engraved upon her tombstone: "Here lies Sophia, Queen of England," died,
in spite of this desire, only a few weeks before the queen; and the new
heir to the throne was her son, George Louis of Brunswick-Luneburg,
electoral prince of Hanover.

He came cautiously and selfishly to the throne of England; he felt his
way, and left a line of retreat open; he brought not a spice of honest
English sentiment, but he introduced the filth of the electoral court. As
gross in his conduct as Charles II., he had indeed a prosperous reign,
because it was based upon a just and tolerant Constitution; because the
English were in reality not governed by a king, but by well-enacted laws.

The effect of all this political turmoil upon the leading men in England
had been manifest; both parties had been expectant, and many of the
statesmen had been upon the fence, ready to get down on one side or the
other, according to circumstances. Marlborough left the Tories and joined
the Whigs; Swift, who had been a Whig, joined the Tories. The queen's
first ministry had consisted of Whigs and the more moderate Tories; but as
she fell away from the Marlboroughs, she threw herself into the hands of
the Tories, who had determined, and now achieved, the downfall of
Marlborough.

Such was the reign of good Queen Anne. With this brief sketch as a
preliminary, we return to the literature, which, like her coin, bore her
image and carried it into succeeding reigns. In literature, the age of
Queen Anne extends far beyond her lifetime.

ADDISON.--The principal name of this period is that of Joseph Addison. He
was the son of the rector of Milston, in Wiltshire, and was born in 1672.
Old enough in 1688 to appreciate the revolution, as early as he could
wield his pen, he used it in the cause of the new monarchs. At the age of
fifteen he was sent from the Charter-House to Oxford; and there he wrote
some Latin verses, for which he was rewarded by a university scholarship.
After pursuing his studies at Oxford, he began his literary career. In his
twenty-second year he wrote a poetical address to Dryden; but he chiefly
sought preferment through political poetry. In 1695 he wrote a poem to the
king, which was well received; and in 1699 he received a pension of L300.
In 1701 he went upon the Continent, and travelled principally in France
and Italy. On his return, he published his travels, and a _Poetical
Epistle from Italy_, which are interesting as delineating conti