nd that every
member has the right of freedom of speech. This protest they entered
upon their journals, upon which James lost all temper, ordered the
clerk to bring him the journals, erased the protestation with his own
hand, in presence of the judges and the council, and then dissolved
the parliament.

Nothing else of note occurred in this reign, except the prosecution of
the Spanish match, which was so odious to the nation that Buckingham,
to preserve his popularity, broke off the negotiations, and by a
system of treachery and duplicity as hateful as were his original
efforts to promote the match. War with Spain was the result of the
insult offered to the infanta and the court. An alliance was now made
with France, and Prince Charles married Henrietta Maria, daughter of
Henry IV. The Commons then granted abundant supplies for war, to
recover the Palatinate; and liberty of conscience was granted by the
monarch, on the demands of Richelieu, to the Catholics--so long and,
perseveringly oppressed.

[Sidenote: Death of James I.]

Shortly after, (March 27, 1625,) King James died at Theobalds, his
favorite palace, from a disease produced by anxiety, gluttony, and
sweet wines, after a reign in England of twenty-two years; and his
son, Charles I., before the breath was out of his body, was proclaimed
king in his stead.

The course pursued by James I. was adopted by his son; and, as their
reigns were memorable for the same struggle, we shall consider them
together until revolution gave the victory to the advocates of
freedom.

Charles I. was twenty-five years of age when he began his reign. In a
moral and social point of view he was a more respectable man than his
father, but had the same absurd notions of the royal prerogative, the
same contempt of the people, the same dislike of constitutional
liberty, and the same resolution of maintaining the absolute power of
the crown, at any cost. He was moreover, perplexed by the same
embarrassments, was involved in debt, had great necessities, and was
dependent on the House of Commons for aid to prosecute his wars and
support the dignity of the crown. But he did not consider the changing
circumstances and spirit of the age, and the hostile and turbulent
nature of his people. He increased, rather than diminished, the odious
monopolies which irritated the nation during the reign of his father;
he clung to all the old feudal privileges; he retained the detestable
and frivolous Buc