ns felt that in England they could not worship God in what seemed to them the right way so although they loved their country they resolved to leave it and sail away over the sea to the new lands which had been discovered there they would found a new England where they could be free the first of these Puritans who left England were called the Pilgrim Fathers the ship they sailed in was called the Mayflower there were only one hundred of them men women and children before they started there were many sad partings all left dear friends behind some said goodbye forever to fathers and mothers some left their wives and little children hoping one day to be able to send for them when they had made a new home far over the sea but sad as they were their hearts were full of hope and in spite of tears they sang hymns they started in the summer but they had so many delays and misfortunes that it was winter before they reached America they did not come to the part of America to which they had expected to come but reached land much further north where the winter was very cold far colder than the English winter as the little Mayflower drew near the shore of their new home looked very dark and dreary to those Pilgrim Fathers there were no people to greet them on the beach no houses with twinkling lights by night and cheerful smoke by day there was nothing but the rough rocky shore and beyond it a mass of bare brown trees there was no sound but the roar of the waves all of sea birds and the cry of wild animals the little land of Pilgrims felt very lonely when they landed in this strange country hundreds and hundreds of miles from any white people dark woods and wilderness lay in front behind the cold grey sea separating them from all their loved ones and round them day and night the fear of attack from the wild red Indians who inhabited the land but in spite of dangers and hardships they did not lose heart soon the noise of axe and saw was heard in the forest as the Pilgrim Fathers felled trees and cut them into planks with which to build their houses through cold and wind and rain they worked and a little town of wooden houses rose round the little wooden meeting house as they called their church the building went on slowly for all the Pilgrim Fathers could not work at once some of them had to keep watch in case of attack from the red Indians while the remainder built the houses and laid out the gardens the little bands struggled bravely they were often cold and hungry, weary and afraid still they did not give up hope they had very little to eat even though at night if they would have anything for breakfast in the morning once an eagle was shot and they thought it was a great treat they tasted something like mutton once a sailor found a herring on the shore as it was only enough for one the captain had it for supper but many of the Pilgrims, unused to such hardships died during the winter at last the dark days passed and with the sunshine of the spring came brighter times and with the spring the Mayflower which had lain in the bay all winter sailed back to England with sad hearts the Pilgrims saw it go it was the last link which bound them to their old home yet in spite of the longing in their hearts for the green fields and white cliffs of England in spite of all the hardships they had suffered not one Pilgrim returned home with the Mayflower they knelt upon the shore watching with tear-dimmed eyes till the last glimmer of its white sails died away in the distance then they turned back to their work but for many days after the bay seemed sad and empty with no little Mayflower riding at anchor in it the Pilgrim fathers named their town Plymouth after the town in England from which they had sailed from these few settlers the great American nation has grown and although America is no longer a British colony but a separate nation it is a nation which has grown out of the British nation if you look at the map of America you will see Plymouth marked in the state of Massachusetts in that town there is a hall called Pilgrim Hall and in front of it stands a rock which is railed round and carefully preserved it is the rock which the feet of the Pilgrim fathers first touched when they landed to found New England the people of America are proud to remember that they are descended from those stern, brave men and women so they guard the stone as something precious and the 22nd of December the day on which the Pilgrim fathers landed is called Four Fathers Day and is kept as a holiday the breaking waves dashed high on a stern and rock bound coast and the woods against the stormy sky their giant branches tossed and the heavy night hung dark the hills and water oar when a band of exiles moored their bark on the wild New England shore not as the conqueror comes they the true hearted came not with the role of stirring drums and the trumpet that sings of fame not as the flying come in silence and in fear they shook the depths of the desert gloom with their hymns of lofty cheer amidst the storm they sang and the stars heard and at the sea and the sounding aisles of the dim wood rang to the anthem of the free the ocean eagle soared from his nest by the white waves foam and the rocking pines of the forest roared there were men with hoary hair amidst that pilgrim band why had they come to wither there away from their childhoods land there was women's fearless eye lit by her deep love's truth there was manhood's brow serenely high and the fiery heart of youth what sought they thus afar bright jewels of the mine the wealth of seas, the spoils of war no, it was a faith's pure shrine yes, call it holy ground which first their brave feet trod worship God End of Chapter 75 Read by Kara Schellenberg on August 20th, 2006 Visiting Humaguire in Montreal, Canada Our Island Story Chapter 76 This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information and to find out how you can volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Our Island Story by H. E. Marshall Chapter 76 How a Woman Struck a Blow for Freedom Like Queen Elizabeth King James had favourites but unfortunately the favourites he chose were not good and wise men who helped him to govern well but men who although clever were bad and who thought only of themselves some of these men liked money and fine clothes and James spent so much on them that he was always poor and in debt and this led him into quarrels with the people and Parliament The Tudors had been a very autocratic race of kings Autocratic is a word made from Greek words and means that the Tudors wanted to rule quite by themselves without help or advice from anyone During the time of the Tudors especially in the reigns of Henry VIII and Elizabeth the power of Parliament had been much lessened James tried to lessen it still more James knew how autocratic Elizabeth had been and he meant to be the same but Elizabeth although she had her own way in many things she went to yield and let the people have their way James did not know how to yield he wanted to be a despot which is another word take from Greek and really means master but has come to mean cruel master the king can do no wrong said James what he does must be right and the people must obey and ask no questions King James wrote several books and in one of them he set down his ideas about the power of a king but the people did not agree with these ideas which the king did were wrong as they would not do everything he wished them to do James dismissed Parliament and ruled for many years without calling another when James died in 1625 AD no one was very sorry he had reigned for 58 years 36 years as king of Scotland and 22 as king of Great Britain and Ireland and his people English, Scots and Irish were discontented with his rule yet in spite of all he had tried to do the people were really nearer freedom than before they had shown that they would not quietly submit to the rule of a despot James was succeeded by his son Charles he had been taught by his father to believe that the king could do no wrong and like his father Charles wanted to be autocratic Charles too dismissed Parliament because he could not have entirely his own way he tried to make the people pay taxes and give him money without the consent of Parliament and this made them very angry like King James King Charles had bad advisors perhaps was his own wife of whom he was very fond she was a French princess called Henrietta Maria and was a Roman Catholic she hated the Puritans who were growing more and more important in England Charles hated them too and with the advice of Archbishop Lord who was one of his chief advisors he treated the Puritans very hardly many of the people in Scotland had become Protestant they were called Presbyterians and like the Puritans they chose to have a very simple form of worship and very simple churches this did not please Charles he said that the Scottish church must use the same service as the English church he ordered a new prayer book to be made which was almost the same as the English prayer book this he sent to all the Scottish ministers commanding them to begin to use it on Sunday 23rd of July 1637 AD there was great excitement among the Scottish people when this order became known on the Sunday morning many crowded to the Cathedral of St Giles in Edinburgh wondering what would happen it was seen that he was wearing a white robe instead of the black one in which the Scottish clergy usually preached the Dean knew little of the anger which was rising in the hearts of the stern-faced men and women round him as the words of the new prayers rang strangely through the silent church he began the service using the new prayer book but he had not gone far when an old woman called Jenny Geddes sprang up thou false thief she cried wilt thou say mass at my ear and with that she threw the stool she had been sitting at the Dean's head in a moment the whole church was in confusion the mass the mass potpourri potpourri shouted the people down with the pope down with him the women rushed at the Dean and tore his white surplus from his shoulders he was so hardly used that he ran the risk of being killed the Bishop of Edinburgh went into the pulpit and tried to calm the people but they would not listen to him a pope a pope they cried down with him down with him when the soldiers were sent for the church was cleared the doors were locked and the new service was read to the few who were in favour of it outside the crowd yelled and hooted breaking the windows with stones and hammering on the doors which were locked and barred against them the bishop barely escaped with his life he was carried through the crowd surrounded by soldiers with drawn swords in their hands all Scotland was in arms high and low banded together to resist the king he was forced to fight for the freedom of religion the paper was called the National Covenant and the people who signed it the Covenanters Scotland was ready for war and Charles was forced to recall the prayer book and allow the Scottish church to be free Charles promised the Scottish church freedom but he could never keep his word soon he raised an army intending to force them to do as he wished but the scots were ready to fight and they marched into England to meet Charles the English Puritans were on the side of the Scots in all history the Scottish army coming into England was welcomed by the English the fighting ended in a victory for the Scots and once more Charles promised them freedom in religion if you should ever go to St Charles Cathedral in Edinburgh you will see there is a brass plate in memory of Ginny Geddes and her deed is said there not because it is right or wrong to use a prayer book not because it is better to worship God in one way rather than another but because it is right that people should be free to pray to God in their own way neither Pope nor King has a right to say how any man or woman shall pray and it is not because Ginny Geddes fought against the prayer book but because she struck a blow for freedom that we remember her End of Chapter 76 In 1640 A.D. what is known as the Long Parliament began to sit and the King Charles the King Charles the King Charles Charles the First the story of how the King and the Parliament quarreled and at last fought as Parliament would not do exactly as King Charles wished he ruled without one for nearly 12 years during these years he was often in need of money and raised it in many wrong ways but at last he could get no more money by right or by wrong ways and he was obliged to call a Parliament the Long Parliament began to sit it was called the Long Parliament because it lasted so long the people chose the members for this Parliament very carefully and they were not slow to show the King how strong they were they beheaded one of the King's advisors because they said he had been guilty of treason to commit treason means to do anything that is hurtful to the State or Government to commit high treason is to do anything hurtful to the King the Parliament also imprisoned Archbishop Loud and three years later he was beheaded King Charles had quarrelled King Charles had quarrelled with every Parliament he had had during his reign now the quarrels grew worse and worse at last one day Charles marched to the House followed by his soldiers meaning to seize five members who he thought were his worst enemies leaving his soldiers at the door of the House Charles went in and marched up to the Speaker's chair Mr. Speaker, he said I must borrow your seat for a time the Speaker rose and fell upon his knee before the King the five members standing there headed while the King sat down in the Speaker's chair Charles looked keenly round the House but none of the five members were to be seen they had been warned and were not there he called them each by name only silence answered Mr. Speaker said Charles at last where are those five members who might have called are any of them in the House do you see them Your Majesty said the Speaker again falling upon his knees to see nor tongue to speak in this place but as the House may be pleased to direct me Ah! said Charles I see the birds are flown then after making a very angry and bitter speech he left the House as he passed out the silence was broken by cries of rage for the people felt that the King was trampling on all their rights the quarrels grew worse and worse and at last war broke out war between Britain and Britain English, Scots and Irish all joined in this war and it was called the Great Rebellion the King and the Lords were on one side and the Parliament and the people on the other those who followed the King were called Cavaliers or Royalists those who followed the Parliament were called Parliamentarians or Roundheads Cavalier comes from a word which means horse and the Cavaliers were so called because most of them rode upon horses the Roundheads were so called because they wore their hair short instead of long and curling like the Cavaliers the Roundheads were for the most part Puritans while the Cavaliers belonged to the Church of England at this time there was no regular army in Britain such as we have now and a great many of those who fought were quite untrained the King's army was in some ways better than the army of the Parliament for it contained many gentlemen who were accustomed to danger and who were able to ride the Parliamentarians were chiefly working men who knew very little about fighting but among them there was a brave strongman called Oliver Cromwell he knew how hard it would be for these working men to conquer if they were not taught how to fight so he drilled them and taught them quickness and obedience so thoroughly did they learn that they became most splendid soldiers and were called Oliver Cromwell's iron sides never were such strange soldiers seen in those days a camp was a wild rough place but from the camp of Cromwell soldiers instead of the sound of drunkenness and laughter came the sound of psalm singing and prayer too many of them the war was a holy war a battle for the freedom of religion trust in God and keep your powder dry was Cromwell's advice to his soldiers as one day they were crossing a river to attack the enemy for four years the war went on the royalist leaders were Lord Vincy and the King's nephew Prince Rupert Prince Rupert was so fiery and eager in battle that he was called dashing Prince Rupert but although he was very brave he was not a good general and often did rash things the chief of the round head leaders were Oliver Cromwell, Ierton and Fairfax many battles were fought sometimes one side winning, sometimes the other but at last at a battle called Nasibi the Cavaliers were utterly defeated then Charles lost all hope he had no money left and very few friends he felt that his cause was ruined and thinking that the Scots would be kinder to him than the English he gave himself up to them the Scots and the English were still friends and they agreed that if Charles would grant to England the same kind of religion as Scotland they would set him on the throne again but Charles would not promise this so the Scots gave him up to the parliamentarians when the war was over it was found that neither king nor parliament ruled the land but the army the king being now a prisoner the parliament said there was no longer any need for the army and told the soldiers to go back to their homes but the soldiers refused to go they knew how powerful they had become and they resolved to become yet more powerful and get possession of the king one evening a man called Cornette Joyce with about eight hundred soldiers behind him rode to the house in which King Charles was kept a prisoner going into the king's room he told him politely and kindly that he had come to take him away after some talk Charles said he was willing to go but as it was now late Cornette Joyce must come again in the morning accordingly at six o'clock next morning the king rose and going out to the courtyard found Joyce and all his soldiers waiting there mounted and ready I pray you Mr. Joyce said the king as he looked at the company men in steel armor deal honestly with me and show me your commission by a commission the king meant a letter to say that Joyce really had orders to take him away here is my commission said Joyce where? said the king here said Joyce where? again asked the king behind me said Joyce pointing to the mounted soldiers I hope it will satisfy your majesty then Charles smiled and said it is as fair a commission and as well written as ever I have seen a commission in my life it may be read without spelling but what if I refuse to go with you I hope you would not force me I am your king and you ought not to lay violent hands upon your king I acknowledge none to be above me here but God we will not hurt you your majesty replied Joyce may we will not even force you to come with us against your will so Charles consented to go with them and ask how far do you intend to ride as far as your majesty can conveniently ride replied Joyce I can ride as far as you or as any man here said Charles smiling and so they set out in this way the king became the prisoner of the army instead of the prisoner of the parliament end of chapter 77 read by Kara Schellenberg www.kray.org on Monday August 21st 2006 at Hugh McGuire's house in Montreal Canada our island story chapter 78 this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information to find out how you can volunteer please visit LibriVox.org our island story by H.E. Marshall chapter 78 the story of how the king was brought to his death God gives not kings the style of gods in vain or on the throne his scepter do they sway and as their subjects ought them to obey so king should fear and serve their god again if then you would enjoy a happy reign observe the statutes of our heavenly king and from his law may call your laws to spring if his lieutenant here you would remain reward the just be steadfast true and plain repress the proud maintaining either right walk always so as ever in his sight who guards the godly plaguing the profane and so shall you in princely virtue shine resembling right your mighty king divine this poetry was written by James to his son and perhaps it would have been better both for James and Charles had they tried to rule as the poem says kings ought to rule after Charles became the prisoner of the army letters and messages passed continually between him and parliament and between him and the leaders of the army both parties offered to replace the king upon the throne if he would only promise them certain things but these things Charles would not promise for all the time he was secretly plotting with his friends and hoping to free himself the leaders of the army treated Charles very kindly allowing him to see his friends and to have a great deal of liberty this made it easy for him to escape which he did and fled to carriesbrook castle in the Isle of Wight but although he thought that he was going to friends he found that he was again a prisoner a more carefully guarded than before the struggle for power between parliament and army still went on but Cromwell was master of the army and he meant to be master of parliament too but one day when parliament was about to meet a man called Colonel Pride surrounded the house with soldiers as they arrived each member who would not do exactly as Cromwell and the other army leaders wished was seized and turned away when this was done there were only about 50 members left this was called Pride's Purge because he purged or cleaned away all those who did not think exactly as he did it was still the long parliament that was sitting but people now called it the Rump Parliament because it was not a real parliament but only part of one Cromwell was master of king and parliament but the army was too strong even for him against his will he was driven to do a deed from which he shrank he was driven to condemn the king to death Charles was accused of high treason against the nation and was brought to London to be tried this was a crime which had never been heard of before as high treason means a crime against the ruler more than a hundred men were called as judges of the king but scarcely half of them came many of them were angry with Charles and wished him to be punished but the punishment for treason they knew was death and they did not wish the king to be killed the judges assembled at Westminster Hall and King Charles was brought before them as a prisoner they who had always stood bare-headed in his presence now sat with their hats upon their heads seeing that Charles too kept on his hat but it was seen that his hair which had been very beautiful had grown gray and that he looked old and worn Charles had been foolish he had been wicked but now in the face of death he behaved with the dignity of a king the men who sat before him he said had no right to judge or condemn him he would not plead for mercy three times he was brought before the court three times he refused to plead at last the judges without further trial sentenced him to death as a tyrant a traitor a murderer and a public enemy calm and dignified as ever Charles walked out of the hall after the sentence had been pronounced God bless your Majesty cried a soldier as he passed struck by his officer for daring to say such words we think said the king pausing and smiling at the man the punishment is greater than the fault three days later Charles the king walked for the last time through the streets of London from St. James's Palace to Whitehall the way was lined with soldiers soldiers marched in front of him and behind him the air was filled with the noise of trampling feet and the sound of drums the scaffold was raised outside the Palace of Whitehall and hundreds of people crowded to see the dreadful end of their king from enjoy very many in grief and awe Charles knelt by the block commit deep silence when a man in a black mask held up the king's head crying behold the head of a traitor a grown burst from the shattering crowd he nothing common did domain upon that memorable scene but with his keen eye the axers edge did dry nor call the gods with vulgar spite to vindicate his helpless right but bowed his comely head down as upon a bed end of Chapter 78 Our Island Story Chapter 79 This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org This reading by Kara Schellenberg Our Island Story by H. E. Marshall Chapter 79 The Commonwealth The Adventures of a Prince King Charles was beheaded on the 30th of January 1649 A.D. and Parliament immediately proclaimed that kings were bad and useless so England would have no more the government would be a commonwealth common here means belonging to all and wealth although we now use it to mean money at one time meant well-being or happiness Commonwealth really means the well-being or happiness of all no one was to be greater than another all were to be equal the House of Lords was therefore they said useless and dangerous and they did away with it they also made it a crime for anyone to call Prince Charles King although he was the eldest son of Charles the First the people of Scotland and Ireland however were very angry when they heard what had happened the Scots had never wished the king to be killed they had hoped to force him to rule better now that he was dead they proclaimed his son Charles King at the same time the Irish rebelled and Cromwell and his Ironsides went to subdue them very many of the Irish were Roman Catholics and some years before they had risen and cruelly murdered the Irish Protestants Cromwell hated the Roman Catholics and he intended now to punish them for their cruelty to the Protestants as well as for rebelling against the Commonwealth as the Government of Britain was now called Cromwell remained nine months in Ireland and so cruel and pitiless was he that for many years no Irishman could hear his name without a shutter and a curse the country was utterly subdued many of the people were killed others were sent as slaves to the West Indies and all who could fled to far countries to escape the fury of Cromwell when he had finished this dreadful work Cromwell returned to England and then marched into Scotland the Ironsides had never been defeated and now they won battle after battle and at last Charles decided to march into England and fight for his crown there Cromwell was very much astonished when he heard what Charles was doing and he hurried after him as fast as he could the English did not flock to join Charles as he had expected and when the two armies met at Worcester Cromwell's army was nearly twice as large a dreadful battle followed the Scots fought gallantly for their prince but they were utterly defeated hardly unescaped and those who were not killed were sold as slaves Cromwell called this battle his crowning mercy for with it Charles lost all hope of regaining his kingdom it was fought on what Cromwell used to think was his lucky day the 3rd of September Charles fled from Worcester and had many adventures before he reached safety great rewards were offered to anyone Cromwell where he was hiding punishment and death threatened those who helped him yet so many were faithful to him that he escaped he cut off his beautiful hair stained his face and white hands brown and instead of silk and satin he put on coarse clothes which were much patched and darned so that he looked like a laboring man then with an axe over his shoulder he went into the woods with four brothers who really were working men and pretended to cut wood all day long they stayed in the wood and moved to another place there they found so many of Cromwell's men that it was not safe for Charles to stay in a house that night he slept in a hayloft next day finding that even there he was not safe he climbed into an oak tree and lay among the branches as it was September the leaves were very thick and hit him well Charles lay very still and quiet his heart thumped against his ribs and he held his breath when some of Cromwell's soldiers rode under the tree they were so close that he could hear them talk one into our hands said one yay he cannot be a far off we will use well our eyes for chance the Lord may deliver them a lignanth even unto us but the kind green leaves kept close and little did the round heads think that the very man for whom they were looking was close above their heads and could hear every word they said for a whole long day Charles lay in the oak and at last Cromwell's men, having searched and searched in vain for him, went away then Charles climbed down from the tree and walked many weary miles till his feet were blistered and sore and his bones ached at length he reached the house of a royalist lady and gentleman who were kind to him the lady pretended that she had to go on a journey to visit a sick friend Charles was dressed as her servant and mounted upon a horse and the lady got up behind him in those days before there were trains or even coaches ladies very often travelled like this they did not ride upon a horse by themselves but mounted behind a servant or a friend for many miles Charles travelled as this lady's servant having many adventures and escapes by the way as Charles was supposed to be the servant he had of course to look after the horse one evening as he went into the stable yard of the inn in which they were to spend the night he found it full of Cromwell's men one of them looked hard at the prince my friend he said I seem to know your face like enough replied Charles I have travelled a good deal with my masters Shirley said the man you were with Mr. Baxter replied the prince calmly I was with him but now make way my man till I see after my beast I will talk to you later so Charles busied himself with his horse and escaped from the man who took him to be a fellow servant after many dangers often being recognised in spite of his disguises the prince arrived at Lyme Regis and there a little boat was found to take him over to France but when the captain's wife heard who was going to sail in her husband's boat she was afraid that Cromwell might hear of it so she told him he must not go I must go said the captain I have promised you shall not go said his wife and seeing that talking did no good she locked him into a room and took the key away Charles and his friends waited in vain for the captain and at last they left Lyme Regis in despair after more adventures they reached Brighton and there they really did find a boat and a captain willing to take them over to France the evening before starting Charles was having supper at a little inn in Brighton when the landlord came behind him and kissed his hand again he had been recognised but the landlord was faithful and would not betray him God bless your majesty he said perhaps I may live to be a lord and my good wife a lady he thought that if Charles ever came back to the throne he would not forget those who had helped and served him when he was poor and in trouble for more than six weeks Charles had travelled in fear and danger among his bitter enemies in spite of his disguises many people had recognised him yet not one had betrayed him instead they had taken a great deal of trouble and run many risks to help and save him and now his difficulties and dangers were over very early next morning while it was still almost dark the little party crept down to the shore in the grey dawn Charles stepped on board the boat the sails were set and slowly he was carried away from his kingdom which he was not to see again for many long days End of Chapter 79 Read by Kara Schellenberg www.kray.org on Monday the 21st of August 2006 at Humaguire's house in Montreal, Canada Our Island Story Chapter 80 This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information to find out how you can volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Our Island Story by H. E. Marshall Chapter 80 The Commonwealth The Law Protector The British had hardly done fighting at home when they had to fight with enemies abroad They went to war with the Dutch who at this time had a very famous admiral called Van Tromp English too had a famous admiral called Blake The Dutch and the British had several reasons for quarrelling each tried to spoil the trade of the other the Dutch would not acknowledge the new British government this made the parliament very angry several fierce battles were fought at sea and when the Dutch won Van Tromp hoisted a broom to his mast head it's a sign that he intended to sweep the British ships from the seas Blake and the English were very angry at this they built and manned more ships as fast as they could and once more sailed out to fight the Dutch when the two fleets met the fiercest and longest battle of the sea war took place for three days they fought but in the end Blake was victorious and bravely though he had fought Van Tromp was obliged to lower his proud broom and sweep the remainder of his own fleet homeward it was now about four years since King Charles had been beheaded Cromwell was the strongest man in the country yet no real ruler had been appointed and the Rump Parliament was acting neither wisely nor well Cromwell made up his mind to put an end to this so one day he marched the parliament at the head of about 300 of his soldiers he himself went into the house leaving some of his soldiers at the door some in the lobby and some on the stairs he sat down in his usual place and listened for some time to the talking and suddenly he rose up and began to speak he told the parliament that the things which they did were unjust they were tyrants and worse but your hour hath come he cried the Lord have done with you and putting on his hat he stamped with his foot and the soldiers rushed in I will put an end to your babbling he shouted and at a signal from their master the soldiers drove the members out of the hall Cromwell calling out insulting names at them as they passed the speaker refused to leave the chair and tried to address the members but in the noise and confusion he could not make himself heard then one of Cromwell's friends took him by the arm and forced him to go in a few minutes the hall was cleared of everyone except Cromwell's soldiers and followers on the table lay the mace the mace is the sign of the dignity and the lawfulness of parliament it is carried before the speaker as he enters and leaves the house and lies on the table while the members talk together it is the sign of law and order just as the scepter is the sign of royalty and rule Cromwell did not like any form of ceremony he thought it was foolish and wicked take away that bauble he said angrily pointing to the mace so it was removed Cromwell's friends then left the house he himself coming last and locking the doors after him this was the end of the long parliament it had lasted for 13 years Cromwell and his friends now set to work to form a new parliament and one more to their liking than the last had been instead of allowing the people to choose the members Cromwell himself chose them but this parliament did not please him much better than the last and in less than 5 months it was again dissolved Cromwell was now asked to become ruler some of his friends wished him to take the title of king but he refused chiefly because he knew that his greatest friends were the soldiers and they hated the name of king if he took that name he was sure that they would turn against him and become his worst enemies so he became ruler under the title Lord Protector Cromwell was not crowned and anointed as kings were but there was a very solemn service held when a beautiful purple robe was placed upon his shoulders the sword of office bottled to his side and the scepter put into his hand he was truly king in everything but name Cromwell was not only a king but a very stern and autocratic one he wanted his own way quite as much as the stewards had done only he really thought of the good of the country and the stewards thought only of themselves the troubles of the civil war now began to pass away and under the stern rule of the Lord Protector Britain began once more to be peaceful and prosperous at home and famous abroad all the Protestants of Europe looked to Cromwell for help and protection and so powerful was his name that he could always give help kings bowed and obeyed when Cromwell commanded and Britain was famous as she had not been since the days of Elizabeth her soldiers were the best in the world her admirals won for her the name of mistress of the seas a name which she has kept ever since yet the man who had won this great place for Britain lived in terror of his life he was a tyrant and like all tyrants he was bitterly hated and he knew it under his clothes he wore armour he always carried weapons and wherever he went he was followed and surrounded by a strong bodyguard no one ever knew where he would sleep or he moved about from room to room in his great palace lest someone should attack him while he rested at last, worn out in body and brain the great Lord Protector died on 3rd of September 1658 AD it was his lucky day he first put arms in religion's hand with his conscience and to courage manned the soldier taught that inward mail to wear and fearing God how they should nothing fear those strokes he said will pierce through all below where those that strike from heaven fetch their blow astonished armies did their flight to prepare and city strong were stormed by his prayer in all his wars needs musty triumph when he conquered God's still air he fought with men end of part 80 our island story chapter 81 this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org this reading by Kara Schallenberg our island story by H. E. Marshall chapter 81 Charles II how the king came to his own and how the king came to his own and how the king came to his own and how death walked in the streets of London Oliver Cromwell had been so strong and powerful that it seemed quite natural to the people to choose his son Richard as the next protector but Richard was a very different man from his father he had not that in him which makes a great soldier or a great ruler the army, the parliament and the people soon found this out and troubles began in a few months Richard gave up his office of protector and went away to live quietly in his house in the country the people were tired of being ruled by the army they were tired of the gloom and the sternness of the Puritans they remembered with regret the days of Charles I when people dressed in gay colours when they sang and played when it was not thought wicked to have Christmas games or village dances and they longed for these days to come again they forgot how cruel and bad Charles had been they remembered that he had a son the son whom the Scots had already crowned king General Monk who had ruled Scotland under Cromwell the Scots had never forgotten their king so thinking great things but saying little he began to march to London the parliament and the army were already quarreling and as Monk passed through England people flocked to him from all sides begging him to try to bring peace and order into the country again this was what Monk meant to do how he had not settled but letters and messages were secretly passing between him and Charles who was at this time living in Holland at last Monk reached London and one day when parliament was sitting and told the members that there was a messenger at the door with a letter from Charles amid great excitement the messenger was brought in and the letter read it promised pardon to all those who had rebelled against Charles the first it promised freedom to all to worship God as they thought right it seemed to bring once more the promise of happiness and peace to Britain the people rejoiced and shouted God save the king the Commonwealth was at an end Britain had a king again a few days later Charles landed at Dover where he was met by Monk and made the cheers and rejoicing of the people rode to London Charles landed upon his birthday the 29th of May 1660 AD and people thought it was a good sign that he should have arrived upon such a happy day the soldiers alone did not rejoice they had always hated the name of king they hated it still and when Charles II rode gaily into London the army which was drawn up on Blackheath to do him honour stood sullen gloomy and silent for more than ten years the army had been the greatest power in the country but Charles saw that because the soldiers disliked him for him it was a danger rather than a safeguard so he disbanded the army and sent the soldiers back to their homes Charles was very glad to return to his own country from being poor and homeless he had become the ruler over one of the greatest kingdoms in the world but in spite of all he had suffered he had not learned to be kind or good as soon as Charles was safely on the throne he forgot all the promises which he had made many of the people who had helped to put Charles the first to death were punished some of them being beheaded the old quarrels about religion began again as fiercely as ever for the king was a Roman Catholic at heart although he dared not own it and pretended to belong to the church of England the new parliament was called the Cavalier parliament because it was so full of the king's friends and they made laws which were very hard for the Puritans and Presbyterians Scotland suffered much from these laws and Charles sent a cruel man called Lauderdale to govern for him there he helped by another man called Claverhouse tortured and put to death all those who would not worship God as the king commanded during the reign of Charles II there was another war between the Dutch and the British the Dutch had good ships brave sailors and brave leaders the British too were brave but their ships were badly managed the money which should have been used to pay and feed the sailors was wasted by the king and his friends the war however went fiercely on sometimes one side sometimes the other having the best of it but the Dutch grew very bold and at last sailed up the Pems burning and destroying many of the British ships then for the only time in all history the roar of an enemy's guns was heard in London the people went mad with fear and shame and anger they thought the kingdom itself was threatened and recalling the days of Gromwell asked themselves if he would have suffered an enemy so to insult his country but the danger passed and peace was made while this war was going on a terrible sickness called the plague broke out in London it began in winter time at first no one thought much about it for such sickness was common in those days when people were careless about keeping their houses and towns clean but as the days became warmer the plague became worse and soon it was so terrible that all who could fled from the town it was a dreadful time no business was done the shops were shut, the churches were empty the streets which used to be so full of people hurrying to and fro were silent deserted and grass-grown as soon as it became known in a house had the plague all who lived in that house were forbidden to leave it lest they should carry the dreadful sickness to others then the door was marked with a great red cross and the words the Lord have mercy on us at night the awful silence of the streets was broken by the sounds of heavy rumbling carts and the mournful cry of the men in charge of them bring out your dead bring out your dead for those who had died of this sickness could not be buried in a peaceful green churchyard where their friends could come to put flowers upon their graves it was too many of them for that those who died during the day were carried away in a cart at night and buried all together in a great grave which was dug for them outside the town the story is told of a boatman who, when his wife became ill of the plague, could no longer go near his house but slept in his boat he worked hard all day and in the evening used to bring what he had earned and lay it upon a stone not far from his house then he would go a little distance off and call to his wife when she heard his call she sent one of their children out to take the money and the food which he had brought they would speak to each other for a short time at a distance and then the boatman would go away again, sad at heart wondering if his wife and children would still be alive when he came again next evening but at least he knew that his dear ones would not die of hunger as so many of the poor people did whose friends had run away and deserted them this dreadful sickness was greatly caused and made much worse by the dirt of the streets and the houses in those days no one thought of keeping the streets clean people threw all the rubbish from their houses into them and poisoning the air the streets too were very narrow and windows small so that little air or light could come into the houses in fact people never thought about fresh air and light the doctors did not know how to cure this sickness make-believe doctors offered the people all kinds of medicines which could do no good but which were eagerly bought many went mad with terror and horror and at one time a thousand people died every day but at last the dreadful summer passed and with the coming of the winter and the frost the terrible sickness gradually disappeared End of Chapter 81 Read by Kara Schellenberg www.kray.org on August 21st 2006 at Humaguire's house in Montreal, Canada Our Island Story Chapter 82 This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information to find out how you can volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Our Island Story by H. E. Marshall Chapter 82 The story of how London was burned After the plague had passed away another dreadful misfortune happened to London at least at the time it seemed like a misfortune but really it was a good thing This was a great fire which caused much of the city to be burned to the ground Many of the dirty houses and narrow streets were destroyed and with them the last remnants of the dreadful plague were also burned away When the houses were built again they were made better and the streets were made wider so that the great fire was not altogether a misfortune The fire first broke out in a baker's shop as most of the houses were built of wood and the summer had been unusually hot and dry flames spread very fast they leapt from house to house and the people seeing that it was useless to try save their dwellings tried rather to save their furniture and belongings by carrying them to other houses but sometimes as soon as they had done this the fire would attack these too and the people had to fly still further away often in the end losing all that they possessed for three days and nights the fire blazed and roared a great cloud of smoke hung over the city by day but at night there was no darkness but the flames made it brighter than by day the air was hot and stifling at last no one could go near the fire so great was the heat the earth seemed a blazing furnace and the sky as if it was beaten out of burning copper to stop the fire seemed impossible it must burn and burn until nothing more was left to destroy so houses were pulled down in order to make a gap between the burning ones and those which were still safe but the work went on too slowly and before the gap was big enough the fire had reached the workers and they had to flee for their lives at last someone thought of the plan of blowing up the houses with gunpowder this was done and when the hungry flames reached the open spaces left by the houses which had been destroyed they died away for they could not overleap the ruins and attack the houses beyond so the roar and crackle of the flames ceased and the great cloud of smoke rolled away until London from the tower to Temple Bar was left a smouldering blackened ruin and 200,000 people were homeless in memory of the great fire a monument was raised on the spot where it first broke out and may still be seen to this day so fearful were people at that time about plots and so bitter was the feeling about religion that many thought that the fire had been caused on purpose by the Roman Catholics but there was never any real reason for believing this and now everyone thinks that it happened by accident about this time the King of France became very greedy and wanted more land and power than he had a right to possess to prevent him succeeding in his plans to get these three other countries in Europe joined together forming what was called the triple alliance the three countries were Britain, Holland and Sweden triple means three and alliance means to join together and the triple alliance was called so because three countries joined together as you know the French and English were old enemies and this alliance pleased the English so the Charles was forced to join it although he really did not care whether the French King was powerful or not Charles thought most about his own pleasure he spent a great deal of money and he could not always make the commons give him more when he wanted it now he thought of a new way of getting money he wrote secret letters to the King of France offering to break with the triple alliance and to help him to fight against the Dutch this he said he would do if the King of France would promise to give him a large sum of money every year the King of France promised and so Charles disgraced himself and his country not only by breaking his word but by becoming the servant of the King of France openly he pretended to be a Protestant and the friend of Protestants secretly he was a Roman Catholic and the friend of Roman Catholics for a time Charles kept up the pretence of the triple alliance and by telling the parliament that he must have more sailors in order to keep a check upon the French King he got a large sum of money from them he got still more money in other wicked ways and then to the anger of the people he made war on the Dutch but if France was greedy and Britain false Holland was strong and stubborn bravely she fought under her great leader William Prince of Orange in two years Charles came to the end of his money and he was forced to sign a peace called the peace of Westminster and leave France to fight alone but he still continued to receive money from the French King Charles was called the Merry Monarch because he was gay and laughter loving the people were glad at first to have so gay a King for they were tired of the stern ways of Cromwell and the Puritans but they soon found out that Charles was selfish and wicked as well as gay and the main proved a very unhappy one for Britain there was constant discontent there were constant plots the King plotted, Parliament plotted Protestants plotted and Catholic plotted but out of all the misery and discontent and injustice of these years one good thing at least grew this good thing was the passing of the habeas corpus act it was indeed no new act it was as old as the great charter of King John but like much in that great charter it had been set aside by King after King by this act no person could be put into prison and left there as long as the King pleased or until he was forgotten by all his friends it commanded that every person should be brought to trial and either punished or set free habeas corpus is Latin for have his body and means that the body of the prisoner must be brought into court at a certain time to be tried instead of being left in prison for a long long time or perhaps sent into slavery and exile without any trial or any chance of proving himself innocent this act is at least one good thing to remember of the reign of Charles II who died in 1685 AD having reigned for 25 years he died as he had lived careless, witty, laughter loving he was clever and he said that he never said a foolish thing and never did a wise one he was lazy, selfish and deceitful, a bad man and a bad king yet Charles found both men and women to love him during his life and to sorrow for him at his death because he was clever, good-tempered and had pleasant manners during the reign of Charles II an act had been passed forbidding Roman Catholics to hold any public office yet in spite of this law James was made king James promised that he would not hurt the Protestant churches he allowed a bishop of the church of England to ground him but part of the coronation service was missed that part at which the king used to receive a Bible and be told to read and believe it the new king's cruel character soon began to show itself by his orders and in his hands he was told to read and to believe it he was told to read and to believe it he was told to read and to believe it he was given to show itself by his orders and in the name of religion Claverhaus continued to murder and torture the Scots in most terrible ways because they refused again to accept the teaching of the English church more wicked still in England a man called Chief Justice Jeffries by his cruelties made for himself a name which has never been forgotten he was a monster an ogre more fierce and terrible than in any fairytale but James was not allowed to take possession of the kingdom without a struggle in Holland numbers of Protestants and in England were gathered together they felt that now was the time to return and fight for they knew that many of their fellow countrymen must hate a Catholic king one of these exiled Protestants a brave Scotchman called the Earl of Argyle agreed to raise an army in Scotland and an English noble called the Duke of Monmouth agreed to raise one in England Monmouth thought that he had a better right to the throne than James and with the help of Argyle he hoped to be able to drive James from the throne and become king himself the English people knew and loved Monmouth in the life of Charles there had been a plot to set him upon the throne when everything was arranged the Earl of Argyle sailed from Holland with his little band of followers and landed in Scotland he was one of the most powerful of the Scottish nobles although when he had fled from the country in the reign of Charles the king had taken his land and the money from him he knew that he could trust to his clan to rise and follow him as soon as he returned in those days there were no telegraphs and no postmen there were even few roads among the wild islands and the need of his men he gathered them by means of a sign which all could understand this sign was the fiery cross a rough cross was made from the wood of a yew tree the ends of this cross were set alight and afterwards the flames were put out by being dipped in the blood of a goat the chief with his own hands then solemnly gave the cross to a swift runner this man took it and ran as swiftly as he could to the next village when the men of this village saw the fiery cross they said, our chief has need of us and they at once prepared for battle was put into the hands of another swift runner who carried it over hill and glen to the next village on and on it went through all the countryside the men in each village and farmhouse understanding what was needed of them and without a word gathering to their chief so it was that the clan Campbell gathered round their chieftain, Mack Cullum Moore as they loved to call Argyle but although the Earl's men were loyal to him those who had come from Holland with him to serve as his captains would not agree and would not obey the courtesy of their leader was so great that his army became disheartened and was scattered almost before there had been any real fighting the Earl was once more forced to flee dressed as a peasant and followed by only one faithful friend he tried to escape but as they were crossing a little river they were seized by some of the king's soldiers the Earl to save himself sprang into the water but the soldiers followed him he was armed only with pistols and in his spring into the water the powder had been wet and they would not fire he was struck to the ground and taken prisoner when Argyle saw that it was useless to struggle anymore he called out I am the Earl of Argyle he knew what a great name his was and he hoped that even the king's soldiers would tremble before it and let him go but his name could not save him and he was led a prisoner to Edinburgh there the judges tried in vain to make him tell who were with him in the rebellion he would not tell and he was condemned to death bravely and calmly he met his fate one of the last things he did was to write to his wife dear heart forgive me all my faults and now comfort thyself in him in whom only true comfort is to be found the Lord be with thee bless and comfort thee my dearest adieu on his grave were carved some lines which he himself wrote the day before he died although Argyle had refused to give the names of the other leaders of the rebellion many were seized and beheaded to one of them James said you had better be frank with me you know it is in my power to pardon you there replied the man but it is not in your nature the man was right James never forgave end of chapter 83 read by Kara Schellenberg kray.org on august 26th 2006 in Oceanside California our island story chapter 84 this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information and to find out how you can volunteer please visit LibriVox.org our island story by H. E. Marshall chapter 84 James 2nd of England and 7th of Scotland the story of King Monmouth a few days after Argyle reached Scotland the Duke of Monmouth sailed from Holland and landed in England he was received with great joy the common people flocked to his standard many of them armed only with scythes and pruning hooks pass into poles 900 young men marched before him 20 beautiful girls gave him a Bible splendidly bound with cells embroidered roads wherever he went were lined with cheering crowds and Monmouth and Monmouth the Protestant religion they cried as he passed the Duke's followers begged him to take the title of King so on 20th June 1685 AD the same day on which Argyle was led captive through Edinburgh Monmouth was proclaimed King at Taunton a little town in the south of England but like the real King he was named James so instead of calling him King James his followers called him King Monmouth Monmouth did not enjoy his title long in the dark of the early morning of 6th of July a battle was fought between King James' men and the followers of Monmouth on the plain of Sedgemore Monmouth fought bravely but when he saw that his men were being defeated he turned and fled away leaving them leaderless and hopeless this was the last real battle ever fought on English ground Monmouth tried to escape in disguise he changed clothes with a poor shepherd but the country was so full of the King's soldiers that he found it impossible to get away for several days he lived in the fields hiding in ditches and having nothing to eat but raw peas and beans at last miserable and ragged half starving from cold and hunger he was discovered by the soldiers and taken prisoner to London bound with a cord of silk he was led before King James and falling upon his knees he begged for mercy and forgiveness but James never forgave Monmouth like so many other men good and bad was beheaded the anger and vengeance of the King did not end with the death of Monmouth his soldiers under a dreadful man called Kirk tortured and murdered in a terrible manner the poor rebels who escaped from Sedgemore Judge Jeffries followed next and so many people did he kill such terrible things did he do that his journey through the country was forever after called the bloodier size a size means court of justice at certain times in England judges make what is called a circuit or journey through the country and when they judge and punish but on this dreadful journey Judge Jeffries did not do justice he did wrong and murder and King James praised and rewarded him for it End of chapter 84 Our Island Story Chapter 85 This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org This reading by Kara Schellenberg Our Island Story by H. E. Marshall Chapter 85 James II of England and the 7th of Scotland The Story of the Seven Bishops Having put down two rebellions James made up his mind to turn Britain into a Roman Catholic country once more It was against the law for a Roman Catholic to hold any public office but in spite of that James began to turn away Protestants from many posts and to put Roman Catholics in their places The people grew more and more angry but still James took his own way more and bolder At last he issued what was called the Declaration of Indulgence In this declaration he said that all the laws against the Roman Catholics and against all others who did not belong to the Church of England and who were called dissenters were done away with James hated the dissenters that is the Puritans and Presbyterians but he thought that if he made them free they would side with him and help him to free the Romish Church also but they did not do so and they would not accept freedom in an unlawful manner The king ordered the declaration to be read in all London churches on Sundays the 20th and 27th of May and in all country churches on Sundays the 3rd and 10th of June but nearly every clergyman in London and in the country refused to obey After a great deal of talking and consulting seven bishops wrote out a paper which they all signed In this paper the bishops told the king that they could not obey him or themselves to be cruelly and unkindly treated but because the laws against these people had been made by Parliament They had been passed by king, lords and commons and could only be recalled by the consent of king, lords and commons The king alone, they reminded him had no power to recall a law and in ordering the clergy to read the declaration of indulgence in the churches the king was ordering them to break the law This they refused to do By the time that this letter was written and signed it was late on Friday evening there was no time to be lost and the bishops took it at once to the king He received them kindly but when he read the letter his face grew dark and angry This is rebellion, he said Sire said the bishops We are not rebels, we are true to your majesty We wish to keep the laws of the land I tell you it is rebellion, repeated James Then one of the bishops who was called Trelawney fell upon his knees Sire, he cried, do not say so hard a thing to us No Trelawney can be a rebel Remember that my family has fought for the crown Remember how we served your majesty against Monmouth We are ready to die at your majesty's feet cried another We helped to put down one rebellion Why should we raise another This is rebellion, this is rebellion I will be obeyed, replied the king growing more and more angry I will keep this paper I will remember you who have signed it You are rebels, go The bishops went to the cities of the letter which they had written to the king were printed and sold to thousands of joyful people who in reading it knew that seven brave men were fighting for their freedom On Sunday morning the excitement was great people crowded to the churches in thousands Would the clergy read the declaration or would they not was the question which everybody asked It was soon answered in only four of the hundred London churches was it read In these four churches as soon as the first words were heard the people rose and streamed out so that when the reading was at an end the churches were silent and empty A week passed the second Sunday came again thousands thronged to the churches again the declaration was unread excitement grew another week passed Would the country churches read the declaration or would they not That question too was answered The country clergy like the London clergy refused and the land from end to end seemed to be filled with an outburst of joy Then the king ordered the seven bishops who had written the letter and who had set the brave example to be sent to the tower As soon as this became known the whole river was crowded with boats and the banks thronged with people eager to see the bishops as they passed on their way to prison When the bishops appeared the people fell on their knees begging for a blessing All the way from Whitehall to the tower the air was full of shouts of God bless your lordships It was like a royal procession rather than like rebels being led to prison As the bishops entered the traitors gate they felt before them begging too for a blessing and in the guardhouse the rough soldiers drank to the health of the brave bishops All the next day to the anger of the king great people crowded to visit the bishops to cheer and comfort them in prison and when ten of the chief dissenters went to see them his anger knew no bounds He called these dissenters before him to scold them and ask what they meant by visiting their enemies We are all protestants they replied it is our duty to forget old quarrels and stand by the men who are fighting for the liberties of protestant religion For a week the bishops were kept in prison while all over the country people wondered anxiously what would happen to them Bishop Trelawney belonged to Cornwall the people there loved him very much and they made a song about him of which the chorus was and shall Trelawney die and shall Trelawney die then 30,000 Cornish boys will know the reason why After being kept in prison for a week the bishops were brought to court to be tried the excitement was tremendous the king and his friends did all they could but it was in vain the judges and the jury said that the bishops had done no wrong and they were set free from street to street the joyful news spread like wildfire bells rang cannon boomed bonfires blazed people cheered and wept and sang another battle had been fought for freedom another victory won and all England seemed mad with the joy of it at night the houses were lit up in nearly every window a row of seven candles appeared each bishop the streets were filled with rejoicing people and not until they dawn and the bells began to ring for morning service did the weary happy crowds go to their homes End of Chapter 85 Read by Kara Schellenberg www.kra.org on August 26th 2006 in Oceanside, California Our Island Story Chapter 86 This is a LibriVolks recording All LibriVolks recordings are in the public domain For more information to find out how you can volunteer please visit LibriVolks.org Our Island Story by H.E. Marshall Chapter 86 James II of England and 7th of Scotland William the Deliberer Anyone could see that the people were everywhere ready for rebellion The King alone would not see it and went on in his own way He was angry and silent but very obstinate I will not give way he said He lost his head by giving way and he resolved to punish the people But James had gone too far the people were weary of a popish tyrant and they made up their minds to have a Protestant king so they asked William Prince of Orange to come to rule over them the prince against whom Charles II had fought in the Dutch walls William had some claim to the throne I will explain how Charles I had a daughter called Mary She married a Prince of Orange called William and their son also called William was now Prince of Orange He was thus the nephew of Charles II and of James II and besides this he had married his cousin Mary the eldest daughter of James II Although their father James was a Roman Catholic Mary and her sister Anne were both Protestants and except for their little brother who was at this time a tiny baby Mary was the next heir to the throne of Britain so when the British saw that James meant to rule as a tyrant that there was no hope of any freedom or happiness for them as long as he was king they sent messages to Holland begging William to come to take the crown William consented to come and began to gather his ships and men and one day a letter reached James telling him what the Prince of Orange was doing as James read he turned pale and the letter dropped from his hand he had thought that he might ill treat the people as he liked now he discovered his mistake and tried to undo the evil he had done it was too late his people had forsaken him William was ready to sail but for some days he was prevented because of the wind which blew from the west at last it changed and what was known for many years after as the Protestant East wind began to blow it blew the Prince and his great fleet to the shores of Britain more than six hundred ships swept over the water led by William in his vessel called the Brill the mast head floated his standard with the arms of Nassau and of Britain upon it and in great shining letters the words I will maintain the liberties of England and the Protestant religion by night the dark sea glittered for miles with lights by day the white sails glimmered in the wintry sun once before in our story a great conqueror called William had sailed to these shores with mighty ships and men this was no conqueror but a deliverer on the 5th of November 1688 AD William landed at Torbay in Devonshire there the stone upon which he first placed his foot is still to be seen although now it is a town then it was a little lonely village and the Prince had to sleep the first night in a tiny thatched cottage but over it as proudly as over any castle fluttered the great banner with its promise I will maintain the liberties of England and the Protestant religion through rain and wintry weather over roads knee deep in mud the Prince and his army marched northward worn wet and muddy as they were the people crowded everywhere along the way to cheer them the Prince rode upon a beautiful white horse a white feather was in his hat and armor glittered upon his breast his face was grave and stern his eyes keen and watchful he looked a soldier and a king as he rode along an old woman pushed her way through the crowd and afraid neither of the prancing horses nor the drawn swords of the soldiers darted to the side of the Prince she seized his hand looking up into his face with eyes full of tears cried I am happy now I am happy now and the grave and stern William smiled gently as he looked down upon her the deliverer had come James II his Queen and her little boy fled to France no one wanted James no one regretted him to go to France was the best thing he could do and the King there received him kindly and treated him as an honoured guest which was called which arranged that William and Mary should be King and Queen together for although Mary had the better right to the throne she did not wish to reign without her husband nor did he wish to accept a lower rank than that of his wife so ended the glorious revolution it had been brought about with hardly any fighting at all and the war between the King and Parliament was at an end for William and Mary received the throne by the will of Parliament End of Chapter 86 Our Island Story Chapter 87 This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org This reading by Kara Schellenberg Our Island Story by H. E. Marshall Chapter 87 William III and Mary II The Story of Brave London Dairy Although most of the people received William and Mary joyfully some, chiefly in Ireland and Scotland still looked upon James as the rightful King In Ireland especially there were many Roman Catholics who would not acknowledge a Protestant King the King of France hated William so he helped James with money and ships which enabled him to set out for Ireland to win his kingdom again James landed at a town called Kinsale and the Irish people welcomed him with great joy but he felt disheartened almost at once for there had already been much fighting and the country through which he had to pass was desolate and deserted and at times he and his men could find hardly enough food to keep them from starving Most of the Protestants had fled from the land or had shut themselves up in the two towns of Eniskillen and Londonderry The soldiers of James besieged both these towns but it was round Londonderry that the greatest fight took place Londonderry is on a river called the Foil and the enemy not only surrounded the town on the land side but they built a bar across the river so that no ships could come to the town with food or help The walls were weak and the cannon few and the Irish thought that the town could not hold out for long The governor too was a cowardly man and did his best to dishearten the people until it was suspected that he was a traitor Indeed he would have given in but a brave old clergyman called Walker marched into his pulpit one morning with a sword in one hand and a Bible in the other and preached such a rousing sermon that the people took heart and never lost it again through all the long weeks of hunger and suffering which they had to endure and dreadful time The people had hardly anything to eat but they held bravely on hoping against hope that help would come to them from England But day after day passed and no help came Rats, mice, dogs, and horses all were eaten only tallow and skins remain Still they held on The soldiers were so weak at last from want of food that they could hardly stand far less fight They resolved to hold out for two days longer Then the end must come But just as the sun was setting the day before they were going to give in the eager watchers on the walls saw the gleam of sails fire down the river Help, help at last How their hearts beat, how they shouted with all the little strength they had as nearer and nearer sailed the ships There were three of them On they came with all sails set but how could they pass the dreadful bar which lay right across the river On they came One ship called the Mountjoy took the lead and sailing with all its force as the bar was called With a tremendous noise the boom shivered and cracked but the Mountjoy was not strong enough to break it through The shock was so fierce that the ship was thrown backward and stuck in the mud for the river was shallow A groan rose from the people on the walls and their hearts grew sick with disappointment and fear while the Irish soldiers on the bank cheered with triumphs But as the Mountjoy was thrown back the second ship followed and dashed at the spot which the Mountjoy had hit The boom which was already cracked gave way With the noise of joyful cheers and of tearing, splintering wood he sailed galey over London Dairy was saved That same night eager hands unloaded the ships and for the first time for three months the people had enough to eat A day or two later the army of James burned the tents and cabins in which they had lived while besieging the town and went away But the struggle was not over It lasted until the following year when William himself came to Ireland Then there was a great battle between the soldiers of James called the Battle of the Boyne because it was fought near a river of that name James was beaten and fled again to France and William with a crown upon his head entered Dublin, the acknowledged King of Ireland End of Chapter 87 Read by Kara Schellenberg www.kray.org on September 7th 2006 in Oceanside, California Our Island Story Chapter 88 This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information and to find out how you can volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Our Island Story by H.E. Marshall Chapter 88 William III and Mary II The Story of a Sad Day in a Highland Glen The Friends of James were called Jacobites from Jacobus, which is Latin for James There were many Jacobites in the north of Scotland They rose under Cleverhouse the man who had treated the Covenants so badly and a battle was fought at Kilcranky Pass The Jacobites won the day but their leader was killed so although many of the clans continued to be discontented they were without a leader and could do little The discontent and rebellion went on for a year or two and at last William determined to put an end to it He proclaimed that he would forgive all those who had rebelled if they would take an oath before 1st of January 1692 AD acknowledging him as King and promising to live quietly and peacefully under his rule Those who did not take the oath would be punished All the Highland Chieftains except the Chief of the McDonald's of Glencoe took the oath This Chief was very unwilling to own William as King and he could not bring himself to do so until the very last day Then he started off from his lonely Glen and went to the nearest town where he expected to find one of the King's officers to whom he could swear the oath but to his dismay he found that he had come to the wrong town and that there was no one there who could receive his oath He started off again as quickly as he could to go to the right town The oath was deep winter and travelling was very slow in those days and he was six days late when he arrived However, his oath was accepted and he went home feeling safe and happy But a man called the Master of Stair who was governing Scotland for William and Mary hated all Highlanders and the Campbells and other clan hated the McDonald's So the Campbells and the Master of Stair decided that as the Chief had been a few days late in swearing to obey William they had a good excuse for killing all the McDonald's William was not told that McDonald's had sworn He was made to believe that he had not done so and that the whole clan was a set of robbers and he signed an order for them to be destroyed Although it is said that William did not know what he was doing when he signed this order the oath to have known and the massacre of Glencoe as it is called is the darkest spot on his reign The Master of Stair had the King's order but he did not do his work openly He sent Campbell and his men to live in Glencoe for nearly a fortnight so that McDonald's should suspect nothing The old Chief received the men kindly and treated as his guests those who were ready to betray and murder him At five o'clock one dark winter's morning the Campbells crept silently out of the houses and along the snow covered paths to the scattered cottages A few minutes later the Glen was awake with the sounds of shots and screams Campbell and his soldiers were at their work Without mercy men were killed almost in their sleep Those who were able fled through the darkness and the snow with their wives and children Many of them only to die of cold and hunger among the lonely mountains and glens The soldiers murdered all they could then they set fire to the empty houses and marched away driving before them the cattle and horses belonging to the McDonald's and when the sun rose high over the valley of Glencoe it shone only on blood stained snow and blackened smoking ruins where peaceful homes had been but a few hours before For some time Britain and France had been at war but the French King hated William and acknowledged him as King of Britain William spent a part of every year abroad directing this war and ruling Holland While he was gone Mary ruled in England She governed so well and was so sweet and gentle that the people loved her dearly They loved her far more than they loved William who was so quiet and stern as to seem almost sullen But in 1694 AD Mary became ill of a very dreadful disease called smallpox and died in a few days William had loved her very much and he was very sad when she died I was the happiest man on earth he said to one of his friends now I am the most miserable she had no fault, none, you knew her well but you could not know nobody but myself could know her goodness and if the King sorrowed the whole country sorrowed with him After the death of Mary William ruled alone at last the King of France made peace with William perhaps because he was tired of fighting he was really very dull and stupid By this peace the French King consented to acknowledge William as the rightful King of Britain and to give back the lands he had wrongfully taken from Germany and the other countries he had been fighting against A few years later James died and Louis XIV the French King forgot the promise he had made to William he proclaimed the son of James to be King of Britain under the title of James III This made the British very angry although it really did not matter much that King might call James King of Britain but that could not make him so truly however William wanted to go to war with France again for another reason and this act of the French King decided the people to do so this other reason was that the King of Spain had died and Louis wanted to make his own grandson King of Spain so that France and Spain should in turn come to be one Kingdom but some of the kings in Europe thought that it would be most dangerous to allow this as then the King of France might become more powerful and want more than ever to take lands which did not belong to him so William and the other kings of Europe formed what was called the Grand Alliance and the war which now began was called the War of the Spanish Succession because the quarrel was about who should succeed to the throne of Spain but before war was declared William died he had always been rather ill although in spite of that he had both thought and worked hard and for some time now he had been very unwell the day when he was out riding he was thrown from his horse and broke his collarbone this might not have hurt a strong man but William was not strong and a few days later 8th of March 1702 AD he died William was a great and brave man he did much for Britain yet he was never loved by the people they felt that he was a Dutchman and that he cared more for Holland than for his Kingdom of Britain and that made it difficult for them to love him End of Chapter 88 Our Island Story Chapter 89 This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org This reading by Kara Schellenberg Our Island Story by H. 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Marshall Chapter 89 Anne, how the Union Jack was made William and Mary had no children so Mary's sister Anne the younger daughter of James II succeeded to the throne from the very beginning of her reign Britain was at war with France and indeed not only Britain but all Europe was fighting on one side or the other the British troops were led by a famous soldier called Marlborough he won many battles the chief of which were called Blenheim and Ramey this war of the Spanish succession went on for more than 10 years till all Europe was weary of fighting and many places where there had been houses and gardens and green fields were nothing but deserted wildernesses at last a piece was made called the Peace of Utrecht by this treaty Louis acknowledged Anne as the rightful queen of Britain and also promised to send James the pretender as the son of James the seventh was called out of his kingdom and not to help him anymore once before Louis had promised something very like this to William and he did not keep his promise there were other agreements in this treaty one of them being that Britain should keep the strong fortress of Gibraltar in Spain which has belonged to the British ever since Marlborough was a famous soldier but he was also a great statesman and indeed he and his wife the Duchess of Marlborough ruled the Queen for many years he was brave and clever but he was greedy and not quite honest he made many enemies who succeeded at last in having him disgraced and both he and his wife were sent away from court the Duchess had a very bad temper and she was so angry when she had to leave court that she smashed all the furniture in her rooms and threw the Queen's keys at the Duke's head when he was sent to ask for them it was no wonder that the Queen who was gentle and kind had been afraid of the Duchess and had been ruled by her other clever men succeeded Marlborough and another clever woman succeeded the Duchess for Queen Anne was not a strong-minded woman and she allowed herself to be ruled and led by favourites and statesmen like Queen Elizabeth she had many great men around her and although they thought more perhaps of making themselves famous and powerful than of what was best for the country still the country prospered the greatest thing that happened in the reign of Anne was the Parliament of England and Scotland since 1603 AD when James VI of Scotland became king of England there had been very little real union between the two countries for union means oneness and although there had been only one king there had been two parliaments one in England and one in Scotland each making laws sometimes the Scottish Parliament would make laws which the English Parliament thought were dangerous sometimes the English Parliament would make laws which the Scottish Parliament did not like as if the union of the crowns had done no good at all and the two countries were ready to quarrel and separate wise men saw that there could be no real union until there was only one Parliament until English and Scots met and discussed the laws together Cromwell indeed had called English, Scottish and Irish members to his Parliament but it had been for so short a time and in such troubled days that people had almost forgotten about it even now it was not an easy thing to do but at last all difficulties were smoothed away it was agreed among other things that each country should keep its own law courts and its own religion but that they should have the same king the same Parliament, the same money and the same flag and that the country should be called Great Britain the English flag was a red St. George's cross upon a white ground the Scottish flag was a white St. Andrew's cross on a blue ground so to make one flag the two crosses were placed one on the top of the others and they made something very like the Union Jack but not quite the Irish cross of St. Patrick which is the same as a St. Andrew's cross but was red on a white ground was added to the other two then the flag we love was complete the reason we call our flag the Union Jack is because James VI used to sign his name in French Jacques which sounds very like Jack his two flags the English and the Scottish came to be called the Jacks and when the two were made one the flag was called the Union Jack when the Queen gave her consent to the Act of Union which was named she called both Lords and Commons together and made a speech to them I desire and expect from all my subjects of both nations that from henceforth they act with all possible respect and kindness to one another that so it may appear to all the world they have hearts disposed to become one people this will give me great pleasure then the last English Parliament rose and on the 23rd of October 1707 AD the first British Parliament met it was a great state ceremony each Scottish Lord was led to his place by two English Lords the Queen and her royal robes made a speech from the throne in which she heartily welcomed the new members and ever since that day in spite of difficulties and troubles England and Scotland have really been one country Queen Anne died on the 1st of August 1714 AD she was not a great Queen yet her reign will always be remembered as great like Elizabeth she had clever men as her soldiers and advisors and as in the time of Elizabeth too there were many writers whose books are still remembered and read end of chapter 89 read by Kara Schellenberg and two noisy parakeets on September 7th 2006 in Oceanside California our island story chapter 90 this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information and to find out how you can volunteer please visit LibriVox.org our island story our H.E. Marshall chapter 90 George I the story of the Earl of Mars hunting party Queen Anne was the last of the stewards and her husband and all her children died before she did she had no near relatives except her brother who was called the pretender he was a Roman Catholic and therefore could not succeed to the throne for in the time of William and Mary a law had been made that no Roman Catholic should ever again wear the crown the people had foreseen that after Queen Anne died there might be quarrels as to who should reign next so that too had been settled by law in the time of William and Mary James I of England had a daughter called Elizabeth who married the king of Bohemia and her grandson George Elector or King of Hanover was the nearest Protestant heir to the throne he was the great grandson of James VI so as soon as Queen Anne died George was proclaimed king in England Scotland and Ireland without any fighting or quarrelling but although his grandmother had been British his wealth was as German as could be and he could not even speak a word of English he was 55 years old when he came to the throne and was too old ever to learn the English language or English ways and manners the Jacobites had never lost hope of having once more a steward king now they felt was the time to try the new king was a German and the people they thought would surely rather have a man of their own country than an old German to reign over them the Earl of Marr making believe asked a number of the Highland glords to his house they came but soon it was seen that it was not deer they made to hunt and a large army gathered round Lord Marr on the standard of James VIII which was the title the pretender took in their caps they wore his badge of Wackaid or Rosette the pretender's standard was of blue silk having on one side the arms of Scotland worked in gold and on the other side the Scottish thistle with the motto Nemo me empoon lassesit which means those who touch me will suffer for it it also had two streamers of white ribbon on one of which were the words for our wronged king and oppressed country and on the other for our lives and liberties there was great rejoicing when the standard was unfurled but scarcely had it been done when the golden ball fell from the top of the staff this made the Highlanders very sad for they were superstitious and thought it meant bad luck but when our standard was set up the golden knob down from the top until the ground did far willy and the second sighted sandy said we'll dine a good at our willy while pipers play free right to left if you fuck wigs away willy in the north of England Lord Doventwater and another gentleman gathered an army of Jacobites and proclaimed James King but neither Lord Ma nor Lord Doventwater were good generals having got their soldiers together they did not seem to know what to do with them so when King George's army met Lord Doventwater's army the Jacobites yielded almost without a struggle and Scotland the Jacobites under Lord Ma and the King's soldiers under the Duke of Argyll met as a place called Sheriff Muir near Dunblane Lord Ma called a council of war and asked his captains shall we fight or shall we go back and all the captains called out fight, fight Lord Ma agreed and they all went to their places no sooner did the Highlanders know they were to fight than a great cheer went through the army every man tossing his cap in the air every Scotchman there was glad at the opportunity of fighting his old enemies the English with broadsaults drawn, collars flying and backpikes playing they rushed to battle but brave and fierce though the Highlanders were they lacked a clever leader so it happened that one half of Ma's soldiers beat one half of Argyll's but the other half of Argyll's beat the other half of Ma's so each side claimed the victory there's some say that we won some say that we won some say that none won at our man but one thing I'm sure that at Sheriff Muir that's all there was which I saw and we ran and they ran and they ran and we ran and we ran and they ran away if we have not gained a victory said one Jack about general we ought to fight Argyll once a week until we make it to one but Ma did nothing and James who had promised to come from France did not arrive so disappointed and discontented many of the chieftains and their followers went home again but at last James landed he was greeted with great joy and rode into Dundee with 300 gentlemen behind him now thought the Jack about we have a king now we will be led to battle and victory but they were again disappointed James was no soldier he was pale, grave and quiet he never smiled and he hardly ever spoke the men soon began to despise him and to ask if he could fight or even speak day after day passed and nothing happened what did you call us to arms for to run away, what did the king come for was it to see his people butchered by hangman and not strike one blow for their lives let us die like men and not like dogs if our king is willing to die like a king there are 10,000 gentlemen who are not afraid to die with him but it was of no use nothing was done the pretenders taking the Earl of Ma with him slunk back to France a beaten man for want of courage to strike a blow and sad and angry the Jack about army melted away some of the leaders escaped to foreign lands, others were taken prisoner to the tower and afterwards beheaded amongst those were Lord Derwent Water this rebellion is known as the 15 because it took place in 1715 AD oh shall success till I again you see may the lost highland lads fight on and near flee when the king sets foot aground and returns from the sea then you'll welcome him home to his own country God bless our royal king from danger keep him free and he conquers all the foals that oppose his majesty God bless the jukemar and all his cavalry who first began the war for a king in our country let the traitor king make haste in out of England flee with all his spurious fists come far beyond the sea then we will crown our royal king with equality and end our days peace in our own country end of chapter 90 and was succeeded by his son George II like his father he was very German but he could speak a little English he had a very clever wife called Queen Caroline and she helped him to rule he had also a very clever prime minister called Walpole Walpole had begun to be powerful under George I and although George II did not like him he still remained in power he was the first peace minister Britain ever had instead of urging the king and people to fight he tried in every way he could to keep the peace he saw that the best thing for the country was to be at peace he saw that it was best for the people to have time to sow and reap to build ships, to make goods and to trade with other countries and that they could neither have time nor money to do this if they were always fighting so he would not fight and Britain grew prosperous but the people did not all think as Walpole did a quarrel with Spain arose and try how he might Walpole could not keep the peace and war was declared strange to say the people rejoiced at the news that Bonfires and rang bells as if some great good fortune had befallen the country they may ring their bells now said Walpole sadly but they will soon be ringing their hands the peace which had lasted twenty years was broken and Walpole was quite right when he said that the people would soon be ringing their hands for the war with Spain was a miserable failure and brought much trouble and sorrow upon them this war was followed by another called the War of the Austrian Succession the emperor of Austria died leaving his kingdom to his daughter Maria Teresa but some of the kings of Europe thought that they would take her lands from her and make their own kingdoms greater to prevent this the British fought for Maria Teresa against France and Spain and George II and his soldiers defeated the French in a battle called Dittingen this is the last battle in which a British king led his soldiers himself people began to see that kings could serve their countries in better ways than by fighting while this war was going on the Jacobites tried again to set James Stuart upon the throne this time it was not James but his son Charles who died in Scotland he came with only seven followers and at first the people were afraid and unwilling to follow him but Charles was very different from his father he was gallant and brave and handsome he talked and smiled and won his way to the brave Highland hearts till he was at the head of fifteen hundred men all willing and ready to die for their king and prince go home said one old chieftain to him when he first landed there is no safety for you here I have come home replied Prince Charlie Charles Stuart he said to another chief he called Cameron of Lachiel has come to claim his own and win the crown of his ancestors or die in the attempt Lachiel if he chooses may stay at home and learn the fate of his prince from the newspapers no replied Lachiel no I will share the fate of my prince and so shall every man over whom I have power so in a dark Highland Glen the standard of the prince was raised it was red silk and on it were the proud words tandem triumphans which means triumphant at last and as the red silk folds fluttered out on the mountain breeze it was greeted by the sounds of bagpipes and the shouts of the people then raise the banner raise it high for Charles will conquer or will die the clans allele and true men be and show me who will daunt them thee our good king James will soon come home and traitors I'll be put to shame all Scotland shall again be free there's none on earth can daunt them thee after the raising of his standard Charles marched south till he reached Edinburgh his army growing as he went Charles marched into Edinburgh and there at the market cross amid the cheering of some of the people and the sullen silence of others James VIII was once more proclaimed king of Scotland a beautiful lady on horseback with a drawn sword in her hand gave the white cockade to those who crushed round her impatient to enter the surface of the prince later in the day Charles himself rode into the town and the people crowded to meet him cheering and weeping eager to kiss his hand or touch his clothes covering even his boots with tears and kisses the castle of Edinburgh was held by the soldiers of King George and as the prince reached Holyrood the old palace of the stewards a cannon from the castle thundered out and a shot struck the wall of the palace not far from where Charles stood but he was neither startled nor afraid and, turning, walked quietly into the palace that night the prince gave a ball the old palace which had stood so long empty and silent was gay with lights and flowers the sounds of laughter and music were heard there perhaps for the first time since the days of Harry, Queen of Scots lovely ladies and brave men crowded to see and do honour to their Bonnie Prince Charlie and they went away happy if they had touched his hand or heard his voice but there were other things to do besides dancing the army of King George under Sir John Cope had landed at Dunbar and was marching to Edinburgh Charles decided to march out to meet him early on the morning of the 20th of September the Highlanders rose and made ready for battle Prince Charlie placed himself at their head and, drawing his sword, cried gentlemen, I have thrown away the scabbard by that he meant that there was no turning back and that his sword would never again be sheathed until he conquered or died and the men, hearing the words, shouted and cheered as they followed him next day a battle was fought at Preston Pans near Edinburgh Prince Charlie and his men were up so early that they were ready to attack before Sir John Cope and his soldiers were prepared the Highlanders gave them no time to prepare but charged so fiercely and quickly that in about five minutes the battle was over Sir John ran away and Charles won a complete victory Sir John ran away too and was the first to bring the news of his own defeat to Berwick Cope sent a challenge for Dunbar Charlie meet me on Yadar and I'll learn you the art of war if you'll meet me in the morning Hey Johnny Cope are you waking yet and are your drums a beating yet oh hasty up for the drums do beat oh fine Cope rise up in the morning when Charlie looked the letter upon he drew his sword the scabbard from come follow me my merry merry men we'll meet Johnny Cope in the morning when Johnny Cope to Berwick came they speared at him where's I your men if faith he say I didn't can I left them all this morning now Johnny Troth you were an oblique to come with the news of your own defeat and leave your men in sick of straight so early in the morning a few hours after the battle the Highlanders were back in Edinburgh marching up and down the streets playing the King shall enjoy his own again on the bagpipes all the Jacobites rejoiced truly triumphed at last end of chapter 91 read by Kara Schallenberg www.kray.org on September 9th 2006 in Oceanside California our island story chapter 92 this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information to find out how you can volunteer please visit LibriVox.org our island story by H. E. Marshall chapter 92 George II the story of Flora MacDonald to your arms to your arms Charlie yet shall be your king to your arms all ye lads that are loyal and true to your arms to your arms his valentine can ding and he's on the south way a jovial crew for master Johnny Cope being destitute of hope took horse for his life and left his men in their arms he put no trust for he knew it was just that the king should enjoy his own again to your arms to your arms my bunny Highland lads we winner broke the rule of a German thing to your arms to your arms with your bonnets and your plaids and hey for Charlie and are in true king after the battle of Preston Pounds Charles returned to Edinburgh and remained there for some days gathering men and money it was a gay time there were constant balls and parties and Bonnie Prince Charlie was loved more and more each day the Bonnie Prince who could eat a dry crust sleep on peas straw take his dinner in four minutes and win a battle in five was toasted everywhere at last Charles and his army were ready and marched into England although no one resisted him although he took several towns without a blow being struck hardly any of the English joined him the Highlanders grew weary of marching through strange country and homesick for their mountains and many of them deserted and went home by the time Charles reached Derby the leaders were so disheartened that they persuaded him to turn back to Scotland yet the people in London were awaiting his coming in terror and King George was ready to run away it is difficult to guess what might have happened had the Prince gone on but he did not turned again towards Scotland and began the long sad march homeward the wearied army reached Glasgow at last having marched 600 miles through snow and rain and wintry weather in less than two months Charles now decided to take Stirling Castle he met the King's army at Falkirk and defeated them but after that instead of trying to take Stirling as he had intended he listened to the advice of some of the Highland chiefs and marched northward and George now sent his own son the Duke of Cumberland to command his army at Culloden near Inverness the last Jacobite battle was fought the royal army was much larger than the Jacobite one and although the Highlanders fought with all their usual fierce courage they were utterly defeated Charles would have been glad to die with his brave followers but two of his officers seized the bridle of his horse and forced him against his will to leave the field the battle was turned into a terrible slaughter but the Duke of Cumberland behaved so cruelly that he would not be able to take his horse but ever after he was called the Butcher the Stuart Coles was lost and Bonnie Prince Charlie was a hunted man the King offered 30,000 pounds to anyone who would take him prisoner but although the money would have made many a poor Highlander richer than he had ever imagined it possible for anyone to be not one of them tried to earn it instead they hid their prince fed him, clothed him and worked for him at last after months of hardships and adventures he escaped to France Charles but it was a beautiful lady called Flora MacDonald who perhaps helped him most she served him when he was most miserable and in greatest danger the whole country round was filled with soldiers searching for him he scarcely dared to leave his hiding place and was almost dying of hunger no house was safe for him and he had to hide among the rocks of the seashore shivering with cold and drenched with rain with great difficulty and danger to herself Flora MacDonald reached the place where the Prince was hiding bringing with her a dress for him to wear the Prince put it on and together they went to the house of a friend where Flora asked if she and her maid Betty might stay that night this friend was very fond of Flora and very glad to see her she was a Jacobite and when she was told who Betty was she made ready her best room for the Prince a little girl belonging to the house came into the hall while Betty was standing there and ran away frightened at the great tall woman but no one suspected who she was disguised as Flora MacDonald's maid Prince Charlie travelled for many days escaping dangers in a wonderful way for the Prince made a very funny lucky woman he took great strides and managed his skirt so badly and in spite of the danger his friends could not help laughing they do call your highness a pretender said one all I can say is that you are the worst of your trade the world has ever seen when there was no need for Flora to go further with the Prince they took a sad farewell of each other I hope Madam said he bending over her hand and kissing it at St. James's by that he meant that he still hoped to be king someday and welcome her in his palace of St. James's in London then he stepped into the boat which was waiting for him and Flora sat sadly by the shore watching it as it sailed farther and farther away Far over young hills of the heathers are green and down by the quarry that sings to the sea that Bonnie young Flora sat sighing her lane the dew on her plaid and the tear in her eye she looked at a boat which the breezes had swung away on the wave like a bird on the men and I as it listened she sighed and she sang farewell to the lad I shall near see again farewell to my hero the gallant and young farewell to the lad I shall near see again the target is torn from the arm of the just the helmet is cleft on the brow of the brave the claim of forever and darkness must rust but red is the sword of the stranger and slave the hoof of the horse on the foot of the proud I've trod all the plumes in the bonnet of blue whistled the red bolt in the heart of the cloud when tyranny reveled in blood of the true and I as it listened she sighed and she sang farewell to the lad I shall near see again when tyranny reveled in blood of the true farewell my young hero the gallant and good crown of thy fathers is torn from thy brow crown of thy fathers is torn from thy brow this rebellion is called the 45 because it took place in 1745 AD Prince Charlie reached France safely but the rest of his life was sad he was a broken, ruined man and he lived a wanderer in many lands at last he died in Rome on 30th of January 1788 AD the anniversary of the day on which Charles I had been beheaded the monuments placed there deserred by King George IV on which are the names in Latin James III, Charles III and Henry IX kings of England they were kings who never ruled and are known in history as the old pretender, the younger pretender and Henry Cardinal of York, brother of the young pretender End of chapter 92 Our Island Story Chapter 93 This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit org This reading by Kara Schellenberg Our Island Story by H. 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Marshall Chapter 93 George II The Story of the Black Hole of Calcutta Besides the Civil War Britain had other wars to fight France, England's old enemy was still the enemy of Britain Once again there was war between them and this time the fighting was not in France nor in England, nor on the seas but in far off lands Long ago in the days of Elizabeth the Englishmen sailed over the seas to the newly discovered country of America and made their home there You remember how Raleigh claimed Virginia for England and how later the stern Puritans sailed away in the Mayflower and founded a new Plymouth and a new England over the sea Little by little these colonies as such new countries which are people by an old country are called grew towns sprang up, harbours were built and the colonies became a rich and powerful part of Great Britain In another country called India there were also possessions and trade with India had become of great importance and was carried on chiefly by a company called the East India Company But France too had colonies in India and in America and the French and the British became so jealous of each other that war broke out in both countries The French were much stronger in India at this time than the British and they made up their minds to drive the British away altogether They might have succeeded too but for the cleverness of a young man called Robert Clive He was a clerk in the East India Company's office and not a particularly good clerk either because the work he had to do was not at all the kind of work for which he was fitted When war broke out Robert Clive gave up being a clerk and became a soldier and he soon showed that he was a clever one Some of the native Indians fought for the French and some for the British but Clive and his sepoys, as the native soldiers were called won and the French governor was obliged to leave the country A few years later one of the native princes who had fought for the French attacked the British who were living in Calcutta and many of them destroyed their houses and factories and those who were left alive he shut up in a horrible prison called the Black Hole There were 146 prisoners and the Black Hole was so small that there was hardly room in it for them to stand The windows were so tiny that hardly any air could come through them When the prisoners were told that they were all to go into this dreadful place they could not believe it they thought at first that the prince meant it as a jest but they soon found out that it was no jest but horrible, sinful earnest In spite of their cries and entreaties they were all driven in and the door fastened It was a hot summer night what little air came through the tiny windows was soon poisoned by being breathed over and over again People fainted, went mad, died The cruel Indians held torches to the windows and, looking in, laughed at the terrible sufferings of the poor prisoners who cried for mercy as they beat upon the door trying vainly in their agony to break it down In the morning only 23 came out from the dreadful hole alive When Clive heard of this horrible deed he marched against the native prince and utterly defeated him in a battle called Placé He drove him from his throne and placed another prince who was friendly to the British upon it He drove the French from their fortress there and ever since then the power of Britain has grown and grown in India Until today our king, the king of Great Britain and Ireland is also the emperor of India Our island story Chapter 94 This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information and to find out how you can volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Our island story Chapter 94, George II The story of how Canada was won While these things were happening in India the French and British were fighting in America also The French colonies there were called Canada and Louisiana Canada lay north of the British colonies beyond the St. Lawrence River Louisiana lay west of the British colonies beyond the Mississippi River If you look on the map you will see that in this way the British colonies were quite shut in by the sea and by the French on all sides This did not please the British They wanted to be able to enlarge their colonies and to stretch out to the west to the great forests and unknown land beyond Louisiana The French on the other hand hoped to drive the British away from America altogether and they built forts along the rivers as far as possible from the west There were many quarrels which grew more and more bitter till at last war broke out At first the British were not successful but just as Walpole had been a great peace minister so William Pitt who was now in power was a great war minister He was quick to see what needed to be done and just as quick in choosing the best men to do it He did not ask whether a man was rich or powerful or whether he had great relations He asked, is this the best man I can find to do this piece of work So it came about that at this time the British all over the world were successful Among the men whom Pitt sent to fight in America was a young man called James Wolfe Wolfe was sent from England with 8,000 soldiers and was told that he must take Quebec the capital of Canada He reached Canada and sailed at the St Lawrence greatly to the surprise of the French for it was a very difficult passage to the French to cross the country and to cover the rocks and banks of sand Yet Wolfe took his great warships where the French would have fear to venture with their little trading vessels He anchored opposite Quebec and landed his soldiers on the island of Orleans Quebec was a very strong town it was built upon rocks high above the river and was defended by the great French general Montcarm For a long time Wolfe tried in vain to take the town Montcarm was too clever and watchful day by day passed He was in a very dangerous Many of his soldiers were killed and the fresh troops which he expected did not arrive At last he decided on a bold and daring plan There was one place which the French did not guard very strongly because they thought it was quite impossible for the British to attack them there This was a steep cliff But Wolfe noticed there was a narrow pathway up at this cliff and he decided to take his soldiers by that path He felt so doubtful of success however before he made the attempt I have done little for my country I have little hope of doing anything but I have done my best One dark night the British soldiers were rowed over the river No one spoke, everyone moved as quietly as possible The oars even were muffled so that the sound of rowing might not be heard by the French Only Wolfe, as his boat went silently down the river repeated a poem to his officers in a low voice The poem was called The Country Churchyard and it had been written a few years before by an English poet called Grey The curfew told the knell of parting day The lowing herd wins slowly over the lee The ploughman homeward plods his weary way and leaves the world to darkness and to me Now fades the glimmering landscape on the sight and all the air a solemn stillness holds save where the beetle wheels he's droning flight and drowsy tinklings lull the distant folds That is how the poem begins It is a long poem and very beautiful and when Wolfe had finished repeating it he turned to his officers and said Now, gentlemen, I would rather be the author of that poem than take Quebec The boat reached the Quebec side of the river and Wolfe was among the first to spring ashore silently, quickly, with beating hearts and held breath, the men followed then as silently and quickly the boat put off again While there had been room in them only for half the soldiers and they returned to bring the rest The climb of the narrow pathway began it was so narrow in places that only one could go at a time but every man was full of courage and hope They struggled up as best they could clinging onto bushes, rocks, roots of trees anything that would give them the least grip for hand or rest four foot A regiment of Highlanders were among the first to lead the way for they were used to scrambling and climbing among the rocks of their homeland nearer and nearer to the top they came unseen and unheard by the French sentinels above but at last the rustling among the bushes and leaves down the slope caught their ear what was that? they asked and fired at random down into the darkness but it was too late the first soldiers had reached the height others followed after them and terrified at the sudden appearance of men where they had thought no men could be the French sentinels ran away as soon as the British reached the top they fell into fighting order and when they broke the sun shone on their red coats as they stood drawn up in line to the heights of Abraham as the place was called at first the French leader, Montcalm could hardly believe that he saw a right then he said quietly I see them where they ought not to be we must fight them and I am going to crush them a fierce battle followed Wolf was struck in the wrist but he tied his handkerchief round it and went on fighting and giving orders as if nothing had happened a second time he was hit still he went on Wolf was quickly carried out of the fight but nothing could be done for him he was dying his officers stood sadly round him when suddenly one of them cried see they run, they run who run asked Wolf opening his eyes and trying to raise himself the enemy sir replied the officer they are running everywhere thank god said Wolf I die happy then he fell back and never spoke again the brave French leader Montcalm he said when he was told that he was dying I shall not live to see Quebec surrender Quebec did surrender and Canada was one and ever since then it has belonged to Britain and today it is one of the greatest of her colonies a few days after Wolf's side letter reached home another both sad and joyful follow he told of the taking of Quebec he told too of the death of the brave young leader not once or twice in our fair island story the path of duty was the way to glory he that ever following her commands on with toil of heart and knees and hands through the long gorge to the far light has won his path upward and prevailed shall find the toppling crags of duty scaled are close upon the shining table lands to which our god himself is moon and sun such was he his work is done but while the races of Mankind endure let his great example stand colossal scene of every land and keep the soldier firm the statement pure still in all lands and through all human story the path of duty be the way to glory George II died in October 1759 AD and was succeeded by his grandson George III whose father, the Prince of Wales had died some years before George III had been born in England and seemed more of an Englishman than either George I or George II for that reason and because he was young and handsome the people were glad when he came to the throne but he proved himself to be an unwise king and it was during his reign that Britain suffered a great loss the loss of all the American colonies in Canada the wars which Britain had been fighting all over the world had cost a great deal of money when Pitt saw a thing needed to be done he did not stop to ask how much it would cost he did it and afterwards the country had to find ways and means of paying war always costs a great deal and the country had been fighting so much that it was now deeply in debt the king's ministers therefore had to find some new way of raising money it seemed to them that as the war in America had been for the benefit of the colonies the colonists ought to pay some of the cost this being so King George decided to tax the Americans you know what a tax means if a certain thing costs one shilling a pound and the government said we will put a tax of tuppence a pound on this thing then it would cost one shilling and tuppence and the extra tuppence would go to the government to help to pay the expenses of the country for it requires money to keep up a country just as much as to keep up a house you also know that the king could not make the people pay taxes without the consent of parliament for which the people and parliament had fought over and over again and which they had won at last and if parliament consented to a tax it was really the people who consented as the members of parliament were chosen by the people now the people of America sent no members to the British parliament when King George tried to make them pay taxes they had once said no that is not just it is against the laws of Britain if we are to pay taxes we must be allowed to send members to parliament as England and Scotland do if we are to pay taxes we must have a share in making the laws and saying how the money is to be spent this was quite reasonable but King George was not reasonable he said no the Americans were very angry at this and they made up their minds to do without the things which the king wanted to tax this was very hard for them especially as one of the things taxed was tea you can imagine how difficult it would be to do without tea while these things were happening the great pit had been ill when he was well again and heard what George the third and his foolish ministers had been doing he said the Americans were quite right and he talked so fiercely that all the taxes were taken off again except the one on tea George insisted on keeping that one he was very angry with both pit and the Americans he called them rebels and pit the trumpet of rebellion but the Americans would not yield even to one tax there were meetings all over the states and the young men banded together under the name of the sons of liberty they swore to do anything rather than use taxed tea at last ships arrived in Boston harbor laden with tea the Americans knew that if once the tea got ashore it would be very difficult to keep the people from buying it they determined that it should not be landed while some of the wise people were talking and advising each other as to what should be done about 20 young men dressed themselves as red Indians they painted their faces brown stuck feathers in their hair and put on clothes such as red Indians wore red Indians are the natives of America and although they have nearly died out now they are fortunate to see them even in the towns with wild war whoops these make-believe red Indians ran to the harbor they sprang on board the tea ships they seized the chests, opened them with their hatchets and poured the tea into the water chest after chest, chest after chest was burst open and the tea poured over the ship's side till 342 chests had been emptied and the harbor was black with tea leaves many an honest merchant looked sadly on many a thrifty housewife sighed to see the waste but no one stopped the work it was the greatest tea making that had ever been seen and for long after it was called the Boston Tea Party when King George heard about this tea party he was very angry to punish the people of Boston he forbade any ships to go there at all so that the trade of the town was ruined and the people became quite poor he sent soldiers to frighten them into obedience and did many other things in order to punish the rebels but the Americans would not bear such treatment and they talked of war King George seemed to be quite pleased at the idea of fighting the Americans we will soon bring them to their senses he said they will only behave like lions as long as we behave like lambs I will show them that I mean to be firm and they will soon be meek enough but the Americans were not meek at all they made ready to fight soon 20,000 colonists were in arms and George Washington, a young soldier who had already shown his bravery and skill in fighting against the French was their leader the war began in the year 1775 A.D. and it was quite as dreadful as a civil war the colonists looked upon Britain as their mother country they talked of it as home and now for want of a little kindly feeling and understanding between them mother and children were fighting bitterly as time went on the Americans became more and more determined not to give in on the 4th of July 1776 A.D. they very solemnly made their declaration of independence we, the representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled appealing to the supreme judge of the world the factitude of our intentions solemnly publish and declare that these United States are and of right ought to be free and independent States this means that the Americans felt that they were doing right and not wrong in fighting against the mother country they felt that they ought to be free and they declared that they were free and independent independent means standing alone while the war was being carried on in the States at home Pitt, the great war minister who was now called Lord Chatham was struggling for peace he had worked very hard to make Britain great and to make the colonies great now he saw that all his work was to be ruined by a civil war and he tried to stop it you cannot conquer America, he said they are of our own blood if I were an American as I am an Englishman I would never lay down my arms never, never, never but the king and his friends would not listen to Pitt and the war went on then a worse thing happened France joined America against Britain Britain, by driving the French out of America had given the Americans peace now Britain's old enemy had joined with her own people against her that was the worst blow of all it frightened the Parliament and some members wanted to acknowledge the freedom of America old and ill although he was when Pitt heard of it he rose from his bed and once more went to speak in the house his voice was weak and feeble as he spoke I am glad, he said that I am still alive and able to lift up my voice against breaking up the empire Pitt had wanted to give the Americans what they asked for but now he wanted to fight with France France, he felt, had no right in the quarrel he would not yield to French threats what had been refused to America alone but Pitt was old and feeble the excitement of speaking was too much for the great statesman he fell senseless to the ground and was carried home to die then not only France but Spain joined with America and at last the bitter end came Britain was obliged to give way and in 1782 A.D. after a war which had lasted nearly eight years the United States were acknowledged to be a free and independent country and Britain lost all her possessions in North America except Canada end of chapter 95 read by Kara Schellenberg www.kray.org on September 9th 2006 in Oceanside, California our island story chapter 96 this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information and to find out how you can volunteer please visit LibriVox.org our island story by H.E. Marshall chapter 96 George III a story of the spinning wheel while Britain was fighting and losing a great colony another battle was being fought and won this was a peaceful battle the battle of industries and inventions to invent really means to find out and p