CHARLES I.

7

defective. His address and manner, though per- chaps inclining a little towards stateliness and for-mality, in the main corresponded ter his highrank , and gave grace to that reserve and gravity,which were natural to him. The moderation andequity, which shone forth in his temper, seemedto secure him against rash and dangerous enter-prises : The good sense , which he displayed inhis discourse and conversation, ^cc/ncd to warranthis success in every reasonable undertaking. Otherendowments likewise he had attained, which ,in a private gentleman, would have been highlyornamental , and which , in a great monarch ,might have proved extremely useful to his people.He was possessed of an excellent taste in all thefine arts ; and the love of painting was in somedegree his favorite passion. Learned beyond whatis common in princes , he was a good judge ofwriting in others , and enjoyed, himself, no meantalent in composition. In any other age or nation ,this monarch had been secure of a prosperous anda happy reign. But the high idea of his ownauthority, which he had imbibed , made himincapable of giving way to the spirit of liberty,which began to prevail among his subjects. Hispolitics were not supported by such vigor andforesight as might enable him to subdue theirpretensions , and maintain his prerogative at thehigh pitch , to which it had been raised by hispredecessors. And above all, the spirit of enthusi-asm , being universally diffused, disappointed allthe views of human prudence, and disturbed the

B 4

HAP.

III.

1630.