On the execution of King Charles I in 1649, Britain became a republic. His young son, Charles II, was crowned King of Scotland at Scone on 1 January 1651. This sparked the Civil War that ended with his defeat at the Battle of Worcester. The would-be king was now on the run.
High in the branches of a tall oak tree laid Charles II, the fugitive king of England. He had come to claim his throne, but Cromwell’s Roundheads had defeated his rebel army. Now he was fleeing to save his life. Disguised as a woodman, in coarse shirt and breeches, the young king laid in the branches of the oak all day, shivering, and sleeping fitfully on the shoulder of another fugitive from the battle. While in the tree, they saw soldiers going up and down, searching for escapees. But the troops never examined the oak. It must have been a miracle.
That night, the king crept down and made his way to nearby Boscobel House. He slept in a cramped priest hole. The following night he also spent in a hide, this time at Moseley Hall. Roundhead soldiers broke in at one point. They roughly questioned the owner but the king lay safe in his hide.
On leaving Moseley, Charles headed south-west for Bristol, hoping to find a ship for France. He was now disguised as a poor farmer, and was travelling on horseback with two companions. The countryside still swarmed with searching troops. He owed his life to many brave sympathizers who risked their lives to help him escape.
Once, the king had to get a horseshoe changed at a smith's. The smith informed him gruffly that the rogue Charles Stuart had not yet been captured. Charles replied coolly that if that rogue were taken he deserved to be hanged.
Pretending to be a working man was hard for the tall, dark-haired, luxury-loving king. Once, in the kitchens of a country house, the cook asked him to wind up the jack (a clockwork spit, used for roasting). Charles made a mess of the job.
"What countryman are you," the cook snapped, "that you know not how to wind up the jack?" Charles replied meekly that he came from a poor family: "We seldom have roast meat, but when we have, we don't make use of the jack."
There were no suitable ships at Bristol, so the fugitives made for the south coast. For many days, Charles was kept hidden at Trent Manor in Dorset. Then his friends arranged for a captain at Charmouth to ferry him to freedom.
They sped secretly to the seaport and waited for the captain in an alehouse. Huddled anxiously in a corner, alert to every suspicious glance, they waited for hours. But the captain did not come. Finally, they could stand the suspense no longer. They dashed back to Trent. Later, they discovered why the captain had failed them: his wife had learned of his dangerous plan and had locked him up in his bedroom.
Finally, they found a captain in Brighton willing to take Charles over the Channel. The king set sail in a grubby little coal brig on 15 October 1651, and landed safely in France. It had been a close shave. Two hours after they left the coast, soldiers had come searching for a tall dark man, six feet two inches high.
In 1653, Oliver Cromwell became Protector of the Realm and England was a republic. He died in 1655. By then, his son wasn't very keen on running the country and the British people wanted a king again. So ten years after his escape, Charles II was invited back to England to rule as king. He lavishly rewarded all those who had helped him in his flight. The getaway ship was even renamed the Royal Escape and served in the Navy.
That’s how Charles II came to power although his father lost his head. That’s also why many towns in England have pubs called the Royal Oak. They’re named after the tree that Charles II hid in to save his life.
Showing posts with label Random. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Random. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Nightfall
Nightfall. We take it for granted. When the sun sets, it will rise again to start another day. If there is a solar eclipse, the darkness is fleeting and the sun will be back. What if you've never been without a sun in the sky your whole life? How would nightfall seem to you then? Isaac Asimov asks this unusual question in his short story, "Nightfall".
Imagine you're on the planet Lagash. The planet on the whole is similar to our own with a major exception; there are six suns in the sky. The planet itself orbits around one, but there is virtually no night because there is almost always a sun in the sky.
As the story begins, the people are at the peak of their civilisation and only the weakest sun is visible, giving out too little light for their liking. At this time of turmoil, two points of view have arisen: the cultists’ beliefs and the scientists’ findings. This world had a cult that prophesied the coming Darkness and the Stars that shall make Man mad. For a long time, people thought they were quacks. How could any of the people of Lagash imagine darkness over the whole planet?
As for the scientists, they recently made two major discoveries:
One, the history of their civilisation is cyclic. At least nine previous civilisations comparable to the current one were destroyed by fire at the height of their culture.
Two, the Law of Universal Gravitation showed that the planet had a moon. And a full solar eclipse will occur shortly resulting in complete darkness on Lagash for half a day.
Significantly, the time between eclipses coincides with the length of the earlier civilisations. Surely it must be a coincidence, you say. After all, a little darkness never hurt anybody. I'm sure you've had fun in the dark. *wink* *wink*
But imagine yourselves in their shoes. Ever known the fear of the dark? Lots of children do, and yet, we as Earthlings have to face it everyday of our lives so generally we grow out of it. Even if we didn't there are always nightlights and such. Imagine what nightfall must be like to people who have never experienced it. Such a civilisation would have all the natural light they would need.
In fact on this planet, some one created a thrill ride. Was it a roller coaster, you ask? No. It was just a mile long tunnel ride in the dark.
Although the ride was wildly popular, that ride had to be closed down.
It changed people somehow. No, they didn't mutate into little green men. Although we wouldn't really know that they weren't that originally but I digress.
The ride had to be closed down because too many people became extreme claustrophobics. They refused to go indoors because they felt that the walls of the room were crushing in.
Why? Where else would you get darkness? It is in enclosed places where no light can sneak in like caves and photographic dark rooms. So the lack of light is always tied up with enclosed places. This was the effect of a 15-minute ride. Can you imagine the effect of half a day of nightfall?
On top of that, there were the mysterious Stars that the cultists talk about. What can Stars possibly be? We can’t see stars with one sun in the sky, so how would they see any with six? How can those twinkling lights in the sky make Men mad?
What is all this nightfall rubbish, they thought! Now, the scientists start telling them that it isn’t rubbish after all. Only the Cult can save them now! Down with the scientists! Save our souls from eternal damnation!
If the scientists are only now learning about the darkness, why has the Cult been anticipating the coming darkness?
Well, let's think about it. Not everybody will be affected by the darkness in the same way. There are possibly three types of people who may be immune to the madness. If they're careful, they would probably survive the coming chaos.
Firstly, there are the blind and those who knock themselves out with alcohol or drugs for the duration of the darkness.
Secondly, children under the age of about six probably don’t know any better. It would be just another new experience for them.
Lastly, there are those who are already mad. What difference would it make on them?
Their collective memories probably formed the basis of the cult mythology in the first place. Add to it the passing of time: fact became legend and myth.
So why would all the previous civilizations be destroyed by fire? Mad people generally don’t go around destroying cities.
But just answer this simple question: If you were in unfamiliar darkness, what would you want more than anything else; what would be what your every instinct would be screaming for? Light, of course! What’s the only way to get light, short of the sun? Bearing in mind that this is a civilization that has never had any need for the artificial light. Fire is light!
You burn something, you burn whatever you can get, wood and foliage, paper and books. When everything else is burnt, buildings and whole cities will go up in flames. The great fires will mark the end of one civilisation.
As the light returns, the people of Lagash will have to pick up the pieces and begin again. Living with their madness and claustrophobia, till generations later, they forget, rebuild and the cycle continues again. Only the cult remembers!
This is only a small sample of the short story by Isaac Asimov. Later on he collaborated with another author to write a full-blown novel based on this story. To this day, this is considered one of the best science fiction short stories ever. Hope you enjoyed reading my summary of it.
Imagine you're on the planet Lagash. The planet on the whole is similar to our own with a major exception; there are six suns in the sky. The planet itself orbits around one, but there is virtually no night because there is almost always a sun in the sky.
As the story begins, the people are at the peak of their civilisation and only the weakest sun is visible, giving out too little light for their liking. At this time of turmoil, two points of view have arisen: the cultists’ beliefs and the scientists’ findings. This world had a cult that prophesied the coming Darkness and the Stars that shall make Man mad. For a long time, people thought they were quacks. How could any of the people of Lagash imagine darkness over the whole planet?
As for the scientists, they recently made two major discoveries:
One, the history of their civilisation is cyclic. At least nine previous civilisations comparable to the current one were destroyed by fire at the height of their culture.
Two, the Law of Universal Gravitation showed that the planet had a moon. And a full solar eclipse will occur shortly resulting in complete darkness on Lagash for half a day.
Significantly, the time between eclipses coincides with the length of the earlier civilisations. Surely it must be a coincidence, you say. After all, a little darkness never hurt anybody. I'm sure you've had fun in the dark. *wink* *wink*
But imagine yourselves in their shoes. Ever known the fear of the dark? Lots of children do, and yet, we as Earthlings have to face it everyday of our lives so generally we grow out of it. Even if we didn't there are always nightlights and such. Imagine what nightfall must be like to people who have never experienced it. Such a civilisation would have all the natural light they would need.
In fact on this planet, some one created a thrill ride. Was it a roller coaster, you ask? No. It was just a mile long tunnel ride in the dark.
Although the ride was wildly popular, that ride had to be closed down.
It changed people somehow. No, they didn't mutate into little green men. Although we wouldn't really know that they weren't that originally but I digress.
The ride had to be closed down because too many people became extreme claustrophobics. They refused to go indoors because they felt that the walls of the room were crushing in.
Why? Where else would you get darkness? It is in enclosed places where no light can sneak in like caves and photographic dark rooms. So the lack of light is always tied up with enclosed places. This was the effect of a 15-minute ride. Can you imagine the effect of half a day of nightfall?
On top of that, there were the mysterious Stars that the cultists talk about. What can Stars possibly be? We can’t see stars with one sun in the sky, so how would they see any with six? How can those twinkling lights in the sky make Men mad?
What is all this nightfall rubbish, they thought! Now, the scientists start telling them that it isn’t rubbish after all. Only the Cult can save them now! Down with the scientists! Save our souls from eternal damnation!
If the scientists are only now learning about the darkness, why has the Cult been anticipating the coming darkness?
Well, let's think about it. Not everybody will be affected by the darkness in the same way. There are possibly three types of people who may be immune to the madness. If they're careful, they would probably survive the coming chaos.
Firstly, there are the blind and those who knock themselves out with alcohol or drugs for the duration of the darkness.
Secondly, children under the age of about six probably don’t know any better. It would be just another new experience for them.
Lastly, there are those who are already mad. What difference would it make on them?
Their collective memories probably formed the basis of the cult mythology in the first place. Add to it the passing of time: fact became legend and myth.
So why would all the previous civilizations be destroyed by fire? Mad people generally don’t go around destroying cities.
But just answer this simple question: If you were in unfamiliar darkness, what would you want more than anything else; what would be what your every instinct would be screaming for? Light, of course! What’s the only way to get light, short of the sun? Bearing in mind that this is a civilization that has never had any need for the artificial light. Fire is light!
You burn something, you burn whatever you can get, wood and foliage, paper and books. When everything else is burnt, buildings and whole cities will go up in flames. The great fires will mark the end of one civilisation.
As the light returns, the people of Lagash will have to pick up the pieces and begin again. Living with their madness and claustrophobia, till generations later, they forget, rebuild and the cycle continues again. Only the cult remembers!
This is only a small sample of the short story by Isaac Asimov. Later on he collaborated with another author to write a full-blown novel based on this story. To this day, this is considered one of the best science fiction short stories ever. Hope you enjoyed reading my summary of it.
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