p, were toasted
together. The barrel was willingly emptied to honour the queen, and the
toaster lamented he could honour her no more.

The nation displayed their love to Charles the Second, by latticing the
forests. His climbing the oak at Boscobel, has been the destruction of
more timber than would have filled the harbour of Portsmouth; the tree
which flourished in the field, was brought to die in the street.
Birmingham, for ninety years, honoured him with her vengeance against
the woods; and she is, at this day, surrounded with mutilated oaks,
which stand as martyrs to royalty.

It is singular, that the oak, which assisted the devotion of the
Britons, composed habitations for the people, and furniture for those
habitations; that, while standing, was an ornament to the country that
bore it; and afterwards guarded the land which nursed it, should be the
cause of continual riots, in the reign of George the First. We could not
readily accede to a line of strangers, in preference to our ancient race
of kings, though loudly charged with oppression.

Clubs and tumults supported the spirit of contention till 1745, when, as
our last act of animosity, we crowned an ass with turnips, in derision
of one of the worthiest families that ever eat them.

Power, in the hand of ignorance, is an edge-tool of the most dangerous
kind. The scarcity of provisions, in 1766, excited the murmurs of the
poor. They began to breathe vengeance against the farmer, miller, and
baker, for doing what they do themselves, procure the greatest price for
their property.

On the market day, a common labourer, like Massenello of Naples, formed
the resolution to lead a mob.

He therefore erected his standard, which was a mop inverted, assembled
the crowd, and roared out the old note, "Redress of Grievances." The
colliers, with all their dark retinue, were to bring destruction from
Wednesbury. Amazement seised the town! the people of fortune trembled:
John Wyrley, an able magistrate, for the first time frightened in
office, with quivering lips, and a pale aspect, swore in about eighty
constables, to oppose the rising storm, armed each of them with a staff
of authority, warm from the turning-lathe, and applied to the War-office
for a military force.

The lime-powdered monarch began to fabricate his own laws, direct the
price of every article, which was punctually obeyed.

Port, or power, soon overcome a weak head; the more copious the draught,
the mor