LETTER XIV.

MY DEAR BOY,

IN our last letter, we saw that the duke of Lancaster was made king, under the title of Henry the Fourth. We saw, too, that he had no right, at all, to the throne, as it properly belonged to the duke of York's family, which was descended from Lionel duke of Clarence, the elder brother of John of Gaunt, Henry's father.

There is no happiness to be enjoyed from what is gained by foul means; and so Henry soon found it. He was constantly harassed by plots and rebellions. Those very persons who had helped him to get the crown, were now the first to endeavour to take it from him, when they saw how haughtily he carried himself towards his former friends. The duke of Northumberland, a powerful nobleman, was one of those who had formerly assisted him, and who now rebelled

against him and this duke had a son, a brave and gallant youth, but so fierce and fiery that they called him Hotspur. This family, and many others, raised a powerful army against the king; and a great battle was fought between them at Shrewsbury, where, however, the rebels were completely beaten, and Hotspur was killed. The king himself was in this battle, and fought bravely. His son, too, was there, the same who was afterwards that brave king, Henry the Fifth. Here this prince, young as he was, shewed that he knew how to fight, and gave a sort of earnest of the sort of man he was afterwards to be. He did wonders in this battle; and some people say that it was he that killed Hotspur. This prince, however, though he could fight so well, was altogether a very bad sort of young man; and his loose behaviour, his fondness for bad company, and his profligate living, were the cause of great affliction to his father in his old age. All the riches and all the greatness in the world will never make any happy who has the affliction of an unthankful and wicked son. It is true that this young prince did, afterwards, become wiser and better, and that he became, indeed, a great

king; but his bad behaviour had almost broken his father's heart first. Indeed, the old king, plagued by rebellions, vexed by his son's bad behaviour, and tormented in his conscience by the remembrance of his own cruelty to the late king, and of the unjust means by which he gained his crown, seems to have had no peace and no happiness.

You know that Shakspeare wrote several plays from the History of England: he has given us a beautiful speech of Henry the Fourth, on Sleep, where the king seems to have been so harassed with cares, and vexations, and the stings of conscience, that he could get no sleep to close his eyes; and he seems most anxiously to wish to lay aside the troubles of state, and the torments of mind which accompanied them, and to change places with the lowest of his subjects.

"How many thousands of my poorest subjects
Are, at this hour, asleep! Sleep, gentle Sleep,
Nature's soft nurse, how have I frighted thee,
That thou no more wilt weigh my eye-lids down,
And steep my senses in forgetfulness?

Why rather, Sleep, liest thou in smoky cribs,
Upon uneasy pallets stretching thee,

in

And hushed with buzzing night-flies to thy slumber;
Than in the perfum'd chambers of the great,
Under the canopies of costly state,

And lull'd with sounds of sweetest melody?

-Wilt thou, upon the high and giddy mast,
Seal up the ship-boy's eyes, and rock his brains
In cradle of the rude imperious surge?
Canst thou, O partial Sleep, give thy repose
To the wet sea-boy in an hour so rude;
And, in the calmest and the stillest night,
With all appliances and means to boot,

Deny it to a king? Then, happy low, lie down,
Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown."

You see the king seems to think "low" people the happiest, and considers that they "lie down" peace, while the great are harassed on all sides with cares and torments. A man, however, whose conscience torments him, will never sleep sound, whether he be high or low.

Henry the Fourth died in the year 1413.

I am your affectionate father, &c..

QUESTIONS.

After Richard the Second was murdered, who was king of

England?

To whose family did the crown properly belong?

Did Henry the Fourth enjoy his power in peace? or did any

of his subjects rebel against him?

Who raised an army to fight against the king?

What great battle was fought?

Which side gained the victory, and who was killed?

Was the king in the battle?

Was his son?

Who was that son?

Was this prince a good young man, or not?

Did his behaviour greatly distress his father?

Did he afterwards improve?

Was the king's mind disturbed with the thoughts of the unjust way in which he got the throne, and with his cruelty to the late king?

Will the remembrance of past wickedness torment the con

science, and drive away the refreshment of sleep?

Which is the happiest, a poor labourer, whose mind is at

ease, or a king, whose mind is filled with cares, and whose conscience is stung with the remembrance of sin? In what year did Henry the Fourth die?