against the convents, appeared to hate the clergy with equal animofity. Thefe difagreeing orders only concurred in one point, that of efteeming and reverencing the king. He therefore thought this the most favourable conjuncture of uniting England with Wales. The Welsh had for ma ny ages enjoyed their own laws, language, cuftoms, and opinions. They were the remains of the ancient Britons, who had escaped the Roman and Saxon invasions, and ftill preferved their freedom and their country, uncontaminated by the admiffion of foreign conquerors. But as they were, from their number, incapable of withstanding their more powerful neighbours on the plain, their chief defence lay in their inacceffible mountains, thofe natural bulwarks of the country. Whenever England was dif treffed by factions at home, or its forces called off to wars abroad, the Welfh made it a conftant practice to pour in their irregular troops, and lay the open country wafte wherever they came. Nothing could be more pernici. ous to a country than feveral neighbouring independant principalities, under different commanders, and purfuing different interefts; the mutual jealoufies of fuch were fure to harrafs the people; and wherever victory was pur chafed, it was always at the expence of the general welfare. Senfible of this, Edward had long wished to reduce that incurfive people, and had ordered Lewellyn to do homage for his territories: which fummons the Welfh prince refufed to obey, unless the king's own fon fhould be delivered as a hoftage for his fafe return. The king was not difpleafed at this refufal, as it ferved to give him a pretext for his intended invafion. He therefore levied an army againft Lewellyn, and marched into his country with certain affurance of fuccefs. Upon the approach of Edward, the Welsh prince took refuge among the inacceffable mountains of Snowdon, and there refolved to maintain his ground, without trusting to the chance of a battle. Thefe were the fteep retreats, that had for many ages before defended his ancestors against all the attempts of the Norman and Saxon conquerors. But Edward, equally vigorous and cautious, having explored every part of his way, pierced into the very centre of Lewellyn's territories, and approached the Welsh army army in its last retreats. Here, after extorting fubmiffion from the Welsh prince, the king retired. But an idle prophecy, in which it was foretold, by Merlin, that Lewellyn was to be the restorer of Brutus's empire in Britain, was an inducement fufficiently ftrong to perfuade this prince to revolt once more, and hazard a decifive battle against the English. With this view he marched into Radnorshire; and paffing the river Wey, his troops were furprised and defeated by Edward Mortimer, while he himself was abfent from his army, upon a conference with fome of the barons of that country. Upon his return, feeing the dreadful fituation of his affairs, he ran defperately into the midst of the enemy, and quickly found that death he fo ardently fought for. David, the brother of this unfortunate prince, soon after fell in the same caufe; and with him expired the government, and the diftinction of the Welsh nation. It was foon after united to the kingdom of England, made a principality, and given to the eldest fon of the crown. Foreign conquefts might add to the glory, but this added to the felicity of the kingdom. The Welsh were now blended with the conquerors; and in the revolution of a few ages, all national animofity was entirely forgotten. Soon after, the death of Margaret queen of Scotland gave him hopes of adding alfo Scotland to his dominion. The death of this princefs produced a moft ardent difpute about the fucceffion to the Scotifh throne, being claimed by no less than twelve competitors. The claims however of all the other candidates were reduced to three, who were the defcendants of the Earl of Huntingdon by three daughters; John Haftings, who claimed in right of his mother, as one of the co-heireffes of the crown; John Baliol, who alledged his right, as being defcended from the eldest daughter, who was his grandmother; and Robert Bruce, who was the actual fon of the fecond daughter. This difpute being referred to Edward's decifion, with a ftrong degree of affurance, he claimed the crown for himself, and appointed Baliol his deputy. Baliol being thus placed upon the Scotifh throne, lefs as a king than as a vaffal, Edward's firft ftep was sufficient to convince that people of his intentions to stretch the the prerogative to the utmost. Upon the moft frivolous pretences, he fent fix different fummonfes for Baliol to appear in London, at different times, in one year; so that the poor Scotish king foon perceived that he was poffeffed of the name only, but not the authority of a fove. reign. Willing, therefore, to shake off the yoke of fo troublesome a mafter, Baliol revolted, and procured the pope's abfolution, from his former oath of homage.. But no power the Scots could bring into the field was able to withstand the victorious army of Edward. He overthrew their forces in many engagements, and thus becoming undifputed mafter of the kingdom, he took every precaution to fecure his title, and to abolish those dif tinctions which might be apt to keep the nation in its former independance. Balíol was carried a prisoner to London, and he carefully deftroyed all records and monuments of antiquity, that infpired the Scots with a spirit of national pride. Thefe expeditions, however, terminated rather in glory than advantage: the expences which were requifite for carrying on the war, were not only burthenfome to the king, but even, in the event, threatened to shake him on his throne. In order at first to fet the great machine in movement, he raised confiderable fupplies by means of his parliament; and that auguft body was then firft modelled by him into the form in which it continues to this day. As a great part of the property of the kingdom was, by the introduction of commerce, and the improvement of agriculture, transferred from the barons to he lower claffes of the people, fo their confent was thought neceffary for the raifing any confiderable fupplies. For this reafon, he iffued writs to the sheriffs, enjoining them to fend to parliament, along with two knights of the fhire (as in the former reign), two deputies from each borough within their country; and thefe provided with fufficient powers from their conftituents, to grant fuch demands as they fhould think reafonable for the fafety of the ftate. One of the first efforts, therefore, was to oblige the king's council to fign the Magna Charta, and to add a claufe to fecure the nation for ever against all impofitions and taxes, without the confent of parliament. This the king's council council (for Edward was at that time in Flanders) readily agreed to fign; and the king himself, when it was fent over to him, after fome hesitation, thought proper to do the fame. These conceffions he again confirmed upon his return; and though it is probable he was averse to granting them, yet he was at laft brought to give a plenary confent to all the articles that were demanded of him. Thus, after the conteft of an age, the Magna Charta was finally established; nor was it the least circumftance in its favour, that its confirmation was procured from one of the greateft and boldest princes that ever fwayed the English fceptre. In the mean time, William Wallace, fo celebrated in Scotifh ftory, attempted to rescue Scotland from the Englith yoke. He was younger fon of a gentleman, who lived in the western part of the kingdom. He was a man of a gigantic ftature, incredible strength, and amazing intrepidity; eagerly defirous of independence, and poffeffed with the most difinterested fpirit of patriotifm. To this man had reforted all thofe who were obnoxious to the English government; the proud, the bold, the criminal, and the ambitious. Thefe, bred among dangers and hard. ships themselves, could not forbear admiring in their leader a degree of patience, under fatigue and famine, which they fuppofed beyond the power of human nature to endure; he foon, therefore, became the principal ob. ject of their affection and their esteem. His first exploits were confined to petty ravages, and occafional attacks upon the English; but he foon overthrew the English armies, and flew their generals. Edward, who had been over in Flanders, while thefe misfortunes happened in England, haftened back with impatience to restore his authority, and fecure his former conquefts. He quickly levied the whole force of his dominions; and at the head of a hundred thousand men directed his march to the North, fully refolved to take vengeance upon the Scots for their late defection. A battle was fought at Falkirk, at which Edward gained a complete victory, leaving twelve thousand of the Scots, or, as fome will have it, fifty thousand, dead upon the field, while the English had not a hundred flain. A blow A blow fo dreadful, had not as yet entirely crushed the fpirit of the Scots nation; and after a fhort interval, they began to breathe from their calamities. Wallace, who had gained all their regards by his valour, fhewed that he ftill merited them more by his declining the rewards of ambition. Perceiving how much he was envied by the nobility, and knowing how prejudical that envy would prove to the interefts of his country, he refigned the regency of the kingdom, and humbled himself to a private ftation. He propofed Cummin as the propereft perfon to fupply his room; and that nobleman endeavoured to fhew himself worthy of this pre-eminence. He foon began to annoy the enemy; and not content with a defenfive war, made incurfions into the fouthern counties of the kingdom, which Edward had imagined wholly fabdued. They attacked an army of English lying at Roflin, near Edinburgh, and gained a complete victory. But it was not eafy for any circumstances of bad fortune to repress the enterprifing fpirit of the king. He affembled a great fleet and army; and entering the frontiers of Scotland, appeared with a force which the enemy could not think of refifting in the open field. Affured of fuccefs, he marched along, and traverfed the kingdom from one end to the other, ravaging the open country, taking all the caftles, and receiving the fubmiffions of all the nobles. There feemed to remain only one obftacle to the final deftruction of the Scotifh monarchy, and that was William Wallace, who ftill continued refractory; and wandering with a few forces from mountain to mountain, preferved his native independence and ufual good fortune. But even their feeble hopes from him were foon difappointed; he was betrayed into the king's hands. by Sir John Monteith, his friend, whom he had made acquainted with the place of his concealment, being furprised by him as he lay afleep in the neighbourhood of Glafgow. The king, willing to ftrike the Scots with an example of feverity, ordered him to be conducted in chains to London, where he was hanged, drawn and quartered, with the moft brutal ferocity: Robert Bruce who had been one of the competitors for the crown, but was kong kept prifoner in London, at |