1823.]) Oppressions following the Conquest.— Character of Wilkes. 
ig 
never been done by his sterner bro- 
ther,—he put off for a moment the 
character of tyrant and stranger, and 
held out the hand of fellowship to the 
humiliated English. They, though 
hopeless,, credulous. in their misery, 
were but to be flattered,in the. day of 
danger, that they might be crushed 
when the danger was past. Henry 
summoned their principal men toge- 
ther, and addressed them (probably 
through an interpreter,) in the follow- 
ing words :—*“‘ Ye friends and _ faith- 
ful ones! born in the land where I 
was born. You know that my bro- 
ther wants to seize my kingdom: he is 
a proud man, who cannot live in 
peace,+-—he manifestly despises you, 
—he treats you as cowards and glut- 
tons,{ and wants to trample on you. 
But I, a gentle and pacific king, mean 
to preserve to you your ancient liber- 
ties,—to goyern you ‘according to 
your own will, reasonably and mode- 
rately. I will, if you wish it,§ make a 
writing, which I will sign with my 
hand, and confirm with my oath. Be 
faithful to me,—repel with courage the 
attacks of my enemies. If the bra- 
very of the English support me, I care 
nothing for the attacks of the Nor- 
mans.’ || The promise of Henry was 
recorded as an authentic’ act, which 
the Normans called a charte. A copy 
was made for every province; and, to 
give it more solemnity and inviolabi- 
lity, a seal was engraved for the sole 
purpose of being attached to. it.q 
These copies were placed in the prin- 
cipal churches, but did not continue 
long. They were removed when the 
king retracted his promise; when, to 
use the frank expression of an old 
historian, he infamously lied to his 
own word. ‘Three copies escaped by 
accident. at Canterbury, York, and 
St. Alban’s, for the instruction, of the 
antiquary, and for the consolation of 
the credulous beings who \put their 
trust in the oaths of despot kings. 
~ <a 
To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
SIR, 
OU have provided a great acces- 
sion of amusement to your inva: 
luable Miscellany, by the favourite 
* Chr. Sax. 195. 
+ Matt. Paris. 42. 
¢ Ib. ignovos et glotones. 
Ib. si providentis. 
§ Tho. Rudborne, 274. 
Montuty Mac. No. 387, 
209 
article “ Stephensiana.” I knew Ste- 
phens well, and a worthy and liberal 
man he was: I also knew John 
Wilkes well,—ioo well, indeed, to 
rank him, in a moral view, with 
Stephens. On a certain part of the 
character of Wilkes, which has hi- 
therto not been so much noticed, I 
have a few words to say, from my own 
knowledge and recollection. He is 
generally described as. the model of.a 
“fine gentleman.” He certainly, af- 
fected that character to as great a 
degree as my Lord Chesterfield him- 
self, but was superior to that noble 
lord in this respect,—he had. two 
strings to his bow ; for no man breath- 
ing could enact the true-bred black- 
guard better than John Wilkes, in 
which Nan Catley (Mrs. Lascelles), 
an exquisite judge and practitioner, 
fully agreed with me. This notable 
qualification, served him no little du- 
ring his elections, and with the canaille 
generally; with whom be at one. pe- 
riod was the dominant fayourite.. In 
this, his competitor ‘Tooke could never 
succeed, after various trials, which 
brought infinite ridicule upon him. It 
used to be a standing joke, which was 
the completest blackguard, old Toby 
Smollett.or John Wilkes. Somewhat 
before the general election in 1768, 
Wilkes actually availed himself of this. 
talent, in writing popular songs; and 
I was assured by one ‘of his cronies 
and assistants in that famous, or ra- 
ther infamous, celebration of the sacra- 
ment’ at Oxford, that he was: the 
author of both, ‘‘ Wilkes’s Wriggle” 
and ‘“‘the Pilgrim,” two of the most 
popular ballads, both with respect to 
the melody and the words, that have 
hitherto appeared in England. From 
motives of curiosity, I took the pains 
to go into the City, to the great ballad- 
manufactory then in Long-lane, to 
make the enquiry; and the answer. I 
obtained was to the same. eficct. 
Though talked of frequently «in. the 
cirele of Wilkes’s intimates, I belicve 
this,is the first time the anecdote has 
been published. 
Dr, Kitchener, our celebrated and 
unrivalled proveditor for things of the 
first necessity, has lately published a 
series of national melodies; but his 
book has this inherent defect,—they 
are all.on one side, loyal to the 
hilts ; indeed, so enormously loyal and 
national, that they fatigue our appe- 
tite,—voracious, however,—like too 
much of a good thing, A mixture of 
2H a more 
