historical dignity has rendered his work too uniform, and of courfe, dry and uninterefting to the general reader. The want of variation in the colours of ftyle, which, in hiftory, as in other departments, fhould be modulated to the tenor of the events, fimple, beautiful, elegant, majeftic, fublime, is indeed one chief caufe of the failure of many hiftories; for the reader, fatigued with uniform dignity and ceremony, leaves the author to talk about upon his ftilts, and fearches elfewhere for inftruction blended with amufement. Dion Caffius fleeps on the fhelf, while Plutarch is tranflated into all languages, and is in the hands of all. But this defect should not have difcouraged Dr. Coote from the ufe of lord Lyttelton's work; to which a refpect for his industry and abilities fhould have induced frequent reference. In the tranfactions between England and Scotland, fir David Dalrymple's Annals, a work ever to be regarded as a model of hiftorical information and accuracy, might alfo have faved fome mistakes.

.

The endeavours of Henry II. to reclaim the dependence of the clergy on the civil power, form, perhaps, the most interefting part of his reign: and Dr. Coote enters upon it with due fpirit.

An interesting scene now opens on the reader's view. A violent contest is approaching between the crown and the mitre, between the king and the primate of his realm. A monarch of strong talents and great firmnefs, extremely tenacious of the prerogatives of his ancestors, and eager to retain his fubjects of every clafs, in due fubjection to the power allowed him by the conftitution, will be feen contending for fuperiority with a bold and pertinacious churchman, who, enlifting under the banners of the bishop of Rome against the rights of his natural fovereign, zealously laboured to detach the clergy from all dependence on the temporal power, qualifying his allegiance to the king with the disloyal refervation of the pretended immunities of the ecclefiaftical body, and the prepofterous obedience which he thought proper to give to a foreign prelate, who, encouraged by the darknefs and fuperftition of the times, had gradually ufurped an authority over this and other churches of the Chriftian world.

As the primate who entered the lifts againft Henry acquired, in his own time, an extraordinary degree of fame, which he ftill retains in the annals of ecclefiaftical hiftory, and in the calendar of the Romish church, a biographical fketch of fo eminent a perfonage will be a proper prelude to the narration of the memorable conteft in which he was engaged. Thomas Becket was the fon of a citizen of London, of Anglo-Saxon defcent. After a beginning of education at Merton-abbey in Surry, he continued his studies at Oxford, and made fome additions to his learning at the univerfity of Paris.

On his return to his native city, he was recommended by a clerical friend of his father to archbishop Theobald, who, finding him a youth of talent and addrefs, took him into his family, and prefented him, when only a deacon, to two parochial livings and two prebends. With the confent of his patron, he repaired to Bologna, with a view of studying the civil and canon laws. When he had refided a year in this celebrated school of legal knowledge, he profecuted the fame pursuits at Auxerre. Returning into England with the reputation of an able civilian and an acute canonist, he firmly established himself in the favour of the archbishop, who employed him as his agent in several negotiations at the court of Rome, which were conducted by Becket with fuch dexterity and fuccefs, that Theobald rewarded him with the additional preferments of provost of Beverley and dean of Haftings. In the year of Stephen's death, he was promoted by his liberal patron to the lucrative and important office of archdeacon of Canterbury. The next station to which he was elevated, was that of chancellor of the realm, which he procured by the earnest recommendation of the primate; and he seems to have been the first person of English origin who, fince the days of the Conqueror, had been permitted, by the ceffation of Norman jealoufy, to rife to a height of dignity either in the church or the state.

With the poft of chancellor, Becket retained his ecclefiaftical preferments; and the multiplied income of his various promotions, must have been extremely agreeable to a perfon of his magnificent and oftentatious turn. His mode of living, after his appointment to fo dignified an office, was uncommonly fplendid and luxurious. His table was acceffible to every individual of rank; his entertainments were fumptuous and profufe; his apartments were enriched with the most coftly furniture; his equipage and retinue were established on a princely fcale. His houfe was a fchool both of civil and military education; and the fons of the firft nobility were introduced into his family, that they might receive the most judicious inftructions. Whenever he travelled, he was attended by a great number of knights, efquires, young noblemen, pages, clerks, and officers of his household, well armed and mounted. In his embaffy to the court of France, his magnificence excited universal admiration, and his princely liberality procured him general respect. In the expedition to Toulouse, he appeared with all the pomp of a feudal baron, being followed by 700 knights of his own establishment, each of whom had two attendants on horfeback. During this campaign, he fignalifed his valour in the affault and reduction of three caftles, which his fovereign, in confideration of their great strength, had left unattempted. He encountered, in Normandy, a French knight of diftinguifhed skill in arms, difmounted him with his lance, and carried aff, in triumph, the courfer of his vanquished antagonist. Thefe martial exploits increafed his favour with the king, who, being

himself an illuftrious warrior, was naturally pleased with the military merit of his fubjects. So high, indeed, was his opinion of the general character of Becket, that he intrufted him with the education of the heir of his crown; and, when the archbishopric of Canterbury became vacant by the decease of Theobald, he nominated his chancellor to that pre-eminent station,'

After narrating the affaffination of Becket, our historian thus proceeds:

• The character of Becket, which has been affailed with much obloquy, and extolled with much panegyric, will be best ascertained by the unbiaffed steadiness of a middle courfe of delineation. He was, without controverfy, a man of ftrong abilities, great difcernment, and some erudition. His manners and deportment were graceful and infinuating, though occasionally tinctured with an air of hauteur. His perfonal courage, and fortitude of mind, attracted the admiration even of his enemies; but the latter of thefe qualities degenerated into the most inflexible obftinacy, as foon as he had attained the station of primate of the English church. While he held the office of chancellor, he fhone as an able minifter, and a loyal fubject; as a judicious affertor of the rights of his fovereign, and the independence of the realm. But, when he affumed the metropolitan rank, he adopted very different fentiments, and proved a warm and perfevering advocate for all the pretenfions of the papal fee, however repugnant to reafon, decency, or justice. He entered into his new character with the zeal of an enthusiast, the intrepidity of a religious hero, the artful spirit and the evafive morality of an ambitious prieft. That fuch conduct was the fole fruit of hypocrify, can hardly be affirmed with truth. That fuperftition of which even the strongest minds cherished fome portion in thofe t mes, had perhaps fo mingled itself with the conceptions of this celebrated - prelate, that, in fupporting the cause of the church against the profanations of temporal interference, he might think he was promoting the purposes of pure religion. Every true patriot, however, must condemn his efforts for placing the clergy above the reach of crimi, nal law; an exemption which would naturally encourage, in that order of men, the commiffion of the most atrocious offences; and for propagating difcord and animofity in the ftate, by the erection of the church into a diftinct body, fubject to a foreign governor, whose interests and prejudices had long clashed with the civil welfare of those states over which he arrogated a fpiritual jurifdiction. In the progrefs of the conteft which he maintained with his prince, he exhibited a violence of temper, a perverfenefs of oppofition, and a propensity to revenge, which his panegyrifts cannot excufe by all the reproaches that they have lavifhed on the conduct of his royal antagonist. Of his private demeanor, we are authorised, by the concurrence of hiftorians, to fpeak in commendation: he was

U 4

chafte,

chafte, temperate, and beneficent. But these virtues were obscured and loft in the mifchievous tendency of his public proceedings *.

Our limits will not permit us to dwell longer on this, the fecond volume, than in remarking that the Appendix contains Magna Charta, with a tranflation, fpecimens of the language and character of Doomfday-book, and of the English speech in the reigns of William I. and Stephen.

The third volume opens with the reign of Henry III. and extends to the death of Richard II, A. D. 1399. We fhall pafs to the interefting reign of Edward I. and felect his tem porary conqueft of Scotland,

The penetration and policy of Edward fuggefted to him the probable advantages which might refult from the union of the whole ifland of Britain under one head; a meafure which would not only abolish the animofities fo frequently kindled between different nations enclosed within the fame ifland, but would render the united monarchy, as it were, a little world within itfelf, defended against the powers of the continent by infularity of fituation, as well as by compactness and concentration of ftrength. This was long the favourite object of his ambition; and the fuccefs which attended his fcheme, as far as it regarded Wales, encouraged him to take decifive steps for completing his grand design by the fubjugation of Scotland.

The provocations which he had received from his Scottish vaffal appeared, to the loose confcience of a king who thirfted after power, fufficiently flagrant to authorife the infliction of fignal chaf tifement from the fuperior lord of the fief. A numerous army hav ing affembled at Newcastle, Edward affumed the command of it; and while he waited for an opportunity of commencing the war with advantage, Robert de Rofs, who had revolted to the enemy, put himself at the head of a party of Scots, and furprised an English detachment, confifting of 1000 men, fent to reinforce the garrifon of Werk, few of whom efcaped the fwords of the affailants. Edward, not difpleafed that the Scots were the aggreffors, advanced

An ingenious catholic has lately appeared as a vindicator of archbishop Becket, from the mifreprefentations of patriotic and proteftant writers. But, as he profeffes to feel an enthufiaftic admiration for the memory of that prelate, his impartiality is, prima facie, problematical; for whoever writes under the influence of enthufiafm, will ine fibly be induced to glofs over, even in ordinary cafes, the foibles and vices of that perfon who is the object of fuch warmth of fentiment; much more will he be inclined to dev ate from the line of difpaffionate remark, when treating of a violent conteft between his favourite and a powerful antagonift; for he will then be strongly disposed to exalt the merit of the former on the ruins of the reputation of the latter. How far thefe obfervations are applicable to that part of Mr. Beringten's Hiftory of the Life and Reign of Henry 11. Richard, and John," which relates to the conduct of Thomas Becker, the reflecting reader of that work may easily decide.'

towards

towards the Tweed, and encamped at Werk. During his continuance in this neighbourhood, the earls of Buchan and Menteith, and others of the Scottish nobility, entered England from Annandale, and ravaged Cumberland with fire and fword; after which they returned to their own country, that they might be ready to check the progrefs of the English fovereign.

Having paffed the Tweed at Coldstream, Edward drew up his forces before Berwick. A fquadron of twenty-four fail, entering the harbour in hopes of his giving an immediate affault, sustained a fierce attack from the Scots, who burned feveral of the veffels. Amidst this confufion, the king suddenly affaulted the town, which was wretchedly fortified; and he forced his way into it with little difficulty. The Scots were fo intimidated by the unexpected fuccefs of the English, that they fuffered themselves, almost without refiftance, to fall victims to the barbarity of Edward, who ordered all that were found in the place to be put to the fword, amounting to above 7000 perfons. The caftle was then invefted, and taken by capitulation the fame day. While Edward remained in this town, he received an epiftle from the king of Scotland, expreffing his renunciation of his homage and fealty, in confequence of the various injuries which he and his fubjects had fuftained from a series of arbitrary proceedings. Edward coolly ordered his chancellor to regifter this letter, and prepared to improve his fuccefs. He fent John de Warrenne, earl of Surry, with a great force, to befiege the caftle of Dunbar, which, though it belonged to a nobleman who had embraced the caufe of Edward, had been yielded up to the enemy by his wife. It was now garrifoned by many perfons of rank; and, when the befieged had folicited relief from their fovereign, the main army of the Scots, much more numerous than that of the earl of Surry, marched to the deliverance of their countrymen. A battle enfued, in which the Scots were totally routed, with the lofs of feveral thousands of their men. Edward joined the victorious earl the next day with the remainder of the English army; and his prefence, concurring with the terror of the defeat, produced the furrender of the caftle, in which, befides a number of knights and gentlemen, three earls and fix barons were taken prifoners.

The victory of Dunbar was foon followed by the reduction of the Scottish low-lands. The vanquished retiring beyond the Forth, the caftles of Roxburgh, Jedburgh, and others of lefs importance, furrendered to the English arms. Even the caftle of Edinburgh detained the befiegers only a few days; and here Edward received an ample reinforcement of Welsh infantry, which induced him to difmifs an equal nun.ber of his English foldiers. Advancing towards Stirling, he took poffeffion of the caftle, which the terrified garrifon had evacuated on his approach. He was here joined by the earl of Ulfter, with a numerous body of forces from Ireland; and judging thefe and the Welsh to be well calculated for purfuing the Scot