The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1896-10-22
THE ENGLISH THRONE.
'lctoria's Reign the Most Notable
Tor Duration and Achievements.
philndnl,,hin Dnn..I

| HAu > te1Rn the hoS' f'>"p'
for Duration and Achievements.
Philadelphia Record.
Queen Victoria entered on Saturday
ias" upon the siAGicLh year O! her Illus
JrlOuS reign. Ii She shall 1.-Two until
neXt June shc will have sat uron tho
English throne for tho greatest period
OF rule in all its history Of nearly ninG
centuries since William tho COnquoror
| indeed, she may bc said already tc
| have welded an undisturbed scoptre
for Il longer time than any other Of al
Englands thirty-iivc royal sovcrcigns
Her grandfather, George, the Third
"snutfy old drOme from the GOrman
hive" was King for " period OF nearly
sixty years, dying only Il few months
short OF the sixticth ascension an-
nivcrsary,) but ho had shown signs OF
mental alteration only five years after
his accession, revealed insanity in
dlsputably twenty-thrco years later
than that, and aftcr the death of his
beloved daughter, the Princess Amelia,
broke down completely and passed the
last nino years OF his kingship in the
double darkness Of insanity and blind
ness. George the Third may be said
to have actually rcigncd only lifty-one
years.
Before the third OF the Royal Georges
only ono English sovereign had at
Henry tho Third (l3lG-l272 Il Planta-
genet, had rcigncd about iifty.six
years. This Henry had been only .
years old when crowned, and he lived
to tho ago Of 65. George tho Third
assembled the throne vt -, and lived to
be 81. Queen Victoria succeeded her
uncle, King William, at the age of
Is, and is snow u years old. King Ii .nry
LII was an extremely W ,ak king ;
George the Third, amere echo Of Lord
Butte, lost America; Nictoria's rcign,
however, has bcCn one Of almost un-
paralleled greatness, if not also bril-
liancy.
Besides these three soveroigns, there
have been three other notably long.
lived Engish rulers-Edward III,
EliZabC,.., ,.n>. l. ...., ". &" - sat 0u
tnc throne fifty, forty-iivc anu Inlr;,'
nine years espectively. Edwards reig,
was during the zenith OF English
chivalry, wnen the Black Prince made
English arms famous at Crcssy anG
Poi tiers. Elizabeth reign was glortieC
by Shakespeare. Henry WIS soldiers
fought in the War Of the Roses, and also
against Joan Of Arc. How long Charlie.
Noutu HdNc Cull OlllS VI
guessed he had been Il king twenty
four years when behcaded.'
The shortest English reign was tha
Of Edward Y, who was murdered ufte,
reigning sevcntyfour days and who
was succeeded by Richard II. Despite
| his MANY matriOmonial expe rimenls
that royal Biuebeard, Henry Viii
rcigncd for thirty-eight years. Henr,
|, Henry | and Edward | each reignet
thirty-tve years: George ii thirty
three.
Queen Victoria is not only the sixth
and greatest sovereign OF the house 0
Brunswick, and thirty-tifth OF th'
rulers Of tho seven great English dyna
sites, but she is also the fifth rnlin.
Queen Of England. She has bee!
preceded by Mary |, who lost Calai
that "jewel OF her CROWN the grea
Elizabeth, Mary II, who shared tht
throne with William Ill, and the goo
Anne, who Witnessed the union O
England and Scotland, and vino ha
given her name to architecture as wei
us To literature. 1t is II curious coin
cidencc that the three great period
OF English literature should be know
} by the names Of three queens. Th
: EiiZabcthan era Outshincs the Otho
two, us IL Witnessed the birth Of til
; modern national spirit; but as EtiZs
5 Dctn : poets gave TlOry to dramati
avcrse, Anncs poet" developed tn
classical line, anu N!ctor!as poets hay
, produced the great En- yiish mcditativ
poetry.