CHAPTER I.

INFANCY.



King Charles the Second was the son and successor of King Charles the
First. These two are the only kings of the name of Charles that have
appeared, thus far, in the line of English sovereigns. Nor is it very
probable that there will soon be another. The reigns of both these
monarchs were stained and tarnished with many vices and crimes, and
darkened by national disasters of every kind, and the name is thus
connected with so many painful associations in the minds of men, that
it seems to have been dropped, by common consent, in all branches of
the royal family.

The reign of Charles the First, as will be seen by the history of his
life in this series, was characterized by a long and obstinate contest
between the king and the people, which brought on, at last, a civil
war, in which the king was defeated and taken prisoner, and in the end
beheaded on a block, before one of his own palaces. During the last
stages of this terrible contest, and before Charles way himself taken
prisoner, he was, as it were, a fugitive and an outlaw in his own
dominions. His wife and family were scattered in various foreign lands,
his cities and castles were in the hands of his enemies, and his oldest
son, the prince Charles, was the object of special hostility. The
prince incurred, therefore, a great many dangers, and suffered many