Note XVII.

Scheveline's barren shore.-P. 37.

A small village near the Hague, at which Charles embarked on his joyful voyage.

Note XVIII.

-Holland to regret a king.-P. 37.

The States not only maintained Charles in royal splendour during his residence at Breda, and at the Hague, but loaded him with valuable gifts at his departure, particularly a bed worth L. 1000, and linen valued at L. 1000; both which articles his hardships had taught him to value, by sad experience of the want of them.

Note XIX.

The Naseby, now no longer England's shame,

But better to be lost in Charles his name.-P. 37.

When the English fleet came on the coast of Holland, the Duke of York took possession of it, as Lord High Admiral. "After he had spent the day there in receiving information of the state of the fleet, and a catalogue of the names of the several ships, his Highness returned with it that night to the king, that his majesty might make alterations, and new christen these ships, which too much preserved the memory of the late governors, and of the republic."---CLARENDON. The Naseby was too odious a name to be preserved, and it was changed to the Royal Charles, and the Swiftsure to the James. The Royal Charles fell into the hands of the Dutch at the surprize of Chatham.

Note XX.

-Great Gloster's weight.-P. 37.

Henry of Oatlands, Duke of Glocester, third son of Charles I. He embarked on this occasion with his brother, by whom he was dearly beloved. He died of the small-pox on the 13th September following, deeply and generally lamented.

Note XXI.

It is no longer motion cheats your view;
As you meet it, the land approacheth you :
The land returns, and, in the white it wears,

The marks of penitence and sorrow bears.---P. 38.

Johnson remarks, that this extraordinary piece of complaisance in the land is not without a precedent. A French poet read to

Malherbe some verses, in which he mentioned the kingdom of France as advancing to meet the king. "Though this happened in my time," observed the critic, "it is strange I should not remember it." In the next couplet, Albion does penance in a sheet, because her cliffs are chalky; had they been black, she would have been in mourning of course. But the civility of such inanimate objects, according to the poets of this reign, was truly wonderful, considering their present insensibility. In a poem, " On the Arrival of her Royal Highness, and Happy Marriage to the Most Illustrious Prince James Duke of York, &c. 1673," not only do dolphins dance about the vessel, but, yet more surprising,

When first she launched, the ambitious waves no more
Would kiss the lips of the forsaken shore;
But, proud of such rich freight, began t' aspire,
As if they'd quench the elemental fire:
So that philosophers since scarce agree,
Whether the earth or ocean highest be.
The trembling compass had forgot to stir,
Instead o'the north pole, pointing still at her;
At which the pilot wonders, till he spies
Two north poles culminant at once,-her eyes.

Note XXII,

Thus, when the Almighty would to Moses give
A sight of all he could behold and live;

A voice before his entry did proclaim,

Long suffering, goodness, mercy, in His name.---P. 36.

"And he said, Thou shalt not see my face: for there shall no man see me and live.

"And the Lord said, Behold there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock;

"And it shall come to pass, when my glory cometh by, that I will put thee into a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by ;

"And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts, but my face shall not be seen." Exodus, Chap. xXXIII. verses 20, 21, 22, 23.

"And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord.

"And the Lord passed before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, the Lord God merciful and gracious, long suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth." Exodus, Chap. xxxiv. verses 5, 6.

Note XXIII.

Your power to justice doth submit your cause,

Your goodness only is above the laws.---P. 36.

By the declaration of King Charles II., dated at Breda, 14th April, 1660, a free pardon was promised to all subjects, of what degree or quality soever, for their share in the late civil war, excepting only such as should hereafter be excepted by Parliament. The House of Peers, irritated by their sufferings during the late troubles, were disposed to make very general exceptions from the proposed indemnity. But the king came in person to the house, and beseeched them, in the most affecting terms, to extend the benefit of the bill to all who had not been the immediate instruments of his father's death. Upon which principle, the " Act of Oblivion" was constructed accordingly. Even among the judges of his father, the King distinguished Ingoldsby, and others, as fit objects of mercy. Thus the law's rigid letter, as pronounced by him, was "softer made."

Note XXIV.

How shall I speak of that triumphant day,
When you renewed the expiring pomp of May!
A month that owns an interest in your name;
You and the flowers are its peculiar claim.---P. 37.

Charles II. was born on the 29th of May, 1630, and upon the same day of the same month, 1660, he " renewed the expiring pomp of May," by making his triumphal entry into his metropolis, for the purpose of resuming the throne of his forefathers. The immense crowds which assembled to witness an event, which was to close the wounds of civil discord, seemed, says Clarendon, as if the whole kingdom had been gathered together. For a full account of his triumphant procession, with the cloth of gold, and cloth of silver, velvet cloaks, gold chains, kettle-drums, trumpets, and common council-men, see Baker's Chronicle. One part of the show was particularly striking to the actors in the late commotions: "I must confess," says the republican Ludlow, "it was a strange sight to me, to see the horse that had formerly belonged to our army, now put upon an employment, so different from that which they had at first undertaken; especially when I considered, that, for the most part, they had not been raised out of the meanest of the people, and without distinction, as other armies had been; but that they consisted of such as had engaged themselves from a spirit of liberty, in defence of their rights and religion." LUDLOW's Me moirs, Vol. III. p. 16.

Note XXV.

That star, that at your birth shone out so bright,
It stained the duller sun's meridian light,

Did once again its potent fires renew.---P. 87.

· There was a star visible on Charles' birth-day, 29th May, 1630; a circumstance much dwelt upon, by his party, during the civil wars. Lilly, the astrologer, who embraced the cause of the Commonwealth, assures us, it was nothing more than the planet Venus, which is sometimes visible in the day-time; and truly, if we judge of the matter by its influence on the merry monarch, Venus has the best title to be held the dominant power at his nativity. Lilly also repeats the following lines, presented to Charles I. (by the astrologer himself, I suppose,) when he went to St Paul's, to return thanks for the birth of his son:

Rex ubi Paulinias accessit gratus ad aras,
Immicuit medio lucida stella polo :

Dic divina mihi tractans ænigmata cæli,
Hæc oriens nobis quid sibi stella velit ?
Magnus in occiduo princeps modo nascitur orbe,
Moxque sub eclipsi regna orientis erunt.

LILLY'S Monarchy, or no Monarchy,

Our author seems to allude to this star in the "Duke of Guise," where, speaking literally of Henry III., but covertly of Charles II., he makes Melanax say,

-He cannot be deposed,

He may be killed; a violent fate attends him,
But at his birth there shone a regal star.

Vol. VII. p. 74.

A poetical follower of Monmouth introduces the Duke of York murmuring against the good fortune of his brother, and exclaiming,

Curse on that planet, whose benign ray

Gilds the bright pavement of the Milky Way;

And is so good, so influential

To the great master of the Milky Hall.

The same star, it would seem, was again visible in 1660.

Note XXVI.

And as old Time his off spring swallowed down.---P. 37.

The minutes, hours, days, and other subdivisions of time, may

be accounted his children, which he is fancifully said to devour, as he passes over them.

Note XXVII.

And France, that did an exile's presence fear.---P. 37.

Charles was obliged to leave France, less because his presence was feared in itself, than the displeasure of Cromwell, for affording him shelter.