CHAP. IV.
CONVERSATION ON HISTORY
On the morning after the play, Charles was thinking about the king of Scotland, and he asked his mamma why there was no king of Scotland now, as there used to be, and she told him that England and Scotland were now considered only as one kingdom, and called Great Britain.
"Yes," said Charles, "I know that the queen of England is queen of Scotland too; but I want to know how it came to be so; because you see, mamma, that when Duncan was king of Scotland, there was a king of England as well."
"Yes, my dear," and for five hundred years after Duncan was murdered, there were kings of Scotland and England also; but when Queen Elizabeth died, her nearest relation happened to be the king of Scotland, James the sixth; he was her cousin, and as she left neither brothers nor sisters, nor children, James became king of England as well as of his own country; and since that time there has been but one king to govern both kingdoms."
"Thank you, mamma," said Charles, "I could not think how it was before; but do you think it is best to have one king or two?"
"I think it is best to have but one, because, if you look at your map, you will see that England and Scotland together make one large island; and while they were separate kingdoms, they were frequently at war with each other."
"What did they go to war for, mamma?"
"I believe, Charles, the true cause generally was, that the English king thought he should like to have the whole island for himself; but what made the matter worse was, that as the people who were fighting against each other, all lived in the same island, it was almost as bad as a civil war."
"What is a civil war, mamma?"
"It is when the people of any country cannot agree among themselves, and so make war upon each other: there have been civil wars in all countries at different times; they are the most dreadful of all wars, because relations and friends are often fighting in battle against each other."
"Oh, what a shocking thing!" said Charles; "But why do they do it mamma? I cannot think why people should fight battles with one another."
"I will try to explain it, my dear: There is at present a civil war in Spain, because when the last king died, some of the people said that his daughter should be queen, and others said his brother should be king; so the daughter was placed on the throne and crowned; but the brother, whose name is Don Carlos, is very angry at this, because he thinks he has the greatest right to the crown; so he has persuaded all who are on his side, to go to war with all who are in favour of the queen, therefore the Spaniards are now fighting against each other."
"Which do you think will win?" said Charles.
"I cannot possibly say, my dear. But I wish to show you, Charles, the terrible consequences of a civil war. It may happen that fathers and sons are of different opinions, and that one fights for the queen, and the other for the king; and then it is possible that in battle the son may kill his father, or the father his son."
"Oh, that would be shocking!" said Charles.
"And yet it has sometimes happened," said his mamma; "there have been brothers too, who have fought against each other, and many persons who were friends before, have become the bitterest enemies."
"Was there ever a civil war in England, mamma?"
"Yes, my dear, more than once. The last was because many people thought they should like to have no king at all; I am going to buy you a little history of England, and then you will read about it."
"I shall like to read about it," said Charles, "but what did the people do when they thought they should like to have no king?"
"They said the king had done a great many things that were wrong, and so they put him in prison, and at last had his head cut off; do you know, Charles, which king it was who was beheaded?"
"Yes, mamma; it was Charles the first."
"Well, after Charles the first was beheaded, some of the people declared that his son should be king, and others said they would have no king at all, but that they would have somebody instead to manage the affairs of the country."
"And I know who that was, mamma," said Charles, "it was Oliver Cromwell, I know he was not a king, but I did not understand how it was before."
"And I suppose you also understand now, why this caused a civil war?" said his mamma.
"Of course I do," replied Charles; "some people fought for the king, and some for Oliver Cromwell."
"Yes," replied Mrs. Barker, "and for a long time the country was in a very unhappy state. The king was obliged to hide himself, for if he had been caught he would perhaps have been beheaded, as his poor father was. But at last he got away in a ship, and went to Holland, where he lived for some years; but at last his party was victorious, and he came back to England."
"Then there was a king again," said Charles.
"Yes, then there was a king again, he was Charles the second; and now every year on the day that he returned, the bells ring, and the guns are fired, it is the 29th of May, and is called king Charles's restoration. When May comes, if you listen on that day, you will hear the bells ringing very merrily, and then you will know what it is for."
"So I shall," said Charles, "I am glad of that, I like to know things, I wish I knew the history of every country in the world."
"It is a very good thing to know a great deal of history," said his mamma; "and the best way of gaining this knowledge, is to read with attention the books that have been written on purpose to teach little boys history; they are the best for you to read now; then, when you are older, you will be able to understand the large books that are in your papa's book-case, and you may become acquainted with the history of the whole world, if you like."