The Child's Pictorial History of England / From the Earliest Period to the Present Time

by Miss Corner

10. Towards the close of the eighteenth century this formal inconvenient style of dress was altered gradually; swords were left off; the hair which, in the early part of the reign of George the Third, was frizzed out, pomatumed and powdered, was dressed in a more natural manner; round hats came into fashion, and people began to look something like what they do now.

11. The reign of George the Second, which lasted thirty-three years, was on the whole rather a prosperous one, the greater part of it being spent in peace. There was no war for about twelve years, and during that time improvements were going on all over the country.

12. Most of the great towns were made larger, and new manufactories built, for the trade of England was increasing every year, and great quantities of manufactured goods were sent out to foreign countries; besides which, new roads were opened, waste lands cultivated, canals formed, and new harbors made for shipping, so that there was plenty of employment for the laboring people.

13. We had a good navy at this time, and the first war that broke out was carried on entirely at sea. It was with the Spaniards, who had taken possession of a great part of South America, and, as they chose to keep all the trade to themselves, they had ships constantly sailing about, to prevent the ships of other nations coming there, which was all very fair; but not content with guarding their own possessions, they interfered with British merchants, who were going to or from other places, plundered some of their vessels, and behaved so ill, that the British government was obliged to declare war, and sent out a great many ships to fight the Spaniards.

14. I dare say you have heard stories about press-gangs taking away poor men against their will, to make sailors of them. This cruel expedient for getting plenty of sailors, was resorted to in all the wars during the reigns of George the Second and George the Third, when many a poor fellow, in going to or returning from his daily labor, was met by a party of armed men, called a press-gang, and carried off, by force, to a ship, without being allowed to go home, or take leave of his family. Such things ought not to be done in a free country, and I hope they never will be done again, even if we should have the misfortune to be at war.

15. At this time, the French had large possessions in India, as well as the English, and it seemed doubtful which of the two nations would, in the end, be masters of the country; but this question was decided in the reign of George the Second, for, while the war with Spain was going on, a war broke out between France and England, about the affairs of Germany, where our king himself commanded the army, and fought at the battle of Dettingen; but the fighting between the French and English in India, was of more consequence, as several great victories were gained by a brave commander, named Clive, by which the superiority of the English in India was quite established, and ever since that time, we have gained one place after another, in that extensive and rich country, until a large portion of India has become a province of the British empire.

16. While these wars were going on abroad, there was another great rebellion in Scotland; for prince Charles Edward Stuart, the son of the old Pretender, being now a man, had come there to make another attempt to recover the throne for his father; and being joined by some of the Highland chiefs, and numbers of Scotch people, as well as by many English who were discontented with the government, he went to Holyrood house, the old palace of his ancestors, at Edinburgh, where he held a court, and behaved as if he had been sovereign of the country.

17. Of course, an army was sent from England, to put down this rebellion, which caused a great deal of misery; for, besides the numbers of brave men that were killed in the several battles which took place, many were afterwards executed as traitors, which must have been more dreadful for their families than if they had fallen in battle.

18. If Charles Edward had any good feeling, I think he must have been very sorry for the mischief he caused. He was finally defeated at the battle of Culloden, and obliged to escape, like Charles the Second, after the battle of Worcester, and his adventures are very similar, but more full of suffering, than those of the merry monarch. This is usually called the Rebellion of ’45, because it was in the year 1745.