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History of King Charles the Second of England By: Jacob Abbott (1803-1879) |
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HISTORY OF KING CHARLES THE SECOND OF ENGLAND. BY JACOB ABBOTT.
PREFACE. The author of this series has made it his special object to confine
himself very strictly, even in the most minute details which he records,
to historic truth. The narratives are not tales founded upon history,
but history itself, without any embellishment or any deviations from
the strict truth, so far as it can now be discovered by an attentive
examination of the annals written at the time when the events themselves
occurred. In writing the narratives, the author has endeavored to avail
himself of the best sources of information which this country affords;
and though, of course, there must be in these volumes, as in all
historical accounts, more or less of imperfection and error, there is
no intentional embellishment. Nothing is stated, not even the most
minute and apparently imaginary details, without what was deemed good
historical authority. The readers, therefore, may rely upon the record
as the truth, and nothing but the truth, so far as an honest purpose
and a careful examination have been effectual in ascertaining it.
CONTENTS. Chapter I. INFANCY II. PRINCE CHARLES'S MOTHER III. QUEEN HENRIETTA'S FLIGHT IV. ESCAPE OF THE CHILDREN V. THE PRINCE'S RECEPTION AT PARIS VI. NEGOTIATIONS WITH ANNE MARIA VII. THE ROYAL OAK OF BOSCOBEL VIII. THE KING'S ESCAPE TO FRANCE IX. THE RESTORATION X. THE MARRIAGE XI. CHARACTER AND REIGN XII. CONCLUSION
CHAPTER I. INFANCY. King Charles the Second was the son and successor of King Charles the
First. These two are the only kings of the name of Charles that have
appeared, thus far, in the line of English sovereigns. Nor is it very
probable that there will soon be another. The reigns of both these
monarchs were stained and tarnished with many vices and crimes, and
darkened by national disasters of every kind, and the name is thus
connected with so many painful associations in the minds of men, that
it seems to have been dropped, by common consent, in all branches of
the royal family. The reign of Charles the First, as will be seen by the history of his
life in this series, was characterized by a long and obstinate contest
between the king and the people, which brought on, at last, a civil
war, in which the king was defeated and taken prisoner, and in the end
beheaded on a block, before one of his own palaces. During the last
stages of this terrible contest, and before Charles way himself taken
prisoner, he was, as it were, a fugitive and an outlaw in his own
dominions. His wife and family were scattered in various foreign lands,
his cities and castles were in the hands of his enemies, and his oldest
son, the prince Charles, was the object of special hostility. The
prince incurred, therefore, a great many dangers, and suffered many
heavy calamities in his early years. He lived to see these calamities
pass away, and, after they were gone, he enjoyed, so far as his own
personal safety and welfare were concerned, a tranquil and prosperous
life. The storm, however, of trial and suffering which enveloped the
evening of his father's days, darkened the morning of his own. The
life of Charles the First was a river rising gently, from quiet springs,
in a scene of verdure and sunshine, and flowing gradually into rugged
and gloomy regions, where at last it falls into a terrific abyss,
enveloped in darkness and storms. That of Charles the Second, on the
other hand, rising in the wild and rugged mountains where the parent
stream was engulfed, commences its course by leaping frightfully from
precipice to precipice, with turbid and foaming waters, but emerges
at last into a smooth and smiling land, and flows through it
prosperously to the sea. Prince Charles's mother, the wife of Charles the First, was a French
princess. Her name was Henrietta Maria. She was unaccomplished,
beautiful, and very spirited woman... Continue reading book >>
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