time the most useful, domestic article in existence.

585. Summary.

William IV's short reign of seven years was marked (1) by the great
Reform Bill of 1832, which, to a great extent, took Parliament out of
the hands of rich men and "rotten boroughs" and put it under the
control of the people; (2) by the abolition of slavery in the British
colonies, and factory reform; (3) by the introduction of the friction
match, and by the building of the first successful line of steam
railway.

VICTORIA--1837-1901

586. The Queen's Descent; Stability of the Government.

As William IV left no child to inherit the crown, he was succeeded by
his niece, the Princess Victoria, daughter of his brother Edward, Duke
of Kent. (See Genealogical Table, p.323.) In her lineage the Queen
represented nearly the whole past sovereignty of the land over which
she reigned.[1] The blood of both Cerdic, the first Saxon king, and of
William the Conqueror,[2] flowed in her veins,--a fact which
strikingly illustrates the vitality of the hereditary and conservative
principles in the history of the English Crown.

[1] The only exceptions are the four Danish sovereigns and Harold II.
[2] See Genealogical Table of the Descent of English Sovereigns in the
Appendix.

The fact stands out in stronger relief if we call to mind what England
had passed through in that intervening period of time.

In 1066 the Normans crossed the Channel, invaded the island, conquered
its inhabitants, and seized the throne. In the course of the next
five centuries two kings were deposed, one died a captive in the Tower
of London,[3] and the Catholic religion, as an established Church, was
supplanted in England by the Protestant faith of Luther.

[3] Namely, Edward II (S233), Richard II (S257), and Henry VI (S305).

Somewhat less than a hundred years after that event, Civil War broke
out in 1642; the King was dethroned and beheaded, and in 1648 a
republic established. The monarchy was restored in 1660, only to be
followed by the Revolution of 1688, which changed the order of royal
succession, drove one line of sovereigns from the land, and called in
another from Germany to take its place. Meanwhile the House of
Commons had gained enormously in political power, and Cabinet
Government had been fully and finally established (S534). In 1832 the
Reform Bill was passed, by which the power of the people was largely
extended in Parliament; the two great