 Chapter 21 of History of England and Words of One Syllable. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Mark Dykesorn. History of England and Words of One Syllable by Helen W. Pearson. Chapter 21, George III. George III had been born in England, so he had some love for the land, its folks, and its ways. He was a good man, and sought to do what he thought right, and he was firm as a rock when he felt he was right. He would ride or walk through a street or field as if he were just a plain squire with no pomp or state. He would talk to the folks of their work and their lives, and ask all sorts of things and say, What, what, what, in a queer way that made them laugh? His wife was a German princess by the name of Charlotte, and they brought up their boys and girls in the right way. At least they did their best to make them good. As soon as George III came to the throne, a war broke out in America. They did not like a new tax that had been laid on the tea which was in use there. They got it straight from China, and thought no one had a right to tax it. So though they were more fond of the strength than the English were in those days, they gave it up and threw whole shiploads in the stream. Then they all rose in a great fight to get free from English rule, and a man by the name of George Washington took the head of the troops. The French, who were not friends with the English, lent help to the Americans. There was a great man by the name of Benjamin Franklin sent to the court of France to win them as friends. He had found out strange things. You know in a storm how there is a fierce light at times, which tears through a cloud, and now and then strikes a house or barn and burns it to the ground. Franklin found out how to lead this from a house, so that no harm could be done. And now you can see wires that run down the sides of a house or a church. They are set in glass here and there, so that they lead the strange force straight into the ground, and make the house or church safe, so that it cannot be struck. On the 17th of June, 1775, a fight took place at Bunker Hill near Boston. The day was hot. The Americans had put their men back of a rail fence, which they had made out to stuff with hay so as to make it a sort of screen. They had no food, and were for the most part raw troops who did not know drill, and they had poor arms. But the British had to march through a field, and they were in full sight. They felt the great heat, such as they had not known in England, and they had food in stores and packs on their backs. When the word fire was heard and the smoke was gone, the ground was seen strewn with British dead. A great cheer went up from the forts, and cheers came from back of the rail fence. The British wore red coats, and could be seen from far, so their loss was great. But in time, the Americans had spent their last charge and had to fall back as best they could. The British had shown stout hearts to march up in the face of such a fire. On July the 4th, 1776, what is known as the Declaration of Independence was drawn up, and some of the best men who were at the head of things in the States put their names to it. All the states but New York gave a vote for this, and then it was thought to be a time for the United States to have a flag of its own. Congress said it should have red and white stripes, a stripe for each of the states, and a white star for each state in a blue field. When a new state comes in, a new star is put on the flag. Lord Howe wrote to George Washington Esquire to say what terms of peace King George would give the Americans. But Washington chose to have his name as head of the troops put on all his notes, so he took no heed of this one. Then there was not left but for Howe to fight. At first the Americans lost, and Washington had to leave New York in the hands of the British. His men were in want of clothes, and some of them had no shoes. He felt that he must strike a blow at once. There were some Hessian troops at Trenton who had come from Germany to help the English. It was Christmas and Washington knew that these folks would keep the day with feasts. So on the night of that day in a storm of sleet he set out to cross the Delaware, and at day dawn he was on the Hessians and took them all, and their head man fell in this fight. So the Americans fought on year by year, and all saw that they would have their rights and be free. Some wise men told George III that he had best give up the war with them. The old Lord Chatham did not think so, and came up from his home to make a speech, for he would not have England give up bought. But just as he went to speak he fell to the floor in a faint and did not live but a month from that time. George III at last gave up all rights to the land now known as the United States of America. These states then set up a form of rule which has gone on since that day. They have no king but a president for whom they vote on once in four years. England won much in India in this reign. The chief grief of George III was that some of his sons were wild and fast young men. The Prince of Wales was vain of his fine looks, and his whole aim was to dress well and set the mode in taste. He spent vast sums in wrong ways and sought to vex the king and queen as much as he could. He had a scorn for their plain style of life. William Pitt, the son of Lord Chatham, was the chief man in England in this reign. He sought to bring in a bill by which the Roman Catholics should have the same rights in all things as the Protestants. George III thought it would not be right for him to grant this, and there was so much strife that the king's health and brain gave way for a time. Just then there were sad scenes in France. The poor had been ground down in the past reigns, and now when they had a good and kind king, Louis XVI, they rose in all parts of the land. He had to bear the scourge for the acts of a long line of kings. Mob Law was the rule, and the folks sought to get rid of all the great ones in the land. Kings, priests, and men of rank lost their heads each day. This sad time is now known as the Great French Revolution. At last the French grew sick of strife and blood. A young man rose from the ranks by the name of Napoleon Bonaparte, and took the head of the land as the king had been slain. He beat the Germans and won all in his course. It was thought he would make France too strong for the rest of the world if they could not stop him. So when he went out to take Egypt and all the east, Lord Nelson took some ships and went there too, and beat the whole French fleet at the mouth of the Nile. Nelson next won in a fight with the Danes, and took all the Danish ships. Then when Spain made friends with France, Nelson beat them both at Cape Trafalgar. This was the last fight of this great man, for he got his death wound there to the grief of all. The war made it hard for those at home in England. Food and all things else were dear, and a high tax ground down the poor. But Napoleon was now emperor, and still had such strange luck in his fights that all lands were in awe of him. England felt the best way to keep him in bounds was to help the lands which were at war with him. The old king and his last days grew blind, and then came the death of Princess Amelia, the child of whom he was most fond. The cloud came on his mind once more, and he had to be shut up in Windsor, where his good wife stayed with him and did her best for him till her death. When George III lost his mind his son, the Prince of Wales, was made regent. You know a regent is one who rules for a king. He went on to help Spain, which was at war with France in those days. Napoleon had put one of his own blood on the throne of Spain, and the folks sent out a call on England to help them. Sir John Moore went with some troops, and won a fight at Carona. But a shot struck him, and they had to wrap his cloak round him, put him in a grave there at the dead of night, and leave him. Then Sir Arthur Wellesley was sent out to Spain. In three years time he drove the French from that land and gave chase to them, and won the fight of Toulouse on their own soil. This war was known as the Peninsular War. Sir Arthur Wellesley was made Duke of Wellington. By time all the lands of Europe rose to fight Napoleon, and at last they made him give up all he had won. And they brought back the king, Louis XVIII, and Napoleon was sent to Elba, a small isle in the sea. But the next year he got back to France, where the troops were glad to see him. King Louis had to fly, and Napoleon was soon at the head of a large force. England and Prussia made haste to meet him, with Blucher and Wellington to lead their troops. They met him on the field of Waterloo in Belgium, and beat him so that he fled. He did not get off though, but fell in the hands of his foes, and at last was sent to a lone isle in the Atlantic by the name of Saint Helena. There he was kept for five years, when death set him free. Europe was at peace once more, but the blind old king knew not of it. More than one change took place in the reign of George III. England had grown in wealth. Males were sent in more swift ways on smooth fine roads, and news was spread to the land each day. Books for the young first came out in this reign. Walter Scott wrote his great tales. And there were three men who wrote first then, which we read to this day. Their names are Wordsworth, Southey, and Coleridge. Men left off wigs and wore their own hair short and in curls. They wore blue coats and buff vests, and had tight stocks on their necks, and great shirt frills in their breasts. The dames had their gowns made short in the waist, and the skirts were plain and scant, but the sleeves were of a great size. They wore their hair in short curls, low on the brows, and had hats with high crowns and large fronts. The death of George III came in 1820. End of chapter 21 Chapter 22 of History of England In words of one syllable by Helen W. Pearson This is Liby Vox Recording. All Liby Vox recordings are in public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibyVox.org. History of England in words of one syllable by Helen W. Pearson Chapter 22 George IV George IV was quite no man when he came to the throne. He had been made to take Princess Caroline of Bloonswit for his wife, and he could not bear her, so they did not live in the same house. They had a child, Charlotte, a good, bright girl, and all hope of the land was set on her. She was wed to Prince Leipold of Saxony, but dead took her in the bloom of her youth. To the great grief of the whole hand, George IV would not have his wife with him when he took the crown. He said she was not fit to be queen, and he sought to get rid of her. There were those who took up her cause, and so there was strife at once when the king went to help the crowd put on his head. In the midst of all the pomp, the queen dropped up to take her place at his side, but she was kept back, and she had to go to her home. This met her thread and pie till death, put an end to her woes. Though the king and the queen were no doubt to blame, but George had such a hate for his wife, and that when Napoleon was dead, and someone told him that his worst fall was gone, he said that once, when did she die? The help of George IV was not good, and he spent most of his time in the house he had built, or in drives in her path at Windsor. He had to let a bill pass for Roman Catholics to sit in Parliament, but he did not like that. But this was an age of a chain. Steam had been brought in and made to move ships, and to lend his aid to those who moved cloth and clutched all. And as we must have fire for steam, there were great coalworks set up in the north of England, and men went in crowds to dig up the coal. So great towns grew up there. George IV had no child to take the throne, so he came to the next in blood. William, Duke of Clarence, the third son to the George III, he was a dowman, but good and kind, and queen Adelaide won the love of all. They had lost their two babes long since, and all knew that the next heir must be the princess of Victoria, the child of Edward, Duke of Accent. King William had shown that he was a friend of the weak, and at that time they sought to make a great chain, to go as they said to the root of things, and get more right for the forks. The Duke of Wellington, he was as great in peace as he was in war, to have time to wait things well. But these men would not wait. The poor thought that if the king gave them the new right, they would grow rich all at once. So they were in a rage that all was not done at once, and went through the land in bands to burn hay rigs and stacks of a corn. They thought no more of Wellington's great deeds, but set out to pelt him with stones as he rode by, but his car crew ways held them in check, and no one cast a stone. You see he was at the head of things, and they thought he would not let the king help them. So he left his place, and the weak put one of their men to in. And in act of parliament, known as the reform bill, was made to set things to rights. By this all men who could rent a house in a town, had a vote as to who should go to the parliament. The best thing done in the rain was the slaves, who set free in the West Indies. In those days, ships would go to Africa, and the crew would steal or buy black men, and their wives, and young ones, and bring them to the West Indies to work for them. An Englishman, William Wilberford, had sought for half of his life to break up the slave trade, and in 1834 all the slaves in desires were set free. King William's reign was but short, and there were no walls in it, but railways were made, and steam drew the cars on them for the first time. From Liverpool to Manchester in 1830, it did so well that more were built, and in time the whole land had a network of rails led on it, and goods and force could go with speed from place to place. In this rain, men went forth from England to make homes in Australia and Canada. At William's death, the English lost the German state of Hanover, which must be held in male line, so it could not go to Victoria. Chapter 23 of History of England, in words of one syllable. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Catherine Phipps. History of England in words of one syllable by Helen W. Pearson. Chapter 23, Victoria. The Princess Victoria was but a young girl when the crown came to her, and in three years she was wed to the Prince Albert of Coburg, a man who did his best to help her in her reign. He had a fine mind and a clear head, and all felt that he was one whom men could trust. Though he kept in the background, he was strong. He took much pains to help all arts and trades, and to do this he had what is known as a world's fair. To this could be sent things from all lands, and the English could see these works and get good hints from them. The house in which this fair was held on the first of May, 1851, was built of glass and was a fine sight. It was known as the Crystal Palace. There have been great fairs since, but none so fine as that. A year from that time a war broke out in Europe. The Turks had grown weak and found it hard to keep peace in their land. Russia saw this and thought it a good time to reach out a strong hand and take Turkey. But France and England thought Russia would be too strong if she had all the land down to the Mediterranean Sea, so they set out to help the Turks. They thought the best way to do this was to fight the Russians on their own soil at the Crimea. So in 1854 the English and French went to the Crimea and won at once in what is known as the fight of the Alma. They went on to lay siege to the town of Sebastopol. It was a long siege and the troops had a hard time from the cold and damp so that hosts of them grew ill. A kind English dame went out to nurse the sick and she and those with her did much good. Her name was Florence Nightingale. The siege of Sebastopol did not end for twelve months for the Russians made a brave stand to keep it. There were two great fights. In one of these the troops were sent in the face of the Russian fire and rode, as one has sung of them in verse, into the jaws of death, though they saw the shot mow down all like a scythe. Then it was found out at last that they should not have been sent there at all. That is known as the charge of Balaclava. The Russians crept out late one night to take the English by storm and there was a fierce fight on the heights of Inkemen. But at last the English won. Lord Raglan, who led the English, did not live to see the town of Sebastopol won nor did the Emperor of Russia see the end of the war. His son made peace and said Sebastopol should not be kept as a fort, that he would leave Turkey free and keep no fleet in the Black Sea. At this time the strange force that Benjamin Franklin had drawn down with his kite had been made to fly on wires and take news to all parts of the land with the speed of a flash of light. You see these wires now on poles in all parts. Peace came then to England, but it did not last long. The English, who had gone to live in India, had grown rich and got more and more land and some of them held high rank there. The English troops there had some of the sons of the land in their ranks who had learned to fight in English style. These men were known as sepoys. They were not Christians but held a strange faith which taught them all sorts of queer things. Part of their creed made them think it a sin to kill a cow or touch the beef. They came out at this time a new sort of charge for the guns and the sepoys chose to think there was cows' grease in it and that it was a trick of the English to make them break the rules of their faith and turn Christians. They laid a deep plot and all at once in all parts of India they rose and shot the English and then went and slew their wives and babes. Some few were hid by friends and got off. Then the sepoys went to Delhi and put to death all the English left there and set up as king an old man who had once worn their crown. The English troops in Bengal made haste to help their friends who were shut in town in a state of siege. At Cornpole there was a strong place that had a mud wall around it and here some of the English were kept shut up with no food. If one went out for a drink he was shot at once. You may guess what they had to bear. There was an Indian prince by the name of Nanna Sahib whom they had thought their friend but he was their worst foe. When they could bear their pangs no more they gave up to Nanna and he slew them all. The men were shot the first day then he kept the wives and the boys and girls for one night but when he heard the English troops were near in his rage he sent in men to kill them all and they were thrown in a mass down a deep well. The English came the next day too late. They could not get hold of Nanna but the rest of the sepoys had to pay for this great crime. The English and the city of Lucknow were in a state of siege but the troops went first to Delhi blew up the gates of the town and took the old king. More troops were sent out from England to help them and they took up their march to Lucknow. There week by week the poor men with their wives and babes had held out while the shot fell on all sides and the food was so poor and scant that some fell sick and the babes could not get well. So Colin Campbell who had been sent out from England came to save them at last. The sepoys were put down in all parts of the land and there was peace once more. In 1860 the Queen and all England had a sad loss in the death of the good Prince Albert. All the land were his friends and his death was felt as a great blow by all. He had done much for the growth of the land and the English felt his worth when he was gone. The Princess Royal was wed to the Prince of Prussia. The Prince of Wales took for his wife the Fair Young Princess Alexandra the child of the King of Denmark. The Prince met her on board ship in the mouth of the Thames and there was great joy through the land and fires were lit on each hill and towns were ablaze with light. The Princess won all hearts at once and has kept her place in the love of the English from that day. There is one part of Africa south of Egypt known as Abyssinia. The tribes who lived there had of late a king by the name of Theodore who was not so dull as the rest but sought to have Christian men come and teach him and his folks. They came, but ere long the king for some cause threw them all in jail and would not let them out till at last General Napier took some troops and went to the place. The Abyssinians fled when the charge was made and they found Theodore dead by one of the gates. England did not keep Abyssinia but left it to its own kings who had been put off the throne by Theodore. The son of Theodore, a boy of five was brought to London but he could not bear the cold so he was sent to a school in India. He did not live to grow up. In 1878-79 there was some fear of a war with Russia as the Russians did not keep the terms of their peace. A fleet was sent out to the Turkish seas and then Russia gave up and said they would do as was thought best by the lands of Europe. The Turks said if England would help them keep their rights they would let Englishmen see that the Christians in their land did not meet with wrong. The England, the Isle of Cyprus for funds lent to them. On the southeast coast of Africa is a land known as Natal. There are English there. The folks have the name of Caffers. They are black but have much sense and are brave. The great tribe is the Zulus. They've had at times such fierce and hard kings that some left their homes and went to live on land held by the English. At the west there is a great tract of land known as the Transvaal. There are for the most part Dutch and are known as Boers which is the Dutch word for one who tells the ground. The Boers and the Caffers had had fights and crimes had been done on each side. The English had spread so far that they thought they had the strength to take the Transvaal in English rule. Some of the Boers and the folks thought this was not just and the Zulu king set away who had been a friend to England to be its foe and put all in trim for a fight. Troops were sent by the English but they did not know how fierce and wild these tribes were. The Zulus found some way to lure a great part of the force out of the camp and then slew them but a few were left to tell the tale. Setawayo lost such host of his men that he did not try to march into Natal. At last the English won all in their way and took Setawayo and sent him to Cape Town. They broke his land up in parts and gave them out to chiefs. The Caffers who were in English rule kept faith with England and did not join their own friends. A sad thing came to pass in this war. The son of the Emperor, Napoleon III who had been brought up in the English school at Woolwich had a wish to share in the fight. He was a brave young man and rash so he was put in charge of those more old and wise and they were to see that he did not risk his life. They were set on by some Zulus who had been hid in the grass. The rest made out to ride off but the prince was slain by the Zulus. His wounds made clear the fact that he had fought in a brave way till he fell. At the same time there was a war in a land north of India known as Afghanistan. Its prince who has the name of Amir had some grudge at the English and would not have one sent to his court but peace was made in 1879. The Queen now has the name of Empress of India and she has ten times the folks there that she has in England and Wales. Some of the Dutch Boers had a wish that their land should be part of England but as soon as English rule was felt they rose to fight for their rights. Some English troops were set on at the steep hill of Mayada and the Boers who are good shots slew most of them. In the meantime England made up its mind to leave the Boers to rule their own land. In time the English put set-away-o on his throne once more. In 1882 there was in Egypt some who did not choose that England and France should have so much to say in their land and they rose and slew the English in Alexandria. Arabi Pashor led these men and the key-dive who was the real head of the land had to call on England to help him. They sent troops and took Alexandria and the mob was put to rout at Tel El Kabeer and Arabi Pashor fell in the hands of the English. The court that was set to try him said he should be put to death but the English made up their minds to spare his life and he was sent to live in Ceylon. In this year 1884 an Arab by the name of El Mahdi seeks like a new Mohammed to drive out all the English in his way. He is known as the false prophet. General Gordon has been sent to take charge of the English troops. He said, I come not to fight but to help you and God is with me. The sheiks sent back word if you are with God then you are with us for God is with us. General Gordon has found that kind words will not do and that there must be more war. This brings us down to these times. Others will tell what shall be in the days to come of fame or glory for England. End of chapter 23 End of history of England in words of one syllable by Helen W. Pearson.