testant religion was then established in the room of the Catholic. In a war with Henry the Eighth, James was reluctantly obliged to solicit aid from those nobles whose power he had before attempted to repress. The nobles reluctantly complied; and in an engagement with the English, ten thousand Scots surrendered to five hundred of the enemy. The high spirit of James sunk under his contending passions, and he died of a broken heart in the thirtythird year of his age, a few days before the birth of a daughter, (by his queen, Mary of Guise,) the unfortunate Mary, queen of Scots, A.D. 1542.

Who were appointed regents during Mary's minority?—The Earl of Arran, and the Queen Mother, Mary of Guise, were successively regents. Mary was educated in France, where she espoused Francis the Second of France, and upon his death she returned, at the age of eighteen, to govern her hereditary kingdom. She next married Lord Darnley, (a Catholic as well as herself,) her protestant subjects regarding the alliance with abhorrence. From that hour her amours and misfortunes are so well known, that they need not be repeated in this abstract. After nineteen years' imprisonment, first in Tutbury Castle, and afterwards in Fotheringay Castle, she was beheaded, 1587.

Who succeeded to the throne?-James the Sixth, the only son of Mary by Darnley, succeeded his unfortunate mother. James had, indeed, governed the nation long before his mother's death, and at the demise of Elizabeth, he ascended the throne of England by the title of James the First.

ABSTRACT OF WALES.

I see (the BARD exclaims) an ancient band,
A mountain race of Heroes, take their stand,
The flag of FREEDOM waving o'er their land;
And though a while o'erwhelming horrors lower,
What time Lewellyn fell 'neath Edward's power;
"Ere long the sUN OF SCIENCE shall arise,

"And LEARN'D ENDOWMENTS bless her Cambrian skies:
Philosophy and Truth their powers display,

'And NATIVE GENIUS shine through one long glorious day.'

*

"No more our long lost Arthur we bewail;

"All hail, ye genuine kings, Britannia's issue, hail !”—GRAY.

What is the earliest account we have of Wales ?— That it was anciently inhabited by three different tribes of Britons, viz. the Silures, the Dimeta, and the Ordovices; and that the country was governed by a number of petty princes, sovereign and independent.

Were they ever subdued by the Romans?-Certainly not; the Romans never penetrated into the interior of the country.

Did not the Britons in England flee from the Saxon invaders ?-They did, about the sixth century, and took refuge in Wales. But the Saxons never penetrated farther than the counties of Hereford and Monmouth.

Was not Edwall king of Wales?-He is said to have been the first king of Wales, A.D. 690.

When did Roderic reign?—About A.D. 870; and at his decease divided his kingdom among his three sons. He was contemporary with Alfred the Great.

Does not history notice an Howel Dhak?-It does, who flourished about the middle of the tenth century; and who was esteemed as an eminent lawgiver.

Did not Henry the First of England circumscribe the Welsh boundaries?—He did, by planting barriers on the frontiers of Wales.

Who was the last king of Wales ?-Griffith, who died about 1137. The sovereigns from that time had the title of prince only.

Did not Lewellyn, in 1237, seek protection from England?-He did, from Henry the Third; and within fifty years afterwards (1284) Wales was completely conquered by Edward the First, and annexed to the crown of England; when his son, Edward the Second, was born at Caernarvon.

When did the Welsh first send members to the English Parliament ?-In the reign of Henry the Eighth, 1535; when an act passed for that purpose, and for the assimilating their laws with those of the English.

When the Author of this work first published his School Geography in 1810, he remarked, under the head of Wales, "that the people possessed quick parts, and only wanted more public endowments to foster their native genius." Since that was written, the COLLEGE at LAMPETER has been founded, under the auspices of Dr. Burgess, now Bishop of Salisbury.

ABSTRACT OF IRELAND.

On Tethys' bosom shines an Emerald Isle,

Where Arts and Arms and Commerce rare might smile ;.
"Tis Albion's sister, and Britannia's pride,

Where demi-gods and heroes might reside.
But fierce contentions and disorder'd sway,

Urg'd by some EVIL GENIUS, rule the day:

Oh! hush those stormy passions that would sweep,

In one vast ruin, nations to the deep;

Then shall TH' ACCORDANT FATES exult, and sing
"Return HIBERNIA'S HALCYON DAYS! and bring

The olive branch of PEACE, beneath your hallow'd wing.'

Is not the ancient history of Ireland involved in much uncertainty?-It is; but some antiquarians

carry its history 500 years before the Christian

æra.

From whence has it been supposed that their language was derived?-From the Phoenicians; and that a colony of Scythians came from thence, and settled among them.

What does history record of Dublin? That it was built A.D. 140; and anciently called Eblana, and afterwards Dubline; and that it had been for many centuries a flourishing city.

What is recorded of its kings during the first centuries after Christ?-Little is known for certainty, even of their names, and yet it is said that an uninterrupted succession of kings reigned in Ireland before its subjection to England.

When did St. Patrick propagate the Christian religion in Ireland?-About the middle of the fifth century.

Did not the Sarons and Danes invade Ireland?They did. In the seventh century A.D. the Saxon kings of England invaded the country; and in the eighth century the Danes and Norwegians built many towns in Ireland, and the inhabitants were called Easterlings.

Did not the Irish seek protection from England? -They did; and were assisted by Edgar, A.D. 962. When was Ireland conquered ?-In A.D. 1172, by Henry the Second of England, and from which time its history is blended with that of Great Britain.

67

ABSTRACT OF ANCIENT BIOGRAPHY.

"What characters successive now arise!
Pass in review before our wond'ring eyes ?→→
Great talents, labouring for the public good,
Have a high claim on public gratitude;

Fame, from his letter'd fount their names shall crown,
With an unfading wreath of fair renown;

High worth must Time's oblivious hand defy,

The Muse forbids the virtuous man to die."

Mention a few of the most ancient characters of

note.

In'achus, who founded the kingdom of Argos, in Greece, 1856 B.C., and reigned sixty years.

Prometheus, who flourished above 1600 years B.C., is said to have surpassed all mankind in cunning and invention. To him mankind are indebted for the invention of many of the useful arts; the use and physical power of plants, &c.

Atlas, brother to Prometheus, was king of Mauritania, and master of a thousand flocks and herds. The fable that Atlas supported the heavens on his shoulders, arose from his fondness for astronomy, and his often frequenting elevated places and mountains, whence he might observe the heavenly bodies.

Hermes Trismegistus, a priest and philosopher of Egypt, lived in the days of Moses, 1500 years B.C.: he taught his countrymen how to cultivate the olive, measure their lands, and to understand hieroglyphics. He wrote forty books on theology, medicine, and geography.

Cadmus, a Phoenician, who built Thebes, nearly 1500 years B.C. He was the first who introduced the use of letters into Greece.

Ja'son, a prince of Thessaly, who was chosen the