CHAP.  IV.

CONVERSATION ON HISTORY.

On the morning after the play, Charles was thinking about the king of Scotland, and he asked his mamma why there was no king of Scotland now, as there used to be, and she told him that England and Scotland were now considered only as one kingdom, and called Great Britain.

“Yes,” said Charles, “I know that the queen of England is queen of Scotland too; but I want to know how it came to be so; because you see, mamma, that when Duncan was king of Scotland, there was a king of England as well.”

“Yes, my dear,” and for five hundred years after Duncan was murdered, there were kings of Scotland and England also; but when Queen Elizabeth died, her nearest relation happened to be the king of Scotland, James the sixth; he was her cousin, and as she left neither brothers nor sisters, nor children, James became king of England as well as of his own country; and since that time there has been but one king to govern both kingdoms.”

“Thank you, mamma,” said Charles, “I could not think how it was before; but do you think it is best to have one king or two?”

“I think it is best to have but one, because, if you look at your map, you will see that England and Scotland together make one large island; and while they were separate kingdoms, they were frequently at war with each other.”

“What did they go to war for, mamma?”

“I believe, Charles, the true cause generally was, that the English king thought he should like to have the whole island for himself; but what made the matter worse was, that as the people who were fighting against each other, all lived in the same island, it was almost as bad as a civil war.”

“What is a civil war, mamma?”

“It is when the people of any country cannot agree among themselves, and so make war upon each other:  there have been civil wars in all countries at different times; they are the most dreadful of all wars, because relations and friends are often fighting in battle against each other.”

“Oh, what a shocking thing!” said Charles; “But why do they do it mamma?  I cannot think why people should fight battles with one another.”

“I will try to explain it, my dear:  There is at present a civil war in Spain, because when the last king died, some of the people said that his daughter should be queen, and others said his brother should be king; so the daughter was placed on the throne and crowned; but the brother, whose name is Don Carlos, is very angry at this, because he thinks he has the greatest right to the crown; so he has persuaded all who are on his side, to go to war with all who are in favour of the queen, therefore the Spaniards are now fighting against each other.”

“Which do you think will win?” said Charles.

“I cannot possibly say, my dear.  But I wish to show you, Charles, the terrible consequences of a civil war.  It may happen that fathers and sons are of different opinions, and that one fights for the queen, and the other for the king; and then it is possible that in battle the son may kill his father, or the father his son.”