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