6 more impiously unhallowed than by mutual bloody murder among you, his sons? Thy kingdom come; do you pray for the coming of his kingdom, while you are endeavouring to establish an earthly despotism, by the spilling of the blood of God's sons and subjects? Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven;' his will in heaven is for peace, but you are now meditating war. Dare you say to your Father in heaven, 'Give us this day our daily bread,' when you are the next minute to burn your brother's corn-fields, and had rather lose the benefit of them yourself, than suffer him to enjoy them unmolested? With what face can you say, 'Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us,' when, so far from forgiving your own brother, you are going with all the haste you can, to murder him in cold blood, for an alleged trespass, which, after all, is but imaginary? Do you presume to deprecate danger of temptation,' who, not without great danger to your self, are doing all you can to force your brother into danger? Do you deserve to be delivered from evil, that is, from the evil being to whose impulse you submit yourself, and by whose spirit you are guided, in contriving the greatest possible evil to your brother? It may be doubted, whether a complete history of all the conduct of infernal spirits would contain any thing more inconsistent, more abominable, or more to be deplored, than has appeared in the history of warring Christians. To behold two contending armies, from Christian nations, so deluded as mutually to offer prayers to the same benevolent God, for success in their attempts to butcher each other, is enough to fill the mind of any considerate person with amazement and horror; a sight like this might well cause triumph in hell! * See Antipolemus, by Erasmus, translated by Knox. VOL, III, Extracts from "English Stories," Vol. 2, by Maria Hack. Page 64. (Harry reads.) In the year 1294, a circumstance occurred which, though apparently trivial, was followed by very important consequences. A French and an English vessel happened to be near the coast of Normandy, and both of them being in want of water, they sent their boats to land, in order to procure the necessary supply. The crews unfortunately met at the same spring; each party desired to have the precedence, neither would yield to the other, and a scuffle ensued, in which a Norman was killed. This quarrel between a few sailors about filling their watercasks, not only kindled a bloody war between France and England, but occasioned an important change in the affairs of Scotland; and to this change, as being more immediately connected with our story, we shafi confine our attention. Harry. But I cannot "confine my attention" to it, mamma; and I wish you would be so very good as to explain how it was possible that such a prudent king as Edward the First could engage in a bloody war about filling water-casks! Mrs. B. The war appears to have originated in the imprudence and obstinacy of the French king. You know that Normandy was adjudged to be forfeited to the crown of France, on account of king John's share in the supposed murder of prince Arthur. The Norman sailors complained to Philip the Fair of the treatment they had received at the spring; and instead of enquiring into the real state of the case, or demanding satisfaction from the English government, that monarch, whose cruel and vindictive temper forms a striking contrast to the mildness and justice of his excellent grandfather, Louis the Ninth, bade the angry sailors take revenge themselves, and trouble him no more about the matter. Thus authorized, these desperate men seized an English U ship in the Channel, and hung several of the crew on the yard-arm, with some dogs beside them; they then dismissed the vessel, bidding the remaining mariners inform their countrymen that vengeance was now taken for the blood of the Norman killed at Bayonne. Harry. That was insulting and abominable indeed. Hang English sailors up with dogs! Mother, I do not wonder now that Edward should go to war. Mrs. B. Do you think, then, that the insolence and wickedness of a few ignorant sailors was a sufficient reason for subjecting millions, who had no concern in that quarrel, to the dangers and miseries of war? I assure you, Harry, that one of the most politic kings who ever swayed the English sceptre, one who was far too fond of military enterprises, did not think the occasion required him to make so hazardous an experiment. Harry. But what could he do Surely he would not submit to see his subjects insulted in that manner! Mrs. B. His subjects did not solicit his interference as they ought to have done, but took the law into their own hands, and committed the like barbarities on all French vessels without distinction. A sort of pirati cal war between the fleets of both nations followed: the English sailors obtained the assistance of Irish and Dutch vessels; the French secured that of the Flemings and Genoese. The sovereigns of both countries took no part in the quarrel, till after an obstinate battle, in which the English were victorious, and the loss of the French was said to amount to fifteen thousand men. The affair was now become too important to be overlooked; the king of France loudly demanded reparation, and Edward despatched the bishop of London to the French court, in order to accommodate the difference. In the first place, he stated that the English courts of justice were open to all men, and if any Frenchman were injured, he might there seek redress; but so far from insisting on the case being decided by the laws of England, he offered to settle the matter by private arbitration, or to refer it to the judgment of the court of Rome. You see, Harry, that national injuries may be repaired by wiser expedients than the hazardous results of war. Lucy. If nations settle their differences by arms; strength and courage, not justice, must gain the victory. Which of the plans proposed by Edward did the king of France accept? Mrs. B. None of them. Philip refused all the peaceable offers of our hero; indeed, he seems to have been glad of the opportunity of gratifying his ambition, for he summoned Edward, as his vassal, to answer in person, for the outrages which had originated in his own rash sanction of private revenge; and because he did not appear, Philip declared the feudal possessions which the king of England held in Gascony, to be forfeited, and immediately invaded them. Now, my dear Harry, the connexion of these circumstances with the affairs of Scotland will be explained in our story, and you had better proceed.— Harry then reads an account of the manner in which the wars with France and Scotland, before alluded to, were brought about— : Page 115. After reading an account of the sufferings of Bruce, subsequent to his coronation, Harry proceeds: "The declining health of Edward had compelled him to remain during the preceding winter, at Carlisle. Unwelcome news soon reached him: In the beginning of April 1307, Bruce found means to raise a body of troops, at the head of which he descended from the mountains. His little army increased as he advanced, and at last amounted to 10,000 men. With this accession of strength, he attacked and defeated the earl of Pembroke, and a few days afterwards routed the forces under the command of the earl of Gloucester, who ded to the castle of Ayr, where he was immediately besieged. "Edward was exasperated beyond measure when he heard that Bruce had again appeared, and been again successful. The energy of his mind appears to have exerted a temporary influence over his disorder. He felt, or fancied, an increase of strength, and made an offering of his horselitter in the cathedral of Carlisle. Impatient to execute his meditated vengeance on Scotland, he mounted his horse, and set forward on his way to Solway Firth; but the disorder, which had appeared to be suspended by strong mental excitement, returned with inreased violence in four days he only advanced six miles, and reached Burgh on the Sands, on the 6th of July. The next day he expired in his tent, in sight of that country which he had devoted to destruction. That his ruling passion was strong, even in death, we may believe, on the authority of Froissart, who probably received the account he has transmitted to us from persons who witnessed that awful scene, which he describes as follows: “When he (the king) perceived he could not recover, he called to him his eldest son, who was afterward king, and made him swear, in presence of all his barons, by the saints, that as soon as he should be dead, he would have his body boiled in a a large cauldron, until the flesh should be separated from the bones; that he should have the flesh buried, and the bones preserved; and that every time the Scots should rebel against him, he would summon his people, and carry with him the bones of his father; for he believed most firmly that as long as his bones were carried against the Scots, those Scots would never be victorious." To view the parting spirit trembling on the confines of eternity, and carrying with it into the house of death the schemes of ambition and the thirst of vengeance, is a fearful contemplation. But thus lamentably ignorant was this great monarch, of one of the most striking precepts of Him whose religion he professed, but to whose spirit he was a stranger: Forgive, that ye may be forgiven.' Lucy. What a contrast between the last instructions of Edward the First and those of our favourite Alfred! He charged his son to "comfort the poor and shelter the weak ;" and to trust in Providence, when he was in trouble, not in a dead man's bones. I am afraid the English did not improve much in the four hundred years that passed between the deaths of these two kings. Mrs. B. It would be very unfair to judge of the progress of improvement in such an interval, from the conduct of one individual. The temptation which proved fatal to the virtue of Edward, had no power over the mind of Alfred. They formed entirely different estimates of the true glory of a sovereign-The one supposed it to consist in the enlargement of his dominions; the other in the wise government of those he inherited from his ancestors-The one wasted his treasures and exertions in fruitless attempts to become the sole monarch of Great Britain; the other, when extensive districts would have submitted to his authority, was content to live and to die the patriot king of the West Saxons. Alfred died in peace and honour, and bequeathed a tranquil and flourishing kingdom to his successor. Can you tell me, Harry, what prevented Edward from doing the same? What was it that gradually obscured his noble qualities, and surrounded his dying bed with the fiend-like images of cruelty, hatred, and revenge? Harry. Ah, mamma! I can tell what you are thinking of, by the very tone of your voice. Well, I will be honest, and own that the first cause of all this mischief was 66 nothing worse than a little ambition:" but I hope-yes, I am sure-I shall think very differently of ambition for the future. At page 236-It is stated as the opinion of John Wicliff, that" He was particularly disgusted with the ambition which induced rival Popes to assert their claims to St. Peter's chair, at the expence of torrents of human blood; for he not only considered the whole trade of war to be utterly unlawful for Christians, but seems to have thought it wrong, on the principles of the gospel, to take away the life of man upon any occasion." The Substance of Three Letters addressed to Christian Ladies. (Continued from p. 121.) PERSONS who have read and reflected but little on the subject, regard the attempt to abolish war, as chimerical. I rejoice that many ladies of respectable rank are of a different opinion; and I doubt not, that they will unite with their brethren who have embarked in the cause of peace. Permit me, then, to express my firm belief, that the abolition of war will be completely in the power of the fair sex, if they can be persuaded to act the part of Christians indeed, and to combine their influence for the heavenly purpose. Do any of you ask, What can women do in such an enterprise? I answer, 'Much every way,' or at least much in many ways. But to prepare themselves for the work, they should obtain correct information respecting the causes of war, its nature and effects, and the characters of the men in general by whom it is made and conducted; its deleterious influence on the morals of society, the desolation, the anguish and misery it occasions; its violations of moral principle in the systematic course of intrigue, falsehood and violence it employs, and its perfect contrariety to the dictates of benevolence and religion, as these were displayed by the Messiah. Let it also be understood by the ladies, that war is the most wanton and fatal species of gambling-carried on by one class of men at the expence of the property and the lives of another; that it is in every respect as needless and as immoral as duelling, and commonly far more unjust in the vengeance it inflicts; that it is the most atrocious mode of offering human sacrifices which was ever adopted by pagans or savages, and that, like all other sanguinary customs, its very existence depends on its popularity. Consequently, every thing which tends to render the custom popular, tends to multiply the crimes and miseries of mankind; and every thing which tends to diminish its popularity, tends to lessen the aggregate of crime and wo. The ladies should also consider, that every smile of approbation which is given by them to military murder, may be the occasion of death to some surviving brother, or of dishonour to some fair sister; and that the consequences of such indiscretion may eventually recoil upon themselves, and involve them or their off spring in wretchedness, infamy, and despair. Having their minds duly impressed with these considerations, they should set their faces against war, as the most horrible of all customs which have been handed down from ages of savage ignorance and barbarity; and resolve to employ all their influence to render it as disreputable, as it is wicked and destructive. The ladies of rank and intelligence should take the lead in this work, and diffuse through every class of females correct sentiments on this subject. Mothers should inspire their daughters with the most perfect abhorrence of this cruel custom, and teach them to treat with decided disapprobation every appearance of a disposition in men to boast of their heroism in shedding human blood, or to make light of the crimes and havoc of war. They should imbue the minds of their sons with sentiments of humanity, love and tenderness towards all mankind, and excite in them a just detestation of every species of cruelty and barbarity. Let them also be taught to pity the unhappy beings who are deprived of the natural rights of men, and doomed to spend their days amidst the contagious vices of the camp, or in ships of war, or to employ their powers for the destruction of one another. And let both sons and daughters be taught to admire the heroism of men who hazard their reputation and their lives, and who employ their time, their powers and their property, in relieving the distresses and promoting the happiness of their fellow-beings. Let them moreover be taught to regard with horror, mingled with pity, those deluded men who wantonly plunge nations into war, or who seek to aggrandize themselves by destroying or oppressing others. If mothers perceive in their children a disposition to admire the wonderful exploits of such men as Alexander the Great, or the fatal splendour which delusion has thrown around such desolating barbarians, they should correct the error, by bringing to view the unspeakable misery which such men have occasioned in the world; what multitudes of wives they have made widows, what multitudes of children they have made fatherless, or murdered in childhood; how many tender parents they have bereaved of their sons-how the people of whole towns, cities or provinces, have been either wantonly butchered, or reduced to beggary and Such military monsters should be represented to children, as bearing a striking resemblance to their 'father, the devil,' being like him the tormentors and destroyers of mankind. WO. All women professing godliness should take a decided and active part; remembering that a meek and quiet spirit is in the sight of God of great price.' This spirit they should inculcate both by precept and example; discountenancing in their children and in others every propensity to cruelty, revenge or war. How shocking to hear a Christian woman narrating with pleasure the inhuman butcheries committed by her husband, her father, or her son! If she has reason to respect her husband, her father, or her son, let it appear that she also deplores the delusion which has led many valuable men to call evil good, and to regard the business of manslaughter as an honourable employment. If she has at all occasion to mention the sanguinary deeds of her relations, let it ever be done with tears of regret, and not with the exultation of an unreflecting savage. By thirty years of faithful and united exertions on the part of females in Christendom, War might lose all its fascinating charms, and be regarded by the next generation with more abhorrence than the people of the present age look back on the gladiatorial combats of Rome, the Papal crusades, or the flames of martyrdom. Then every well-informed man, who shall desire the approbation of the ladies, or be in pursuit of a virtuous wife, will know that military decorations, and boasting of sanguinary exploits, are as little adapted to recommend him, as a present of human scalps, or of garments died in the blood of "murdered men. Unless something should be done to bring War into disrepute, it will frequently and inevitably occur; and probably it will be but a few years before our country will again be engaged in some bloody and disastrous game "Go then, ah go, whate'er thy lot, That God thy ruin'd race may spare, Greenfield Hill. U 3 |