[III-. 



11 



uiiliino M to oompol tho 



t-L'e mill iv-ifr.-mt, it. 'llns was in Augu*: 



ID baroiiH met Again at 



Hury M Kilii'.nn.!--, l.in.- tho meantime pro- 



tin' ilenii M! I bo much) upon tho 



\vore tho brains, his tho (lt-i.it, tliat maruhu 

 re, innl ] minted out to them the direction in wri.-h their 

 Mi hhoulil bo employed. Tho draft wan read by tho 

 arrhl>isho|> from tin' .-teps of tho high altar, and was received 

 uitli r.i]i(ur.>in :i]i|,!::iiso ; and Langton, striking v. 



U reminded tin' barons of all their wroni'-, undsv.* 



ii cause oven unto death, until they hod 

 ! their \\ : 1 that lifter 



:i\ilyof I'lir I,nrd, they should eome to the k: 

 bixly. I onlirmatioii of tin- Hi- -jiii.ned; 



innl that in (he me;uit im-- to provide themselves 



with horse* and arms in the like manner, that if tie 



ihroiiirh th:it \\hieh he hud specially Hworn 

 (which they well i ,11 of hi-; ilii])li<;ity, 



ntly, by capturing his castles, compel him to 

 give them i-atisfart ion.' 1 



Fully armed and in fn ;it numl'-T.-. the barons waited on tin- 



u tho 6th of January. 1 ii 1 .">, and present ed their d 

 John asked for time, and they gave him til) Easter to think 

 about it. lie employed tho interval in attempts to break up 



''donation air.-iiimt him: ho offered special privii' 

 tho cluirehnieii. pot tho Popo to write in his behalf, and tried 

 to detach tho leaders from their comrades. But tho nobles re- 

 mained firm, and getting no reply to their demand by Easter, 

 mot in arms at Stamford, and sent thenee to John for his final 

 i on. "By God's teeth, I will not grant them liberties that 

 will make mo a slave !" ho screamed to Langton, who read over 

 the clauses of tho charter to him; but the Primato read on, j 

 and when ho had finished, John promised an answer speedily. 

 Nono came, so tho barons marohed, and after getting possession 

 ral large towns, entered London on tho 24th of May, 1215. 

 Rendered di^paii ful, and being almost alone, John sent to say 

 ild give what was asked. When and where should ho 

 the lords ? " Let tho day bo the 9th of Juno tho place 

 was the answer sent back. A postponement to 

 tho 1 .M.h was agreed to, and on that day John, attended by a 

 small retinue, mot "tho whole nobility of England," and nego- 



ro opened forthwith. 



No tricks, no lies, t no subterfuges could now avail. John 



'-olntelyjn the hands of his indignant and determined 



lords, and ho must agree to what they demanded, or take the 



consequences. Why need the liberty of others make him a 



Is it that tyrants feel stifled when their fellow-men 



? Better every -way that they should feel stifled than 



that tho alternative should present itself. But what were tho 



stifling restraints on the royal respiration? Let us see. 



The d, -cat Charter provided, first, "That the Church of Eng- 

 niit Eome, be it observed) shall be free, and have her 

 whole rights, and her liberties inviolable." It then went on to 

 fix exactly tho nature and extent of the feudal obligations, not 

 only of tho barons towards the king, but of the smaller holders 

 towards the barons; the liberties of cities and towns were 

 confirmed ; tho redress of existing grievances, such as the 

 employment of foreign troops against Englishmen, arbitrary 

 imprisonment without trial, the exaction of ruinous fines and 

 the spoliation of wards and heiresses, was then assured ; and 

 that power so sweet to despots, of arbitrary, irresponsible 

 punishment, was expressly renounced. But the grand clauses 

 which made the charter so truly great, and which are laws to 

 this hour, ore those which provided that no tax should bo levied 

 but by order of " the general council of our kingdom ;" that 

 the royal officers who acted illegally should be personally 

 ilile ; that the Court of Common Pleas should be in one 

 fixed place, instead of following the king's person. The grandest 



ill. lio ever, are tlie->C 



"No freeman shall be taken, or imprisoned, or di--ei id. o- 

 outlawed, or banished, or any ways de.-troyed ; nor will wo pass 

 upon him, nor will we condemn him. / Da- hm-i'i'l 



.' I'll tli- I, lir ,;/' //,,' l,ln,l. )t 



noi iii inj tn innj in:', i. i nin i- .-A/." 



For four days tho negotiations went on ; tl "etwcen 



Staincs and Windsor was white with tho tents of tho iron-clad 

 men, who had come to demand a charter of liberties. Stephen 



do Langton >. up to their work, not 



to lag, I 'lem to overbear. It was on the 16th 



' he conference camo to an end. 



royal tc-nt at John (Lackland M they called him), with BOOM 

 dozen attendant*, whose heart* were not stoat enough to oppose 

 or to defend him; and round the table on which the Great 

 Charter lay rtood the mightiest of the peer*, men whoM ntmm 

 are worthily inscribed on Fame's eternal bead-roll. Laagton 

 argood for them. Ho spoke their mind*, and patiently did 

 he bear with all that WM nrged against him, for be knew the 

 power which was ready to back up bin cane. Never did rammer 

 sun shine on a more .-p'.-ndid -i-/ht than tho meadow by Bunny- 

 -i!,t. d on thi~ day in June. Ul. r >. Tho king, after vainly 

 carcHH, an i late, wan forced to give 



in; tho unbending iirmncKM of Langton know of no rorrendcr 

 but tho fullest. Not only did lie ji,-i*t npon and obtain the 

 king's signature to the grant, bat he compelled the royri 

 assent and there the shoo pinched dreadfully to a chuue 



ring certain barons to assume sovereign power in the 

 event of the kin;,' failing to keep his oath. 



Thus was won f.,r K.-i-lishmcn the Great Charter of Liberties, 

 whieh ha- liei n handed down with hom-nt prido from generation 



ration, and which wtands out an the rock on which our 

 air-likn freedom was founded, amid tho sea of violence and 

 selfishness which beat and broke on it in vain. 



SYNOPSIS OF THE LIFE OF KINO JOHN. 



John was tho sixth and youngest son of H< .- 

 seventh King of England after tho Conquest, and the third 

 of the Plantagcnet dynasty. 



LESSONS IN PENMANSHIP.! 



POSITION OF THE BODY, THE HAND, AND THE Pi:::. 



GOOD handwriting is essential to almost all persons who have 

 to make their way in the world. Great stress ia laid upon it 

 in the examinations for all Government appoiutmentr 1 . 

 required in every merchant's counting-house, in every office, in 

 almost every shop. Tho boy who can write well obtains a citrw- 

 tion however humble tho situation may bo far more readily 

 than tho boy whose " pot-hooks and hangers " are almost as 

 difficult to decipher as tho cuneiform charactera of ancient 

 Nineveh. It is our purpose to devote a portion of our space 

 to " Lessons in Penmanship." Our efforts, at the outset, will 

 be directed towards tho instruction of those who have never 

 learned to write, and the improvement of those who write badly ; 

 and wo shall follow these lessons by a series of papers exhibiting 

 tho different styles of handwriting required in Government 

 the merchant's counting-house, and the office of tho 

 solicitor, etc. etc., with instructions in German chirography 

 and the ordinary kinds of ornamental writing, especially the 

 black letter, or (iernian text, no necessary to the solicitor's 

 clerk in engrossing deeds and legal documents. 



AAith thoso preliminary remarks, we hope our students will 

 t tend very iMivfully t> nur dirivtioiw in endeavouring to 

 acquire an . vm .f ].enmanship, as by this means, 



combined with constant practice, they will surely become 

 good writers. 



In the first place, yon should sit right in front of the desk or 



