.
[Born August 26th, 1819.]
[Modelled from the life, by Emil Wolf.]
497A.His Royal Highness Prince Albert.Consort of Queen Victoria.
To whom the Crystal Palace at Sydenham, a development of the original Palace in Hyde Park, is indebted for its existence.
[By J. E. Jones.]