's age; and
yet that poet remains still the favorite of every reader of taste and
judgment. Homer copied true natural manners, which, however rough or
uncultivated, will always form an agreeable and interesting picture; but
the pencil of the English poet was employed in drawing the affectations,
and conceits, and fopperies of chivalry, which appear ridiculous as
soon as they lose the recommendation of the mode. The tediousness of
continued allegory, and that, too, seldom striking or ingenious, has
also contributed to render the Fairy Queen peculiarly tiresome; not to
mention the too great frequency of its descriptions, and the languor of
its stanza. Upon the whole, Spenser maintains his place upon the shelves
among our English classics; but he is seldom seen on the table; and
there is scarcely any one, if he dares to be ingenuous, but will
confess, that, notwithstanding all the merit of the poet, he affords an
entertainment with which the palate is soon satiated. Several writers of
late have amused themselves in copying the style of Spenser; and no
imitation has been so indifferent as not to bear a great resemblance to
the original: his manner is so peculiar that it is almost impossible not
to transfer some of it into the copy.

CHAPTER XLV.

[Illustration: 1-560-james1.jpg JAMES I.]

JAMES I.

{1603.} The crown of England was never transmitted from father to son
with greater tranquillity than it passed from the family of Tudor to
that of Stuart. During the whole reign of Elizabeth, the eyes of men
had been employed in search of her successor; and when old age made the
prospect of her death more immediate, there appeared none but the king
of Scots who could advance any just claim or pretension to the throne.
He was great-grandson of Margaret, elder daughter of Henry VII.; and,
on the failure of the male line, his hereditary right remained
unquestionable. If the religion of Mary queen of Scots, and the other
prejudices contracted against her, had formed any considerable obstacle
to her succession, these objections, being entirely personal, had no
place with regard to her son. Men also considered, that though the
title derived from blood had been frequently violated since the Norman
conquest, such licenses had proceeded more from force or intrigue than
from any deliberate maxims of government. The lineal heir had still
in the end prevailed: and both his exclusion and restoration had been
commonly atten