f ♦ ; ■^t>, » >^ 'K, w^' t. it'/ nl RETROSPECTION, L. [J^i^Z^ nUli^J DteT n.'*<^ fy /.SteehUUPiMuUtfy. OR A REVIEW or THE MOST STRIKING AND IMPORTANT EVENTS, CHARACTERS, SITUATIONS, AND THEIR CONSEQUENCES, WHICH THE LAST EIGHTEEN HUNDRED YEARS HAVE PRESENTED TO Till VIEW OF MANKIND. A la verite ce n'est ici qu'un fragment, raais dans les travaux les plus achcv^s ties hommes il n'y a que des fragments. L'bistoire d'un roi n'cst qu'un fragment de celle de sa dynastie, cellc de sa dynastic de celle de fon royaume, celle de fon royaume de celle du genre humain ; qui n'est elie-mcme qu'un fragment dc celle des etres qui habitent \i- globe, dont I'iiiftoire unt» yerfclle ne scrait aprt* tout qu'un bien petit chapitre dc I'histoire des astrcs innombrables qui roulent sur nos tctes i des distances qu'on ne peut assigner. . BY HESTER LYNCH PIOZZI, WITH A PORTRAIT OF THE AUTHOR. IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. I. lonDon: "■,::•;• TRINTED FOR JOHN 8TOCKDALB, PICCADILIY. 1801. V47 Gillet, Primer, SaHibury Square. PREFACE. TF the Rambler is right when he fays, " That no man "ever obtains more from his moft zealous endea- *' vours, than a painful convi6lion of his own defeerpetua]ly feparated from each other by verfes or by cfl'ays, that they leave little trace of information on the mind : a natural confequence, and manifeft dil'advan- tage attendant upon all felecSlions, where no one thing having any reference to another thing, each lofes much of its effccl by {landing completely infulated from all the reft. Our Work, though but a frontifpiecc and ruin, contains between the two fome fliadcd drawings, fuch as we find in rudiments of painting, and will, like them, be good for young beginners. Perhaps too, tliofe who long ago have read, and long ago dcfifted from reading hil- tories well-known, may like to pleafe their fancies with the viii PREFACE. the RetrofpcB of what they feel conncdled in their minds with youthful ftudy, and that fweet remembrance of early-dawning knowledge on the foul. Their criticifm I not only deprecate, but hope, by dint of petty amufement, in fome meafure to difarm : a plea- (ant ftory will divert, a tender tale afFe6l them. No in- folently obtrufive opinions through thefe pages, no air of arrogance will offend, or provoke fuch readers to fay^ however they may ////;//•, tliat the neceflity of dilating, as it advances, like an inverted cone or fugar-loaf, robs my whole building of that folid bafis which many fa- bricks boaft, on which, after all, little fometimes is reared. A moment's thought indeed will fhew fuch criticks, that any other way would have been worfe : and half a mo- ment will fuffice to prove, that whilft the deep current of grave hiftory rolls her full tide majeftick, to that ocean where Time and all its wrecks at length are loft ; our flafliy RetrofpeB^ a mere jet d'eau, may ferve to foothe the heats of an autumnal day with its light-dripping fall, and form a rainbow round. Did no fuch book catch the occurrences, and hold them up, however maimed ancT broken, before the eyes of our contemporaries, we really fhouid very foon forget all that our anceftors had done or fuffcred. The fever of thefe laft ten or twelve years has formed a heat fufficient to calcine the images upon our minds minds to duft and afhes, which once Icenied Itrong as it" engraved on marble ; and if fome fa6ls or characters have been called back, 'twas for thfrufe of confultation thcy were fetched, then thrown again into the general hcap» like papers we have done with, doomed to burn. In fuch a furnace, fuch an all-devouring crucible, events can fcarce retain their proper value, and the raufhroom of a night has equal chance to come fortli unhurt, as has the oak of a century. Befides that our motto fpeaks fairly for the chapter it precedes, and fays, " This work, I grant you, is at bcft a fragment ; but what clfe (hall wc find in the moft finifhcd labours of man ? The biography of one particular fovcreign is a mere fragment, broken otf from his own dy- nafty. The revolutions of a peculiar ftate form but a larger fragment ; one piece, one page, torn from the great book, the general account of* all mankind ; which is itfclf at lull no other than one fpccics, one genus rather, among thofe uncounted millions that animate and people the earth, air, and water, of our terraqueous globe. That globe a frag- ment too, a trifling fpot, of which the moft exaft and faithful nar- ration tAouM be found but a Ihort chapter in the grand hiftory, the univcrfal volume of our Creator's works, containing the changes and chances of fyftcms without number, rolling in illimitable fpace, at dif- tances not to be judged of by humanity." Vol. I. B But X TtETACE, But 'tis by darkening the glafTes tliat we look at brjghtcft objecls; and fpots in the fun could never be dif- ccrned unlefswe firft abridged blm of his fplendour. Old Bradfliaw, who wrote upon the origin of Chefter, muft in fome fort fer\'e as my model, who live near him. when he fays in his prologue to a work rather hiftorical than legendary, and more valuable (as Warton tells us) for virtuous fentiments than fplendid di(Slion ; how To defcrybe hyc hiftorycs I davc not be to boldc, Sithc fuche is a mater forclcrk.es convoynicnt; As of the fcvcnc ages and our parentes oldc. Or of the fourc cuipyrcs whilom moft cxcelentc,, Knowingc my Icrnying thereto infufficyent. ^nd for wicket balades ye fliall have none from me, Excyting lyght hertes to plefure and vanitye. For though I borrow not the Doctor's chair, whence at my cafe to di6late creeds and ethicks, 'tis my intent, that frqju this book be drawn nothing that can prove detri- mental to readers whofe attention I am defirous to lure away from fi6lion to known truths, no lefs extraordinary, and at this moment far more interefting. To this end I have endeavoured not to prefs on them with my own re- flexions, rather fuggefting thoughts in their minds, than forcing forward thofe entertained by the author: yet if the PREFACE. XI the chain ofr events here untwifted ftiould lend them rea- fon to be lefs fiirprifed at what is paffing now, there's no harm done ; //'/ zoaniings have heeji g'roen. Here then b^ i'.'n we a fummary account of what has happened in thefe v lO^hteen centuries. I thought to have given fome importxiiice to the work, by prefixing on its firft page the name of one of my earheft and moft refpec^t- ed friends — than whom no wit, no fcholar, nor no man of general knowledge, ever had more reafon to delight in Hetrofpediion : but Pennant is gone, and I will fearch no further for a patron. The fame kind and encouraging Publick which has ever looked upon my labours with a tendernefs, and a good-natured defire of being pleafed, more flattering far than hard-earned approbation, fliall take as it is; and if they feel themfelves pleafed witli the colours prcfcnted in the varying cliangeful mafs, will try to hinder fome critick's heavy hand from breaking it ; re- membering that an opal lofes all power of playing be- fore the eye, foon as a crack is made in its thin fur- face. But I will run down my own book no more. The duty of an author is difcharged, when what the title pro- mifes has been performed. Yet let it not be faid of Re- B a trojpebtion^ XU PREFACE. trofpe&ion, as once by a French wit, when Ferrand's Ero- tica, a dull diflertation upon the paffion of love, came out, Ut titulura vidi fum libri captus amore, Ut librum legi, liber amore fui. The title infpir'd me a ftrong inclination. But reading the book, I was cur'd of my paflloa. a^cA Izi^Wj^- CONTENTS. CONTENTS. VOL. I. . CHAP. I. Cmtta'nnng the Firjl Cent nry; from Tthcnus to Trajan, - 17 CHAP. II. Cojttaming the Second Century; from Trajan to CaracaJla. - 37 CHAP. III. From Caracal/a to the Death of Alexander Srjems. V'trfi Pott ton of the Third Century, - - - - r.Q CHAP. IV. Frofu the Death of Alexander Severus to A. D. 3oo, the Retreat of Dioclefian. - - - - - 71 CHAP. V. Frotti the Death ofDiocIeftan to tlie Death of Cottflatitme the Great. Part of the Fourth Cetitti/y. - - - 88 jxir CONTENTS. CHAP. VI. Page From Conftaniine to Theodofius, A.D. 400, - - loi CHAP. VII. Trom Theodofius the Elder to the Death of Attila, about fifty Years 1 1 4 CHAP. VIII. From the Death of Attila to A. D. 500. - - 134 C H A P. IX. To the Expulfion of the Gothick Kings. Ftrfi Fortiori of the Sixth Century. - - - -148 CHAP. X. From the ExpuJfion of the Gothick Kings by Belifarius, to A. D. 6oo. lOs CHAP. XI. From Good St. Gregory to the Death of Charles Martel, A. D. 700 1 80 CHAP. XII. From the Birth of Charles Martel, A. D. 700, to Charlemagne, A. D. 8Q0. « - - - 108 CONTENTS, CHAP. xiir. Page Frovt the Crovoning of tharlemagfie SOOy to the Death, of Alfred A. D. 900. f- - - - 21(5 CHAP. XIV. From the Death of Alfd, A. D. 900, to the Foundation of the- Turki/h Empire untT TangroUpix, A. D, 1000. - 232 CHAP. XV. From tJie frji Founftg of the TurkiJ/i Empire under TangroJipix, 1000, to the Tim of the Firjl Cntfade, A. D. 1100. - 245 CHAP. XVI. FtrJ Crufade, to the Middle of the Twelfth From the Year I09 Century^A.D. \po. • \ CHAP. XVII. To the Year of our Lrd 1200. Lrd 1200. CHAP. xvin. From the Year 1200 i> 1230. I CHAP. XIX. Sec9ttd Fortim of the^Thirteenth Century. 271 280- 319 338 CONTENTS. CHAP. XX. Page. To the Year of our Lord 1300. - - - 35Q CHAP. XXI. From A. D. 1300, io the Year 1350, or nearly}. , 384 CHAP.. XXII. Ending with A. D. 1400. - « - 40O CHAP. XXIII. From A. D. 1400, to the Year 1425. - - 42Q CHAP. XXIV. To the Sacking of Conjiantimpk, A. D. 1455, and its immediate Cotifequences. - - . - 442 RETRO- RETEOSPECTION. CHAP. I. CONTAINING THE FIRST CENTURY ; PROM TIBERIUS TO TRAJAJf. BEING arrived at a fixed period, whence a new century rifcs to purfue its courfc, my contemporaries will not, perhaps, feel dif- pofed to look with particular unkindnefs upon a writer who recom- mends, and endeavours to facilitate, RetrofpeSimi. When Regnard* and his companions had made many voyages, had feen three conti- nents, and wintered in three different zones, they came at laft to a point in Lapland, beyond the Ardlic Circle. There with no fmall labour ereding a ruftic column, they engraved on it their names, and the names of fomc places they had vifited, ending the infcription with this imprcflivc line — Hie tandem {Iclimus, ubi nobis toto dcfuit orbis. So it appears to us : the vulgar ara (and I will not tci/c my readers with any ftalc arguments againft its authenticity) calls this the 180] ft year fmcc our redemption was accompliflied. That portion of our time which is to come, rolls in a rapid dcfccnt before Imagination'? • llictc i* a life of Regnard, with tlic ftory of Zulima in it, fomcwlirtc— nnd llidc line*; but I quote from memory alone, and Dr. Johnfon's icpctiiion ofthcni. •• Gallia nos genuit, vidit ct indicn tellus," is another, or like it ; but tlic reft have llipt my recoUediofi, and I know not where to find them. Vol. I. C eye, 18 THE FIRST CENTURY; [ch. i. eye, like earth viewed from its polar region by the travellers, and vvhilft Hope and Fear, bent forward with anticipating hafte, are feen explaining to their eager votaries the fliadows as they follow one ano- ther faft into the impervious mills of futurity ; Heic tandem Jift'tmus — and caft a retrofpe6Iive glance behind. That glance will, at our Saviour's refurrcdion, find the furface of our habitable globe deli- neated by Strabo with deficiencies enough, but yet with care well worthy admiration from its prefent race of inhabitants — who will obferve the great geographer's own country, Greece, with all her vir- tues, arts, and arms, and excellence of every kind, loft, not quenched, but like a fixed ftar by moonlight, fcarce difcernible through the fu- perior blaze of Roman glorj'. Egypt and Babylon meanwhile ex- tinguiflied, and Tyre even literally tumbled in the duft, exhibit proofs that thofe fcripturcs were indeed of divine infpiration, which promifed Meiliah to a finful world — a world become J'o fmful, that lefs than the blood of Chrift could not have cleanfed it. The chara(5ters of the fix firft Casfars, given by Tacitus, too clearly (hew, that good parts a6l not as natural protestors to virtue, unlefs reli- gion regulates their powers ; whilft in Julius the moft eminent orators (fays he) found an illuftrious rival, and the dignity of Auguftus's mind was reverenced in his didion. Precife Tiberius too, though terfe in his cxpreffion, never was undcfigncdly obfcure ; nor did the fiery tem- per of turbulent and reftlefs Caligula difcovcr itfelf, in compofitions previoufly written down and delivered before the Senate, where even Claudius's difcourfes made no mean figure ; nor could \i\i Jlyle be charged, even by thofe who laughed at his behaviour, with wanting elegance, intercft or learning. That Nero's firft fpeech was didated by his tutors, the praifes beftowed on them in it, fufficiently evince ; but Nero was then a boy : the tenor of his future life betrayed a. paftion for the fine arts, which cruelty could not ftifle, nor vice diflblve. But contradidions in thefe early days fo mingle, or at leaft fo crols each other, as greatly to difturb our general Retrofpe^i, where the firft fad that CH. i.J FROM TIBERIUS TO TRAJAN. 19 that offers may be called the condud of the unbelieving Jews, who, without fcruple, could condemn the Lord of Life and Glory, out of an unmeaning zeal for Cacfar ; to whofe imperial ftandard they roughly refufed admittance in their temple, and being prefled by Pilate for compliance, offered him — 'twas all "they had — their throats to cut. Tiberius, indulgent of their antipathy, comnianded his Governor to fee the colours carried fafely to Casfarea, and moved the Senate to deify ^ our Saviour, while he refufed divine honours to his own perfon, pol- luted by a long courfe of far beyond brutal depravity. In this one Inftance the Patricians manifclled their ill-dcferved independence ; in this oKtf inftance their diflembling mafter Ihewcd himfelf fmcere. He never would bq worfhippcd. It is from one of this Emperor's fpeechcs that the allufion, now fo trite, was originally taken ; how the body politic refcmblcs the body natural ; and the ftate was by him firft called the Cofiftitution. To his good Icnfc we owe the admirable adage, fince by imperial ufc well known — ^That honefty's the beft policy — nor can more perfeft teftimonial to its truth be found,> than that fuch was the fixed opinion of a prince, confummate mafter of diflimulation. Machiavelli borrowed one of his earlier maxims ; Chi non sa fingere, tton sa regnare ; and keeps, I think, pofTcfTion of the fcntcncc. It is, perhaps, not lefs important what Pliny tells us, that the difcafe, now called a bilious cholic, in his reign was new ; and he the firft who fufTcrcd by its rigour :* fome old phyficians fpeak of the chordapfus. Tiberius had bad health when he retired from bufmcfs, and probably his mode of life increafed it — if half what is related of him can be true. Voltaire, indeed, docs doubt the pofTibility of many accufations, but Voltaire never was at Naples or Caprasa. The general RetroJpe6i of evil however ; the ftrong mixture of madncfs with mif- • Plin? fay« it ftolc in upon us, imft/ti is the woid he ufcs ; and I liavc heard lliat i famous paflkge in Celfus tends to corroborate the opinion. C 2 chief; 20 THE FIRST CENTURY; [ch. r, chief; and of grofs folly with -thofe falfe refinements upon fenfual pleafurcs prad:ifed in Rome ; head-quarters of human refidence, ex- cite at prefcnt no lenfations but difguft, mingled with fome little cfteem of modern manners, which thus could prompt a wit of our own days to deny what ancient learning {o flcadily confirms. But whihl he fought in groves and grottoes, a Ihelter for his own depravityt . new cities rofc around the extended empire, and Ratifbon was named Tiberii after him. Avcntine avers, indeed, that it was originally the work of Ingram, a Scythian chief, who, when Rhamefes ruled in Upper Egypt, and Jofliua led the Ifraelites to war, laid the firft ftone, and called it his Harminia, from Hermione, the wife of Cadmus, names familiarized to us by Ovid, but who are confidered by Fourmont, and other antiquarians, as leaders of a troop of Hivites — ferpcnt-wor- Ihippers, driven from the Promifcd Land by Mofes' fuccefTor. Mr. Bryant fays that Cadmus means oriental, the man who comes from the cafi. The city called after his fair companion was afterwards better known by the name of Rltatabotia, from its inhabitants the Rha;tians, and this appellation has been fcarcely changed. But we mull hold our eye firm to the firft century, which has produced fuch dcathlefi writers, heirs of immortal praife — Vv'Iiofe honours with increafe of ages grow, As dreams roll down cnlaiging as they flow. Among thefe may be counted Pomponius Mela, though to that great geographer the limits of the Cafpian Sea were all unknown, and much of what we now call India was to him terra incognita. The polilhed Romans feemed to care but little what thofe vafl regions of the world contained, except wild beafts to combat in their amphitheatres ; yet had the fupreme ftate commendable attention to make a topographical furvey of the places they fubdued. Caefar had given, an elegant account of his own conquefts long before, and Vcl- Icius Paterculus, with nice penetration, found the true caufe of Quin- tiliu:J CH. I.] FROM Tiberius to trajan. 21 tllius Varus's, {o ill fucccfs in the martial characlcr of thofe Germans,, who, Hke their luccelTors in later ages, dreamed not of judiciary de- terminations, but ended private as public quarrels by the fword. Feigning, however, to admire the newer mode of fettling between plaintiff and defendant, they contrived to occupy the Roman General's mind with caufes of difpute ; then, fuddenly fetting on his legions in a furious onfet, cut them all to pieces. Hiftoric powers indeed were frequent in the age prcfented to our RetroJpe6f, that age which had feen Livy and produced Tacitus, and may be juftly confidered as fruitful beyond all others in genius, elo- quence, and majefty. Although the account given of their own ori- ginal, by the firft named of thefe great men, is nothing Icfs than accu- rate, we own, while Strabo himfclf fcrupled not to tell mankind how Pater ^.^leas ftirred not beyond the walls of Troy, as Bochart bell confirms. That Livy gloried in his partialities ; that he adopted one ftill nearer to felf-lovc, by clinging to his own provincial dialed, def- pifing, as do modern Venetians, the charge of patavinity, may fl:and as his cxcufc : but who (hall make apology for Tacitus, when he re- lates peculiarities of the Jews which, we all know, could never have had cxiftence. Yet, in accounts of every other nation, we muft con- tent ourfelves with fuch a portion of veracity as they, in their omni- potence, fhall think proper to beftow ; for who can contradict Roman liiftorians? The world was then all Roman, born fo, or fo adopted, lb become ; for conqucft led but to incorporation. In that cnofmous, that amazing city, centered all knowledge, all pleafurc, all wealth, all power. What wonder then if, midft a heterogeneous mafs of in- habitants, raked out from every country under heaven, plurality of gods and variety of worfhips, licentious maftcrs and permitted fjaves, republican ideas and elective empire, all contrarieties of cuftom and of climate, miraculoufly accumulated in one vaft fuelling town , which Voflius fays, though I bcUcvc him not, contained at one time fourteen millions ■11 THE FIRST CENITJRY; [ch. i. millions of rcfidentiary dwellers ? What wonder then, fliould fermen- tation aft upon the foul congeries ? What wonder then, Should Nature breed Perverfe ! all monllrous, all prodigious things, Abominable ! unutterable ! and worfe, &c. That fo fhc did breed, we are unable to doubt or to deny. Imperial Rome having confented to his death who lived alone to blefs and purify mankind, became herfelf accurfed, like fentenced Babylon, in icripture language, a cage for every unclean and hateful bird. A rapid fucceffion of rulers now feemed ftriving for the palm of wickednefs. Fi*antic Caligula, invelled on his grandfire's death with the long fighed for purple, feemed chiefly diligent to dip it in human blood ; and while he meditated its laft difgrace, by giving his couiitry a fa- vourite horfe for Conful, he robed himielf in the drefs facrcd to divi- nity, and pufhed to an unheard-of exccfs his ftudicd profanations. To this mad mafterof an abjcft world fucceeded heavy, fluggifh-minded Claudius ; whofe foul, a fullcn prifoner, feen but feldom, peeped out unwilling from its cage of clay, and viewed, unmoved, the vices of his Emprefs. When the laft agonies had firft broke in upon this preter- natural tranquillity, the care of humankind, in evil hour, devolved upon nefarious Nero, whofe name, firft on the rolls of guilt and in- famy, was pufhed up by deliberate parricide to that abhorred pre- ■eminence. The murder of a mother was, in thofe days, a crime particularly detcfted, even by thofe who, in Macbeth's phrafe, had Jitpf full with horrors ; and when at laft this wretch difpatched him- fclf to avoid punilhment a more nmjorum, it was chiefly for Agrip- pina's death he dreaded to meet his own. Rome looked on tamely, while for his divcrfion he ftuck the Chriftian martyrs up alive, in drefles daubed with tar, and fet on fire to illuminate the town, when day hid hii head indignant; or when he hunted them about his Co- liflTeo, CH. I.] FROM TIBERIUS TO TRAJAN. 23 iiflco, wrapt in the fltins of fomc wild animal, thus to» deceive the dogs into a cruelty their gentler nature would have flirunk from : but bcafts appeared abroad, as if permitted to reproach &ur fpecies vritb their fupcrior virtue. Aulus Gellius relates the ftory of the lion, whofe grateful recolledion fpared the flave, obferving, he had often met them in the ftreets together, during the reigns of Caligula and Claudius, coUeding money from children and palTers-by. Mankind, meanwhile, was funk in fad degeneracy, and feemed as if deferring of thefe dreadful leaders, who, although tyrants in wick- cdnefs, could not boaft privileges exclufive of their fubjeds. Caius CherjEB, when he killed Caligula, maflacred, with unfeeling rage, his infant daughter in her mother's arms. Tacitus relates of many nobles a condud little behind that of the Emperors themfclves ; and Pliny, like a good naturalift, calls Aquileius Regulus omnium bipedum nequif- Jimus. Penurious Galba, and his gay fucceflbr, who had prefided long in Nero's court as minifter of plcafurc, (hewed, indeed, as fome odd plants, moll beautiful in death ; for Otho, though immerfed in fen- fuality, retained fome trace, fome latent fpark of Virtue's unquenched flame, when the furrounding gloom (hewed it to all advantage. He alone, for the firft fcvcnty years of RetroJpeSiion, he alone, till the tre- mendom day when a licentio\is foldiery lorded it in the metropolis, and toflcd the bloated body of pampered Vitellius into Tybcr, had proved himfclf not totally negligent of that overgrown (late, which their bcft care could fcarcc have rendered happy ; while ardent only to chace affrighted Vice into the arms of impoffibility. In that (Irange caufc they ru(hed on fuicidc, and braved a(ra(rinations, which few c(capcd, till Flavius Vefpafian, rough, honeft, artlefs ; born near the Sabine farm, fo famed for the fimplicity and temperance of its po(rcf- fors, tried to recover the credit of humanity, and prove that a hot (oil, however ftrangled with its wafte redundance, will yet, among the weeds, produce fome flowers. Thus we fee Titus, brother to Domi- tian, and tt^Q. that the wife of Partus was cotemporary with Me(ra- lina. 2.1 THE FIRST CRNTUHY;' ' [ch. i. lina. Nor was dcpra\lty confined, to fouthcrn climates. Our Buitifli Cartlfmandua, juftly for other crimes buried ali\e by Corbred, exhi- bited a fteadv, cold pcrfidioufntfs, fcarcc to be matched in any nation's annals, when flic betrayed her gallant fon-in-law, Caradacus, then greatcft — when turning from the fliows of Rome with fcorn, he the ceiling of his golden houfc difplayed the planetary fyi- tem. How little did he dream that not one ftone of it would now be {landing, while the fine temple dedicated by brave Vefpafian to peace (hould yet remain, like its great patron's virtuous charaftcr, model of modeft excellence ! How little, too, did Columella think his book on agriculture would be read in Britain, when that deep fciencc fhould be grown a toy, fubfcrvient to elegance, almoft even to caprice ! The fciences and arts, howc. er, were not ncglcdcd, while Seneca taught wifdom, and Pliny ftudied nature ; Lucan's bright ftj'lc gliftened in the beams of general illumination, and Perfius added point to his fliarp fatire. Medicine, though innocent of many late difcoveries gained by diffcftion, and waiting yet for Galen's fangui- nary improvements, was well attended to ; Hippocrates's aphorifms contained enough ; and though Macrobius fays too much of their per- fcdion, that fecms to have been no bad fct of rules which could keep men alive, who fapped and battered their conftitution by habits of intemperate groflncfs. Let fomething however be allowed to different cuftoms, and let the RetroJ]>e£tors of pad ages own, that thofe nightly prowlers through our London ftreets, who dig up the peaceful man- fions of the dead, and thofe unfeeling furgeons that diflcc^l them, would, by their conduft, have awakened Claudius to command fomc punilhmcnt for fuch offence, and roufcd Tiberius to refume his poft, that impiety like theirs might not be paiTcd over in filcnce. Thus, though Cclfi'.s and Epidctus graced thcfc times ; though Juvenal cen- furcd, and Jofephus wrote ; though polifhed Martial fecms particularly to delight in difplaying a kecnncfs of remark and acutenefs of obferva- tion, to which, by future ages, io little can be added ; we fee the fpirit of enquiry in fomc things reprcflcd, from delicacy little to be cxpcdcd, and Ignorance laying her fucccfsful traps for Study to drop into unawares. Suetonius, for example, whom Mr. Gibbon calls the diligent and accurate, tells how a mule foaled on the inverting old Vol. I. D Galba 16 THE FIRST CENTURY 5 [ca. i. Galba with the purple, a faft by which pliilofophy and common expe- rience are aUkc infulted. But that biographer introduces no fovc- reign though but for weeks, not years, without a Itring of prodigies unworthy even of a woman's ftory over a wintcr^s fire. Witncls the afs, whofc lucky name of Nicon * is brought in as omen of Auguftus's profperity. Tacitus's amazement at the lengthened nights in the north, fo fweetly, fo poetically exprefled, betrays his fcanty knowledge of aftronomy ; f and Pliny verily believes the exiftcnce of a phoenix, which was but going backward in difcovery : Herodotus defpiicd that fable long before. The jack-daw, well inftrudlcd by fbme fhoe- maker to compliment the Csefars with Good-day, Tiberius, Good-day, Drufns, &c. was the true phoenix among birds in thofc times. A rival Ihocmaker, however, wrung his neck off, becaufe he had obtained the Emperor's notice ; which the more liberal populace refcnting, pulled down the fpitcful fellow's houfe, burying the crow with great folem- nity. That the Britifli channel ever flowed with blood, 7H7//i have been falfe ; although related about the Goth year after our Lord's af- ■cenfion, by hiftorians ; and at the very clofe of the firft century, it is faid Deccl^alus deceived the warlike Romans, bv caufmg a forcft to be felled in the night, and armour ftuck upon the ftocks of trees. Xiphi •linus, patriarch of Conftantinople, is our authority for this faA, ap- parently incredibk, although fomc ftratagem of the kind feems to have obtained belief in the world ever fince Abimelcch ; who made • NIcov mcantis viftorious, 1 have heard. Do we call an afis Niciy, from this fortu- nate one feen by Oftavius ? The ftatue, recording both beaft and driver, was one of the amiquilics deftroyed at Condantinople by the Latins, and lamented by Isici- tas, in a fragment preferved in the Bodleian Library. It proves the accident known tu be no fable. \ Juvenal feems to have known the peculiarities of our iflands well enough. Armo quid ultra Littora juveme promovimus et modo captas Otoades, et minima contentos no£te Biitannos. his cH. I.] FROM TIBERIUS TO TRAJAX. 2; his ioldlcrs each of them cut a bough, and carry before them to con- ceal their numbers; thus unperccivcd advancing to tlic tower he meant to dcftroy, then throwing the wood at its feet, ibon let the place on fire. Shakcfpear makes this familiar to us on the llage ; but Caefar's veterans could not furcly have been fo imppfcd upon. Of the Chriftian pcrfecutions during all thcfc reigns, more has not been aflcrtcd by hiftory, however, than daily examination amply con- firms. Gibbon, with triumph, pretends to find out what Jortin, with candour, had before allowed ; that the negled; flicvvn by bad princes towards all reUgion was lefs unfavourable to the progrefs of ours, than that active zeal for Paganifm which difiinguiflied the pious ones. Jortin is indeed generous to the fcoffcrs, and they have repaid him as he fays the Romanills did Grotius, with fuch gratitude as might be well expcded. He who delights in ftroking a tygcr with intention to hear him pur, will probably lofe a finger in courfe of the experi- ment. The cars and eyes of Englifli travellers to Rome, turn away diiguftcd with the proofs of cruelty authorized by the mifchicvous wantonncfs of wild Caligula upon a race of harmlefs mortals, who, had they 7iot been Ciiriilians, would have engaged the tender pity of every modern infidel, for the difintercfted bravery with which they were well known to have flieltercd one another, while they expofed thcmfelvcs ; contrailing the courage and virtue of St. Paul againft the profligacy and cowardice of Nero, a diflimllitude not to be matched for remotcnefs within the limits of humanity. When that detcfted wretch, however, dcftroyed the houfc and lineage of Ca^far, by ftriking with his heel his own half-formed image in the womb of his once- loved Poppxa, who owed the dreadful death, it is faid, to her foft pleadings for fi Chiiflian martyr.* — Offended heaven fent a fuddeii • Tbofc who attribute Nero's fuddcn fury to liis wife's tci/ing liini, becaufc he ilaid too longat tlic chariot nice, fccm to think Ihc took Aiangc liberties indeed with fo tremendous a tyrant. I rather fancy, witli our earfy churcli wrilcrs, that tlie poor Emprefi leaned towards Chriflianity. Be that as it wilU the family cf Julius was I) 2 extinguidicd 28 THE FIRST CENTURY; [ch. i. thunderbolt, and daflicd the gold cup from the tyrant's hand. Thun- derbolts at Rome arc certainly no prodigies, though that perhaps had its peculiar commiflion. Unnatural fms ciy out for vengeance out of Nature's bounds ; and that portents do mark important incidents fomc- timcs, though many pafs without being fo noticed, it would be very difficult and very ufclcfs to deny. All Titus's army faw the meteor which, refcmbling a flaming fword, hung over Jerufalem's devoted w alls ; the gates of whofe temple burft open feven years before at Pcntecoft, when voices were heard in the air, and evident miracles proclaimed their deftruftion who helped to crucify the Holy One of Ifrael. The great prophetic word had faid exprefsly, that mortals then alive (hould fee that temple's final end whence he, its siieki- NAH, was chaced with ignominy; and before fourfcore years were yet expired, one ftone was literally not {landing on another ; whilft the heroic youth appointed to dcftroy it, refembling in character and manners Cyrus, who overthrew the Babylon they hated ; was called, in admiration of his fuperior excellence. Delight of human kind. Now too, as if the world would fain repofe after the bloody contefts between Otho and Vitellius, and after this ftill more ftriking ven- geance on the Jews, 110,000 of whofe lives were loft during the fiegc, and 97,000 prifoners carried to Rome; Vefpafian fhut the temple of Janus, and dedicated his heaven-permitted fpoils to peace. Much of the fabrick where they were depofitcd is ftanding while I write ; and the fine arch, perpetuating the triumph of Titus, feems to have acquired beauties, not loft them, by time. Aftifting Retrojpeiiions fight it ftands, and waits His fecond coming whofe former miffion it confirms. Holinftied and Buchanan fay, that Chriftianity was in thefe days carried to Britain by St. Jofeph of Arimathea — a tindurc extinguifhed by the blow which killed the unborn infant. Suetonius wrote the lives of twelve men, who have for ages fmce been called the twelve Cafars; but'tisinconi- piliment to tlic writer. ©f CH. I.] FROM TIBERIUS TO TRAJAK 29 of whole love Tor riches pervades us ftill. That opulence overwhelmed not his faith, but rather confirmed him in praclice of beneficence, feems hitherto not wholly forgotten by thofe who are defcendcd from liis converts ; and if the religion he planted is really taking flight from other countries of Europe, here may it leave its laft remains! and angels roll the ftone to keep it in, till the great day of general refur- reftion. Vefuvius meanwhile inflamed his neighbouring plains, fo juftly called Phlegra^an ; the mountain raged with unexampled fury ; hot a(hes, toft in air, darkened the fun at Rome, 1 1 3 miles from the cxplofion, caufmg a temporary, and for fome time, an incomprchen^ fible cclipfe. On the fame hour a dreadful peftilence begun that wafte which lafted many weeks; and, ranging through the contaminated town, thinned in fome meafure the immenfe numbers, and lightened the mafs f)f mankind which tumefied it even to burfting. Such was the ftatc of the metropolis. Around warm Naples and her polluted envi- rons. Indignant earth is feen by RetroJPe^ions eye (much like the deity they worlhipped, Saturn) fwallowing her fons alive. The (haggy cavern which conceals a murderer, opens by power unfecn; the Focks divide ; fudden deftrudion drops on the inhabitants. The peace- ful villa, retreat perhaps of ftudy, finks below tlic ground: the gaudy amphitheatre becomes a part of it ; nor lets one fruitful feafbn pafs away, before, new-clothed with ufeful vegetation, it learns to fupply pofterity with food — Comus and Momus fly difgraced away, and laughing Ceres reaflTumcs the land. Boundlcfs curioiity too, daughter of afRucnt wealth, and parent of general knowledge ; im- patient of delay, and ardent for immediate gratification, now robbed the world of Pliny's future labours : and while hot Parthcnope panted amid \ olcanic fires, and flames of accident or ftrange caprice devoured the ftfcets of Rome, burning for three nights and days with unremitting violence — up from the cooler ocean in the north rofc the low rudiments of Rotterdam, dcftincd to be the birth-place of Erafmus. Nearly with bcfi 30 THE FIRST CENTURY; [ch. j. her coeval fprang in Spain the places now known by names of Bilbao and St. Jago di CompoftcUa, firft fabricated hov.evcr by Titus, who, in honour of his father, called itFlavio Briga, and Flavio Brigantum. Yet then, and before then, was London cop'ia negoflatorum, et com- vieatu maxime celebre* Cheftcr and Leiccflcr were in being, I believe, and York a favourite refidence of Romans. Lanquct would make us think that town cotemporary with Sefak, king of Egypt, and .Jeroboam, king in Ilracl ; he fays 'twas built by Ebranck, probably f Evanck, a Britifli leader, of whofe works yet remain part of the callle of May- -trees were planted here in the days of Marius and Sylla. The building of 5/7- //M^^/ond's early impreflion. Second fight was now gaining ground among all ranks ; but the bed inllance cX it, for benefit of all his fubje^s, was that of their unworthy Emperor's own death, prcAintcd preternatural ly as many thought, be- fore the cyeiof Appollontiu Tyanaetis, then teaching philofophy in his own fchool at Ephcfus ; where, ilopping in the middle of the lc(5turc, he fuddcnly cried out, Now, conraj^e Strphnnm, and Jirikt the tyrant. Stcphanus, one of the chamberlains, had indeed, at that very moment, Vol.. I. E contrived 34 THE FIRST CENTURY ; [ch. r. contrived admiflion to his prince's prcfcncc, wearing his arm in a fcarf the better to prevent fufpicion, and conceal a dagger, which, while Domitian was employed in reading over a lift of names, the bold af- faffin ftruck to his heart, and ended a lite which had long kept man- kind in perpetual alarm. The ftrolling conjurer, who faw in Afia what was at the fame inftant ading in Rome, is the perfon to whom we are obliged for the hack phrafe He has the black dog upon his hack, when people are opprefled by melancholy and ill-humour. Dr. Henry More fays, that this Appollonius told the Greeks he had a fpirlt fol- lowing him about in form of a black dog, which leaping on his back, would make him atrabilious. The learned Hugo Grotius gives credit to this fecond fight with regard to Domitian. I know not whe- ther he believes in the black dog. A better proof that the world was grown weary of fuch a ruler, was the frequent repetitions of the word «PX^' written on the Emperor's ftatues, triumphal arches, &c. it means efiough ; much like the modern Italian word hajja: and the trick was in the fpirit of modern pafquinadcs. And now the firft hundred years after our Saviour's appearance upon earth drawing faft towards a conclufion, the retrofpcSi'tve eye views with delight fome feeds of his newly founded worfhip, dropt almoft into every country here in Europe ; feven churches of Afia too openly profefTmg the faith, befidcs Antioch, where Chriftians firft were called fuch. That thefc feven churches, which were written to by Saint John— by name ; and which ranked neither with thofc of Antioch or of Rome, did aftually at that time reprefent the feven Proteftant churches, which have in later days diflented both from Greek and Roman rituals ; profcfling purer manners, and a lefs embarraflcd creed — it is not my intention either to aflert or to deny. Certain it is, that of thefe laft feven one has apoftatized, who once gloried in her liches like that of Laodicea.* Our attention meantime being di- • 'Tis odd enough that Laodicea, like Holland, was a maritime fituation— its name means ad mare, as fcholars tell me. refted CH. I ] FRQM^^IBERIUS TO TRAJAN. 35 re-The Holy, in their language. or Otd't Howft. J thcix CH. II.] rUOM 1RAJAN TO CARACALLA. >li their caftlcs, and ploughing up their ftrong places, after difpatching 58,000 of the inhabitants — that Fuller fays it ncvtr di J recover; and in his book upon the Holy Warobfcrves, that " 'tis no marvel if fo thin a meadow were quickly mown by him who had plenty of hands to work." IJut we return and follow Adrian to Britain, w hich, to fay true, lurtl-rcd feme little from his difpleafurc ; thougli ScWcn fays his general, Coilus, built Colchefter in EiFex, if it was not even then known by name of Cacr Colin among the old inhabitant?. Some traces too of his turf- wall, or mound, may be feen in Cuml^erland Itill : and perhaps ho, whofe fpirit of travelling prompted him to vjlit fuch remote parts of the Roman empire, might have been induced to pafs more time amidft our northern provinces, had not his dainty minion, fair Anti- nous, been haftlly knocked down by fomc rough Britilh hand ; an in- fult his great mafter could not be plcafcd with, yet had more magna- nimity than to refent, except by leaving the iiland. That taftc for feeing various life, however, which luggefted his journey hither, prompted him to continue it through his own native countr}' Spain, to Afrie, where he rebuilt Carthage, and viiltcd the Nile. But al- though he erected a monument for his horfc Boryfthcncs, and fet up a pillar to his memory near Barcelona, we muft remember that the an- cients often paid funeral honours to their favourite animals. The epi- taph on CraiTus's mule is preferved by Porcacchi, a Tufcan writer, who found the (lone Ix-'tween Rome and Tivoli. Her name was C'nicia, if I remember right: and although Adrian filled half Europe with fine lla- tues of his Ids valuable favourite, the beautiful youth who fell into the Nile, and there was drowned ; yet fuffercd this philofbphic foverelgn no idle whims, no vicious projMrnfities, to mingle with his ftudies or his (late affairs; but apparently triumphed in the almoft boundleft capacity of a mind which could folve the hardeft problems of Euclid, and plan with elegance of architet^urc a temple to I^ove : who encou- raged all artifts, and was excelled by none : whofe |X)wers of rhetoric kept pace with the firmncfs of hia logical difputations: and whofe Vol. I. F progrcf^ 42 THE SECOND CENTURY; [ch. ii. progrcfs through his widely extended empire was marked in every part of it by fome benefit conferred. Adrianoplc, the old Oreftla, he repaired, and called it after himfcif ; bccaufc, having been built by parricide, he deemed it of ill omen. But though he delighted in the baths of Aix la Chapelle, as Granus, a general of fome former reign, had originally dlfcovercd the waters' efficacy, he confirmed the appellation Aquis Granum, and by that name the town is ftill called by Italians, with very little alteration. A defcendant of that General's (called Nero's half brother in Ifaacfon's CI) ronology ) (Sf/vH/w Granus, wrote about the year 127 fo excellent an apology for the poor Chriftians, that Adrian had thoughts of building them a church, but fuffered other occupations to intervene. Meanwhile Anaclctus had prohibited, in Trajan's time, that any bifhop (hould wear long curling hair, as did the gay young Ro- mans, upon which the clergy were foon dlftinguiflied by ^.tonfufe; and Alexander I., ftyled by his own dccretary ^rcAbifliop of Rome, inftituted holy water for purification of thofe who fliould come un- prepared to church ; fome fait was added in a natural fpirit of imita- tion ; the luftral water had fait mixed with it. By his command, likewife, water was mixed with wine in the facrament, moft probably bccaufe from our Redeemer's fide flowed blood and water. This haplefs primate was martyr'd, contrary to Government's intent, during fome accidental abfence of the Emperor; who now caufed Pompey'stomb to be repaired, fet up an honorary remembrance of Epaminondas in the plains of Mantinaea, and ereded for his own the Moles Adriani, now Caftle St. Angelo ; — whilft Sixtus 1. in thankfulnefs to heaven for that remiffion of mifcry which our church enjoyed, fung the Trlfagion, or hymn, of Holy! Holy! Holy Lord God of Sabaoth ! in open day ; and fent public miffionaries into Gaul for converfion of profelytes, at which the court connived. Ill health now ftopt the fovereign's further travels, yet would he not yield to its enfeebling power : he ftill, as ufual, bathed in a crowd of people, where he one day perceived a poor old CH. Ill'] FROM TRAJAN TO CARACALLA. 43 old foldier (whom he had formerly obferved in his own legion) now fo friendlefs, as to have no one to perform for him the common office of a bathing guide, to fcrape or curry his back, as it was then the mode, fo that he was obliged to rub himfelf againft the wall, as bcafts do. Adrian, who recollected both his pcrfon and good fervices, aiked him the rcafon why ? 'Tis, faid the foldier. Sir, becaufe I have no fervant. The Emperor immediately fent him three flaves, and a fmall penfion to maintain them. Such an action foon drew its natural confe- qucnces ; for fafhions alter, but human nature is the fame. Num- bcrlefs old men took the fame method of obtaining notice from fo charitable a Prince. Our Spaniard, not duped however, nor as it ap- pears much difgufled by fuch condud, quietly provided thofe fellows each zjirig'tl, and laughingly advifed them to curry one another.* It was time though to be ferious. Many diforders gathering round his con- ilitution, he had, fomc months before the time we treat of, adopted Lucius Vcrus Commodus, who died before his friend, leaving an infant foh. Of this man nothing is I think recorded, but that he lay on mat- treflcs of rofes, rendered elaftic by their quantity and number ; and that he firft brought up the cuflom of making footmen run before a car- riage. Thofe dcftined for his ufc were boys, eminent in perfonal beauty, drciTcd like the four winds, and their Lord called them Vo- laiiti — they were lb drcflcd at Rome when I was there, and called fo then. Adrian next fought an heir among the Stoics, though he him- felf and his immediate favourites were of the Epicuraean fchool. His laft iclcdion lighted on the man, whofc pure morality cafts that of every other monarch into (hade ; and fearful left death fhouid rob the Romans foon of fuch a parent, he wiflied him to entail the fucccflion on ftill further ; then, having provided poftcrity with the proteiUon of the Antonincs, retired to Baiae, confulting his health only. In that • The opention of cliampooing, in the eaft, fcctnt anotlicr manner of producing a (ikeeffcO. F 2 delightful 44 THE SECOND CENTURY; [cii. n. delightful retreat it was, that he compofed the well-known lines ad- drcllbd to his departing foul ; and as he had lived a philofopher, de- fircd to die a poet.* His laft ad of authority almofl, was fliipping off" incredible numbers of Jewifli captives into Spain, where they fubfifted by working in the gold and fdvcr mines, both in the character of la- bourer and trader, till fomc time about the year l.'joo they were ex- })elled cither by Ferdinand or Emanuel. A lietrofpeSi of that peculiar circumftance is ufeful, to elucidate the caufe of jealoufy which Spa- niards have been always apt to difplay, concerning the antiquity of their own families ; of which the true fource is, fear left they fhould be fufpeded of fliaring this old Jewifli, or clfe Moorifli blood. When Sancho is afked about his mafter's genealogy, De los Chrl/i'ianos mas v'lejos, is his reply. That country, which was to Italy in Adrian's time what Mexico has iincc been to all Europe, afforded no ill-devifed re- treat to Hebrew avarice and genius for mean traffic ; but one wonders why thofe mines Ihould now reft quiet, whence Pliny fays 20,000 pounds weight of gold were annually received at Rome. There is in- deed a tradition, tliat the Ihephcrds who kept goats in Gallicia or Afturia, having made a fire to burn fome ftubbed rofemary, never could quench it ; and having often tried, left it at length to end as chance diredcd ; the fire then catching volcanic matter, fufed all the metal by its violence, and carried away to fca. Some rivulets there, as in Pern, are now called Lavaderos, from having waftied ores and minerals in their ftrcam : fome grains of gold are yet to be found too ; but they confidcr the mines as ruined by fome accident, and can relate none but this. Titus Antoninus meanwhile, fo juftly furnamed Pius, * Aniiuula vagula blandula, Gentle Soul ! a moment ftay, Hofpes comefquc corporis, WliiUier wouldft thou wingtliy way ? Qux nunc abibis in loca ! Cheer once more thy houfe of clay, Pallidula rigida nudula. Once more prattle and be gay : Nec ut foles dabis joca. See thy fluttering pinions play- Gentle Soul, a moment ftay ! the CH 11.] FROM TRAJAN TO CARACALLA. 45 the fucceflbr of Adrian, and the fixteenth emperor of Ronie, fought for no trcafures, except in his own heart ; dcfircd no conquefts, unlefs over himfclf; no wars, but with thofe appetites and paffions, which how- ever he wiflied not to annihilate but to reftrain; inafniuch as they lead men to heroic adions, while' under the dominion and guidance of that rcafon which, as hcas'en's laft, bcft gift, this wife and virtuous Prince mifufcd not in fubtle difputations or rhetorical flowers, but exercifcd in a perpetual attention to his duty, in an adivc and paternal care of that ftate he was called to command — preferring, on all occa- fions, modcfty to w it ; well-judged beneficence, to oftentatious difplay of fcntiment. In proof of his liberality, he gave up, on his accefTion, the immenfc civil lift appointed for the maintenance of imperial fplcn- dour ; dcfiring to live frugally, after the old Roman faftiion, with one woman only, his wife, the firft Fauftina ; depending on his own fu- pcrior merit to awe that world which he difdained to dazzle. But, though he encouraged learned men, particularly Appollonius Chalcidi- cus, his tutor, though he rewarded Juftiu, and received, well pleafed, the dedication of his epitome ; he confidered goodnefs as much nearer in claim for favours, than either pcribnal prowcfs or mental endowment. He would rather hear, he faid, of one citizen favcd, than of a thoufand enemies dcftroyed. In his uncommon chara<^lcr was verified the faying of that fage, who pronounced her the beft woman of whom leaft could be f«id out of her own houfc — while it is the reign of Titus that wc arc told, afibrds of all others the fcwcft materials for hiftory. In his day I>cnt was firfk inftituted, as an obfcrvation of our church ; Telcf- phorus chanted the Gloria in Rxcelju ; and Hyginus, a Greek by birth, called himfclf Pope. His fucccli'or, a native di Aquileia, confecrated Chridian viipns, in imitation of the vcftals rcTcred by Pagan fupcr- ilition : their having been priefts to fomc heathen deity themfelvcs, before converfioa, might lead their thoughts perhaps in the fame track. I take the commonly accepted chronology, and will not lofe my time to prove or difavow it. Many miilakes have been made by the wileft, concerning a6 ■ ■ ^ THE SECOND CENTURY; [ch. ii. concerning the years when fuch events befell ; and we are now at fuch enormous diftance, that RetroJpeSi'ton may eafily be deceived. Remote- nefs has the fame efFed upon the mind as on the eye ; and as the traveller to Italy looks back from the firft heights of Savoy he has climbed, and fees the fertile provinces of France approximated by the eminence from which he views them ; the Rhone contraded, till he cries with Dyer, A ftep, methinks, might pafs the {Iream; So little diftant dangers feem. So feels the reader of this trifling fummary. But let him, like the tra- veller, feel good-humoured too, and fb amufcd by the variety of ob- jeAs, as not to quarrel with the glafs he fees them through. Much has been faid by authors about Quintilian, and whether he lived now or long before ; but there were three of the fame name and family, and all fupremcly eminent for talents. He who faid, Natura nos ad mentem opt Imam genuit, mull, one would think, have lived under the Antonines. But if the baptifmal font was in their day, though not by their defire, eredied to purify mankind from that original and native fm, of which even they, tranfcendent creatures as they were, had fure a taint ; we mull remember that Crefccns and Cerdon * flourilhed in that century, and Apulcius wrote his Golden Afs. He wrote, befide, a pretty allegorical fable of Cupid and Pfyche, in which the theory of man's fall and relloration are elegantly alluded to, with embellilhments both from the true and falfe religions ; but Apuleius had been much among the Platonills, who myllicized every thing. Marino hands down the fame tale to modern times ; Moliere took it from Marino, and I have myfclf feen it reprcfented in a pantomime ballet. Dio- genes Laertius gave to mankind the lives of the philofophers during that century ; whence Menage's notes grew up in France, and Stanley's * Two notorious heretics. folio CH. 11.] FROM TRAJAN TO CARACALLA. 47 folio in Great Britain. Ptolemy too attrafted notice from the world in thofc days ; and if his new invented fyftem was not better than that in ufe before, it had at leaft the merit of more deep refearch. The old hypothefis however, gained more laftlng pralfe, protradled through Pythagoras, Copernicus, and Newton ; but Almagcjl, fo the Arabians afterwards called the Ptolomaean labours when digefted, continued the conteft many years. This writer drew from Egypt his fkill in the fcience of aftrology. The rainbow and dove, fym- bols of peace fince Noah left the ark, were known by familiar names at Alexandria : Cleopatra's maids were called Charmion * and Iras, even in Mark Antony's time ; and the favourite hieroglyphics which thofe names denote, the dove and rainbow, may this day be fccn on the great obelilk brought by Caligula (chiefly for that reafon, I believe) to Rome. Egyptian fuperftitions obtained exceedingly among the emperors. Adrian had one room filled with their deities; and Caligula had once a mind to maifacre the Roman fcnate, quit bis country, and make himfelf a god in Alexandria, where, as they worftiipt crocodiles, fays Crevicr, they might perhaps have worfhipt him. But we proceed to the progrefs of fcience ; for Jamblicus, in the fccond century, wrote his Babylonica fo much praifcd, fo fa- moufly abridged, and now fo completely forgotten : and Galen, called to Rome upon an illncfs of the jroung Fauftma, daughter to Titus, and lately married with his adopted heir, left it no more, till every effort had been vainly tried to detain the invaluable life of Antoninus Pius, whofe purity of morals, integrity of heart, and fpontaneous liberality, gave his fuhjeft world a conftant and almoll a pcrfct.'t example of confummatc virtue for twenty years together : the greateft ftretch of it was, per- haps, the adoption of Aurclius, in compliance to the will of the deccafcd Adrian, and the defired benefit of all mankind; in oppofition to parental feeling, and the warm wilh, which he forbore to gratify, of making the purple hereditary, by leaving it his own two fd ; although the wifdom or •virtue of an individual can very rarely make many happy, yet mav the folly or wickcdnefs of a fingle mind ierve cafdy to make all around him wretched." Whilft, therefore, one fovereign merltoriouliy fought only to exhibit in his own conduct a pattern for pufteritv to fellow, • Dr.JoLnlc... Vol. 1. G iJioudi 50 THE SECOND CENTURY; [ch. ii. though ever at an immeafurablc dlllance ; and the other as incef- fantly difplayed mifchievous pranks, of eaficr imitation and ftronger allurement ; the wifer part of the world faw its approaching change. Cities fprung up in regions remote from common obfervation, and Frankfort upon the Oder, was the work of Gauls; who wifhed to perpe- tuate in that town's appellation, the memory of their favourite ge- neral, Francus, fo called becaufe ht freed them from Auguftus Caefar's yoke, who permitted the family to take on them a name, by which they are now but too well known, over the four continents ; and Turks feem even yet to fancy all Chriftians originally fprung from France. 'Till the time of Odavius, part of what we now call fo, feems to have been denominated Sicambria, from Cambria, wife of Antenor, fon to the firft Marcomir. Her name was probably Gomaria, Gomrah, Camrah, Cambria, from the great fountain of Teutonic families. Some of the French yet retain words from the Welch, or Cambrian language. The inhabitants of Bas Brctagnc underftand a native of Anglefea or Caernarvonfliirc, at the hour I am writing, and comprehend us when we fay ycymrodorion, in Englifli, countrymen ; or rather gomeroJorion, meaning brothers, defcended from one flock Gomer. Brandenburg likcwifc before this time had reared his gloomy front, and Brando, their chief, fet up that ftrangc thing in the ftrcet which flood there fafe towards fifteen years ago ; of black bafalt it feemed, its fize colof- fal ; I could get no one to tell me what it meant. The Germans had no cities in Tacitus's time, but Marpurg now called itfclf capital of the Cattians ; and Cafellum has yet fcarce funk in the word Callel, its an- cient appellation. Horrid concuffions too fliook the wide empire on its eaftern fide, and a portentous inundation of old Tyber frighting the metropolis, left behind it a dangerous contagion. But Lucius Verus at length falling a facrifice to his own mad exceffes, left his colleague unfettered and adlive to provide for all. Defccaded from Numa, he like him delighted in all the tranquil and domcflic virtues ; fon by adoption to Antoninus Pius, he defured like him the civic crown ra- ther CH. II.] FROM TRAJAN TO CARACALLA. 5i ther than the laurel ; but the late Emperor's pacific temper produced fomc confequent vexations to Aurclius. Nor fqueezcd tor tribute by the hand of power, nor crufhed and trodden by the foot of defpotifm ; the barbarous nations grew more infolent : while a revolt in Britain, and a ftill more formidable rebellion againft the Emperor in Parthia, forced out thofe talents for military glory which had till then, by his own wifli, remained unknown. They fucceeded however, and he returned in triumph to his capital : where the fine ftatue of him ftill remained in the year 1 786, fublime in princely beauty ; difplaying ftill that dignity of charader which language labours vainly to exprefs, and fetting before us the majeftic warrior, of whom thofe who have only read his afts in ftory, form a too faint idea. And now believing that one of his moft fignal vidories had been won by the vaft efforts of his Chriftian regiment, called on that great occafion Legio Fulminatrix, he liftened the more w illingly to Mclito's apology, and fecmed difpofcd rather to encourage than opprefs a faith he could not prevail upon himfelf to em- brace. The cruelties exercifed on Polycarp, however, were truly dread- fill, and his endurance of them pretematurally, perhaps, lieroic. When urged to renounce our Saviour, thcfc 80 years (faid he) do I fervc him ; and I pray you bind mc not to the ftakc, for w hat you have power to inflid, that will he give me ftrength to bear. Away with the impious ! exclaimed the proud Proconful ; away with the impious ! replied the balf-confumcd Chriftian from his flames; and if great Aurclius, when he heard the tale, was moved to pity fuch behaviour, and to fay that no more of that fed fhould be puniHicd for their opinions — Jortin need not have wondered fo, or tried to teach the Emperor four word.s in which he might have compri fed with ncatncfs the intent of his decree.* Marcus Aurclius mult have undcrftood Latin as well as Dr. * .\i!umui Ch'ijl'niin ampliut vtxuri, arc l!ic words of our noc^oi'sprcftiiptivc- F.utin. M4r< u» Ajrcliui C'Cnu fated to occafion ofTcnrc to moJciii pcJaiitry. ll w:is the (port of the Krcnrh wits to plague Monficur and .\!a«Iamc Daricr, by fayin>;, Ay, ay, your Marcus .Vurcliui was a fine man ; but by wliofc order was it that the lainis were martyred at (,yon» ' — to fee the comical rage into wl.itli they both would fly, parlicu- hriy tAc lady.— Vide all the French .Inm. 62 THE SECOND CENTURY ; [ch. n. Jortln, we'll fuppofe, but retaliation was the ivay in thofc days ; and when the prince permitted refiflance, he knew his own people would torment them no more. He therefore wrote, to aflure his too 7.calous govcrnours, that if they perfifted in difturbing innocent men concerning crimes themfelves fcarcely pretended to underftand, their bodies fliould be condemned to bear the pains that their feve- rity fliould infill on. New wars and new commotions meantime calling him out once more to defend the limits of an empire, expofed to hourly encroachments, and grieving his good fpirit with the thoughts of obligation to lay on frefli taxes, he difpofed of the imperial jewels for the payment of his troops, having reduced his own efta- bliflimcnt even to a primitive fimplicity — Ypite of the Emprcfs's ex- travagant defircs, which, though fuppofcd by all to have brought falfc heirs to his crown and dignity, he fuffcrcd not to diflurb the public welfare. As daughter to Titus he deified her when ihe died ; nor would fuffcr any one's information to caufe a word between them (luring tlie life of her, through whom he became the fon of Antoninus Pius. Her genius for expence required his tighteft curb, and Ibme- thing from the civil lift was ftill refervcd too for the reward of ufeful talents ; witnefs Polyenus, the Macedonian, who for eight books, con- taining an account of nine thoufand frratagcms employed in the art of war, received a royal prcfent. Cafaubon bought the Greek copies many ages after, and I myfelf faw them advertifed in Englifh notfeven years ago. Such was the uniform excellence of this fovercign, that the com- jr.onwealth fecmcd revived under hisadminiilration; which always left the fcnatc (as of old) to determine without appeal, and certain of their preference in all matters of moment, he chofe rather to guide their councils In influence of his fupcrior intellect, than to rule their deter- minations by dint of acknowledged auth.ority. In return for fuch ad- mirable, liica exemplary conduct, the Fathers decreed him an enemy to the ftatCj whofc houic fliould be found vviihout a picture or llatue of CM. II.] FROM TRAJAN. TO CAR ACALLA. 63 of their divine Marcus Aurelius; and it was tlien firft fettled to a com- mon proverb — Libertasnunquam claviorextat quam fub regc pio.* Speed fays that a Chriftian king at this time ruled in Britain; but Speed is hafty in his firm aiTcrtion, for Lucius, whom he fpcaks of, the Em- peror's colleague, had long been dead, and never was baptized. Yet that there was a king Lucius many old ballads attcft, and he, perhaps, hearing of the miracle (liewn before two armies in fa\ our of our faith> might f>oflibly dcfire and receive baptifm. Pope Eleutherius is faid, at his requcft, to have fent over miffionaries here, who, fome think, founded our firft biftiop's fees, where the Arch-Flamcns before them rcfidcd ; at Ivondon, metropolis of Britannia prima ; at York, the capital of Maxima Cajfaricnfis, and at Caerlcon-upon-Ufke, in Wales, clficf city of Britannia fccunda. Papal command near the fame time prohibited the fupcrftitious refufal of any thing that was man's meat, and a church was built in Cornhill dedicated to St. Peter. Meanwhile Rome's bravcft General, yet unfatigucd, purfucd his conqucfts over the barbarians, which, like hydra's heads, rofc in ftill greater numbers to his fword; and having left a fct of political Itdurcs behind him with the fcnatc, for whofc ufe they were compofed, and v\ ho, when liftcn- ing to his lall dircdioru, interrupted them only by tears of anxiety of acclamations of rapture — he (juittcd Italy and returned to it no more ; catching a fcarlet fever from Ibmc prilbncrs in Pannonia, where the phyficians, fcc'd by Commodus, tOf)k care he never fliould recover. Suffering, however, no dangers to controul his truly intrepid fpirit, no furrows to awaken hi» ftoical tranquillity, internal peace contemning outward ills, beamed on his ferenc majcftic countenance, till this frefh proof of his young fucccffor's depravity ; then the fon's crime forced • An adage Claudian configned to poetical rcmcnibi.inr(.-, by adaptation, many ages after.— »V««fttaoi htnias rratiar ixjiat quam fub rtgf f.:, from 64 THE SECOND CENTURY; [ch. u. from the dying patriot a groan of anguifli — To what a guide, faid he, I leave the world ! and died. When Phoebus could but with difficulty poife the feat indeed, well might light Phaeton fall headlong from the car. The Roman power fliewed evident fymptoms of incipient decay : corruption could no longer be reftrained, whilft opulence flowed in with every tide, and vice as certainly fapped the now-foftened founda- tions of a ftrudure, battered by invaders from undifcovered regions, and barbarous multitudes who fought but to devour and deftroy. Commodus cared little for their ads or their intentions. Herodian defcribes, with great fpirit, the boyifti hafte he made to get to Rome, where his uncommon beauty fecured him admiration. Effeminate and gay, he foon difmifled his father's mufty counfellors ; furniftied his im- perial houfe with fix hundred human creatures devoted to his pleafure ; powdered his own fine auburn hair with gold duft, to encreafe its brilliancy ; fpent on his toilet, in ten weeks, more than his predecef- for's whole eftablifhment had coft the public in the laft ten years ; and took arms in his white hand only to kill wild beads withal — a divcr- fion that difplayed his elegance of mien and accuracy of eye, and in which he was eminently fkilful, cutting ofl'the necks of oftriches as they ran fwiftly round the arena, with arrows curioufly conftruded and headed witli a half-moon. It feems as if tyranny and archery had fome unaccountable connexion : not only this Emperor but Domitian was furprizingly certain of his aim ; and it had been his fport to make a child fland with his little fingers ftretched open againft a w all, and then Hick a dart between every two of them, (hot from prodigious diftancc. The ftory of William Tell prefer\es the memory of our lall renowned Toxophollte and tyrant of modern times : there was an intermediate tale of the fame kind told fomewhere about the tenth century ; and our ballads celebrate their William of Cloudefelie for the fame aft of heroic fkill. Truth is, hiftorians fervc the difh up again and again, and one fad: gains belief in very feparate ages. Philip of Maccdon puflied away a woman who was troublefome to him with fome peti- tion. CH. n.] FROM ITIAJAN TO CARACALLA. 53 tion, as he journeyed along: Be not our king then, if you will not hear us, replied the woman : the monarch then granted her requeft. Auguftan Hillory relates this of Adrian, and it was told me for a truth, at Vienna, of Jofeph II. Query, Was it ever true at all ? One thing is fure, however, that the church of Chrift gained firmnefs un- der the reign of this light-hearted profligate, whofe beft praife is, that he firft inftituted a company of corn merchants for the prevention of famine at Rome, where a medal, ftill extant, was ftrurlc on the occa- fion ; Africa prefcnting the Emperor with ears of wheat, and a Greek infcription, that all were happy under the reign of Commodus ; who, among his numerous new titles, took the name of Faelix, and fays he would renew the golden age. This fovereign erred lefs through ma- lice than mere vvantonnefs ; and when he flit an old fcnator's ear, un- der pretence of having his hair cut fafliionably, we muil needs know that half Eton fchool would play the fame trick, were they, like this boy, inverted with illimitable power. Making Aurclius's worthy old praefcift dance naked among his young concubines, and letting them hoot and ridicule, and at length throw him in the mote to feed tame lampreys, was a little worfe. — That poor fellow found his no golden ace. Oppian the poet, in thefe times, projeded his well-known poem on the Chacc, as likely to recommend him to Commodus's favour, who was fo fucccfsful in the deftrudion of wild hearts; he afterwards dedicated it to Caracalla, the dreadful hunter, whofe chief game was man; while Julius Pollux compofed his Onomarticon, of whicli P^- nclH poiTeired a fine edition, A. D. 1 THC) ; and fome Sclavonian tribes laid the firft rtones of Utrecht. Nor were the fchools of religion or learning difcouragcd, though whim, and gaiety, and filly pranks were all the Emperor thought of. In order to fupport fuch profufe- ncfs, all places of truft were fet to falc, and trcafures quite incon- ceivable were lavirticd upon the Prince's diflolutr companions ; amon^;; whom all his fifters were comprized, except Lucilla, widow of Lucius Vcrus : her hufband, a Roman fenator of ancient mould, and friend to 56 THE SECOND CENTURY; [ch. n. to philofophic Marcus, refufcd her company to Commodus's com- mand ; the next day, of courfe, faw him and his wile expire upon a Icaffold. lyightning now ftruck the capitol at Rome, and the great library collcded by Adrian, of immenfe vahic, was burned to the ground. Two thoufand people died in one circle of twenty-four hours, from a new pcftllcncc, caufcd by the heat and crowd in this thick -thronged metropolis. Plagues raged at home, and famines wafted the I'nmts of the empire ; whilft the young fovereign, intent on a new frolic, pur- pofed to fence naked in the amphitheatre, and there exhibit his fym- metric form to forty thoufand admirers at once. This fhamelcfspro- )e<5t, this unheard-of folly, revolted the delicacy of his moft favoured female, Marcia ; and prompted her to reprefent the mcannefs of fuch condud, in terms her uncontradicted paramour was little likely to for- give. He wrote her name on the dead lift immediately : but a fondled baby picking up the paper as he played about the apartments, and bringing it the lady by mere chance ; flie refolved to prevent her own death by her mafter's ; and eafdy engaging his chamberlains' afliftancc, who faw themfelves marked down with her for execution — threw her zone round his undefended neck while bathing, and, helped by two aflalfnis, (bon deftroyed a prince who, had he met with any other death, had fcarce defcrved compaflion. Commodus feems to ha\e ap- proached modern exuberance more than any other fovereign we have mentioned yet ; he had a genius for mechanic arts. Unlike Flavius Vcfpafian, to whom, when fome one prcfentcd a machine for ufeful purpofes, the Emperor faw him rewarded, and the mcchanifm burnt ; for how, faid he, muft my fubjcdls live by labour, if all their work is to be done by engines ? On the contrary, f/iis youth, elaborately volup- tuous, gave immenfe fums to the inventors of umbrella chariots, which, I believe, had fprings to them befidcs. When Pertinax afterwards made a fale of his cfFeds, the people, loft as they were to virtue (fay hifto- rians), were alhamed to buy. Thus in this hcedlefs, though flagitious reign, CH. II.] FROM TRAJAN TO CARACALLA. 5r reign, more evil of every fort had been difleminated, that the paft five- fcorc years of excellence could counteract : nor were his fucccffors, cphcmcron monarchs, likely to fupport the dignity of that dominion which dropt from the hands of five or fix pretenders in courfe of only eight months. Though this much muft be faid for Pcrtinax, that he had been a fenator, a praefett, and a commiflary ; had taught language in the fchools, and carried colours in the field ; had fuifercd hardfhips without complaint, and acquired rank without meannefs of folicita- tion; yet, though a man of incomparable underftandintr, ftyled by his intimates the tennis-ball of fortune, and earned to llicw fhe had at length been jufti his name would never have dcfcended to pofterity, bad he not worn the purple eighty-fix days, and feen it torn Irom him on the cighty-feventh, with life, which he valued lefs — for no fault he had committed, or was even fufpeded of. Mean Didius, who had bought the feat of rule with money, parted from it, as might be ex- peded, with more reludance, like a mifer from his hoard ; which Niger arrived not at poflxfling, till after the Britifh and eaftem gene- fids had for a while difputed the dangerous pre-eminence. Accident, concurring with the fpirit of riot and impetuofity that now determined every great event, placed Septimus Scverus on the throne. The reins of government were held with difficulty even by this adive and vigi- lant commander, Verl> Pertinax, Verii Severus, as he was called ; who iaw adoniihed, new tokens of rebellion mark various parts of the tu- multuous world ; and had the afllidion to ufc, in his own camp, coins with effigies of Donald, king in Scotland. Haralfed on every fide by a variety of opponents, who, though often conquered to out- ward appearance, were never — never again completely fubdued in re- ality ; and, more attentive to retain the fovercignty for himfclf and his two fons, than to fupport the authority of the parent country over nations rifing in rcfiflancc every hour ; the gout feizcd and confined him to a painful bed at York, when fome flatterer cxprcfling furprilc that he could rule fo vail an extent of dominion, being fo lame, fick. Vol. I. H ' and 68 THE SECOND CENTURY iil^f [ch. it. and unwieldy — I manage the empire, faid Severus, with my head, and, tender as they be, I will yet ftrive to keep it down with my feet. The gout however laying hold upon a vital part, he died here in the north of England, where he had long kept a fort of court, in order to be near at hand in cafe of any difturbance from the Gauls : and though an indefatigable general, eminent for the neceflary virtues of foldier- like courage and manly fortitude, he felt in death the imperial power crumbling from his throne, a feat more highly raifed than deeply fixed in his day ; not as it ftood in time of Auguftus Casfar, to all appear- ance rooted in a firm and feemingly immoveable ftability. Two hun- dred years about this time elapfing fince our religion firft was founded, the retrofpedi'we eye refls for a moment upon St. Irenaeus's martyrdom, and will obferve Origen, furnamed Adamantius, adding new luftre to his great profeffion, while the warm eloquence of bold TertuUian* enforced thofe truths which neither herefy could choke, nor perfecution kill ; though controverfy raged between the eaftern and the weftem church with a degree of violence incredible. One may obferve, in- deed, that early difcuflions in faith or politics add energy and flrengtli both to the church and ftate. When both are founded fafely howfo- ever, he is the greatefl blockhead who difturbs them, and tries to raife a dangerous fermentation ; but when decay begins to taint, or atrophy to niunh their conftitution, talking their merits and their faults again over, revives a latent fpark once more perhaps, and animates them to a longer continuance. * Of Tertullian's eloquence, fufSce the fine allufion to Chiifl's miracle, when fleeping in the little Ihip betofled with ftorms — he waked, rebuked tlie winds, and there was a great calm. So, lays the orator, 'tis with our Chriftian Church, beaten by perfecution's rougheft waves. Let but our Redeemer arife and fpeak the word, all fliall at once be fiill. The affinity tliis has to Horace's ode, " Oh navis refcrt in mare, &c." is furely no difcredit to the pallage ; yet fays Balzac, " On appelle ob- fcur ce genie enorme ; if faut pourtant avouer que I'obfcurite de Tertullien comme Ic noirceur de I'ebene jette un grand eclat." It is natural for Balzac to like TertuUian. CHAP. CH. ni.J FROM CARACALLA TO ALEX. SEVERUS. eg CHAP. III. FROM CAR.VCALLA TO THE DEATH OF ALEXANDER SEVERUS. FIRST PORTION OF THE THIRD CEXTURY. WE ftill arc chained to biographic anecdotes, few general fadls oc- curring in thefe times on which to fix our retroJpeSilve glafs, through which indeed the Goths are feen dividing on each fide the Wcfcr, then Vifurgis ; and called Ei2/?phalians and Jf^phalians for that caufc — while the Jews clofcd the book they called the Talmud, and Chriftians openly and without fear celebrated the day the Saviour of our world was bom. Of politics, as of an art, little can be predicated, while to the care of one mind only the great and general whole wa« (ccn committed. Mankind had hitherto been Influenced to good or ill chiefly by the example ict them by their rulers,* on whofe imme- diate fiat all depended ; nor did the bcft among them fpend much time in making laws which the next fovcreign's lips could on the Inftant abrogate or confirm. The lex talionts was their bed ftandard of moral rcAitude ; and when Auguftus, fupping with a fenator, had feen him enraged againft a flave for breaking one of the glaflcs that they drank out of, he watched how far paflTion would lead the man, refolved to make him fufFcr the next day, and fee how he fhould like retaliation. But when the poor flave was flung out of the window by his matter's order, the Emperor chofe not to go fo far, but fcnt an officer early the • Cafiiodonit. two bimdred and fifty years after tfih period, fays, Fadljus errare naturam eft, quam principcin fortnare Rempublicam diffimiiem fibi. H 2 next 00 THE THIRD CENTURY; [ch. iir. next morning to break every glafs in this fcnatorial houfe ; a punifli- -mcnt that makes a modern reader laugh. Nor could Aurelius ma- nage any better, although bis muft have really been a faultlefs charac- ter, could he have prevailed upon himfelf to have fet worthlefs Corn- modus afide. But if he fell in the fnare of fondnefs for his fon, how muft mankind agree in condemnation of mean, felf-interefted Severus' cares, when dying, he advifed his boys to love each other, to revere his memory, to pay their foldiers well, and laugh at all the world bc- fides. Such counfels fure almoft deferved what followed ; when the monfter Caracalla, foon as his father died, purfucd into the weeping widow's arms his brother Geta, whom he murdered there, forcing the affrighted parent not long after into an impious marriage with him- felf; and erafmg every alto relievo in Rome, erefted to perpetuate re- membrance of him who had fhared the pleafures of his childhood. The area degT ortfici remains even now a monument of this unnatural hatred, which the inhabitants of Alexandria, with more indignation than it was prudent to exprefs, ventured to ridicule, and when the Emperor came there in progrefs, CEdipus and Jocafta was aftcd for his entertainment — a jcft, faid he, for which I will foon make their boafted river run red to the fea with blood. Nor was he backward to execute the apparently exaggerated menace : when the next night the theatre was opened, a band of foldiers watched the audience out, and murdered, without fparing age or fex, all who had feen the lucklefs re- prefentation. When it is refleded on, that thefc old theatres held from four to five thoufand fouls at once, we wonder not that fuch tyrannic meafurcs foon taught the terrified fubjc6ls a new leflbn ; they hafted to take out the name of Geta from medals, coins, &c. nay even from the comedies of Terence, fubftituting quickly fome other in its room ; nor dared a private man, making his will, bequeath a legacy to one who bore it. Yet could not Caracalla, though temperate in his diet, and delighting in rough excrcife, drive from his anxious mind the horrors of a wild diftempered fancy : the figure of his father ftill pur- fucd cH. in.] FROM CARACALLA TO ALEX. SEVERUS. 6i fued him, and ftill the figure cried, Omiitafui, nihil expedit. Now, of his brother's partizans and tricnds fell twent}' thoufand in one night at Rome : all who had ever ferved him as domeftics, all houfcs where he ever vifited, were marked ; yet, fplte of all that murder, all that maf- iacre, fome courage and fome virtue yet remained. The floic advo- cate Papinian, commanded to plead in public, and aflert the neceflity of Geta's death, rcfufcd to do fo — offering his head to the executioner, who cut it inflantly away, after having heard him obferve only, that it was cafier for an emperor to commit fratricide than for profeffors of the law to juflifyit. Helvetius Pertinax too, fon of the momentary mo- narch, hearing how the name of Parthicus had been decreed to Cara- calla, for fome advantages gained by grofs treachery over Artabanes, laid, that he thought the appellation Geticus might not be much amifs (there were a barbarous people called the Gets), and for that witti- cifm he w.is content to lofe his life. And now his favourite female was no more, who partly had reftrained this rage for blood ; the lumber- ing dead-cart, as in days of peftilence, knocked nightly at fome fena- torial gate, demanding vidims to his fell revenge ; who, after burning Ariftotle's books, and putting down all fchools throughout the em- pire ; after having long deferved and fecretly received the title oppofitc to that of Titus, accurfed of all mankind ; was at laft aflaffinated by command of Macrinus the provoft, who fuccceded him, and reigned a year and half. He was lamented by his foldicrs however, who loved a hard hand and a generous purfc, and defpifed effeminacy more than they feared inexorable ftrioffibly it might have been from his caprice of fuffo- cating people with perfumes for fport, that modern ladies in Italy have fuch a dread of fcented powder, and every kind of vegetable Aagrance. Till his 4imc fweets were faftiionable in Rome ; Otho had (b flung perfumes about the chamber, when Nero dined with him, as to endanger his own fafcty from the tyrant who had efteemed him- fclf happy in procuring a fmall phial of this ineftimable odoiu*, per- haps the now well-known otto of rofes, extraded from thofe floweri in the eaft even then. The eating rooms, we know, were ftrewcd with lilies, a very powerful and overbearing fmcll, and they fate with garlands of flowers on their heads at fupper, throwing them into the bowl of wine for frolic and convivial merriment. Thofc luxuries were driven down into fatuity by the weak head of MllyVS^ fancying they worlhipped 6re moA fervently in e»ld countries; he fays, Cakotta is cold cnoogh ia fomc months ; and that the tradition of a warrior bard, named Antarah, expiring upon a high mountain in Arabia, for want of warmth to drive the blood along, proves they lud caufe cnoi^gh for lamentation, when Tliam- min, or the fun, kept out of light. Vol. I. I childifli 66 . THE THIRD CENTURY r [ch. iit. Ghildifli Heliogabalus, who, whilft his cooks "invented a new faucc, more to the tafte of the mad girls, his gay companions, forced them to live on that they fent up laft, and faw that the command w^as obeyed even to rigour. Till tired, at length, with repeating tales true and falfe, concerning the marriage of this painted minion, who certainly did at the altar wed in a female drefs his own he-Have, ono Hieroclcs, who was called publicly the Emprefs's hufband, by whom they faid he was contented to be beaten too, that the wife's character might be completely a6led ; they mafl^cred the effeminate voluptuary one day, under whofe horfe's feet they had flrewji filver dull fome weeks before, that he might tread more foftly. With him his mother Soemis was killed, who held her darliiig clafpcd in her faithful arms, when the indignant foldiery, enraged at hearing he defigned to take his coufm's life, young Alexander j fet him upon the throne, and finiflied the fanatic revels of defpicable fuperftition,^ by tying the filly prieft and deity together, and throwing them into Tyber, where the black {lone fimk the fair youth at once ; leaving their common name to fwim along the ftream of time, with that of Sardanapalus their countryman, who died nine hundred or a thoufand years before. HeK icus, the great theological profeflbr, fays„ that the Targum of Je- rufalem was compiled about this time ; but Scaliger fets it earlier, and 1 fuppofe his is the leaft controvertible authority ^ he tells us, the Targumifls vnght have fecn Jefus Chrifl: — if fo, we are a century too forward here. The Targum was a coUetSion of Chaldee para^ phrafesoa the Old Tcllamcnt, of which Fourmont has given a very curious cxtradl ; but RctroJ^eCl'ion- cannot turn afide, where learning calls, though loudly ; our little book muft gather common occur- rences as it ruflics on, and ftraws will flick fometimes inflead of pearls. Meanwhile Baden was built in Germany, either by Septimius Severus, father to Caracalla, who had received benefit from the warm bathing there ; or clfe by Alexander, kinfman, countryman, and fucccfTor to Elagabalus. Thefe Syrian princes attraded the notice of a Roman camp en. iii.J FROM CARACALLA TO ALEX. SEVERUS. t37 camp fixed at Emefa ; and as they were nephews to Julia Domna, mother of murdered (Jcta, were deemed wortliy of the imperial purple, wiiich fcldom descended on in the fame family for any length of time. The emperors had fcldom fons to live, or if they 3iad, fome accident almofl perpetually intervened, that caufed fuc- -ccflion fbll to change its courfe,and this AOtary of foft Adonis was now •no more. Thofe then who are fkilled in the flrangc mcchanifm of the ■human mind, and tell us that every man, popularly fpcaking, would Tather be called rogue than fool, may, from the horrible portraits -prcferved in this lafl chapter, deduce an obfcrvation not unlike it. 'Tis that the world fecms to have felt more offence at having been, though but awhile, made miferably fubfcr\icnt to tlie grofs appetites of brutal V^itcllius, the \*ild caprice of mad Caligula, or the depraved wantonncfs of a wicked boy, their lait contemptible ruler, than they appeared to feel under the iron fccptrc of timid and inhuman Domi- tian ; or when the floutefl heart palpitated with apprchcnfion under the fanguinary reign of Caracalla, who, after his death, was quietly enrolled among the gods, whilfl: his young fucceflbr was tofl into the river, as loathfomc Vitellius had been long before. Like him too was he followed by an exemplary prince, whofe purity of manners needed no contrafl to fet off its whitencfs ; on this luminous fpot the eye of Retrofpe6l'ton refls delighed, and fees at length a worthy charac- ter gracing the feat where fate the half ccleftlal Aiitonincs ; but Alex- ander Severus modeflly declined a name no mortal fliould he faid pre- iiimc to accept, but who had firft def'erved it. The carlicft flep taken by him for that good purpofc, was to fcparatc tlic male and fcmaltr bathers — a mcafure fet on foot by Domitian, and perfcded, in fpite of rcfiflancc from the fcoficrs, by Adrian's defirc of polifhing his people. Till time of Elagabalus they had been kept apart ; and his time was but fhort. All his extravagance, and all his folly, was compreflcd within the fpacc of three years and ten months at moft, from his ri- iliciUous entry into the city with his idol, to the blcft day, when the 1 2 Prastorian 68 THE THIRD CENTURY; [ch. m. Praetorian bands refcued his virtuous coufin from fears of execution, and invefted him with the fupreme command. His next care was to throw down the indecent ftatucs fet up by his lafcivious predeccflbr, particularly one of exquifite workmanfhip and coloflal fize, reprcfent- ing Volupia trampling Virtue under feet. An old Greek Jupiter and Leda was preferved, becaufe of its uncommon excellence and fmaller fize ; 'twas taken care of once again when Attila facked Rome, and carried to Venice, where the tale was told me. An hofpital was now fet up, the firft upon record, like our Afylum, meant to prefers-e the children of poor people from any neceffity of their proftitution. Mam- maea the queen mother, was made prefident — happy if her fon's pious gentlenefs had carried filial confideration no further, than to have fur- nilhed her with means of doing good : but to her avarice he yielded fomewhat, and to her ambition facrificed himfelf, repudiating at her command the lady he propofed to marry, and never taking to himfelf another wife, for fear of giving her a moment of uneafmefs. Women bore immoderate fway in Syria, where to refufe the fex regard, was confidered as an offence to heaven. Masfa and Soemis had been ad- mitted to councils of ftate in the preceding reign, and that Mammasa might be flopt from requiring pubUc honours, the Emperor loaded her with private emoluments ; while ferious fludy or elegant arts di- vided the days and nights of this praifeworthy Prince, who fought, as it fhould feem, to refcuc human nature from the difgraccs brought upon it by his coufm. His talents fcconded his application, and he was eminently ficilful in painting, fculpture and architedlure ; yet, ever ready at the call of war, he faced revolting provinces with a<5tive va- lour, and by dint of a difciplinc worthy Fabius or Fabricius, his camp rcfembled a well-regulated city, till by redudlion of Ctefiphon and other diilrijfts in the eaft, the Roman empire certainly refumed, with a falfc Ihow of priftine virtue, a fliort but fallacious hope of fpreading to its ancient limits. Imitating, though diftantly, his admirable condud, we fee his generals, like himfelf, ^ idorious : Celfus drove back the Mauri- tanians CH. III.] FROM CARA.CALLA TO ALEX. SEVERUS. 69 tanians in Afric, and Palmatus returned with conqucfl fioin Armenia ; but all except himfelf were weary of pradifingfelf- denial. The Ro- mans had been temperate in old times, becaufc they could not be liixu- rious ; but opulence like theirs is antidote to virtue, and it was to make their court alone, that individuals had, under the Antonines, prcferved a ihow of it. Their ruler's fteady reditude fprung from a nobler fource ; brave, chartc, and merciful, he fet the beft example to his fubjeds ; he ftopt all pcrfccution of the unoffending Chriilians, and though a poly- theiil by profcffion, kept a pi<5lurc of our Saviour always in his clofet, a crucifix at his bed's head ; but better far than all exterior reverence, he kept the divine precept, which he delighted to repeat. Do ye to others as ye would lurje others do to you, not only in his lips but in his heart; not only in his heart, but in his adions. Upon this great, this go\ ern- ing principle, the youthful monarch vsas firft to refufe the fla\ ifli homage pra'cd them ; rcfolying however, that if they did wrong, he would at lead do right : this amiable, this incomparable charadcr, fct his doors open both in camp and town, nor feared the cenfurc of obfcrving eyes upon a life fo blamclcfs. To him virtue proved, not- withftanding, no invulnerable fliicld. From the rough violence of in- fulting foldicrs, Ulpian, the upright counfcllor of his youth, vainly fought ihcltcr for his venerable age under his maftcr's robe, whither, purfued by cruelty inveterate, he at the laft retired to die, pierced by a thoufand wounds ; in vain wrapt round by the now, no longer facrcd purple. When rank fcdition next appeared abroad, encouraged by this ill-dcfcr\cd fuccefs againftan honeft, rough, but ufeful miniftcr, it was to attack the Emperor himfelf He received the tumultuous, not ur.cx- pcdcd joar, fitting on a temporary throne w ithin his tent ; and for a moment the cfTcd appeared to juftify his confcious intrepidity, (^iti- zcns! cried he, unworthy the name of foldicrs: Citizens, I fay, dc/lll, and 70 THE THIRD CENTURY ; [ch m. and go back peaceably this moment. The Prastorian legion Ihouted : rcfervc your fhouts, faid Alexander undliiT»aycd, for vidtory over our common enemies ; me you may deftroy, but never fliall intimidate. Retire, 1 tell you : the impulfe of a cuftomary obedience conquered ; they did retire ; but, in that fame night, under their favourite Maxi- niin's command, returned to kill, by black aflaffination, the hero whom they dared not face, though undefended, when in the fight of open generous day. Thus, by the hand of a vile Goth, whom he had laifcd for pcrfonal courage fhcwn in that German war, fell before tlie town of Mentz, which they were then befieging, the all-accompliflied Syrian of Emefa. Like the palmetto, where bis graceful fliade, well •fung by Thomfon, hangs a high canopy betwixt the teeming earth and burning fun, this gallant leader fhowed his fuperiority only in ads of beneficence to Rome unknown before. Like that fine tree too, round his roots, and under the proted:ion of his fpreading boughs, grew up all poifonous, all baneful weeds, thwarting the ends of his fo fair creation, and leaving him an ornament for futurity to admire, but iiindering immediate ufe from his example. CHAP. CH. IV.} FROM ALEX. SEVERUS TO A. D. 300. CHAP. IV. FROM THE DEATH OF ALEXANDER SEVERUS TO A. D. THE RETREAT OF DIOCLESIAN. THE man who fcU'd this cedar of Mount Lebanon ; the fpoilcr before whofe grafp laded this bright rofe of Damafcus ; the gigantic Thracian who fuccecded him, is called by all his hillorlans an ufurpcr, I guefs not why. Where no hereditary fucceffion is cftab- lilhcd, a man may feixc the foverclgnty by force, or procure it by arti- fice, or as Dldius Julian did, purchafc it with money ; but it is not cafy to fee how he can ufurp it. Maximin was made emperor by thofc licentious foldlcrs, who were become fo radically corrupt, that tyranny alone could reftrain them ; for young Scvcrus's exemplary virtue had only Ikinncd and filmed the ulcerous place, which on his death broke out again directly. Not only members of the army were become vi- tiated by thofc immenfe donations which, fince Aurellus, had been lavilhed on them by each new candidate for public favour ; but every rank in Rome partook the infcdion. Females fought guilty methods to avoid being mothers, and men difgraced their own fcx by effemi- nacy, till they became objcds of juft abhorrence to the other. Whilft the mornings of rich people, no longer fpcnt in ftudy or improvement; were confumcd in riding up and down the flrcets, at rifk of breaking their empty heads upon the pavement ; not in the fame manner as our I^ondon youths gallop along liond-ftrcet or Piccadilly, dreffcd like their grooms, but with a long train of domcftics after them, that fcarcc was the cook Iclt at home to get dinner, fays the fatirical hiftorlan, or the buffoon to prepare ucw jokes for gracing of the fcaft. Thig bright 7i THE THIRD CENTURY; [ch. iv. bright example was foon followed by ladies, who hurried from houfe to houfe in open litters, with a deformed groupe of antique eunuchs round them, returning late to drefsfor the evening fliow, where public dancing was fo prized by them, that when, for fear of famine, fo- reigners were ordered fuddenly to quit the city, three thoufand were detained by the nobility, as having parts to perform in a new ballet. The foldicrs were no lefs difpofed to grofs voluptuoufnefs. From a new fovcrcign they were in expedation of new largciTcs, and when handfuls of gold were to be thrown amongft them, he wiiofe vaft palm was moft capacious beft fuited their idea of merit ; but the perfeSiioJis that are placed in hones and nerves, amaze the vulgar only, and amaze them, only for a moment. Two years and a half ended the reign of Maximin the wreftler, who fearful of nothing himfelf, fported a while with the terrors of mankind ; and as he, waking, could have overthrown any feven men at once, and broken a horfe's thigh by one ftroke of his foot, the fly aflaflins ftole upon him fleeping, and gave his body up to dogs and beads of prey : while the Senate, juftly aftiamed of fuch a ruler, caufed the two Gordians to be eleded in his (lead. Defcended from the Gracchi by their father's fide, the people yvillingly fupported their pretenfions, whilft every regiment in Roman pay, took pleafure to relate how the mother of old Gordian was grand- daughter to immortal Trajan, a name ftill dear to all. Fadlion and fury, however, deprived the world of thefe commanders in lefs than forty days. The fon fell in the field, covered with countlcfs wounds ; the father, feventy-fix years old, I think, unwilling to fee more forrow, killed himfelf leaving two others, equally impotent patricians, to dif- pute the prize of momentary power. Yet perilous, as we fliould at this diftance, feeing b^t with Ret rojpe Niton's eye, deem the fad (late of thofe who ftood, as it were, on tiptoe, with wild hafte to watch into whofc hands the imperial fway ftiould fall : Pupienus and Balbinus were (6 cameft, each to retain the whole without participation, that both were maflacred, in three wxeks time, by the Praetorian bands, who, viewing CH. IV.] FROM ALEX. SEVERUS TO A. D. 300. 73 viewing their mean quarrels with almoft merited contempt, took up another Gordian upon their flioulders from college, where he was placed b)' the dead uncles to finifli his education. About this time Buda began, but not under that name, to difplay her growing graces ; they now adorn the fine hill which overlooks the Danube, in that moft beautiful part of its courfe between Hungary and Turkey ; while the inhabitants perfift in faying Buda jugo, Vcnetae pelago, Florentia cam- po ; and travellers fay they are right. 'Tis now called Offen, I be- lieve, a fort of fuburb 'tis to the great town, as South wark to London, or Pcra to Conilantinople ; and in thefc warm pools which there receive waftc water from the warm baths, I'm informed that many forts of fifli live and grow fat, confirming Mr. Brucc's affertion which, when he publifhcd it firlt, revolted fo many readers. Herodian here concludes his hillory, and Dion Caffius ends with his own confulfliip, after which he confidercd all as of flight importance : like Cicero, who eager to be- gin his own exploits, propofcd writing his narration backward from the time in which they were performed. The Roman commonwealth in- deed, and thofe of Greece, which I will call contemporary dates ; as Pericles and Giriolanus flourifhed the fame year : like clumps ftrcwed over an immcnfc large park, break in fome meafure the tedious uni- formity, and fcnx to attrais Britannka, built fhips, and befieged Boulogne-fur- Mer, the new-born daughter of our natural enemy: dis- gracing his heroifm with cruelty however, the Britons fet up Afcle- piodotiis againil him. He fet his forces down encamped near Lon- don, w hich was defended then by Livius Gallus, a Roman general, whom the new-made Duke of Cornwall killed, and threw into the running ftrcam, from him called Gallus' Brook or JVaUhrook. Speed places this event in A. D. 22R, but Ifaacfon, from Cooper, fets it ear- Kcr. Scotland, befide, was filled with flrange occurrences. Athirco, the prince, violated all laws of hofpitality, by forcibly carrying off with him, next day, the two daughters of Natholocns, a dependent noble, who had entertained one night the chieftain at his caflle : hut who, feeling no difpofition to forgive the infult offered to his houfe, rclxlled immediately ; and having driven his antagonifl to fuicidc, fii/ed on the power himfelf; and killed fb many of thofc Thanes that adhered to Athirco, that a furioon a pike, the better to fecurc pardon from the conqueror, who lived not indeed to enter his capital, though by his order the hottcft pcrfecution ever feen w as begun there, infomuch that Nicephorus fays the crowd of martyrs grew fo truly im- menfc, that fand on the fca-lhorc might a* cafily have been numbered. * Srpe facia* inc«M do it often : preiide many limes over this amufcmcnt. St. 78 THE THIRD CENTURY; [ch. iv. St. LawTcncc's fupcrlor torments and conftancy give him peculiar claim for diftindlion ; the gridiron's form on which he fuffercd, is at this day perpetuated in -the Efcurial palace at Madrid. Meanwhile the Roman empire paflcd fwiftly through the hands of the two Decii, Prifcus, Valcns, Gallus and Volufian — who fccmcd vying with each other in cruelty towards our brethren, on whofc ob- ftinate denial of iheir gods and goddeffcs, was now charged all the mifery of Rome — war, famine, peftilence, and dread of utter ruin from the barbarous nations, vainly bought off by Galhis with difgrace- ful gifts ; and ftill returning frcfli to the attack, armed with new powers, and eager for new plunder. Civil commotions too fhook the metropolis, which, in the bofom of voluptuous folly, was enduring all the horrors of a conteft caufed by iEmilianus's revolt. It was not then that the exhaufted ftate required copious bleeding : Montefquieu fays how fuch internal broils llrengthen the nerves of government, and tells how people accuftomed to difpute at home, become forfooth invincible abroad. This dodlrine men are preaching while I write ; but the precept is dangerous and fallacious: Montefquieu meant a young ftatc, not an old one. Our firft King James (I have read) was feized with an ague in the clofe of life ; and feeling low-fpiritcd at death's approach, fome cour- tiers reminded him of a proverb ufcd in England ; and, Oh ! faid thev, your Majefty muft recoiled, that an ague mfpring h ph\jic for a king. — Aye, but the adage meant a. young king, replied the expiring mo- narch. The event in both thefe cafes is the fame. Whilft one half of the Roman fubjeds, i|i all parts of the empire, were diligently rutting the throats of the other half — many falling upon religious uccovmts — and thofe who cared not about piety were contending for power ; their helplefs emperor, the once tyrannic Va- lerian, ferved the Perfian prince Sapores for a footftool, whence every day he mounted his horfe : till, tired with aflerting this uncontefted privilege, he flayed the wretched prifoner yet alive, and llrcwing with fait, revenged unconfcioufly on his pampered body, the agonies he CH. IT.] FROM ALEX. SEVERUS TO A. D. 300. 79 be had delighted to intlid on Chriltians. The Roman empire next faw itfclf Iplit and ruled by thirty tyrants, who could not however protedl the limits of dominion, while each feparate general fought for himfelf, not fot his undone country — and the bold Oftrogoths fpoiled all Bi- thynia, loading thcmfelvcs with treafures of which they could not comprehend the value — nor fcemed to know, while they were wafting Macedonia, that in that country had been born the fovcrcign of the world. Gallicnus meantime, a fenfual prince, held the flight reins of go- vernment at home, and feemcd (whilft flavery from mere habit mi- niftcred to his pleafures) fo little difturbcd by what had chanced abroad, that he gave himfelf wholly up to gay voluptuoufncfs, making, as Shakefpear (iiys, his lofs hi? fport ; and fenfelefsly delighting to hear his name recorded with that of Commodus, his model. Let him not lofe his well-acquired fame ; 'tis to the fkill of Gallicnus that we owe the firft good plan of a fine hot-houfc, icc-houfe, and confervatory* — but the rough Goths hindered its execution. And now, difguftcd with the fight and hearing of fuch ill-timed, fuch furfeiting abfurdity; which, not confined to courts or palaces, fprcad among all the ranks of men at Rome — Paul, the firft hermit on record, retired ; fled from focic-ty of human kind, and living in a dcfcrt upon herbs and fruits, gave rife to the idea of obtaining favour from God, by voluntary exile from the company of thofc whodebafed their nature, and contradicted their rcafon ; refufing the oflrred mercies of a Redeemer too, and dc- flroyingthc cfltds, fo far as in them lay, of his fo great falvation. On this example afterwards were founded monaftic orders — within our ow-n rcmcnbrancc nearly innumenible ; and fubjcft, for that caufcand many others, to inconceivable abufcs. Meanwhile the hierarchy held • I b»»c read fomewhere, that Alexander l)iiJ the fecret of cooling his liquors by ice, while be was in India, thougli Pliny Ipcaks of it as new in Nero's time, and fays that emperor boiled water firft, that it might freeze the caficr. If Alexander was acquainted with ice, what could the flory mean of the fpring Nicotris, whofc waters were fo cold thry buift all veflels but a mule's hoof??? firm 80 THE THIRD CENTURY; [ch. ly. firm within the church, and copes and holy veftments now adorned it; though various herefies difgraced thefe early times of Chrlftianity, when tares were fown which yet perplex the. field. An enemy, our Saviour told us, was the planter ; he faid they fhould grow up along with the good corn, and who knows but that the harvell may be hard at hand. — But we're engaged not to anticipate, our bufmefs is with RetroJpeSiion ; nor muft lofe fight of the vafl Gothic irruptions which at the hour we treat of, more frequent and in fuller tides, rolled o'er the habitable globe, amazing all, but chiefly overwhelming Peloponae- fus and its contiguous claffic countries. Athens and Argo ; Sparta, Thebes, Dodona ; theatre of glory, virtue, valour, elegance : confe- crated fcenes ! where Plato taught, where Sappho fung ; where Phidias gave to their refemblances in marble fo warm an animation, fo difcri- minating a charafter, they hoped from him a fecond immortality. But from this flood of barbarifm, far worfe than that which their Deucalion and Pyrrha were fabled to furvive — not even Jiones efcapcd. The temple of Ephefus, one of the feven wonders of the world, was burned in this confufion ; and by a pillar which may be fccn at Pifa yet, its general merit may in fome meafure be cflimated. But when the un- feeling north poured forth her wafle inhabitants, and bid them roam for prey, rcgardlcfs of the ruin left behind : onward they prefs'd in countlefs multitudes, unconfcious Ihoals ; as when old Ocean half acquires folidity from life that flirs within ; bringing, at flated times, innumerable fifli down from the fertile Baltic, to be lofl in that capa- cious aggregate of waters that clafp around the fouthern continent — fo burfl thefe Goths and Vandals on mankind, fparing no place, no fex, no age, and no opinion. The dragon then indeed difgorged a flood out of his mouth to deflroy the woman, well reprefenting our Chrif- tian church, but the earth helped the woman, as St. John faw in his Apocalypfe ; and that religion meant to be fwept away, efcapcd the violence ; ftrengthening in fpitc of oft repeated blows, profpcring in fpite of oft repeated plunder. Councils had long been held, and fome few years before, under the papacy CH. IV.] FROM ALEX. SEVERUS TO A. D. 300. si papacy of Anterus, a Grecian martyr, had been made the rule oftranf- lating from one biflioprick to another, after the example of St, Peter, who (faid he) we know refided -firil at Antioch. Yet modern Ro- manics aiTert their church to be the very carl'teji on record — Strange, wilful ignorance, or inconfiilency. Claudius meantime, a bold Dalma- tian, who fuccecdcd to the diflblute Gallienus, found bufmcfs enough to employ all his thoughts, without difturbing others in their worfliip. Trcbellius PoUio tells us how h'ts general, fo juftly furnamcd llSior, flew in one day by ftratagem and war three hundred thoufand Goths, near Luats Beftams, now Logo dl Carda, in Italy. That the man himfelf died of the plague there, is much Icfs incredible ; fuch ilaugh- tcr muft have infedcd the air. Renowned Aurelian next invefted with the purple, foon proved how well plebeians might deferve it : his mercantile cxtradion, and inordinate love of wealth, prompted him to gild the firft, and difplay the power of the fecond. Orleans yet ftands a monument of his munificence — 3. golden city ftill, and ftill preferv- ing his name who built it — y/z/rleian ^«/vlian. It has perhaps in thcfe later ages given title to the bcft and worft of all the princes pro- fefllng Chrirtianity, But Rome was not forgotten ; he compafs'd hef round with a w all fifty miles in circuit ; he numbered the people, re- formed grofs abufes, pardoned with unexampled greatncfs of mind his rival Tctricus, and fubducd the rebel Zenobia by his gcncrofity, after ha\ing triumphed over her armies by his fuccefs. 'Tis faid her having figncd her own name Jtr/} in letters that paft between them, was the original and dccp-featcd caufc of Aurelian's rancour, though it appears to our eyes on RetroJ}>e^'ion, that there was no need of aggravation after fhc hadcrcftcd an independent throne, and called herfclf folemnly Queen of the Eafl. In times of refinement however, as there arc more >-ain men than intcrcflcd ones in the world, incivility produces ftronpcr avcrfion than docs injur}- : among favages there is no offcMice but a blow, and among mere monicd people, no offence but a lob- bcry. Vol. I. L Ti* 82 THE IIIIRD CENTURY; [ch. iv. 'Tis told by fomc hiftorians how, when he would have figned an edidt for perfecutlng the Chrlfllans, his uplifted hand was prcterna- turally arreftcd : happy had fuch been the fate of that traitor's arm who bafcly aflailinated this gallant fovcreign, able to govern with dig- nity and wifdom, although with rigour and roughnefs — a world fo turbulent, and fubjcds fo corrupt : a general — who had driven the invading Franks from before the gates of old Ravenna, and in the courfe of many vidories, had killed by his own perfonal prowefs nine hundred enemies of Rome. Longinus, now infpired by the mufes, wrote criticifm with poetic fire ; and Porphyry coUeded with fuch fpider-like diligence every argument againft our faith, that no enemy fmce his time has been able to find a new one— Deftroy their fib and fophiftry, in vain. The creature's at his dirty work again. Nor has the old cobweb, firft well faftencd by this adhefive tormentor, been ever (we muft avow) completely fwept away. But Tacitus and Probus next for awhile detain the retrofpeillve eye ; as by their indefa- tigable efforts they checked the progrefs of approaching ruin. Cams, Carinus, Dioclefian too, delay our advance from thefc far diftant pe- riods, by their fplendour; while Gibbon, whofc fcruples of incredulity never perplex him, when dilating upon the favourite theme of Pagan virtue or of Pagan greatnefs, believes implicitly that the whole furni- ture of that prodigious cokiflTco, which he himfelf has feen, and known to be 584 feet long, and 487 broad, was of folid gold, filver, and am- ber ; that a belt ftudded with precious ftones, divided there one rank from another, reaching all round it, as do the boxes in our Englifli theatres ; that nets to keep off the wild beafls were of gold wire, and that a filken canopy was drawn over the top to fhade performers and fpedators from the fun. This may be true, but nothing in Scripture is fo hard to believe ; becaufe filk fold for its own weight in gold, when Aurelian, who denied his Elmprefs a robe of it as too coftly, led queen Zenobia. CH. IV.] FROM ALEX. SEVERUS TO A. D. 300. 86 Zenobla through the ftrects in triumph.* Tacitus, the hiftorian, in- deed, does mention "uejlis ferka, and Mr. Murphy tranflates it into filk apparel ; but I tancy that muft have meant thin muflin, vejl'ts homhy- c'nuz rather ; unlefs 'twas gauze ; for Mr. Murphy fays in a note, that Seneca ccnfured the Roman ladies for wearing tranfparent drefles, and he knows pcrfedly that fxik is not tranfparent ; he knows too, that EngUfhwomen, in his own time, rejcd:cd filk clothes, becaufe they were not fufficiently voluptuous or tranfparent, fubftituting muflins of cotton fubftance in their ilead. As to the belt ftudded with precious ftoncs, I doubt whether the diamond mines of South America, then un- difcovercd, could have fumifhed it. Baltheiis in gemm'ts, et in litaporticiis auro, is to me no proof ; the poet would have faid with Prior — OdtTs my life, muji oiufvoear to the truth of a Jong P Befides that, modern Ita- lians have a way of calling many ftones gems, to which our Englifti annex no fuch idea. Jafper, granite, pavonazzo, and carnelion ; nor'arc the writers of Auguftan hillory fcrupulous, as it appears, when relating the follies or gaieties of the moment. Who can believe their talc, that Elagabalus built a lofty tower, whence to throw himfelf in cafe of an attack : w hen we all know the creature reigned not four years in all ; and of them furely was not in fear from rival power four months, during which time no fuch high fabric could have been conilruAcd ; and they cover the ftcps with gold and pearls too ; they coft us authors nothing. If any fuch tower ever did exift, it was a toy, I fancy, fit for an emperor of fourteen years old to play with. The very extraordinary- donative and fhow prefented to the Roman people by Probus, appears lefs improbable, when he tranfplantcd two hundred forcft trees into the vaft arena ; then turning loofc to frolick in their ihadc one thoufand fallow deer, one thoufand boars, and half ax many oilricbcs, with many tropical birds from Africa, threw the ♦ Vopifcui fay» fo. L 2 doors 84 THE THIRD CENTURY. [ch. iv. doors open to permitted plunder, and diverted himfelf hy feeing all fuddcnly devoured, and fwept away by an impetuous populace. Some- thing of the fame fpirit of amufement fubfifted fmce my time in Italy, and called Coccagna. A light fcaffold is not feldom, even now, erefted on a holiday at Florence or Bologna ; and lambs, calves, kids, cakes, loaves, fruits, &c. placed on its Ihelves, adorned with ribbons, flowers, &c. on a fignal given, in burft the mob ; and 'tis the fport of more elegant fpedators to fee the havock that they make, all in a moment. When Heliogabalus made a Coccagna, he fet up for pillage, fat oxen, camels, horfes, aifcs, flags : The Auguftan hiftory {ays, fervos, fervants ; but Salmafius wifely thinks they were not Jlavcs, but rather cenws, deer. 1 have feen a print of this diverfion in a houfe fomewhere in the weft of England. We have no entertainment of that kind, unlefs the fud- den carrying off what was provided for our King's dinner at Weft- mlnftcr-hall, after the coronation, may be called fuch : or the taking of PockUngton Ifland, upon Derwent-water-Lake, which every 28th of Auguft may be feen covered with boats and barges for a mock at- tack upon the little fort, raifed by its generous proprietor on the morning when he puts his ramparts in a ftate of defence, with barrels of ftrong beer, hams, and pieces of beef for a while, then fuffers all to be ftormed and plundered for the amufmg of his rich neighbours, and for benefiting his poor ones ; furrendering the caftle, after fix o'clock, at difcretion of the ladies, for whom a ball and fuppcr is prepared. But Dioclefian's ads recall us back to Rome, where, hav- ing defeated all his competitors, extirpated the Quingentiani legion, and made a horrible flaughter of the Goths in Pannonia, found leifure to fet on foot the fierceft perfecution againft Chriftianity which its profeffors had till then endured. 'Twas he too inftituted or approved the method of outlawing his fubjeds accufed of this perfuaiion, fo that juftice could always be had againft them — never for them : a Chiiftian's evidence was not to be accepted ; nor had they any protec- tiott CH. IV.] FROM ALEX. SEVERUS TO A. D. 30O. 85 tion trom fociety ; whence, hunted now in every fhape from every- place, throughout tlie empire, he deftroyed hundreds at once ; whole clurters and communities, fired like to nefts of vermin or of infedls^ and tortured individually befide ; by governors willing to delight the Emperor's fancy, encouraging in him falfe hope of their poffible cx- tindion. Chriftians were now fcarce to be feen by day, during which hour the catacombs and manfions of the dead concealed their pious fervour : while Caius, a pope nearly related to Dioclciian himfelf, re- doubled his attention to keep within bounds of necciiary prudence, that fpirit which prompted many to provoke the hand of power, and Icck the crown of martyrdom. Perpetual pondering upon one fubjefl will produce fomcthing not unlike infanity : our haplcfs predccelfors meditating in folitude upon thofe nixflerieSy for truth of which they fuffered fo much forrow — ended their round of thought oft times in error ; and wandering in wilder- ncffcs of conjcradical, Rolloch now raifcd its head upon the Var, Jerulalcm was re- pair' d TO CONSANTLNE THE GREAT. 95 pan'dyJiUt mprhicipio was gratefully added to oui gloria pat ri, and the hands of hangmen felt a ioBg repofc. St. Antliony then fearing temp- tation from a new quarter, profperity's warm beam accelerated his depar- ture ; and having coUcded other individuals fcized with the fame pre- fcntimcnt of danger, and the fame notion of efcaping it as 'twere h\ ibrcc — llcw to the defert, where they crccled the firft convent upon re- cord, calling its inhabitants Monks of St. Bafil, but binding them with no voivs. Our Sa\iour's pricept, Sivear not at all, w as as yet frcfli in ca ery Chriftian's memory; the more fo, as he condcfccndcd to give a reafou for his command — bccaufe you cannot, liiys he, make even a hair of your head white or black. The fudden and violent overthrow of convents iu our time proves our Lord's pofition ; men fhould not fvvear unlcf's they knew that they could keep their oaths : for yourfelf you may promifc, but not for another; his power may comjx;! the breach of them. A literal obedience then is bcft and lafeft, S'jocar not at all. Mere mor- tals indeed, without this injundion, might have been cafdy juftified ia thinking, that when they fworc to remain poor they would not have been hindered, and hindered too by them who never wiflied they fhould be rich : — experience, while I am writing, (hews the contrary ; but •we have here to do with RctrnJpc6lion. The church meantime, foon to be ftyl'd the Church of Rome ; refounding w ith mufic and choral fingers, illuminated by day as well as night with gaudy tipers of a thoufand colours, and crouded by ftatues, emblems, pictures and de- vices of various holy men and martyrs, departed this life in true fuith and fear, acquired foon not only ilrcngth but fplcndour, not only fplcndour but a folid opulence, not only opulence but that which fol- lows it — influence ; hardening the potter s day into a firm and fi.xt authority. Living zealots poured their profufc donations on the altar, and dying mifcrs bequeathed to a community the wealth they coi.ld not bear to part with during life, or leave to enrich any individu-J. The general taftc too of times fo propitious to foftnefs and Iuxur\, mfcdcd even the good and wife among us, and gave a tindurc of p(j- l|theilm's 96 THE FOURTH CENTURY ; FROM DIOCLESIAN [ch. v. lytheifrn's ambitious gaiety to fabrics dcftined for the worihlp of aa humble Saviour, who had not while on earth, though all his own, a place where he might lay his facred head. While from fuch fcenes St. Anthony, in pure averfion to their pomp, retired ; under imperial protection now rofe up on every fide majcftic edifices, that vied in all ex- terior ornament with pagan temples — dedicated to tutelary faints be- fide, as they were to fubordinate divinities. Saints who had fung their hymns in hollow catacombs, or wandering houfelefs among barbarous nations, had dillcminated with diligence that faith they were prepared to die for ; propagating the moft dangerous of all truths from the moft dlfintcrcfted of all motives. Among thefe Kebius, fon to a duke of Cornwall, and pupil to Hilary blfliop of Poldtiers, is thought to have given the name of Hilary Point to a protuberance of rock, near Holy- head in Anglefca, ftill called C^itrgyhi by the Welfli inhabitants, mean- ing the camp, or caftle, or refidence of Kebius. Thefe taught a ftrc- nuous rcje,■ 2 fitrnation. lOO THE FOURTH CENTURY ; [ch. v. fignation. Poul comes from Polls, the generic term, as who Ihoulcl fay the c'tly by way of eminence — thus N'lcopoJh, Phillipo/>o/;j, and a hundred more. To this great city then, was fomewhcrc about the year 340 transferred, and carried clear away the imperial throne ; and from that moment may we fafcly date the impoffibillty of Rome's recover- ing the mode or fubflancc of her prlftine fway. Near this Conftan- tinople too died, full of days and honours, her great founder, leaving his rmme for ages to a town which, at the end of eleven CQnturies, we fhall fee renouncing the religion flie received with it. From his death Hkewifc we muft add with forrow, that though future princes faintly oppofed the infults and incroachments which profperous barbarifm continued to repeat, their oppofttlon was too faint and feeble, whilft from the abandoned weft Ihrunk the once fweHing iurge, the pleni- tude of power. Thus, when the fea ebbs on a fandy Ihore, the watchful fifher fcts his mark of Retro/pe£iion ; and if Ibmc bolder billow than the reft is fomctimes feen to wafli up againft the pole, as if indignant at the thought of leaviijg that place dry, which his preceding waves had co- vered ; yet will the experienced mariner inform you, The tide is ^in^ (,:a. CHAR CH. n.] FROM CONSTANTINE TO THEODOSIUS. loi C H A P. VI. FROM CONSTANTINE TO THEODOSIUS, A. D. 40o. THE fucccfles of Conftantlne feduccd Mr. Gibbon to an cpifodc ;. his death irrcfiftibly draws me into a digrcflion. Like Balaam, blcfllng^ where he meant to curfe, that great hiftorian's book is found of ufe to thofc who defire and arc earned to deduce the truth of pro- phecy from ancient ftory, as an adverfary's teftimonial can never be fufpccn poffibility of contell; that ftatc has fuf- fcrcd a mod fatal fymptom, and her deftrudion cannot be far otT. His doArinc of the out-fpread lubarum, or iacred ftandard, iiiid to be difplayed before the following eyes of highly favoured Conftantinr , and deeply venerated by all primitive Chrillians, evince the antiq\iity of that form of words yet ufcd by our Anglican church in baptifni, when we promifc manfully to fghl under kis banner who rfciccincd us; on which I truft was fccnthc^w of the Son of Man, which will appear 102 ' THE' FDURTH CENTURY} ' : [ch. vi, a'^pcar pgaln before his fccond coming. Vide St. Matthew, chap. xxiv. verfc 30. The red cro/'s, the crofs of Chrill, dipt in his facrcd blood, glows on our Britifh ftandards Hill. Atheifts and infidels ftrike to it as yet ; Oh, may we never defert it !: The words rarw nxa, hoc v'mcc however appeared on the myflic colours, flicwn in a dream to Con- ftuntine : he told Eufebius the tale himfclf ; Eufebius faw the banner that was made from his defcription of it, but fays not in what lan- guaf^e the encouraging fcntence was written. Fabricius tells us, 'twas in Greek-^^as that was the Emperor's native tongue, it fcems moft likely that it fliould be fo : Philoftorgius fays, the words were hi Imc Jfgno v'lnces — hi tlihjigii thou Jhalt conquer ; but he faw it not, and perhaps only means himfelf Xo tranjlate the fentcncc, not to copy it. .Whether the fign was an illuminated crofs, as one would think by Conftantine's placing one near every ftatue ercAcd to him in his life- time, or whether the Chriftian's monogram,* with which the Em- peror was well acquainted, having doubtlefs worne one about his per- fon in his youth, much as the royalifts of France, in 1 794, carried in their pockets feals or tobacco-ftoppcrs, wherein were concealed effi- gies of their murdered prince, is not decided. — XPISTOS being Chr'tji in Cilreek, the firfi: followers of our Saviour took the two firft letters of the name, and ftriking the fccond through the firft, made out this little cypher y incomprchenfible to heathen examination ; for Jortin fays, that many martyrs, who never, in days of perfecution, thruft themfclvcs forward to offend the civil power on purpofe, fuffcred death, when called ujwn, better than thofe, who to obtain fome no- tice from the government, rufhed againft torments, which in the hour oi agony they flirunk from. This is natural, and Jefus feems on all occafions to prefer a fearing to a prcfumptuous difciple, Peter, who promifed loudeft, was firft of all the eleven to deny his Mafter. 3ut we return to our fummary. Lake Conftance, and the pretty * Tianfversa litcia x fumnio capitc cixcunifle^o Cluifto in fcutis notat. town CH. VI.] FROM CONSTANTINE TO TULODOSIUS. ] o-j town upon its borders, built in Switzerland, perpetuates the name ot" our great Ibvercign's ehiejl fon — the word Pagan, yet in common ufc, records a pradicc of Conftantius the yo«;/^^r fon, who, when he firfl caihiered his heathen foldiers, quartered them upon the villages, Pdgi, and thus the appellation fpread from them to all who diflentcd from the legal and authorized church, preferring the old mode of pol) theifm. Cad'ars were in the days wc treat of, and long before* created gene- rals, and conlldered as prefumptive heirs ; and now tiic regular di\ i- fiou had taken place, and the two brothers fliarcd the world's troubles, rather than its dominion between them. A proof that real power was no longer concentrated, as once under one head, may be produced in the numberlefs Imperators, Caefars, Domnii as they were llyled fince Dioclefian's reign. Mwrarchy, properly fo called, was fading olF, and a way paving fall for the new method by which mankind, weary of early and fimplc inftitutions, viibed to be governed. Meanwhile a ilrong concuflion of the earth, at Nicomedia, added to an cclipfe of the- fun, which quickly followed, with llorms of unequalled hail, made many think that the laft day was coming, although St. Paul's Epillles had aflurcd us, that Jntl-Chrijl muft firft appear on earth ; that Man of Sin, who as God, fitteth in the temple of God, lliewing himfelf that he is God ; and although good Ladantius bid them wait with patience the expiration of the next two thoufand years, from Chrift's appearance in the flclh until his coming again in glory. This lulV opinion, held by the early church, originated probably I'rom St. Peter's quotation of king David's words ; how to our Lord one day was as a thoufand years, and a thoufand years as one day ; interring thence, tliat as creation ended with the fiyth, fo would thefe peri«jds of dura- tion alfo, and the fabbatical, or feventlv millenary, be that of our Savi- our's viftblc reign on earth. Two thoufand years were certainly allot- ted for obedience to the moral fenfe, and for conviction to fueh as flioiikl come after, that this fame moral fenfe or law of reafon was infullieieiit. Tbcie £ccble fences againft fm and forrow being all fwcpt away at once by -104 THE FOURTH CENTURY; [ch. vi. by the Deluge, mankind had Mofes and the Prophets for a guide about two thoufand more ; at which time Chrifl appeared, and the gofpcl difpcnfation has now, whilft I am writing, been fo long in force, that one man and his fon both living to the utmoft flretch of permitted exiftence in this fublunary world, may fee that portion of eternity expire, which reafon and prophecy, apoftle and evangclift, feem leading us to confider as -the laji allotted to the ufc of humanity. All this on fuppofition that no mitlakcs are made in that chronology which well we know is moft exceedingly defective ; many years have been devoured and funk dur- ing the dark night of thofc Gothick ages at which our RetroJj)e^io}i peeps, at bcft through cloudy tclcfcopes : when we refled, bcfidc, on the grofs errors entertained by ancients of ihe very firft rate abilities in other fcienccs, fcicnccs of far eaficr attainment, 'twere difficult to be quite fatisfied with their accounts of time. Wild opinions, flrange anecdotes, and almoft inconceivable fads llrewed up and down the Auguftan and Ecclefiaftical Hiftory, might ftagger many a reader. We moderns are however, moft difpofed to fneer at what is related of the Qhr'ifl'ian martyrs, and think it witty to ridicule the idea of throw- ing princcflcs of that perfuafion — virgins, to be deprived of that name by the hangman, if they rcfufed burning inccnfe upon a heathen altar, Venus's for the moft part : although Diana's proccllions at new and full moon were often as great a fnarc. Yet why controvert fo probable an occurrence ! The great Scjanus's daughter, upon her father's fall from imperial favour, was fo fcrvcd, only becaufcy?/^ '■dcas his daughter ; nor could the cradle's fclf provca fure fticlter to the unhappy infant of Ca- ligula. The common punifliments where no religious prejudices were concerned, exceeded far our limited ideas of times in which vice and virtue, fevcrity and fwcetncfs, knowledge and ignorance, were alike gigantic. A gontleman complained in Germany to Aurclian that one of hh officers had violated hofpitality by perfonal infultson the honour of his wife, w ho entertained the General at her houfe — no more was neccflaiy ; this rough commander calling the wrctclicd culprit before him, CH. VI.] FROM CONSTANTINE TO THEODOSIUS. \ob him, had his two feet faftened to the top of two trees forcibly bent to- gether, which being then fuddenly let loofe, tore the criminal afundcr at the moment of recoil. Nor was young Alexander Icfs feverc, when he caufed the fmews of a judge's fingers to be all cut through for taking bribes, and as he had after all given the caufe againft the plaintiiF lady who had bribed him, the final punifhment was fuffocation ; for fmokc he fold, obferved the Emperor, and with fmoke fliould he be paid. A ftake being prepared therefore, furroundcd by wet wood, Taurinus, though of confular dignity, was fallened to it, and fmothercd in hcr's and her protestor's fight. Conftantinc threw fome French- men he had taken near the town of Bonne, in Germany, to be de- voured alive by dogs, for theft and treachery : they defer\ed not, he faid, to die the death of foldiers. But the time was faft approaching when thcfc black clouds were doomed to roll away. The leffer light of human rcafon, fays an admirable preacher, had been long appointed to rule the night of darknefs, doubt, and gloom ; the greater light of revelation's fun was fent at laft to illuminate our clearer day ; and He who fcnt it, made the (lars alfo. Confucius, Epidetus, Plato, (hone but by his pycrmiflion, whilft with acknowledged difficulty, and cau- tious ftcp, their followers {tumbling, trod a narrow path. But Julian the apoftate preferred, upon mature deliberation, the pcrifliablc taper of phibfophical perplexity to the broad light of our revcal'd religion ; his charader arrefts our retro/pe^ive eye, now for the firil time con- templating the imperial purple clothing a difputant in deep theology. A perfon of whom more contrarieties may be recounted than ever lodged in any mind except his own ; a prince, who although pcrfonally va- liant, (hrunk meanly, in his coufin's life-time, from avowal of that re- ligion which he was afterwards ardent to eftablifh, merely bccaufc dan- ger then attended its confcflion ; a man, who although bigottcd to his own opinions, wiibcd not to puniih thofc who dillercd from them ; and i*ho, though all muft own him a ftoic, a foldicr, a fcholar, and a wit, had the ftrangc wcakncis to endeavour at finding out future events, by Vol. I. O marking 106 THE FOURTH CENTURT;--:^ [ch. vr. marking grains of barley with Greek characters, and throVving theni before a fowl to fee which he would pick up, and what words thofc letters left or taken would compofe. A kind of divination had, 'tis true, been praftifed, by confidering, from time immemorial, fomc- times the corns of barley, fometimcs the dong/i or matter of the cakes offered in facrifice : it was called crithomancy. Virgil rcprefentS' Dido as offering up a barley cake in her laft rite, when Chaos, Erebus and Hecate were invoked. This mode of forcery to which Julian was ad- dided, had for its objeft the infernal gods ; for Ceres ftill had influence over Proferplne ; they were to tell who fought the Emperor's life, and he was to fend fuch traitors, when he caught them, fwift to the fliadcs below. Thence the fallacious as magical encouragement he thus re- ceived, determined him notwithftanding, to rebuild the temple at Je- rufalem, and by fo doing fliake our faith to its foundation, which had fo completely in many parts of the empire diflodged his own. That this temple Ihould have been twice deftroyed upon the fame day of the year ; that day the very one upon which Mofes had broken the tables of the law fo many ages paft ; that it was ftill venerated in its annivcr- fary as giving birth to that ever bleffed Virgin who, daughter to David, was made mother to Jefus Chrift, efcaped not the notice of apoftate Julian, well inftruded in the religion he forfook. Inftcad then of re- newing perfecutions againft the profeffors of Chriftianity, he contented himfelf with Ihunning their fociety, laughing at their manners, and pointing them out as objeds of general and deferved contempt ; to in- crcafe which, he employed all his imperial power to prove the fcatter- ing and deflrudion of the Jews merely accidental. Builders and archi- teds in eonftquence began the work of fabrication ; but that ftrange hindrances rofe againfl it (even in the eyes of Pagan fpcdators), nei- ther ancient nor modern infidels deny. Julian, not eafily repulfed, fcnt other men to Paleftine, whence they returned baffled in every at- tempt by volcanic eruptions, that like mafked batteries protedcd the ruin, prohibiting all approach, and rendering it incapable of repair ; a circumftance CH. vi.] FROM CONSTANTINE TO THEODOSIUS. 107 clrcumltancc which became daily more afloiiifliing to the philofophi- tal apoltatc, from confidcration of the neighbouring foil, that as lie well knew contained no fiery particles, nor was ever known to exhibit appearance of being combuftible, except on that occafioru The laugh ran now againft the Emperor, and his projc<3:; polythcifm had loft her charms, and Julian's efforts to rcftore it were in vain : his own ex- ample, although fccondcd by virtuous conduui7tced, and like folly Jho'^s. Our- felvcs have in our own time fecn hifs'd forth tame, honour, excel- lence of every kind from Paris ; when toofoft Lutctia, known by that name in the third century, corrupted funk into her dcftincd quagmire of melting diflblution — unlike the town preferred by Julian above every other for its rough manners and bold honefty. Its then coarfc but courageous inhabitants, formed a ftrong contraft to the voluptuous Syrians, a race the Emperor delighted to (how his fcorn of; purpofcly (hocking the dainty rcfidcnts of Antloch with his phllofophic negli- gence of their long robes and curls, and paint and perfumes ; adopt- ing, in direct oppofition to fuch manners, the uncouth cuftoms of thofc nrzgcd Gauls, which had the territorial appellation of I\iri/ii, receiving Nifitants, petitioners, &c, with uncombed beard, tann'd ik'm, and inky fingers ; but forgetting the good precept nr.jiud uimis. 'Tis curious mcancimc to fee France fet the fafliions even in this early age : flie fets the fafliion ftill. With levity unexampled having in tlicfe laft fifteen \cars been cunfidcrcd by all Eunjpc as a model: firft of gay fplendour and oftentaticjub elegance; next of brutality and ferocious rage; once eminent for loyalty little Ihort of partial fooliflincfs ; then giving the aftoniflied world a fuddcn exhibition of murder, treafon, regicide. May thii^ laft O :; horrible 108 THE FOURTH GENTURYf ' [ch. n. horrible fafhion find no followers ! Could her admirer Julian fee Paris now again, he would again perhaps find out one quality worthy his admiration, namely, her philofophical' apoftacy from that religiorr which he, with as little reafon as herfelf, was prompted to defert. But the charader of this Emperor has carried us too far ; the clofing fccnc is nigh. Sapores, king in Perfia, who called himfelf brother to the fun and moon, had put the Romans to intolerable ftraits, fince death removed his great opponent Conftantine : and warlike Julian now, af- ter menacing our predecefibrs with the fcvcritics they fhould fuffer on his return, fet forward to meet the ftorm which gathered eaftward. Eutropius the hiftorran, who followed him a ibklier, and fought by his fide, faw him fall before the fiege of Ctefiphon, and bears undoubted teftimony to his martial conduA in the field, and to his courageous death in the tent, many hours after the fatal wound was given. But Julian confidered himfelf as going to unite his foul for ever with thofe deities from whom he held it to have been an emanation, and hoped reward for having promoted their fervicc. As a philofopher he could not be an atheift. For our age of reafon, as 'tis falfely called, was finally refcrved renunciation of all future hope ; the confideration of death as an eternal fleep was far from his opinion or belief. Ah! que fauflcment, fauflcmentcourageufe, L'ame doit te trouver afFreufc, Quand le neant eft fon efpoir. Quel efpoir dc ne lien pretendie ! Quel bonheurdc n'cn point aUendrc ! Quel fecoius dc n'cn plus avoir ! Tb moft remarkable perhaps that Julian fhould leave his life upon thofc plains of Dura where Nebuchadnezzar, jufl a thoufand years before, had fet up the famous golden image to Bel or Baal, but reprefenting, I fup- pofe, the fun ; for not adoring which cololTus, the three Ifraelitifli cap- tives were thrown into a burning fiery furnace, and came out thence unhurt, under the vifible protedion of the Son of God, whofe eternal filiation CM. ri.] FROM CONST ANTINE TO TI1E0D0SIU3. 109 filiation was become, three hundred and fixty-fivc years after his appear- ance upon earth, a caufe of fuch perpetual ftumbling to his followers, that the heroic Bifliop Athanafius newly rcflored, after incredible ftrugglcs and vexations, was at length half compelled to lend his name tea new creed, a frefh compilation of articles, a fymbol of belief rtill upon dated days repeated in our church, though he himfelf aflurcd the Empe- ror Jovian w ho fuccecded, that there were creeds enough already. This truly Christian Prince, obliged to make fomewhat difgraceful terms with- haughty Sapor, reigned but afliort time, during which period hailftoncs of enormous fize fell at Conftantinople, while ten cities in Crete were overturned by an earthquake. Upon his death, designed or acci- dental, there is a curious letter from St, Chr)foftome, to the im- perial widow Chariclo, a Grecian lady, faying, that of nine fuccef- fors whom he had known inverted with the purple, two only could have been fuppofed to pay the debt of nature by a common courfe of events. Jovian's demife however, might certainly have happened by ncglc(5l or ignorance of thofe about him, who left a chafing difh or brazier filled with charcoal in the apartment where he flept : thus making way for Valens and Valentinian, two brothers of oppofite cha- ra<3crs and manners, held together, as it fliould feem, by mere con- venience of governing the empire by divifion. Its eallcrn poficffions fell to Valens' (hare ; while Valentinian refidcd at Milan, where his cxccfs of veneration for good St. Ambrofe is ftill remembered by its rich ctfcds. The church, the library, filled with ineftimable rarities, were in high prcfcrvation A. D. 1 78O ; and 'twas remembered then among them, how when the fiery fpirit of an emperor more zealous for the honour of our meek religion, than lludious to obey its gentle precepts, was difturbcd : it was St. Ambrofe only, the mcU'iJimus dodur who could footh it to a temporary calm, and mitigate its wrathful violence. When that imperial anger was exerted againll the rtrange propcnfity to witchcraft, which helped in thofe days to obfcure men's rcalim and obftrud their virtue, one hardly can condemn it — Icfs ftill when wc rcflcd 1 10 THE FOURTH CENTURY ; [ch. vi. reflcdl that Thcodofius the warUke, the pious and the wife, efcapcd as 'twere by miracle from fnarcs that were laid to difpatch him, only bccaufe that fatal cock before whom the letters of the alphabet were placed, had fcleded thofe with w hich his name begun. The town of Faknc'icnncs however, rofe to light about the time we fpeak of; and Britain had well nigh been called Valentia. Should one be led to ob- ferve that there was a fate in it, for that Britannia could not change her name, 'twere well we lived there in the prefent day, not then ; this zealous ruler of mankind would have accufcd and punifhed us perhaps for onomantical propenfities. Truth is. Raff Aflan, coUedor of the tales of the Talmud, is anfwerable for many of thefe filly fancies of conjuring by names, which originated from that fourcc. Cabbala or cabaliftic myfterioufncfs has left the world but a fliort time. There is a way of telling fortunes now in many parts of Italy called la cabala ; and there was an odd lucky reference to the word in both fenfes of it, when Clifford, Alhburnham, Buckingham, Arlington, and Lauderdale, in Charles the fecond's time, with the initial letters of their names, Ibrmcd the word CABAL. Addifon refers to it as familiarly known in our Spc(ihitor's time, and the Abbe Villars alludes to it in the name of le Compte dc Gahal'is. What wonder then, if the fourth century found it a Icrious matter ? The Emperor Valens was himfclf infccfted, and put many innocent mortals to death for no vvorfe crime than a truly luck- Icis initial. The times were full of terror and of danger. Difputes between Urficlnus and Damafus for the papal chair ran fo exceffively high, that an hundred and thirty-levcn men were killed fighting in a Chriftian church at Rome, with fury ill becoming cither party, till the fove- reign himfelf interfered, and confirmed Damafus in the fee. In gra- titude for this event thcjtciit in principh was added to gloria patri after every pfalm, which he commanded them to chant in alternate verfe, as is the ufage ftill in all cathedrals. Damafus was a Portuguezc by birth, a poet and hiftorian, who wrote the ads and fuffcrings of his predeccllbrs, and though acculed of fomc moral faults, he cleared him- felf; I** en. VI ] FROM CONSTANTINE TO TIirODOSfUS. 1 1 1 felt'; and St. Jerome, to whom he dedicates his book, records him as of pious memory. The great Baiilica of St. Syricius where they fought, is now Santa Maria maggiore. But hcrefy and hixur\' did then too fure combine to (hake the faith of fuch new profclytcs as wer5o ; and having, in fome favourite verfes, called the Nile fuum, critics believe that he was born in Egypt. Thcon, the fophift, flouriflicd about this time ; he was a famous mathematician, and Marcellinus, Ammianus Marcellinus wrote his intercfting ftory ; but controverfy began to fwallow up literature, and a new fort of barbarifm deluged all works of fancy. The Emperor tranflatcd from the Hebrew into Latin, a traamc of Pleiades, or fcven ftars, in the neck of the conftellation Taurus, of which fix only are ever vifibic to the naked eye. But an eftaolifhment far different from any made by war or politics claims, in the fifth century, a glance oi Retrojpedlion. St. Augiifiinc being 116 THE FOURTH CENTURY; [ch. vn. being converted and baptized, obtained a garden plot without the •walls of Hippo, in Africa, where he and eleven friends formed the firft order of mendicant friars, from which innumerable ramifications branched abroad, and made the world of monks a large and fcparate clafs of humanity. So differently, and fo widely from the original in- ftitution ranged this new current of imaginative piety, that ccafuig to murmur near the folitary paths of fcrious individuals, it came at laft to roll in torrents of liccnfed beggary, and ftagnate in pools of offcnfive ignorance. How little did the great founder of this idle fancy dream that fuch could ever have been the cafe ! when with his virtue, his learning, and his leather girdle, he fought only to fliun the temptations of riches, and obtain more time to converfc with heaven. But thefe ftrange fads muft teach us to beware of human inftitutions, fpccious though they be, when fuch genius, direded by fuch intentions, failed of their purpofcd cffeft. St. Auguftin's converfion to orthodoxy by St. Ambrofe, was however the mod defirable of all triumphs to the church, which now dif[)laycd that influence and eldcrfliip over the ftate which its great ruler willingly fubmitted to. Some new but nccef- fary tax had been impofcd ; the populace enraged, threw down the Emperor's ftatues, infultcd his officers, and manifeftcd a difpofition towards refiftance, totally new to the world, which may be obferved ihcnfiji to have put forth the more than half invifiblc germ, encou- raged by mildnefs in the fovcreign power. Thcodofius fcnt forces to punifh the infurgcnts ; but Flavian, their gentle bifliop, interpofcd, and favcd tliem from the threatened rcfcntment. Frcfli offence of the fame nature was, in fcven years after this indulgence, given by the people of Thcflalonica, who finding rcfiflancc permitted at Antioch, rcfolved to pufh the fame principles up to rebellion in their city, where In a popular tumult they killed their governor, and, if I remember right, fired his houfc, with other adts of unexampled infolencc. Im- perial dignity would brook no more, and Thcodofius, in the fpirit of his prcdcceffors, permitted a muflacrc of the guilty town-folk by his foldiery. St. CH. VII.] FROM THEODOSIUS THE ELDER TO ATTILA. 119 St. Ambrofe juitly alarmed at fo much blotxllhed, ccnfurcd the indig- nant Emperor from his pulpit, wliencc he admonilhcd him of" the wide ditFercncc bctvNxen a Chriftian and a Pagan Ipirit ; and iearlefs in the cau(e of true religion, inculcated the dodrinc of forgivenefs, declaring the cruelties lately performed criminal, without palliation or foftening. Such truths aft"e«fled the generous bofom of the fovereign, fuch con- dud, infpircd rcfpcd towards the prelate, inclining the prince to con- demnation of his own behaviour. That his repentance might be public he wore mourning eight months ; and when the double qua- rantine was over, he was admitted as a penitent to the communion. That compcnfation might be made for that rafli ftorm of anger in which no fewer than feven thoufimd people perifhed, a law was made, irrevocable from that day, that no execution fliould again take place, till four weeks after fcntencc was pronounced. Thus had the world long caufc to blefs the church, which for the nobleft of all human purpofcs controU'd the kingly power. That monarch too, who being fct by heaven high abo^e all apprehenfion of fubluniiry punifhment, fubmittcd his imperial ftate to ccnlurc of a fubjed. and humbled his gteatnefs before the throne of God. That Theodofius fliould perform a moral ad ccjual to this religious one is lefs furprifmg : he fct Valcn- tinian (fccond of the name) upon the throne of the Well, from mo- tives of mere moderation ; and to revenge his death, Hiccd with heroic courage the rebel captains Eugenius and Arbograftes, whom he de- feated by fuperior knowledge in the arts of war ; for rebels were no ■ new phenomena; but they were individual chiefs who ftood in oppo- fition each toother, and led th' imbattled multitudes along to perifH in their caufc. Till Theodofius's reign, an infurredion without a - leader is not heard of; 'twas a non-defcript in hiftory or politicks ; but experience has fincc made us acquainted with the beaft. And now Alaric and Rhadagiftus, who had been tearing each other to pieces during the life- time of this laft fovercign, watched the moment of hi5 death to (all on the deicrted world, and fright his dcfi>icablc fuccelTors. 120 THE FOURTH CENTURY; [ch. mi. fucceflbrs. Of thefc poor creatures, the eldcft Arcadius, found a trai- tor in the man who fliould have ferved him, one Ruffinus, who leagued with Alaric, but loft the reward of treachery ; he died, and weak Honorius endeavoured to fecure his weftern divifion of imperial power by wedding the daughter of viftorious Stilicho, who had killed 10,000 Goths under Fiefole, and was a charafter of energy enough, but could not refift the temptation of endeavouring to obtain the empire for himfelf, which he defended with fo much adivity. Meanwhile, Cedrenus fays, the olympiads ceafed in Greece ; new cuf- toms, new terrors overwhelmed mankind ; new nations over-ran it, and nothing proceeded forwards with any appearance t)f regularity, ex- cept church cflabliihments. St. Jerome tranflated the Bible into what is called the Vulgate verfion, about the time we fpeak of ; Pope Anaftafms commanded the gofpel to be heard ftanding, and the third council of Carthage decreed, that the cucharift Ihould be received fufting — two good ufages, and as yet complied with both by Romanifts and Lutherans. Stilicho burned the Sybil's books, on which, fays Mr. Murphy, in a note on Tacitus, paganifm groaned and expired. One wifhes however, that the myftical acroftic of Erythraea had been fpared, which began every line with the next letter of our Saviour's name, and while ilie prophcfied his birth, formed the words JESUS CHRIST. Aufonius lived in thefe days or near them ; he was a Frenchman, born at Bourdcaux, then Burdigala, but of Roman parents ; his nati- vity caft by Arborius early in life, determined poffibly his future ftudies. The grandfather was perfuaded he mnji be a poet, and a poet he became. Judicial aftrology was believed in by all ranks through the fifth century, men feem as if they voould always take unlicenfed peeps be- hind the curtain of futurity ; the Delphic oracle and Dodona;an grove were filenced — and as the eaft was the true feat of empire, oriental magic arts fucceeded to Pythian impofture and ambiguity. But Re- trojpe^ion CH. VII.] FROM THEODOSIUS THE ELDER TO ATTILA. 121 troj^£l'ion muft be turned unwillingly towards the uxorious prince and trifling boy that fwaycd the world's great fceptre ; for whilft Rome's danger from the Goths drew near, and Stilicho with all his adivc genius could but procure a momentary armifticc, Honorius having fought inglorious Iheltcr among the deep moralTcs of Ravenna, built him a terrace there and aviary ; and equally incapable of virtue or of vice, led his favourite birds, dogs and poultry, ia quiet, an uncon- cerned hearer of all that paft. Arcadius, yet more confcious than the brother of his own fmall powers to fill up his ftation, committed hi.s infant fon to care of Ifdigerdes, the Perfian prince, for education ; and put himfclf under tuition of Eutropius, the firft eunuch on record, who arrived at the patrician and confular dignity, and who headed the armies of now degenerate Rome. For though the hero that oppofcd tlic rufli of Gothick fui.y fecmed to revive fomc hope from martial ar- dour ; while his panegyrift (hewed the fire of wit in epigram and my- thologick vcrfe, not yet extingui(hed, it wiis a paper flame, and plainly by its (hort and fudden blaze betrayed th'cxpiring taper's e id, fall foUowing to utter abolition. Stilicho fed his ready-kindling heat with the coarfe nutriment of pcrfonal intcrcft, and defire of empire for his own worthlefs fon, inllcad of his old mailer's Theodofius : he too was dilappointcd in his aim by death — but the bold Eunuch now came forward, and in hisconfullhip enaclcd a law againll protcdion of civil offences by fandluary. St. Chryfollome, for this infult againll church power, rcfufcd him the communion ; and with a zeal Icfs re- gular than rapid, reproached the daring favourite from the altar. In two' years time his own cxcclTcs having armed fome injured hand againlt him, this Eutropius flow to the Ihelter he had himfclf denied, and from the church was dragged away to fuffer ; but Socrates, a Greek writer of the fifth centurj-, Ibys that St. Chryfollomc's true charity rcfcnicd the wretched life, forfeit to his own law, and fcnt him fafe into perpetual banilhmcnt. The word mitjfe was now firll intnxiuced into ccclclioflical ordinances ; we know not if it meant Vol. I. Q oblation T22 THE FIFTH CENTURY; [ch. vn. oblation from the Hebrew miffach, or from mifla and demifTa — mere fin'ijh or difmtffion. The Pelagian herefy meanwhile never difmifled, now raged with exceeding violence. It was firft founded by Pelagius, a monk, born in Armorica, or Little Britain — the province of Brc- tagne, in France, and confifted chiefly in the denial of original fm, and of there being any neceflity for the grace of God, fuppofing man wholly fofficient to his own falvation. This Pelagius was a Welchman, Howell fays, and his name Morgan ; he was called Pelagius, a Pelago ; he was born by the fea-fide. There were four kings of that province named Howell, and one of them was called Howell the Great. They all derived from Adrian, whofc family name was yElia, fay the letters Hoaliaiue. But we return to Arcadius and Honorius, who were compared by Gibbon at the end of his third volume, fourth edition, to the kings of France and Spain, who, he faid truly enough, flumbered upon their thrones. Louis XVI. lamented the infult ; and our hiftorian good-naturedly declared in his memoirs, that the offcnfive paflage was penned before he came to the crown — fo it might, and yet be intended for him ne'er the lefs. He was dau- phin, he was uxorious, and apparently confcious of his own fmall ilrength to hold in a hcadftrong people, irritated, although pampered by his predeccflbrs. The fons of Theodofms, degenerate as they wcre,- had nothing to fear from their own fubjeds' averfion ; but Sueves, Goths, Huns, and Vandals, kept pouring forward in repeated torrents from the fame populous regions, whence had rulhed the Cimbri and Teutons, repelled by Marius five hundred years before. What is moft obfervablc in this freih fwarm of them, is the term Chagan or Khan, given to their leader. The word is yet familiar to us in Tartar annals, if fuch they may be called. Teutons have not forgotten their early dcfignation : I bought a map at Lintz in Germany — the corner calls it Teutcht land, and the people exhorted me in vain to ftudy Teut/ch, now by corrupt and clofe pro- nvmciation become Dutch— -of courfe divided into high Dutch and low; «H. VII.] FROM THEODOSIUS THE ELDER TO ATTILA. 123 low ; the languages of Holland and of Germany. Teuton however, though an early appellative, was not the original one. Titans they were, J'preading oer many a rood, and thought for that rcafbn in early ^ys gigantic. Tud earth, and tif/t fpreading, are words yet under- ftood on Mona, where they refided as I may fay metropolitarily. They are dill Cimbri, Cambrians there ; Cymri, (pronounce Coom, Gomerl) perhaps from the fon of Japhet, the Japetus of hiftory and fable. Coom means a valley in the Saxon language. Our anceftor chofc the vales pof- (ibly for refidcnce ; he was a lowlandcr likely enough. But my readers would rather get forwards with the ftory, and fee tremendous Alaric return and blockade the city of Rome, then filled, as Gibbon and Kardini think, with about 1,200,000 fouls, not more than London at the prefent day, nor very, very much richer, I (hould fuppofc ; only that their wealth, as ftill obtains in Italy, was concentrated in churches, palaces, and fcnatorial rcfidences ; unlike to ours, which from the na- ture of our government is all diffufed, fcattcring its comforts upon common life. The favage prince who facked it afterwards, once railed the fifge for 5,ooo pounds weight of gold, and 3o,ooo pounds weight of filver, to which other articles of luxury were added, that bear in different times a different price ; and famine had fo wafted the inhabitants, their deaths by hunger caufed a dreadful plague — on hearing which the fierce barbarian retired a while, obfcrving he was ibrry for that pcftilcnce, as thick grafs was cajicr cut than thin. During the dreadful fcarcity preceding it, muft be remembered the charity of Lxta, widow of Gratian, who beftowed three parts of her princely re- venue to feed the poor, and dcferved better fate than death at laft by hunger. Serena too was ftranglcd by the populace, who hoped to appeafe the treacherous Alaric by murdering the favourite wife of his ally, brave Stilicho, who had before this been affaffinated for his in- tention to ufurp the diadem. Serena was a fecond confort to the Ge- neral, not mother to the Emprefs Mary firft we read o(—Jhe, as her implies, ftretchcd out her neck with fortitude to meet the blow, Q 3 and 124 THE FIFTH CENTURY; [cii m. and follow, as flic faid, her warlike hufband. But women now prcfs forward on our notice : little is faid of them during the profpcrity of ancient Rome, where they were confidercd merely as appendages to greatncfs, or nccelTaries of domeftic life, or at moft as toys of pleafurc for the men : but conftant nature will prefcrve her level ; and as one half the human race grew weaker, the other half appeared to ftrengthen in pro;K)rtion. Eudocia, Proba, Falconia, now wrote verfcs, or at leaft compiled verfcs already written, and tacking them into centos, ob- tained admiration for their wit — whilll; Hippacia taught the mathc- maticks publickly in the fchools of Alexandria, after the death of her father Theon ; for improvements in mechanifm flourifli as philofophy decays, and tottering fcicncc clings clofe to demonflration. Hydraulic organs had been long in ufe, fupplying the place of manual exertions in mufick, whence tafte and feeling were of courfc precluded ; and poly- graphic piftures helped to extinguifli the painter's art. Lazinefs is a certain fymptom of ill health to any and to every ftate: and Ammia- nus Marcellinus had, though himfelf a Syrian, reproached the Romans before this period for being contented with having their game driven into toils for them to catch more eafily, chace being become too great a fatigue. The kings of Spain and Naples hunted juft fo in the year \78r> ; for though there has been much fluctuation in our globe, there has been but httlc change. Italian ideas of juftice fifteen years ago, were exactly like thofe the fatirical hiftorian defcribes in his own time, when, fays he, Should a flave bring the warm water fomewhat too cold to tabic, three hundred laflies on the back admonilli him to fhew more care for his fine mafler's nerves : fhould the fame man commit a wilful murder, provided always it was on his cqt/al — My Ivord will fay perhaps. He's a good fellow ; but we will punifli him if he is catch'd repeating fuch offences. That fimilar opinions prevailed at Milan A. D. 1786, 1 had myfelf opportunity to obfervc. Two per- fons there were committed for examination ; one had killed his fellow- fcrvant in cold blood, the other was feen breaking fome new lamps lately CH. VII.] FROM THEODOSrUSTHE ELDER TO ATTILA. 125 lately fct up to illunimate the ftrects and fquare. I hope, faid I, the alTafiin will be hanged. — I had rather fee the other hanged, replied a friend in company, for the firft only llabbed his companion out of re- venge, poor fellow ! whereas the wicked creature who broke our pretty tamps, did it, I'm f^erfuaded, only to Ypite the Archduke. To re<5lify the Rommi notions a merited and dreadful chaftifement was at hand. Let the Milanefe determine if one much lefs feverc was hurled upon their haughty nobles by Bonaparte, than when llcrn Alaric, bought off to temporary removal of his forces, returned again before their gates for plunder ; and as he had on his laft vifit demanded all their property, they now, in a debate for peace, inquired not how much he would take, but what he'd leave them. — Their lives perhaps, replied the rough barbarian, and prefs'd more clofely round Aurelian's wall ; which, far too wide for their flirunk forces to defend, gave way ; and faw the city it had once fcarccly furrounded, given up a helplefs prey to ignorance and groflnefs ; to Gothick greedinefs of immediate gain, and wanton delight in unneccflary deftru^ion. Amidft this fhock of contending paffions grief and rage, Chriftianity, and Chriftianity alone, funived. The foldicrs who refpefted neither rank nor age, looked on the church w ith reverence, and forbore to touch whatever had been Uicrc depofitcd. The facking of the town lafted three days, and in that time innumerable were the precious monuments of fciencc that funk beneath the vidor's fury : much was yet left for future pillagers, ^ho learned the road to riches from Alaric, while he contrived various though unfucccfsful methods of carrying his fpoils away to Africa, where, like a true favagc, he had jiurpofed to retire, and growl over his prey in folitudc. The veflcl they embarked in was however ftill driven back by ilorma, till over-laded with extortion, down (lie funk ; and the now difappotnted conqueror, who had refufcd granting ought but life to thofc who had once employed him in their defence (when Stilicho paid him as a fubfidized ally), left his own ihipwrcckt corpfc at laft upon the fca-bcat ihorc of Calabria. Thus viO THE FIFTH CENTURY; [ch. vh. Thus unlamented pafs the proud away, I'he gaze of fools, and pageant of a day : So pcrilh all whofe bieaO ne'er Icarn'd to glow At other's good, or feel for other's woe. Pope. So perifhed arts and elegancies and knowledge ! Crevier fays haftlly there was no Roman orator after Pliny, no liiilorian after Tacitus, and no poet after Juvenal ; he might as well have faid there was no em- peror after Marcus Aurelius. Crevier fays well however, that to po- lite literature fucceeded empty and difputatious theology; and that for love of fuch fubtleties barbarifm was contented to drive taftc and con- venience, and common fenfe quite away — A fccond deluge learning next o'er-run, While the Monks finifh'd what the Goths begun. Athaulphus now {Adolphus in our clofer pronunciation) ruled over the Vifigoths, and wifely fixed his feat at warm Thouloufe; while Britain, now denied afliftance from the Romans, futFered incredibly from bar- barous invaders, and kept the Chriflian faith alive in the land, almoft as we may fay, by miracle. Caerleon was even then an archbiflioprick, with fuffragans: thefe, when they went to council at Avranches (Araufium then 'twas called) and Aries and Nice ; had honour paid them there, and took precedence. For Ypite of force, and fraud and folly, the church of Chrift flourifhed in every clime : that ftone not made with human hands, could never be diflodgcd by human power. Ignatius Auda with his hafty zeal would have undone all, had it been poiTible, when at the Perfian city EA:batana he threw the old pyrzeum down and trampled on it, an infult that Warranes was not likely to forgive ; and 'twas no time to force the empire upon wars, when every battle tended to difmember it. But ecclefiallical aftairs alone attract; our retrojpe&tve eye, which turns difguftcd from the names of Maxi- mus, Jovinus, Afper and John, of whom fomc forgot the world, and others were forgotten by it ; while Valcntinian III. is beft remembered by tn. vn.] FROM THEODOSIUS THE ELDER TO ATTILA. 1 27 by his worthleflhcis and ill-tlmcd triumph over the violated virtue of his brave general's wife. Is is indeed much more remarkable, for ty- rants were no phienomena at Rome, that at the moment when Phara- mond at Sulcheim made the falxque law to exclude females from the fovcrci'^mty of France, tiie altonifhed eaft fawthe great fceptre of what had formerly been called the rc/iole world, fwayed by a virgin queen, (iftcr to the fon of weak Arcadius, Thcodofius the younger ; who, bred at Ifdiiierdes' court, and of a flexible and tender nature, willingly funk his own renown in hcr's, received corre^ionat her hands, and even fub- mittcd to accept a wife, the lovely Athenais, by her choice ; while he, fcqueftcr'd from all cares of ftate, fought only to improve his talents for theological fpcculations. The younj: Emprefs too after converlion, hav- ing received the name Eudocia, turned all her thoughts to pilgrimage and pictv, and lea\ing Pulrhcria in complete poflelBon of all power, died in a voluntary c^ilc from her fine palace at Conftantinople, to a poor hut at Old Jerufiilcm, ncareft the place where once was laid her Saviour. Evrnts clapt clofc together thus in an abridgment or fliort fum- rnar}- of hiftorical occurrences, althouich the execution itfclf were good, ■wear bv neceflTity on the f.rft glimplc, a fbmcwhat dillorted appear- ance. The pidure of truth lifuig up to meet the morning fun, as painted in the cieling of the Collaguti palace at Rome, is apt to revolt curlbrv obfcrvxrs, who I iiavc fccn turn away difpleafcd with the foie- fliortcncd fijrure, till called back by the connoiiTeur who better knows to value ufcful labour. 'Tis thus my work begins to fliovv already, and almoft to repel me from performance. In a fmall field the figure.-* fcarccly can appear proportionate, and a moment's confideratiun mult be allowed, that writer and reader lK>th may be convinced, how all is in the inevitable (late required by an epitome like this ; and how the abrupt tranfition muft be pardoned which brings us fuddenly from fccncs of culpable and frantick violence, to chara<^er3 of voluntary fceblc- ncii and half unaccountable fubmiflion ; from manners, loofcncd by a groJs 128 THE FIFTH CENTURY; [ch. vii. grofs indulgence, till nature ftaggering fought relief in phrcnzy ; to modes of meagre melancholy exiftencc, where we contemplate cold humanity parched by repeated penances to dumb forgetfulnefs and oblivious folitude; while coenobites and anchorites difputed the palm of willing mifery with fo much eagernefs, that emperors and princes chiefly fought renown by pradifmg feverities on their own filly perfons^ and paid regard to others chiefly as they excelled in arts of felf-tormenting. Syrus and Silcntiarius, which laft was fo abforbed in divine contempla- tions, that Baronius tells us he never had been lieard lojpeak at all. Si- mon Stylht's, fo called from his pillar, carried away the palm of wretch- cdnefs however, living on the top of fomc tall column fixty feet high, Evagrius fays, and drawing up his bread, his fruit, and his frefli water, like a tame goldfinch on a perch, for tliirty years fucceffively. The wcflcrn climate, lefs favourable to fuch folly, tried at other. Our Wclfh folks tell how one Siriolis, a Roman monk, lived upon Puffin Ifland, or Prieflholme, oppofite Penmaenmaur, twenty years ; Leland fays 'twas in 378, but moft authors make him of later exiflence : it was a dreadful one all winter long. The tiny fpot, almofl of a circular form, confilb of rock alone, yet bears the hermit's name flill, Siriol ; fomc fcreaming fca-gulls haunt it for three months ; then leave the dafliing waves to tofs around and celebrate his fclf- created mifery. The head- long Donatills meantime more troublefomc, but not more lunatick than thefe, with their unnatural dcfirc of dying, frighted and plagued the peaceful pallcngers ; w hen meeting them they begged a blow or beat- ing, with fuch inordinate and infupportablc pertinacity, that they did now and tlien obtain their wifli in dcfperate carncfl from pei pie who could not efcape their importunities, nor keep their own paliions under juft controul ; and had not St. Auguftine, with every argument of reafon, fupported by learning, oppofed the wild ianaticks, their frantick zeal would longer have difgraced Chrifllanity. That great author hav- ing tried all he could to confute by his books, (ie civitaie Dei, the nu- merous feds of polytheifls, who all united in fuppofmg Rom^'j cala- CH. Til.] FROM THEODOSIUS THE ELDER TO ATTILA. iic) mltics to have been caulcd by the neglect ot* heatlicn worfliip, and the otfenccs given to heathen gods : next- turned his ftrength and Ikill to weed the errors from our own religion, and pluck away the thorns ot reparation which, hourly ftarting up under f'refli names, diftrcffed but never wearied this champion of our church. The monftcr-tamers of fabulous antiquity were but the types of thefe no Icfs hcroical and ufclul ci^ ilizcrs ot" the newly redeemed, as f/ity were of the new cre- ated work!. Cadmus and Hercules who fovv'd the warrior feed, faved long-devoted fouls from hell ; and haplefs in his likcncfs Orpheus, who fell a vidim to female rcfentmcnt, as did St. Chryfoftome, dying in exile by the bitternefs of Eudoxia's implacaWe and unforgiving fpirit. About that time too, an lera pregnant w ith fanaticifm, the Jews, mif- Icd to think the end of all was come, and that old Ocean would be dried before them, made an enumeration of their tribes coUedcd from a variit\- of countries into the Ilk of Candia, and there, under com- mand of a falfc Mofes, rufhed, like the herd of fwine poiTcfled by dae- mons, into the lea, where funk the impollor and his ftupid followers. Meanwhile the Emprcls Pulchcria fought an afTociate in thofe cares of (late from which her pious brother was abftraded, and pitched on Marcian, a young lloman foldicr, whom Genferic the Goth found rtccping under a tree, an eagle perched above him : he was a gallant warrior, worthy of being bom when hifcory was faithful to defert, and of an appearance fo ftrikingly advantageous, that the rough chieftain who furprifed him in the hour of rcpofc, refolved to extort from fo fvmmctrical a creature, an oath that he would never be his enemy, re- maining pcrluaded by his form alone, that beauteous Marcian was the care of heaven. Such too were apparently the lady's fcntimcnts ; in defiance of which, flic bound herfclf by vows of chafVity ; and though (he wedticd her aflbciatc, nciur broke them ; but the imperial votrcf^ paiTcd on fn nMitlcn mcililaiion— fancy ficx. Ol'IUf^ charaC^e^j however, and Roman names, as ninid Roman manners, take \\< IcavT, and bid a long adieu ro the pift rTOVC5 upon them all. Poor England now (while thefe faints flept and waked) was become quite a prey to her auxiliaries, the Saxon chiefs, whom Ihe had called to help her againft the fierce barbarians who drove her people to the fca, vs hile that rough clement ftill drove them back again on the barba- rians. Thofe who came laft however were mod: welcome ; they refoivcd never to leave a land they liked fo well, and foon incorporated them- felves with the fubdued inhabitants, who quietly fubmittcd to their tyranny, and learned their language. Englifh is ftill called Saxon by the fmall remnant of the old inhabitants, the Welch, as we mull now begin to call them. Dim fqfneg, we fpeak no Saxon tongue, is ftill the language of our Ordevices in the year 1 79O ; thefe, chufing freedom on their barren foil rather than fervitude on the green banks of the Thames, flew to their yet half inacccflible mountains, where, building upon every rock a caftle, and almoft upon every hill a fort, they made at laft their utmoft ftand, and found their final refuge in old Mona ; where fettling the prince's feat at Aberfraw, they wept the hafty and too fierce revenge taken by his indignant countrymen on haplefs Vortigern, who, foothed by filly hopes of fair Rowcna, mad6 friendftiip with the faithlefs Saxons, and loft his honour and his life at Nant yr Gwerthyn, in Caernarvonftiirc, a place named Gwerthyn from a Britifli leader — in Englifli, Ironfides. In AnglCfey thefe re- fuged few retained the Chriftian faith, as they ftill boaft, pure from all innovation ninny years. Tertullian had faid long before that they were among the firft to receive Chriftianity. Bntannornm loca Ro- vian'is tnaccejjh Chrtjlo, vcro Jubd'tta. That among us the Chriftian doftrines anticipated the Roman fword, a cloud of witnefles do cer- tainly atteft ; fo much fwitter were the dove's wings, carrying joyful tidings of peace on earth, good will towards men ; than were thofc of the eagle, who brought both war and defolation in his train. St. Patrick, when the dreadful fiege of Aquileia frighted the Romans from their capital, and fent the moft part of the fugitives to beg afylum with CH. vm.] FROM DEATH OF ATTILA TO A. D. 50O. 137 with the wife Venetians, fcoracd all idea of Ihcltering himfelf in the fait court of Amphitritc, and fought a place where he might do fome good as well d&Jind it. He came to Ireland where Gwillamorc reigned king, and there converted the inhabitants to Chriftianity — he was a noble man as we believe, a holy patrician, who, in confequencc of a religious vow, wandered from home when the Goths plundered Italy, having fwom to make profelytes wherever he fhould be received with hofpitality. Icrne's humid coaft is Hill fuper-eminent for that old fafliioned but refpcdable virtue. She entertained, and dill reveres his merit, and the Sanciiis Patr'tt'ianns became Saint Patrick by an eafy corruption. He built a church on Anglefey, oppofite Ireland, on the fca (horc ; the to\N n and parifh is called Llayi Badrick now : but when poffctfed of the confiding hearts of his new converts in our fiftcr king- dom, her bcft hiftorians lay he burned three hundred volumes of heroic fbngs, written by their bards ; I fear he thought them poifonous as the fcrpcnts. They had been held in high and juft eft imation, wearing a robe of royal colour — it was not purple though, but green I think ; our Welch protcAcd their's for ages after. Trer Beird, the habitation of the Bards, may yet be fcen at Llanidan, and Bardfey Ifland is even now covered with itinerant fingers. Tale-telling, however, kept its ground in Ireland in fpite of St. Patrick, and that he could not chafe all poetry away — witnefs, my old familiar friends. Murphy and Goldfmith ; but we are engaged in ■v.orks oi' Ketro/pe£Iion. When thus the church of Rome had, by the interference of St. Leo, deferred for a fbort time the ruin of the llatc, and freed its wretched Emperor from fears of prefcnt dcltruclion, he might perhaps have held the fccptrc flill, but vice, ftill more than Gcnfcric or Attila, contributed to (hake the feeble nerves of wicked Valentinian, who yet ruled the weft, (if we may call him ruler who never unfhcathcd fword except to ihib his own heroiek General at a feafl) ; and although Marcian dieained that the great Gothick bow was broken, on that fame night ^KCrfs had in reality ruptured the hcart*lirings of the chief who drew Vol. I. S it ; 138 THE FIFTH CENTURY; [ch. viir. it ; he had no power to lend his afliftance, for death fulfilled the oath he took to Genferic ; Marcian, the laft of Roman warriors^ died ; a Ihort but nominal fucccffion of princes, mofl of them uiiworthy of their fituation, though that was bad enough, difgraced even this laft Ihadlng off of the now faded purple, which Majoranus only wore with dignity, and wore but a fliort time. Valcntinian was not affaf- finated till in the thirtieth year of his reign ; but Majoranus ruled but three, and after many a ufelefs victory won with liard toil, and cele- brated with much elaboration, few traces yet remain of his renown, or that of his panegyrift, Sidonius Apollinaris, The ads of many Roman emperors, colleded by Zofimus, are chiefly loft too, the French tranf- latcd what was left of it ; Poffidius Afer, better known perhaps by name of Poffidonius, gave the world a life of St. Auguftinc twenty years before ; and Philoftorgius fulminated his thunders at the reputa- tion of St. Athanafius: we muft recoUeft however that he wrote againfl Porphyry. Orion of Thebes compofed colle- names : and we obfer^c Augiiftulus Romulus, laft of the Roman empe- rors, quietly yielding up his no longer tenable dignity to the Scythian hero, four hundred and eighty years after the birth of Chrift, five hun- dred and twenty-four years after the battle of Pharfalia, and very near one hundred and fifty years after the removal of the imperial refidcnc( Co Byzantium. The very name of Rome was now loft to its conqueror, who f icked S 2 and 140 THE FIFTH CENTURY ; [ch. vni. and Ictt it to fight the laft decifive battle with Genferic, whom he de- feated and killed ; and like a wiic man, defpifing all ftylc and empty title but the true ones, he flung afide the unimpreflive ornaments of the no longer revered emperors and imperators, calling himfelt" King of Italy, the country he fubdued : out of which tradl of land he chofc Ravenna for his court and refidence, as beft provided with natural de- fences, the ftrong fortification of a marfhy ground ; whilft Augujlulus Romulus,* wretched proprietor of the two firft names on earth, ended his tranquil exiftence in a half-forced half- voluntary confinement to the demefnc of LucuUus's villa, not far from Naples — an interefling fpot, ftill Ihewn to travellers as the dwelling of rough Marius once, and once of gay Lucullus. Yet fo were the Roman emperors faded to a phantom before the Gothick chieftains fixed in Italy, that fcarce any one ever rccollefts its laji illuftrious inhabitant, or even bellows a pall- ing figh upon its inoffenfive prifoner, feldom prefented cither by hillo- rians or even by walking guides, to the eye of general or particular B-etrofpediion. If we would follow this fun till it fets completely, it will be necelTary to watch the gradual and gentle decay of light and heat difpenfed from Conllantinople, where Zcno, at the time under reviewal, ruled the eaft ; and received with juft indignation the offer of the once confcript fathers to chufe a mailer for them himfelf, or to confirm the the palrkian Odoacer in his dignity. The order had in- deed been dcbafed by the admilTion of Moors, Goths, every fuc- ccfsful barbarian in his turn; yet did the name of fcnate languifll on, nor pafs the limits of our camera ohfcura till after Leo IV, in yCij I think, who put a final end to it. But it had then fcarce one true fymptom of exiftence left, a mere half body and half corpfc, of which the laft weak figh is fcarce difccrnible to the tired and unfeeling at- tendants. One thoufand two hundred and fixty years^ or thereabouts, * In the fame manner Philip, fon to Antiochus, in times long part, eftablilhed the Macedonian monarchy, and Philip Antigoni loft it irrecoverably. CM. t»n.] mOM DEATH OF ATTILA TO A D. 500. i-j i wc may confidcr as the life of the Roman fenatc ; who refigncd to Zeno their laft privilege, that of appearing to approve their own tyrants. But Zeno himfelf deferAcd nor rule nor power. Cruel and riotous, his wild exccffes ended at length in epileptic or apopledtic fits; one of which held him fo long that Ariadne, his unfaithful wife, defiring foon to wed his favourite Chamberlain, buried him haftily ; nor regarded the cries which, when he waked, ilfued from the coffin ; but heaped earth on him to drown his (hrieks. That earth being removed fome years after, it was difcovered that tlic haplefs prince had gnawed his own arms under ground from hunger, grief and rage. But the con- verfion of Clo\ is the Great, firft Chriftian king of France, allures our retroJpeSivc eye : 'twas near the end of the fifth century when, in com- pliance to his Queen's requcft, this barbarous ruler of a pagan hofl: re- nounced the fupcr{lition of his fathers, profeffing our purer faith. The bifhop who baptized him had, we muft own, but little care for treating him with delicacy, if it is certain that he ufed thefe words, " Come, now kneel down Sicambrian, and learn to worfliip what you are ufed to defpifc, and to dcfpife what you are ufed to worfliip ;" the phrafe accompanied by a contemptuous calling away fome images he wore ab Sabellians and Trithcifts filled the mouths of all, though the minds of few if any were capable of i'plitting fuch diticrences, and explaining fuch unrevealcd niceties. Language, when at its bell perfection, finks •under the difficulty of dif'criminating fubtlcties that eicapc its greatelt vigilance ; and language nyw was f uperannuatcd, and unable to lolK)w mctaphyfical arguments through all their labyrinths of perplexed en- quiry ; yet nothing elfc employed men's minds, or was thought worthy of their notice, while Faith, gufpel, all fccm'd made to bcdifputcd, And none were wife cnuugli to be confuted. Twas in this reign, I think, wc read that St. Matthew's Gofpel ua!, found hid in the fcpulchrc of' good St. Barnabus, held in his hand, f;iys 15-2 FIRST PORTION OF SIXTH CENTURY. [ch. ix. cne writer ; lying on his bofom, fays another. Ill underftood devotion went fo far, that many people prevailed upon furviving friends to bury in their tombs with them the bleflcd facrament — and all that was not war was piety. But while compaffion of fuch error fills a modern reader's brcaft, difguft rankled in that of Proclus, who faw in living truth the follies wc only view \n Ret rofpe5i tons glafs. Proclus feems to have been an cfpnt fort of the fixth century, who coUedcd the fun's rays into a focus, and appeared, by his promife of fecuring the Empe- ror's perfon from thunderbolts, to have fome notion of a conducing rod. His projcA failed however ; Anaftafius, who had always ex- prcllcd his apprchcnfion that fuch would be his end, fell down lifelels during a great llorm. The populace looked on Proclus with averliotj, and he on their credulity with contempt. Meanwhile Severus the Eutychian bilhop of Antloch, fending fome miffionaries to gain over Alamandurus to their newly-broached tenet of a quaternity, he told them there was news which claimed their more immediate attention, for that St. Michael the archangel was dead. Being replied to, that fuch news was nonfcnfe, bccaufc angelic nature cannot die; — nor can God Almiglity, rejoined the ready controvcrtift ; and if Chrift was pure deity, as you fay he was, and not made man, he could not have been crucified for us. Severus was condemned to lofe his tongue by a grand council held at Illcrgctum, foon from its firll name corrupted to II- Icrda, and thence to hcr'tda, by which appellation 'tis at this day fa- miliar to us ftll. Chichcfter and Abingdon were built about this time by Ciifa king of the South Saxons, and Cambridge founded long after, and enlarged by Sigcbcrt ; but Camden ex Caio I believe, fays it may boaft an earlier origin, even from Cantaher a Spaniard, born three hundred and feventy-fivc years before Chrift. It is obfervable /wVnamc is yet unwittingly tranfmitted down from generation to generation ; young ftudcnts of that univerfity are in colloquial chat ftill called Can- tahs. Shorcham is fcarce lc(s ancient, the work of a Britilh chieftain Khrynncn Shore, perhaps Brennin Shore, meaning King George. I recoUeft tH. IX.] TO THE EXPULSION OF THE GOTHICK KINGS. 1 53 recoiled George II. prayed for in Welch churches by name of Bren- iiin Shore perfcAly well, though now they leave it off, the Englifli name being underftood in moll congregations. But Cherdickc con- iblidated many counties under his wide domain, Wilts, Hants, Berks, Devonfliire, Dorfetlhire and Cornwall, bcfidc Somerfetfhire, all which together formed the kingdom of Weft Saxons ; whilft the half-fabu- lous records of our half-kno^\^l hiftory delight in ftories of the fair Igrcne, and Merlin the magician, who flicwed her in a fliadow that he raifcd, the figure of her future hufband. This might perhaps give the original rife to the trick of ladies looking in a darkened room to fee the deftmed lover in a glafs. I know not whether yet the Britifh or Pidilh poem was compofed called Gododai, which celebrates the day when the merry men, whofe drink was mead, hurried to Cattraeth. The adventure recorded was at beginning of the fixth century : they had three hundred and fixty-five horn cups, one for every day of the year, and every cup had a chain of gold to the cover. *' Fetch the " drinking horns," they cry, " which arc glofly like a wave of the fea : •* our Llewellyn is like a ^rrt;^o?/ in fight." Thefe dmgotts, W^VLVton thinks, came from Armorica, propagated there by Arabs ; he fays that we had no allufion to dragons till after wc were conned:ed with the caft. Fairies came in at the fame time, but they profpered bcft in Ireland : there is a traft there called OTWri I^and, or Fnhy Land, at this day. The Arabians faying how fairies built the city of Eftlickar is curious : that the famed Perfcpolis, burned by Alexander at inftiga- tion of Thais, Ihould hz rebuilt V)y fairies, ftrikcs one as fingular enough. The Elfin queen Morgain le Fay, who held her chief court at Mcflina, exhibiting from time to time the favourite vifion called after her Fata Morgana ftill, and fo fwectly defcribcd by Father An- gclucci lft43, prcfcrvcd Prince Arthur too on fome occafion. See learned notes on Upton's Fairy Queen. Meantime the death of lioncft ia\'age Clovis divided once united France again, among four fons and a daughter named Clotildc She being wife to Amalaricus leader of Vi)L. 1. U the ] 54 FIRST PORTION OF SIXTH CENTURY; [ch. ix. the Vifigoths, had the rich province of Lariguedoc, poflibly Laiigtte de Got, affigned her as her portion ; and fixing her refidcncc at famed Thouloufc, proved a fufpenfion of the lot faliqtie. But this fliews France to have enjoyed even then a form of eftabUlhcd- government, under their Merovingian race of kings ; and 'tis obfcrvable \hcjirji has been the favourite name of Gallic fovereigns through thirteen cen- turies, Louis being different in nothing but mere pronunciation. Llovis is the word, w^hether the U or V be upright or not ; and the original manner of pronouncing double LI being difficult to Engliflimen, they write Clevis as they write Clnid : the vale of Llwyd is the way we natives fpell, and it occurs eafily to a Welfli reader that the French monarchy began and ended juft as the Roman empire did, with the fame name. Clovis I. during his extreme long reign, on many occa- fions intercfts one's heart : his odd fcorn of St. Martin's miracle, who for a fum of money moved the enchanted fteed, which he faw plainly was a trick to plunder him, with his docility toward thofe very priefls who were apparently parties in the impofture, fuggefted by what he deemed indifpenfable reverence for the religion they profeflcd, engages one's tenderncfs : and 'tis with grief we read of thofe cxceffes per- mitted and pradifcd during a life of fourfcore years and more, which ended at Paris, firft by him fettled into the metropolitan city of that great empire. His bones remain there ftill, under the nevcr-finiflied church dedicated to la Sainte Geucviex-e, and lately profaned by infi- dels unworthy fuch a king as Clovis ; falfc reafoners, who in cold blood rcjcd that bleft Redeemer, whofe bitter agonies endured for us, roufcd on firil hearing of them his lion fpirit to cry out, " Had I been " near Mount Calvary that day, with but five hundred of my trufty " Franks, I would have foon revenged fuch fufferings, and taught thofe •' rafcals to repent their cruelty." Barbarian virtues are however of fmall value, like wooden cuts, prized for their rarenefs and antiquity alone ; they fail in all the finer llrokes of courfe, and leave the work imperfed. Tirabofchi dbferves well, that barbarous elbquence is never clear, plain, CH. ix.] TO THE EXPULSION OF THE GOTHICK KINGS. 155 or pcrfpicuous ; 'tis the moft poliflied nation that excels in pure in- artificial brilliar»cy of language. The excellency oi' glafs, on this fame principle, is to be tran("parent ; thofe who flourifh it, and wrinkle it, and draw rofes on it, are doing fomethihg very pretty certainly, but ■they arc fpoiling the glafs. Rude Theodoric knew not how to write, yet was he brave, honeft, and provident by nature ; honourable too, and magnificent by ftarts. He fupplied Rome with corn, he conveyed water to Ravenna ; and when a catholick courtier, in hopes of prefer- ment, fuddenly profefTcd himfelf willing to renounce his belief in Chrifl's divinity and to turn Arian, becaufe that was the pcrfuafion of the Prince, the generous though brutal Goth fpit in his face, faying, that a man who was falfc to his God would never be true to his king. Yet Clo\'is wc know deluged his land with blood ; Theodoric fufFered Odoaccr to be flabbed trcacheroufly at a banquet ; and afterwards took deliberately away that precious life which animated the piu-eft heart, the wHcfl head, perhaps the compleateft character that can he found, if wc except St. Gregory the Great, between the firfl: Theodofius and Alfred. By death of Bocthius was dimmed the bright flame of ge- nuine patriotifm, of orthodox belief, a( clafTic elegance, and true phi- lofophy. Learning, her laft clear light obfcured by interpofmg clouds of black fufpicion, hung round the vaults of Symmuchus and his great fon- in-law, conglobed and red — a meteor, not a flar, lowering and raylcfs. But Juftin's reign attrafts our Rctro/psffton to the eafl, detaining it a moment by his cunning in ufe of money given him by Amantius for pur- pofcs of chufmg another pcrfon, who, together with his ill-ad vifed friend, were foon fccurcd and filcnccd, and Juflin fixed in the imperial feat. Under this Emperor the General Belifarius began his great career, and manifcfted his future claim to laurels, which at length by too luxuriant growth (hatlcd his merits from favour of Juftinian, nephew and fucccflor tothc lafl-mcntioned ignorant though artful creature, bcfl remembered by hisiriichood and fondncfs for the purple, which he grafi>cd clofcly U 2 even 1 5t5 FIRST PORTION OF SIXTH CENTURY ; [o». i». even in artkulo mortis. The Circus to which the new fovcreigrt was carried in triumph at his ^rft acceffion, proved, though he reigned near forty years, I think, a perpetual plague to him and to his fucceffors, with their blue and green factions fupporting one let of chariot-drivers againft another fet, who quarreled, fought, mutinied even in prefenca of a defpotic king that might, for all that has appeared to us, have crufhed them in a moment. Thefe chariot-drivers fucceeded to the gladiators, and I believe had fomewhat of a deeper meaning than one is now aware of: contention poflibly between the land and fea, or perhaps ftudenta in alchemy might find out the allufion ; common fenfe can but revolt againft their factious folly. But grave Juftinian, pious and orthodox (for many years at leaft , was eafily overpowered by pantomime and fhow : he married ajille cC opera, as we fhould call her now, the fafcinating Theodora; raifcd her to the rank and to more than ufual privileges of emprefs, which flie ufed as many a bella huff a would have ufed them, protedling her own worthlefs friends from juftice, her favourites from dete of fmall value ; but from the fcrics of events. The month Dccemlxr is afcertained, it fcems by Evagrius ; and that Belifarius en- tered the town upn end in death. They got him away how- X 2 ever. }6l FROM EXPULSrON OF GOTinCK KFNG3 [cii. x, e\'cr, and put him in a monaflcry, much to his own difquiet and that of the people who delighted in inch exhibitions of fanotity, and ceafcd not to lament our inclement feafons, which hindered pcoj^le from per- forming penances fuch as oriental zeal infli6ted on its votaries, and eaftern climes more eafily permitted. Fakirs and Bonzccs arc at this day trying to obtain future happiuefs by voluntar}- and felf-impofcd wretchcdnefs in India ; and I think 'tis Anfon's Voyages which^ tell us how pious women at Peru, in his day, dragj^ed heavy croffes up and down the flrcet, and wore a waiftcoat quilted with thorns within, to keep their anguilh always^ alive ; fo favourable are hot climates to a fpirit of deviation concerning fenual pleafures and fenfual punifhments. The women, ia order to mortify themfelves, fought for deformities which heaven had denied them, and to become loathfome, by ne\er having waflied or combed, was confidered as a claim on Paradife. See the (lory of St. Mary the Egyptian, and many more. Such things are now nearly gone out of Europe, although I have myfelf feen ladies perform odd penances enough at Naples and at Mantua ; and Jane Rogers, of Cumberland, was well known in the eighteenth century, for wandering about the north, in confequence of a religious vow ; flic knitted every part of her own ftrange clothing upon two wooden pins : the wool flie gathered, carded herfclf, and ipun. She accepted no alms except of food and tobacco, never touched money for fourteen years, nor ever flept in a place (he paid, for ; but carried her whole poflef- lions at her back, in a large bag, which was ib ncceflary to her exig- ence, and to ber comfort as it (hould feem, that when flie had nothing elfe to carry, flic filled the bag with fand. But private memoirs are valuable, chiefly as they eyince the Hate of publick manners ; and what has been mentioned of the popes in this chapter, militates againft the notion which cloild our laft ; becaufe we find that although Rome, now no longer the metropolis of a vafl: empire, was dwindled down into a mere bifhop's fee, Jufliaian's fupremacy was no lefs acknow- ledged ; on the contrar}', it was fubmitted to with blind acquiefcence, both CH. x,] BY BELISARTUS TO A. D. 6oo. 165 both by the pontiff who proteded Rome, and by the patriarch who !iad the care ot" ccclefialiical matters at Couftantinople, and who, by the Emperor's command, accepted the fecond place after St. Peter's fucccflbr. The fovereign however growing old, and his head weakened by perpetual pondering upon incomprehcnfible fpcculations, began to think. Chrift's human nature a mere phantom, and that he never had cat and drank in reality. This herefy was called that of the Docctes, to which were likewifc joined the Monothelites, who faid that Jefus had but one v\ ill as God, and no ideas as man. To thcfe fancies the Metropolitan rcfufing his aflcnt, Jultinian depofcd and baniflied him without confulting pope or patriarch, and worfe than all, growing jealous of thofe acclamations that refoundcd wherever BelLfarius turned his fteps, and wholly governed by Theodora, who loved the general's iv'tfe, not him ; he, after all his ferviccs, exiled that loyal xmrcfifting cliicf, content to end his days in fuch obfcurity, that numberlefs fables were fabricated concerning the manner in which he fpent his time. The ftrange notion however of his begging at the gates of Rome, is now confidcrcd by fcholars as a mere fiction, ennobled by the rough fublimity of Salvator Rofa's pencil ; enriched by the glowing colours of Vandyke ; and rendered with an exadncfs worthy truth alone, by the minute nicety of Vandcrwcrfi^". But Clothaire, in thefe davs folc king of France, after fubduing Cranmufc, his haughty rival, burned him to death in the poor pcal'ant's houfe, whither he run for refuge, with his proteding friends; and having committed many other ex- ccflcs, particularly the forcible feizurc of a beautiful lady, wife to (jau- ticr dc8 Ivctcaux, was fuddenly ftnick with remorfe, and of his own accord, made the lands of that nobleman, who died of grief, an inde- pendent Hate bellowed upon his fon, whofe family have enjoyed it ever fmcc. There were princes de BeJlay, the name of that territ<;iy in the focntccnth century ; and a Monfieur dcs Yveteaux flourilhcd as a French wit in time of Louis XIV. A general famine that affrighted all our continent however, lays clofcr claim upon our rciio- 166 FROM EXPULSION OF GOTHICK KINGS [ch x. JpeBive eye : it was foon followed by a univerfal plague, a new volcano opened near the Rhone, and terrified the confcience of Clothairc, while Totilas the Oftrogoth, fought to fubdue Rome by dint of ftarving out the- few inhabitants, and would have fucccedcd, had not her aftivc bifhop Vigilius, gone himfelf to feek for corn to Conftantinople. He died on his way home, if I remember, not without ftrong fufpicions of being poi- foned, A comet too marked thefe tremendous times, and ihat was fol- lowed by an unufual palenefs of the fun. But a flill ftranger meteor than the comet, calls for our admiration. Not the wild northern con- queror, who fcemcd an ign'ts-fatuus alone, compared to his great prcdc- ceflbr Attila, whom he profefled to make the model of his condud, in attacking that venerable city, which now nearly dcferted, was like to fall an eafy prey to every furious foe ; but a new character in life and hiftory, Narfes, the far-famed eunuch of the eaft, by birth a Pcrfian, by profefTion a courtier, bred literally to the loom and diftafF, when in the female apartments of the palace, he had during his early youth held fuch of the fcrvilc and fubaltern offices, as had been appointed him by bed-chamber women and pages, little cognizant of the latent warrior they were commanding. He meantime, at leifure moments from his work, fludied the art of war with fuch fuccefs, that he at length obtained, from influence of ladies in the train of Theodora, permifTion to attend in the new regiments levied for purpofe of driving the Oftrogoths from Italy. Once fettled in the armv, Belifarius, who favv and owned his merit, gave him command and power : which polfeffed, Totilas, and Telas who fucccedcd It'iui when killed, foon funk before the refiftlefs courage of Narles, whofc high prowcfs and vic- torious deed> amazed mankind ; and tried at lead to teach them, that foul, not body, conftitutcs the hero. Some Franks oppofed, pretend- ing to defpife him ; but all oppofition to fuch gallantry was vain, and all contempt ill-founded. About that time or fooner 'twas, that an internal cancer confequcnt on her ill life, confumed the vitals of once beautiful and lively Theodora ; who mingled virtue with her fliamc- Icfs CH. a] BY BELISARIUS; TO A. D. 600. I67 kfs vices, had flaown fortitude on fome occafions, fidelity on others, •while grave Juftinian, having outlived friends and enemies, and em- prefs, expired with no difturbances at all, except thofe which the un- fechomable and fruitlcfs refearches of the times afforded, and which thefc lines of Cowley feem- made on p.urpofe to controul, when be iiys — •In this wild maze let vain endeavours end, How can the lefs the greater comprehend ? Or finite reafon reach infinity ? Since who could fathom God were more than He. Narfes meantime made proud Pelagius pope, who was fuppofcd to ' have given poifon to his predeceffor ; while Britain cultivated com- merce under Ida and ^Ella, and Guthrie thinks London was even then a place of much note for its riches. Carlifle's gaieties, led by Queen GuincvcT, were, as wc know, the theme of future fong. That literature ran low among us* may be proved by the laft- mcntioncd author's ending his lill: of clafficks with Procopius, and leaving a juft blank to venerable Bede, The monaftery and bifhop- rick of St. Afiph in Flintfhire, were however founded by Kenti- gcm bilhop of Glafgow, who having placed it on the river Elwy vras called Epifcopas Elvcetifis for a time ; but being recalled to Scot- land whence he came, refigncd the fee to his difciple Afaph, from •whom it took its name. The tiny fpot called Icombkill this while, difpcnfed from midft our ftormy Hebrides the northern lights of truth ; irradiating Scots, Pids, and dwellers in thofe diftant regions, with corufcations emanating from true religion, and confccrating the feat of fciciKc ; where, in her hairy gown and moffy cell, flic taught * It (liouM perhapi be mentioned here, that the great emperor JuAinian him- fclf never learned to write. His iccrctary cut the letters for him to fign, in foft wood ; then holding his maflci's hand, drew tiic inftrument where the place was cut, thus A V I hcfe, Jacques Auguftc dc Chcvaaes ihiults, were tlic tanfit tt lafa Hurtc. He Ukcs all ibis from Procopius. and \6s FROM EXPULSION OF GOTHTCK KINGS [cii. x. and pradifed virtue — late rcwardfcd by the pathetick praife of Samuel Johnfon, when in the year 1772 he vifited thofe remote iflands, and gave the beft account of them now extant. St. Columb was perhaps fo called from his devotion to the holy dove, perhaps from his fpirit of exr phrai'ton : Co/iWihkWl was Columb's cill, or cell very poffibly, and fome- thing tells me I have heard as much. But Dr. Wallace, probably from Hedor Boethius, has informed us, that the Orkney aitd Shetland iflands were then occupied by two old nations, Pap'i and /V//. The firft of thefc poflcfled the more northern iflands, in the appellations of which the names are yet preferved : the laft inhabited the fouthcrn clufter, thence called Terra Peiorum; and the narrow feadi^iding them from Scotland Frcluni Fetlandicnm, the F'ltl Land, or rather Pctland Frith. Hence we believe that the young prince whom St. Columb converted, when he met him at the wild court of King Buda;us, was chief of thcfc Fct'i; and there are thofe who think (See Slbbald's In- trodudion to the Hiftory of ancient Scotland) that thefe are the fame Pet'i named by Herodotus, when he enumerates the Thracian tribes that went with Xerxes into Greece. B'l/lones and Satra arc certainly mentioned by him. The Biftons and Saters arc among the oldeft families in Shetland now, fajs Campbell in his Survey, written about the year 1 7O0, as I remember. But if few learned men graced thefe dark days, Cedrenus contrives to amufe himfelfand his readers with llorics of a learned dog, obfervable chiefly for tliis, that he played over in the fixth century the fame identical tricks that we ourfelves have fccn performed ibme forty years ago by the ch'ten J\-avant, and fome time after by an Englifli fpanicl. This is odder than the continued exirtcncc of the B'ljlons and Saters : but perhaps a dog can be taught only fuch tricks, or perhaps the fame ideas occur to the preceptors of dogs in every age ; fome narrownefs it certainly does prove, either in pupil or tutor. Gildas, fiirnamcd the Wife, however, fliould not be forgotten ; nor fliouId it pafs unnoticed, that about that time the flcdded Polack, as our Shakcfpcure calls him, began to feel the ani- mating CH. X.] BY BELTSARIUS, TO A. D. 6oo. 169 mating principle ; and whilft one half of the city Pompciopolis in M) fia was fwallowed up by earthquakes, Gnefna in Polonia ftartcd up dating its firft foundation from a ncft of eagles found there as he was hunting, by Leduis the legiflator of the north : who took that bird for his imprefc in future, and Poniatowfky painted it upon his coach fo late as the year l/Ol. The town deftroyed had formerly been dedicated to the fun, and was called So/i, till Pompey changed its name. 'Twas from an old infcription upon the cenotaph of Sarda- napalus found there, that his name has been configned to infamy ever fincc. But Juftin II. claims a momentary attention, as both the blue and green fadions united in their preference of him, the mod deferv- ing nephew of JulHnian : and in the days we tell of, it was chiefly the riotous partizans of different chariot-drivers in the arena, that difpofcd of empires and difraembcred dates. Rome feemcd herfelf annihilated, but as the Pope Pelagius fupported in fome meafurc his facerdotal dig- nity, he was the firft bifliop elevated to the papal chair fmce great St. LiCO, without requiring the Emperor's confcnt ; and the neglect was now more accidental than defigned, for the church had not yet as formally ihakcn off the ftate's fuprcmacy. Pelagius owed his feat and dignity to Narfcs, and was the firfl Pope, as Gibbon tells, who required celibacy of his clergy : he bid the deacons and fub-dcacons leave cither their wives or their offices, and what deacon or fub-deacon was likely to hefitate in the choice ? His patron abhorred a married prieft, he faid, and thofe who were abhorred by Narfes lived not long. The new Emjjcror however, wholly fwayed by his young coiifort Sophia the Proud, had the imprudence, at her fuggeflions, to fend the gallant leader an in- fulting letter; which the ill-advifcd lady wrote herfelf, thinking it a high ftrain of loftincfs perhaps to bid him return and fpiu with her maids in the palace, and not think of fctting himfclf up to rule the weft. In effect he >*-as immediately fupcrfcdtd. and his place filled up by a vicegerent, with the ftylc and title oi Exarch, thc/evaith form of government in Home. This officer held his court at JRavcnha, and Vol. J. Y ruled 1 ;o FROM EXPULSION OP GOTHICK KINGS [ch. x. ruled the ftate after a new mode, which lafted on (^nominally at leaft) till time of Charlemagne. But vvc muft follow the fortune of old Narfes, who fent his thoughtlefs correfpondcnt word, that he would fpin her fuch a thread anon as fhe and all her maids never fliould un- twift. To keep his word, he made immediate application to A.lboin, a femi-barbarous prince, refiding in Hungary, where the rough natives had with horror viewed him to their polluted altar drag by force his promifed bride, the beauteous Rofmunda, whofe father Conimundus having denied her to his arms after bctrothment, he murdered even be- fore the Ihrieking daughter's eyes ; and forming his fcalped cranium into a cup, obliged the wretched Princefs to drink out of her parent's ikuU the feftive, but to him, in future, the fatal marriage draught. Encouraged by revolting Narfes, this pitilcfs leader of Pannonian mul- titudes preffed forward into Italy ; but the offended lady who followed in his train, and loved his chamberlain Count Helmichis, watched an unguarded hour, and betrayed her too-confiding fpoufe into the hands of that lord and another, Peridaius, who ftabbed their mafter Alboin Avhen afleep. The affaflms were obliged to run however ; and taking Ihelter at Ravenna, a town inimical to Narfes, were received, and Peridasus propofed the celebration of his nuptials with the widow, who had promifed him her hand in order to obtain the benefit of his. Rof- munda was no rigid obfervcr of her promifes ; the Exarch, to whom (he applied for relesfe of them, was himfelf fenfiblc to her charms, Longinus, and fent his rival chained to Conftantinople, where Juftin and Sophia caufmg him to be thrown to a lion, the brave Croatian killed the fa- vagc beaft, threatened the men who turned it out upon him, and having ftabbed two noblemen at a time, ufing both hands at once, the Emperor commanded his eyes to be put out, and caged him for the remainder of his life. Count Helmichis meantime, her real favourite, being too much in love to adl with prudence, faw the officious man- ners of the Exarch, and viewed them with a jealous eye : but teazing the lady too much with his fufpicions concerning Longinus's zeal in her CH. X.] BY BELISARIUS, TO A. D. 60o. 171 her fcnicc, made himfelf inconvenient to Rofmunda's fchemcs, and Ihc refol\xd upon his death immediately. Adding deceit to crueltv, Ihe hcrfcif prepared the poifon, and with an air of gaiety adminillcred it to him in Iherbet. The fturdy officer however, familiar with aflalfination, on the firft talle doubted not the intent ; and fci/.ing his perfidious princefs with a firm grafp, forced her to divide the futal potion with him, and then expired in her lifclefs arms. Etmullcr fa\ s that fbldicrs have an idea whoever drinks out of a human ikull fliall thereby grow in%-ulnerable. They mull have been true defccndants «»f the old Scandinavian deities who thought fo : but Etmullcr* died only in 1 "32. Perhaps at Leipfick, his native place, they think io ft'ill. There arc there, I believe, ftrong remains of runic and Celtic ideas. The fublime ode compofed by King Regner Lodbrog in the ninth centur}', has a flanza faying, " We fought with fwords; I am ftill full of joy *• when I think what a banquet is preparing for me in the palace of *' the gods. Soon, foon in the fplendid abode of Odin fliall we drink " beer out oi the Jkulls of our enemies ; this will fecurc us immortality. •• A brave man Ihrinks not from death, no coward enters the hall ot* ** Odin. Let no man utter exprefllons of fear ; he fliall perifh by the " bites of ferpents; his abode (hall be in Naftrandc, where drops of ♦* venom diftill through the lattices, &c. &c." But RetroJ^ct^Jion calls us off to Juilin, who now firft perfuaded he had done a folly, began to fear the confequences of his wife's imprudence, when thirfy tyrants of the Lombard race divided Italy among them, leaving his Exarch far Icfs power than pomp, and only that midland territory in obedience, which has been fmce known by name of the Romagna. Old Narfcs too, returning next from Naples, which he had ftirred up to rebellion, helped to perplex the Emperor, too flow to take alarm : but ;!ge at • Etmullcr wa» no infuld phyfidan : lie tliinks witli all Iiis Iiejrt, tliat if yon gatlici « root of cyanu* upon Ctrfui ChrlJI, day, you may, by holding it tight in your liaiid, flop a b«nMrrb3(e of the nofc. y 2 lentrth 1 7 i FROM EXPULSrON OF GOTHICK KINGS [cii. x. 1 ength checked, and death fruftratcd the projeds of this indignant and revengeful eunuch. Avarice is the fole paffion which can keep its ground at ninety. Stimulated by that, he flained his warrior fword ; and having accumulated immenfe trcafures, from plunder of the Ita- lian flatcs, he threw them altogether into a well, murdering the wretched men who brought it thither, that chey might tell no tales. While Juftinopolis, now Capo Sljir'ia, was built by the Emperor as a fortrcfs agalnft thefe barbarians, who under Clepho, fon to Alboin, but i\ot by fair Rofmunda, beficgcd Rome once again ; but the imperial troops foon routed them, and killed the chief of that invading army. The thirty dukes now felt fo forcibly the effeds confequent upon divided power, they foon took up a new and ftrangc refolve, making fubfcription for a king to whom they all fhould pay a voluntary ho- mage. To this high ftation AiUhar'ts, a Lombard of venerable extrac- tion, was elefted, nor gave caufe of repentance or even regret to his fubfcribers ; while Chilperic and Slgebert, Frcdegund and Brunehault, made France re-echo with wild tales of wickednefs, and vice yet un- exampled. A dreadful fliock of earthquake in the eaft, announced the birth of Mahomet the impoftor ; and Juftin fomewhere about this period, I believe, fell into a ftate of mental incapacity. He had no fon : his daughter named Arabia married a doge of Venice ; her de- fccndunts inhabited that gay town as late as 1/85. Another daughter married to Genoa : the houfey?/^ fixed in, not being as noble or illuf- trious as the Venetian, funk willingly its own original defignation in that oi Jiifthuan't. I faw a lady of that family myfelf, and fancied fhe derived from Juftinian I. till I was told what I ought to have known before, that he had no child at all by Theodora. Cafa Radoera is the name of Arabia's defcendants. Gibbon fays that is the grcateft private family in Europe ; but it is very difficult to be accurate in fuch afler- tions, which Mcmmo, drawing his pedigree from the Roman conful Memmius, difavowcd in my hearing. Upon a peftilence happening at Genoa long after this, the only furviving Juftiniani was a prieft-; and en. X.] BY BELISARIUS, TO A. D. 6qo. 173 and was, in confideration of his noble blood, permitted to marry and continue the Emperor's race. He begged a female from Cafa Ba- docra as* alone worthy his addrefles : they wedded, after five centuries had Separated their confanguinity ; and the old lady I faw at Genoa (See Piozzi's Obfersations and llcflcdions) was lineally defcended from that pair, connected A. D. 1 1 74. Tiberius was now created Caefar Auguftus, fccond of the name for near fix hundred years. He was a Thracian, as I think, by birth. His firm behaviour, and above all his zeal for abilrufl- iJKCulations, the virtue of thofe times, dazzling the mole-eyed hiftorians, they tell no- thing of him but what is good, and dwell with plcafurc on his fubmif- fion to the pricfthood — then for the moft part deeply engaged in keen difputes, and ever earneft in their endeavours to afcertain the prccifc moment when Mcfiiah was in heaven frjl called Jo ; forgetful of his precepts here on earth, w hile Chriflian love and charity were loft in railing accufations of herefy, with which each combatant was hafty to brand his warm competitor. It were however good to recolle<5l, that although council after council were fummoned to decide in wiiat man- ner Jefus was Chrift, i. e. both God and man ; and to make clear tlie hidden myftery of hypoftatick union, by which a trinity of perfons comprehends itfclf in unity of godhead ; the good bilbops who dili- gently affifted at and compofed thcfc councils, could not write, not erccn. their names ; as Clarkfon, Warton, Jortin, hundreds more inform us : they very gravely fct their mark to their opinions ; while fomc at- tendant clerk, paid for the purpofe, figned and fubfcribcd their an- Iwcrs to enquiries which Newton and which rai«:hal cholc to leave un- difcuilcd. So much more bold is ignorance than fcicnce. It like-wife u obfcrvabic enough, that as thefc bilhops * moftly made a crofs fcr\c • Unlike to llicfc our llojaph Vcnedota, grandfon,as Mr. Pennant fjys, to ralo pou pTjdatn or Pf)ian, Briuin, a cultivated tharaf^cr, wro'.c and ftudicd ; and left not only his name to oik Flintfhirc bifhoprick St. Afapli, but h;.s been celebrated by VoiVnn among the Stripiorfs liritannicttt for 174 FROM EXPULSION OF GOTHICK KINGS [ch. x, for the flgnaturc on fuch occafions, poor folks who cannot write make a crofsjiill. The proper time for keeping Eaftcr fcrved as a new fubjedl of of- fence, concerning which the French and Spaniards made a dreadful conteft worthy a barbarous age. Battles between Abares and Bulgarcs, ferocious tribes I remind one of Voltaire's Candide, and Retrofpe6iton in the ogres and ogrcfles, recognizes the entertaining fables, called Contes de ma Mere rOye* which frighted and delighted our babyhood. The Chagan too, no Icfs dctellable, who entering on the Venetian ter- ritories with a troop of Huns, befieged the beautiful Tomilda in Friuli ; and promifing her marriage, prevailed with her by mcflages, cxprcf- five of tendereft affetftion, to betray the town into his hands. Then feizing on the citadel, performed the ceremony, and thruft the weak deluded lady out to perifh literally in the half-forfaken ftreets, of in- fults committed by licentious foldiers on her perfon. Left wc fhould be led however to fuppofc, that the eaftern empire was in a ftate of higher civilization than the weft, it will be necclfary to relate how ill- advifed Hormifdas, monarch and tyrant of Perfia, enraged about the lofs of a battle againft Germany, fent a woman's drefs, cap and gown, to his general, Baza, by way of reproach for his having Ihcwn fo little courage in the engagement. Baza rebelled in confcqucnce of this affront ; and affifted by Cofroe, the hereditary prince, to whom this officer was a bofom friend ; they foon arrived at home, inverted the palace with their foldiers, and fuddcnly dcpofed the father and the king. Making a (how of equity however, a council was called toge- ther in the great fquare, and a propofal made there aloud by Baza, to cleft one of their mafter's fons. " Any of them hut Cofroe T exclaimed the captive fovereign from his balcony ; whence, though in irons, he had the ftrange fearleflhefs to recommend his own particular favourite, a youth, fon to his beft loved female. No more was neceflary, Cofroe and Baza forced out the unfortunate fultana and her boy, who little confcious * Mother Goofe's Talcs. CH. X.] BY BELISARIUS TO A. t). 600. 179 confcious of the given offence, vizr^ fawed a/under in each other's pre* fence ; and all before the face of agonized Hormifdas, who chained to his fad flation at the rails of his own balcony, curfed and reviled their horrid praAices, with rage equally impoffible to curb, to exprcfs, or to endure. His paffion fudbcating him at length, the rebel's club daflied at his fwelling head, was by Cofroe confidercd as a coup de grace. Ft la courroux du cici pour en venger la tcrre Nous donne un parricide en dcfaut du tonnerre. Thunder no more affrights the guilty lands, Giv'n by avenging heav'n to parricidal hands. A ftory of a gentler nature here makes a pleafing break, or change at leaft, amidft the annals of Gothick barbarity. Fair Theudelinda was the only child of Garibaldi, Duke and Prince of Bavaria, and the fubfcription monarch we have read of, meant to make her queen ot Italy. He fcnt an embaffy therefore to demand his bride, declaring his purpofe to live the while himfclf in fomc devout retirement. Bent upon other thoughts however, he followed, clofcly difguifed, the train of his own envoy, ading the part of fubaltern to him who had com- raiiTion to fee, and to report the lady's charms. But when Theude- linda came down to fupper with the nobles, and at her father's com- mand, fubmittcd thofe charms to view ; Antharis fcarcc able to con- troul his rapture, prefented the cup to his pretended lord, and when his miftrefs pledged it, took it from her : filently at the fame moment, Init pafBonatcJy prefling her hand : and drawing the happy finger crofs his lips, ihewed evident figns of paflion yet unobfcrvcd by all except the Princcfs, who when retired, told to her nurfe the dangerous adventure ; lamenting in pathetic terms the officer's audacity, atKl her own beauties, which had infpired fo isadmiffiblc, though not to her an undelightful flame. Tl»c nurfe however, better {killed in hcroick amours, confolcd her patronefs with a conjcdure, that it might be the King of Italy himfclL His port and perfonal accompiifhmcnts made 170 FROM EXPt^^SION OF GOTHICK KINGS] [ch. x. made this conjeci—fuch he was, without hyperbole or exaggeration. His temperate life, marked by the love of God, and love of man, was fpent in fervice of all Chriflian creatures. Yet did he take and tranfmit to his fucceflbrs the triple crown as bifhop of Rome, primate of Italy, and apoille of the Weft, called from that day the three legations, and unabohfhed till A. D. 1 800, and haughtily condemned the patriarch of Conftantinople for reviving the difputc about precedence, and for calling hlmfelf (impertinently enough wc own) the univerfal bifhop : fo like Saint Peter in whofe chair he fate He rather than not go before Would forfeit heaven at the door. Wc muft however recollcft, tliat his opponent who occupied the reft- dentiary and oriental fee, difputed for the poji (as did Saint Gregory), not for the individual. He was a mortified and almoft an emaciated Ikeleton, called Jean le Jeuneur par eminence, having never touched, meat or wine fince his ordination ; fcarce ever milk and eggs : fo vir- tuous and fincere were thefe good pontiffs. That in their day pr-ayers for the dead Ihould be firft introduced is flrange, and contradidory ; becaufe CH. X.] BY BELISARIUS, TO A. D. 6oo. 179 bccaufe at the fame time other dead were now implored to beftow their prayers upon the living, who little reflcded that " it had coft " more to redeem their fouls, fo that they muft let that alone for ever." Thcfe inftitutions afterwards degenerated into a commerce gainful to the church, although avarice tainted not the mind of this great Pope, who honeft in his folicitudc for departed excellence, was praying for the future happinefs of Trajan, at an altar flicwn to this day at Rome, whence people tell how a ftrange voice proceeded, and in a pra:tcrna- tural tone warned him to ceafc his unavailing fuit, afliiring him the objeA of his care was fafe, and in the hands of his Creator. What he decreed, that images Ihould neither be torn down, nor worlhipped, but held in decent veneration, Ihould have been written down in letters of gold : our commentators fay that was a command which could not have been obeyed ; for fet up images once in your churches, they will be worfliippcd whether p>opes and councils will or not. In remote times perhaps it might be fo ; but I faw Notre Dame, at Drefden, loaded with devotional figures, paintings, and other ornaments, and no one dreamed of paying them adoration. The Lutherans know better ; had Gregory's fucceflbrs however, refembled htm, Luther's re- "formation would have been fuperfluous, and Calvin never would have been heard of With his pontificate wc clofc this chapter, which has brought out to Retrofpe6i'ton s eye the firft Ooo years after our Lord's afcenfion ; and fhown how thofe wild rufliing inundations from the north, ran as they fubfidcd into a vaft variety of fiflurcs great and fmall ; formed by the fury of their firlt onfct, and broke the uni- formity of civil life, as did the deluge 2500 years before, crack the fmooth furfacc of our natural world, and loofcn the fcparating parts from each other. Manners followed the general alteration, and ftatcs grew independent of their common lord. Z 2 CHAP. FROM GOOD SAINT GREGORY [ch. xi. CHAP. ir. FROM GOOD ST. GREGORY TO THE BIRTH OF CHARLES- MARTEL, A. D. 700. FROM that great chara6ler whofc Chriftlan virtues rcli-evc at length our retrojpet^ive eye, fatigued by following the fierce barbarians through indifcriminated fcenes of blood and slaughter : our Englifti anceftors derived their hopes of happinefs in the next world, and of prof- perity in this. The Saxons admitted no juries in 'criminal calcs; ftiil Icfs in matters of property ; nor was there any adlion. fo horrible that it could not be maintained by the fword, or compenfated by the purfe. Gifts were omnipotent, and made commutation eafy to the rich for every offence. Gwilt fatisfied all demands ; whence the word griilfj, as I have heard, in our Old Bailey pleadings. But Pope Gregory, who had before his elevation pitied the poor children fet up for falc at Rome, of whom, enquiring whence they came, he faid, non An^l'i fed arigeli ; not Angles, but angels would thefc boys and girls be called had they but baptifm and education ; remcmbcr'd the pretty Oaves he had obferved at mar- ket, and fent over Auguftine, a monk, with fome Jiffillant miffionaries to England. To difpute whether or not we had at that time a church independent of papal authority, is a mere jcft ; the bifhop of Caerlon upon mice was, under God, our fpiritual overfcer, fays Spelman ; but he was fo, I truft, becaufe the ifland being forgotten and ncglcd:ed, no other perfon thought of feeing over them. Gregory the Great never defired rule fave for the purpofe of exercifmg beneficence. A fhepherd founded Rome at firft ; a (hepherd and pallor now faved it from final ruin ; and Gibbon owns what Howell had aflerted, that in the fifth. tA. XI.] TO THE BIRTH OF CHARLES M ARTEL, A. D. roo. 1 8i fifth, fixth, and Seventh centuries, the miftrefs of the world would have been a heap of ftoncs, had not the popes prefcrved it. How happy- had they kept the original charaftcr of their llation according to this excellent example fct them ; then as kings have been eomparcd to the lion, they might in like manner have refcmbled the elephant ; ma- jeftic, grave, and wife, and whilft unoffended, innocuous. Meanwhile his miirionaries landed on our coaft, where Providence had prepared for their reception the heart of a prince who had jull married a beau- tiful defcendant oi Clov'is, and had agreed, with that fpirit of toleration which ever marks an Engliftiman, that flie fliould be allowed free ex- crcife of her religion, though ditFering efTcntially from his own. The charms of Bertha added their influence to the preaching of Paulinus, domcftick chaplain to the young queen's houfehold, who felt himfclf happy in afliftance from thefe newly arrived rcligicux ; and as Can- terbury was the place where Ethelbert kept his court, 'twas foon be- come the fcenc of his convcrfion, and then exalted into a bifliop's fee, where Auftin was confccratcd primate. London quickly embraced the faith, and St. Paul's cathedral was dedicated with due formality. A church had been built to St. Peter long before, but the laft inun- dation of barbarifm then ftopt religion's progrefs : things were maturcr now : Northumberland caught the flame of profclytifm, and York was made the fccond refidcncc to Canterbury. . The high prieft of the pa- can fupcrftition next, being from internal and external evidence pcr- iiiadcd of our redemption by Jefus Chrift, fiicilitated the happy crc- drncc of an ifland, dcftined for the defence of truth in future ages. The Britons fixed in Wales had long been converted, it was the Atigli w hofc (late of ignorance and flavcry afi^c<5led the pope as he paflcd through the (Ircets at home. His miflionaries however, would not confine their cares to England ; but not content to find our Wcllhmcn Clirifbians, infiftcd on their being Romanifts, and jufl as eager to fettle the right day of kecjiing Elaftcr, as to overturn the worfliip of Woden, their violence produced rcfiAancc on the part of a people already well iuftruded 182 FROM GOOD SAINT GREGORY [ch. xi. inftrudcd in the principles neceflary to falvation, and fteady to their primitive fimplicity. The verfcs of Talicffin, then bard or poet laureat to Maelgwyn, evince their fixed attention to preferve their fpiritual pretenfions purchafed by long paft conteft with, and flight from fo- reign invaders. Gwae ofFeririad byd, nys anghieifFtia gwydd An nys Pregetha. Gwae ny cheidw el Gail ac ef yn fugail Ac nys areilia. Gwae ny cheidw ei adefaid rhag Bleiddie Rhyfeniaid Ay ffon guwppa. . , . Woe be to the prieft that's born Who will not duly weed his corn, And root away the tares ; Woe to the Ihepherd that's remifs In watching of his flock— and is Unfaithful to his cares ; Woe be to him who doth not keep With's crooked ftafFhis harmlefs fheep From Romifli wolves and fnares. Rnvlantfs Mona Anliqua. Their rcfufal of the tonfure however, their abhorrence of the new doc- trine of unmarried pricfthood, and their rcjcdlon of the tenets by which the faccrdotal drcflcs were confidcrcd as of fcrious importance ; created an antipathy towards them in the monks, who cafily incited their Saxon converts to maflacre every ancient Briton who yet remained fcattered up and down the richer provinces of an ifland once all their own, and long protccfhed in pofleflion of it by thofe Romans who now encouraged the invading Saxons to extirpate them. From the date of hopelefs fervi- tude thofe Welfh were placed in, who by infirmity or fubmiffion efcaped this nearly general dcftru6lion, derives the ancient vtUenage we read of: the rightful lords of the country thus becoming its firll villains or Haves, CR. XI.] TO THE BIRTH OF CHARLES MARTEL, A. D. 700. 1 S3 flaves, a term in our happier days of mere reproach, both through the kingdom and the principahty. But thus we fee the fcamlcfs coat of Chrilt, faid to have been found about that time in the city Zaphat, afterwards a Turkifh refidence, and called Sapct ; but overthrown in the fixtecnth century by an earthquake, infpiring the papifts with ad- ditional zeal to preferv'e uniformity by any and by every method, wil- lingly forgetting the adage often repeated by the old fathers of our pri- mitive church, in vejlevarietasjit—fcijfura nonjit ;* but I fuppofe the colours all were faded. Be this as it may, that fovereignty which will ever be obtained by fuperiority of knowledge amongft unenlightened nations ftniggling for information, was here foon fettled into monkifli influence ; and as power will be commonly abufed, the pofleflbrs of that influence turned it to gainful purpofes ; what flaould they elfe ? As rrVigiatx they could not reign themfclves, and when precluded from the nobler paflTions, avarice, which ever feeds on drofs and drcgsv devoured well-pleafcd the leavings of ambition. Obedient Angles paid chearfully a penny each houfe to their inftru6lors ; a tax known by the name of Peterpence : nor can we cfleem that a hard one, if it be true that Wlthred, king of Kent, was able, not long after thcfe occur- rences, to pay the king of Wcflcx a fum in their filvcr equal to 0^,0001. Nor docs ought in the Saxon chronicles give rcafon we fhould doubt it ; for though their coins arc very mean and paltry, we read of a Northumbrian prelate ferved in plate not long after the year 700. Of what hisyrnvV^ confifted, indeed I am at a lofs ; for filvcr hafted knives were new at Edward the fecond's coronation : perhaps he had one filvcr waiter or a cup. His feet were in the dirt we know, for fplcn- dour will come in before convenience ; fo much more haftc man makes to be diftinguilhcd than to be happy. The famous church of St. Peter's, Wcremouth, built by Bencdid Bifcopius, was never floored or paved, tliough people were far fetched from Rome to build it ; and • Let the veflurc of our Redeemer cxliiblt variety of tinU, but let no ftitTars divide the part*. Eddius 184 FROM GOOD SAINT GREGORY [ch. xi; Eddius fays that bifliop Wilfrid glazed one fine window of a church in Yorkfliire as early. as CC9, The ftate of mufick in thefe days may be gathered from aftory how Putta bllhop of Rochc-llcr, being driven from his fee by Ethelred king of Mercia, in 680, went about the country an itinerant pfalm-fmger, teaching children, and people difpofed to learn, the choral praifcs of their Maker and his faints, according to the rough melody then in ufe ; acquired probably from France, where Thdodoric had, at Clovis's requeft, long before, fcnt fome of his bcft performers from Italy. In thefe days St. Dunflan too was fo exquifitc a perfcr- mer, that his harp was accounted ccleftial, and capable of producing founds without help of any hand at all : witncls the old verfes made ages after : St. Dunftan's harp faft by the wall Upon a pin did hang — a; The harp itfelf with lyre and all, Untouch'd by hand did twang — a. And this fuperllition fetting fomc fly fellow to tune two ftrings in uni- fon, &c. putting the inftrumcnt in a place where the wind blew hard, fuggcftcd the idea of yEolus's harp, defcribed by Kirchcr in Mufurgia. It was no new difco\cry in our days. But our own ifland muft not cngrofs all ptiwcr.s oi RetroJ'pc(^ttou : the plague which raged at Rome may well detain it, perhaps to admire the courage of the pontiff, per- haps in our prcfent humour, to condemn as fupcrftition what fcarce could even then have been enough prailcd as piety. When the meek biftoop walked himfelt'in proccflion, Icarlefs for his fafcty, along the in- fen its barren (hores ; while fomething of a fimilar dcfperation is re- corded of Anglo Saxons on the coaft of Suffex. When I read this to an Italian friend however, and when he aiked me why they did not rather go o' fifliing ? I had no anfwer ready. Hiftory herfelf is often ill prepared enough when fudden queftions interrupt her eloquence ; and my poor fummary is w illing to confcfs as controvertible the truth of many a fact recorded here : but with the fads, except as a compiler, myfelf have nought to do. 'Twas in this century at lead that Ifidorc Hifpalcnfis wrote his books of Ketrofpe^ion, beginning w ith the carlieft dawn of lifrht, but leaving us in days of fad opacity. And how has that vaporous cffecl of diftance increafcd fince his time ! How is the difficulty grown almoft infuperablc, of finding through the gloom de- cided objcongucruc, fpcaking on this fubjcd, fays truly, that tlic firil kings of his native France were flrangc creatures. Ih cia'iciU iCitrangei gnu, is the cxprcffion, Clovis and Clothairc (fays he), Vol. I. A a Cliildcbcrt iM FROM diOiOD SAtNT GlifiGORY [ch. xr. Childefaert and Dagobert ; Cardan Ihould, for otir fakes, have made their panegyrick inftead of Nero's. 'Tis from him we learn however, that St. Cloud was lo named after Clodoalde, who, to compenfatc the groflcft poffiblc immoralities, made immcnfc donations to the church, and at fomc future time was canoni/xd. Clothaire, made king of France at four months old, under the regency of Gontram- due d'Orleans and the old finner Brunhault, felt when the fhort mi- nority was ended (for princes then were at fifteen emancipated) his juftice and his power mature. He called his wicked grandmother to trial ; and at an age almoft advanced to dotage and decrepitude, fhe w^as found guilty of the death often kings, or at leaft heirs to royalty ; and many accufations of inceft and cruelty being added, flie was tied by her remaining grey hairs to a wild horfe's tail, and gradually kicked in pieces. Her charitable inftitutions however, when enumerated, tempt fome hiftorians to mollify her crimes, and fome readers to com- paffionate fuch fufFcrings inflicted by that favourite child, for whofe fake many of the fms had been committed. Clothaire was of a truly favage charader : Dagobert his fon alone could foften his furious temper ; and he forced or perfuaded him to give up half his power, getting himfelf created independent fovereign of Metz, with the title of king. The word duke had been difgraced by a nobleman of that rank, having fubmitted to aed from Go- thick fury, while the great work of feparation ftill went forward ; Spain aiTumcd in fome rcfpcds the form zve fee it in ; our own kingdom was a fettled heptarchy, and I^nt was rigidly obfervcd in England, where Cambridge boafts enlargement by king Sigibcrt. Warton fays too, that wc poflcflcd a Homer — the pope Vital Ian, fent us here a prelate, rich in found literature and valuable books : he had the homilies of good St. Chryfoftomc, he had Jofcphus too, and Warton does fay his Homer was written on paper. Adrian, who came over with him, brought us tMofilken palls, and an arch chanter from Naples, and Bale very fcri- oully ccnfurcs our voltiptmufnefs. But thefe events, although confi- dcrahlc in their cfFcds on civil and on focial life, are far too faint to hold the eye of Retrojpt^ion fixed on them, while giant forms come forward on our canvas, and names all new to fame fill her wide trum- pet's mouth, which will rcfound with Othman and Abdallah, Hull and Saiadin, down to the fuUcn echoes of latcft poflerity. Mcfopotamla Vol. \. B b conquered. J 94 FROM GOOD SAINT GREGORY [en. xi. conquered, ^gypt fubducd, Arabia all aftonilhed, Antloch reduced, and a new mofque built at Jerufalcm for the Mahometan worfhip, might have made mcnjuftly regret their long-loft Bibles, where would have been fooii found the prophecy of locufts by Joel, who lived near 800 years bifore and revelations of ftrange vifions Ihown St. John gG vears nfter our Saviour's a;ra. Such pens alone could poflibly defcribc this cloud of warriors as they rolled along, blackening the fun with their numbers, and afflidling the earth with their oppreffion, fcorpions from the fandy defarts, flinging mankind to madnefs. " A fire dcvour- eth before them, and behind them a flame burneth ; the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a defolatc wildernefs ; the earth fliall quake, the heavens fliall tremble, and before their face the people fliall be much pained." So are they dcfcribed by the prophet. St. John's vifionary view of thefe invaders colours, has fixed interpre- tation upon /hetfi ; for I faw, fays he, the horfes and thofe who fate there- on ; having breaft-plates of fire, of jacin<5l, and of brimftone ; the heads of their horfes are as the heads of lions, and they have a leader over them whofe name is the dejiroyer. Scholars aflurc us, that fuch were in fad the decorations of thefe Saracens in war ; and that flame co- lour and pale yellow were their diftinguifliing colours in the battle. A ftridl inveftigation of their leader's name might poflibly throw light on that enquiry. I never heard the etymology of Mohammed. His followers' appellations w ere nearly Jewifli. Jufliiff and Ibrahim are fcarcely changed from Abraham and Jofeph ; Solyman and Zara have fuffered ftill lefs alteration from the fcripture names Sarah and Solo- mon ; Turkifli Abdalla means fervant of God we know ; and Abd'teJ has the fame fenfe appropriated to it in Hebrew. Milton, ever atten- tive to learning, makes the reception of his faithful angel, fo called, echo his name ; when a voice from the throne pronounces the hoped- for fentcnce — Servant of God, well done, &c. Pope Severinus was faid to have died of grief at hearing the pro- grefs made by thefe Saracens, though others fay his health was moft impaired by the Emperor's rcfuful to confirm him in the fee, becaufe CH. XI.] TO THE BIRTH OF CHARLES MARTEL, A. D. 700. 1 95 becaufc he fct his face againft Monothclitcs. His predeceflbr, Ho- norius, had before this covered St. Peter's church with brafs tiles, torn from the temple of Romuhis ; and Vitalian, who fcnt us the arch chanter, had in his zeal for mufick fet up orsrans in fevcral places of worfhip at Rome. Yet were things ftill in a rueecd ftate. Eugenius IV. who a6led as vicar for unhappy Martin, did build indeed fome ficerdotal prifons, that priefts, if guilty of a mifdemcanour, might not be confounded with common felons : yet Martin, a Tufcan pontiff, was, in dcfpite of decency, fcized by the Exarch, upon an order from Pyrrhus, baniflicd, andftarvcd to death for having oppofed him and his emperor, Conftans, when they perfirted in the heretical opinion of the Docetes. A patriarch of Conftanti- nople thus infulting St. Peter's fucccflor, was certainly not foon, if ever quite forgotten : and Theodore, in his Ihort papacy, wrote the anathema of the bold Pyrrhus, with a pen dipt in the eucharillick cup, the cup of general bleffing ; by this we learn at leaft, that the wine was red then ; the Romanifts ufe white now, and I think mix that with water. Meanwhile the emperors, enfeebled by domeftick quar- rels, for Conftans reigned but by fcverities pra6lifed upon his guilty aunt Martina, who loll her nofe and tongue for plots and poifonings, grew daily weaker ; while the fierce Saracens incrcafcd in ftrength. Among their various exploits, our re1roJ}e6ih'e eye now fees the old Coloflusof Rhodes fall before thefe invaders, who fold the bright Apollo to a Jew ; and he, loaded, 'tis faid, nine hundred camels with ita no longer waftc folidity. Thus ended the fixth wonder of the world — thus dropt at once from its prepoftcrous elevation, the now more than ever inanimate mafs of paganifm, and funk before the unity of godhead, Chriftians believed the end of all was near ; and (rrcgory meditated dcfertion from his imperial feat, inveftcd by thcfc warriors apparently irrefiftihlc : his plan was to have retired to Syra- cufc, foon to be called Medina, but all t!ir people rofe up and detained Kkn. Callinicn?, a Orcrk pricll, on thi^ «)ccafion found or revived the dreadful plague r>f wild-fire, and with it bunicd their ^<:^X. in the IJ b 2 Propontis. 196 FROM GOOD SAIOT GREGORY [ch. xx. Propontis. Africa, next invaded, gave itfelf up again a conquered province : Spain, Sicily, and Afia's beft poiTeffions followed ; but no diftrefles cured the Greek emperors of exercifing fcnfclcfs cruelties on tlicir own family : Gregory killed his brother Thcodofius, only becaufc he thought the people loved him ; and they juflly confidcred this fra- tricide more black, as Theodofius was a prieft and deacon, and the Emperor had only a week before received the blcflcd facramcnt at his hand. Seeing their fixed difllke, he flew to Sicily, having made mo- mentary peace with the Saracens ; and there his chamberlain or page aflaflinated him. A fucccflbr, Mezentius, chofen by the army, was quickly killed by a new Conflantine, called Pogonatus ; becaufe, hav- ing no beard when he went to Sicily he brought one home with him to Conftantinople ; having firft cut off his two brothers' nofes, that they might not not be called to fliare that power he was unable to de- fend, although the ignis gracus ftood him in good fl:ead, having de- ftroyed thirty thoufand Saracens at once in Ibme great fea engagement. • Broke down by foreign lofles, he however refolved to think no more about the popedom, and fignificd to Benedict II. fucccffor to Adeo- datus, Donus, Agatho and Leo, all exemplary charaders ; that the election of fupreme bifliop at Rome fliould ftill fland good, whether or not confirmed by mandate from Conjlantinopk. This decree con- tributed to caufe, not cure, confufion : the Exarch of Ravenna now chofe one pope, the people another : difgraceful fcenes and fharp de- bates, called the ninth fchifm, followed ; till Conon was inaugurated, and on his death Sergius was forced, with 1 00 lbs. weight of gold, to buy AJii/i eledion, and appeafe Pafchal the petty tyrant of Romagna* This Sergius was the firft who ordered the Blcfled Virgin's nativity to be kept holy, and added thefc words to the communion fervice — " Oh " Lamb of God, who takcft away the fins of the world ;" keeping by this means Monothclitcs and Docetes out of the church, and obliging Chriftian people to reflecfl, that their Redeemer, though perfed God, ■was perfect man too, of tlie fubftance of his mother born' in the world, when thus her birth-day was commanded to be held holy. Juflinian CH. XI.] TO THE BIRTH OF CHARLES MARTEL, A. D, 700. rg; Juftinian, fucceffor to Pogonatus, difgraced the purple, not only b) cutting off the nofes, and thrufting out the eyes of his opponents, but finally, by having his own face disfigured by Leontius, who afterwards ended his life in a halter, while Juftinian III. not dif- pofed to hide, as it was hoped, his uglinefs in a monaftery, after death of Tiberius Abfimarus reigned again ; till now the birth of Charles Mar- tel at Paris, gives us a glimpfc of nafcent civilization and recovering de- corum, towards the year 700. Yet c\cn then was Europe threatened with frefli calamity, the Normans, or Norwegians, buiiling in full tides on France, retarded their felicity, and fuggefted to them a new- deprecatory fentence, which they added to their litanies, and faid — - " From plague, peftilence, and fury of the Normans, good Lord de- ^ liver us." With this fad and ncceifar)' petition we will clofc this long chapter ; for now Pomponius La;tus leaves us, all is dark and checrlefs, and like the embarrafs'd knight in fome old caftle, when his AjIc lamp is blown out with a fudden wind, we wander over mofs- grown fragments, watching deceitful lights through ivy'd crevices, yet ftcpping cautioufly ; for though our laft faint glimmering guide Is, gone, readers will laugh, not pity when wc ftumble. CHAP. ipa PROM BIRTH OF CHARLES MARTEL, A. D. 700. [ch. xii. CHAP. XII. FROM BIRTH OF CHARLES MARTEL, A. D. 700. TO'''^'" CHARLEMAGNE, A. D. 800. AN incomplete hiftory is a poor thing, fays the Jefuit Le Moinc, and a complete hiftory, adds he, fhall not appear but in that year •which fliall difcovcr the perpetual motion and the philofopher's ftonc. We fay with equal truth, a perfedl fummary of events and circum- ftanccs fince the Chriftian aera would be, although a ufcful, no very iplendid or refpedable performance, while an impcrfcc^l one is good for little indeed. We promifed only Retrojpe£iion, and even that grows difficult of performance. Yet a word muft be faid concerning lan- gwage, that firft gift of God, created fmgle, but afterwards, to punifli our mifufc, broken into an cndlefs variety. The early fchemc of po- liticks however, while the fupreme command lodged in a fmgle brcaft, tended in fomc meafurc to fynthetizc what had been fuddenly and preternaturally decompofed ; and when the fpirit of Omnipotence again dcfcended 2250 years after, 'tis thought the variety was much di- minilhed, by numbers crouding round one vaft metropolis, as Ninlvch or Rome. The laft of thefe having fubdued Greece, grew eafily ena- moured of the lovely captive, admired the arts and elegant fpeech of their newly incorporated citizens, and poliflied their old language by thefe models, till the tongue fpoken 150 years before Cicero's time could hardly, in the days of Antonine, be underftood without a com- ment ; witnefs the cohimna rojirata fet up to commemorate the deeds of Duilius in the fecond Punic war, with an infcription puzzling com- mon obfervers, of which blfliop Walton gave a copy and explanation not very long ago ; but as the Romans took a tindure of the Greek cxpreflion into theirs, fo they beftowed in return, corruption to that tongue €H.xn.] TO CHARLEMAGNE, A. D. 800. ic.g tongue which Ariftotlc taught, and Xenophon adorned ; till at laft, mixing with various nations, and futFering barbarians to break in upon them from unknown, unintelligible regions, the Latin language funk into decay ; k and /o came in as abbreviations of i/Ie and il/o, giving the modern caft to fpeech that daily grew more and more croudcd •with articles, whilll iis being cut away from the ends of proper names by Apocope, Thcodoric ftood for ThcodoricKJ, &c. giving them a Ghaelic termination. Abbreviating words is ftill a mark of illiterate groffnefs in Italy, where Tufcans tell how a foreigner obfervcd that bread was called pane at Florence, at Milan pan, at Turin pa, at Brefcia p only : I Ihall, fays he, lofe my bread entirely if I go further north- ward, we drop a letter almoft every ftagc. But wc return to the eighth century, when Greek, by the tranflation as we term it of Rome to Conftantinople for fo many years, began to lofc her fupcriority, and f:nk into vulgar ufe ; while the bad Latin lately introduced, became the court language, and the law language, and kept the command where it did not dcfervc the dominion. Thus like a pure ftrcam turned through a reedy pool ftagnant and mantling, a portion of the polluted mafs remained, vulgarizing that currency of flowing fpccch that had charmed Tully's ear, and excited Virgil's emulation : till Crufius, in the true fpirit of a fcholar, faid that it would even pity a man's heart to fee poor Athens, once fo renowned for eloquence and learning, be- come the very head quarters of barbarous and corrupt philology. Crufius indeed, lived not till the fixtecnth century, and we have now the eighth under revicwal, when Greek was ftill a living language to the Arabs. The accounts of their caliph's trcafury and houfehold were kept in Greek then ; the library of Saxc Gotha fhows many ra- rities of this kind, and proves, from Rcincfius's colledion of valuable MSS. that in the year 758, Homer and Pindar were tranflated by the ftudious Ifhmaclitcs, while Frankis Jpeclie is call Romance, Jo fal clercs et men of Trance. Till knowledge, like a wcll-pieccd ftatue of an- tiquity was once more broken again, not in the old places merely, but in many other parts till then uninjured. Fragments were however here and 200 FROM BIRTH OF CHARLES MARTEL, A. D. 700. [ch. xit. and there picked up ; Morienus, a hermit near Jerufalem, wrote on the tranfmutation of metals ; Bocrhaave fays it was tranflated into Latin about the year 1 182. Some few devotional trads poorly written, per- petuate the name of an old Saxon monk or two ; and fome romances, to the reading of which Damafcius, who lived under the laft Juftinian, had given mankind a tafte by his four books of Incredibilities ; for lb iuch things were called, till towards the period we are treating of, they acquired the name roniant, perhaps from having been compofed in the court dialed of the original metropolis, ruined as 'twas ; in con- tradiftindion to the Walloon or Gaiilifh dialed. We are told of a {y- nod fuppreffing fome of thefe romances very early, as being too loofely written : they were the compofition of fome bifhop of Tricca, w ho was informed that he muft cither burn his book publickly, or renounce his church dignities ; like a true author, he preferred the laft.* That fome derive the word from romanfero, I invent or find, in old Spanifh ; (whence troubadours or finders) few arc ignorant ; but fcholars muft in- form us whether that word was early enough incorporated into Caftilian didion for fuch an etymology to be poflible. On my epitome indeed, fcholars will fcarcely be induced to look : 'tis from their labours that I light my little twift of fwift-confuming candle to guide fuch only as have juft curiofity enough to wifti, and juft time enough to try for aglimpfe of 'RetroJ^e6lion. That glimpfc difcovers Cracow in Poland ftarting up early in this 8th century, and named after Cracus, a noble Pole, chofcn king by the people, becaufe he alone was found able to deftroy a wild bcaft which, living in a cave (ftill Ihown to travellers) burft out at call of hunger from time to time, and did incredible mifchief ; till this bold leader conquered him by ftratagem, ft^iffing the fkin of a dead calf with fome poifoned force meat, which the monftcr greedily devour- ing, died. This feems a relapfe into the old ftate of fabulous anti- • This fear poflefllng the mind of Caftaiicda, who lived in 1 547, he made him a book of afbeftos for fear of the inquifition : it contained an account of his travels to eaft India. Gr«uchy tranflated it from Portugeze to French, but it was little worth that trouble. quity ; I CH. XII.] TO CHARLEMAGNE, A. D. 800. 201 quity ; but I fuppofe Poland now Avas hardly as near civilization as Crete was at the time when Thefcus killed the minotaur. Spain, fcarcely lefs barbarous, faw about that period Roderick the Vifigoth, put out his father's eyes ; and Julian, fo juflly called the traitor, fetch in the Saracens who over-run the country, perfecuted the Chrlftian re- ligion, and fo completely fettled in their kingdom, that it took fix cen- turies at leaft to drive them out: all were not gone till I-I92. The Pope and the Venetians were amufed meantime by tcciprocating prefcnts of rcUqucs and of palls, and trying to keep peace between the contending bi/hops of Grada and Aquileia. While the young Duke of Frifia, a new convert, requefted baptifm, which was preparing, but as he put his firft leg into the font, having unluckily alked where they fuppofed his late good father was — an exemplary prince ; and the unfeeling pricfts bluntly replying — Why in hell to he fnrc ! Radbold was (hocked, and not proceeding further with the ceremony, enquired again con- cerning fome old anccftor of eminence for virtue, although ignorant oi Chriftian obligation — receiving the fame unqualified anfwcr then, that all were damned; he drew his leg quickly out of the water, protefting he preferred, in the next world, their company to that of men fo harfh and fo intolerant. The ftory fays he died in three days after. While Vcnda, princefs of Polonia rcfufed all converfation on religious fub- jcAs ; and when hard prefled, to avoid further controverfy devoting hcrfclf to her own pagan deities, flew to the river's brink, and head- long daflied into the Viftula. She was daughter to the monfter Tamer, whofe two fons killing each other, left the realm to Venda their fifter, who by this raftincft ended the fliort dynafty.* A Syrian impoftor now • Venda fleW froito aifputes to deith ; but (he fled from tongue difputants only : in CMitefts Hic fecMfcr underfloud, Ritiogarus, a German Prince, acknowledged her fupcri- ority : He hjd invaded her dominions under pretence of her having broicen a contraft tff marriage with him ; but the Amazonian dame defended herfelf fo well, and de- feated his troops fo ft.amcfully, that unable to endure the difgracc of flying from a wo- man in battle, be iLibbed him(clf in the field. Vol. I. C c prevailed 202 FROM BIRTH OF CHARLES MARTEL, A. D. 700, [ch. xii. prevailed on many to think him the Meffiah ; he pcrfuaded Ifgird the Saracen to pull down images, promifing that prince a reign of forty years. Ifgird fet bravely to work, but dying the tenth day by hand of an af- faffin, his fon in revenge ftabbed the impoftor on the fpot. This was not the wretch called Eon or D'Eon, a very proper appellation for dubious and myfterious characters. Jortin mentions one fo called, but fubfequent to this, four centuries at lead, who fct hinifelf up for the Son of the Moft High ; but thefe were days of darknefs, and me- teors, kindled by putrefying credulity, were eafily miftaken for ftars. Such w as the melancholy ftate of general knowledge, that a prieft of no fraall dignity did, in Bavaria, chrillen a profelyte ;"// noviine patria ct filta et fptr'tta fanSia. Some one who had more fcholarfhip told the Pope on't, requeuing that the perfon fhould be rebaptized ; but Za- chary faid it was no matter, the clergyman was orthodox and meant ■well. Meanwhile Gervilius, who had committed murder with im- punity, was deprived and imprifoned for keeping a tame hawk. Eng- land fcemed to enjoy more illumination than Mentz in this century however ; while venerable Bede gave us a bright example of blame- lefs conduffl, and of calm refearch into the deep-hiddenftorcs of learn- ing. Ccolfrid his tutor walked to Rome to get books for him, yet his chief care was about the proper day for keeping Eafter. The pupil's fancy was not fo reflrained : his beautiful defcription of hell has been fuppofed to have been read with care by Milton and by Dante ; where he tells how a Northumberland monk died, and came back to life ; but in the interval a young man in fhining apparel appeared to him, and filcntly led him to a deep valley, one fule formed of an entire flicct of flames, the other, enormous glacieres of piled up fnow and ice. The reftlefs fouls with which the valley fwarmed, were everlaftingly Ihift- ing fides. This valley ended in a plain of folid fire we read : a large •well in the midtl, fpouting flames up to the high vaulted roof; this fountain furrounded too by dasmons who drew delinquents in, with J&ery forks, whilft tlie refluent and fierce volcano forc'd them up again. I have CH. xii.] TO CHARLEMAGNE, A. D. 800, 203 I liave fcen a plAure of Old Frank reprefcnting Helas drear abode much in this manner; the name too is Runic : Italians, and the na- tions near, all fay Inferno; but painters arc obliged to Bede for another common fubjed:, as Marvilliana tells. He firft, differting on the tliree kings offering, oblervcd that Melchior being old and having a long beard, prefentcd gold to Chrifl as King ; Gafpar being young, brought frankincenfc to him as God ; and Balthazar, of dark com- plexion, made his tender of myrrh as to a man of woes.* They arc thus reprcfcnted almoft in ever)' picture through the world even now; but alter a laborious life well fpent, exciting and communicating thofe ideas which, fpringing up in fuch a mind, fertilized all around him ; our renerable Bede expired in 735, 1 think, and a poor pupil of his be- ing dcfirous to compofe an epitaph worthy fo valuable a pcrfonage, and finding after long fludy, that IIjcc funt in fofia Bcdac prefbytcri olla, was no good verfe, he refolved (as a likely method) to fafl till he had found one ; when having been much troubled in his flccp, the word venerahilis came luckily into his head ; whereupon he waking, finiflicd the nicely accompliflicd work with Hafc funt in fofla Bcdx vcncrabilis ofTa. It was then but fair that he fhould go to breakfafi: ; yet v as it to that filly accident, Calvifms thinks, that the honourable appellation was bcftowcd which our fage had fo fcrioully dcfcrved. Such were the times with us and with tlie Germans, while the gay Franks enlarged their wide domain, improved their language, re- fined their manners, and were governed in much happinefs and daily • riicrc U a manufciipt in tlic Ilarlcian cnllcflion tefolving the ftory of the tlircc King* into alcbcmv. 'I hey offer'd Chrift, 'tis f.iid, the animal, vegetable, and mi- Dcrji Itingdyms. 1 he jnccnfc muft have been wwy* by that explanation. C c 2 cncrcafing 304 FROM BIRTH OF CHARLES MARTEL, A. P. 700, [ch. xh- encreafing fplendour by the famed Maire du Palais, Charles Martcl, furnamed fo from his martial qualities, which infpired him, after adl- ing the part of an illuftrious general, by conquering Saxons, Bavarians, and a long et cetera, to feize upon Provence and Burgundy, and de- fying Rainfroi to fmgle combat, put ail upon the iflue — and after his vidory to rule the conquered nations with prudence ; for Charles Martcl, although never king, bore fway more abfolute than ever king did, while Pepin's fame was loft in his fupcrior blaze, and no man's fvvord furpafs'd his long-rcmember'd liammcr.* Mayor of Paris was his only title; but mayor, or major, ox great eji in every fcnfc, was the fit title for fo atftive and ardent a charadlcr. He inftitutcd the Order of Genette in honour of his wife, whofe name Janette he took de- light in perpetuating ; and when Pope Gregory III." and he corre- Iponded, the pontiff put h'ts oiscn name lajl. A new dynafty however begins in Pepin I. of the Carlovingians, who loft his fifter to Odilo duke of Bavaria, but retook her, and fubdued her hafty lover ; while the emperors of the weft, if fuch they might now be called, amufcd themfelves with knocking down images inftead of enemies, obtaining the foufbriquet of Iconoclaftes rather than heroes or legiflators. They had to lament bcfides a great deftrudtion among their fubjcfts, who dropt down ftruck by pcftilence, as their images fell before ftruck by the axe, and the jjriefts cried — A judgment ! but in vain. Luit- prand, now wearied with the fight of exarchical tyranny, drove Eu- tychius the eunuch from his ufurpation at Ravenna, and ^o the fevcnth form of government ceafed, after remaining in force one hundred and eighty-two years. The popedom is the laft. See chap. xvii. of St. John's Apocalypfc, loth and 1 )th verfcs. " For there ■axzfeven rulers ; *' five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not come ; and when he ♦' Cometh he will continue but a Ihort fpace. And the beaft which " was and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the feven, and goeth •' into perdition." St. John wrote under the emperors. The firft five * Some fay he was fo named of his battle-axe, which refembled that ixiftrument ; but martel was not tlic French word for a hammer in 750. -forms CH. xii.J TO CHARLEMAGNE, A. D. 800. 205 forms ot' government were part: the exarchate did, as he prophefied, continue but a ihort ipace : the papacy came laft. That all referred to llome wc have the angel's word ; tor fays he, " The woman that " tliou fccft is that great city which reigns over the kings of the " earth." Kings, confuls, dictators, decemvirs, triumvirs, emperors, exarchs, popes, were tlie eight rulers that he faw in vifion, I fuppofc. Eight has been always a marked number.*^ Eight fouls were favcd from univcrfal deftrudlion at the Tlood, and eight more (of whlcli thofc >vcre perhaps a type) we fee appointed to preach falvation to the newly regenerated world after our Saviour's death. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, James, Jude, Peter and Paul, are the men whofe writings have within tliem the key of our falvation. Their works were how- ever ftrangely neglected, and I might almoft fay forgotten, in the fa- vage century now under RetrnJ'peci'ion, when a council held fomevvherc in Germany prohibited the eating of horfc-flcfli among Chriftians, and cutting off the cars and tail of cattle yet alive for men's meat. Slitting nofcs was a cqmmon pradice. Anfprand, the Lombard prince, had a fon whofe eyes were thruft out by Aripert his rival ; almoft in mercy that he fhould not fee his mother and his fillers' nofcs flit, fo as completely to divide the feature into two equal parts. The Greek emperor J uftinian's predeccllbr, Lcontius, had his face thus disfigured by Abfimarus, who reigned feven years ; and while the Saracens were wading Romandiola and preparing to bcfiegc Conftantinople, thelc inf.ituatcd rukrs of what they called the world, introduced a new cuf- tom of kifling the Pope's toe. A Syrian pontiff, Conftantine by name, firll fuffcrcd the ceremony to be performed at Nice, A. D. 7 10, by Juftinian III. His fucccffors of rourfe continued it. And Stcphunus III. a Roman pope, was borne upon mens' Ihouldcrs with new and ex- traordinary pomp. JS'or did he rell contented with mere (how, having • S\ c find tl:c caliph MoUfTcm Utng ;iftci .vaicli. \. 1>. «50, afTumingtlic name of Oifmarj, upon this not quite expired piinriplc of eight being a lucky number. That its good fottunc referred In fcriplurc rcjfoiu orii^inally, .Mr. Gibboa will nut infurm usufcourfc. obtained aof) FROM BIRTH OF CHARLES' M ARTEL, A. D. 700, (ch. xn. obtained no fewer than twenty-two cities from Pepin king of France, by threaten ng him with damnation on refufah Fleury himfelf blames this proceeding, and fays 'twas adlual robbery, no better. But ever}' thing continued to fwell the now returning tide of Roman grcatncfs, wliich foon drove Aftolpho forcibly from the Romagna, and poflef- fmg itfelf of Corfica, Parma, Rhegio, Mantua, with the duchies of Spoleto and Bencvento, grew up into a folid and formidable power ; whilft on the other hand Mahometanifm inundated all Perfia and Ar- menia, threatening the empire's capital, where Leo Ifaurus reigned twenty-four years, father to Confirantine Copronymus,* whom he married to the beautiful and wife daughter of Chaganus the Ilunne. She was converted and baptized by name of Irene ; but Leo, thougli an orthodox believer, was warm in the belief of forcery, and fcourged an officer of ftatc almoft to death for not condemning to die three haplcfs wretches accufed of making a child, whom they never faw, deaf and dumb; and if fuch follies prevailed near to the feat of em- pire, well might our northern climates be infcAed. Franckfort upon the Main was built about this time, and Cimbric Cherfoncfus grew better known as Denmark, divided into two duke- doms Blaking and ILiIlaiit, while Scotland exhibited fcenes of tragical diftrcfs from Fergus their king's loofe condud:, and the bitter revenge of his too jealous queen, who (Irangled him in his fleep, nor would con- fefs her favage cruelty till many innocent fubjefts had been tortured. When her own favourite was brought forward to examination, flie liowcvcr owned her guilt, took all uponherfclf, and ended the dreadful drama by fuicidc. Their nearefl neighbours followed the fell example, and Brithric, a king of Weffex, as I remember, was poifoned by his wife Edburga.f Tiiis horrible event had indeed no confequences ; for • So called from an accident wliicli liappcned to the font wliilfl tlie infant prince was baptizing. t Edbuiga meant the poifon for her rival, and the king took it by miftake ; yet fuch was the Saxons' horror of tliis crime, they made a law immediately that no female Jhouid reign in t/ic:r country. Egbert CH. XII.] TO CHARLEMAGNE, A. D. soo. 207 Egbert, folc furviving defccndant of the old race, who boaftcd tlicir dcfccnt Irom Woden, now was called from France, and confidered as chief of the Saxon heptarchy. Stem in the field, and fubtle in the clo- fct, that prince vanquilhed them that oppofed, and baffled thofe that confpired againft him. The Britons in Cornwall and the ever hardy Northumbrians feem to have held out longeft, but at length all fub- mitted, and Egbert reigned folc monarch, being folcmnly crowned king of Angle Land or England, by w hich name our nation has ever fince been known. But Wales, protected by its mountains, remained unfubdued : and Egbert, though a wife and valiant, was I conceive a truly illiterate fovcreign, over a people yet fo generally unlearned, that an ecliple was reckoned ominous among 'em, and an idea of witch- craft poifoned that peace of mind which privation of luxury ought to have be (lowed. Incapable of intcllcdual plcafurcs, our unwatched nobles however rioted in fenfual indulgence ; and Ibcial forrows being then unknown, they wept misfortunes caufcd by inevitable neceflity as the work of fomc fecrct encniy, and puniihed an innocent neighbour for magick, if the heir of a great houfe became deformed or fickly : the bad Being was thought to have, and to exert prodigious power in oppofition to the good one ; who now and then rellored a man to life by miracle, the grand proof of his fuperiority. All this was oriental fupcrflition ; but every thing flicws that refurredion of a human body is accounted the grcatcft, as moft defired, ftretch of power. Medea's kettle, (a Chal- dean incantation, as I've read) and Odin's ibng, all labour to effe\ifdom, a native of Athens, and known to hiftory by- name of Irene the Cruel : by her he haath buckler, corrupted in our old plays to fivajh buckler. Charlemagne meanwhile, though a mere foldier, fcomed not thoie arts which he forbore to cultivate ; but brought to France mafters of arithmetick, and fome fay grammar. He was like- wife, although a warlike prince, eminently gentle tempered * and in- dulgent to his children. A pretty ftory of princefs Imma and her lover is related in the Spedator from Marquahand Freher. The gal- lant was Efjinhart, who fays of his fovereign when he writes his life, that he could fpeak Latin as eafily as his own native Frankifh, but that in Greek he had a bad pronunciation. When at the death of this great man the empire was again divided among his children, he charged them to live well with one another ; and having fpilt deluges of blood in order to unite the weft under one head, he willingly by tcftament parted it among his fons, giving to Pepin Italy alone, to Louis Ic Debonnaire, France, with the exception of Normandy, which went with Auftria, Saxony, and Bavaria, to Charles. That there . might be no murderous difputes among them after his deceafc, he left a drift command behind, that if they differed about any thing, tlic youth who (hould be able and willing longeft to fupport the pofturc in which our Saviour fuffoj-ed crucifixion, was to obtain without fur- ther enquiry the purpofc they contended for. Tiiis mode of decifion afterwards grew common, and was called jiigemcHt de la cro'ix. The French language now began to fupplant the Latin, on whofe wreck 'twas raifcd ; vcrfes were writlcn and fongs were lling in jiraifc of love and valour; while bards, troul)adours, taic-tcllcrs and niinllrels, lt)ftcn- ing the ferocious temper of the tvmcs, loon taught each warrior-lpirit Sjow to bend bctbre a diftant and dilficultly-acquired fair ouc ; mufick lent her aid bcfidc to animate and to infpirc devotion. The French • Clnrlcma^nc wa* himfclf of an amoroui difpodtion, had many niiHrciros, and two or Uircc wive*. L'Amtur dt Ditu ei dti damn went logfllicr ^n lliuto davs. Ji c 2 iillgcr« 220 FROM CROWNING OF CHARLEMAGNE [ch. xiir. fingers however, even then, had the charaAeriftick roughnefs peculiar to their nation, and made the tojfe d'l capra, as Italians ftill call a coarfe bad Ihake. Trilletaccio ! fay they : at Paris Gluck in my own time faid to his fcholars, ne chevrotez pas.* Our Englifli have a joke on Wales and Welftimen that expreflcs this fault with much accuracy. Waaaaks, replies the goat, when his Anglo Saxon neighbours travelling over Snowdon, afk him " How d'ye call this country ?" and at the fame time fhake him by the beard. While thus the weft began, at leaft in fome refpeds, to emerge out of that fad Cirnmerlan dark- nefs in which ftie had long dropt inert and lifclefs, Irene's death hung heavy on her fucceifor, who, born her vaflal, was never by the Queen's fubjeds willingly obeyed. Bardancs was proclaimed emperor, but foon, after a fruitlcfs conteft for the purple, funk his pretenfions io a monaf- tery. The rebel chamberlain however fared no better, and Michael, Leo, and Theophilus, were only other names for wickednefs and im- pious folly. This laft being born of mean parents, fired a rich fliip loaded with merchandize, that no one might fufped; his natural inclina- tion for commerce, and made his fubjeds cut the hair from their heads, becaufe his own was thin. Notwithftanding thefe mad caprices, he made war not unfucccfsfully againft the Saracens, although in thefe days they built Candy, and gave new name to ancient Crete, head- quarters of pagan mythology. The labyrinth however yet remained upon their coins and arms : Ruba^us fays 'twas their device in his time, and he lived lOyo. The popes meanvrhilc increafcd their influence dally ; nor was it biflimtce now, but firm authority. Charlemagne's ions could not agree, and Gregory IV. like Chaos umpire fate, and by declfion more imbroil'd the fray. Louis le Dcbonnaire, of gentle manners but refolute temper, who never had been fcen to laugh at any ftory his tale-teller could recite, had nothing of" his native country's levity : his wife Judith of Bavaria, though a German, had too much. Their fon was Charles the Rild ; but in confequence of this mecknefs, not agreeable to the fpirit of fuch times, * Don't fing like a goat. CH. XIII.] TO DEATH OF ALFRED, A. D. 900. 221 times, Louis ilVued a decree that no ecclcfiaftick fhould wear fpurs. Gregory was difplcafed, and to evince his difpleafure pubUckly 'xorc fpurs himfelf. This Pope certainly "exercifed papal or parental power with little prudence and with Icfs controul. But to every other force, force might be oppofed ; the church was unrefiftcd, becaufe it was confidered as infallible. Scrgius II. availed himfelf of mankind's dif- poiition to revere the vifible head of it, rcfiding at Rome : he built caftlc St. Angclo, altering it from the moles Adriani to a ufeful fortrcfs : nor was the ftep unneceflary, when Moorilli plunderers fpoiled the fuburbs of the once-renown'd metropolis, and robbed the churches dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul. Sergius's name was Porci : his family ftill fubfifts at Rome now, and a fubjecl of Great Britain married into it about twenty years ago. In the ninth century however he did well to change it, and accept a fort of ecclefiaftical appellative, a pradicc fu- ture popes adopted willingly. His fucceflbr Leopold IV. joined the Neapolitans, and beat the Saracens by fea. He built Lcopolis, now Civita Vecchia, and even forces himfelf to be a favourite with Voltaire- and Gibbon. During that time a monllcr of impiety, Michael by name, ruled with his motlier Theodora at Conftantinople. This wretch profaned the Eucharill, ridiculed the facred office of carrying it to iick and dying pcrfons ; killed his innocent old tutor, and thruft his mother into a monallcry, all before he was eighteen years old. Venice joined the general league againft the Arabian locufts, and Alphonfo of Spain married Chimcne a French princel's ; he called her Ximena of courfc. And having heard that a human body was dug up near Com- poftclla, the king and queen aflurcd themfclvcs it was St. James; he was therefore St. Jago di Compoftclla : and ftory tells that a church t)( Jione, not earth, was immediately dedicated to his peculiar fer- vicc. This was the fcafon for unchecked imagination. Cronicriu? and other Polllh writers tell of their leader Piaftus Ilufticus, who was promoted to fovcrcignty, and lived an hundred and twenty years in confcqucncc of his having, whca a Pagan, entertained two Chrlllian pilgrims • -J -if^, . • ^. h2 FROM CROWNING OF CHARLEMAGNE [ch. xm. pilgrims with fliare of a fat hog killed in honour of his fon's birth. The faints, in return for fuch good cheer, hindered the hog from lef- fcning. This was a ufcful miracle, in Poland ; and Rufticus was con- verted, and in due time chofen chief. That fuch tales fliould be cre- dited is ftrange ; 'tis ftranger far that invention (liould be fo confined, and when men are not reftraincd by even a dc/tre of telling truth, that no new fables ever can be found. Another duke of Poland, Po- pielus by name, ufcd to wifli himfclf and his children devoured by mice, when he meant to enforce belief by ftrong afleveration. And the good bifhop of Varna, who wrote in the fifteenth century, tells gravely how the wife of this king's fon, a German princefs, advifed her hufband when he came to the throne to feign illnefs, and fend for all his uncles to a council : flie there took care to poifon them in drink, nor would permit their being even buried, having accufed them of in- tent to murder the reigning prince. Out of their bodies however, adds the bifliop, grew mice innumerable, which followed the young Popielus wherever he went ; and notwithftanding all that could be done, at length devoured him and his wicked confort. Denmark went on no better : Olaus there encouraged civil wars to 'fpite his mother, whom he fufpeded of having hired an aflaflin to murder his good fiithcr in the garden as he flept, and of rewarding him afterwards with her hand. 'Tis poflible this tale, better known then than now, gave Shakefpcar his idea of Hamlet. Thefe ftories, with our Englifli law that whofocvcr killed a cat fliould lofe his right hand, w hile to purchafc fo valuable an animal as much wheat was required as would cover the cat when held by the tip of her tail, prove the mul- titudes oi mice in the ninth century to have been a ferious and in- tolerable plague. Dcftnidion of predatory bca{l.s great and fmall was once more, as in the fabulous ages, become a duty : and fo was the world thinned of human inhabitants fince the days of Conftantinc Copronymus, that inflead of punifliing prelates for keeping a tame hawk, Charlemagne, towards the end of his reign, granted a right of hunting CH. xiii.J TO DEATH OF ALFRED, A. D. 600. 223 hunting to the abbots and monks of Sithiu, partly for the fake of clearing the country, and partly that the Ikins of wild animals might Ibrve, he faid, as covers to their books. They had been rolled before ; whence the word volume (till ; and literature now excited care from royalty. The race of Abbas too, being caliphs of the Saracens, en- couraged hterature in Arabia ; and while commerce was carrying on at Bagdat chiefly by Jews, attempts were made by thcfe orientals at re- newing fome tafte of poetick imagery. Under this warm fky grew up the new machinery, phantom forms of giants, dwarfs, genii, and en- chanters, which followed and fucceeded to the old heathen gods in every work of fancy. Spain got them firll of European nations, bccaufe of its connedion with the Moors. France chanted the praifes of heroick Ro- land, and told the truly romantick talc of Charles the Bald. His daugh- ter Judith, in her fifteenth year, was dellined to have married an Eng- lifh prince ; but he dying, the lady on her way back to Paris being too flightly guarded, wiftied to walk among the Ihady trees fomcwherc in Picardy, and was indulged. A young forefter ftruck with her beauty, unknowing who flic was, feized and carried her off. This was Bald- win of Flanders, w ho took her to his caftle near St. Omer's. Charles having found it out by ftratagem fome years after, and finding they had children, fubdued his refentment and made her hulband Eric. But his defcendants were not eftecmed of the true kingly blood : and wc fliall fee the Emprefs Maude, mother to our Henry the firft, dcfpif- ing one of this man's progeny for want of noble birth. The famous (quatrain, Cloth of gold do not dcfpifc 'flio' thou be join'd to clotli of frizc ; Cloth of fiizc Ijc not too bold, J'hu' ihou be join'd to ciotli of gold : was made many centuries after, when Charlcb Brandon, wedded to royalty, took thofc lines for his Icgenda, and the ballad- makers adapted them to this much older (lory. (See Percy's lUliques). Whillt manly vices. 224 FROM CROWNING OF CHARlEMAGNE [ch. xiii. vices, manly virtues, thus charaderifed the dwellers in the north, fuch was the effeminacy of Pope John VIII. that he was called in derifion Pope Joan by his contemporaries ; and when the encroachments of that holy fee grew hateful, and its tyranny oppreflive, under the harfli reign of many of his fucceffors, a ftory was circulated that a woman had certainly fate in the papal chair. When they were got fo far, 'twas moft cafy to add how Ihe was detc(5led by labour-pains, as fhc was car- ried in proceffion to the Vatican. This tale though Spanheim be- lieves, Scaliger thinks incredible, becaufe he fays her voice would have betrayed her ; and Baronius denies it of courfe. Our beft writers rc- je<5l fuch ftuff with indignation : yet was it ftrange, and ten times flrange to think, that fo late as in the year 1 034 there did moft furely exift a ftatue of her in the cathedral church of Sienna, among the popes, ftanding in her place : for Colomefius challenged Monfieur de Launoi about it at Menage's apartments, where Racan the poet and the Abate Marucelli the Tufcan rejident, were prcfent, and heard M. dc Launoi confefs that with his own eyes he had feen the ftatue in Sienna cathedral in i03 1, notwithftanding Baronius's folcmn letter of thanks to Florimond for taking it down tvv-cnty-eight years before; and notwithftanding Perc Alexander, in his Ecclefiaftical Hiftory, af- firms it was the7i no longer in exiftence. It might indeed have been taken down before his death, which was not till l/io. No modern travellers remarking it, I fuppofe it is gone now. My own empty head forgot to examine ; but I remember obferving that John Vill. had a particularly effeminate caft of countenance in St. Paolo fuordelle Mure at Rome, where their pictures in oil hang round the wall ; and Porcacchi's edition of Gamucci's Antiquities mentions his tomb, Senza alcurio ariifido o archittetura ed in /omnia molto diverfo delle fe- polture degU altri pontifici — without any device or architedural diftinc- tion, and, in a word, extremely unlike the other papal fepulchres. Enough of this nonfcnfe. Be Pope John what elfe he will, he ordered the Holy Scriptures to be promulgated in the Sclavonian tongue A, D. 8S0. But Lothaire (whence derive our Lowthcr family) CK. xm.] TO DEATH OF ALFRED, A. D. 600. ' •!■>:. family) duke or king of Lorraine, arrefts our RetroJ^eClion for a mo- ment. He being of the conftitution of our Henry VIII. perfuadcd Guntharis bifhop of Cologne to divorce him, on frivolous pretences, from his confort, promifing in return to marry the bilTiop's fiiler ; and Pope Nicholas, an exemplary pontiff, confcntcd, though with diffi- culty ; and then Lothaire married his favourite millrcfs la helle Kil- drade. Excommunication juftly followed fuch conducl ; but the king, hardened in wickednefs, derided all fuch punifliments, and profelfed obedience to the Pope in fpiritual matters only. The Valefiana fays however, that this Pope, in his corrcfpondence with the King of France, put his own name firft, a cuftom never after laid ajide. The patriarch at Conftantinople tried the fame trick with Louis VII. Va- Icfius tells us, but the experiment did not anfwcr, he rot sen offevfa et le potr'uvche corrigea fa fantc. The king was difplcafed, and the prelate mended his manners. Photius the patriarch, to whom John VIII. had meanly i'ubmitted, was now depofed by the new Casfar whom wretched Michael had ap- pointed to govern the eaft, while he himfelf was funk in debauchery; and the Pope, once firmly fixed in his feat, anathematized Photius, making thereby a lading and incurable breach between the Greek and Latin churches; forced wild Lothaire to take his wife again, and when he went to Rome for reconcilement, gave him in pledge of peace the euchariftick cup, not then denied to the laity. The young Doge of Venice now, John Badocra, wcdd'"d the niece of the Greek emperor, ;;nd fcnt his brother to the reigning Pope. Martin, I think, a French- man, to rcqucd that Comachia might be added to the territories of the rcpublick. The ambaifador's being trcaclicroudy murdered on his way home, whither he returned only to die, did but accelerate the fci/urc of Comachia, which Badoera took by force. Anaftafius wrote the lives of the popes about this time, and Hcinfius prints a letter from Sarrau, faying that there was a copy of that work in the Ambrollan library at Milan theit^ mentioning the female fcx of Gto'ranni oltavn. Thofc in the Vatican were all torn, he fays, in that [)lace wlierc the Vol. I. V f (lifputtd 2'26 FROM CROWNING OF CHARLEMAGNE [ch xrrr. difputcd life occurs. Salmaflus had a copy, but it was got from the French king's co!le<^lion of books, and fuppofed to have been interpo- lated by Martinus Polonus, wiio, though a learned Dominican, be- lieved the tale, and told it clearly in his chronicle. Wonders w^ere eafily credited in thofe days. That it rained blood at Brefcia was nothing doubted: the writers of the ninth century faithfully record that event, and 'twas as likely that Pope John fliould be a woman. Among the marvels of the moment Motaflcm the ofionary now fhonc a glittering caliph amidft the admiring beauties of Circafiia, He was the eighth of the Abaffides, had eight fons and eight daughters by eight wives — not concubines, princeffes. He pof- fcfTed eight thoufand Haves body-guard, and eight millions of gold. When he had reigned eight years, eight months, and eight days, he faid it is enough, my race is run, and died. His Saracens meantime burned the fine monaftcry at Monte Caffino, and exercifed fad cruel- ties upon the catholicks. But Bafil, emperor of the eaft, kept them a little in check, till fcized with a fudden fury on feeing his fon Leo wear a dagger, he felt perfuaded that he meant to murder him ; and without giving any notice of his intentions, put the innocent heir of his crown in prifon, whence he would never have come out alive, but for one of thofe combinations which all men now agree to call acci- dental. The young prince lately married, had diverted himfelf with teaching a favourite parrot to fay Leo loves you, whenever his fair bride entered the apartments, whither the king hafted in great wrath, and called the terrified lady to examination. On her appearance the bird ^\ith an imprcffive voice cried from his perch Leo loves you. Such a fcntcnce fo pronounced ftruck forcibly upon the Emperor's feelings. He doubted not the words being miraculoufly addrclfed to himfelf, when the parrot once more gravely repeating Leo loves you, Bafil em- braced his daughter-in-law with a tranfport of fondnefs, called out her hufljand from confinement, reftoring him to even more than priftine favour. A hunting match was made to celebrate their reconciliation, when the ftag fuddcnly turning upon Bafil gored him to death, and delivered cH. xiii] TO DEATH OF ALFRED, A. D. 600. 227 delivered the eaftem world from his caprices ; while the travelling of Daniclis, a Greek matron, from Pcloponefus on men's fliouldcrs (as in a modem palanquin) ftrikes one with refemblance of manners be- tween thefe days and thofe, when this lady waited upon prince Leo with prefents out of the Morea, fit only for oriental luxury to accept, and complcatly diftant from the fpirit of ancient times, the times of Solon or Lycurgus, to beftow ; but even the name of Pcloponefus was forgotten. In Mefopotamia, about this period, Al Batcgnius obfcrvcd, 'tis faid, the vernal and autumnal equinoxes, A. D. 882 ; Dr. Halley calls hm vir admirandi acuminis. He wrote a negle<3;cd treatife De Scient'ui Stellantm, which Plato Tiburtinus tranflated into barbarous Latin ; it •was printed at Nuremberg 153/. I have read fomewhcre that it was this mifcrable performance which infpired Tycho Brahc with a defirc of ftudying aftronomy. The fcicnce of the ftars was, to fay truth, not fhidied at all in thefe early ages, except as in the eaft there had been always a dlfpofition to confult them about men's fortunes, and find out who was to be ftabbed, or who poifoned, by the pofition of the planetary worlds. The tyrant Bafil was deep in theie conjurations, while runic forcery ftill kept poflcirxon of the unfeeling north, where Gothick bards and fcalds had taken faft hold upon people's imagina- tion, who willingly wifh'd to drink beer from the flculls of their ene- mies, and hoped a future fcaft of ccrnnjiatn, the barley drink, from CVr^x, in Odin's hall. His fearful engagement with the wolf Fcnris was cafily credited by his dcfccndants, who cAcn after converfion to Chridianity ftill appropriated a peculiar hell to cowards, and thought with horror of the hideous Naftrand, where filthy ferpents -vomit fo much venom that it forms a river of blue poilbn prepared for perjured fools and liars, and black aflaffins, who feek a fafc refuge, dcchning open battle. Warton fays wilcly, that this train of ideas flicws lefs affinity to oriental enchantment*, caftlc&, dragons, &c. than to the magick of Ca- F f 2 nidia 228 FROM CROWNING OF CHARLEMAGNE [ch. xiii. nidia in Horace ; and 'tis poffible that the barren black heifer facri- ficed to Proferpine in the old Greek mythology, and that mufick by ■which Orpheus forced her to give back Eur\'dice from the difmal do- main, might be originally of the fame dark complexion as Odin's wondrous fong, that made all chains to fall from him that heard it, •whether on earth or Hellas drear abode. Where' the fell Proplictefs abides, And Lok his horrid fliadovv hides. Bartholin tells of a fong called FarJioker which Godrcda fung to Earl Thorchill by command of a vcitch, youngeft of nine weird fitters, as full of prophecy, fomewhat like the Sybilline oracles. Bcfidcs that Mount Ida is named in the Icclandick poetry as rcfidence of gods and heroes. Ida and Edcia might poffibly be fynonimous, and that nanie given to the fl-range colleas crouded with ftrange nations, ftrange opinions — Danes, Saxons, Romans, CH. xm.] TO DEATH OF ALFRED, A. D. 900. 229 Romans, Britons : and from the vigorous fermentation of fouthern foftnefs v.ith ol'l runic barbarifm, levigated and fublimcd by a warm portion of true Chriftian zeal, the generous foil teemed with that rare and glorious produdl, a patriot king. Alfred tlie foldier, the fcholar, the Icgiflator and the poet, whofe charader unites the feparate merits of all other princes, as docs the country he adorned the feparate ex- cellencies of evcrv other nation. He formed alliance with the Scottifh kings his neighbours, the better to make head againlt our new invaders. He fought fcven battles vyith thofe pertinacious enemies, and when defeated found ref .urces that fhewed him no leis formidable than be- fore. When prefs'd by numbers and betrayed by treachery, he was compelled to bow before the ncceffity of the times, he with a band of faithful followers lived in the forcfts of Somcrfct and Wiltfhirc, fung to his pipe the prailcs of" his anccftrors, and animating himfcif by their example, rcfolved to vifit in the drefs of a minftrel the Danilh camp. There he tried all his arts of pleafujg, there he acquainted himfcif with all their fchemcs, witneflcd their fupinc fecurity in the thoughts of his own death, and :;ftcr fix months fpent among his adverfliries returned and called his friends to the attack. S'lrprize and terror went before Alfred's army, valour and virtue followed it. He remained viontiff, who crowned Bercngarius for his good fer- viccs againft the Saracens, but quarrelled with his brother Alberic, and made a difgraceful league with the Hungarians. He firft confe- cratcd as bifliop a baby five years old, the fon of Herbert Comtc de Vcrmandois : this offended all the world in thofe days, and John loft his life as his prcdeccffor had done. Yet though its profeffors fcemed as if confpiring to take away all reverence for the faccrdotal office, no virtue was cfteemed truly meritorious, except bounty towards the church, where outward refpecttcrs of tlie al- phabet were in ufc before, according to the lloman fafliion ; and that mode went on upon clocks and watches till quite the other day. Mean 238 FROM DEATH OF ALFRED, A. D. 900, [ch. xiv. Meanwhile one of thefe ufurpers, Akahir, about the year 970, laid the firft ftone of what is now fo juftly called Grand Cairo, calling it after his own name ; it bears the appellation ftill, cutting but off the firft fyllablc, by aphoercfis, and adding an o to the end by paragogc, Cah'iro. Bohemia exhibited fccncs of horror in this period, or imme- diately before Otho the Great fubdued it: when wretched Wen- ceflaus was invited by his mother and brother to a banquet held in the church, where they trcachcroufly murdered him, in order that Boleflaus, afterwards fumamcd the Cruel, might fucceed. Some con- folation however, is afforded by hearing Dubravius Scala tell how the lady was ftruck by lightning, and funk into a fiffure made in the earth as fhe was hunting, fuppofcd to have been a fuddcn effed: from thun- derbolts, or concealed volcano. The fratricide fucceeded better, had a beautiful daughter named Dumbraca, wedded to Miefko, a Polifh ruler, who inftituted the cuftom of crying out. Glory be to thee, oh Lord ! on hearing the evangelifts read in church. Hatto meantime, prince and bifhop of Mcntz, hard preflcd by famine, fhut up fix hun- dred haplefs wretches in a barn, and fct the place on fire, that fo there might be more meat left for thofc that remained : when their flirieks reached the palace, " 'Tis only my ftaning mice" he cried. This was not worfc than Sylla, who butchered as many thoufands in cold blood, and faid they were his pigs or lambs o'ftlcking. The pagan didator was eaten alive by worms. Trithcmius tells how our Chrif- tian bifliop was purfued by mice, which following him even to a callle he had built upon a fmall ifland in the Rhine, there fwam after and devoured him. A fccond Otho now made Italy rcfound with his ex- ploits againft the Sclavonians, Saracens, &c. but dying of a poifoned arrow, fhot by fome treacherous enemy, was buried at Rome, leaving a fon, Otho III. for his confun^mate wifdom called Mirabile Mundi. He fubdued all opponents, he inftituted the Palatinate of the Rhine, and from Hcnrv the Lion, third of the new eftabliftied princes, fprung the Dukes of Bavaria, who co\int no higher than the year 980. A memorable CH. xiT.T TO FOUNDATION OF TURKISH EMPIRE, looo. 239 memorable aera for royal genealogies ; yet they take the lion of AUc- mannus as coat armour, and conllder him as the remote founder of their houfe. About this time Lothaire's difturbances fplit France in many parts, and at length by death of Lewis V. (called Louis Ic Faineant) poifoned by his wife Blanche, ended the Carlo\ ingian race in that countr)\ Charles, Duke of Lorraine, and fon to Louis outre- mer, having rendered himfclf odious and contemptible to the nobles by doing homage to Otho for his dukedom, the barons fct up Hugh. Capet, fon of Hugues le Blanc, or Hughes le Grand : he was chofen for merit more than birth, although his being great grandfon to a butcher or blackfmith was impofl'iblc ; and Princefs Anna Commena dcfcribes his progeny as proud of their high defcent. Witichind, Duke of Saxony, had a daughter who married fomcwhat beneath herfelf, and offended Odo the regent, and Robert her proud brothers : her fon by that mar- riage was father to Hugh dtpet, fo called from being head and leader of his fa^ion : though others fay 'twas from a hood he wore, whence cape to this day ; but although Caligula and other princes were fome- timcs denominated from their drcffes, 'tis more likely that the hood was called cape from Hugh, I think, than Hugh from his cape. His family has given kings to France ever fmce : gsj faw him crowned at Paris; 1792 faw the laft fpark of his illuftrious line expire in a prifon, •with the glory and honour of their once loyal and gallant nation ; and 'tis obfcrvable that Louis XVII. united the old Capetian and Carlo- vingian families in himfclf, Marie Antoinette being lineally dcfcendcd from Charlemagne. Hugh Capet had his twelve peers : they arc fpokcn of by Flodoard, of Khcims ; but as his chronicle comes down only to y06, one cannot be fure. Fuller iays prettily, that every hiito- rian keeps a clock of his <)^^n, and fets events to it ; though Baker is very fcrious about chronological miftakes. My own poor dial, ill fct up at firft, for want of (Irongcr I'unlhinc, and difficult to adjuft for lack of a better quadrant, and fkill in ri.echanifm fuperior to what I pciflcfs, may fhew fomc few things pcrvc«iciy, but the reader was proniifcd only a flight Rtlro/pediion ; and oil hat Otho III. claims a proportionate fijarc. 140 FROM DEATH OF ALFRED, A. D. 900, [ch. xiv. fliarc. ' He fct up Gregory V. a Saxon, in the papal chair, Crcf- centius rebelling, fet up John XVII. againft him ; but the Emperor cut Crefcentius into quarters, and took his handfome widow for a mifn trefs. He gave the Venetians a fort of independency no other Euro-; pean nation enjoyed, that of keeping their own churches under theit own jurifdidion, appointing a patriarch, as at Conftantinople, That office in the eall was not however, of the pope's appointing at any time, and Venice foon learned to chufe the head of her own church. The Morofmi and Caloprini meantime, difturbed the happinefs of that republick with their faftious contcfts, of which Rome, to fay truth, fet the example ; and Otho, having burned his wife alive for making love to a nobleman of the court, and then accufmg him of ill intent towards her, found himfelf no happier in his illicit connection : for Crefcentius's widow, ever refenting though fccretly her hufband's death, and her own degradation, poifoncd the Emperor in a pair of perfumed gloves, and Henry, the limping duke of Bavaria, fuccccded. The Sweno, baptized in Denmark by the preceding Otho, not the wife one, did his royal fponfor but little credit ; he foon apoftatized from Chriftianity, and fought a famous battle with the Vandals, who took him prifoner, and as ranfom, demanded his own weight in gold, Crantz fays, and twice his weight in filver. Such was the fondnefs fliown for his return, that all the Danifli ladies fold their finery, and in a proceflion went to pay for and fetch him home. Saxe Gotha was built fome time in this century, while Mahomet, a Moorifli prince, reigned in Corduba ; but other provinces of Spain exhibited no fewer inftanccs of vile depravity than Saracens or Pagans could have fhown.* Ramirez however, took pofl'effion of Madrid, 955; * A (Irangc clieat is recoidcd by \'afaus, how Ferdinand of Caftile bought a hawk, and a horfe for a nwraviJi, of Sancho, king in I.eon ; the fniall coin, a fixteenrh of our farthing, I believe, was to be doubled by arithmetical progreflion (which Ferdi- nand undeiftood, but the buyer could not be made to comprehend) as often as tlie feller could tic knots on the jcfics. The firing held thirty knots ; and the king was forced to pawn all his crown jewels for the- payment of this filly purchafe. and CH. XIV.] TO FOUNDATION OP TURKISH EMPIRE, looo. 241 and whereas hU predcceflbrs had been kings of Leon, or Caftile, or Arf-agon, he fixed the metropoHs where it is flill acknowledged. Ma- drid was one of thofc early aggregates of dwelling leletSed in the fa- bulous ages for its fine air and wholefbme foil ; Jo wholcfomc, that 'tis faid there never was a plague there ; which privilege can, I think, fcarccly be luppofed to have been granted to its refidents for their pe- culiar cleanlincfs or virtue. Sancho the Fat now poifoncd his mother with an envenomed cup flic had prepiucd for him ; and A\ iccnna the oriental phyfician, or his recipes (for the man himfelf niuft liave beeit dead furc) could not fave her. He came originally from Sinai, Kvi Sinai, cafily changed to Avketma, and I have read that it was he brought the Arabick characters among us firft. They were very long in travelling, for Montfaucon fays they were in common ufc when Egypt was made firft a province of the Roman empire; yet England had not wholly adopted them in the twelfth century. Dr. Wallis in his algebra, chap. -Jth, tells of a chimney he Jaw at Hclmdon in North- ampConfliire with the mi.xt characters thus, M° 133 for 1133. The adventure of Sancho and his mother Elvira is yet remembered in Spain, where I believe it is the cuftom flill for women to drink j^;/^ when the cool cup goes round. But the Greek emperors- have been too long forgotten. We hayc indeed fccn poor Zoc, fo called from tcndcrncfs of her hulband Leo VI. perhaps, for Zoe means viy Ufc, fcnt off to a convent by Conflan- tinc VIII. and with her the old parrot who had favcd his father's life*. He, wedding a daughter of aml)itiou.s Ilomanus, afibciatcd ///"/;/ in th« government, who foon made his own two eldcft fons Caefars, and fe- curcd the patriarchate for his youngeft Thcophilacl, only fifteen years old. He lived a gay life, we arc told, and kept two thoufand horfes for his plcafurc ; and having had the news brouglit him to church that a tavouritc marc had foaled, be fct down the facramcnLal cup, threw off bis robes, and ran away to the (table, where giving proper orders for the ncw-dclivcrcd animal's ma(h of wine and pillachio nuts, he rc- VoL. I. H h turnrd 2 41 FROM DEATH OF ALFRED, A. D. 900. [en. xiv. turned to the aftoniflicd congregation and finifhed tlic fcrvice lor holy Thurfday, that being the day of this extraordinary occurrence. Mckn- -while his brother Stephen thruft unpiticd Romanus into a monaf- tery for life ; Conftantinc baniftied the infolent Caefars, and reigned alone, alluring learned men to his capital, till another Romanus, Conftantine's own fon, thinking his father had lived long enough, gave him poiibn ; but the cup fpilling he recovered, and lived two years longer : after which the parricide fucceeded to the purple. His widow Theoj)hania marriedPhocas Nicephorus, hated for grovelling ava- rice by all, moft by his wife, who leagued with John Zimifcesand dc- ftroyed him. This Emperor complained that foldiers were ill pro« vided at Conflantinople, and eunuchs alone regarded ; he fet his face againft that intriguing fet of people, and was in fix years murdered by one of the very famous ones, Bafilius by name. Here might we fill, or rather dazzle the retrofpe^'rve eye, with the gold and glitter of thofe Saracen caliphs who were deftroyed by Theophania's hufbands. The accounts however both of their riches and their population, flagger much more than they inlorm fuch readers as will turn o\er thcfe in- accurate pages, ill able to fettle controvcrfies concerning the old word Echataua, or decide if that could or could not be the capital of the Abaflides; more willing to believe that dreadful earthquake which fignalized the reign of Bardcs, if reign it might be called, for he was emperor only over his o\\ n army which beficgcd Conftantinople, but never took it from Bafil, whofe daughter married to the Doge of Ve- nice, and was fo proud, fays Damian, that flie wafhcd herfclf in deiv. It muft have bc-rn her fon, I think, to whom Otho as fponfor gave fuch rich prefents of robes all cloth of gold. But Pietro Urfiolo's gifts to the church were greater : he beftowed on it one altar of pure gold, befide innumerable jewels to San Marco. The treafures of that build- ing were unknown except to few : while I am writing we hear of its being plundered by Bonaparte. The cold north now teemed with unattradive vices. One of the Norwegian CR. xiv.] TO FOUNDATION OF TURKISH EMPIRE, looo. 243 Norwegian leaders denied tribute to the Danes : they fent a fleet dirainft him ; and in order to obtain from the angekoks a tempeft to deltroy thcfe invaders, they made him facrifice his Ton to devils. Crantz tells another ilory hereabouts, late in the tenth century, how a bold archer there, boafting his Ikill in fome rude chieftain's prefence (Harold or Glaus), the prince fet an apple on his little boy's head and bid the fellow flioot : he did fb, and cleft the apple w ith its point. Our favage ruler obferving two more arrows in his hand, aikcd their purjl^re. " With one of them," replied the bowman, " had my " child's life been loft, yourfclf fhould have been fhot, and with the " next fhould have been killed he who firft ftirred to defend fuch a " tyrant." Thefe ftories came to Ens^land, we may fee, with little alteration. Fortunatus's cap is Prince Eric's cap, who had the winds he wiftied for: he was fortunate in not being facrificcd when his bro- ther went to't : but Eric was a favourite with the wizards of the ftorm ; they gave him a cap which, by turning, procured for him the winds he had occafion to ufc. The other tale we adapt to William of Cloudefclyc (See Percy's Rcliqucs) ; but 'tis an older edition only of WtlUam Tell, anticipated by four centuries, and with a lefs fatal end- ing; for the Norwegian kincj heard himfclf called a tyrant patiently, and filled the archer's bag with filver too. And now, as Dr. Young fays, What is the hiftory of humankind ? A baceldama fure, a field of blood ; darkened with clouds denoting its uncertainty, through which, if any fliining chara«5ler beams forth from time to time, it flunes but as the lightning docs, leaving like that not fcldom dreadful cffcds. If fuch be hiftory, and fuch it has appeared on RetroJ^cd'ton, flie fliould be painted as the Wanderer dc- fcrilxrs his allegorical figure, where he fays, \ robe flic wore, With life's calamities cmbroidcr'd o'er ; A mirror in licr hand collcflivc fliows, Varied and multiplied, that group of woes. H h i: Such 244 FROM DEATH OF ALFRED, Sec. [ch. xiv. Such is our fmall epitome, a convex glafs ; and what, excepting for- rows, have we reviewed in thefe few pages which prefent a miniature and fummary of ten centiuries, one thoufand years on earth, w^ith their moft Uriking names, events, occurrences ! Some admirable mortals have indeed appeared upon the tiny ftage, too clofe conhned for fuch exalted chara6lers, ten charaders perhaps, not more in the ten ages ; fent however to fhow what men by flrcnuous exertion might be ; lent us to fee how lovely human nature looks when animated by virtue, fet but a little lower than the angels, and crowned with glory and hoaour. CHAP, CH. XV.1 TO FIRST CRUSADE, A. D. l lOQ. 345 CHAP. XV. FROM THE FIRST FOUNDING OF THE TURKISH EMPIRE UNDER TANGROLIPIX, lOOO, TO THE TIME OF THE FIRST CRUSADE, A. D. i lOO. ANEW dcfcription of men begins a new chapter ; while the Turks, fmcc then fo famed in ftory, claim here a glance from Retrojpecllon s eye. In the year lOOO after our Lord's appearance upon earth, that formidable though dubious tribe of warriors, deduced from Hebrew origin by fome, from Trojan flock by others ; (hewed thcmfclvcs of infinite confcquence to all. They had two centuries back quitted the Riphzean mountains and heights of Imaus, which I am told means Snorvdon in fome oriental dialed, and left the cold abodes of Scythia for warmer climates. They too were wanderers^ which the word Turk implies. But whilft the Vandals fettled weft- vard oi their native regions, thefe wifely faftcncd upon fair Armenia; where once cilabiifhed, feeing the caliphs or fucceiTors of Mahomet dividing their imperial power, and by divifion falling into decay, fcizcd their opportunity, and being called in as auxiliary troops to affift the Sultan of Pcrfia, Togra Mucalet made himfelf too ufeful ; and having by his archers driven out the Arabs, became a dangerous friend, if friend, to the prince who had entreated his aid, but could not now obtain what he more wilhed — his abfcncc. The great heroick leader Tangrolipix placed his Scdluccian or Sclduzzian family in Perfia, keep- ing the (Irongclt callles for their fccurity. The Sultan, weary of i\w unrc(|uefted 246 FROM FOUNDING OP TURKISH EMPIRE, looo. [ch. xV. unrequefted rcfidence, attempted next to drive him out by force. The Turkifli bowmen made a feigned retreat; but lurking in the woods, burft fuddenly upon the Saracen camp ; deftroyed in that one battle the flower of their army, their poflibility of efcape, and their hopes of conqueft upon a future day. The invaders however made themfclves lefs unwelcome in the domain which they thus wrefted from its late pofTeffors, by profeffing themfelves defcendants of Zadock or Sydyck, fuppofed Noah, from whom wc are all dcfcended, and by profeffing the faith of Ifhmael as modified by Mahomet. Mount Ararat, they faid, was one of the heights of Cathay, the northern diftrid, and now fcarce a diftrid; of China, which boafts Fohe or Noe likewife for anceftor, and fince his facrifice they feemcd in that country to have been fire- worlhippers ; yet with peculiar veneration to the lerpent, of whofe adorers Bryant gives fo iuccindl and yet fo clear account in his mytho- logy ; the contemplation of the fun's path probably ferved for both. The zodiack being in a >-_/''\_^ ferpcntine form, one god moved in the other god's track, aod confirmed them in their reverence for each. Diack means path, as I have been told ; twelve divifions of which with twelve figns annexed portioned out the year, and twelve years formed their cycle, jehach, giack, or diack, each year bearing an ani- mal's form and name, thus, Monfe, Bull, Lynx, Hare, Crocodile, Ser- pent, Horfe, Sheep, Monkey, Dog, Bear, Hen ;* the favourite in the * Mr. Samuel Turner, whom Namb»r Deo, the moft high and mighty lion in the world, ft) les proteftor of the humble, from whofe boundlefs knowledge nothing is concealed, publiflies a lift of names for the years conipofing this cycle, fomewhat dif- ferent as to the manner of placidg them ; but the Snake keeps «its poft of pre-emi- nence. And by the cauldron of fire produced for recovery of Mr. Saunders, and the never-dying flame of their lamps in Rootan or 'J'hibet, I gather, that the religion of which Grand Lama is the perpetual piicft, has for its objeA the renovating power which, having once furvived the deftruiSion by water in the perfon of Zadyck, Noah ; will again prefcrve us from the expefled dcftruftion by lire under the perfon of Dalai Lama, whofe fii-ft miniftcr is even now in the year 1800 ftylcJ Sadyck or Sadeek, as Mr. Turner fays. middle CH. XV.] TO FIRST CRUSADE, A. D. 1 too, 247 middle for prc-cmincncc, or nearly fo. AI Suplii, the Sophy I fup- pofc, who died juft as thcfe Turks came in ; was faid to have com- pofcd a catalogue of fixed ilars too, but as he had no inftruments that wc know of wherewith to obfcrve them, it was probably a fchenie for cafting nativities, rather than any attempt towards allronomy ; though Coftard thinks he fitted the old Ptolomaean catalogue to his own time, allowing for the preccflion of the equinox. While the world's notice was ftrongly attraded towards this new tribe of wanderers, a wild enthufiaft ftartcd up among them, prcuidl- ing the fclicit}' of Turc'ifm, and extent of their domains, which (hall not (fays the man) be taken from them, until they fcoop away the blood- red apple, and wrap their heads round in its fcarlet fkin. A modern reader coming to this paiTage exclaims, " Oh, let them then beware the bonnet range /" But wc are engaged in RctroJ'peit. Conftantinc IX. now ruled the caftcm empire, and although worthlefs enough while he was alive and well, fuch was the (late of matters on his fickncfs, that the fucceflbr, Romanus Argirus, found hlmfelf compelled either at once to give up his pretenfions, or elfe to lofe his eyes, or to repudiate bis well-dcfer\ing wife, and wed young Zoe, daughter of the emperor. Few men would, I fuppofe have hcfitatcd, and this prince had in his conlbrt a convenient friend ; fhe favcd her own difgrace by voluntary retirement, ending her ftill life in a nunnery, and fhutting out all troublcfome intelligence concerning the nuptials of 2Soc and Argirus ; who, though he in compliance with court etiquette was married to one princcis i:^ royal race, baniflicd her fiftcr Theodora, and paflcd his time uDcafily w ith Zoe, who fell in love with Michael Paphlago ; and the firft huiband liv'd not long in thofc days when ladies fixed their fancy on another. This Em|Kror was very fucccfsful againft the Sa- racens, but having ill health, dropfy, and cpilcptick fits, the monks got round him, and prompted his repentance of Romanus's murder ; to penitence for fuch a fin was cafily added avcrfion for his aflbciate ; and Zoe felt the punilhmcnt of Iccing hcrfelf hated by him for whom idonc 248 FROM FOUNDING OF TURKISH EMPIRE, lOOO. [ch. xv. alone die became guilty. Death broke her fecond chain, but a new Michael, furnamed Calaphates, fet up for emperor, Ihavcd the once lovely daughter of Conftantine IX. and banifhed her by a decree for ever. The people ftrongly attached to the old houfe, took up her quarrel, and rebelled immediately; felzed the ufurping prince, put out his eyes, and called their favourite Zoe home again. She was next married to Conftantine Monomachus, who ruled the eaft in lier name ; but keeping a miftrefs with more pomp than prudence, the nobles, ever true to their firft choice, refented this infult to the dignity of a family they revered, and fctting people on to ftone the emperor, re- folvcd to vindicate thofe old authorities which they conceived to be ignobly trampled on, when the confort of a fovcreign princefs coha- bited openly with a lady belonging to the court. The lady however, prevailed on Zoe, now old and blind, infirm, and almoft in a ftate of fatuity, to fhew herfelf in publick ; protefting to the citizens that all was by her own confcnt, her own defire. This pacified the tumult, and Conftantine reigned quietly twelve years, his favourite enjoying her poft in peace ; and both contributing to keep alive the emprefs, upon wbofe breath their dignity depended. When flie died her hufband was himfelf in articulo mortis, and the fubjc(fls fetched home Theodora from baniftiment, and although at this time the flagellants were fo efteemed that rods were wanting to the feve- rities of convent difcipline ; fuch was the difpenfing power of the popes, that Zoes death induced them to exert it, and force her fad fifter out from that laft refuge of piety and fbrrow, to take (when icarce alive) the care of the Greek empire on herfelf. Her firft aft of power was exiling her ancient enemy Nicephorus, and ihowing that revenge was not, by twenty-eight years confinement, extinguiftied in her bofom. The next ftep was aflbciating Michael Stratioticus, who had not fpirit to keep the feat Ihe gave him ; but dying within the year, a new dynafty was at length begun in Ifaac Comnenius, firft of a family, rendered illuftrious afterwards by talents as by virtue : but we muft CH. XV.] TO FIRST CRUSADE, A. D. iioo. 2a§ muft not forget Henry the Limping, fo called, bccaufc in a fedition at Pavia he leaped a wall, and diflocated his thigh, which never could be iet. His generals however, made fuccefsful wars for him ; but a great pcftilcnce fo wafted Germany, that the old writers fay fcrpents grew out of the dead bodies ; worms I fuppofc, and frighted thofe who were yet alive from burying them. This might have cured their quarrel- ibme difpofition, and given them all enough to do at home ; but Con- rad, fucceifor to Henry, had no quiet reign : he crowned his fon king of the Romans however, and that cuftom has gone forward ever fmce. Henry the Black was called to the Empire upon his deceafe at Mae- ilricht : this Henry's confbrt is the firft I read of who purged herfelf of all accufmg ftains by fire ordeal. Pontanus tells the tale, and adds how no repentance on her hufband's part could pacify her injured ho- nour ; but relcntful of an accufation Ihe deferved not ; that queen hid her vexations in irrevocable confinement, while her hufband confoled himfelf by marrying fair Agnes, daughter to the Prince of Aquitainc, ^ho reigned, or at leaft governed as regent to her fon Henry IV, till "being arrived at years of emancipation, fifteen, he thruft her into a convent. The rebellion of King Aba in Croatia however, had made a little change Iverc in the wcftcrn empire, where Henry the Black gave part ol' the re-conquered provinces to Albert, duke and prince of JBavaria, who from its fituation towards the other imperial provinces, new acqiiifition Auftriti. That ntime remains to it ftill. Meanwhile the papal chair, which at the very beginning of this cen- turj- had been adorned by Silvcfter II. a bifhop qualified for his mod iacred office by all that ftudy could teach, or capacity retain, noW groaned under ambition, ignorance, and folly, when after the death of John, and the dcpofmg of Bencdi<^, three pretenders lived at once in Rome, and Qcmctit, who was cleAed in their defpite was poifoncd ; but Benedict returning to the charge, next difpatched Damafus II. and Leo who a-igncd iongcrft, i^-as after five years imprifoncd at Bcnc- V<>1" t- I i vcnto. 250 FROM FOUNDING OF TURKISH EMPIRE, looo. [ch. xr. vento. Succeeding princes, all of noble blood, coufms to the Em- peror, or brothers to the Dukes of Lorraine, difputed for the fee with fury ill becoming ecclefiaflicks. Honorius attacked Rome fword in hand, fighting for the popedom, and was repulfed, although he held the Lateran two years : but we Ihall foon fee the tiara on a head able to keep it faft ; at prefent Spain requires a glimpfe of RetroJpe£iion. 'Twas early in the eleventh century that King Ramirez fettled at Madrid, lamented the difturbed court of his coufin Sancho, then King of Navarre, who gave up his innocent and well-meaning queen to the intrigues of hh and Iier fon Garcia, who with unnatural violence ac- cufed his mother of adultery with the mafter of the horfc, becaufe that officer had on fome occafion denied the bold and young prince accefs to the liable, and refufed him a favourite palfrey of his father's, on which he wifhcd to purfue fome adventure. His revenge however, drawing on the Queen's difhonour, with Carlos's decapitation, Ihe de- mands the combat, and young Ramirez, a natural fon of the King, of- fered to fight his half-brother, in defence of an injured lady. The lifts were drawn, but guilt, and confcioufnefs of a bad caufe, difarmed and overpower' d Garcia : he fell down fuddenly at Sancho's feet, con- fcffing his crime, and relating the provocation. To pacify Elvira was not however, an eafy matter ; Ihe refolved to quit both court and king- dom ; nor could the enamour'd, though jealous king, retain her near his perfbn, till he bad taken a folemn oath to diiinherit Garcia, and leave all he pofleifed to Ramirez. Such hard conditions broke the pa- rent's heart ; but he fiibmitted, and the young prince was fent to ex- piate his fins in folitude, while generous Ramirez fucceeded to the fceptre, and was called king of Arragon, He reigned thirty-eight years, and left his dominions to Ferdinand the firft, king of Caftilc and Leon. Seville now boaftcd a univerfity, and literature was fe- cretly working up towards the light. Guido Aretine, a native of Tufcany, and monk of the Beacdidine order, being blefled with an ear particularly xm. XV.] TO THE FIRST CRUSADE, A. D. l lOO. 25 1 particularly attentive to harmony, had the flrange nicety to obfervc, in * a popular hymn to Sl John, the empliatlck lyllables, Ut queant laxis rvfonare fabris, 3//ra geftorum, yamula tuorura, iS<7/re polluti Azbi reatum t^ Sandlc Johannes ! Thefe einphatici lyllables which had ftruck him as they chanted or bawfJ out the litanies and Latin hymns, in an odd monotonous tone, much like blind men who beg alms ; he had the curioilty to mark with points thus, and put a letter to each, A.B.C.D.E.F. uU re. mi. fa. fol. la. but bccaufc here were only fix notes after all, his car led him to add another ; and having marked that with a Greek G, called Gamma, the fcale obtained the name of Gamut, and keeps it dill. This is Moniieur de Menage's account, but I believe Hawkins and Burney tcH the fame tale. The iuono di chiefa, is yet a word or expreflion common in Italy for that fame chanting tone : and dio auxilianic, as one of the old writers fays, we have obtained, through their toil a plcafure to our fcnfe, which hardly can be made a vice of. Writing too, was facilitated by the commoner ufe of cotton paper than for- merly — an improvement which probably travelled into Europe from the eaft : though it is hard to fay when it was ufcd firft. Perc Ma- billon fays, it was an old invention revived, bccaufe St. Mark's gofpel of the 5th century, kept in the Archiviae Vcnctianx, is on cotton pa- per ; but all the arts almoft were rather revived than invented, except a few, of which we Ihall have occafion to fpcak in courfc of tliis • 'Hie vcrfcs were writtija hy P«ulDlaconus a litllc before the days of Chalcmagnc. It mM caUcd anjtapuntt oT ctumtrptini very properly, bccaufc the fyllables were let ttumlcr, or a^ainft tltc funii. 1 i 2 fumraarv. 25a FROM FOUNDING OF TURKISH EMPIRE, looo, [ch. xr. fiirtimaiy. Pens were made of qjiills now, as my competitors the little tablets of memory and fuch books tell ; and I cannot contradi(5l them. It feems as if they and the paper came in together, for pens write very ill on parchment, or per-gamino, as Italians ftill call it, from Attalus, the king of Pergamus, its original inventor. France civi- lized apace, particularly in language, which is after all the leading feature — the ftrong band of focial life ; but the mperial ink, of a purple colour, with green to mark the dates, was ufed only in the caft, I believe. Conftantine Porphyrogenitus, begotten in the pirple, i. e. after his father was emperor, and born in the porphyry chamber, ufed this ink for common purpofes. I have read fome where, that other oriental fovcrelgns dipt their pens in it, only for a6ls of publicity. The Didtionnaire Diplomatique, tells a hundred fuch old tales, and there was a very fine one in the library at Vienna, ] 780, but Ducange fays enough to make authority. A foreigner once aflced me, why we called our country in tendernefs Old England always ? It is, added he, in my opinion, fomewhat lefs old than any other country. Northern nations were certainly behind hand in the belles-letters, but their romances celebrated virtue and valour and early among thefe we read the hiffcory of Hialmar, in the year lOOO, relating a challenge between two champions for the fair daughter of fome femi-barbarous king, who fearful left the world fhould lofe two fuch warriors, neither of them being likely to rehn- quifh his prize except with life; at length compofed the fatal difference between them, b) bcftowing the lady without even a flock of fheep as a dowry, upon Hialmar, prefcnting Ulpho his rival, at the fame mo- ment, with a horn of incftimable value, on which was engraved the figures of Odin, Thor and Frty ; which figures properly confulted (the ftars being in favourable pofitions) would yield a found from which fu- ture events might be on great occafions cafily deduced. So here is the lady and the tripod again, as in the days of Homer, and the tri- pod went to the winner then^ It CB. XV.] TO THE FIRST CRUSADE, A. D. lioo. ' 253 It appears that there is a circle of ideas in which mankind m/i/l move. Crxlus publifhed a reward for novelty, but no one claimed it ; — and RetroJ'pe^ion ot" human attairs fmce his time, fliows how lew pre- tenders have appeared that could, lincc Homer's day, find out an inci- dent that has not its original, cither in his Iliad or his Odyficy. But ob- Icrvations muft give w ay to fad; for the prefcnt : in coarfe ages we judge of manners by their hiftory — refinement melts down hiftory to manners, fufing fac^ into a ftream of general fimilitudc, or frittering the aggre- gate of information into particular and trivial anecdotes, like thofc of the Babylpnian caliphs and Byzantine monarchs, dwelt on by Mr. Gibbon, with even prolix delight. Bringing together a profufion of learning, however, is always ^rfa/, and in the eyes of unlearned people like myfclf, it is always p^'sajing to fee the poffibility of thofc old .^^bian talcs which charmed our early babyhood, lately confirmed by the mature knowledge or tcllimony of fcholars, and fuch and fo glitter- ing, was certainly, in oriental annals, that eleventh centur}-, which owned no merit but of a rude caft among our cold fcptentrionilts the while; where Frotho, king of Denmark, had ordained, that whofoever fblicited a pofl in his army, ought upon all emergencies to attack one enemy, to face two, to retire only one ftep back from three, and never to make retreat till fet upon by four. Thefe rules he faid, he had always been careful to obferve h'lnifclf, whofc common cxprelfion was, that Hca\en muft ncccflarily be taken by ftorm, and that the violent did indeed literally fccure it by force ; for, fee you not, faid he, how in judiciary combat, God always goes w ith the ftrongeft. Frotho was fon to that Swcno, whom the ladies ranfomcd by fale of their ornaments, in return for which kindnefs, he cnaded a law that woman might (in dcfed of male heirs) reign in Denmark, a place of no new name, but called fo immDuHtz, contemporar}', as I have fomc- whcrc read, with Romulus ; and Dantzig boafts the fame far dillant origin. Sweden had a like truft in faith and valour — thefe were in- deed the Scandinavian virtues ; a Swede fights bcft, fay they, when he fees 254 FROM FOUNDING OF TURKISH EMPIRE, 1000, [ch.ig, for I put that ■*' which ufed to be before, behind." The event fuccecding, William remembered what had happened, and the thing paflcd into a kind of proverb. It was a bloody contcft. The Normans moving on at dawn of day, fung the gay ibng of Roland, and begim : Harold received the (hock with valour, no Icfs well tried and pcrfed than their own. When fuch chiefs nrjcct, difputing iuch a prize, night-fall and death alone can end the ftmggle ; among fifteen thoufand faithful followers brcathkii upon the field on the next day the royal corpfe was found, and K k 2 gallant ado FROM FOUNDING OF TURKISH EMPIRE, looo. [ch. xv. : gallant William, juftly called the Conqueror, gave it with decent forrow to the countefs. Bards, fcalds, and minftrcis, proclaimed their own and" their new king's felicity ; for good St. Edward had difgraccd that tribe by prohibition of the poet's exercife by priefts or princes : although a profcflion conlccrated by Alfred's ufe fliould not, methinks, have been defpifed by any. When learning however, long pent up in the fmalt ark almoft miraculoully contrived for confervation of thofe feeds foon to be fown on the regenerated earth, began to look out of her window with impatience upon the wild chaotic waves of ignorance and folly ; firft on excurfive projects (he appears to have fent forth her black crovo- Alchemy. After fome unfuccefsful trials he found footing, but not fo Urania, Aftronomy yet peeped unwillingly from Ihelter, returning foon again opprelfed by clouds, that damped encouragement, and dimm'd enquiry. When Ihe brought back the olive it was dullcy, tinged with the brown hue of gloomy fpeculation : feeking rather tO' find out earthly events from afpcdl of the heavenly bodies, than for- warding our fublunary knowledge by obiervation of their invariable covurfes* Aftrology was fuited to the temper of fuch times ; and fcience, on her firll attempt at re-appearance, was in danger of being^ fcduced to ferve in a bad caufc, by the refemblance this branch of her tree bears to the magician's wand. Arabian literature was of moft worth. Perhaps the Arabs introduced fome pleafurcs too, unknown in our rough regions ; chefs, for example, invented by z.Jheili of their country, and thence called echecs in French ; but they themfelves had it from Greece, I've heard; and Draco, the fl-vere lawgiver of Athens,, was faid to have taught it to Dionyfius, as an amufement to divert his mind from cruelty. Happy if fo, had Rome brought that with other luxuries from Sicily ; it might have faved fome lives from Nero and Do- mltian. Nlcephorus and Irene the Cruel are reprefented as alluding to this game in their correlpondence, by Mr. Gibbon ; but though he is ufually liberal in quotations of authority, I can find none to that. Soon after the acceflion of o«r Conqueror however, Johannes Gram- cnaticus. cii. XV.] TO FIRST CRUSADE, A. D. 1 iCO. ' 261 matlcus, having ftudicd polite literature at Paris, where the young men of rank from other nations were in his time lent for education, fet up a lort of academy at Oxford, and took pupils from noble houfcs, in order to inflrucl them in the heUes-kttres, explaining to them Ovid's Mctamorpholcs, and writing a fmall treatife upon veriification. Lan- franc likewifc did his part with fpirit; for whereas oiie book then ferved many monaftcries in Spain, this prelate, A. D. 1072, enjoined his li- brarian here in England to deliver each of our rellgieux a book, and allow each man a year to read it in, and thofe w ho had negledcd it fo much, as at the twelvemonth's end to know nothing of its contents, were to do penance with other delinquents, in the church upon Afli- Wedncfday. Of what was known concerning Greek in thefe days I can give little account : Hebrew had kept itfelf alive by William's edid:, calling over Jews to fettle here with a view chiefly to promote com- merce ; it had however fomc efFed on learning. Painting was com- pletely a dead letter ; mufic breathed more freely ; the difference be- tween b natural and b flat extended her powers a little. The Gothick b was natural to us, no doubt ; the Roman b was fofter, and Italians call it b molle. Faux bonrdon is a mere French term for a humming noifc — vous bourdomicz toujours is their word yet, for one who hums a dull drony tune to himfclf as he walks along. But fads demand our retrojpfff'ne glance, which, while it finds the (lerile world cjfcte almoll to the produdion of cither elegance or fcicnce, fees its rough rulers re- create their minds, wearied with plans of war and felf-aggrandizemcnt, by imitation of like fatal ftruggles, by tournaments without doors, by chefs within. In evil hour did the Conqueror of England's two fierce fons, Robert and William, who had fo often quarrelled with each other, fit down to this lafl game with Louis le Gros, hcreditar)' prince of France. The youth who had unhorliid in fight even his own va- liant father, was not of a turn to yield at chefs ; and Robert rofc I'rum tabic fwome enemy to Lewis Vi. furnamcd the Fat, nor did the con- fcqucncc& of tlic difputc end for three centuries after it commenced. • Robert 262 FROM FOUNDING OF TURKISH EMPIRE, looo, [ch. xv. Robert Courthofe however, neither depofed the Conqueror, nor even fuccceded to htm, who, as he himfclf cxprcircd it, meant in no wife to put offhis clothes until he went to bed. Lanfranc, the archbifliop, who was fo great a benefactor to the ices of Canterbury and Rochcflcr, was much in the king's favour, and recommended him to chufc William, fumamcd Rufus, as his heir. He did fo ; but being grown fat and unwieldy, having firil built the Tower of London, fettled the Doomf- day book, and received homage from the King of Scots, found him- felf ill and confined : yet when Philip of France, hearing the news, faidfavagely — " That ufurper of Britain, methinks, lies long in ch'ild- " bed:'' our Conqueror replied — " Ay, marry ! and when I have been " churched once, there Ihall be much light feen at Paris." He kept his word, and on recovering, wafted the French territories with fire and fword, till the metropolis, as he had predlfted, prepared for his ap- proach, which a fall from his too fiery charger alone prevented ; and our Englifli people cried a judgment for having deftroyed thirty-fix churches and villages between Salifbury and the fea, merely that he might have more room to hunt in. Such was the charaftcr of this roii^h chieftain. Baldwin, of Flanders, who built Dunkirk, lived a life contrafting thefe harfli warriors: he made a vow never to wear a weapon. Godfrey o'Lorrcyne had gentler manners than his coarfe contemporaries. He built Delft, in Holland, fo called of the deep ditches he Jchcd round her : but having no fons, left his poifeffions to a beautiful fifter, Countefs de Blois, and mother to Godfrey of Boulogne, of whom much hereafter. Gregory VTI. meanwhile reigned at Rome, refolving even with Casfarian boldnefs, to reftore all the temporal dominions fhe had once poflclTed, to that proud city ; whofe devouring vultures, feen by old Romulus, when leaft expcfted turn'd at a diftance, and pafs d by otice more, promifing a frefti career of power and rule over a fubmiflivc world. Of that world, half Europe and fome parts of Afia trembled bcfqrc the nod of Gregory the feventh. Michael Ducas, Emperor of the ciT. XV.] TO FIRST CRUSADE, A. D. iioo. 263 the Kdi\, was dcpofcd ; tlie King of Poland was excommunicated ; Co was cvcrv ccclcrialtick too, who meanly held a benefice in any rcaUii obtained by lay fricndfliip, or confirmed by lay authorit}'. Bolcllau?, fun of tair Dumbraca, was degraded, and his land declared no longer a fbvereignty : England was threatened with invafion for having long negledlcd to pay tribute. The Pope feized Spain as his entire pro- perty, iharing it out among adventurers, who undertook its refcuc from the Saracens, agreeing to hold it themfclves in vaflalage of the facrcd fee. Againft proceedings which fo ftunned mankind, none dared protcft but Henry IV. who called himfclf Emperor of the Weft, and felt enraged by thefe encroachments; but Gregory', difdaining to hold dignities under his jurifdidion, prepared for war, abfolvcd the Hungarian fubjeds from allegiance, and took care to remind men that Rome alone w as miftrcls of the world. Thus after many princes had been baffled in trjing to obtain and keep the papal chair, this haughty Hildcbrand, fon of a Tufcan carpenter, taught all his fucccifors to (com imperial confirmation in their office, when, by that office, he could force the nominal ruler of our weftern empire to crofs the Alps amid the fnows of winter, and fitting barefooted and bareheaded for three nights and days at the unop'ning door of Caftle St. Angelo, there folicit that abfolution and reconcilement, which Gregory, after long paufc and various ceremonies, at length condcfccndcd to l)efto\v. Thoufands of lives indeed, were loft in thefe hot contefts ; lor Henry, burning with revenge and Ihamc, fet up an anti-pope, who drove his enemy before him to Salerno ; yet nothing defirous to loic the tem- poral powers or poflcflions annexed by the laft bifliop to the fc'c of R. me, fie confirmed all his prcdecelTor's decrees, which were collcdcd now and called Di61atus Papa-. Among them perhaps, is recorded the vcrfe woven into that diadem with which Gregory prcfented Rodol- phus, Duke of Suabia Petru» dcdit Pctro Fctrui di^Jama Kodclplo). Th< 26-1 FROM roUKDING OF TURKISH EMPIRE, lOOO, [ch. xv. The dukc^ut it on, fwcaring to hold it on his head or cut his hand off. In confcqucncc of fuch a vow, he did fight no fewer than nine battles to maintain it ; then finding himfclfhard prcfTcd, chopt his right hand away, and with the other fiung from him haftily the fatal gift, fubmitting to his lawful fovcrcign Henry. Meanwhile the adlive Gil- bert, of Ravenna, fct up by that Emperor arr;unft the Pope, performed in his turn prodigies of valour, yet never got himfelf confirmed in the fuccelTion, which Vidor, their next choice, found i'o turbulent and dangerous, that he mofl earneltly requcfted their permiffion to retire and end his days in St. Girolamo's monaflcry. The event fliews how wife was his determination, by which indeed he was not fuffered to abide. Contending fpirits forced him out again, and ill fucccfs drove him for lalt refuge to the Moies Adrianas, or Caftle St. Angelo, where he foon died of poifon, and a Frenchman, Urban II. fucceeded to the chair, not unmolelted by ftill rclUefs Gilbert, who called himfelf Clement III. till in the papacy of Pafchal II. he died, leaving the popedom fo increafed in power, that this lall prelate made no fcruple to fubfcribe and date all public ads, the year of his o%v7i reign, not the emperor's; which anecdote fcrves as a little mark among the many crouding events that in this interefling'century perplex the retrofpcciive eye, which fees with wonder here reviv'd, a charaderiftick peculiar to the Roman fl;ate,againfl which all foreign efforts to obftrud her growing greatnefs, whether under Pagan or Chrillian difpenfation, were found equally inane, inert, inadequate ; w hilc civil dilfcntion's lelf had no cffed in rcftraining the rapid progrefs of her conquells, cither when Marius and Sylla dif- puted the didatorfliip, or when, as in the times we tell of, fchifm dif- turbed her church, and ignorance fccmcd likely to undermine it. Ill condud in the fo\ereigns of other itates are apt to bring difgrace on their authority ; — not fo in Home, The temper of the eleventh century fo vifibly co-operated with that martial fpirit, that refiftlefs vigour feemingly inherent in her princely city, that once more arrayed in pomp and pride, in purple and in fcarlet, (he faid to the fubjeded world. en. XV.] TO FIRST CRUSADE, A. D. i lOO. iG:, world, with confidence, I^t as a queen, IJhall kunv no forrov:. Wo muft however look back for a moment, and fee tc/fv Gregory unkingM the fledded, Polack. Staniflaus, bifhop of Cracovia, and a man of learning, had ftept in between that petty tyrant and his vices. Bolef- laus had torn from one of his nobles a wile w hofc affeclions licr huf- band had till then enjoyed, and the pope's legate infilled very properly that to his penance fhould be added — retribution. Stung with re- venge, the favage prince, in his own chape!, caufcd to be ailafiinatcd a monitor whofe condudl defcrvcd praifc, not dcatli ; nor yet contented with exercifmg fuch facrilegious brutality, ordered the corplc to be carried up a hlil without the city and cut in quarters. An eagle there, Icfs inattentive to his fuffering virtue, (fays Cromcrrus) hovered around the palpitating members, protected them from further infult, and fo amazed thofe who prcfided at the horrid ceremony, that they foreborc th' entire execution on't, and Boleflaus yielded a fullcn confcnt that the body (hould be buried. " The famiflied eagle fcrcams and paflcs by," is then a beauty borrowed from hiftorick fad. What wonder ! Fic- tion never fo impreiTcs the mind, as w hen reality aflirts the engraver ; and few fituations afford a finer fubjcdl for the pencil than docs old Rome's ever majcftick emblem, thus even literally defending her fa- ccrdotal dignity. Such kings required fuch popes to controul their cruelty ; but when the power of invefliture was loft, the fovereigns of Europe dropt into flavcs apace, without much need of arms the quicker to fubduc them. All learning too, poiTciled by churchmen merely, they grew the natural refuge of the poor, the terror of the rich in every country ; and to that mental fupcriority, which by its own na- ture will procure command, and infurc ready obedience, they often added fuperior merit too, and dazzled mankind by their appropriate excellence. The city of Loretto now was built, at Icaft was founded ; Suidas was fuppofcd to have lived in thcfc days, though the reign of Alexis Commcnus boafts his writings. The hiftorical and geographical Icxi- VoL. I. L 1 con 20(3 FROM FOUNDING OF TURKISH EMPIRE, jooo, [ch. xv. con of this author was edited by Kuftcr with immenfc care and notes bclide, in the year 1 700, and dedicated to the King of Pruffia. 'Twas about this time too, that Spain caft afide her Gothick characters, Al- phonfo having commanded there the ufe of Roman letters. Urban II. now founded the univcrfity of Pifa; the order of Carthufians was in- ftituted by St. Bruno, who wrote the ftory of the Saxon war, w hile Robert, of Hereford, in our own country, taught mathcmaticks, and diffufcd a fpirit of knowledge through his diocefe. The Norman kings, addicted all to war, or favage fports refcmbling it, bowed down before the fenfe of higher intelled:, and William was even happy to look on, whilft Lanfranc, a Milancfe, was primate of all England. Our old Saxon nobles now were roughly treated, and numbers of them forced to fly the realm, while not a finger was lifted up againft cccle- fiafticks of whatever origin, for in thofe days they only could not of- fend. The pope fent nuncios into every nation, protedting his own dependents againft the laws of the place, compcnfating the celibacy which he ftridly required of them, with private indulgcncics and pub- lick fupport. Alphonfo, of Caftile, was a favourite with his clergy ; but Cid ruy Dias affifted Ferdinand of Arragon againft his father Ra- mirez, and difturbed all that part of the world with his exploits, the theme of every forkg, the admiration of a wondering age. His being made governor of Toledo increafed his renown. The Moors having had long poiTcffion of Valcntia, could hold it faft from every force but his, and the Cid's entry is not yet forgotten. 1 have myfelf feen it reprefcntcd in a ballet: Don Quixote makes his name famiUar to us all, and Corncille has immortalized the ftory of Xi- mena. Thefe were the days of artificial paffions, and fcntiment pre- vailing over nature. We have feen honour in Elvira of Spain triumph over and trample upon maternal tcndcrnefs : we now obfcrve the he- roick daughter of the Count de Gormaz in love almoft to madncfs with the Cid; yet when fhe heard her father was fallen by his arm, rcgardlcfs of all feeling, except filial fondnefs, flie flew to demand his death cii. XV.] TO FIRST CRUSADE, A. D. i lOO. ^6; death from Ferdinand, purfulng her point with a vindidive fury that convinced all the world llie was in carnell. That Prince however, re- commended marriage rather than revenge, and afiiftcd her valiant lover to intreat his pardon. She refifted their united fupplications and the Cid's merits, and her own heart fix years ; and hiftory tells us that the Pope's command was added to the King's rcquell: before Xi- mcna would confcnt to tlic connexion, or accept a hand llaincd, though by chance, with a dear parent's blood. Such were the times, and condud, and opinions, when Alnwick Caftle was befieged in Weftmoreland, and battled for between the King of Scots and King of England ; when famine wafted the inha- bitants of Denmark ; w hen William Rufus rebuilt merry Carlifle, and proved he underftood the Englifti character, eafily led as now by a iinglc word, though difficult to be driven. He bid all loyal hearts repair to him, and fwore he would himfelf call that lad a n'td'iug who fliould refolve to ftay at home that day. Campden fays, fuch was the crowd, that the place could not hold them : no man would be called a nld'nig by his fovcreign : it means a ucftUng, 1 believe, one who keeps home for fear. \Vc fay a milk/op ; but Ilufus's word is nearer. This Prince now offered Robert his brother 000 lbs. weight of fdver for a mortgage of the duchy of Normandy : a cruel bargain we fliould now cftccm it, but plate was fcarce then, and one pound weighed fifty-two ounces. A flight Retro/pe^'ton of oriental affairs will bring us to the clofe of this long century and tedious chapter. Ifaac Comnenus being ftruck with lightning, was at the fame moment ftrongly impreffed with the ncccffity of a peculiar thankfulnefs due to God : he therefore devoted himfelf wholly to prayer, turned friar, and inverted Conftantine Duca.s with the imperial purple. This Prince was called i*or/)//vrogenitus, having been bom after his .father Ifaac was invefted Withihc pinplr. He married Eudocia, by whom he had three fons, Michael, Androni- cus, and Conftantinc. The fccond was of a gay temper, kept fourteen L 1 2 hundred 2()8 FROM FOUNDING OP TURKISH EMPIRE, looo, [ch.xv. hundred hawks, I think, and fcven hundred men to wait on them ; and was the firft who introduced the place of grand falconer. The eldeft was the man expelled by Gregory. Their father finding he liad not long to live, made his wife fwear upon his death-bed that Ihe would never marry ; but in two years fhc begged the patriarch would difpenfe her oath, promifmg in return flie would wed his nephew, and aflbciatc him to the prejudice of all her fons. Confcnt was foon obtained upon fuch terms, but the falfc lady called out llo- manus from his prifon, where he was put for trcafonable practices againft her hufband Conflantine, and celebrated her nuptials with him publickly. The new Emperor however, ufed her ill, which young Andronicus refenting, feizcd the ufurper, and put out his eyes, placed his brother Michael on the throne, of which indeed he could not keep poflcflion, and hid his filly mother's lliame and forrow in a convent. Turkifh Axalla now braved" the Greek emperors, and wafted all the fron- tiers of their once widc-ftrctched domain : Eudocia's valiaut fons died in battle defending it, and Michael Ducas, the pious one, hearing their ill fuccefs, expired in his monaftery of a broken heart. Alexis * Comncnus, next heir to Ifaac's pofleffions, and uncle to the late princes, was now called to rule. He ereAed fchools, hofpitals, and afylums for the poor, and educated his daughter, the accomplifhed Princefs Anna, in every branch of knowledge. The eaftern world did indeed poflcfs all the learning that there was in thofe days, for al- though William of England laid on fome occafion that an ignorant monarch was no better than a crown'd afs, which fcntcncc Camden records among his wife fpeeches, few other princes \Ncrc perfuadcd of fuch truths. Theodoric's gothick notion that valour and philofophy were incompatible, went on from father to fon with few exceptions, and the popular fong of Roland evinces that females alone lamented the literary famine which followed thofe dark ages. Ambitious Rome * Alexis means tlic lion. promoted CH. XV.] TO tiRST CRUSADE, A. D. 1 100. 269 promoted that opinion, becaufc mankind's general want of light drove tlicm to her as fole feat of illumination. She had even then (for Holeflaiis' fault) forced all his fubjcifb to pray in Latin only, and had prohibited the Scriptures in his realm (aftrangc method of curing ira- moralit>) but obliging the people's private as well as publick devotions to be made in that tongue, kept its life alive. Proportionate to igno- rance, flourifhed creduhty ;— dreams were rather more thought of than realities, and when our Rufus died of an arrow Ihot by chance as he was hunting, it aftonifhcd no one who remembered how he told the pages when he waked that morning of a ftrange fancy which poflcflcd his flccping hours ; having it feems dreamed that a cold wind fuddenly pierced through his fide. The lofs of thefe rude leaders was indeed little felt among their followers, nor docs it appear that fubjeds then thought znyjlicnv of affliclion neceiTary to decorum. His body, found by fome fellows croffing the foreft, was flung on a horfe's back, and interred with little care at Winchcfter next morning. Future atten- tion recorded the accident by a ftone fet up where grew the tree on which the arrow glanced. Lord Delaware ered^ed the memorial, and Mr. J. P. Andrews drew the fccncry for the Gentleman's Magazine, September, 178O, adding, that the family of Purkefs, who carried the corpfe acrofs the forcft that^ inhabit to this day the neighbouring cot- tages. England, though coarfe, was not however poor in thofe days : the Conqueror's income was 400,0001. o'ycar, in thofe days, I've read, and his fon William had not diminifhed but increafcd it. The cinque ports were begun, gold coin grew into ufe, corporations were efta- blifticd, the odious taxes laid on by Danifh tyranny remitted, and though the curfew, or coievre-feu, revolts Polydore Virgil fo, it was not firft invented to torment our ifland : the Normans had fubmitted long before to put out their fires at their king's command. Domcboc, or Doomfday-book, had been begun, I think, in 1081, finiflied in IO87. It cxifts llill, as I have been told, fair and legible. King Alfred made 270 FROM FOUNDING OF TURKISH EMPIRE, 1 000, [ch. x v . one long before, which, if yet in being, mult be looked for at Win- cheftcr. 'Tis called Rotulus Wmton, and refers T R E for Tcmpus Regis Ethelredi. William the Conqueror, in his newer work, refers T R E likewife ; but that means Edward the Confcflbr. Falebat fo much for example T R E Tempiis Regis EJwardi. It was worth fuch a fum in King Edward's time. The inftitution of our Court of Chan- cery, final divifion of England into baronies, and completion of Bc\"cf- ton Caftlc, in Glouccfterfhirc, with the buildings of Weftminftcr Hall and London Bridge, all done before the acceffion of Henry the firll. alone (hall delay mc from the Holy Land. CHAP. CH.xvi.] TO MIDDLE OF TWELFTH CENTURY. 271 CHAP. XVL FROM THE YEAR 1097, FIRST CRUSADE, TO THE MIDDLE OF THE TWELITII CENTURY, A. D. 1150. AND now the troubled waters, which had deluged our world vs ith barbarifm, like thofe that drowned it in the days of Noah, fub- fided not all at once. A rulhing and a mighty wind drove them into a new current, and its fupernatural impetuofity was realbnably enough alcribcd to the immediate hand of God. Gregory the fevcnth's power- ful and j^erfifting ambition firft dug the channel ; but the breath of a mean fanatick was employed to blow forward the tide that filled it. Fctcr the Hermit, born at Amiens in Picardy, made, as did many more, a devotional pilgrimage to Jerufalem, where it began to be fup- pofed in Europe that Chrift would, at the clofe of the thoufand years mentioned by Saint John, appear once more on earth and judge the world. He faw there how the Turks, after wrefting Syria from the Saracens, treated our brethren with peculiar cruelty upon that fpot where their great Saviour's fufferings led many to con- template the fcene of their completion ; nor w ill I much extend my- fclf in artumcnts to prove, what in this day none will difpute, how men had better fcr\e the Lord at home, obeying his precepts, and imi- tating his example; than by undertaking a tedious journey for the fake of feeing the place w here his crofs was firft creded. Manners niiiji in fome mcafurc change with times. There were then no fcripturcs pub- lickly read and known, nor were the limits of duty afcertained as now, within the well-known prccinAs of the gofpcl ; but piety delighted to in FROM THE YEAR I0f)7, [ch. xvi. warm her languid virtue by clofer approaches to the Sun of Rlghteouf- ncfs, and forrow haftened to that hallow'd fpot, where firft: flic role with heaUng in her wings. Curiofity, cldcft child of learning, was not then born, to turn the traveller's attention upon objcds which, to the minds of pilgrims in thofe centuries, had no attradive power ; nor did they dream, in the year 1100, of fimpllng upon Mount Sinai, where early man received the law from evcrlafting God, in thundcr- ings, and lightnings, and voices. Peter the Hermit then returned to Europe, flufli'd with a generous and natural indignation at feeing that his Redeemer's fervants were infulted, his holy fcpulchre profaned, and all the myfteries of our religion derided, where their facred inflitution • firft began. Hafting to Rome,-wherc Urban II. filled the papal chair, he poured forth his torrent of complaints before it, and the pope called a council at Piacenza : no hall however was found that could contain the flocking multitudes, and their convention was held upon a plain. Such were the tranfports excited by one pilgrim's warm pathetick elo- quence, that all prefent devoted themfclves folemnly, though fud- dcnly, to refcue Jcrufalem from Turkifli tyranny and vile opprcflion : and Urban, (whom Hume and Goldfmith call Martin, by miftake) defirous to engage the rich and powerful in fuch a caufe, fummon'd another council at Clermont d'Auvergne. Peter, whofe vigour felt like that of fabled Antxus, renewed by touch of his own parent earth, there ftill more loudly reiterated his exhortations to a crowd of liftcning princes, prelates, nobles, knights, and pious women, who with one ac- cord, as if infplred, cried out all at once " God wills it fo, God wills it." Words from that hour confecrated as a fignal of rendezvous and battle, whilft all united and prepared for war under the bloody crofs, fixed as a badge upon the right fliouldcr, and painted on every ftandard through the continent. Artizans, priefts, peafants, enrolled their names ; and although our iflanders feemed the Icaft heated by this contagious calen- ture of enthufiafm of any European inhabitants, many barons and no- bility, high in both power and wealth through England, fold their pof- feffions CH. xvi] TO MIDDLE OF TWELFTH CENTURY. 273 fcffions off, broke up houlc-kccplng, and away for the Holy Land. Thofe who dcchned the fcrvice were loon branded with ignominy as avaricious, heretical, or pufillanimous. N/Jifirs perhaps, till in thofe davsof fcanty population, w hen Domefday-book declares York to have contained but I M8 families, Norwich 738 /wifl-s, only, with others in proportion, — an army of 700,000 combatants from all countries were coUcded, fghtiug nten : thofe who aflumed the crofs, and followed as affiftant reinforcements, &c. were fix millions. Of thefe, 30O,ooo troops went firll with Peter to condudl them ; while Godfrey, of Bou- logne, who commanded 100,000 more, began to feel uneafv left the armament fliould by its magnitude defeat its own great purpofe. " All " Eurof>e (fays the Princefs Anna Comncna) torn up from the foun- ♦' dation, feemed ready to precipitate itfclf on Afia in one united mafs." Gibbon derides the female eloquence which thus expreffes itfelf m 'jcarnith, yet fgiire ; but fuch occurrences defcribed by thofe who faw and felt them, will fcldom be related neatly or terfely, or with that French touniure and delicacy of quick finifli, that is no lefs remote from manly character and unaffe<5ted fimplicity, than is the natural fublimity of the princefs. Europe did indeed precipitate itfelf on Afia, like a vaft avalanche tumbling from her fnowy Alps ; like that it fuffocated for a time, but not dcftroyed, the foes on which it fell ; like that too, it in due time diflblved away, leaving no trace of its own violence. That violence however, was not unprovoked : Fuller, whom we will not fufpcd of foolifh warmth in a caufe which he firft ventured to ri- dicule, feels himfclf honcftly obliged to confefs that the Bofphorus was too narrow a ditch, and the Grecian empire too low a hedge for keep- ing out thefe ailonifhing invaders, who had already wafted Italy, con- quered Spain, made inroads upon Aquitainc, andpoftcfled many iflands in the Mediterranean Sea, The war therefore (adds he) was partly offcnfivc, partly dcfcnfivc too, like a wca]x)n fix'd in the bofle of a fliicld. Silvcftcr II. tutor to Otho, had in the year 1)80, written a fort of paftoral letter, elegantly lamenting the fate of Jcrufalcm, but was Vol. I Mm liften'd •274 FROM THE YEAR lOpr, [ch. xvi. liilcn'd to by the inhabitants of Pifli alone, who armed againft the Ma- hometans, but being Tmgle had no fuccefs. The truth is, Silvcftcr pofleiled too much literature for the times he lived in : the mafs of mankind did not underftand him. Peter the Hermit's louder cries, and ruder manners, awakened thofe who flcpt at the call of rational and well-informed piety : befides that, at the clofc of the tenth cen- tury, a fudden alarm fcized people's fancy, and many thought the world was in its laft convulfions. L'Hiftoire de Languedoc, by Vaifctte, prefervcs a French charter, beginning thus : Approp'tnqnante tnimdi ter- inino, &c. As the end of the xvorld approaches, ^c. and individuals made themfclves fo certain that the clofing fcenes were near, it was a com- mon .practice to throw up all, and run to meet their Saviour where he fuffefcd. Such difmterefted conduft muft clear them at word from all fufpicion of hypocrifv ; but what was begun in honour was con- tinued afterwards by many, certainly through a fpirit of mean pru- dence, as coarfe fcwcl fcrvcs to keep alive that flame which touch jetherial lighted. Thofe who aflumed the crofs were exempted from -profecutions for debt ; they paid no taxes for a confiderable time : they were not bound to plead in civil courts, but were put wholly under care of the church, and thus almofl emancipated from the then hard preflure of fome fupcrior lord. Thcfe ftrange immunities were cauie of temporary union ; for debtor and creditor, plaintiff and defendant, baron and vaflal, took the common badge ; and fhaking hands in frlendfhip, fet off together for Paleftine. Our elegant hiftorian Hume tells us befide, that the great nobles then poflefTed in every country the right of making peace and war, which above all other privileges they valued, and that they were engaged in perpetual hoftilities with each other. He might have added, that as marriage was then forbidden as fer as to the fcventh degree of confanguinity, and all within that pale were relations, bound by blood to fupport family quarrels, fb that the open champagnes were become theatres of contcft, between bandb of fubjedls fighting in their own caufes, without the fmallell: regard to law, cH.xvi.] TO MIDDLE OF TWELFTH CENTURY- 275 law.jultlcc, or kingly authority. Every man, popularly fpcaking, being by this jyftem dependant cither on his own, or on a kinlman's fword — What wonder if valour was confidercd as the only excellence ? When civil fports were all conncdcd too with mylHck devotion, and Icenick rcprcicntation, returned to its firll fwaddling bands, attempted nothing but the narration ot" a lacred ftory, oddly afiillcd by grimaces of the re- lator, and fighed for a long proceiiion, not yet in uic, but half in con- templation — what marvel, or what harm indeed, if fupcrftltious phrenzy did for a moment fcize upon mankind, and fct on foot one vaft one ferious and fublime proceflion in order to regain the Holy Land ; the attendant multitude is at this dillance of time difficult to conceive ; women not mean of rank followed in the train for devotion's fake ; and the word volunteer, then firft adopted, fcemcd to Include every defcrip- tion of men, from pardon'd criminals to barons of high birth ; giving for benefit of all at once, to every idle individual a centre of union, and binding the irregular and Ihapelefs mafs into a determined, though ill-fafhioned form. Arpin now fold the Vicomte de Hourges to Phi- lip I. king of France, in full perfuafion that our world was ending ; but he who bought did homage to the Comte Sancerre, in whom 'tis plain piety had not deadened that fenfe of equality, as a knight and gentleman, in which nobles of thofe days ftood to their nominal fo- vcrcign, who was only, as it were in fome refpcds, fupcrior lord at home. Europe was broken into various but tyrannick ariftocracies, where the chieftain, whether king, duke, or baron, was judge in civil cafes, and the church in all the reft. Reading was yet of difficult at- tainment, and !io written laws could have had much ctTedl, fo that barbarifro would have laftcd longer among us, had not this fudden im- petus driven, they fcarce knew w !»y, all conditions of humanity in one enormous aggregate to Afia. The (»ncian Emperor there however, little delighting at fight of fuch a univerfnl movement, began to fear left they (hould lofc their way, and fall upon Conftantinoplc inftcad of Jcrufalcm. Had he l>een fkillul in fuch things as we arc now, he might have honcftly cniichcd himfelfby contract; for 'twas agreed M m J. that 276 FROM THE YEAR 1097, [ch. xvi. that Alexis fhould fupply the army, and have all they ftiould win, ex- cept the fepulchrc : but this prince, mean and treacherous, and hafty to be fate where there was no dana;cr, after they had torn Nice and Exorgum, and Antioch from the infidels, bafely betrayed their armies more than once, and forced rough Boemund to turn his fword upon our eaftcrn brethren in belief, to the perpetual fcorn of thofc wlio write in latter times on the crufadc. When this bold prince was taken by the Turks, Tancred, immorializcd by TaiTo's pen, fupplied his place and freed EdelTa, native town of Hcfter the patriotic Jewefs, who was known to Artaxerxes only by that name Iladajj'a* in the feraglio. The word means fccret : flie had been fworn not to reveal her birth till, for the fafety of her friends, 'twas necefiary. But Antioch, the city where Chriftians firft were called fb, where Peter, the apoftle of our Lord, was firft inftalled a bifliop — Antioch was the fcene which witnefled the difgrace of his moft wretched name- fake, who having conducted millions to that fpot, left it at fight of war and ran away ; fhewing how ill a hermit's education forts with a foldier's coat. The fpcar, however, which had pierced our Saviour's fide, found by fome chance in a church dedicated to his earlieft dif- ciple, fcrved as a rallying ftandard to our army, who fought valiantly to free the tomb of their Redeemer, while they openly difobcyed all his commands. In this caufe it has been obferved that Chriftians fought really Icfs like men than lions, whofe fanguinary rage was feeble when compared with theirs. The Amazon tribe were on this occafion dii- tinguiftied. Fuller fays, by carcleffnefs of life, and ferocity in conqucft ; and w here 1.00,000 Turks lay dead one day upon a field, to which wc know that no artillery was brought, their favage valour muft have been beyond conception. The Venetians fignalizcd themfelves among thefe combatants, 'twas they took Afkclon, and did prodigious fervicc at Ptolemais, Sidon, &c. When Baldwin was made King of Jerufalem, he prcfcnted them with the bronze horfes which had drawn the car of * Pronounce AtofTa. She was the firft lady celebrated for cpiftolary writing; fhe wrote upon fmall leaves of wood clofcd with bees wax, Apollo CH. XIV.] TO MIDDLE OF TWELFTH CENTURY. 277 Apollo in pagan days; they liad aftreet, a church, and other privileges, but the Genoclc enjoyed more fblid profit in being rccompcnfed with the third part of all the maritime towns. I mull here fliock the retroJj>ec- ttve eye, by placing betbre it for an inftant only, the fierce afiault on the devoted city which was taken by itorm, Friday, 5th of July, laft year of the eleventh century, after an obltinate and pertinacious defence That the (laughter of rciifting warriors fliould be immcnfe, furprlzcs no one ; but the decree of mercilefs fcverity, iflued out by conquering Chriftians, to dellroy every infidel found there on i/ie third day after it was takcii, drives the blood backward in a reader's veins. When pagan llome had facked Jerufalem, the gallant Titus gave command to fparc, but the inhabitants forced on their own ruin. When papal Rome triumphed over the fame guilty town, Godfrey and Euftace gave com- mand to kill ; nor turned their fight away when fucking babes, and fuppliant mothers, fullied the pikes of foldicrs with their blood. The inhuman maflacrc was Sunday's work, and the day on which our blcflcd Lord rofc from the dead, was the time chofca to make a fhamblcs of his facrcd fcpulchrc. Yet although wc confcfs thefc heroes difgraccd Chrift's dodrine while they avowed their faith in his divinity, let us be candid to their brave difintereftednefs. Godfrey dc Boulogne, when the crown was offered him, fwore he'd not wear a coro- net of gold where his Redeemer's brows were pierced with thorn : and Baldwin, whom they forced into the throne, faid he would fit in it but to fcrvc his brethren. A reign of fourteen years fpent on that bu- fmcfs only, proved they were no diflcmblers, nor no hypocrites. En- thufiafm ading upon ignorance, produced a flame as when the chy- mill pours his aromatick oil on nitrous acid : the burft will not be hin- der" d rem by vacuum. Rome heard the news with indecorous joy, and whilft (as a nation) they cxprcffcd dcfirc of revenge infatiable upon the infidels, each indi- \idual now began to feci continuance of fuch dcftruAion, as a cordial adminiUcrcd to meaner pafiioiu. Avarice prompted the Pope to per- fuadc 278 FROM THE YEAR 1097, [ch. xvi. fuade fecular princes, nobles, Sec. to fet forward on the bloody pilgrim- age ; teaching the fick or lazy to commute their journey by large fums paid to his treafury for fervice of the holy crofs. All the eflatcs fold up by madly pious adventurers, fell quickly into hands of churchmen, who by thefc falcs became temporal barons, pof- feflcd of fiefs to an immenfe amount, particularly in France and Eng- land, where fovereigns, by this new fignal for a general chace, were eafily diverted from all thought of flruggling to retain the right of inveftiture, now no longer in their power, or to fay truth, no longer in their heads. Places of accuftomed worfliip were dcferted, cathedrals dropt into decay, prayers were no longer faid in publick as they had been ; and even private devotion -was fo much difufcd, that repetition of Pater-nofter, and Ave Maria then fupplicd the place of thofe petitions to the Al- mighty, now known by the name of Liturgies, digefted into fettled forms of prayer ; beads, therefore, grew needful, to remind people how often they faid over the fame thing. The elegant word rofary, means a firing of thofe beads like dejx)- drops, counted by morning light amid the fields, by innocent fimpli- city courting the ear of Heaven, when it flieds on wood and bladed grafs rofc'ida mella. New drcfTes of a fcarlet colour meanwhile adorned the ecclcfiaflicks upon days of gala,* fwelling their full-blown dignities, and expreflive of firm refolution to maintain them as fuch with \!i\c\x blood; and if any high fpirit was obfcrved likely to oppofe, or even complain of in- novations, the Pope had a fure place to fend them to ; the pilgrimage to Afia was in fuch cafes compelled; as Saul fcnt David againfl the Phi- liflines to be rid of him, fays Fuller. All this time PrufTia, and part of Lithuania, were in a flate of barbarifm ; that they had never been con- verted is not true : they, like the Danes, had in the very early ages * So called from mIo^ Asabkk perbaps, meanbg a rthi tf htnour, as I have read. been CH. xvt] TO MIDDLE OF TWELFTH CENTURY. 279 been taught tnie faith by an old let of miffionarlcs devoted to St. Vi- tus ; thev therefore founded fomcwhat like a church, and dedicated it to him : but having never learned to read, fuccecding generations ioit the true meaning, and cafily relapfmg into idolatry, they made a gigantick figure of the faint with four frightful heads, and called it Su- auio'j'it, dancing round when ChrilVian Grangers were facrificcd, all this in fo extravagant a manner, and accompanied by gefturcs fo wild and without meaning, tliat northern nations called by the name of St. Vitus's dance, a nervous afFedion, inducing odd vagaries of the limbs. A fpccies of the cpilepfy, is, I believe, called fo Hill in England, Den- mark and Norway. When the crufades had taught mankind, however, that force might be applied with good fucccfs to propagate our religion, fome was fent out againft thcfe wretched pagans, who difliking this fccond mode of converfion, oppofed it ftoutly ; and treated thofe who now tried to in- ftru ^avcngcar de fuo enemy, !.«» dil'uiu qu' es Vaudts ct los/f/tn merir. Nn 2 And 281 FROM THE YEAR 1097, [ch. xvx. Ami wltnds the terrible crufade fet on foot againft thcfc fame inno- cents long afterwards, by name of Albigeois ; they were the relicks of the Vaudois : their fedl never critically known, perhaps ; but when they laboured for peace, like king David, the others made them- fclves ready to battle. Peculiarities of good or ill pra6tices fecm entailed upon particular nations for a vaft length of time. Alphonfo Hcnriquez was the firft fovereign who ftylcd himfclf Duke of Portugal ; but after the bloody battle of Orichia, where he overcame Ifmarus and three other Moorifh kings, whofe heads at the moment I am writing adorn the arms of Marie Franqoife Ifabella, he was faluted king by his whole army. This man married his aunt by papal difpenfation, and flic, when a widow, wedded his brother Ferdinand ; who, when flie died, took Therefa, that very brother's daughter, to be his fecond wife. It is obfervablc how fuch connedlion between degrees of kindred ufually forbidden obtain in that ft ill, more than in any other Chriftian land. Alphonfo Hcnriquez had a fabulator, whofe bufmcfs in his bed-chamber every evening was to tell {korlcsf/abii/aj till he fell aflcep. Complaining however that the ftorics were too fliort, the difour invented one fo long that during the recital he fell afleep as well as the king : " We will, fays " Hcnriquez, have this talc every night." The harper had a privilege tc fit down, but the fabulator^ooJ always when in royal prefence ; fuch was the etiquette. Phyficians had fate down before the king ever fmce the year 424. (See Warton). Contes a dorrtiir debout is an exprcf- fion growing out of this cuftom, when the tale-teller himfclf dropt nfleep though Jiand'mg. Spain and Portugal were always nearly allied. Farinclli, almoft in our own time, fung the fame fong. Per quel caro amplcjjo, every night to the king of Spain for eight years together: the Italians call the air by his Majcfty's name at this moment. That pom- pous felf-fufficicncy which is fuppofed to diftinguiih Spaniards from other Europeans, was firft obfervcd in the twelfth, century. Alphonfo of Arragon was called Alphonfo the Arrogant, par equivoque, and his fucceffor, CH. xvi] TO MIDDLE OF TWELFTH CENTURY. 285 fuccelTor, Peter dc Taros was dcpolcd la four months for exccfs of pride. From Ramirez gentler manners were exped;cd, but he proved as haughty as his predeccflbrs. A fevcre illnefs indeed brought him to humbler thoughts ; he made long penance, and at length turned monk. But health and fupercilioufncfs returned together, and the diftich Dsemon languebat, monachus tunc efl"e volebat ; AH ubi convaluit, manfit ut ante i'uit. Wlicn the devil was fick, the devil a monk would be ; But when the devil was well, the devil a monk was he — was made on that occafion. A daughter of his, before he turned friar, named Pctronilla, married the Earl of Catalocia, and added that province to the crown lands. Soon after which Alphonfo, funiamed the Good and Wife, king of Caftile and Leon, who being prcfcnt at many battles faw the death of one hundred and twenty thoufand Sa- racens, and who regained from his ambitious neighbours all they had torn from him, inftitutcd the order of Caliitrava or Slip Fetter, upon taking that town, by which a6l he confidered his dominions as finally rcfcucd from fetters long impofed on them. This prince made Toledo the metropolis ; and calling it an imperial city, wiflied, but in vain, to be acknowledged emperor of Caftile, &c. another curious proof of Spa- nifli pride. Alphonfo was oddly jealous of a lady whom he loved, and fct a nobleman of high rank to court her ; but the experiment being likely to end ill for all, it was put a finifh to as oddly as it begun ; for a troulwdour who came to divert the king and grandees tipon his birth-day, recited a tale like that in Don Quixote called El Curiofo ImpertineHte; with which his Majcfty being much ftruck, faid to him, " Minftrcl, your talc has good fliarp fait in it, and excellent morality, '• it fhall be called Le Jaloux Cluitie :" and (o it was, and fcrved the great Ctrvnntcs as a mo«lcl. We ought to add how Alphonfo pre- fentcd the bard a bag of crowns ; changed his condu<5t towards the lady, 286 FROM THE YEAR 1097, ' [ch. xvi. lady, who married her new lover the nobleman, with a large dower bcftovvcd by the fovcrcign, on condition they fliould neither of them ever more appear at court. But Venice attrafts more than a glimpfc of RetrofpeSiion. While fhe was gaining laurels at the Holy Land, her province of Dalmatia re- belled ; Michacli and Bolani his fon-in-law, dukes and doges of that day, reduced them however in a fliort time to obedience, Spalatro being taken ; although the Padoani mifchicvoufly endeavoured to for- ward the evil by changing the courie of the Brenta, then better known by name of Medoacus. After a flight punifliment they too returned to their duty, and the republick kept profpering exceedingly, keeping in their own hands all trade with Grand Cairo, and having clofe con- nexion befide w ith other powers, to whom they fold fpices from the call with very great advantage. Gems now grew into an article of luxury in Europe, and to the Venetian Ihips or gallies all merchandize and all naval refiftancc to the common enemy was confided. At thefe crufadcs much therefore was found which our wcftern inhabitants went not thither to look for, and fome of their importations arc now unobfcrvcd, bccaufe they are grown ib common. But 'twas in oppofition to thefe Venice gallies that the Turks always fent out an emir or enteral, whence Chriftians from that time called him an amiral* or admiral, who head- ed and commanded any fleet. Mofaick w^ork was new learned on thefe oriental cxcurfions ; and Italy, ever firfl: to adopt the elegancies of life, difplaycd fuch diligence, that old Falcandus the hilloriau of Sicily in- forms us, how in this century the cathedral church at Palermo had its walls decorated with that ornamental incruftation. But Conftanti- nople had prefervcd many arts after Rome had loft all fight of them, the fovcrcign ftill rcfiding fafely there, while Goths and Vandals facked the deferted city, and left few traces of its priftine greatncfs. About this period likewife, upon fome difpute between the Duke of Bavaria • Milton fays amlral, without tlic d. and ch: XT..] TO MIDDLE OF TWELFTH CENTURY. 28/ fend Conrad III. emperor of the well:, fpmng the firft germ of that lonsc-lafting feud between the Gwclphs and Gibclincs, which, though it dillraded and even defolated Europe for fo many years together, feems to have left at laft only a faint remembrance of the folly upon the mind of an hillorick. reader, like the old contell: of the centaurs and lapithae upon that of a claffick and mythological lludent. Con- rad meantime, wlio built Ulm in Suabia, i'o called ab uUigine, from the quantity of f//ff trees that grew there on the banks of the Danube, tb(5k the town of Winlbcrg in Germany, granting only the women's Hvcc, and as much houfehold ftuff as they could carry away with them. Thofc who were married coming out each of them loaded with a rebel hufband to fling at the king's feet, the gallant fovercign rewarded their fidelity by pardoning all the inhabitants of a town poffciring fuch con- jugal virtue. Oar fwcct Spedator calls the city Hen/berg, and makes the pretticft ftory of it imaginable ; but he, as Johnfon fays of Gold- fmith, touched nothing he did not improve. Nullum quod tctigit non ornavit. Had I their powers to make KetrofpeSi'ton pleafing, I would endeavour to draw on my readers fo as to give the remaining part of this long chapter to the affairs of France, whofe king Philip went not to Pale- ftinc, detained by Bcrtradc wife to Fulke of Anjou, who had left her own hufband and prevailed upon her lover to betray his fon Lewis Ic (fros, whom flic dofcd afterwards with incfFe-, the Conqueror's youngcll fon, was, happily for him, upon /fie /pot. Adive and vigilant, and as it appears wholly unreftraincd by fraternal afFc; graced vith learning, and knew thcfc things ; he had been furnanied Ht;:u- clcrc for his accompliflimcnts ; but his auditors found thcmfch cs more Vot.. I. o cafiiy 2go TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD noo. [ch, xvn. cafily pcrfuaded by an argument of greater folidity : he offered them a charter, mitigating in fomc meafure the royal prerogative, and annul- ling as it was exprcfs'd, evil cuftoms and illegal exactions, by that very epithet expreffing that there were exiftent laws, and that his father broke them. Princes well aflured of their own juft title, are feldom forward in appealing thus to the immediate intercfts of their people, while thofe who accidentally, or by favour of concurring circumftances, come in to fuddenly acquired or fcarcely cxpcded dignity, willingly part with a fmall fhare of power to preferve the reft inviolate ; nor docs this trick of conciliation often anfw er as to purchafing afFedionatc regard, which ever naturally follows the true heir ; and the refiliency towards Robert of Normandy was fcen the moment he arrived in France; but by loitering on his journey with the fair daughter of Converfana, the foft climate of Naples relaxed his martial fpirit ; and though many barons from here dcfertcd to his ftandard, he w ifhed only for peace he fald, and that on almofl any terms. Whoever fays fb, lliall be fure of bad ones ; he loft England and Normandy both ; but J believe, although he died in Wales, that he was buried at Glo'fter : there is a recumbent figure of him there in the cathedral. Henry meanwhile fliewed himfelf no hypocrite ; he granted a charter and pri- vileges to the city of London, which they have kept with more atten- tion than our kings beftowed on prerogatives imagined lefs liable to violation ; he wiUin,!;ly gave up the right of inveftiture, which placed all power over churchmen in Rome alone ; and flattered by Pope In- nocent's admiration of his literary abilities, compromifcd the matter by making the bifliops pay homage to htm as their fuperior lord for their tcmporcl baronies only. Much was enjoyed by individuals under this reign, which had been harflily enough denied in the foregoing; for we fee Rufus difpofc of ccclcfiaftical preferments plainly in the old ftory of two monks coming to court for purpofc of purchafmg an abbot's place, offering each of them magnificently, fedulous to outbid each other, nothing doubting but .he fhould have it who gave moft. A third CH.xvn.] TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD, 1200. 291 third flood by however, and faid notliing : " And w hat wouldft thou do " to obtain this rich hving ?" faid the king. " My duty," replied the triar. " And what wouldft ^n.r then ?" " Not a penny, my llcge, fuch " gilts are agalnft my confcience ; but here I ftand to wait on him " whom my lord fliall ordain abbot." " Now by my foul thou only " dcferv'ft it," cried William, and fent the other two to vcah on him. But thefe prerogatives no more exifted, and Henry never fcemed to re- gret their lofs. It is the nature of knowledge to wifli its own diffufion, and 'tis its nature when difFufcd, to feck a'n empire over the luinds of men, forgetful of all rights over their perfons. Innocent II. had in- dulged tliis prince with a difpenfation to marry Matilda, only child of Malcolm, King of Scots, by a daughter of Edgar Atheling. This united the Norman and Saxon blood once more ; and the old Englilh families found daily caufe of rejoicing in the Queen's influence, who brought from her convent a ftrong attachment to family notions, and who brought an heir of uncommon promifc for our future fovereign. Henry recolley nightly dreams, in which this figure prefented itfelf perpetually to his fancy, inquifition was ftri<5t at home, and rcqucfts preferred to every court abroad, for the purpofe CH. XVII.] TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD, 1 200. 3 i i purpofc of forvk arding inquiry. Afliduous application is feldom fruit- lefs ; Primiilaxis was difcovered at length turning a fpit in the kitchen of Philip the emperor at Ratifbon. Ladillaus, old and childlcfs, font for him home forthivith, embraced him tenderly, and dying in his arms within a week, confirmed him in the fucceflion. And now Philip, affifted by one half the world, contefted the wcftern empire againfl Otho, fon to Henry the Lion, while Alexis Angelus in the eaft had the ftrange cruelty to blind his brother Ifaac, who had favcd him from Andronicus's tyranny, for which this worthlcfs wretch depofcd and mutilated, and thruft him in a convent. We read with delight however, that the earth opened with a fudden fiflure and fwaDowed the ufurper as he fur\eyed fome buildings intended for his palace. The Mamalucchi too, apoftate Chriftians, were formed about this time into a body by Saladin, imitating the orders of knights, Teutons, &c. with which the world f\\ armed, and which, to fay truth, contributed exceedingly towards its civilization. Univerfities were founded every where, and at Montpclier was conftruclcd a college for phyficians. Their art indeed was deformed by magick, and airy notions of fympa- thetick powers, picked up in Arabia, where gems were recommended in medicine very ftrongly, fometimes for curing, fomctimes for point- ing out the pathognomick fymptoms of difeafc, and treatifes were written in rhyme upon fubjecis little fufceptible of poetick beauty ; but then wounds, the confcquence of valour, were admitted to invi- gorate the defign, and atrophy, produced by love, was called in to foftcn it. Learning too, afliftcd not a little the operations of phyfick, if we believe iEneas Silvius, afterwards pope, who tells how fomc bifliop was cured of dropfy by reading Quintus Curtius, vvliofc book they all aflcmblcd round on eve of fomc great battle, to coniiilt ; open- ing it cafually, as in old times were ufed the fortes Homcrica- ut I irgi- liana. Euftathius however, biftiop of ThclTalonica, of whom we all hear fo much in the notes upon Pope's Homer, fecms to have been an •llonilhing fcholar for his day. Geoffrey, of Monmouth, a contem- porary 312 TO THE YEAE OF OUR LORD, 1 200. [cw. x v n . porary writer, tells how Homer tejiifies that Brutus, having ravaged the province of Aquitaine with fire and fword, came at laft to the city of Tours ; and Warton fays that they confidered Virgil as a magician. This may be fo ; but 'tis poffiblc it might be a fort of compliment, as we fay SliakeJ'pear s magkk pen, &c. They hardly could think his vEneid a work of forcery, furc — but fctting limits to long paft abfurdities is beyond the power of KctroJpeSi'ion, \\h:ch will be better amufed by feeing Philip, aflifted by his turnfpit ally, attacking Otho fuccefsfully on every fide, till being tolerably certain of his feat, he made him king, not marquis of Bohemia ; and Pope Innocent confirmed the gift. They have been kings ever, fmce Primiflaus, and the diadem with which he was crowned at Mentz is yet to be feen among the rarities at Vienna. We muft now return to England, where King Richard was never weary of making generous atonement for all his pafl oiFences towards a father whom he exceedingly refembled and efteemcd, and imitated in exprefTmg penitence, half unrequired, as Henry himfclf had done in Becket's cafe. But 'tis confoling to a reader's mind that thefe rude crimes of fcmi-barbarous Chriftians polluted not the foul, as did the ftudicd debaucheries of pagan wickednefs. Our prince's difpofition, bent backward by afpiring beyond its flrength, felt the claftick force, and quick returned to virtue, foon as the chord was cut that held it down ; where principle, the germ of excellence, remains unputrefied by mean voluptuoufnefs, the heart will clear itfelf of other flains, and regain its prifline purity. Queen Elinor was inflantly releafed, and Jews, who often fufiered from fudden emotions of the fovereigns they fcrvcd, were ordered never to appear at court : fome rich ones, offering money however, Ihewed their fneering faces at the corona- tion ; Richard was enraged at their appearance, contrar)' to his exprefs command, and his exprefTion of difpleafure was confidered as a fignal for mafTacre. The rabble hunted them from place to place, nor did this phrenzy end in the metropolis : difgraceful barbarities were prac- tifed CH. xvii] TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD, 1200, 313 tiled on them In every country, and 500 of them refuging in York caltie from the attempts of a licentious mob, fet themfelvcs on fin- there, like Decebalus of old, and were every one confumed. More honourable victories were won over the infidels in Afia : the kings of France and England there, panting for military glory, and warm with the romantick fpirit of the times, tore down many a Turkifli crcfcent, and Richard gained his appellation Coeur dc Lion. To reward thofc who fought bravely by his lidc, the privilege of w hat is new called coat armour was invented. The half moons were bcftowed on thofe who had fubdued infidels, wearing that badge of Mahomctanifm, and gryf- fons adorned the fhields of fuch as feizcd a Saracen fo called. Our monarch's battle-axe was named mate gryphon. Bel kynge Richarde I UDdcl^lonc^c, Or he went forth from fair F.ngelhoncJc, Let him make an axe for nones. To brake there wythc fum Sarafyn's bones. The Grecian fire was now ufed on the Turks' fide, and with dread- ful cfTcA: it was an inextinguifliablc naptha on which water had no power. Bfaujirel exclaimed our fovercign in prayer to JefusChrift, when he heard the fatal bags burft arfiong his fubjeds ; hean Jire ! avcrttt /r /ru gregeois ! Againft that dreadful weapon, indeed, not even Richard's lion fpirit could (land firm ; though he amazed both armies with his valour, took the ifland of Cyprus, and feizcd a fliip (Fuller fays) with 250 fcorpions on board for purpofe of poifoning Chrif- tians. A curious prize ! but perhaps the fcorpions were figurative, and meant Mohammedan inftrudors — I guefs not myfclf what they were. Certain it is that Afkclon was taken, chiefly by our king's per- fonal prowcfs, which carried the crofs once more clofc to the walls of Jcrufalcm. There, a fudden ftop was put to their career — the cru- fadcrs themfelvcs were weary and worn out ; a large jar was carried about the field with this infcription — / civfjc out full, 1 go home empty. Vol. I. R r The 314 TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 1200. [ch. xvii. The Italians, hafty to enjoy their gains — the Germans, half deiirous at length to heal their wounds, patched up a truce for three years, three months, three weeks and three days,, a number fuppofed fmgularly lucky and fortunate. Richard indeed, butchered ."Jooo Saracen prifoners in cold blood, and thereby offended Philip of France, on whofe fubjedls Saladin wreaked inftant revenge. Ivcopold, duke of Auftria, had likcwife been offended by our martial monarch as they lay before the trenches of Acre, and he meanly cxercifed liia vengeance upon an undefended pil- grim, for 'twas in that difguifc that Coeur de Lion travelled home through his dominions, not trufting to the honour of Dcodatus. At Vienna however, he was fcized and put in prifon, while his two ene- mies leaguing with ever-treacherous John, his youngeft brother, in- vaded the Roman domain. Queen Eleanor wrote to Pope Celefline, lamenting loudly the indignities her fon fuftained in his captivity ; but her aftivity in raifing money to pay down that ranfom which fhe car- ried to the continent herfelf, was far more efiicacious than any corref- pondence held with Rome, which looked very quietly on, whilft Phi- lip, and his worthlcfs aflbciatcs were laying fnarcs for the perpetual detention of fo troublcfome a neighbour. By a happy combination of chance and dexterity, Richard efcapcd ; and a letter from the king of France to John, has thcfc words : — " Take care of yourfclf, for the " devil is brolccn loofc." His corrcfpondcnt profited, but not in the way he wjillicd, by this advice ; for being at Evreux, he invited the French princes and officers who thought him firm in fricndfhip with their fovereign, to a great dinner, and maflacrcd them fitting round his own table ; then fcizing the citadel, put cverv Frenchman in it to the fword ; and running next to meet his brother, threw himfelf at his feet. Coeur de Lion abhorred fuch mean and cowardly behaviour, } ct pardoned all at interceffion of their mother, a lady, whofe maternal affection feems to have been ever liberally and impartially divided among her children, although infenfible to all ties of conjugal tendcr- xicfi. CH. XVII. J TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD, 1 200 3 1 5 ncfs, and equally a fcourge to the amiable hufband of her youth, and the unconftrained choice of her maturer years. Duke Leopold mean- while crufhed his leg in a tournament, and the fever confcquent ou fuch an accident produced reflexion, and of courfe remorfe. He or- dered the Englilh hoftagcs to be releafcd, and his furrounding ecclcfiaf- ticks forced the fuccelfor to comply with the diftatcs of a death-bed repentance — he did ftill more ; he forgave the yet remaining fum which was to have been paid for Richard's ranfom, and they agreed to fall on Philip of France with newly-revived violcnci-. Frefli ficges, battles, blows, diftain the pageof hiftorj', and make us avert the glance of RetroJf>e£}iou. Dh:i et mon droit, was firft ufed as a motto by Richard in one of thefe vidorics, where a warlike bifhop of Bcauvais, named Dnt/x, whence our Englifh Dr<;r derives his pedigree; advanced towards the front where our bold monarch mowed down whole ranks as ufual with his fword ; he was related to A-.iguilus, therefore found no mercv : the rough king fci/ed him as he llipt, daggering on the bloody grccn- fword, and threw him into prifon where he died. Pope CcleUine de- manded the liberation of his /on, but Richard recollecting the cold- nefs fliewn by Rome when /i':s ozin freedom was folic\^cd, favasjely lent the flaincd armour thither, w ith the relcntlcfs words emj)!oycd by Jofeph's no lefs cruel brethren. " This have we found ; know thou, " and fee whether it be thy fun's coat or no ?" This anecdote how- ever, proves that tl'.e fcripturcs v.crc known to prince and pope :it le.ifi, and there was a Lombard do(5tor in the fame century, called Peter Cc- ntrjhr, bccaufe fuch was his knowledge of cxcry chapter and e\cry te.xt, that it fccmcd, they faid, as if he had cattn the whole P-ibk, and William cf Sicily made (jualtcrius Anglicus archhiHiop of Pa- lermo, only bccaufe he had taught him to make Latin vcrlis ; wliile John of SaliPjiiry here in England verliiicd, rather than tranHatcd in;-) our rough langu.i^c, the famous apologue of The Hclly and the Mcni- Ikts. ah ccckr:;il"ticks therefore were not warrior-f, though Da iix R r J " w.iv 3K) TO THE YEAH OF OUR LORD I2O0. [cH.xvir. %vas one : but in the year 1 1 7O, the pope's legate did obtain a grant, that clergy in this ifland needed not be compelled to finglc combat for a lady's reputation : thofe who took advantage of the grant, were not- withdanding, very meanly thought of. The world was all romance, and love, and valour ; our martial fove- rcign made as fine poetry in praife of beauty, as anie rninlbcl or trou- badour, fays Savarie de Maelon, unlefs perhaps Faydit. Faydlt indeed was highly famed in llory : Dante has placed him in his paradifo, and Petrarch tells us, that his tuneful tongue was more than fliicld and helmet, fword or fpcar. He prevailed on a profeflcd nun of Provence to quit her convent and follow him as glee-maid through the world on foot for twenty years of her life. He only was found worthy to make the chant funehre of Rudelle, the noble bard itinerant, who died for love of the Comteje de Tripoli^ having become enamoured from mere warmth of imagination only, and written the paflionate and beauti- ful fong of Du huench, or fo far away. Having walked from Picar- dy into Africa for the fake of viewing the objedt of his bright and faithful flame, he arrived there feeble and emaciated ; but on behold- ing the countcfs, clafped his hands in thankfulnefs and expired ; his laft words, like thofe of general Wolfe, were, " I die fatisfied." To fliew her fenfibility of fuch merit, his lady placed his reliqucs in a por- phyry vafe, gilt the words of his fo famous fonnct with gold, borrow ed King Richard's Faydit to fmg his requiem, and then lliut -herfelf uj) for ever in a cloiftcr. Some fuch adventures, but not fo well authenti- cated as the (lory told by Bcauchamps, befell our royal minftrel in the ifle of Cyprus, whence he brought a large chcll: of martyrs' bones — Jt tamen martyr urn,* as St. Auguftinc faid of fuch another prize, ages before: and whence he brought fome gems excellent for forekncnvledge. 'Twas an Arabian fuperftition, originating probably from the Urim afid Thummin, two ftones in Aaron's breaft plate. Hawkefworth has made elegant ufe of the idea, where Sultan Amurath's ring is reprefented to blufh or fade according to the emotions of its wearer's confcience. While * If indeed martyrs they were. tH. xrii.] TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 1200. 317 While Genoa, Venice, Piia, therefore enriched their towns and po- lifhed their manners in confcquencc of thefe crufades, William the Lion of Scotland, and Richard Coeur de Lion of England, came home together loaded only with laurels, and David, William's brother, not only accompanied them to Syria, Surrye, as 'twas then called ; but had as many adventures to boail, as any warrior of them all when he re- turned: having been taken by the Egyptians, refcued by the Vene- tians, and brought to Scotland from Conftantinople by an Englifli or Hamburgh merchant. Thefe events, with the death of brave Richard and greater Saladine Jhall clofc this chapter, as they happened juft in time to wind up the 1 200 years we have reviewed iince Chrift's refurredlion, and Chriftian princes might well learn humility from that virtuous and noble- minded Saracen, when by his laft command they faw a winding- flicet borne before his dead corpfe carried to interment, and heard his herald with impreflive voice proclaim, " This fliirt alone, after all his " vidorics, could Saladine take with him to the grave." Stanzas Duluench. Imitation. Irat ct dolcnt piez en partray, S'ycu nonvcy eft amour luench, E non fay q'uouras la veyray, Carfon noftras turras luench. How will thefe vagrant feet be wornr, That fcek fo wide from home to fti.n Ere by their force I can be borne, To find my love fo far away. T)icu que fez tou, quant ven e vray, I-!l forma rft amour luench. My don poder al cor que bay, Kfper rezcr aaiour du luench. How often will my panting heail, Rcqucft from heav'n a fmiiing ray Of hope, which heav'n can bcft impaif, To cheer me while fo far away. Scgnour tcncrmcs perils vray, L'amour qu"ay vers aliadc luench. Car per un ben my oril vcrog Hai mil* mail un foy dc lucoch. How will thefe eyes before whofcdgh Dangers their various forms difplay Bear with th' excefsof beauty bright, Beaming from hers fo far away. 319 TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD, 1 loo [ch. xvii. IV. t -/,;i ., ' Ja d'olr ' amour non j'auzivray, Unrivall'd excellence ! to fliine,:^ [ - rfk'f S'wray je veu le amour de luench, Be yours thro' many a diftant day, Qui nay plu bella brileray To follow and adore be mine, En luec que fia pres ni luench. TilJ found my love fo far away. CHAP. cH.xMii.j FROM THE YEAR 1200, TO 1230. 31^ C H A P. XVI r. FROM THE YEAR 1200, TO 1230. THE opening of the thirteenth century found the world recovered from that general panick which was luppofed immedi-itcly to precede her diflblution. It might perhaps occur to fomc of thofc who Icarched the Scriptures, that neither at evening, nor at night, nor at cock-crowing,* nor in the morning was the hour appointed. The evening was pad, and night came gradually on, ending in utter dark- nefs during the gothick ages, llobertfon points out the moment of dccpell objuration, wljich returned, he fays, with redoubled gloom after Alfred and Charlemagne had flioun the dawn at diftancc. The crulUding times might be, I think, confidered as the moment of cock- crowing, from which hour light made her gradual though flow ad- vances towards that morning which fecms to mc ended with the eighteenth century. This light broke from tlii cctjl : the Latin writers loft in wonder at the fupcrior glories of Conftantinople, make ufc of exclamation to ex- prcfs their fcufc of furpri/c, and hardly can drop into cold narrative of matters which amazed them. Benjamin the Jew, and Gonthicr the nK>nk. fiiy my readers, might be cafily dazzled and amazed by figlit, or even heacing of the golden tree filled with mechanick finging birds, coloured with picciaus iloncs after nature, which was faid to adorn tin- Greek emperor's palace ; while lion^; fornx-d of the fame precious metal. (there fo near its birth-place) roarrd by inventive luxurious artifice at * Fuller in liis I.ifc of HiWcgartlis, r.ilJs lijc iwcif.li century co(k-crr fome fcrmons written by the bilhop of Halbcrfladt ; and paper li men difproportiouately large were chofen as "porters to great lords, fb that honell: fellows of a common height lacked mafters. When fovereigns indeed chanced thus to V.c curtailed of human nature's regular })rctenfions, they were obliged to vindicate their claims by valour ; and Charlemagne had al- ways delighted himfclf to relate, how when his father Pepin the Short was crowned, they let loofe a lion to feize a bull for divcrfion of the French court : " And now," exclaims the king, " who will take that *' bcail off the bull ?" Nobody ftirred ; but their young monarch leap'd himfclf into the arena, and with his fword ftabbed the unfufpeding lion to the heart, releafmg the fcarce lefs enraged vidim to his fury- Oncquesfoi digit 1 was the royal exclamation, while applaufc and admi- i-ation •filled the whole affembly. And the fine ftatue reprefenting this event was, in the reign of Robefpierrc, ilung under heaps ofrubbilh, Mercier fays, and broken in thofe paroxyfms of rage againll every king alive or dead, which diftinguiflied Frenchmen in 1 794. But we return to Poland, which was in the thirteenth centurv fcarcely as much civilized as France was in the eighth ; and though Lafconigus fought no lions, he made head againft innumerable foes, and came off conqueror in fourteen engagements. Poetry did not profperin the north like perfonal bravery. Warton gives to the reign of Henry III., I think, our fiill love fong in England: it iS a very cold one, and its burthen " Blou, blou, blou northcrne wynde, blou, " blmz, blou," is favage enough. Thiboult de Navarre and Rudelle were before harvd with us ; and if King Richard wrote gay verfcs, it was bccaufc had he kept gay company and lived among the crufaders. Wit wants more tire to warm it thaa does learning or courage : they are of every cHmatc. But Louis IX. of France, fon to the dau- phin vho invaded England, colleded in his charader a conftellatlon of excdlencc, not to be comprized in what remains of this chapter, which fees CH. XVIII.] FROM THE YEAR 1200, TO 1230. 337 fees the great church at T(jlcdo built and decorated by the fuccclTor of Sandlus the Idle, Ferdinand IV. by name, ^vho drove the Moors from Andalufia, united the kingdoms of Caftile and Leon, and was related to the dowager queen of France, widow to Louis VIII., he who is faid to have been fon to an admirable father, and father to an in- comparable fon. The fiege of Cairo by the leagued fovereigns in the caft, and their diftrefs arifing from ignorance of thofe periodical inun- dations that fertilize and protcdt old Egypt; with the taking Damictta by Andrew, hufband to intriguing Gertrude, fhall clofe this portion of the thirteenth century, adding only a flight and curfory review of thofe foi-dtfant emperors in the eaft, who reigning after the time when Theo- dore Lafcarisand Henry parted the dominion ; one living at Adrianoplc and the other at Ginftantinople, no hope could be entertained of any but a lingering and feeble exiftence to both. lolanta, daughter to this laft named fovcrcign, reigned with her hufband Peter comte d'Auxerre, and during his imprifonment fwayed the fceptre alone ; but the Greeks could not endure to fee Latins as they called them, ruling at old By- zantium. They weakened the throne daily by their difputes, and fomctimcs injured it by their union; when a new Lafcaris, married to the daughter of Bulgaria, and named Theodore Angelus, wiflicd to take up only the title of king, and fling the faded purple quite away. John Ducas however was of another mind ; he took the Ifle of Cyprus in 1230, where wc will finifli our Retrojpe^ion of a portion of time peculiarly unfavourable and perplexing to epitome. Vol. I. U u CHAP. 338 SECOND PORTION OF [ch xix. CHAP. XIX. SECOND PORTION OP THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY. MR. GRAY fays fomewhere, and fays very wifely, that the Retro- fpc£l of error is ferviccable when it tends to vindicate the lefTons of truth. Our Klnp; John's Arrange behaviour contributed againft his own intention to afcertain his people's future liberties — a baby fucceflbr coming to the throne fomcwhat accelerated the then diftant moment ; for although governed by the wife earl of Pembroke, juftly fo called, that earl of Pembroke was at moft a fteward ; and who ever faw a fteward yet, that would not favour tenants rather than their landlord ? The tender prince willingly confirmed our famous Magna Charta, wherein claufes were added propitious to the poor, and of confolation to the people, not then deemed dangerous by their haughty lords, who each kept up a fliow of royalty within their feparate caftles, where the Scnefchal* and Chancellor, Conftable and Chamberlain, lived as in petty courts ; while mercenary exadions were by them pradifed on inferior clafTcs, as by the fovereign himfelf on the nobility ; till the bribes openly given and received even fhock a modem reader with recital : witnefs the ftory how Hugh de Oyfel prefcnted King Henr}'e with two robes of a grcne colore, for the fake of obtaining, through his in- * The Senefchal was a peifon of no fmall confcqiience. There is an old tale in Gefta Romanoium, how an old Baron left his favourite child and dog, both creatures of incflimabic value, under the care of iivc knights, to be fed by the Sent.-.hailc. This officer ncglcdful of his charge, and going out to vifit a neighbouring female, the ftarved hlood-hound devours the baby, whilft llie knights were fallicd forth in quell of food. The nobleman returning, and hearing this talc, burns tlie Senefchalle alive. fluence ciT. XIX.] THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY. 33(. fluence o\cr fomc Flemifli merchants, 1000 marks which the faid O) ill had left in Flanders, and could not get agayne : and Hovcdcn tells us how Richard dc Xcvilie gave one of our kings 20 paU'reys tor his grace's good word with Ifolda Bigct, a beautiful French lady whom he wlllied to marry. King John had three greyhounds given on a like account, if I remember, and they had clailick names, Achilles, Flannibal, and Hedor : the laft has been a common name for greyhounds ever fmce. We read likewife in fomc of the old books that dame Nicholc paid lOO marks for permiflion to marry her daughter to whoever (lie plcafcd, tl:c king's mimicks alone excepted ; nor can I find whether the exception was made becaul'e of royalty or confciencc, for it had been decreed Ionic years before, that mimicks muft not be admitted to recei\e the holy facrament. Such fordid dcfire of accumulating wealth forts but ill, as it ihould fceiTJ, with military pride ; and even I amour des dumcs, of which fo much was faid, appears to have been fwallow'd up in avaricious rapa- city, when records inform us how Robert dc Veaux gave our fo\ercign fix Lombardy Ibeeds, and a famous hawk befide, to make him hold his tongue, and tell no tales of Henri de Pinel's wife, vs hole reputation fccms to have depended on his filencc. Such indeed was the fre- quency of bribes in thofe days, and fuch the neceflity of an inferior's oltcring vifiblc inducements to perfuadc nobles or princes to adl as it is now deemed indifpenfablc for every man of honour to do without ^rfuafinn, that Saint Lewis of France was canonized for having taken no prcfcnts to jK-rvert the courfe of law ; and Innocent III. had been juflly enough half adored for a like delicacy in all c'lv'il cafes, although he fcrupled not to fell indulgences without hcfitation : angelick Fleury blames fuch conduiit, but foftens down the fads he is unal)'.e to deny. He fays too, with what unjufiifiublc Severity the court and churrh of Rome acted towards Bifliop Grollhead, \\\\n oppofed their ufurpatii)ii> about 1235. The poj)c of that day thirfted for hi.s blood, fays he ; :uul wa.s UiiTuadcd by a favourite cardinal from going to extreme-, eliii !!y bccaufc the fubtlc and penetrating Italian had obft:r\ed to him that J'-ng- V u •_• ■ i.iad 3 JO SECOND PORTION OF [ch. xix. land even then fa'ic loofer than other realms did towards the fee, add- ing, my lieart tells me that ifland will quit or break from us one day ; and fo it did, continues Fleury, 300 years after his true prcdidion. Warton mentions a book, called Rommi dAntlchrifl, about this period ; and Grofthead gave broad hints that the charader was faft filling up at Rome, which was now certainly become the fcorlet city, as Die had long been the fanguinary. Red hats were beftow'd as a new diftinc- tion upon cardinals, and the three pontiffs who followed each other in fucceffion after Innocent, added fplendour to their city without lofing ought of her authority. But every high mountain has a plain upon its top, where you run level for a while before defcent commences ; and there fecms to be a fort of folftitial paufe in governments, when they have reached their utmoft elevation : perhaps the appearance may be fallacious, owing to the obliquity of the fphere ; thofe who live under the equator are not confcious of it ; yet it was undoubtedly fo with pagan, and I think with papal Rome. Contentions concerning the bleffed Trinity, and its inexplicable nature, had ended fome time fince ; yet were thofe difputes rather finiibed by fatigue at laft, than recon- ciled by reafon or reflexion : for however we fee fire, water, and air, creatures expofcd to conftant obfervation, fubfifting in and for and through and by each other all day long ; there never was wife mortal could tell how : and yet this limited and arrogant animal, this flill more unaccountable matt, will daringly prefumc to pry into his Maker's ef- fence, and refill redemption till he is made acquainted with the con- ftituent fubftance of his Redeemer, never difcovcring by common fcnfe, what indifference and apathy embraced as foon as found : That points obfcure 'twere of fmall ufc to learn, But common quiet was mankind's concern. Oh wretched ftate of poor humanity ! While I am lamenting the fer- vour which glowed up into madnefs in the early ages of Chriftianity, infulting heaven by trying to tear down the myftick veil that keeps en. XIX.] THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY. 341 our fight from agony of knowledge, I am forced to regret that in the days I am writing no fpark of fervour fecms to remain at all ; no warmth of love, no zealous fpirit of defence, :io defire of imprcfling our truly petrified hearts either with ideas of the glorious majcfty of a judg- ing God, or fweet remembrance of a meek and gentle Saviour. The fandifying fpirit feems far otF too : is it too late to pray the Comforter for confolation ? Let us make haftc before the doors be Ihut. But I return to the thirteenth century ; when tranfubftantiation firft infilled on, roufed up anew the flecping genius of contention ; and ftrange to think, thofe who accounted themfelvcs good Athanafians were the moft willing to adopt this notion, although the dodrinc was moft natural to Docctcs, who held it not unworthy the God of truth to impofe fal- lacious appearances on man, and cheat his creatures into faith and obe- dience. The Homooufians were, as the name implied, co»/fubftantia- lifts ; and fuch the Lutherans of Saxony to this day remain, perfiiaded that Chrift docs certainly unite his ow n corporeal body to the eucharift for our falvation, which firft induced him to aifumc it ; but refolutely denying that at the prieft's touch all particles of bread and wine for- fakc the cup and patera. Jefus on many occafions appealed to the fcnfcs of his followers, commanded them to touch him that they might be furc he was not a fpirit, and even, for further convidion, eat with them after he was refufcitated. Yet the Docetes thought 'twas all il- lufion, and thofc who admit tranfubftantiation arc as clearly of opinion as they were, that our own fcnfes arc not to be trufted. But there were other rcafons for this credence ; the court of Rome more than the church promoted the idea ; pricfts were more refpcdcd when at their command a prcfcnt miracle was wrought, and men were willing for ihfir fakes to forget that our bleifcd Sa\ ioiu-'s flefh is meat indeed, and his blood drink indeed, without intcrpofition of inferior agency. The Roman fcnatc now was once again a fcnatc of which Honorius and Gregory, fucccfPon to Innocent III. were in every fenfe didators, and to chufc a prefect the head of the empire was no more confultcd : Pon- tifcx 34^ SECOND PORTION OF [ch. xix. tifex Maximus was folc governor and happy 'twas for him who cf- caped the Dolabra. Romagna, Umbria, territory of Ancona, Orbi- tcllo and Vitcrbo, all rich and profperous places, acknowledged thcm- felvcs immeci'uite fubjedls to the Pope, and every other nation was ruled remotely by his agents. Leipfic meanwhile, and Gravelines, were added to the cities of Europe ; Padua and Naples boafted their univerfities, founded by Frederick II. Glanville's laws were read ; Vienna would not remain behind ; the college of Sorbonnc was inflituted, and learning llruggled hard with her oppreflbrs. Albcrtus Magnus cntcr'd the lifts of improvement, and made an automaton of great celebrity, a man of brafs, who fpoke, and it was eafy for contemporary wondcrcrs to tell in addition, how he both afked and anfvvcred queftions ; till at length lie grew fo talkative, that Thomas Aquinas, afterward the feraphic Doc- tor, well known to fame, but then pupil to Albertus Magnus, knocked him down for dirturbing his fludies. Don Quixote's adventure of the brazen head alludes perhaps to this incident, and the belief on't by vul- gar readers ; perhaps the intended inference at firft was, that mathema- ticks take a man off from metaphyseal rcfcarchcs, and plague him by driving all things up to a demonftration, till the enraged ontologill filences their fuggeftions by violence. Be that as it may, civilization and improvement were furcly creeping on ; the windows in England were all glazed, and wind-mills ereded for the purpofe of grinding com : while commerce might be difcerned fvvelling the waves of fcience as fhe returned towards that coaft where we fet up our tele- graph oi RetrofpeSiion. The widow'd queen of Scotland had a jointure of loool. o'ycar appointed her in this centur)' : and although Guthrie fays that wine was fold at the apothecary's fliops as a cordial fo late as 12/0, we know that William king of Scots, when he paid homage to Coeur de Lion, was allowed from our fovereign's table four quarts of wine every day, befidcs twelve Ji/nne/s, a fort of plumb-cake with faf- fron cruft, yet known by that name at Shrewfbury. I believe the wine was hock and rhenifli, bccaufe fleeter and heavier produce from I CH. XIX.] THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY. 343 from fouthcrn vintages was fcarce arrived among us, although the cuftoms brought loool. into the port of London, during one of the many years Henry HI. reigned in our land : then honoured by the birth and labours of immortal Bacon, ftiled, as he well defervcd to be, Dodor Mirabilis, when like another Archimedes he difcovered the occult powers of nature in her dcepeft rcccflcs, with fcarce a light to guide or to affirt hisfearch, fave what irradiated his own fuperior foul ; kindled by that unquenchcd fpark of general knowledge, never yet /o- tally, though often hopehfsly funk in the focket of decay, and long kept from expanfion by the foul air of barbarick tyranny. This genius of gigantick mold lifting his head above furrounding vapours, faw loon how chemiftry might be applied to her bed ufes, medicine. He dif- covered the powers of a burning glafs and the proportions of a ca- mcra-obfcura: hcknewthe fpherical figureof our earth, and was (as one would think) by intuition well perfuaded of what experience has iince confirmed. He looked on fcience as Mofes on the Promifed Land from Pifgah, and difcemed effeds in their pofTibilitics. His (kill in mechanlfm may have been too highly praifed; his convidion of its efficacy to pur- pofcs then unknown, cannot be fufficiently admired. We have done nothing fince the time of Roger Bacon beyond /«j capacity of hope and of belief Gunpowder, jcthcr, clcclricity, are but new names for things eafily, though faintly to be dcfcricd, by thole who carefully ex- amine his optis magniis, where it appears that he knew every thing ex- cept the vaft extent of human folly, which after wondering at fuch wifdom, deemed it madntfs : and after mature deliberation, refolved to denounce it as witchcnift. Thofc dubious days could not diftinguilh fupcriority from eccen- tricity of charafter. Five funs fu])pofed to have appeared all at once, difgracc the remarkable occurrences of this reign, and difgracc it the more, becaufc the grand conjunction of planets in Libra had Ijccn ob- fencd all over Europe in 1 1 80. But the world, as Fuller fays, fees mod 344 SECOND PORTION OP [en. xix. mod villons when Ihc is moll blind ; and fairies now, a new importa- tion of fcmi-deities from the caft, were fcrioufly beUevcd in. This is fo true, that the Aflimolean collection of MSS at Oxford, exhibits " A furc way to bind a faery, Elaby Gathott by name, and hold her to " a Venice glafs meekly and mildly, till llie have anfwcred all lawful *' queftions." Ireland, where this folly flourifhcd ftill better than with us, is faid to have named a whole diftrid; from thcfe tripping elves ; oferr'i land, or land o faerie, as Gatton in Surrey was called after Elahy* There is a humorous ftory recorded too, how the earl of Devon- fhire, A. D. 1 240, afked a farmer of his how he could bear his fitua- tion, feeing that his grange was reported to be much troubled by faeries, which, adds the nobleman, may peradventure be fpirits from hell. — *' Right honoured lord, (replied the quaint fellow) there be verily two *' faints bleffed in heaven which do trouble me more than all the de- ** vils in hell, and in true fadnefs thofe be the Mother of our Lord and " St. Michael the archangel, becaufe it is on their days that I am ** bound to pay his dues to the good carl of Devonfhire." If Bryant's derivation of the gryphons be a true one, kir-ov¥H-07i. pronounced quick and fhort, as is moft likely : the ouph comes from the fame country as that compofite animal, which Milton, ever accu- rate though fublime, defcribes fo properly : " As when a gryphon thro' the wildernefs " With winged courfe o'er hill or moory dale *• Purfues the Arimafpian, who by flealth " Had from his wakeful cuftody purloin'd " The guarded gold," &c. * From Elaby comes lullaby, V elaby, invoked by mothers and nurfes to watch over the fleeping babe, who fafe in her proteftion, was ia no danger of being changed by wicked fpirits into an ideoty whence chanstllng. About 1 CH. XIX.] THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY. 345 About the year 1230 was publifhcd a romance called Allfaunder or Efcandcr's Atchlevemcnts of Knighthood ; he foarcd in the air by help oi gryphons coming very near the moon, and with aid of a magical glafs, dived in the deep and faw the fiflics fwini ; perhaps Shakcfpcar alluded to this ftuff when Hotfpur fays — " By heaven mcthinks it were ancafy leap " To pluck bright honour from tlic palc-fac'd raooii, " Or dive into the bottom of tlie deep «' And drag up drowned honour by the locks." The fcholars fay indeed, that even this book was borrowed from a Pcrfian manufcript, and wits tell one that Scuderi drew many inci- dents from thence. Certain it is, that Alexander's exploits were re- membered in the caft a prodigious time, and with unoblitcrated vene- ration : his hiflory by Quintus Curtius, although unmentioned for 1 000 years after the author's death, was one of the earlieft Ijooks on the revival of literature, and Montfaucon mentions a copy in the Colber- tinc librar)', as early as the year 800; the following extrad from which, may be cited to cxcufc the numberlcfs things to be forgiven in this fummar)-: "Kqiitdein plura tranfcrlbo qiiam ere Jo; nam nee affirmarefiif- " t'lnco i/t- qiiihus Juhito, mefuhdueere qua acccp'i" but the aukward imi- tators add a ftor}' of Alexander's bugle-horn^ which no wight but himfelt could wield, and might be heard iixty miles. Boyardo and Bcmi enjoyed this horn too; it dropt to them, but not till Robin Hw>d had done witli it. He was a fort of fccondary hero among us in the thirteenth century : Dr. Stukely thinks he was an outlaw'd earl of Huntingdon FilzOoih, cafily corrupted to Fitzhood, and mentions his coat-armour. Whatever he was before, he was tjf/er his outlawry, as 1 imagine, Robin otiiood, meaning of //«? iuo<)d corrupted to Hood, and the manner in which he and his companions lived among forcjls, de- fending and providing for thctnfclvcs w ith their b(»w, is intcrcfting and Vol. I. X X lurious. 346 SECOND PORTION OP [ch. xix. curious, and flrongly marks the manners of the times.* That 'twas bv a gradual and long courfc of experiments that men's eyes opened to wifdom and decorum, may be exemplified by rccollcding how Lewis the dauphin, (he who had invaded England) dcfiring a marriage with Urraca, daughter of Alphonfo king of Spain, by a fifter of Coeur de Lion, was turned from his purpofc on its being rcprefcnted to him that the princefs, though fair, had a very unlucky nawe, and would * The old ballad which tells how The father of Robin a forefier ivas. And fhot in a luftic long bow ; muft, if this account be true, fuffer difmifliil from our Iletrofpefllon, and I fhould con- fefs myfelf forry, becaufe when they brought Adam Bel! and Clym of the dough, And William of Cloudeflye, To flioot with our forefier for forty marks. Our forefter beat them all tliree. Though the laft faved his own and his companions lives long after by his archery, whca tlie king hearing that hisflicriffand jufticcs were all fhot at mcrye Carlifle, attempting to take thcfc outlaws, fcnt troops to bring them to London, but they were come of them- fclves, or at leafl bold William of Cloudeflye who brought his little boy befide, to beg a charter of peace, and now fays king Henry they (hall fure be hanged ; but the queen requefled their life ; and her hufband faid, let us fee them fhoot which have cofl us all this care. After many feats, William fet an apple upon his own child's head, and ftanding 1 20 yards diflance, cleft it with an arrow. The king had fworne that if be mifs'd, the attempt fliould revoke his pardon. For if thou touch his head' or gown, In fyghte that men may fee, By all the fayntes that fit in heaven, I'll hang you up all three. Succefs in that bufmcfs faved and advanced them all, and the youth was made cellar- keeper to the queen. certainly cH.xix.] THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY. 347 certainly bring him no -children. He accordingly wedded her filler Lady Blanche, of fewer charms but^happier appellation, and on her was made the verfe prefervcd by Camden in his remayncs of a greater work. Candida, candcfcem, candore In csrdis et oris. While Urraca rcjeded by all, hid her unfortunate name in a nun- nery-, where flie was called fifter Terefa ; and her fponfors' cruelty lay unrcmembered in men's minds, till her death, by fall of a flate or tile as Ihc was walking in the convent garden, revived the recolledion that '/tfflj Indeed unlucky. Lady Blanche meanwhile, made mother of St. Louis, an exemplary prince, confirmed mankind in thefe fantaftick notions ; the more perhaps as being regent in her fon's minority, flic foon fupprcffed the barons' bold rebellion headed by Philip, the firft duke of Orleans, uncle and competitor to his lawful king ; from whom her forces took the caftle of Blois, forcing him into fubmiflion, and I think to banilhment. A marriage between her incomparable fon Lewis the IXth. and the daughter of unhappy Raymond Comte de Thouloufe, produced another bleffing to all Europe, the end of a truly favage war, long carried on in his dominions againft the Albigcnfes. Langucdoc, {o named from Lmgue de got, as many think, being from that time united to the crown of France, fomc Huguenots have always flieltered there ; we faw them inhabiting Grenoble and its environs when tin- communion was adminiftercd in a cave for privacy, fo late as J 7Sr). But this inimitable fovercign turned his arms only againft the Turk? and Saracens ; to them he fliewed liimfclf fon of Lewis, furuamcd the Lion, performing ads worthy a hero, while his own country flou- riflicd at home as under the protcdion of a faint. Such was his faith, fays BoflTuct, that one would have thought him eye-witnefs of his Sa- viour's fuffering?, and fuch his works, as if he had made him the im- mediate, not remote model for his imitation. X X 2 Anoth'. r 348 SECOND PORTION OF [c«. xix. Another of his panegyrifts fays—" I have myfclf feen the faint fit " under a fpreading tree, and patiently hearing his fubjeds complain " of mutual oppreflion or offence, render them the ftriclcft juftice." He publifhed likewife a wife ordonnance, known by the name of Royal Truce, prohibiting all pcrfons from commencement of hofti- iities againft an advcrfary till forty days had elapfed fmce the caufe of quarrel had been given or found : this gave time for friends to intcr- pofc, and for the parties themfelves to cool ; and greatly contributed to reftrain thofc internal and private wars which thinn'd population, drenched- all lands with blood, and difgraced humanity during the nth, 12th and 13th centuries. Monarchs were indeed diligent to ll:op a pradice fo ruinous to their realms, and fo infulting to their au- thority ; and the invention of giving bonds not to draw out their forces for fuch or fuch a limited time began to be adopted, to the no fmall confolation of vaflkls, who were till then obliged to follow their fuperior lord into the field, and fight againft their neighbours in his quarrel. 'Twas kings who civilized the world a Jecond time, by iya- thetizing what had been too much broken into fmall parts, and the pcafant, artizan, &c. felt relieved from his too nearly approximated tyrant, in proportion as monarchy gained afcendance over the nobles, and kept ihe'tr cruelties in check. To accelerate that happy moment, we find Ferdinand of Caftilc fixing a yet exifting feminary at Salamanqa, and Alphonfo the Xth. brother to Lady Blanche, feeking renown for his knowledge in aftro- nomy, and compofing tables for that fcience, which to this hour go by his name. The impious fpeech concerning his knowing better how to conftrudl a folar fyftem than God Almighty, was, we hope, only a ftrong and coarfe expreffion of contempt for the Ptolemaic hy- pothcfis. A prince who was faid to polfcls a fine copy of the Holy Scriptures, which he had read fix times through, was moft unlikely fure to be an infidel, and he who made it his pleafure to contemplate the I cH.xnc] THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY. 349 the flarrv-heavens, could never have been an atheift : while his quiet unr.'fifting fpirit of humility when his favourite Ibn Don Sancho depofed and drove him into retirement, manifcftcd lefs of haughtinefs or vain jr'.jrv, than of Chrillian refignation to an enemy ftill dear and cheriflied, however rebellious and unworthy. Northern nations retained the frofl upon their literature longer. The violent out-break of Gillefpey Rofle flains the Scottifti annals, when Caithnefs all role up at once, and burned the bifhop in his bed for hav- ing exadcd too large a bribe from one of their nobility. Private wars went on fiercely in iho/? countries, where the exploits of Percy and Dou- glas yet fcrve happily as materials for two beautiful modern dramas, and Thomas, a baftard of the high conftable, Alan of Galway, invaded his half-fillers, to whom their father had left his inheritance, with no fewer than a thoufand men, armed in his caufe, who wafted their lands with fire and fword, much to the ftiamc of gallantry and knighthood; till Roger de Quincy, married to one of the ladies, fought and killed this fhirdy marauder, and in the fame battle difpcrfed his adherents for ever. Women, not feldom enough to excite wonder, appeared on horfcback, ixith fpurr'is Jharpe, as Chaucer afterwards defcribes his Wife of Bath, animating the men who combated in their defence ; and if they were fcudatorial inheritors, wore their father's device, or, as we call it, coat armour, emblazoned in a lozmge, (they were afhamed to bear a Jh'uld) on their brcaft. Hume fays they adled, if pofleflcd of lands, as (heriffs of that county they inhabited, and to fay truth, Spen- fcr's Lady of the Caftlc glances at this old cuftom. Meanwhile our third Henry difpleaicd his fubjccls much by his ofFenfive preference of foreigners, or as they were then ftyled, aliens ; and I think we may date from his reign that fpirit of claiming cxclufivc attention from their fovcrcign which in fuccccding times has always marked an Englifti- man. When in the year 1250 he held a ftiowy feftival in France, a joculator, born in Hamplhirc, ftcpt forward, as we're told, and with a permitted gibe, faid — " Send away Cocur dc Lion's Ihield out of the " hall, 350 SECOND PORTION OF ; [cH.xrx. *' liall, my liege, clle your fine dinner will have no digcfters. You fee " thefe French fellows are afraid to look on it : the thoughts of Ri- " chard takes away their appetite." This was hiorc than a biting jeft, for 'twas a true one : Joinville acknowledges that when a French- man's horfe rtarted under him, the common exclamation of anger was, " Qit'os iiiP vois tu k Rot Richard f' What ails you? do you fee King Richard coming ? Such pageauntes had been exhibited in \Veftminfter however, in honour of the marriage between Henry III. of England and Eleanor de Provence*, as made all Europe marvel : fuch pypinge and tabouringe, as the old bookes exprefs it, with fports, geftes and difeurs innumerable. — Tales befide, new and old, of St. Thcfcus and his hunting match, (whence Shakcfpear's dcfcriptioa of his hounds) and Launcelot du Lac, a ftory in high vogue, v\ ith a fpirltual remembrancer of Jefus hanginge on a roode, whilft a bafc and recreant knight came forth and joujied with him, fetching blood and water from his fide with his lance ; but Jofeph of Arimathea, creeping out, holdeth a bottle under, and bringeth into Albion to cure all dif- eafes, that precious relique. Such was the renown of thefe celebrations, and fo were the ex- pences of their decorations admired at, that although the birth of Ci- mabue announced the nafcent arts budding in Italy, Pope Innocent the fourth faid that he half lamented that new dignity which hindered him from attending fo very elegant and edifying a fhow : finding it however, wholly impoffiblc to come over himfelf in perfon, he fent his old favourite fool to partake the feftivities, and who received thirty fliil- lings befide from our fovereign — royal gift : nor was it merely for the fake of fuch nonfenfe that the learned Genoefe, fo refpefted for his knowledge and virtue, while Cardinal St. Lorenzo, wiflied to witnefs our improvements in Great Britain ; he defired to behold DivitiasLon- dini as well as Dclicias Weftmonafterii, as he faid. We had a mayor and aldermen eftablifhed then for confervation of our city's peace, and fter- * Second daughter, I think, to Raymond, Count dc Thouloufe. ling CH. X IX ] THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY. 3 5 1 ling money coined for common ufe, called fo, as fome fay, from the figure of a darling impreft upon the metal. Reading glafles and fpcc- t;:clcs facilitated every branch of fciencc, and commerce began to call in tlie arts and luxuries of other realms. The diftradion? of Ireland indeed, torn by the faopc ; and after feeing his ownadive and dangerous fon fafe in a clofc confinement, fct out for Syria, where during his abfence Gaza, Aike- lon, and Jcriifalem had fubmitted, and the lytjrd's fcpulchrc, till then un- j)olluted, had been purpofely defiled: notv\ithllanding that theTemplars displayed even ferocious valour. Thlbault of Navarre lent for a fhort time his afliftancc, and our Richard carl of Cornwall diftinguiihed him- fclf among the forcm(rft for high hcroick deeds. 'Spite of all tliis how- ever, victorious Turcifm entered triumphantly the holy city ; whilll: our wdlcrn emperor was, I believe, not unjuftly accufed of loitering his time away, though late in life, and widower to two Chriftian prin- ccflcs, with the Circaflian beauties of the eaft. Such was the ill- will of the Pope to this prince and his condud, that he even wrote to the fultan not to treat with him. A truce of ten years was concluded notwithftanding ; and Frederick ha\ ing flung a young pike into the pool of Hebron, faid he would return to that country no more. The fifti had a gold ring round it with the date ; and being caught alive one hundred and fifty years alter, weighing fourfcore pounds, is brought forwards as a proof how long fuch animals will live. The ftory how- ever vttyi be falfe, fo far as relates to its imnienfc growth at Icall:, for the ring would not flretch, I fuppofc, and v^ithout that the fi(h "s iden- tity could not have been afccrtaincd. Many lies have indeed been told Y y 2 of 356 SECOND PORTION OF j;cn. xrx. of this brave but impious, and often perjured fovercign, who now in- vaded Italy fvvord in hand, and being equally related to Gwelphs and Gibellines, cxpefted the leaders of both factions would be with him. The firil-namcd party, in contradid:ion to his ill-placed hopes, fidcd with Gregory in this unnatural contcft : fo did the Venetians, who burned all his Ihips, and poiTelTed themfelves of Apulia. For their good fervices againft infidels o( aU denomination, as the Pope cxpreflcd it, he granted their patriarch a power of wearing a mitre of peculiar fhape, and bearing upon folemn occafions in his hand a fort of palloral llaff. Meanwhile the Genoefe, having fomented infurrediions in Candia, Rcgner Dandulo went thither and foon quelled it. Morofiiu was elcfted doge, and is the firft upon record chofen to that dignity by ballot : but his republick. increafed in riches and power every day, while commerce fcemed to confider their port as the general mart of all Europe. Primiflaus of Bohemia indeed, furnamcd Ottocar, from Othifgar, meaning, as Dubravius fays, a partizan of Otho, who had oppofed Fre- derick II. in his early days, endeavoured to extend his dominions nearer tlic Adriatick, and purchaicd Carinthia, Carniola, and other territories, of a childlefs Prince who had no heirs ; his only brother being bifhop of Saltzburg. Such a neighbour was not agreeable to Venice, as the fame Ottocar tried likewifc for Stiria, but was diverted from his purpofc by jealoufy of his queen, fifter to Frederick : her he repudiated firft, then poifoned, and took another princefs who was barren. His laft lady was Cunegund, daughter to the Duke of Maffo- via, the French writers call him Rot des Buigares. Ottocar was about to difpatch her likcwife ; but hearing fhe was pregnant, fparcd her life, which fhe owed to her unborn fon ; while Margaret, wife to Viri- bolaus an earl of Cracovia, I think a Chriftian, was delivered, as Cto- merus and Yagouin both tell us, of thirty-fix boys at one birth. But much of Poland and of PruflTia was relapied into idolatry fince the crufades had carried away their inftrudors ; and JLefco, furnamcd the Black, cH. xixO THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY. 33? Black, was a fcourge rather than a ruler in that haplcfs country, •which he delighted to delblatc by hunting, chuling bealls for his luh- jcSs as it appears, rather than men. The Semiramis ot the north however muft not be forgotten. About the year 1 230 Margaret dc Waldemar had married William of Dani- picrc, and bought the government of Bruges, which was burned down to the ground, and Antwerpen foort follovscd. Joan her original com- petitor in Flanders drove that whole party out, and reigned alone a while: but wedding Thomas duke of Savoy, he, though vidorious, was in haftc to return home after his wife's dcatli, and Margaret reigned again, being a widow, witli the young boy Ihe bad by Dam- piere, named after his father WUliam. John, her fon by the duke of Hainault, rebelled, and after deluges of blood fpilt in this quarrel the pope was apj>caled to, and confirmed King JFilliam, giving to John his father's dukedom only. Another contcft followed, and Margaret loft Nemours to her eldcfl fon, from whom flie was forced to purchafe peace with an immenfe fum of money. William earl of HoUaiui, meantime, no \on^CT Hiillattt , who built his palace at the Hague, and was fet u{i by the pope as emperor againft Frederick, having been crowned by his com- mand in Syria, after his taking Aken from the Saracens ; fidcd with John againft Queen Margaret, and was P.)on ftruck at a banquet by an unknown hand with a poniard. The life which efcaped that ac- cident was loft by another : after this lucklefs feftival at Utrecht, Wil- liam went on a winter campaign againft the Frizons, and riding away from his company upon the ice, his horfe ftuck with him, and they were not difcntangled till after death. A marriage between his fon and Margaret's daughter Beatrice, who brought with her all Zeiiland in dower, compofed the publick contentions in that part of the world, where in a private war about the fame period, the warlike biftiop of Utrecht beficging a rebellious vafTal in his houfe, was unhappily taken in arms by the enemy, his head ftruck oft" and nailed tt) the calllc wall, as wc do kites in remote parts of F.ngfind. The 358 SECOND PORTION, &c, [ch. xix. The firft league of SwifTes marked thefc annals alfo. Avcntinc places the inftltutlon of the feven clcftors early in the papacy of Gre- gory X : and wearied with vexatious occurrences in our own neigh- bourhood, if Retrofpedt'ton turns her eyes towards the eafl, what fees Ihe there but the fierce fultan in poiTeffion of that hallowed fpot, fanc- tified firft by our Redeemer's fufferings, kifs'd with warm veneration by his fervant Conftantlne, and rcfcued by Godfrey de Boulogne with millions of human lives ? Sees too a nafcent empire born with Otto- man its founder, deftined when adolefcent, to deftroy and wholly ex- tirpate all remains of Chriftianity at and around its firft imperial feat. Here then let blufliing narrative be ftill, or taking breath in a new chapter, feek for fome fcenes lefs likely to afflid our powers of RcfrO" CHAP; CH.xx.] TO THE YEAR OP OUR LORD 1300. 359 C H A P. XX. TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD i30o. IF wc would confolc the RetroJpeSiors eye, we muft not let it turn to men but things : not to the blood-red page of hiftorick annals, but to the verdant field where fpringing arts and growing fcienccs pro- mifc, by ftill frcfh improvement, perpetual green. No period of time will (hew people much better than thofe of another period : but the laft years of the thirteenth century contributed exceedingly to make them happier than they had been, and give them opportunity of pro- curing knowledge and wealth, thofc great inftrumcnts of good to man; if for good purpofc he will plcafe to ufe them. About the year 120o 'twas that Marco Paulo, a Venetian, having made a journey to China, brought home with him the incftimablc invention called the mariner's compafs, a felicity fo envied, that almoft every nation in Europe has laid claim to the merit of firft difcovering a fecret which they arc now fuppofcd to have poflcfled fmcc the days of their famous aftrologer Chiningus, who is computed to have lived eleven hundred and twenty ycari. before the birth of Chrift ; coctaneous with Homer, and I think with .Solomon. What confirms the conjcdure of Paulo's importatior^ is, that his countrjmcn continued for many years to ufe the compafs in the manner the Chincfe ufe it ftill, letting it float upon a little piece of cork, inftcad of fufpcnding it to a pivot. Flavio Givia di Mclfi, in the Tcrritorio di Principato, forty years after, taught the pre/cut me- thod ; e6o TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD I300. [ch. xx. thod ; and to him has the original invention been alcribed ; as Ame- rica was named after the fecond, not the firft adventurer who touch'd l\er fliores, 'Tis certain that the diftrid: where Flavio was born, tho' a fmall portion of the Neapolitan llate, has fmce that time given the compafs for coat armour. But France claims the honour of the dif- covery too, and brings in proof of her prctcnfions, that every country as well as her own makes ufe of 2ijlenr de lis to diilinguifli the north point of the card ; and fome old verfes of Guyot dc Provence, preferved by Fauchet, do certainly mention the mar'uictie or 7nantiers Jione, as early as the year 1202, or thereabouts. That England might not be left out, Dodor Wallis makes us obfcr%'e, that our word cotnpafs is the u'o;v/by which all other nations know the thing ; and as he iays, to take a compafs, means to make a circle cer- tainly. Thefe are however mere fports of learning ; for if France knew fo long ago, why was it not ufed ? and as to the word, houjfoh or buffola arc oftener faid than compafs by all foreign failors. Italy, where every thing either firll fprung or was reftored to fecond life, has the true claim to this invention, which facilitates commerce between dif- tant nations, makes communication eafy between friends, and propa- gates the gofpcl in regions far remote. Poctr\' followed mathcmaticks at a diftance: for embelliflimcnt is not fought for till neccflity is fatisfied. Our earliefl love-fong is a mean compofition enough ; our earlieft paftoral ballad is pretty for the time 'twas written in ; but there was no ciffeSiaUon in the joy ex- prefs'd to fee tokens of a bright feafon in latitude 51 ; all the thoughts are natural, and the defcription true. Hawkins has preferved the mufical notes to thtfe pretty lines : they were more complicated than the words, but mufick had the ftart of both her fifters ; flie revived long; before cither painting or poefy raifed their weak heads ; and archi- tcdure, broken into fmall parts by the Goths, was hardly yet beginning to put thofe parts neatly together, Sumer CH. XX.] TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD, 1300. 301 Sumcr is i cumen ' Summer is coming IJud ling cuccu : Sing cuckoo ling ; Giowcth fed and bloweth med The meadows arc blooming And fpringerii the wJc nu. The hedges in fpring. Sing cuccu cuccu. Awe bicteth after lombe, Hark ! the ewes and lambs arc bleating. Lmith after calve cu ; Calves the parent call repeating ; Bullock fterteth Anfwer cuckoo to tlieirloo. Bucke verteth, See our lufty bullock ftart Muricflng cuccu. * While to harbour hies the hart : VVel fijig thu cuccu, Cuckoo ! be thou mci ry too. No fwik thou never nu. Sing my bird, and cry cuckoo. While thefc improvements cheer one's remembrance of England and Itoly, Fleuri affrights one by faying, that in the year 12/0, after St. Louis died, there we fet up a fcA of men in France who found out forfooth that the world was ab eterm ; that in the Deity was no trinity, that a rcfurrcetion of the body was impofliible, and that death was an eternal flecp. In 500 years this fe<^, which it appears never ^flcpt at all, burft out to the confufion of all human kind : — 'twas reading Ari- (lotlc firft turned their heads, and the prefent boobies, who fcarce ever heard his tenets, tiJie them up upon trull ; but we muft return from wicked and ffX)lifli opinions to fa*ingupat home; the world had been compofed at firfl: like fine Greek architcdure of large mafles, which with fmall pains produce a fuddea and fublime effed. The feud.il fyftem broke it into fmall independent pieces ; gothick ideas in building run quite parallel ; vet when with ages of heavy toil they have at length formed their firm fet and fliarply pointed arches, and brought their numerous angles to cement— the whole makes no unvenerable appearance — and to lament its ruin is but natural. Towards the lail years of the eventful period, which holds our Retroffte^i to 1250, and from thence forward till A. D. 1 3oo, the laft effort of union was made for purpofe of regaining Paleftine ; nor did the king of France find even las devotion fwallow up all pru- dence, or care for his own dominion and that of his country. Ed- ward of England had an active fpirit, and foon was likely to polllfs a crown which had fate loofely on weak Henry's head for niorc than half • 'Jlic king did indeed fay that if God Alnii^lity li:i(l ever fcen Naples, I.c ••.oild not furc have In-ftowcd that odious country I'alcfliiic on his profcfs'd favoMi'.i s ; but 1 count little pn luch indecorous fpccchev, as pi»uf» of iuiidelily in rough n one day. Hearing this news fo ftrlking and af- flictive, our gallant prince lefs naturally than truly, and with good fenfc exclaimed, that children of fuch a tender age were a lofs cafy to be re- paired ; but that parental tendernefs could ne\er be fupplicd by an) future friend or fervant, fubjc/ »vi/ai»ri. ing m TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 1200. [c:i. xx. ing him in his fo ill-obtained authority; a quick fucccffion of popes, already mentioned, followed on death of Innocent IV. Alexander, who crcatc/i not a finglc cardinal, for fear (faid he) of increafing our domcftick feuds ; Urban, fon to a French coblcr, who took for his Ic- gcnda the words virhis ejifola mhil'itas ; who vainly ftro^'e to quiet the fierce tempers of Manfred and Conradinc, Richard and Alphonfo : and who is better known to fame for ha\ ing inftituted the feftival of Cor- pus Chrifti, in honour of a miracle tranfmitted to all Europe by the pencil of llafFacUe, when fome prieft doubting the real prefencc in the facramcnt, fuddcnly exclaimed and fancied that he faw, the confecrated wafer drop with blood. ' After thefc Clement IV. who had been ar lawyer and a foldicr, had adlcd as a page in Lewis the nintli's court, had been fome years married, and had two daughters living, Mabelle and Cecile ; for they and lie were French, of a good family in the Nar- honnois : hi^s charming letter is yet extant, to his nephew Pierre le (jros. " Learn (fays he in it) to be more humble than you have been ; " promotion to the popedom is a burden, not an advantage to thofc " who underftand it rightly : congratulate me not therefore, but obey " my commands, and dream not of gifts or preferments on account of " your ancle's advancement to the papacy, although I love you and fliall " ever. Tell to your fiftcr if ihe weds a.fold'ier — Milctes; 1*11 give her 300 " crowns, no more : if any man, except a fblditir, nothing. As for my " truly dear ones, bid them be good girls ; Cccile has well bellowed " her heart I know, let her hand follow it ! I fhall defpife her clfc ; " and let no female of my name, Lc Gros, meanly fcek matches with " men far above them, leaving their own worthy fwect-hearts, becaufe " marauding noblemen will ftrive to marry the pope's daughter." Readers will willi to fee how all this <;ndcd ; Mademoifelle Cecile's brave lover fell in a private 'dear, and Ihe retiring to a convent, died there. Mabelle fet out with her hufl)and for the Holy Land, but loft her life by a mifcarriagc on the journey. And though their admirable father's merit \Nas greatly wanted upon earth for an example, heaven impatient CH. XX.] TO THE. YEAR OF OUR LORD, 1300. 367 impatient to reward itfnatched him foon away ; but not before Charles of Anjou did homage for his kingdom, being called Sicily on this and the other fide the Pharos ; and thcfe words ufcd at his inveftiture gave rife to the well known ftylc and title, Ki?ig of the nvo Sicilies. He agreed at the fame moment that his fucceflbrs Ihouid hold their crown no longer than they were pundual in paying, upon St. Peter's day every year, 8000 ounces of gold to whoever was fitting in St. Peter's chair ; with a white palfrey, good and beautiful. There is a coin called an ounce at Naples now ; irs value about a guinea or louis d'or : but thefc articles were figned in May, 12G5, to the comfort of all who had fccn the rapid ftrides made by ambitious Manfred, who was well known to have difpatchcd Prince Conrade, and half fufpcded of hallening, fome- what unfairly, his father's death, which was fo ill accounted for and unafccrtained, that an impoftor was publickly burn'd fome years after it happened, for having perfonated Frederick with fuccels in Savoy and other courts. The city bearing his name, Matifrcdonia, is however all that's left of this tyrant, who was at length afliillinatcd by an earl of Rota, whofe wife he had feduced or carried off by force. The death of Clement IV. happening not long after kept the pontificate in a fort of inconvenient ftate, not ill denominated abeyance, in which cafe re- mained llkcwife the weftern empire ; while the cardinals fate fu loiig in conclave, unable to fix upon a fucceffor, that the magiltrates of tlu- town until'd the place they fate in, but in vain. After three years more fjxrnt in fruitlefs and difgraceful contcfts which of tlicm (hould l)c placed in the papal chair, the townfmcn fliut them up aiid krpt ihcm without f'j tfi proof Vol.. I. s li on'c: 378 TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 1360. [ch. xx. on't : the barons knew their power long before, and it was now (like the pope's) beginning rather to weaken ; — " Sir erle Bygod*, you (hall go or hang — By God, fir king, will neither go nor hang," was our king's fpeech to him, and Norfolk's anfwer ; fir erle and fir king were com*' mon cxpreflions — all were knights, and as fuch equals ; according to the gothick fyftem, flicwn in France when Clovis requefted a vafc from out fome plundered city, and a chieftain fprung up, fwearing he Ihould have nothing but what fell by lot ; fliewn in Spain by the Ar- ragon oath of allegiance prefervcd to us hy Antonio Perezf , where the nobles fay to their fovcreign, •< Nos que valemoi tanto como vos, os hazemos nuejlro rey efenor — " fhewn again in England when Henry confirmed M^^?/d! Chart a, and fworc to obferve its contents as he ivas a gentleman, a ling, and a blight. The change in Europe's iyftem firft appears when Edward, unable to compel the barons' obedience, yielded to their demand of a new char- ter, fecuring our nation from further taxes without confent of Par- liament. By parliament thej meant a congrefs of nobility ; but the fubtle prince, as a new check on them, encouraged the boroughs to. fend up fome deputies, who would of courfe be firmly attached to htm, and give a willing fupport to his authority againft thcfe haughty ba- rons bold and free, who living nearer, opprefs'd fmall folks more than, any king could have temptation to. Edward found out therefore, on this occafion, that what concerned a// fhould be approved by all', thus bringing a new maxim into play, which has of late carried men more lengths and greater, than the wifcft of thofe days could have wiflicd, hoped, or feared. Difcovcrics indeed arc fcldom madfc by virtue. The improvement adopted at the time I am writing by every common fire engine thro*^ Great Britain, was firft contrived by a boy ten years old, whofe bufi- * We muft remember the man's name was Rygodi, without that there's neither joke nor quibble. t Sec. to Pliiljp ir, nefs CH. XX.] TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 1300. 379 ncCs 'twa5 to watch the communication of the boiler and cylinder, opening and clofing the fame with his hand alternately. Of this charge however the lail being f(K)n weary, and wifliing rather to go out and play among his young companions, very wifely faftencd a firing from the handle of the valve to another part of the machine, where he had obfcrved a correfpondent motion : the valve then per- formed its office without manual help. He gained his amiifcment by lofmg his livelihood, and raechanifm obtained a valuable improvement. When kings called in their commons to controul the nobility, they forcfaw the end on't no better than the boy did. Meanwhile luxury increased prodigioufly in this reign. Witnefs an ad of parliament com- manding gravers and cutters of ftoncs for feals to give due weight in gold : witnefs too the amnjemaits of the court, while deputies were fetched from the country to do our nation's hiifinefs, Roger dc Morti- mer, knowing the king's tafbe, gave him a magnificent and martial fliow at Kennelworth in Warwickfliire, whither one hundred armed knights with their ladies were invited, and all that romance could dilate was dcvifcd for their cntertaiumcnt. Banicrcs lis avoycrUe cointcc et parce Oe or et dis fur toutcs exchcqucrec, fays an old French poem. King Eric of Denmark had fome timr before given a match of martial fports, as it was called, at Roftocli, where cavaliers came from all parts of Europe to an incredible number. The Dane's caroufal was famous for the drinking horns, and loud re- peated healths of their numerous and brilliant dames aroufed the mid- night echo. One French knight, renown'd for prowcfs, was abfent and was milfcd : he was employed upon a grca^ adventure, Henri de Navarre died in 12/ t; and hl.s only daughter Joan, by Bhiuch d'Artois, niece to St. Louis, was now thirteen years old, and many difputcs arofe concerning her education at bctrotlimocit. Two kings, Arragon and Caftilc, prepared to feizc iKr ; but the courageous 3 B ;^ (jucen :i80 TO THE Tt:AR OF OUR LORD 1 300. [en. xx. queen, fupportcd by this one brave knight- her kinfnian, carried her daughter off by mingled fraud and force, bringing her fafely, after many perils, into her own country, where ift due time flic married Philip Ic Bel, then fils dc France only, and by thofe nuptials added Navarre to the French crown ; for Philip the Hardy had been long dead of a malignant fever, the feeds of which it was fuppofcd he brought from Syria, where- fimilar putridit}' flill taints the air. His fepulchrc- ■was lately to be fecn at Perpignan, where he died, having refeued Gi- ronnc from Peter, the prince in whofe favour was made the maflacrc of the Sicilian vefpers. This king: of France had given to his ion Philip the Fair, when dauphin, an Italian preceptor, of the CoJonna-' family ; fo called bccaiifc his anceftors had, in the firft memorable crufade, rcfcucd the column to which our Lord'had been tied. Againfl this noble houfe however, Boniface VIII. had fct his face completely;, and great, and grofs, and bitter was their revenge ; exciting powerful caemies againft the See, till fuch and fo great were their conflifts and difturbanccs, they at length broke the pontiff's heart, which would not bend even before fo rough a ftorm. " Since I am betrayed (faid he at length) I will die at my poft ;" and putting on the old crown, prefented by Conftantine the Great to Pope Sylvefter, awaited the tu- mult in his papal chair. If it can he true, that when the enemy feized. Bonrface fo attired in the Vatican, Sciarra di Cokmia flruck him on the face ; it may be true that the fame nobleman, upon the pope's ref- ♦itution to dignity and power, difguifed himfelf likeagallcy-flave, and ■worked on the fea three years to avoid the ficrccncfs of his foe's refent- ment, from which no then known nation could have proteded him. Although the papal feat, as erft the imperial, flicwed evident fymptoms of its being fomewhat fhaken, when Boniface iffued his bull prohibit- ing princes to levy without his confent any tax or im poft on the clergy, Kdward of England openly fcorned the command, and outlawed thofe ■who refufed contribution, faying, if they would not lend affiftance to hh government, they ihould have no protedion from it. He proceeded therefore Npi*. r^r- TO TFTE YEAR OP OUR L0Rt> 1300: 391 \}y^^C' ': ^iinfl the prieflhood, as fome of the emperors Had 'in old times •?"■>"*" k't ftc^alnft theChriftians; doingjuftice to every bodyagainft them, and I -r them no rcdrefs againft any poffible injury. The Archbllliop of Canterbury, for example, was robbed and beaten upon the highway ; the delinquents were not profecuted. Hume rejoices in this contrivance, as Gibbon does in that of Dloclcfian, it was (fay they) a fpccies of martyr- dom fo mortifying to fpiritual pride. It was indeed : but hillorians Ihould recollect,, whether rulers will or no, that when the church falls the (late will not long remain behind.. Edward tried the fame virtuous method in Scotland too, denying the benefit of law or fecurity for their eftates to all who refufed him fealty. But Sir William Wallace, great patriot hero! ill-requited chiel'! colofliil in fizc, intrepid in fplrit, iuid for perfbnal bravery renowned above his fellows ; undertook the Scots deliverance from an infidious tyrant, who detaining their lawful king in his own camp, and relying on the weaknefsof his unfucccfiful rival, pretended that he was guardian to a nation which he had tricked by falfe awards when they had committed themfclvcs to- his decifion, as arbitrator for their crown and dignity. Againfh a charadcr io felfifli and unfeeling, this Caledonian warrior's wonderful and ever difintereftcd exploits might well detain our retroJpcSihe eye ; but it would fooii flied tears for his hard fate. Edward returned from Flanders fluflied ■with vidory, and ready to difpute nearer poflcffions with a wilder foe. He foon, by dint of difcipline, defeated Sir William Wallace, who, vanquifhcd and taken prifoner, was (hortencd of his head on Tower- hill. The non-fubmittingfpirit of the Scots revived in Robert Bruce, {on to the competitor of un warlike Baliol ; and our military monarch, though he added policy the mod refined 'to a dlfpofition naturally va- liant, was forced to die, and leave them unfubdued. Difcafc drove him from life's large theatre at fixty-nine years old, when like Camilla he might have fald, JIafltHut acca foror I potui ; nunc volnus accrbum Con£cit, ac tcncbrU nigrcfcuiit omnia circum. I am ^ 3B2 TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 1300. [ch. xx. -I am dirpofed enough to think with Hume, that the crufades undcr- •tftkcn in early, and fighed after in maturcr years, by this ad:ive prince, •were lefs infpircd by rehgious zeal than by defire of that martial fame, Jield honour (he polleflcd none in civil or judiciary tranfa(3:ions), which mark the manners of a fanguinary age. This fpirit To bewitched the Comte d'Artois in the year 1300, as I think, when Philip Ic Bel gave battle to the Englifh and Flamands near Courtray ; that he pro- pofcd to Ralphe de Nefle, his conftable and kinfman, a brave device of galloping forward and breaking the enemy's ranks. The other ger»tly •advifed reconnoitring ; but no : invoking Dieu et fa helle, according to the fafliion of the times, this fool-hardy youth rulhed forward on the ■inftant, making an immenfe duft on that open plain, and hiding from his own eyes the broati ditch behind which a .corps of I'lcmings had taken poft, and which received his brave detachment to their ruin. The troops with one voice crying out Ha! Ha! when they faw count •and cavalry all cruflied together in a concealed fofle ; the memory of this incident has been perpetuated till this hour by the French name of a funk fence Ha ! Ha ! And now Europe, amufed by advcnt'rous deeds of fcarlels indivi- duals, rcfletlcd little on thofe hot convulfions which had fo broken up the whole continent into fmall fcparatc parts. Still lefs were its inha- bitants aware, that after the fierce fpirits once began to cool, com- merce would with her gently flowing lava conned, though diilantly, each Fragment with the other, till all our neighbouring ftatcs cement- ed, not I'.nitcd, fliould at length form a fort of turbulent republick, rough, not -free; and faucy Hill, but never independent, from that hour when trade, though of a coalcfcing nature, llicwed each its con- fcquence to all the reft; iind put into the mind of every (hare apart, .that application to enrich ttfelf v,\\\c\\ has fmce given to the fignories of Europe an air of purfc-proud fclf-fufficiency. In Afia meanwhile, Ottoman the firft, fon to Ertogrul, and father to a new and fotmidable empire, aiTumcd the ftyle and title of Sultan in the Eatl ; fixing his feat of dominion at foot of Mount Olympus, regardlefs r CH.xx.l TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 1300. 383 rcgardlefs of the Greek emperor and his new Ca^far, who bar- gained with them for his worthlefs fo\ crclgn, now (crvlng merely as a mark for fcom to point the flow and moving finger at ; " till all Nato- *' lia foon revolting from him, funk into mifcrj' of its own creating:" and this new power rofe, in the fcripture language, from the fca, or uni- verfal aggregate of all things, a new devouring beaft, unconqiiered } et> though many times confined. CHAP, 384 'FROM A. T>. 1 300, TO THE YEAR 1350. [ch. xxx. C H A P. XXT. FROM A. D. 1300 TO THE YEAR 1350, OR NEARLY SO. THE Emperors of the Weft have fcarce engaged our retrofpeSihr eye fincc Rodolph, who liked Italy fo little he would never go thither, bccaufc he had obferved, he faid, that thofe who went there merrily difpofcd, fcldom returned home otherwifc than fad. His own employment at home was no unufeful one : he deftroyed fixty caftlcs of the Braban9Qns, a fort of femi-noblc and lawlefs banditti, whom the fovereigns had till his time in fome fort encouraged, at Icaft connived at, hoping they might prove a kind of check on the afpiring barons, that in each land thwarted the king's authority. This gene- rous prince, difdaining fuch auxiliaries, tried to extirpate them entirely, which muft have been no fmall flcp towards general civilization 4 not long retarded by the pope's choice of a Polifli bifhop for the fee of Straf- burgh. This prelate coming to Vienna, called for fome ale, and being offered wine inftead, fwore he would go home again, aw J yo //<• (^/d^. But Mentz boaftcd a more poliflicd fuperintendant of their religious concerns. When Rodolph died, whofe lofs was long felt and lament- ed, the bifhop's influence got them to elcdt Adolphus of Naffau, and Albert of Bavaria refufed him fealty : our Edward font him a large fum of money, for having accepted which, as well as for facrilegc and adultery, he was dethroned and flain by Albert, the worthy and war- like heir of Rodolph, who never would confcnt to pay him homage, and at whofe coronation fuch was the crowd, that the Duke of Saxony flipping his foot, fell, and was .trampled inftantly to death. His fon married Blanche, daughter of the French king : but an occurrence calls our RetroJ\>e5l to Spain, where Lewis had lately taken Gibraltar from the CH. XXI.] FROM A. D. 1300, TO THE YEAR 1350. 385 the Moors, and was confldering himfelf as happy in that event, when Ills cldcft fon fuddcnly accufed two of the younger ones, pofitively iwearing that he knew the time and place, and could prove they had imagined and contrived their fovereign's death by forcery. The princes lummoncd Ferdinand to appear before what was then called the tri- bunal of Chrill, and challenged him to judgment by the crofs, a cere- mony inftituted firft by Charlemagne, and already defcribed in this book. Ferdinand accepted it, and went in good fplrits to reft at his ufual hour, but rofe no more, being found dead in his bed, though without marks of violence next morning. The accufed brothers went into a monaftery, and the good king died in ten days of grief and ter- ror, appointing for his fucceflbr an infant in the cradle, Alphonfo XI. who reigned forty years. The royal children have in Spain been known by name of infants ever fmce. The gentle Bcnedid meantime, maintained the papal dignity at Rome, while he forbore all claim to pomp or pride as individual. He was a man of merit, not of birth, and when, on his acceffion to the popedom, his mother came to court in robes of gold tiiTue, with or- naments of jewels blazing round her head, to him who introduced her he turned round and faid, " My mother is no princcfs ; guard this " lady home again : my mother, I know, will come to-morrow morn- " ing : fhe has more fenfe than be in all this throng." She had in effect fcnfe enough to take the hint, and waiting upon his Holinefs next morning in her accuftomed drefs, Benedi ruin. Guy earl ot" Warwick, in a (liort time fcized on and dragged the haplefs youth to his caftlc ; and near tliat fpot where he received, the final blow, a (lone yet ftands perpetuating the baron's triumph. Eldward Toon comforted, fought his next minion among the fens ot* thofc very men who had oppofed his early choice ; but then Queen Ifabelle objcfted, and that loudly, running to her brother's court, Charles the Fair, with her complaints : (he had faid nothing while his and her own countryman Gavcfton had poffefTion of all that England could bellow. Hugh Spencer, on the other hand, who had lamented his king's ftrange propeniity towards favouritifm, whllft it was all heaped on a foreigner, found it not ill conferred on his own fon, whofc avarice, no lefs than Gavefton's pride, difgufted all the reft of our no- bility. Lewis Hutin and Philip the Long, who had in turn fuccecded to the French crown after their father Philip le Bel, were dead ; and Charles their younger brother willingly took up his fubtle filler's quarrel. Exlward endeavoured to oppofe the invaders ; while the po- pulace being let loofc plundered London, and maffacred every loyal fubjcft who fupported, or even wiflied to fupport the king's caufe, pro- claiming young Spencer a publick enemy, and joining the lords in a general cr)- for his cxtlndion. Againft the royal family itfelf, followed by 3 or 4000 armed rebds from abroad, againft the barons' power and the people's crj- — no per- fonal courage, no treafures could prevail. The vldims of this uproar, Spencer and his f:ither, were favagely murdered, and their bodiee thrown to dogs, while the wife who firft dcfcrtcd, next invaded, and then dethroned her hufband, lived in notorious intimacy with Roger dc Mortimer, of ancient family but infamous charader ; who in fomc former riot had broke prlfon and followed Ifabella to Paris, where (lie firft placed him amongft her fon's attendants, when his bctrothmcnt to ■Phllippa of Hainault took place at the French court in yyJC>, although Vot. I. 3D the 394 FROM A. D. 1300, TO THE YEAR 1350. [ch. xxr. the prince was then but thirteen years old I think ; and the intended bride but nine. Edward meanwhile fought 'mong the mountains of his native foil, an unfound refuge. Wales, by mere in{lin<5t, rcfufcd her protedion to a fovereign given in contemptuous cruelty to a country which yet had too much virtue to infult or to betray him. Hunted however by the carl of Leiceffccr with fatal fkill, his vaflals found and carried him to Kennel worth, whence he was driven forward to Berk- ley caftle : there the v ilc fiends of power forced from him fiiricks that betrayed the horrid deed — not new ; for fuch had been the meed of many a wretch belonging to the odious court of Heliogabulus in early times, and fuch in nearer days the fate of Godfrey diic de Lorraine, imclc to the far-famed Godfrey of Boulogne : when Thierrl, by the aid of Robert recovered Holland and killed the bifliop of Utrecht. But we mufl follow up the gentler deftiny of Ifabella and her worth- lefs Mortimer, now pampered with indulgencies arriving nearly to the fame cxccfs as thofc fo momentarily enjoyed by Gavefton or by Spen- cer, till the young king, uniting maternal energy of mind with the ac- complifhmcnts paternal rcfcmblance had conveyed, refolved to rule alone, and rid the land alike of female influence and tyrannick favour- itifm ; he feized the earl therefore in his millrefs's apartment, tried, legally condemned, and ftruck his head off, confining the queen-mo- ther to her country- houfc, where fhc enjoyed the livelieft and the moft innocent of all delights — hearing her fon for many years extolled by every rank of men, yet not forgetful of her loved companion, called the place Mortimer, after the name which fhe preferred to Va- lois or Plantagcnet : the name remains to it ftill. Generous and juft, beneficent and brave, upon our young king's princely charaofthumous princefs, and upon the head of Philip VI. was the French crown of courfe mod rlghteoufly placed, according to ancient ufagcs, confirmed by the teftamentary difpofition of expir- ing Charles. Our Exiward alone refufed to acknowledge him, and fitting out a navy of 240 fliips, faw himfelf defpifcd by the new king of France, who ftationcd 40,000 men in 400 vcffcls, to prevent the Englilh invafion. Our troops and failors were however fo completely victorious, that ten of the enemy's ftiips alone remained : while FroiC- fart owns the lofs on our fide fo fmall, that no man dared report the news at court — and Philip's fool was the fole perfon w ho had courage to let his fovercign be truly acquainted with the fad diiliftcr. Our king encouraged by fuch vaft fuccefs, began the ficgc of Tuurnay, and in the tnic fplrit of chivalry, hurled his defiance at de Valois' head, challenging him out to fingle combat, and felt perhaps this martial mood more irritated by the French monarch's angrily reminding Ed- ward, how he had oricc done homage for the dutchy of Guicnnc, and ihat 'twas contrary to cv'ry rule for a iuge lord to duel u//// ju/i/irjrs; 3 D 1' but 39(5 FROM A. D. 1300, TO THE YEAR 1350. [ch. xxr. but adding, " That if he would increafe the flake, and fet his ifland on " the combat's iflue — the challenge might in honour be accepted." Thefe reciprocities of empty infult were put an end to by interference of Jane, countefs of Hainault, mother to Edward's queen, fifter to Philip. The pope difpenfed with her requeft on this occafion to quit her convent and its habit. She came arrayed in royal fpendour, Froif^ fart fays, and with her beauty, elegance and wifdom, charmed thole too fiery fpirits into peace. Th' enchantment was not indeed of very long continuance : another lady, more powerful perhaps, becaufe more young — lighted the flames of war once more in Europe. The countefs de Montfort finding her husband imprifoned and opprefled by Philip, fled with her infant foa to England, foliciting affiflance from our warlike fovereign. Beauty in thofe days ne\'cr folicited in vain : he fent her back with troops file well knew how to ufe; oa every trying, every dangerous occafion; the countefs charged her enemies on horfeback, furrounded by knights devoted to her fervice, and when confined in Henncborne by Charles de Blois, till gallantry itfelf was wearied, and began to think of yield- ing up the tow-n; mounting a high tower, fhe defcried the Englifh fleet — " And now no more capitulation, no more cowardice, no more •' debates," exclaimed the voice of female fortitude from off the waifs, where fhe contended for a fon's, an infant fon's fucccffion. " They " come — the fuccours are arrived/' fhe cried, foon as they were in light. Henncborne heard, and her grave magiflrates fwore to endure famine till our viftorious admiral fir Walter Manny fhould arrive in- deed, and open their unhappy city's gates to plenty. Five hundred chofcn archers next followed the courageous countefs in a fally, timed with confummate wifdom ; our Britilh hero ftormed the place mean- while, crying, " May I never be beloved of my heart's miflrrefs, if I " right not this beauteous dame !" Charles and his armies were foon beaten back — the lady accompanied fir Walter to her caflle, and kiffed him in face of ajl the troops, fays FroifTart, comme nohle et vaillante dame. 'Twas CH. XXI.] FROM A. D. 1 30O, TO THE YEAR 1350. op; 'Twas this fir William Manny that firft founded the Charterhoufc (Ciiartrciix in London) for twenty-four Carthufian monks — ivhevcc the ti.vne. He had firft bought the ground for a burning place in time of pcftilcnce, then not unfrcqucnt. He afterwards built a convent on- the fpot. When monaftcries were diflolvcd, a Mr, Thomas Suttoa purchafcd it for the charitable ufe it is ftill put to ; giving for it l SOOol. loool. an acre : for the original ground was no more. Such circuni- ftances and fuch adions, fix the relrofpctlhe eye, but had no influence on the fate of Europe, unlefs perhaps by whetting Edward's appetite to feize the throne of France for ever, abolifliing the falique law. Do- meftick difturbanccs might with more prudence and propriety have called him back to London — but London was fafe in queen Philippa's care, who had repelled one Scotch invafion in his abfcncc, and was again prepared to give her dangerous neighbours a reception ihev little drcamrdon, though fo well dcfervcd. The prince of W^alcstoo, Eng- 'md's glory, England's heir, then half adored, yet unforgotten among us — fhc fuffered to go learn upon the continent, to earn his fpurs and emulate his father. Philippa had more fons than one — all heroes. The cldeft fignalizcd himfelf fo at the battle of Crcffy, though a youth, that at the engage- ment's clofc, our martial monarch leaped into his arms, fcarcc able to articulate " Man f.h, mou rroi Jrls, digne dc I empire du mondc. — M}' fbn, my true fon, worthy to rule the world." Upon that bloody field, iii fa8 FROM A. D. 1300, TO THE YEAR 1350. [ch.xxi. was dead ; and fcnt his heart under the care of Doughis to Jerufalem ; whither he wiflied, but was unable to go. The faithful meflcnger af- fifted Arragon againft the Saracens, and willing to retain memorial of his expedition into Paleftine, bore from that day upon his Ihicld a hkedhig heart crowned; — the arms of Douglas to this very hour. The incurfion through Northumberland to Durham, was uotwith- ftanding ftopt at Neville's Crofs, where the queen met, vanquiflied, and made David prifoncr ; then feeing him fafely lodged within the tower, haftened away to grace her husband's camp, where all that miUtary fplendour could effert, was put in ufe for her reception. Edward was at that inftant bcfieging Calais, and the brave governor's cxpoftulation with Sir Walter Manny, {lands on record in all hiftorick annals. The high heroick fervour of the times infpired fix felf-dc voted burgcflcs to claim the meed of dying for their town's deliverance ; when march- ing up to Edward's royal tent bareheaded and barefooted — ropes round their necks, and the keys of Calais in their hands ; our fovc- reign would have taken their forfeit lives, had not his lovely confort, new-arrived, made their forgivenefs her fmcere requeft : and given the eye of RetroJ'peStion a fwcct plcafure ; the fight of fortitude and female interference triumphing over pride and barbarous policy — for honour in thofe days was ftill fuppofed to reft in 7iohle bofoms only — and Ed- ward half-hated thefe gallant burgclfcs for flcpping into lifts marked for high birth alone. In proof it was not their rcfiftance that pro- voked him, when in a future conteft for that city, Euftace dc Ribau- mont* ftcpt forward in the field, and fought a dreadful duel with him hand to hand ; after his conqueft, Edward invited the bold youth to fuppcr, and threw a ftring of pearl about his neck : bidding him pre- sent that to his fair miftrefs as an acknowledgment of his vaft prowcfs, beftowcd by England's king. Things were however filcntly and fe- * Kliftacc dc Rihaumont, when lie gave up tlic ffugglc - called aloud \.o\Ed-Mr.rd, " Sir knight, 1 yield inyRlf your prifoncr." cretly CH. xxi.] FROM A. D. 1 300, TO THE YEAR 1350. 390 crctly in fome parts of Europe ; openly and madly in fome others : working round towards a new modification of its government. Dur- ing the lafl portion of the circle round which our world had run for nc2ir Jhe thonfiind yco.xs, and the laft half of the Jixt/i — not far off; monarchy, properly fb called, had degenerated ; and had been o\er- thrown. Even the haughty baronial ariftocracies were in the fourteenth ccnturj' paffing their meridian. The commons were obtainiii;:; wealth in England, and wealth (excepting in defpotick* ftatcs) leads diftantly and unfufpededly to power. The popes had been op- pofed in their authority, and Boniface's chara and cH.xxi.] FROM A. D. 1300, TO THE YEAR 1350. 403 and other national evils, were ftrangely depopulating Europe. The world was even -yet flow to confidcr thcfc calamities as unconne6led with blame; and the wretched Jews being always at hand, upon whofc fhouldcrs to lay every imputation, many were put to death un- der pretence that they had poifoncd the waters ; had men accufed them of felling old clothes, ftolen or purchafed from infeftcd houfes, they had perhaps been nearer to the truth. But a Jew dodlor, lefs difcreet than greedy of immediate gain, had in the year 1339 under- taken to cure John of Bohemia, whofc unhappy blindncfs had come rpon him by degrees, a cataraft perhaps, or gutta fercna, which by the aukwardnefs of his unfkilful though precipitate operator, was fo in- creafed that light was wholly loft. We have feen upon the plains of Crefly that his courage yet remained : not Co the common fenfc of all his courtiers, who falling on the unfuccefsful praf \y»> as he called it, and good friends, obtained the throne about the year 1400. Before that time fir John Philpot, citizen and merchant of London, had undertaken to clear the Channel of pirates at his own cxpence, evincing the fpirit and opulence c( our nation, while Germany boafted the birth of Berthold Swartz, whofc inventive head found out new modes for the dcftrue6l'ivc eye however, bad not the writings of the town borne date even to the year 1700, ah ex'ilu piierorum, and was there not even yet a pillar of Hone with the ftory engraven on it at the cave's mouth. Mufick was perhaps Icfs undcrftood than were other arts, or elfe her powers were thought Icfs limited than thofe of her fillers. King Eric the Good, had a har- per in Denmark, who boafted uncommon and immediate influence over his hearers ; it is related of him, that the mild monarch chal- lenged him to exert his energy to the utmoft, confiding in his own philofophical cvenncfs of temper. The musician however, like Timo- theusof old, is faid by his hillorians to have fo tranfported the king, (and courtiers of courfe) that Eric leaping from his feat, threw himfelf upon tl»e harper fword in hand, and the attendants pretending equal pafljon with the prince, difpatched him in an inftant ; leaving an ex- ample for future artifts to fupprefs fuch dangerous powers, and con- €nc thcrafdves to amufc their fupcrior.s, not drive them quite dif- tradcd. 'Twos after Elric't death and that of his fuccelfor, that time labouring with new births, produced the Scmiramis of the north, 8 G 3 Margaret 420 FROM A. D. 1350, TOTHE YEAR 140O. [cii. xxn, Margaret of Waldcmar, who we have feen uniting under her own government the frozen realms of Denmark, Sweden and Norway: endeavouring, as it fhould appear, to fynthetlze fome parts of Europe, and cement them; while the fouthern nations were breaking into parts. The death of Gregor)' XI. threw all Italy, and thofe countries im- mediately conne^led with it into terrible confufion. The fchilm was tremendous. Urban VI. was inaugurated at Rome, to which jjiace the late pope had transferred the feat of majefty ; Clement VII. reigned at Avignon. The Italian populace had beficged and cla- moured round the conclave^ " No Frenchman, no Frenchman — a " Roman fovereign or death," till the cardinals were frighted into their firft eleftion of Bartolo Bari, a native of Naples, but refpe^//'OTC/^r, rcgardlefa of any particular individual, and expofmg them to open view. The commons too, in ours and other countries, filently won their way through this whole century, (for church and flate are neceifarily con- nc6led) and as the tiers etat of clergy gradual!}' weakened, the plebeian order ftrengthened in proportion : for king and barons found the'tr af- fiftance ufcful, to countcrad what each termed incroachment in the other. CH.xxii.] FROM A. D. 1350, TO THE YEAR 1400. 4<2i other. Nor were the charatScrs of thofe who now contended for the command of every prince's confclcnce, lefs luckily defigned for pro- moting the dcftruftion of both. When John XXII. had been oppofed and thwarted many years by Corbarius the anti-pope, he ordered him on the very firft appearance of /iibmiflion, to be abfolved and brought befort him, when he received the kifs of peace beftovved with kind and Chriftian hafte for reconcile- ment, manifefted by that meek fpirited and exemplary pontiff: t/ic/e men on the contrary, had no fpirit of yielding or of forgiving, and flood upon their own independence completely, recklcfs of the com- mon caufe, and pcrfuadcd of their own right to the fubmiflion of man* kind. Urban, who wore a hair-fliirt next his Ikin, and mortified his flefh by voluntary torments> took feven rebellious cardinals, and tying them in feven facks, threw them into Tybcr; Clement received with elegance and fplendour, thofe who inclined to run from To rough a raaftcr, and the fchifm lailed I think, fifty years. Meantime Spain fccmcd as If recovering from Peter's cruelty, her wounds clofed under Henry's reign, furnamed the Gracious: but Mahomet, the Moor of Granada, poifoned him in a pair of envenomed boots : his fon John who fucceeded, fell from his horfe and died in lefs than twelve years after his father, and one of his unl»calthy progeny, Henry, furnamed the Sick, wore Arragonia's crown, when the year 1400 faw England's peers difgraced by a new power, cxcrcifed now for the firft time by kings, the making nobles by royal patent : a dreadful blow upon the ariftfjjrracy, admiiTion to which body was till that hour denied to every poffihlc merit, fave ddccnt — a prodigious prerogative acquired by mo- narchs, who in the beginning, a» we may fuppofc, ufed it fparingly and w ith caution : but while fovereigns of feparated ftates grew powerful, the wcftcm, and infinitely more ftill the caftcrn empire, was frittering faft away. Robcrtlim obferves, that although much fplcn- dour of appearance graced the court of Vienna, the princes and inferior liatcs 422 FROM A. D. 1350, TO THE YEAR moo. [ch. xxii. ilatcs of the empire were fubjeds only in name, each of them poffcfs- ing a complete municipal jurifdiclion within the prccinds of his own territory. All thefe accidents combined to encreafe the power of the Turk, who, when he heard that the young kingof France had taken the lilies (flenrdclys) for his device in coat armour, bocaufe emble- matick of his youth and innocence ; laughed and obfcrve4, " That the "young king of England was fending ov^r his uncle Tiiomas of *' Woodftock to mow them down.-- In effcdt, Bajazet, fuccciTor to Amurath, took that method with all whom he fufpedcd of oppofition, and his ftrangllng Jacup, the next brother to the throne, fet a favagc .falhiojn, foon imitated by fucceeding Ottomans. The flory of this ty- rant allowing court fees for adminiftration of juftice, is likewife ftrik- ing. enough. His favoured fool Sinam, being excited to the work by .Ali BafTa, one day when he thought his mailer in good humour, drcflcd .himfelf up as an ambaflador, and begged to be fcnt as fuch to the Xjrcck .emperor—" For what purpoljb ?" faid Bajazet — ^" To requeft *' fome of his poor raiferable bare-footed friars for us to make judges " of — now my dear lords are icnt to priibn," fays the jefter : " I can, jeplied the fultan, " fupply their places with my own fubjedls" — *' We have none as learned in our realms," anfwered the fool — " Well, well, you loved them," cried the fov-ereign, "but they took •" fees, and I will have their heads fent me to-morrow." " 'Tis juft ^* for that reafon," fays the fly Ethiopian, " that I am going to fetch •" thofc foolifli Chriftians hither, as no men but they who take an •* oath to ftarve thcmfelves, will forbear accepting fees when you give " them no falary." " The child is right," rejoined the Turk after s moment's paufe, " 'tis a falfe prejudice ; I'll make my cadis, or " crown-lawyers, a handfome appointment in future, and till I have " done ,fo they may take the fees — bring the lords here again." But Tamerlane's* exploits attract more forcibly the momentary glance of * Timur feems to have been this great man's Fcal name, but his depcmlents called Jum Timur i/;^, lordlimur of courfe— his enemies feeing him ha^ like Agcfilaus of en. xxH.] FROM A. D, ujo, TO THE YEAR uoo. *a3. of Rclrofpcvlioii. A bright lUuniinatcd fpot is he, irradluted by glories oi fupcrior worth to all the oricntul heroes. A new chara<^er paffing ttHj quiek acrofs the confined field of our mental telefcopc. Nor Pagan- nor Mahometan, nor Chriftian nor Jew ; this wondrous pattern of ex- celling virtue, biirll fuddcnly upon the aftonilhed world ; and added to- his conquefts the merit of dil'eovcry. An immcnfe tra(5l of caflern- Scytliia had, during all the ages we have re\iewcd, lain far remote and hcedlcfti of thole Itrugglcs which, changed the face of Europe, and dif- turbed thcnat'ral apathy of Afia, ever difpofcd to llumber life away in- the dull round ()( fenfual pleafures, and to exclude care from hen ftrong-buik feraglio. The Chincfe empire ere. through caftern Scy- tliia, or in more modern language Mufcovy, he dropt down unex- pcdcdly on the Greek empire, vifited with admiration the ncgle<5lcd city of Conftantinoplc, and meditated her prefervation from the up- lifted arm of Bajazet, juft terror of terreftrial multitudes. John Pa- Lcologus had aflbtiated his third fon in 1 384,which preference having irritated the elder brother, he had declared war of courfe, and weak- ened the fcq)trc by civil difTcntion that ended in imprifonmcnt of thofe who boce it- old, fumaiticd him Tamur/a«^ Polignac fays ; Tirour thcljiinc, as in our wcftciii iin- nals, Henry (lie Limping. Tbi% French writer fcts liis mciidian later llian docs Kii.n fon, wliofc chronology from Berg, Ann. Tuic. was in liigli rci>iitHlion in days Icfs iNdanl than out own from the event. Thf 424 PROM A. D. 1350, TO THE YEAR 1400. [ch. xxii. The Turks however, on pretence of taking fides in this family- -quarrel for fcarcely-exiftcnt power, pulled the princes out again by threats, and Andronicus was given up to repent in the fultan's court, his hally refentments againft Emanuel. In this ftatc were the .affairs of Chrillianity in the eaft, when its tyrannick mafter had fub- mittcd all Thcflaly and Thrace, and the Morca to his fway: not contented to conquer the king of Caramania, Bajazet hung him up on his own palace walls, and being as Knollys fays, furious of nature, and in anger dreadful, was, notw ithftanding, defied by the brave Comte de Nevers, who brought into the field 2000 chofen knights. Frenchmen, to fight againft as many infidels, their tyrant at their head. The event was fatal to our fearlefs Europeans. Relcntlefs Ba- jazet deftroyed them all, and cropt the flower of Catholick nobility. In this courageous chief the virtuous Tamerlane defcried an enemy fit for his fword to conquer and correal t upon the plains of Stella 'twas they met, where Mithridates had been beat by Pompcy, and Bcli- fiirius, fix hundred years after that, had drenched the arid foil witli Cjothick blood. The Turk and Tartar here fought hard for vidorv, which fixed at length upon the creft of honour ; and Bajazet, yet un- fubmitting to his fate, was feized, while his opponent fcorncd to take his life — but in a moving-prifon brought him on, caged as a wild dcftruc^Hve animal, not to be tamed by mild or gentle ufage. No entry was ever feen more glorious than that of Tamerkine into Con- Ihmtinople, which fmce the days of itsfirft founder, had never yet be- held fo great a man. With matchlefs probity he there refilled the offer of a town he fo admired, a fmking empire he had fo prcferved ; and leaving Pala'ologus in the throne, returned to adminifler ftri<5l jufticc in his native country, and keep his own perfuallon unprofaned. 'Twas in or near A. D. 1400, when this bnne prince rcfigned his foul into the hands of that Creator whom alone he worfliipped, being in the moll: abf )lutc fcnfc a dcifl, theofophite or unitarian : without religion tiiercfore, though graced with virtues that would have adorned the befl cjf. XXII.] FROM A. D. 1300, TO THE YEAR 1350. 425 beft : it is however, exceedingly obfervable, that as this heroick cha- radcr tolerated all opinions, although his own led him to think no eccleiiaflical eftablifliments neccflary, fo with him his empire feems to have extinguilhcd. A folitary ftar he fhone,but unfupported by bor- rowed light, his own not being eternal, though inherent ; heaven re- fumed it : left liis example might be followed by tbofe who would have inaitated his errors — nQt his conduct. Vol. I. 3 H CHAP. 426 FROM A, D. 1400, TO THE YEAR U25. [ch. xxux. CHAP. XXIII. FROM A. D. 1400, TO THE YEAR 1425. WE muft now turn our retrojpe^ive eye back to the weftern em- pire, where Wenceflaus, feized with a new humour of pro- tcfting the hitherto hated Jews from maflacre in Bohemia, and not in the IcalT: ftudious to fupport, by ftridncfs of morals, that extraordinarj' liberaHty which he profefled in matters of religion ; became ill thought on, and was at length driven out. His various cfcapes and odd ad- ventures, marked with his own hand on his own Bible, I had the fm- gular pleafure of feeing and examining at Vienna ; where the pretty waflicrwoman's tenderly-requited kindnefs to her fovereign, remains recorded in a very neat miniature on a margin of the NewTeftament, with lefs propriety than gratitude. Wenceflaus therefore, though uglv, found friends among the fex ; and although furnamed the Indolent when featcd on his throne, ceafed not by rcftkfs endeavours to rcnaiu it, after he had provoked his fubjcAs to withdraw their allegiance. He died king of Bohemia in 1418. A terrible pcftilcncc during this pe- riod walled Polonia ; and Cafimir's unkindnefs to his queen, daughter to a landgrave of Hcflc, was fuppofcd to have called this vengeance down on a yet unenlightened nation. Her death gave him an oppor- tunity of leading a life lefs ofFenfive with Hcdwigis, a confort of his own country, who was lefs irkfome to him with complaints of the coarfe manners in Polonia, and the preference flic gave to a more po- lifhed though lefs powerful court. By this lady however Cafimir left only tv/o daughters, whom Lewis of tlungary foon threw into confine- ment. CH. XXIII.] FROM A. D. 1400, TO THE YEAR 1425. 427 mcnt, leaving their aunt, his mother, cuarcVian over Ihcm, and return- ing Ibuthward himfelt" in fearch of plealurc?, which Buda could better bellow than melancholy Cracow. There hovsever the queen regent, funk in fe.nfuality, hid her enormous vices from mankind, while taxes and tortures fo worried the poor fubjct Cuti- flance, where ali the wife men were aflemblcd, to prevent (had it been polliblc j liic revival of Iramiog and of tafte. put 438 FROM A. D. 1400, TO THE YEAR 1425. [ch. xxiir. j)ut forth i'rcdi beauties from the layers which had fo long lain con- cealed under a weight of earth, that branch, (in our day become fo luxuriant) called fcenick or dramatick reprefentation ; ftill lingered far behind. When to the great council of Conftance flocked half Europe for curiofity and entertainment, great fhows and feafts of courfe were made in the town ; one of which being recorded for its magnificence, rtiews us the pitiable ftate of fuch diverfions. A theatre however was here eredied for the firft time after the Vandal irruptions, and the firft llagc play exhibited had for its fubjed; Herod and the Innocents. A knight came forward and begged the monarch's leave to take the ad- venture : the fool laughs at him ; the women with their diftaffs beat him off the llage ; fome children fliriek, and then their mothers, making ufe of llrange methods, drive away the baffled adventurer ; and the king fays he will commit the murders himfelf. Even f/iis however was nearer to modern manners, than were the pageants fet on foot in Italy fome years before, when at Epiphany a large body of mendicant friars at Milan made the whole town fubfervient to their i\mw, reprcfcnting the three kings' ofi^ering to our blefled Saviour : an immenfe proccHion of horfe and foot filling the llreets, which were llrcwn with ruflics for the purpofe, pacing on to where the caftle llands ; and on that eminence a group was placed, habited in imita- tion of a holy family, deftined to receive the prefents of thefe magi. When I was laft in Italy, l/SC), the idea was not worn -out: Naples exhibited the felf-fame device ; but then the figures were in wood, or ivory, or filver, very fmall ; but wonderfully elegant, neat, and expenfive ; whole terraces or fuits of large apartments being al- Jotted to this odd contrivance, and called Prcjepio. This one at Milan, related of by Flamma, muft have been only u like fancy realized, a live Prefepio, aded all by friars, inftead of little figures from fix to twelve inches high. Edward the third of FCngland's reign, fiunous for fliow and gala, pro- duced at Coventry the Creation of the World, played by a fociety of grey CH. xxiii.] FROM A. D. 1400, TO THE YEAR 1425. 439 grey monks ; one of whom was drcfs'd up in a laccd robe for God the Father, with a triple crown of gilt leather on his head : and the market crols fenced round fcrved as a theatre. But Retrofpedloiis, eye is better engaged by his great- grandfon Henry, the once wild Prince of Wales, who on his father's death leaped into his feat, like feathered Mercurj', and nothing fcrupulous to feize that crown ^vhich of due right belonged to his young coufin, heirefs and daughter of the earl of March ; invaded France,' and fo completely dazzled England by the bright fplcndour of his martial glories, that all objcdions to his title were forgotten, and the dcfcds of it fwallowed up and loft in the cxceflive perfonal regard paid to a youthful hero moft rcfembl- ing the never yet forgotten uncle to his father, Edward our Black Prince. There is a curious MS. extant at Cambridge, faying, upon the tcftimony of one Maidftonc, that Henry the fourth's body was flung into the fea, and nothing buried but an empty coffin, which was fo- lemnly interr'd, I think, at Canterbury. But I quote only from me- mory, and that imperied. Hume iays, and wifely, that the prcdcccflbr of this military mo- narch, being inccfTantly employed to keep a throne on which he knew he was no more than an ul'urpcr, laid out much time in h(»lding faft his friends ; and fuffcrcd no man to enjoy court favour, but parti zans of the Lancaftrian houfc. Henry \'. more confident and kind, threw of)cn his protecting arms to all of honourable charadcrs ; and fo ilrong fcemed to be the fond attachment Ihcwn his pcrfon and go- vernment, that when France bribed fome nobles to aflalhnatc him, the earl of March was foremoft to detect the confpiracy. If fuch the fact, we plainly fee how Henry was adored : if, as fome authors fay, the carl involved in it was freely pardoned by his generous fovercign, wc fee ftill plainer he dcfcrvcd their love. Unhappy Charles de Valois meanwhile, a prey to illnefs and inex- tricable confufion, which probably contributed to increafe it ; faw his oncc-lovciy kingdom torn by factions, his family embroiled in dan- gerous 410 FROM A. D. 1400, TO THE YEAR 1425. [ch.xxhi. gcrovis contentions ; the dukes of Berry, Burgundy, and Orleans, armed all againft each other, and Henry of England preparing to invade and claim the throne of France, regardlcfs of their hi faJ'tque, cfta- blifhed for fo many centuries: although willing enough to wear the Britifli crown himfclf, which in pure ftriftncfs did belong to Anne, furviving filler of forgiven Mortimer, who died unmarried, and was loon foriiottcn. But, like the gay rake in a modern comedy, our youth- ful king confidcrcd gencrofity as the firft virtue, and left lame juftice to halt after in the rear. That fpirit of chivalry however, and genius for the field, which had outgrown and ftiflcd the vices of his youth, conquered likewife or fuppreffed ambition in his kindred ; and Henry felt himfclf truly refiftlefs both at home and abroad, whilft Edward Langlcy, earl of Cambridge, fon to the duke of York, and hufband to Anne Mortimer, fought by his fide upon the plains of Agincourt. The \-id:ory won that day was fo furprizing, that no annals within the reach o( RefrojpedJ pretend to equal it. The king appeared a prodigy of perfonal valour ; and Frenchmen, difcouraged by their own haplels fovcreign's incapacity, looked on affrighted and amazed, as at a comet; till ours had didatcd the terms of peace, and had taken quiet poflef- iion of their princcfs, and in her (by new appointment) of the fuc- ccflion ; to the ftrange detriment of their young dauphin's right. But Paris was in the vigor's hands, and 'twas he there prefcribed his own conditions; when on Whitfunday 1121 poor Charles VI. in^rm and powerlefs, fate down to dine with him, too much difordered in his fpirits even tc obferve the marked dirtindion iu tlie honours paid to Henry from thofe few conferred upon himfclf; and in a few months more, too ill to feel the advantage when his fuccefsful rival died, leav- ing a ncw-bom Ion, vmable to protcft the conquefts made for him ; conqucfts in themfclves glorious, but wholly ufelcfs; ferving to drain our nation of its heroes, and what an Englilhman much more laments, its mer> old count Egmund, died hydrophobous by the biting of a favourite dog ; was left by him fole poffcffor of thofe realms, upon condition that Ihe flaould marry the young duke of Brabant, firft coufm to ambitious Bur- gundy. She fubmittcd, and folemnized nuptials which fhc could not per- fuade herfclf to endure even three weeks, with a boy not quite fifteen years old. Forcfceing that his relations would confine her, fhe took the ftrangc refolution of flying to England, and throwing herfelf on the protcdion of our duke of Glo'fter, a man flic never faw ; but who, charmed with the adventure, and fcized with a violent paflTion for the countefs, a beautiful woman ol fix and twenty years old, mar- ried her inftantly, even without papal difpenfation, and prepared to put himfclf at.the head of an army to re-inftate his fatal bride in her dominions. Such a ftcp was certaio to offend the court of Rome, and difoblige for ever the duke of Burgundy, on whofe alliance our affairs * Jc pcaCe qu'oa ne laurait perdrc foa royaumc plus gDicmcnt. 3 K 2 in 4M FROM A. D. J425, TO THE YEAR 1-455. [ch. xxrv. in France chiefly depended. It had ftill worfc effcd:. The cardinal do Beaufort, our intriguing bifhop of WinchefVer, had long watched a moment to attack the Lord Proteftor, and his mad marriage with JaqueUnc afforded it. Feuds of this confequence called Bedford from his army at Vernoeuil to quiet them, and the affairs of France bore a much better appearance. We will not yet however lofc iight of the lady, whofc connection with England was. l)cfore a year expired, diffolved, by an exprcfs com- mand of Martin V.; and (he accepting her fecrctary's hand, the lord of Borfcllc, he was foon apprehended, put in prifon, and threatened with immediate execution, if the countefs would not make her will direncr by fome French troops in Englifi pay, who, uncfcr pretence of hcrdy and witchcraft, hun)c'd her a/ke. Ul fuccef? fol]ov>rd their favagc dccifion : our invading armic* v^ err. driven MCJ FROM A. D. 1425, TO THE YEAR 1455. [ch. xxiv; driven home baffled, or cut to pieces on the continent ; and while- Charles wifely employed, regulated the affairs of his own kingdom, and/^ endeavoured to reprefs the rifing infolence of his young fbn: our tutored* monarch now married to Margaret, daughter of Regner, king of Sicily,- feemed as if transferred over to her care, rather than emancipated from that of his uncles ; whofe mad quarrel and everlailing bickerings, ended but in the cruel death of Humphry, lord protedlor. This dreadful event to which it was fuppofed, that Suffolk, the queen's fa- vourite was privy, roufed the lords who loved the llock of Mortimer, to excite Richard, fon of Anne, by Edward earl of Cambridge, ta claim the crown : he was then duke of York in right of his father,; who died before the title came to him, and he was only child befides of the immediate heirefs to our throme ; yet was he loth to ftir in> his own caufe, or make pretenfions which his nearer anceflors had waved : a Prince of Wales being born too within the laft feven years, Richard lay dormant till provoked pad bearing by the proud duke of Somerfet, who fmce the death of Suffolk had alone poffefled court fan vour, both from king and queen. England meantime, wearied with continuing to lofe in France what Ihe of right ought never to have gained there, grieved and growled; and fhowcd fure fymptoms of that internal war, which rendered oyr iiland afterwards a prey to its own teeth. Her haplefs fovereign ill- aifured of loyalty among the lower ranks, or of any, except partial fondnefs from the higher, felt the enfeebling power of fcruples creep on him, and gave the houfe of York.fpirit to.difpute with pious Henry, that dominion it had contentedly yielded to the hand of his warlike father. What appears moffc offenfive on a Retrofpe6i, is to ob- ferve Richard the true heir of our cr thus wc fee the barons on both fides engaged, as 'twere without their own confent, to pull down their own power, and fubftitute that of the commons. While the yet unregarded peafantry, who were fuppofed to be reprefented by that houfe of parliament, ranged themfelvcs under their fuperior lords, and took the field as Yorkifts or Lancaftrians — the leaders of one party, Margaret and her fon, withCliftord, Somerfct, and many more ; Richard of York upon the other fide, fupported by the earls of Salifbury and Warwick — a white rofe being the badge of honour on their part, a red rofe on the other, according to the fpirit of the times. By letters which pad then in private families, we learn how high fubordination was kept up : Suf- folk, in fome hot battle on the continent, was ftruggling in the fofle of a fortified town, and forced to yield to his antagonift. Etcs lous tioble f' was the queftion—^^j/7 the reply; but the Frenchman confert himfelf no knight. Our duke then fainting with the lofs of breath and blood, begged his antagonill to kneel a moment, whilft he dubbed him chevalier with his fword ; then yielding himfelf his pri- foner, was borne off the field. The rtylc of married women of the highcll rank, writing to their hufbands was, mofh worfhipful lord, and I humbly and reverently rcqueft your lordfliip, to give mc order and full confent for a new gown, in which to greet -queen Margjiret on her progrcfs, &cc. But we muft leave our little ifland to itfelf ; on the firft blood being drawn in that fierce conteffc, which was on the :;2d. of May, 14;*5, at the battle of St. Alban's, where Henry was taken by the duke of York, and yielded up to liim his whole autho- rity ; but his proud confort was not fo content : fhe and her friendf continued this divifion of the roles for thirty years from its beginning; and in the courfe of thofe years v^cre fought, with various fueecfs, no fewer than twelve battles, in which, and in llicir confi.'quenccs, u« r- loll *48 FROM A. D. I2l5i TO THE YEAR 1435. [ch. xxir. loft, the lives of fourfcore princes of the blood, with fuch a fall of' Britifli nobility, as nearly annihilated their exiflence in England, and effectually ruined thsir power. But whilft our Bri'afli hcroifm thus partially, thus perverfely wafted, unconfcioufly contributed to change the world's acknowledged authorities, and lap the feudal fyflem long cilabilfticd; the growing elegance of the Florentine ftate, the accu- mulating riches of the Venetian dominante, and aboA'c all, the mean jcaloufy of the Genoefe, promoted the lame caufe upon the continent ; where that improvement, by which all others are recorded, that re- giftcr of virtue and terror of vice ; that belt reward of every human, excellence, 1 lie art of printing, now began to employ the mind of Fauff tus, a towniinan of Mayence, who in partnerlhip with Gutterberg, made fome attempts, which for the firft fifteen years hard ftudy, ended at laft in copper-plates. Schasffcr their clerk however, infplred by his pafTion for Fauft's handfome daughter, after his mafters had long toiled in vain, about the year 1448 obtained the girl's hand from her father, in cheap exchange for a difcovcry of moveable letters, and a new mode of inking them. Their method was at firft to make fac fi- mlles from the MSS they were wifhing to perpetuate, and fome were fold for fuch, till copies being multiplied, Fauftus was put in prifon as a necromancer — he faved himfclf indeed, but with fome difficulty, and. our hack phrafe " The dt-vll and Dr. Fai/Jlus," bears yet continued tefti- mony to his danger. The Mazarin library at Paris, fhewed in the year. 1 775, a Latin Bible of. this kind, two volumes folio — a fac fimile faid to have been done in 1450 : but Tiilly's Offices was the earlieft book printed, as all agree. Thus Germany contributed to immortalize the praifes of Italians, who under Cofmo de Medicis were trying to make young Florence rival ancient Rome ; while nothing was wanting to bis confummate, though temporary and unconfined dominion, except the title of king, to which he preferred that oi pater patria, the father of his country. But Spain and Portugal fcemed now left fingle to go on quite in the CH. xxn.] FROM A. D. 1425, TO THE YEAR 1 155. 4 ig the old way : Henry of Arragon having married Catharine of Catlilc by force, and difobliged his nobles who imprifoned him, many dif- putes arofe, till John's fucceflion calmed them for a time, and all united to obtain a vidorj' over the Moors, who were terribly worfted at Fjguera. Under Edward of Portugal indeed they regained their ground, and Alphonfo's long reign kept them in check only, till the famous battle fought by Don Pedro with then* in Andalufia, about J450, feemcd to threaten their total extirpation. The title of Sicily having been refufed by Pope Martin the Vth. to Alphonfo, the Spa- niards thought of it no njore. That pontiff who fwaycd the world by his virtue and wifdom thirteen years, and on whofe tomb 'twas re- corded, that he was the felicity of his times, had fo fet his faceagainft the ancient and dangerous fuperflitions, that when a half- mad mi- norite m^ about Rome, expofing for adoration the holy name o(JeJits, and calling pn his companions and upon paflcngers in the ftreet for fudden and imnicdiate proftrations, the fovcreign ordered him to be taken care of, but laid, " The adoration of our bkflcd Saviour was " not to be thus transferred from himfelf to a painted board, which " fenrcd only as a fnare to weak underflandings ;" and he punifhcd the minoritcs by taking every pi^hirc from their convent, left, as he laid, " they Ihould be tempted to idolatry." His death was a hard blow upon the court of Rome, whofe power had been fhaken even by his ele^ion : the general councils gaining ever}' day influence, feemcd upon that late occafion to have aflcrted authority too, and evince the incroachments of that ariftocracy upon Ihc church, which had long been in poiTeflion of the ftatc of Europe; and which at this moment was beginning to yield in its turn to democratick principles, faintly dif- cemcd, and hitherto at no fmall diftancc. Amadcus of Savoy, un- der the aiTumcd title of Fetlx V, contcftcd the popedom with Condo- lirio, a low Venetian of Gondolier cxtradion, as his name imports. But Felix ^f,•^i unhappily worfted in the ftrucglc, which fo.>n terminated in favour of his antagonift, an aftivc, though irrcfolutc charag. Holland about the fame- period, faw no fewer than 1 00,000 of her fubjeds fwallowed up in: the remarkable inundation o6 Dort, and 'tis obfervable, that at no dif-' tant moment, a new phenoraenon appeared in Europe, viz. a wander-^ ing tribe of people fpcaking in an unknown language, who peacefully, hut refolutely, overflowed maay parts of Europe^ occupying the wafte- lands, and praxftifing chiromancy on fuch as would lend their palms, . in which thcfe travellers pretended to forefee future events. Pafquicr lays, " They weje originally 1 2,00Q fouls ; Chriftians they called them- "• felves,. cii. XXIV.] FROM A. D. 1 123, TO THE YEAR 1435. 4b\ *' felvcs, from the I-K)vvcr Eg}pt, who had vowed a long pilgrimage ; " ard feme fhcwcd paflports figncd by Sigifmund, a ciicumftanct- *• which afterwards induced the French to name them i}o//r;«M;w. Other *' countries agree to call them, and thofe who imitate their mode of " life, by the appellation of Gypfics ; but fome who being conncded "with them, learned their tricks, fliowing flight of hand, and telling " fortunes as they ftrolled along, were excommunicated by an a^Sive " bifliop of Paris." Bohemia was however, become odious to all Ro- manifts, fmce John Hufs and Jerome of Prague, had found and ren- dered it ftill more the focus of what one party naturally termed rebel- lions — the other reformation. Both were true. The felling of indulgences, the preferment of boys to the higheft dignities of the church — witnefs Gregory XI. who was made cardinal at fifteen years old, bccaufe he was brother's fon to the fovcreign ; with the refufal of the facramental cup to the laity, for the fake of augment- ing church influence, had revolted many : the cruel murder of two innocent men who only preached againll thcfe and other enormities, never pretending to juftification by works — revolted more. Wickliffe had tranflated the New Teftament, and from that hour none would Ix: forcibly kept ignorant of their Saviour's general dodrine. The Germans ftudied with peculiar pleafure every text that mili- tated againft eccldiaftical aggraadifemcnt — reciprocal abufc between contending pontiffs too, fcrvcd to deteot, celebrating the courage of a white knight who bore no device upon his armour, but whofc dauntlcfs fervour in a fovcreign's caufe merited the praifes even of an enemy. It was however at Cunobiza where Mount Ha:mus refounded with the clalhof arms, that Cttftriot, by his dcfcdion from the infidels, who. brought him up and called him Scanderbeg, meaning Lord Alexander, ftopt for a time the progrcfs of their hourly- extending empire. This young prince, an early prifoncr from the Europeans, had been bred up a tniftcd favourite in the Sultan's court, where his perfonal graces an<> brilliant qualities had fixed theaflfedions of brave Amurath during hi» father s 456 FROM A. D. 1425, TO THE YEAR 1455. [ch. xxrv, father's reign, and heaped upon his head fince the accefiion of fuch a friend to the throne, every pleafure that boundlefs power can beftow. His birth, his baptifm, and precepts heard in infancy however, although fmothered under loads of kindnefles, were never forgotten, or oblite- rated from a mind glowing with concealed defire to revenge his fa- ther's death, his own vile degradation, and the flavery-of his country, which in him ought, to have refpedted the blood o( Pyrrhns and obey- ed their fovereign. To accompUfli thefe purpofes, he maintained a private correfpondence with Huniadcs and warlike JuUaa, pur Qinf- tian commanders ; told them the unfufpeding Sultan's aims, putting it often in their power to thwart them ; and in the decifive day at Cunobiza, watched for the moment of defeat and left the field, hurry- ing with him the rets effeud't, an old fccretary who kept the fignet of the Grand Signor, and who, confiding in their conftant intimacy, little fufpeded the motive of fuch kindnefs, and clung clofc to the fide of his imagined prote(ftor. Soon as they were out of fight however. Scan- dcrbcg roughly feized his companion, forced him to fign forged letters from the king, demanding of the governor of Croya that he fhould give the garrifon up to him, on pain of inflant and imminent difplcu- fure. This performed, he plunged his knife into the faithful fccrc- tary's heart, whofe lafl crime towards his prince had been his firft ; and having hid the body, marched on fwiftly to Croya with his coun- terfeited orders ; where the governor, concluding himfelf fuperfcded by Lord Alexander, quitted the city, and our artful Cajiriot taking pof- feflion, let in the Chriflian troops, who facked the place, and left not there an infidel alive. Shall we lament tliat fad ncceility which forced , our hero on fuch treacherous condudl ? and at commencement of his courfc obliged him l"o wade thro' ways obfccnc, his honour bend, And fliock e'en nature to obtain liis end; lOr Ihall we turn the indignant eyes of Reirofpedi away, and fix them rather upon gene; ous Amurath, who after the great vidory at Varna, when CH. xxir.] FROM A. D. 1425, TO THE YEAR 1455. 457 when his mean courtiers afked him why he was fo fad, the brave Turk, flroking his white beard, replied, " Becaufe whoever triumphs here, " I find ; 'tis death alone that conquers. How many gallant warriors, *' Chrillians and Muffulmen, lie this day mute beneath his cruel " fcythe !" The letter too from this wife fultan to his old acquain- tance breathes warm a manly tenderncfs that gliftens through all the odd invecftive it abounds in, and begins, " Amurath Ottoman, Empe- " ror of the Eaft; to the moll hollow and ungrateful Scanderbeg, fends " neither health nor welfare — though once love." To which the wording of the anfwer is no lefs obfervable ; but we can only note the fupcrfcription : " The foldier of Chrift Jcfus, George Caftriot, Prince " of Epirus and Albania, to Amurath Ottoman, King of the Turks, " fends greeting." Of fuch a controverfy the termination is lefs un- plcafmg than the continuance : all charge of black ingratitude how- ever ends with the life of the Grand Signior, who was particularly his iViend, companion and protcftor. After his death, our honcft admi- ration willingly follows the valorous champion of truth, the ftrenuous opponent of Mahomet the fccond, fo truly termed the Great. We hear no talk of Scanderbeg indeed when that victorious monarch, his royal father's obfequics performed, fct fteadily to obey his laft injunc- tions, and drive Chriftianity from Conftantinoplc, which Palaeologus endeavoured to defend ; and fuch were the advantages of fituation, that lefs than a defpotick power, that power by willing multitudes obeyed, could never have reduced it to fubmiflion : for though the haven was obtained through treachery, it was induftrious fortitude that took the due advantage of the foe's pcrfidioufnefs, and drew a line of gallics over land; a plan fuggefted by the fraudful Genocfc, who lived in conftant fear left the Venetians (hould gain or fhould enjoy that confidence from Conftantine which he was not likely long to have in his difpofal. They ftrove to burn this battery by night ; but that the Ottoman vigilance prevented ; and the next morning forty noble youths, natives of Venice, were, as a puxiifluncnt for fuch at- VoL. I. 3 M tempt. 458 PROM A. D. 1425, TO THE YEAR 1455. [ch. xxiv. tempt, maiTacred in the Turkifh camp, where they were prifoners, by Mahomet's command. The Greek emperor retahated this cruelty, by iVicking on the points of pikes the heads of two hundred MuiTul- mcn, captives within the town, and fet them on the walls for him to fee : he faw and laughed, and looked with confidence upon two hun- dred and fifty thoufand Turks bound to revenge their countrymen. And now, after a fiege oi forty days, a memorable number to both "fides in thofe times,* the town was taken by a fierce affault, for which prodigious preparations had been made. Our previous meafures bore another form. The Chriilian Empe- ror entered the dome of Santa Sophia's temple by torch light : through the vaft edifice a folemn filcnce, a univerfal gloom ftruck to the heart: from the high altar only beamed thofe rays meant to illuminate the fad repofitory of our Lord's body, whofe laft fupper was now, for the laft time, celebrated there by his difciples. When the imperial lips had been thus comforted, thus ftrengthcned, he addrefled his followers, who recolleding they were fpoken toby Conjiantine tht ion oi Helena, burlt into tears and audible laments ; and proftrating themfelvcs, fworc all to perifh in defence of the great name that founded their now- falling city, the fecond Rome, the aggregate of excellence, the en\y of the eaftem world. Juftiniani only feemed obdurate : his private wrongs, fancied or real, rankled in his heart even at that awful mo- ment ; and hiftory attributes the failure of the day to his defertion on the firft wound received. A moll unyielding fpirit poflefled the other allies, and caufed the infidels incredible annoyance ; while our brave Europeans fold their lives at a high price, and every foffe was filled with murdered MuflTulmen, whofe bold companions made of tlieir * Y ox forty days deluge was acknowledged by Turks and Chriftians; forty days of faft had been obferved by Mofes, Elias, and Jefus Chrift ; forty days of penitence were allowed the Nincvites, not then forgotten ; and forty years war is, I believe, even yet expcftcd by orientals before the end of the world. bodies CH. XXIV.] FROM A. D. 1425, TO THE YEAR 1455. 459 bodies aftcp to raife them on, and fcale the walls ; in vain. No Chrif- tian arrow, no flone miffed its mark: flung by our gallant knights, the invaders fell, heaped on their bleeding brethren ; till great Mahomet,. like Homer's heroes, refiftlefs in war, drove to the breach, and with his iron mace burft every barrier between him and vid;ory. 'Twas- then from a high tower his dreadful voice proclaimed a three days- pillage of the place to troops who fhould bear him in conqueror, and feat him on the throne of Palaeologus. Conftantine heard ; and doubt- ing not his deftiny, tore the once facrcd purple from his fliouldcrs, the white plume from his head, and plunging unknown amidft a hoft. of foes, foon found the honourable death he fought for. Such deeds denote and render moft remarkable the 2Qth of May 1453, when the great city, founded juft 1 1 20 years before, yielded her- self up to victorious Turcifm ; and the fine church raifed \\ ith incre- dible expenccs by Juftinian was doomed to fuffer horrible profanation, a turban being placed upon the crucifix, which they fliot at vsith ar- rows, carr)ing it round in impious proceffion : while the great tcmplc'3 fclf was made a flable of, only referving the richly-adorned chancel for a mofquc, according to their own fuperftition. In the general confufion, w hile plunder, cruelty and murder ftalkcd around the defolated habitations of the rich, the publick libraries by chance caught fire, and no fewer than one hundred and twenty thou^ {and volumes were deftroycd. Mahomet, although no literary cha- radcr, cxprcffed his concern ; he grieved at the exceffcs confcquent upon his oath to yield fuch elegancies into brutal hands, and often cx- prcffed his wifli that the three days were over. Obferving in the in- terim a flavc or hufy Muffulman, breaking for fport the inlaid pave- ment of fomc church or palace, he flruck him on the face with his flat fc}mitar, and bid him go feck fomc fcnfual pleafure for himfclf, and not rf>oil things which could alone delight that intelled /w ought not to pretend to. " It makes a man's heart figh (faid he) to fee the fpider " weave her web in palaces, and hear Ujc o»1s hoot from the- foldicr's " watch- 4tio FROM A, D. 1425, TO THE YEAR 1453. [ch.xxiv. *' watch-tower." This is the common feeling of humanity, cxprefled by oriental language. Mahomet had not iludled the philofophy of our days ; he had not hardened his mind by athcifm to infenllbility. Conftantinc's corpfc was his firll objed of enquiry : it was difcovcred by the Roman eagles embroidered on his ilioes. The vidor faw it buried decently, and turned his thoughts to enjoyment of the con- qucfls he had made. In company of one diftinguiflied female all that enjoyment for two years concentered ; and his hard-earned reward of toil and danger, was only found in a Greek, ilave, Irene; whofc powers of plcafmg, and confuramate beauty; whofe noble birth and elegance of manners, proved his difcernment and fuperior tafle : whilft warm returns of the moft tender paflion upon the part of a Pheacian fair one, flicwed all mankind how Mahomet, in peace, could lay afide the ter- rors of his name, and charm thofe hearts which were born hoftile to him. But the ftern Janiflliries, grieving to fee their fpirit of auniverfal conqueft checked by the tranfports of voluptuous love, began to growl : a Chrillian captive now ruled over the Ottomans, they faid, and fighed indignant ; and not unlike to the praetorian bands fomc cen- turies before, murmured at diftance from the throne their fullen but dangerous difcontcuts. A trufty Bafla well-informed of this, and heedlefs of his own life when put in competition with his mailer's, now threw himfclf uncalled at the proud Sultan's feet, who liftening to his tale with varying expreffion, told him he Ihould not die, but call the troops to-morrow to a general and plenary review. Inftant obedience followed this command, and Mahomet pafs'd the remaining hours with more than ufual gaiety and fplendour in the apartments of his fweet Irene ; where favourites alone partook a fcaft, made fafci- nating by talents and lafting by luxury. Their revels ended not till morning called ; and the enamoured emperor befought his fair com- panion to haften then, and adjufl all her ornaments ; for that fhe was to fliine brighteft at the review, and every eye bear witnefs to her charms. The hour arriving, to a temporary feat high-raifed above the crowd CH. XXIV.] FROxM A. D. 1425, TO THE YEAR 1-155. 4(ii crowd Irene came, led by her royal lover, and fparkling in all the jewels of Golconda. When filent wonder held the aflembly mute, mixed as it was of warriors and of citizens, the monarch thus addrelVed them : " Servants and foldiers I from this hour confcfs you arc not flaves to " an unworthy fovcrcign : behold this model of perfedion here, and " learn, that he who can thus mafler his own paflions, deferves to rule " the world, and with your help will conquer it." So faying, vvitii his left hand he feized Irene by the flowing hair, and with one fuddcii ftrokc of his true fcymitar cut off her head, and toffed it to the terrified fpcdators. On this ftrange ad of favagc magnanimity mud lletrojped'ion paufc a while ; refleding, that as it confirmed the Sultan in his dear-bought power, fo it extinguiflied every diftant hope of Chriftianity's revival in the eafi:. i-:ND OF VOL. I. I RETROSPECTION, RETRO SPECTIOJV: OR A REVIEW or THE MOST STRIKING AND IMPORTANT EVENTS, CHARACTERS, SITUATIONS, AND THEIR CONSEQUENCES, WHICH THE LAST EIGHTEEN HUNDRED YEARS HAVE PRESENTED TO TBI FIEJV OF MANKIND. A la verite cc nVst ici qu'un fragment, inais dans les travaux les plu» acheves des hommcs il n'j a que dea fragments. L'histoire d'un roi n'est qu'un fragment de cclle de sa dynastic, celle de sa dynastie de celle de fon royaume, celle de Ton royaume de cclle du genre humain ; qui n'esl clle-meme qu'un fragment de celle des ctres qui habitcnt le globe, dont I'hiftoire unt- verfdle ne serait apres tout qu'un bien petit chapitre de rhistoire des astrcs innombrablcs qui nos tetes i des distances qu'on ne peut assigner. BY HESTER LYNCH PIOZZI. WITH A PORTRAIT OF TIIR AUTHOR. IN' TWO VOIXMilS. VOL. II. Iflntnm: FRIWTED FOR JOHN STOCKDALE, PICCADILI-Y. * 1801. I T. Gilltt, Printer, SalUburj-fs"*"- CONTENTS VOL. II. CHAP. I. Page Containing an Accontit of Jrjcs, Turks, and Roman Empire, for forty-feven Years, from 1455 to 1492. - - Q CHAP. II. Containing a Reviewal of "England, France, Spain, Holland, Den- mark, Scotland — their Advancements from 1455 to 1492. TItc fame Period of forty-feven years. - - 28 CHAP. III. Containing the DifcoverieSy zSc.frovi A. D. 1192 dozen to tlic Year 1523. - - - - - 49 ■ CHAP. IV. Turks and Italians^ French and F.yiglifh,from 1492, to 1525. 09 C H A }'. V. Popes, and the other European Princes, to A. D. ]55u. yo CONTENTS. CHAP. VI. Progrefs of Science, Progrefs ofDlfcovery, and Turkifh Empire re- vinved, from 1550 to ]Qoo. - - - 112 CHAP. VII. Italy, Germany, Spain, England, France, and the North. — Progrefs of Reformation — From A. D. 1550 to lOoo. - 133 CHAP. VIII. Fiifi Portion of the Seventeenth Century ; its Effe6ts on England, Scotlatid^ Holla7id, France, attd Portugal ; with a Sketch of the Changes in common Life, and Progrefs of Science. - lOo CHAP. IX. Portugal, Perfia, India, China, Turkey, Afridi, and Rome, to \Q50. 181 CHAP. X. Sweden, Germany, Franci^ and America, down to 1 650. - 20.''» C H A P. XI. Great Britain only, to l650. - - - 224 CHAP. XII. France, Spain, Sweden, Italy, from lC50/o 1/00. - 2-18 CONTENTS. CHAP. XIII. Page E^, Weft, and North, from lOSO to 1700 — Progrefs of Science, Manners, &c. - - - - 275 CHAP. XIV. Spain, Portugal, Germany, Holland, and Great Britain, from lG50 to 1700. - . . ^ - 298 CHAP. XV. Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Rufjia, and Turkey, from \ 700 to 1 725. 321 CHAP. XVI. France, England, Sj>ain, Holland, Italy, and Auftria, from 1/00 to 1725. - - - - - 345 CHAP. XVII. America^ Afia, Africa, and General Sketch of Improvements in Eu- rope, from 1725 to 1750. _ _ . 372 CHAP. XVIII. Sketch of the Situation of Auftria, Turkey, Rufpa, France, and Italy, from 1725 to 1750. - . . sgO CHAP. XIX. Great Britain, Ireland, and America, from 1750 to 1780. 41& CONTENTS. CHAP. XX. Page. Sketch of the Situation of Portugal, Spain, France, Italy and Ger- many, from 1750 to 178Q. _ - _ 43Q CHAP. xxr. Review of TraiifaStions in the Eafi and North, jrom' ij 56 ioif^:'4t!l^ CHAP. XXII. General Retrofpe6l, from 178O to 1790. '1 .Vu.vttv.^Cl ttt^Vj^'if^' CHAP. XXpi. Sketch of Events from l/QO to 17q6. . ^ CHAP. XXIV. . •^^ .Vs,;.v.,^^ ,v> 4y8 Lafifour Years of the Century , from 179O to 1800. - 521 ilETRd- RETROSPECTION. CHAPTER I. CONTAINIKG AN ACCOUNT OF JEWS, TURKS, AND ROMAN EMPIRE, FOR FORTY-SEVEN YEARS. FROM 1455 TO 1492. IT is Ikid, that thofc land joumies arc moft pleafant, which ofteneft treat U3 with a fight of fca ; and that fea voyages are leaft fatiguing when broken by a frequent view of different, but not far diftant coun- tries. Thofe fa6b are, in like manner, moft agreeable, which feem to border on Truth's utmoft limits, and give a glimpfe, or fomething like a glimpfe, of Fancy's boundlcfs reign : whilft all agree, that FiAion never knows to charm us fo, as when Ihe fecks rcfcmblance with reality. The events we have recorded ia our laft volume, gleaned from hif- ftoric annals, all are true ; at worft, accounted fo for eighteen centuries. Although fuch is their charader, and fuch their Ihapc, that cluftercd clofeiy as our book prefents them, they certainly do feem almoft in- credible ; and, what is worfc, they now and then appear thick and impervious to a common eye. This is not quite the look I wifti they had ; but things will not look well when fo much crowded, and I cannot cnUu^e the room they ftand in without manifeft inconvenience. If Milton, then, was forced to make his devils ftuink, that they might Vol. II. B be 10 ACCOUNT OF JEWS, TURKS, AND [ch. i. be contained in that great Pandemonium he provided them, I may, nay, mri/i be pardoned for comprefling all thefc gigantic fliadows of long-pad occurrences into my glafs of general RetroJpe£iion. Nor will my readers require to be oftentimes reminded, through the courfe of a work fo truly fuperficial, that they are not reading hiftory at all, but only looking back, as from an eminence, upon the leading features of thofe hiftories which they have read full many a year ago. That few obfcrvations or refledions have been interfpcrfed, will, I much fear, be no lefs eafiLy forgiven, though nothing is more flattering to an author than that his own opinions Ihpuld be called for. The fcientific gar- dener thus is feen to recommend his hot'houfe bouquet, by feparating carefully each rare exoticand keeping theni diligently disjoined from one another, with a profufion of leaves, for the moft part, foreign to them all. My wilder nofegay blooms a mere roie campion, eafily found, or in the field or flirubbery, — whofe genuine blufh alone attrads the eye to where each independent flower fprings up, fole on its finglc ftalk, and, unadorned with intermingling foliage, rears the head too near its equally alluring neighbour. Among the nations which have been reviewed, not quite enough has yet, perhaps, been told of that furprizing, that fcleded people, who, on the fkft grand mufter of mankind, flood forcmoft in the ranks of Humanity. Although their hiftorj' is carliefl, and beft au- thenticated, their limited geography was firft afcertained, though law had not a name in other countries when their code, yet extant, was compiled ; and although commerce amongfl: them mentioned traffick- ing and paying, in times when they had not exifted, we fhould have heard but little, I believe, concerning (hekels of filver, current money with the merchant. Voltaire was ftrangely overfeen, to fay, that Jewilh annals muft of neecflity be falfe, becaufe fo little in their records may be read con- cerning monarchies of more importance : as for example, the old Afliy- rian, Chinefe, and other oriental ftates, of dignity fo far beyond poor Pa- leftinc. cH. I.J ROMAN EMPIRE, FOR FORTY-SEVEN YEARS. 1 1 kftine. He might have fcen that no ftate was important, except as it related to that one. He might have known that the Affyrian, Baby- lonifh, and Syrio-Macedonian empires are no more ; faded like phan- toms, melted like ice in fummer ; whilft the fmall family which they infulted, conquered, and carried away captives, ftill remain a people ; and more numcrovis were they when Benjamin the traveller, of the twelfth centur}-. Journeyed the eaft over in fearch of theif remains, than when they lived under their own kings, in their own land ; a people pccoiiarly favoured by their God, who will once more, in the latter times rcaflumc his bcfl-loved title, and be once more acknow- ledged of his Icrvants — the Holy One of Ifrael. That wondrous family, confounded among all nations, and yet diflind from any: which thriving in opprefiion wplacc, as fuddcnly rcftone their long^ loft fight, and they fhall look on him whom they pierced. Soon as the call is heard, their tribes will congregate ; no kindred, no conncAionfe will detain them ; they arc a fe- paratc fct, unmixed witii other mortals. No lands do they polTefs, rto of- fices do /Ary difchargc, which can require their prcfencc in countries, where to amaft money for the deftined jourtiey fcems all their occupa- tion. No honourable badge of heraldic diftin^on was evw known to adorn a Jew, in any kingdom or government, although, uillikc to every other aggrc^c of nuai, each individiial may lay honeft claim to thofc rc^eds which wCR long thoughcduc to high ttfth alone, and long B 2 traced 12 ACCOUNT OF JEWS, TURKS, AND [ch. i. traced Uncage. He who has feen a Jew, has {ccn a gcntlertian, if an- ceftry can make him fuch, unaided by education. Their land is Hkc themfclves, defpifed, not dcfpicable ; miflaid, not loft ; forfakcn or uncultured, yet not barren. The Greek Profeflbr, Doctor Shaw, faid, that the foil was far more rich and fine than the bcft parts of Syria and Phoenicia ; fertile enough, fays Wood, to tempt the hufbandman to fow, although while fowing he is forced fometimes to take an armed friend with him to protcd the feed bag. Such is the tyranny of their prefcnt matters — men w ho, in fpite of a leagued continent, tore and held down the Holy City and the pleafant land, loading themfelves and their pofterity with the grand malediftion firft pronounced upon the newly regenerated race of mankind after the Deluge, when God appeared to Abraham, and promifed, that whofo bleflcd //////, fhould be bleffcd •on earth ; and thofe w ho curfed him, fhould be themfelves accurfed. His progeny, who are, even at this moment that I write, numerous as the ftars of heaven, have already feen that curfe moft powerfully ac- complifhed ; feen their oppreflbrs' yaft eftates deftroyed. The Roman empire rots to nothing while we read this book ; but the Chinefe,^ who alone never offended them, remains apparently fecure, firm fixed^ and happy. The Turk fubfifts, indeed, but, as an old writer faid judicioufly, he is not fo formidable as Chriftians think for ; his head is lefler far than is his turban, and even that ihews for much more than it is, fwelllng and puffing without, but hollow and empty within. Truth is, the Turks coming at firft from Scythia, were abftemlous and hard livers ; but now that they have anticipated their Impoftor's paradife, they become far lefs to be feared by foes of our perfuafion, than when great Mahomet, fecond of the name, proved his mag- nanimous triumph over a paffion which boafts itfelf to have cajoled the wifeft man recorded on the world's wide annals, enfeebled the ftrongeft, and undone the firft.. Avtante barbaro/ Soldato inumano ! exclaims Sagredo, when he tells the tale ; but we muft rccolleft the Sultan's principles : Irene was to him but as a favourite, a fondled animal; and, at CH. I.] ROMAN EMPIRE, FOR FORTY-SEVEN YEARS. ]3 At rcqucll of fubjeds who }uidfouJs, he lutldcnly, as he believed, anni- hilated (however dear to him) a creature which had none. That tafk performed, to lofe in war the weight of grief which will opprefs the nobleft minds, this fcourgc of Chriftians and of Jews, this Mahomet, ruflied to the hoped-for conqueft of Belgrade. Defended by our Hungarian Hector, that£ne city, key as 'twas then acknowledged of the Danube, rcfufed to yield ; and round its walls were piled a heap of dead, by which the aflailants thought to fcalc their heights: but after deluges of blood fpilt in the ftruggle, while dubious Viftory flut- tered from fide to fide, tempting men's hopes to madnefs of conten- tion, the Turkifh Emperor received a wound his followers thought fatal, and retired : upon recovery, he felt the impoflSbility to gain his point, and leaving innumerable foldiers, with all the flower of his Ot- toman court dead on the field of battle, retreat was founded, and Chrif- tianity took breath once more. Human profpcrity, however, flill is found to confine clofely on the limits of misfortune. Huniadcs re- ceived in this engagement his fentence of difmiflTion from the hard poft he had maintained fo long, and Pope Calixtus, when the news was brought him that the fierce Sultan turned his thoughts from land, to maritime contentions with all Europe, heard, at the fame inftant, that Europe's brave defender was no more. Morea now, in figure like the leaf of a plane tree, began to fliake like one; but Scanderbcg, Prince of Epirus, for awhile proteded with his arm his native Greece. Renowned rather for courage than fentiments of nice honour, he no Iboner faw the iflands of the Archipelago in danger, than h.iflcning to break a truce, long time fubfifting between his kingdom and the Turkifh empire, he attacked them in every place, on every fide ; and having performed prodigies of pcrfonal valour in no fewer than twenty- eight bloody battles, began, after he had purchafed the admiration, while meriting the enmity, of Mahomet II. to think ferioufly of converting his valiant antagonift to our Chriftian faith. The letters written on thi» pcc^iioa arc exceedingly curious, and though, as a controvertift^ .w..'\ *. many 14 ACCOUNT OF JEWS, TURKS, AND [en. i. many might outfliine Lord Alexander, who dared not even have looked on his exploits in war, they prove his ztal to have been in no fenfc hypocritical, and Ihew the tenor of the times to great perfcdion : fo does the tale of Mahomet's defiring to fee the fcymitar with which, at three ftrokes only, this hero cleft three men down to the middle, as Pope's Homer relates of Pandarus, while theJJiard vifagc hung on equal fides. He did not wilh to fee the arm that wields it, replied our Caf- triot; and witliout that, tlic weapon is inert and good for nothing. This brave prince died, at length, in his bed at Liifa, a town of the Venetian ftatc, bequeathing to tliat republic he fo favoured, his fixed inveteracy againft Mahometanifm, which, to fay true, they never lofl: at all ; he left them, befides that, an infant boy, whom they could not proteofcd themfclvcs in vain. Will it amult; my reader's Retrojpcci to paint this Prince after Bcllino's portrait, which (hews him a ftout fquarc figure, not much beyond the common height, but broad made, and of robuil and vigorous beauty. His odd tranfaftion with this Venetian artift (hall clofc the fubjcd, and we'll talk no more on't. Giacomo Bcllino's reputation had been carried, with fome of his hif- toric pieces, to Conftantinoplc ; and Mahomet the Second fent for him to court, where lie had apartments, often vifitcd by this Sultan, who talked 11) ACCOUNT OF JEWS, TURKS, AND [ch. i. talked with hlni familiarly, employed his talents upon various fubjectitors ; and felt the paffions of mean minds tormenting their philofophic fouls into a peeviftinefs beneath their rank in life — a rancour ill according with the friends and fellow citizens of this newly arranged republic of letters, which they had fo taught each other to ve- nerate. The fuperior lord of Imola was, by his exccflcs and expences, forced about this period, 1 -1 7 1 , to fet his barony to fale in the Romagna, and both thefe princes were difpofed to buy, when Montefecco, a man employed by Rome, thinking his mafter tricked out of the purchafe, began to engage, with or without his principal's confent, in a grofs plot againft the whole Medicean family. Lorenzo's brother was aflaf- finatcd in the church, before the very altar. The jseople (who adored their patrons and proteira,j\ 24 ACCOUNT OF JEWS, TURKS, AND [cii. i. in Italian annals it is called, was therefore without much dubiety at- tributed to the Pope, who, inftcad of repenting his horrible intents, (if iuch tlicy vNcrc) began anathematizing the Florentines for death of his archbilhop ; and excommunicated Lorenzo's fclf, whofe modera- tion had really faved th^ boy-cardinal, Riario, nephew to Sextus, from being literally torn in pieces by a loyal, and adive, and grateful po- pulace, who even doated on their rulers ; furrounded them in the hour of diftrcfs, and fucked the flight wound which cut th<"ir favourite in the neck, left, pcradvcnture, the weapon fhould have been poilbncd. ^-5 carneft v/ctc they to fecure, after his brother's murder, the in; alu- able life of Lorenzo, whom they confidered as a mirror of excellence, a model by which to regulate not only public but private behaviour ; and Jo abfurdly wicked was the man who thus provoked half Italy to frenzy, by threatening the darling of this Tufcan flate with what appears quite undeferved deftruftlon. The (kory has been, however, fo lately told in language that might have graced Lorenzo's literary court itfelf, by Mr. Rofcoc, whofe fine book is now in every Englilh hand that can hold one — I ftiall not add a word to this rough funimary, except to fay, that it was Mahomet's death alone faved the penlnfula from aruiihilation : as his fleet was, at the very time of thefe filly tumults, hovering like a hawk over the devoted diftrirt of Calabria — whence that event happily called it away, and left the Florentines at leifure to refume their claf- fical celebrations of old Plato's birth-day, in honour of which the Me- dicean family, fafcinated by the new-rifmg bloom of ancient learning, and captivated by all her collateral charms, falfc as vvell as true, had inflitutcd a f>.rt of jubilee, fome few years before this difturbance. Sforza, meanwhile, Regent of Milan, upon the Turks' retreat, pre- pared for war againft his neighbours of Venice and Genoa ; forgetting that the family de Rovere, an ancient one in that laft mentioned city, had given birth to bold Francefco, who, though a Friar and a Cordelier, forgot not for a moment that he was a man, bound by the ties of blood to all his kin ; a fovcrcign inveftcd with power to protedl them, Sextus CH. I.] ROMAN EMPIRE, FOR FORTY-SEVEN YEARS. 15 Sextus Quartus, for thcfc rcafonj, (to which the Tufcans added an- other, by taking fides with Sforza) made himfclf ready for battle, re- folving to defend the free ftatcs, as they were called ; and had not the defertion of his allies brought, or rather driven, the gout into his fto- mach, all Italy would foon have been in arms at once. He died, however; and his dread of peace took from him, even in death, that decent tranquillity which Ihould prevail, at leafl, in the laft nlo- mcnts. But Pacis ut hoftis eras, pace peremptus obis, faid the wits ; and Innocent VIII., of difpofition far lefs fcverc and warlike, was his fucceflor. It was to his care Zimzim, the brother of Bajazct, was configned ; and we leave it for Bolfi and Spondanus to difpute, whether he aftually and pofitivcly did kifs the flipper, or whe- ther he on/y made believe, as children fay — the debate being fomewhat a childifli one, and to the Pope perfectly unintercfting, while he had the annuity paid regularly from Conftantinople, and delighted to pro- vide for fomc of his numerous offspring out of the Turkifli trcafury. Thcfc young people he, for form's fake, publicly called his nephews, but laughed when he heard others call them fo. The mcrrv men, of couric, broke their jefts openly, faying, that Sextus Quartus had cm- bcllilhed Rome, but Innocent VIII. did moft towards peopl'tng it. It was he, however, built the palace Belvedere, repaired a fine old church founded by Valcntinian, and finding, or fancying that he found in the wall fomc of the genuine title, Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, originally placed upon our Saviour's crofs — he called the edifice by that name, Temple of the Holy Crofs of Jerufalcm, and decorated it with great munificence. Innocent was of a gentle, generous temper, and only wifhcd to cultivate the arts of peace ; fcoming the hbcls made upon his loofc charadcr, when Pafquin called \\\fx\ father of his country: but though not eminent TSrcare concerning literature, when a French iViar came to him from Parb, with a long panegyric on a Pope dead fc\eral Vol. II. D centuries 26 ACCOUNT OF JEWS, TURKS, AND [ch. i. centuries before — " Well ! what have you faid of St. Marcellus ?" en- quired he. " I have obfcrved," replies the Monk, " how happily he " was named ; feeing that Mar meant, no doubt, un mer de charite ; " eel fhewcd that he had Ic \rai Jel ; and /us was a proof qu'il avait les " lumieres." " Get thee back, Tranfalpine doltcrhead !" exclaimed the Pontiff, " and difgrace not our dawn of fclence with thy folly. Get *' thee back to thy convent, I fay ; and if thou wilt take a pen in hand, " copy fome other's writing, but prefume not to publifh thy own." To copy, however, became daily a lefs ufeful and a Icfs ncceflary art ; and we may accordingly obferve, that the manufcripts, after the year 1 500, when printing was familiar to mankind, attraft our notice lefs bv their beauty and neatnefs, than thofe which were written before then — fo does one human invention flop the progrefs of another — but chiro- graphy is, at any rate, a petty perfection when at bell ; and for the noble art which fuperfeded it, we are indebted to German patience, German induftry : nor has Retrojpe^ion often contemplated a truer model of thefe his countrymen's peculiar merits than Frederick the Fourth, juftly fur- named the Philofopher. He had fucceedcd Albert, the fon-in-law of faithlefs Sigifmund, in 1440 ; and had now, for more than half a cen- tury, witneifed, with a Heady eye, the convulfions of Italy and Au- llria : a long reign, as he himfelf confidered it ; and one, as he ob- fervcd, that another man would have called lurbnlent. But when Conftantinople unwillingly received the crefcent on her brows in lieu of the crofs, and Turkifti terrors quitted the affrighted caft only to dif- play their ftandard over the Mediterranean Sea, — when Sextus Quartus fliook the penlnfula of Italy from her centre, — nay, when Mathias, King of Hungary, invaded Poland, beat the Bohemians, feizing, at length, upon Vienna's felf, and keeping poffeiTion of his conqueft ; this truly philofophic Emperor betrayed no change of temper, nor no figns of paffion. Rerum trrecuperandarum fnmma fel'tc'itas ohVrv'w, was his fa- vourite fentence, and he wrote it on the walls of every bed-chamber he flept in : nor was he a flothful or flow-minded man, although the Italians, CH. i.J ROMAN EMPIRE, FOR FORTY-SEVEN YEARS. 27 Italians, who never could provoke him, faid he was antma niorta In corpo vhertfe. He was alive to that partiality which makes every pa- rent think their own progeny of fupcrior excellence ; and when he contemplated his daughter's charms, it came into the mind of Fre- derick, that with t/iew he might purchafe the whole world's peace and felicity. In confequence of this idea a meflcnger was, early in his reign, difpatched to inform Mahomet II. that if he would turn Chrif- tian — in good time ! and that forthwith ; the lovely Siglfmunda fhould be his queen, uniting the empires of the eaft and weft. Mahomet laughed, and faid he had fix hundred virgins then to choofe out of, and had no fancy to increafe the lift ; but would receive the princcfs wil- Imgly, without condiiionhig, to his fcraglio. When c\cn fitch a reply failed to afFed the Emperor's good humour, the title of Philofopher muft be confeft his due. The Popes had all acknowledged his piety, and faw he knew how to appreciate merit in the perfon of ^ncas Sylvius, whom }u firft fent ambalTador to Rome, where Nicolas the Fifth crowned him with his confort Eleanora, in 1452 ; nor would Pius II. qiiarrel with him, as he did with Alphonfb of Spain, whofe haughtinefs required a check from papal power. Frederick IV. lived on through fix pontifi- cates, nor died till after Innocent VIII., who lay fo long in a fit once before, that all around him thought his life irrecoverably loft. On his dcmife was featcd in St. Peter's chair the profligate Rodcrico Borgia, well known in the annals of infamy by name of Alexander VI. At his acccfidon Retrofpc6i ftiall reft, although the century is not quite clofed ; bccaufe Columbus gave to that period power to imprefs the minds of men ; and make the year l-ig2 an epoch for fuccccding gene- rations, y<»r more remarkable than would round numbers, A.D. 1500. But we ftcp back a while to fetch into our focus the more northern nations, France, Spain, Holland, and Denmark, with England, Scot- iand» &c. too long left out of fight. D 3 CHAP. 28 A REVIEWAL OF ENGLAND, FRANCE, SPAIN, fcH. ix. CHAP. 11. CONTAINING A REVIEWAL OF ENGLAND, FRANCE, SPAIN, HOLLAND, DENMARK, SCOTLAND— THEIR ADVANCEMENTS FROM 1455 TO 1492. THE SAME PEniOD OF FORTY-SEVEN TEARS. THIS period, although turbulent, will be found, on Re/rojpe^ion, to have thrown up from the yefty waves of its chaotic violence fome ufeful improvements, and given rife to fome agreeable ideas. But the brightcft day is obfervcd to commence with the fainteft glimmer, and whilft in efFeft their fine capital inundated robbed Venice of valu- ables worth a million fterling by one unexped:ed influx of the fea — not then as afterwards regularly fubmitting to all creation's delegated Lord ; and whilft in rough Bohemia the bold Thaborites fought to (et up one Podiebrand for prince, becaufe he was of their perfuafion, Chriftiern, the King of Denmark, kindly confirmed the privileges of Hamburgh, fpontaneoufly relinquifhed his pretenfions to the Orkney and Shetland Ifles, in favour of James IV., newly bom, and hoped, he faid, to fee the time when not only nobles but good burghers, through his land, fhould feed on a fat goofe every St. Martin's day. Reformation and civilization thus walked forward hand in hand; but they received fome checks. The Popes excited Mathias, nephew to Huniades, the Hungarian Heftor, againft Podiebrand, becaufe he had been a follower of Zifca ; and as the northern nations now feemed all difpofed to claim a Chriftian's fhare in Jefus' blood. Innocent the Eighth had the addrefs to pcrfuade them how wine would not keep good in fuch cold latitudes, and that to iwfifl upon this empty privi- lege CH. 11.] HOLLAND, DENMARK, SCOTLAND. AA / ag lege would but produce fome horrid profanations. Meanwhile baro- nial pKjwer began in its own native foil to Ihew fure fymptoms of having paflcd its prime. Margaret de Waldcmar had made her fub- jcds find that a crown differed greatly from a coronet. They had feen her wear one with three points, expreffive of the three realms fhe con- foUdatcd in her own perfon, under her own government ; teaching, at the fame time, the increafed diftance now firft acknowledged between prince and nob/e, who, till thele days, thought that fuch a title was to be confidered but as the mark of a fuperior lord, and fcarcely that, when, as it fomctimcs chanced, chieftains did homage for a town or diftrid, to barons better in defcent than they, though weaker in the number of adherents. Thefe new principles made, as may be imagined, a gradual but cer- tain alteration in the manners of all Europe ; and manners altering confirmed the principles, which commerce wafted quick from fhore to (horc. Science too Tapped, while bold ambition battered the rufty pha- lanx of that old Gothic ariltocracy which, fcvcn or eight centuries before, had broken Rome's royal empire by its waftcful inroads. The compafs too had, in thcfe later days, been difcovered ; and traffic, though intend- ing at firft mere exchange of vendible commodities, found himfelf in- icnfibly engaged as adivc agent in the caufc of fentiment. Looking- glafTcs were brought from Venice, at an immenfe price, to this country, when one Ihould have thought men's minds, occupied about civil war and difcord hourly incrcafing, could have cared little for fuch articles of luxury. A book, indeed, ftill fetched thirty or forty pounds : but he- raldry was grown a ftudy, and the famed collar of SS's, inftitutcd in honour of St. Simplicius, if I remember right, was by none of Edward the Third's defccndants held in higher cftimation than by Henry the Sixth, who ncglconent Margaret, who once more brought her pious hufband out from prifon to a throne, 'twas not one viftory could keep the Yorkifls' power completely down, after it had been by all fully acknowledged. The plains of Barnet faw the fall of Warwick ; whofe death drew the firft tears ('tis faid) from her eyes that long had looked on him as her worft foe. So Sifygambis mourned the death of Alexander ! But Tewkefbury's calamities foon from the mind of Margaret obliterated each fcnfe of what was found moft: forrowful at Bamct. The Jon, for whom flie fought, tor whom fhe mourned a father in meek Henry, a father-in-law next in gallant Warwick, lay fbibbcd by his rclcntlcfs coufin's fword in Glo'flerfliirc ; and the Queen's fpirit of rcfiftancc died with lim. Her heart thus broken, her wretched hufljund, after his cfcapes, killed in the Tower of Londoiv, while fhc fled to France, left Edw ard no competitor to cope with ; nor ought to conquer favc his own hot pallions, and thole of bulh his Vof . II. E brothers. 34 A REVIEW AL OF ENGLAND, FRANCE, SPAIN, [ck. ii. brothers, fullen and difcontentcd at his marriage with Lady Gray, who every year brought forth fome princely baby, yet feemed by that means only to accelerate her own, and her whole family's deftruc- tion. After his royal father's death indeed, the eldeft was called king a while, Edward V. by name : but rugged Richard, fecond fon to the great Duke of York, would not permit fuch puny obftacles to (land between him and the fucccffion. Murder to his mind brought no qualms of confcience. He had difpatched the pious king in prifon, and his fword helped to maflacre, in cold blood, after his brother's victory, the gallant prince of Wales : as for the girls, they fccm to have been forgotten ; and the Queen-mother, that they might be wholly fo, put young Cecilia early in a convent, and ftarted when report was brought her tliat King Richard had thoughts of getting papal difpen- fation to wed the eldeft child Elizabeth, foon as his little nephews were removed, and his firft wife put out of the way. This charaftcr, however, this third Richard, firft the protcdor of our realms, then the ufurping fovcreign, made good laws ; and feemed to have funk every private virtue only to fill the flowing tide of general beneficence. This, though a common ftratagem of crowned heads, feldom profpers : the blood-ftained prince fbon found himfclf abhorred, even by that public, for whofc fake he faid he had renounced all tics of tendemefs. They called him Crook-back'd Dick, and turned their eyes from England into Brittany, where the laft remnant of the Houfc of Lancafter, dcfcended from a daughter of old John of Gaunt, lived in a fort of honourable retreat, rather than downright obfcurity : and holy Henry the Sixth had faid, " That youth will wear the crown which wc contend for." Such odd predictions then were counted prophe- cies, and a wild Irifh bard had told King Richard he fhould not live long after he faw i?7V/yw/(7«J ; in confcquence of which he fludioufly avoided, both in Surrey and in Yorklhire, ever going near a place which bore that name ; but he was forced to recoiled: at laft, the "Earl, and not the Town, was fatal to him. At the firft found of ho- CH. II. HOLLAND, DENMARK, SCOTLAND. 35 nour s call, he came, w^m with a paffion for fair Anne of Brittany, idol of thofc times '. whofc profeired knight he was; and Bofworth field witnelfcd young Richmond's triumph. That lais fadicr was fon of Owen Tudor, by Catharine of France, widow to Harry V. accounts for the partiality Wales always (hewed the red rofe ; and in tlie Moftyn family even now remains (in form of a candle cup) the gold hilt of that fword with \%hich he pierced the brave ufurper's brcaft on that day ; which leaving him the /xtuy/-, and poor Elizabeth of York the right, to reign o\er us, a ruarr'uige was propofcd between her and the conqueror, fo to imitc their fcparatc prctenfions, and end thofe feuds which had fo long diftra«I:ted our dominions. It conferred few domcftic joys indeed. What wonder ! that Henry the Seventh (hould love Anne de Brctagne, in whofe fociety he fpent his youth, was na- tural ; that he Ihould liatc the hcirefs of the rival houfc, is no lefs con- fonant to common feelings ; and Ihc, perhaps, would have liked him no better, had not her mother, Lady Gray de Woodville, infpircd her ftill with moft refiiedlul lentiments towards the defcendants of time- honoured Lancaftcr ; w ho having wedded Mary de Padilla's daughter, by Peter the Cruel, //((vV daughter, wife to Beaufort, Duke of Somcrfct, was mother to the Countcfsof Richmond, whole only offspring by the carl, her fecond hufband, was Henry VII. She had a boy by her third marriage with Stanley, E;irl of Derby, after whofe death JJie cu- dvxed ChrijTs College, Camhridgr, and wore a nun's drcfs ; but Hume tells us how Henry VIII. confultcd and rcfpcded her; and Campden relates how this yi viighly pr'nurfs had been heard to fay, that if the Chriftian kings would once again fall on the Turk, and win the Holy Land, (he would hcrfcif l)c laundrcfs to their tents, and follow them on fi»ot t 32 THE DISCOVERIES, &c. [ch. hi. This anecdote from Campden is not in its place, nor yet far out of it, •when we obferve Ferdinand and Ifabella taking advantage of that dull fupinenefs ; they felt that to extend the empire of knowledge abroad, would tend to weaken the authority of ignorance at home ; and having feen the Turkifli power rcprefled a little by the Portuguefe, who oppofed none but the blunt arms of trade, and hoped-for riches to their fury ; were led to rcflcd: that Europe might be fuvcd by fu- periority in what, till lately, was fo little eftecmed. Good Ifabella too, after the happy conqueft of Granada, felt her warm heart peculiarly expanded, when fomc emotions there, quickened by Quintanilla, gave her to feed her fancy with the triumphs of Chriflianity on the other fide of the globe, promulgated amongft unfeen millions, making a balance to Mahometanifm ; a compenfation for Conftantinoplc's lofs. 'Twill be, however, more flriking to a modem, an EtigJipi Retrofpefior, that in the agreement drawn up between this enterprifmg genius and his fove- reigns, they ftyle themfclves the Sovereigns of the Ocean. We cannot flay to note the articles ; but we may wonder any articles at all fliould thug be figned concerning an invifible dominion. In fad:, the failors foon began to think that it would for ever remain fo ; and when three weeks had paft in a fituation new to them all, the weft wind blowing freely, while fond remembrance of their long-left home hung upon every breeze, and vifionary fchcmes faded before anticipation's eye — w/iei/ all above ixsasjky, and ocean all around — a fhate common to countlcfs ma- riners in thefe days ; but anxious and alarming, folcmn and fublimc to Chrirtopher Columbus as to Homer. Murmurs, cabals, complaints, remonftrances as erft againft Ulyfl'cs, role at length to threats of open rebellion againft fuch a leader ; and he was forced to come to a com- promife, that if no land appeared in three days more, he would turn back, and give up all his hopes. He fpoke, and founding, felt the plumb-lii:e toxich the bottom : in two hours more a branch of fomc tree, with frcfli fruit or berries on it, was picked up by his headmoft fliip, which on that very night dcfcrled fires made on fliore, or rather wandcriiit!" cH. III.] FROM A. D. 1492 TO THE YEAR 1523. 53 wandering lights, as it fhould feem, carried from place to place. Morn- ing confirmed thefe confolations ; the commandant ordered Tc Dcum to be fung ; and after receiving new homage frora his tranfported coun- trymen, prepared for that of the nations he was to encoimtcr, by put- ting on a rich drefs ; then grafping in one hand a naked fword, a cru- cifix in the other, he leaped on (horc ; and as he parted from his ^cflcl. La Santa Mai-'ta, named the firft ground whereon he lighted. El Salvador;* little aware, perhaps, how he was even tiieu exemplifying that Saviour's words, where he fays, " Think you I come to bring " peace upon earth? nay, verily, but a fword." It was more confb- nant to the lludies of Columbus to obfervc, with what a fleady courfc he had ftccrcd three thoufand miles from Spain, deviating only four degrees upon the whole, and more agreeable to the times he lived in the rcfledlion, that like his namefiike canonized of old, he had in- deed carried Chr'ift as they were at fettlng out, they hailed a Mahometan at (Joa, as a friend commiffioncd by kind heaven to affift them ; and putting thcm- Iclves under his pilotage, arrived fafe at Calcutta, where a new world awaited them ; .md where, io little was then known of relative gi;)- graphy, it was thought pofiible that they might meet Columbu^^, They found, however, what was not lefs welcome at the clofc of the fifteenth century, the coafts of Malabar and Coromandel ; popuIou^^, cultivated, rich, induflrlous, and eager for that commerce v.hich they brought ; and which the news of their fucccfs fuggefl;cd to a large knot of merchants met at Seville, who ioon fitted oilt four fhips at their own expence, rcgurdlefs of the original computet made between the firft difcoverer and a court now much cxhaufted, and half unwil- ling to be lured by more realms, or to be teazcd again with more com- plainants. CH. ai.] FROM A.D. 1492 TO THE YEAR 1525. 57 pla'mants. Alonzo de Oycda was then chofen commodore of this new expedition, for purpofe of occidental difcoveries ; and on his little fleet Americo Vefpucci mounted the deck as volunteer. He was a youth of oftentatious manners, graceful perfon, and high birth : a Florentine, favoured by the Houfe of Medici, and boafting his defcent from t]\9 Emperor Vefpafiag, of whofc charafter he feems to have been com- pletely the reverfe. He made a fliort voyage, but a long defcription, compofed with art and elegance, worthy the country of Mecaenas and Michael Angclo, Petrarch and Aretine ; worthy the Tufcan court, in Ihort, where each refinement was encouraged. He barely touched the fouthern continent, when half the globe was, with the other halt's con- fcnt, fuddcnly, but everlaftingly called after his name ; whilft the more phlegmatic, but truly original difcoverer, came home fuperfeded, and even loaded with fetters by Bovadilla, who remained governor of Hifpaniola in his place. Columbus, untircd, undifmay'd, threw him- fclf once more at Ferdinand and Ifabclla's feet : and filently, but /with cxpreilive anguifli, pointing to his chains, filled them with Ihamc and momentary forrow ; and transferred to his perfidious princes fome fliarc of his own ill-dcfervcd mortifications. Another voyage was foon fct on foot ; and fincc Juan dc Cabral, a Portugueze adventurer, had, during the courfc of thcfe events, lighted (perhaps more by chance than {kill) upon the Brazils, the brave Spaniard ma;de one more effort, though grown old and gouty, if poflible, to find out that vaft trad: of land, which, like the country of Ulyflcs, ftill fecmcd to fly before his near approach. The harbour indeed which, from its numerous per- fc<5tions, he named Porto Bella, repaid his fcarch of beauty, infomuch he fancied he had found the original feat of Paradifc, he faid. Hurri- canes and mutinies meanwhile, which fcem to have eternally purfued him, made it, in a few months, a real purgatory ; and Hifpaniola, whither thcfe torments droTc him, rcfemblcd hell itfcif in guilt and woe. Thence, therefore, he ftccrcd quickly back to Spain, where, at Valladolid, May I5o0, Columbus (having been firft an objcd of con- VoL. II. H tempt, 59 THE DISCOVERIES, &c. [ch. iir, tempt, next of admiration, and laftly, of almoft uiiiverfal envy) retired to die, having in fomc meafure gratified the impetuous fpirit •^vhich drove him on a courfe of life fo turbulent and rough, that his fad courfe along the globe is marked by names exprclTive of diftrefs and anxious care. Cap Engano, Boca del Drago, Cofta de los Con- traftes, Porto de Mulas, with a long etcaetera; befidcs Sl Thomas, which he called fo merely becaufe the failors were, like him incredu- lous, and would not credit ought but ocular dernotft ration. The {lory how when at laft he was reproached by fomc one for having done but what was eafy to perform, is an old tale, told likcwifc of Brunellefchi, who built the famous odagonal dome to the fuperb cathedral at Florence ; he bid his critics fet an egg upright, which, when they failed to do, he broke one end a little, and it ftood exceed- ing well. " Any one could have done this," faid the cavillers : " Then " why did you not do it ?" faid the archited. But we mud tell no more tales, true or falfe, concerning the adminiftration of Columbus, who found a feeble race of mortals, whom he carcfled and plundered, deferted and deceived, yet left his memory unftained by blood of inno- cents ; and fince the people he found would not labour, neither would he compel them. Thofe mutineers, indeed, who had refufed to pay him a juft and neceflary obedience, when left upon the iflands he dif- covered, claimed from the haplefs natives prompt fubmiffion ; en- forcing it with rigorous and undeferved pimifhments, till their fevcri- ties proved fatal to population, and the poor colony was emptied of in- habitants ; of which a fupply fcnt from out Spanifh prifons contri- buted to its complete corruption; till, worked by Guinea blacks bought from the coaft of Africa, and peopled with exiled malefadors, every vile vice of every continent fwarmed into life in the new-found Weft Indies, like the mufquitoes on their fhore, innumerable, un- tameable, and only to be endured by being cafed in leather, and ren- dered infenjible to their annoyance. But birds and infecfts onlyfhowed themfelves vigorous upon this hemifphere as in the call ; all quadru- peds CH. in.] FHOiM A.D. 1492 TO THE YEAR 1525. 59 pcds appeared oddly degenerate, and none had been obferved yet in a ■domeftic Itate, unlefs a fmall dog (more mute ftill than his mailers) might be deemed fuch. The human creatures too were foft, but cold ; and very little willing to be talked with. Soon therefore did their va- -cant eye, their Uftlefs inaftivity, difguft the rougher Europeans, who thought more highly of the negroes than of them ; and who with un- feeling barbarity encouraged the wool-heads, as they called them, to •perfecute the natives of the land, and drive them to difplay their folc •perfedion — a power of fwimming inherent in them all, and Ikill of taking aim whilft in the water, diving directly as the arrow reached its mark. Had they gone northwards in difcovery, and reached the ■wandering tribes of Canada, they would have fccn men much more like themlclvcs, whofc bold ferocity was yet maintained like their's, by private wars, which even yet fubfift in favage nations, and had not been long ended on our fide the water, when firft the fixtecnth century began. Great chiefs among us had indeed, in later days, been called great nobles ; crufading and chivalry had much refined their manners, and Chriftianity taught leflbns, which they learned with difficulty ; but foon as a new world opened itfclf to their inordinate defircs, they fell upon it like untaught children on a toy-fhop — tafting, and breaking, and knocking all in pieces. Robertfon and Raynal, who love the dig- nity of human nature, may juftly fliudder, but not wonder at this fury ; Although their reading has been clafllcal and elegant, while time and diftance, ftudy and fchobrfhip combine to dijiance, not approximate fuch fccncry. I have fomcwhcrc read the praifes of our poet Mr. Pope, for reading bad books as well as good ones ; and, in truth, w ere it not for fuch a glance of RelrofpeCi as this now and then, we fhould all be apt enough to forget what our anceftors had done, amid the multitude of things wc have ourfclvcs to do. It does prcfent fads truncated in- deed, and ftrangcly mutibtcd before a reader's eye ; but feeing them clofcr wc compare them caficr ; and ftript of all thofe rays which a well written hillor)' throws round them, wc judge their bulk, perhaps, PI 2 with 6o THE DISCOVERIES, &c. [gh. m. with fewer hindrances. What would philofophcrs and critics have ? They muft return back to their Bibles after all. We learn from thence, that fenfuality, the firft vice, was followed by cruelty, the fecond crime upon record. Freih ground broken up ftiowcd the fame weeds : lu- bricity led on to murder, while blood flowed without controul from confcience, when law was left on t'other fide the Atlantic. Yet tribes of Americans were ftared at with amazement, bccaufc they were all alike : no lame, no deformed, no blind or deaf were feen. Their forefts might have equally aftoniflicd thcfe obfervers ; for flunted trees and brufli-wood live not there. In animal as in vegetable life the ftrong outgrows the weak, and drives it down. No nurture was beftowed where labour was confidercd as calamity. Population is fought for only among the rich, who look upon a numerous brood of children as fclf multiplied into fo many more mouths, opened in happy time to fcize their portion of life's large plumb-cake, in which, wafp like, they lay their eggs, and grieve (rationally enough) if all do not come to ma- turity. But poverty fufpcnds parental tendernefs : the Indian man dafhes his little boy's brains out, when the fea eggs he has been diving for all day are by the baby's carcjcflhefs broken or loft.* The woman, fearful of hunger to her offspring, and of blows deftined for herfelf fhould ihey be famlflicd, refolves like Eve, in Milton, after the curfe, deJiruSiioii with deJiruStion to deJiroy.-\ Such is the moral fenfe ! fuch human virtue, when hoping no reward beyond the grave : fuch too is life, unfweetcned by a certainty of better ! A cloud of witnefles have been, however, collcclcd by Mr. Gray,;J: proving that the aborigines of South America had fomc traditionary knowledge of the Flood, the pre- fervation of a fmgle family, &c. ; and if the Mexicans did indeed tinge the thrcfhold with blood of a flain animal, as has been faid, one might be led to think they had fome notion of an expiatory facrifice, typical of Jefus Chrift.§ Be this as it may, Hcrnan Cortcz ftaid not to fee * See Byron's Voyage, page 103. t Paradife Loft, Eve's fpeech, book 10th. \ Gray's Key, page 85. § See Robertfon for the fait. or CH. HI.] FROM A. D. 1492 TO THE YEAR 1525. (ii or think : they were not Cathohcs, and that fufficed. It was the year 15 19 when Montezuma's empire was dcfcried ; and that bold chief, with but fix hundred men, fet forward with intention to con- fume it, and fucceeded. The Spaniards had a mean opinion of Indian powers, 'tis phiin, and the unwarlike natives foon confirmed it ; when although fkilled to count, divide the year into twelve moons, three hundred and fjxty-five days, &c. they had not fenfe to furround thcfe invaders, and annihilate them. Their fovercign commanded thirty vaflals, each of whom fumiflicd him a hundred thoufand men, armed with good bows and arrows ; but fo terrified at the flrange fight of horfes trained to battle, (hips pregnant with what they thought thunder ; ftrange wooden caftles wafted by the winds, and breathing fire even in the midft of an element feemingly ordained by nature to have quenched it ; that fubdued chiefly by their own imaginations, they felt inclined to worlhip as invincible, a race of mortals fupcrior to thcmfclves, chiefly perhaps from familiarity with objeds new to them and juftly formidable. Firft among thefe the European arms, fharpencd by keen rapacity to feizc and plunder all thofe glittering treafurcs, which far too ill defended, left expofed to every grief and woe their weak poflcflbrs, who loft them before confcious of their value. Now temples, palaces, and fliops, exhibiting all that defire could wifli, or power enjoy, were plundered without pity by the Spaniards ; while the great Kmperor's dwelling, creded upon columns of pure jafper, and brilliant with ornaments of unalloyed gold from the mine, lured on our little army of true Vandals, who facked poorunrefifting Mexico, juft as their cruel anccftors had ravaged imperial Rome. Deftin'd to drive th' ex- iting world before 'cm, they then had overwhelmed by dint of num- bers, a nation old in arms, in arts renowned ; they now, in a fmall troop firm fixed, compadl, immoveable, drove unoppofing multitudes along, and fcattercd them to atoms as they flew : fcizing the mo- narch's fclf at laft, and carrying him about, not merely as a triumph, but a uieful prifoncT, whofc bufincfs it was made to tame his people, and 62 THE DISCOVERIES, &c. [ch. m. and teach tbcm calm fubmiffion to their conquerors. A wretched holtagc in the European camp, did any of his own fubjeAs feel for his fituation, and breathe even diftant intention of his refcuc, Cortez brought Montezuma forth diredly, and forced him to harangue the Jcnfelefs crowd : were any alarms fomented in the city, poor Monte- zuma infliaiitly appeared to pacify by influence of his foes thofe friends whioh ftill were left him. The Emperor's voice yet huflied their hard fufpicions into peace, and the /ouis X!. by will, and Ferdinand, who pofTrfTed and was determined to keep it, even died of haflc to meet his antagonill in the field. Alphonfo wjis the natural fucceiror; and he wifely conceived that the near way tf fccuring his feat, was fending rich prcfcnts to Vot. II. K cardinal 7 A TURKS, ITALIANS, FRENCH AND ENGLISH, [ch. iv. cardinal Valentine, fuch the Pope's fon had wifhed to become ; and through his means,* (which with his father were all-powerful) fccure the Romifli fee. Charles meantime, not fo repulfed, ruflied forward — he, like the foldier in Horace, zouam perdid'tt ; bad luck at gaming had impelled him forth, and till his loflcs were repaired, returning was dif- graccful : as this young champion for virtue (fo he ftyled himfelf) poured down the Alps a torrent rapid though not deep ; he publifhed Alexander's crimes aloud, declared that fuch a fovereign ought to be depofed, while Naples faw no fewer than five kings reign over peace- ably-inclined Partbenope in only two years time. Ferdinand and his fon Alphonfo, and his fon Ferdinand, and Charles of France, who with fix thoufand two hundred Frenchmen, drove thirty thoufand timorous Ita- lians before them panic ftruck — and when he died, Frederick the brother of Alphonfo reigned. Meanwhile their fifter was wedded to prince Squillace, third fon of the pontiff, whofe parental fondnefs, although exceffive, not being divided to their liking between the duke of Candia and cardinal Valentine, the firfl and fecond of his children by Vanozia, they quarrelled, hated, and the body of Francis was fifhed out of the Tyber, where it was fuppofed the implacable Caefar had beflowed it, to the agonizing affli(5lion of his Holinefs, who did not however in the Icafl withdraw his fondnefs from the brother: and lie was fent to crown king Frederick at Capua, becaufe Naples was dcfblated by a new peflilence, faid to have been brought from the new regions difcovered in America, of which Alexander made the line of demarcation, beflow- ing them in what proportion he thought fit ; a pope's bull being in thofe days what a charter to a trading company has bf en in ours, only of more refpeenly fo acknowledged. Aut Cafar, aut nulliis, was the duke's leggenda, and when fome Italian league was formed againft him, he fought with the courage of his name-fake, and lofmg not a fingle foldier, recovered half a dozen towns they had feized on. It was indeed for fomething more folid than mere fame, when this young warrior took tlie field for battle. His family cared not for the world's good word ; and 'twas in fliameleflhefs much more than in mere vice, that Roderico himfelf furpafled his predcceflbrs. He and his favourite fon, duke Valentine, were riding together round the environs of Rome one day, and faw a gallows pulling down — a ftatue fetting up in the fame ftrect or road. " Let us at leaft, my " fon," faid he, " have more fcnfe than to court popularity : thou •' fccft how clofcly to each other refide the favour and difgrace of " mankind." Vtdcs mi Jili, quam leve difr.rmen pat'thidam hitcr ctjla- titam. In effect they followed up their own opinions pretty rcfolutcly ; lived much together : the fame their ftudics, and their tulles the fame : both loving wit, and wine, and women, and belles Icttres. The Pope's eloquence in particular was deemed irrcfiftible ; his manners fcducing ; and for voluptuous fcencs of convivial gaiety, unpolluted by drunkcnncfs, the court of Commodus alone could, have exceeded theirs. Cardinal Cometo, however, would not flatter them, nor be prevailed on to approve fuch profligacy. He was invited thercl'orc to a grarje fupper, and the fatal cup was already prepared at the apart- ments of duke Valentine : but Alexander coming hot and weary from a walk Ijeforc his time, feeing it on the fidc-board temptingl\ tool, K 3 iinitcd 76 TURKS, ITALIANS, FRENCH AND ENGLISH, [ch. it. invited his Ton to pledge him, and they drank, till the terrified and confidential butler burlting in, fnatched it from Czefar's hand. The company was fcarce arrived, before both were feized with intolerable pangs, from which the fon flowly, and in the courfe of many months and even years imperfectly recovered : but the father outlived not the night, and liis fucceflbr Pius tcrtius died in Icfs than a month. Ju- lius II. who fuccecded him, was nephew to Scxtus quartus, and like his uncle, of a warlike difpofition. His quarrel with the Venetians and the French ; his heading his troops in perfon, and animating them to bc- fiege a town defended by the warlike countefs de Mirandola, evinces the ftatc of fociety even in thofe days — when Raphael painted, and when Vida fung. Guicciardini's hiftory indeed, where all thcfe fads are detailed, prove the odd ncglcd of that which we now call decorum, while ladies and popes contended in the field for maftery, and the powers of Europe were compelled to declare Julius fufpended from his dignities as an incendiary, and difturber of public peace. He meanwhile fct his foes at defiance, buckled on his armour, and faw men fall befide him in the battle, as the firft Roman Julius would have done. That fo turbulent and adlive, fo valiant and decided a charac- ter fliould be ftruck with a creeping palfy, and die at laft of a lethargic difordcr, half grieves one ; although 'tis fure that nothing Icfs would have tamed him, or made way for elegance and literature combined in the perfon of their celebrated patron, Leo the tenth, fon to Lo- renzo di Medici. It was Alexander VI. however, who drew the line of feparation for Spain and Portugal in South America, and it was Julius II. who firft fet out a bull for indulgencies, avowedly to gain by that means contributions towards the magnificent ftrudure of St. Peter's church ; a fabrick which went forward rapidly under his fuc- ceflbr's reign, as did every fine art and every fcience — each rational fource of delight being opened by this pontiff, who taught the love of inteUe£}ual pleafures, and fbowed mankind the" difference between luxury and debauch. Refinement was indeed growing a fort of necef- fary. cH.iv.] FROM A.D. 1492 TO THE YEAR 1525. 77 fary, fince life had taken fomewhat a new colour ; and though the old leaven was not yet quite worked out, it no longer warranted that grofs fenfuality which fliocked men lefs, in lefs enlightened times. On Leo's highly poliflicd Ibul no vulgar ftain would Itick : although his enemies, who had notliing to urge againft his converfations with women at Icaji, I'ound out that he fpcnt too much time in loitering amongy&OTtf favourite animals, horfcs and dogs. They took him not off from other occupations, however. He called Michael Angelo's afTiftance to the vaft edifice his predcceflbr had begun, and provided for the expencc by lils mode, of letting indulgcncies to public liilc. It was on that occafion Martin Luther, with lefs delicacy of taftc than ardour for reformation, railed the firrt clamour which fubfidcd no more, againft the power and tyranny of the popedom. Leo, who hadi been cardinal ever fmce he could remember, being made fo at thirteen years old, confcfled his being better fkilled in any ftudy than divinity, and laughing faid, that he would rather ilfue out a bull againrt thofc who found fault with Ariofto's verfes, than againfl thofe who objedcd to his government. Being dilpofed however, to maintain the prero- gatives which at his acccflion he found fubfifling in the fee, without fuffcring them to be diminiihed, after trying gentle means without cffcd, he felt himfclf called upon by his own dignity rather than any conviction in his mind, to excommunicate this rough reformer, and compliment our Henry the eighth of England, who wrote a book againft thele new opinions. Such was the lamented fovereign of Rome, where he renewed the Auguftan age ahnoft, patronizing mu- ficians who from his hand received all double pay, whiltl his true friendlhip for Lafcaris, and correfpondcnce with the accomphflicd I'ic dc Mirandola, contributed to embalm his fame for evermore ; as their illuftrious names, like fprigs of afphodel in antique burying grounds, fupply with clairic nourifliment the manes of pope Leo. His retort on Francis the firll muft be noted before we quite difmifs him to their care ; — That king upon a vifit at Bologna, obfcrvant of the 78 TURKS, ITALIANS, FRENCH AND ENGLISH, [ch.iv. the pomp in which Lorenzo's fon came out to meet him, faid, " the •' old bifliops did not travel in this flate, as no one knows better than " your Holinefs." — ''What ! when the kings of the earth kept Iheep?" was the reply. "No, no; I mean really under thegofpel." — "Oh," (aid the Pontiff, " ay, in days when the French fovereign was a faint, " vifited the hofpitals at home, and battled the Turk abroad, (alluding " to St. Louis) 'tis true indeed; times are much changed fmcc then." But it was obferved by many of his contemporaries, that Leo was the firft wit of the age, and protefted petty wits 'midft whom he Ihone — a fun among the planets. Thefe events bring our retrofpeSlrve eye forwards and fix on France, which claims an ample fhare of our attention, fmce Charles furnamed the Affable and Courteous, who ran through Italy, was crowned at Naples, bullied pope Alexander and then made up with him, marrying young Borgia to his favourite niece : having at length loft men and money to a vaft amount ; fate down to end the world as he began it, at a private gaming table, in which fmall circle all his true pleafures were concentred ; leaving Je grand confeil to ereon the waves, and propofcd princcfs Mary, not fixtetn years old, as a paciBcr to the anger more llowly excited in Louis XII. at fifty-four, and eamefl for a fon. This plan fuccecdcd ; Mary's imwilling hand was put into his withered one ; but finding heifclf a widow in thicc months time, that lady 88 TUKKS, ITALIANS, FRENCH AND ENGLISH. [en. iv. lady felt the power heaven had beftowcd on her of fulfilling an engage- much more to her tafte, with Charles Brandon, the gallant youth, af- terwards duke of Suffolk. This dame feems to have poiTeffed the fame rough fpirit of independence with her brother, whofe approbation fhe fet at nought ; bidding her deftincd hufband keep his word, and wed her inftantly, without regard to manners or decorum, or fhe would take monaftic vows dire6lly, and quit the world at once. Her lover, after four days confideration, ('twas all flie would allow him) braved the ftorm ; and in defiance both of France and England the nuptials were folemnized, and the verfes came in play : Cloth of gold do notdefpife, Tho' thou be join'd to cloth of frize ; Cloth of frize be not too bold, Tho' thou be join'd»to cloth of gold. Henry foon learned to love and to exalt fuch firmnefs and fuch gal- lantry ; and in his will preferred the duchefs of Suffolk (fo fhe was al- ways called) to her eldefl iifler the queen of Scots. French records, however, fcruple the rcgiflering this lady as fharing a crown and title flie was fo hafly to be rid of. An attachment fo repugnant to the old ariflocratic modes of life was a frcfli proof that they were lofmg ground. It took firfl root, 'tis faid, at the grand Ihows exhibited for the mar- fiage of Arthur with Catharine of Arragon, where Brandon, then a boy, performed fome feat in honour of the princely baby, whom he called his royal miflrefs, and who ever after fly led him her knight and fervant. When we refleofed this rcfolution with an carncftnefs apparently hereditary in the family. Their fon fliut himfelf up awhile, notwithftanding their im- potent, though pertinacious oppofition ; and having read the works of John Hufs during his confinement, a ftrangc convidiion darted acrols his mind, that he was the white fwan foretold by that extraordinary pcrfon while burning in the flames at Conftancc : his name and his complexion foon rcfleded on, confirmed the bold idea ; and hearing how Pope I>eo had proclaimed a fale of indulgcncies for building St. Peter's church, he furc enough began to mount, and from the attack made on the grofs abufe of thofe indulgcncies, he foon fell hard upon the indulgcncies themfclves. The Pontiff fent a fubtlc favourite, Gactano by name, to treat with this trcmciidcnis enemy, or if he found that difficult, to ftcal him away privately, and by fccrcting his pcrfon, hinder the publication of his doctrines. This was a project perfectly adapted to Ivco's difj)ofition, who hated a buftlc about what he took no intercft in, except as it affcded his very exiftencc, and that of a church he would perhaps have flown from in this approaching migration, had not he been held down to it by the tiara, Laither meanwhile, took mea- furcs for his perfonal fafety, and difrcgarding his own appeal from pope; ill-lnformed to p)pcs well-informed, fell upon the groundlcfs prctcnfioiir- of the Romifli fee to any fupcriority over their Chriftian brethren ; and M 2 by (j1 POPES AND THE OTHER [cm. r. by that ftcp, much more than any offence to the dv)gma, got himfclf excommunicated. HoftiUties were now begun, Zuinglius affifted the ^\ork of reformation, and Jtoed away the weeds which Martin was be- ginning to pull.. The bull for anathematizing thefc cafuifts was burnt in many parts of Germany, a new phenomenon : and though much may be attributed to rehgious fury, much political zeal certainly ac- companied the ceremony. Mankind had long rejected the rule of one man over the ftatc ; that ojte man fliould not for many years more be permitted to rule the church, appeared a fentence clearly written now upon the walls of the Vatican, and in large charafters too ; but in a language the all-accomplifhed fon of Lorenzo de Medici could not read. Things went fo much to his mirtd notwithflanding the appearance of thefe new and formidable foes, that he even died of hafle to enjoy what he believed one confequencc of their raflinefs, his own llrid TUiion with Charles XII. the recovery of Parma, Placentia, and Cre- mona from the French king : but partial counfcls ruin the integral intereft of every whole. Leo's earneflncfs by leaguing with the Em- peror, to keep, as he called them, the Gauls out of his peninfula, proved a hard blow upon the general power of papacy, which his fuc- ceiTor Adrian's honcfiy, piety, and candour, fcarcely wiflicd to maintain in its lately aflumed fplendour. He openly confcflcd that grofs crimes and fmful follies had brought difgrace upon the parent church, which had provoked cenfurc from man, he faid, and punifhment from God : but inftead of reforming thefe acknowledged abufes, Adrian fet about reforming that individual of his whole ftate, who alone needed no change, and could admit of no improvement ; I mean himfelf. So humble, fo decent, fo retired were the manners of this pious Chriflian after elevation, that Rome began to complain, and defpifmg fuch conduifl, lamented aloud that their apofiolic palace was become a haimtcd Jioiife. The people murmured too at feeing a foreign fovereign in the chair, and hated to be governed by the fon of a brewer or weaver, I forget which, at Utrecht. They openly regretted their Medicean CH.v.] EUROPEAN PRINCES. TO A. D. 1350. 93 Medlccan pope, and the fumptuous entertainments where Attic ele- gance, not Spartan frugality, prefidcd. The poets not carefled, ven- tured their fpleen in epigrams, whofe flings afFcded not Adrian : the workmen unemployed begged charity ; but though always relicycd, never were contented. Times prefled far harder upon them, they faid, than under the pontificate of Alexander, who encouraged all artifi- cers, or that of Julius, whofe foldicrs never waited for their pay ; and it had been a maxim of the Borgia family, that what was taken by confifcation from the great fliould be expended among the little. It was thus that Retrojpecliofi faw Rome's pagan empire in its de- cline, dctcfting Pertinax, and maflacring the virtuous Syrian, young Scverus, while her metropolis, as in the year 1520, was of herfclf ripening to ruin, and the good fovereigns were once again lefs wel- come to corrupted fubjcds than the bad ones. Adrian however, re- folving to love as a friend him whom he had once fcrved as a maftcr, and tutored as a boy, turned all his worldly thoughts, and thofc were few, on his favourite child Charles V, and figned a lading league with him and England. Then having made only one cardinal, and fcnt awav all his own poor relations with each of them one piece of gold and one new fuit of clothes, into their own country, he ordered him- fclf a plain tomb ; and for God's fake, faid he, no Terentian epitaph— and died — never changing the name of his baptifm : his honeft pane- gyrift, Eikcnwort, however, added a word or two importing tliat piety died with him. The populace rejoiced when fuch a reign was over, and the ncglcded wits wrote on the door of his phyfician who killed him by mifmanagcmcnt — ^Thou art the deliverer of thy country. It is obfcrvablc that this Pope, although himfelf a profound fcholar, ufcd frequently to fay, Cave i gracls ne fiat hcretkusx he knew what he was iaying. There were fchools of impiety in France then, fct up in 1501, maintaining what wc now call Spinozifm, from a much more modem heretic. They ufcd Greek names in thcfc fchools, and faid God was the T» w»>, or the univcrfc. Bayle and Pope, and many of our wits, have pi POPES AND THE OTHER [ch. v. have licked their Jips after this feducing herefy — this halh of the old Ariftotelian philofophy; for what elfe is it ? Infinite matter endued with infinite power of cogitation. When modern fceptics fettle fome creed, it commonly ends there. Luther's fulminations againft Arif- totle were greatly excited by the idea of this error gaining ground in his time, and Adrian was contented enough that he fliould go on : but that peaceful fpirit departed from this mad world, and Clement VII. fon to Giulio di Medici, he who was killed in the Congiurazlonc de' Fazzi, fucceeded, with every one's good will, being firlt coufin ta Leo, if blood alone fuffices to warrant fuch an appellation ; — nor were baftards now kept out of the church as formerly : this primate's fuc- ccffor, Paulo Farncfc, did jeftingly excufe himfclf from creating one old acquaintance cardinal : — " becaufe you know now," faid he, " and ** have often owned to me, that your parents were never married — " to one another at leaft." " Well, well, Santita," replies the droll Florentine, " you have raifcd fo many affes to the dignity, you may as " well mount up one mule." Meanwhile, and before his time, Eraf- mus travelled Europe over almoft, and where he found the feeds of reformation fown, was careful not to trample them. Luther and Zuinglius went \ igoroufly forward, one with the plough the other with the harrow. Many wife men approved and fome admired at thofe wholcfome feverities with which things long held facred were now deftroyed, and at the beft thrown by — for ufelefs incum- brances and empty rubbifh. Frederick, the fage and dlfmtercftcd Elec- tor of Saxony, whofe refufal of the empire, offered to him when Charles V. was eledcd, proved his philofophy not merely nominal, was of this number ; he had eftablifhed a univcrfity at Wittenburgh, where Martin ftudied and taught, and where the Auguftine friars had with his connivance for fome time now publicly adminiftered the cup to the laity. Refufal of this privilege, and celibacy of the clergy, fcem to have been the out-pofts of popery, which they therai'elves, hard preffed, pretend not to defend by fcriptural authority. Thefc GH. v.] EUROPEAN PRINCES. TOA. D. 1550. Qr> once driven in, points ftill more eflential, more momentous, fell to the conquerors ; and luch is the value, fuch the utility, and fuch the lalting comforts of the concjucfl, that 'tis painful to review the wea- pons ufcd to win it. Robertlbn's gentle fpirit is Icfs lliocked at the indecorous language of thefe early reformers, than one fliould expe6l, when the coarfc raillery and rude infulting triumph of good fenfe and virtuous intents over Roman vice and Roman perfidy come under Re- trofpedilon. But as our amiable hiftorian obfcrxes, meafures lefs harfli would not perhaps ha\ c anfwcred ; nor did his contemporary mita- gonifts feci half as much hurt by Luther's cruel and hitter inveclives againft papacy, as we his profeflcdyc/Z/otcvrj feel on this very day, when candour, the cold monitor of preftnt times, has frozen us all into one fmooth, but flippery and fuperficial uniformity, fliowing nothing in a light wholly unfavourable, except exccfles confequent on zeal and fer- vour, the qualities moll oppofite to her own. One cannot indeed at this diftance of time cafily difcem how it fliould advance the caufe of our meek religion to call the pope in plain terms an afs, a pimp, a thief, a ravifher ; or to oblcrve how pleafant a fight it would be to be- hold him and all his cardinals dangling from one tree like the feals on his own bull : but we may reafonably admire the courage of fo ftarlefs an opponent to the folly of a whole world, which was at this dillant time willing to decorate Paul the third with titles more like thofe of a Perfian monarch than of a Chriftian bllhop — H'lghejl under Hcavcu, God upon Earili, &c. from the impiety of which we now recoil with korror, as from the indecent revilings we have juft read, our ears turn away with difguft. Beiides that Pic dc Mirandola recommended the oil of fcorpions and tongues of afps as powerful medicine for the plagxic about the period wc arc now reviewing, and fent it, as I have fomc- whcrc read, to Ermolaus, requefting him to regard it as fpccific : on fuch principle perhaps, might our afliduous reformer apply his draftic remedies to that hot plethora, which tumefied ccclefiaftick pride till it fwcUcd up to meet th' incifion knife. This Zuinglius delighted to carry ; 96 POPES AND THE OTHER [ch. v. carry ; and with an impetuous fury, difdaining controverfial railings, fell upon fuch of the Swifs Cantons as oppofed his new opinions firfl promulgated at Zurich, where he was curate, and begun breaking of images, overturning altars, &c. till meeting with armed force to re- fifl him, he drew up his adherents and gave battle to the Romanifts, who cut them all to pieces, their furious paftor fighting at their head. The flame was kindled however, and the fire went out no more. On tenets Icfs intrepid than thofc of this laft named cafuiffc, John Calvin afterwards feems to have formed his doArinc, which has fpread w ider than ftrid: Lutheranifm ever ran, and cut far deeper too — nearer the facrcd roots of that old tree whence Martin only lopped fupcrfluous branches, that drained all moifture from the parent ftem. But as touched iron lifts a larger weight than will the magnet from whofc power 'tis drawn, Zuinglius difcovercd that the real prcfence abided not at all in thofe chofcn elements which he urged reprefcnted merely our Saviour's body and blood. Luther, Icfs daring, wifely contented himfclf to be orthodox in the original and long acknowledged fcnfc of orthodoxy, holding firm for the venerated tenet rowfubftantialifm, re- jedcd by Rome only to give additional power to her priefts, when //v//^fubftantiation was firft brought up in the Latcran Council by In- nocent III. about the year 1215. What time the artlcfs Albigcois were maflacrcd, whofc blood now cried againll: the fanguinary city, and was likely to be feverely though tardily revenged ; for Charles V. himfelf would probably have liftened, as did Frederick, to opinions {o favourable for a deprefTion of the papal power, but that Leo was nc- ccfTary to him, and good Adrian chanced to be his natural and well dcferving friend : bcfides that Francis his accomplifhcd rival was to be kept out of Italy at any rate. Truth is, that celebrated fovereign's character was almoft a complete contraft to the Emperor's. His ill- placed eflccm of a mother fo vindi<5tive as Louife de Savoye, led him into errors it grew difficult to cure, and hindered him from feeing that her hatred of Ic Due dc Bourbon was mere refentmcnt for ncglcdcd love. CH.v.] El'ROPEAN PRINCES. TO A. D. 1550. 97 love. That great man meanwhile, though conilablc of France and clofely aUied to the throne, aiir;''l. joo rOPES AND THE OTHER [ch. v. purg, Augfbourg, by ftubborn and rcfiftlefs arguments. It had been a cidlom in the clmrch for fovcrcigns when they had children born, and even perfons of inferior rank, if of great notoriety, to requeft a corpo- rate body to ftand godfather. Thus Juftel boafted our univerfity of Oxford as his fponfor, and the Grand Conflable Montmorency chiimed the city of Paris. Francis poflcfTed with this idea, thought it a good notion to coax the Swifs repubhck when one of his fons was confirmed, to lend a new name ; nor did they refufe the office, but infifting the child fliould be called Shadrach, Mejhech and Ahcdnego, the king drew back, fays Ancillon, who tells the ftory ; and the young prince died foon after, fo that no quarrel or other confequence befell. A marriage between our Princefs Mary of England and the due d'Orleans now was talked of, becaufe the King of France hating Eleanora, refolved to keep feparate from her ; and when her brother Charles V. remonftrated, fent him a fort oi defiance, to which Henry of England, one fees not why, acceded. The Emperor was not of a temper to endure fuch treatment ; he anfwered our king with fome degree of refpedl, but bid the herald tell Francis he did not behave like a gentleman. That warm-headed monarch gave him the lie di- redl ; a challenge followed, and a duel muft neceffarily have enfued, without the interpofition of two females. Marguerite* de Savoye, aunt to the Emperor, and Louifa, mother to the French King, who never failed to follow her counfels while flie lived to beftow them. Thefe ladies obliged the fovcreigns to fign the memorable treaty of Cambray, made under their direction, A. D. 1528, which ruined the republick of Venice, but proved favourable in the end to Charles V., who infifted that the heirs of his old ally the Bourbon fhould be re-inflated in their father's rights, a fentiment of honour and gratitude no party could fail to approve. Meanwhile things were going on as ill for the Pope in * Margaret of Auftria was duchefs dowager of Savoy, and had attrafted Henry the fevcnth's notice of England ; Ihe was capitulating though with diflikc enough, when the intended bridegroom died. England CH. v.] EUROPEAN PRIXCFS. TO A. D. 1550. loi England as upon the Continent. He had been himfclf when Giulio di Medici, appointed bi'.hop of" Worccftcr in our Ifland, where he had indeed never refidcd, WoUcy having always adlcd lor him, but whence he expedcd lbmev\ hat of peculiar tenderncfs and veneration from hav- ing held a dioccfe. Henry's book againft Luther, for that reafon, foothed and confolcd his anxieties av\hile, and the title oi Defenfor Fidei, which the King received in confequence, Clement confidcred as fufficient compenfation. A far deeper indulgence however, was required, — Catherine of Arragon, fifteen }cars queen of England, or little lefs, was now grown fat and unpleafing in her perfon, and what was nearer ftill to his heart perhaps, Ihc had brought her hufband no fon. Of luch a wife feven v ears older than himfclf, and to whom he was wedded in his childhood, many a man has been weary who loudly and juflly condemns Harry the eighth ; and Harry the eighth was the more wear}', bccaufc he had fet his affcclions on her maid, the ac- complifiicd Anna Bolcyn. A thoufand circumftances combined to part them : it was a moment in which the Pontiff, humbled by Charles V. was likely enough to grant a dilpcnfation againft that Emperor's aunt, and many a dlfpenfation had been granted by Rome with fewer rcafons for fcruple, and fewer excitements to rc\cngc ; our quondam Bifhop had given hopes that the divorce might be obtained while he himfelf was prifoncr to the Queen's nephew; but cafe will recant vows made in pain as violent or void ; and when the Pope had once obtained his liberty and felt himfclf fixed in his chair again, he found his own fcruples to the dlfpenfation as powerful as Henry's I'cruples againft cohabitation any longer with a princcfs who had been openly married to his elder brother fomc twenty years before. The queen, old Catherine however, had //r> i'cruples ; f he felt little incli- nation to rclinquifh her throne and huft>and to her woman, exchange her ftate and dignity for private life, and baftardlze her only child, foie heir to England's crown. Although -.vijoiv to young Artliur, ftic folcmnly protcfted (he had been uifc only to Henry, fhe therefore in- tcrcftcd her fiftcr Joanna's fon ftrongly in her favour, and Charles was 102 POPES AND THE OTHER [ch. v. was a powerful intcrceflbr ; had not an amorous paflion prompted the uncontrollable temper of Henry to overleap all bounds ; and by marrying a Lutheran lady, conneA that Emperor ftill more ftrongly with the Pontiff, who Icfs attached even to Rome than to his dear and native Florence, forgot the offences offered to his pcrfon, and purchafed, by difobliging England, a temporary protedion for the Mcdiccan houfe, againil whofc long ufurpation, if fuch it may be called, the Tufcans were beginning to rebel. Thus did each fecret operation of each bufy mind concerned in thefe tranfadions, tend towards tor- warding the work of reformation. It was exceedingly wanted. Don Jorge di Athcca, chaplain to Catherine of Arragon, was made bilhop of Llandaff, and rcfidcd, but the people complained that he under- ilood neither Englilh nor Welfli : he was a Dominican. John Bird of Bangor was a Carmelite, to him I think fucceedcd Arthur Bulkclcy dodor of laws, who as the old books tell, J^oyled tlie bifiopnque : and even fold the live bells from the cathedral. The people cried and clamoured : Nay, quoth he, 1 will c\cn/ce them fliipt away for fale : he did fo, fays Godwin, and fome fand blowing into his eyes with the wind, brought on an inflammation, and his fight was loft for ever. We were unlucky about that time in Wales, and fadly treated by our fpiritual lords. Parfew, a man from Bermondfcy, late Barnaby- ftreet, Southwark, was bifliop of St. Afaph, and fo proud, fo oftcnta- tious and oppreffive was his condud, that nothing fufficed the ex- pcnces of his table, and he leafed out the lands on biflaop's lea(e, a not uncommon tenure now, but I believe he fet the firft example. Abufcs which fcrved to bring forward our prefent happy eftabliflimcnt how- ever, Ihould be but little lamented, many of the King's crimes and niany of his follies have been I hope atoned by his permiffion of the liiblc, printed in vulgar tongue. * Our Lord's word known to all, his * It was t!ic way ihtn for prelates to prefent the fovercign with a new year's gift. Hugh Latimer, bilhop of W'onelier, gave Menry a \cw 'I'eftament, beautifully il- luiuinated and wrapt in a eiirious eover, and with tliefc dangerous words embroidered on it: Foniicatoics et JJulteioi juJicabit Domifws. Yet he lived to be burned by Mary. CH. v.] EUROPEAN PRINCES. TO A. D. 1 55a. 103 blood bcftowed on all, were fuch advantages, that though one wiflics they had been procured to us by better means, and that the will to grant them had been bom of motives much mere purified than his were ; yet let us thankfully rejoice in our poflefllon of what his care has purchafed for us, 'fpite of his favourite Wolfey, the grand obftacle. He was however puflied afidc by paffion, after having enjoyed a con- fidence few minifters were ever honoured with, a degree of opulence and fplendour which half frighted the beholders, and 'twas not eafy to amaze England in thofc days with ecclefiaftical pomp. Weft, bifhop of Ely, kept a hundred menial fervartts in livery, and Ruthal of Durham, prcdccefTor to the Cardinal, died of grief, becaufc when the King fcnt for a book that he had care of, he by miftake fcnt his Majefty another manufcript bound like it, with inventories of his own plate, jewels, lands, &:c. to an immcnfe amount. It grew indeed fomewhat dangerous here as in Turkey to be too rich, while governed by fuch a fovercign, whom nevcrthclcfs Wolfey prefuming on certainty of favour, poftponed to himfelf 'tis faid, in a letter to one of his con- temporary pontiffs, Valcfius obfcn-es fomewhere if the Popes put their names firft before the kings, it will give courage to a cardinal perhaps, and lu may do fo, and being certainly fome king's fubje nation to demur was felt indeed towards granting oifupplies, the point ftill nearefl an Englilh heart, but Harry called Sir Edward Mon- tagu before him, and laying his broad hand upon his head, cried, Hoh, man ! will they not fuffer my bill to pafs, fay you ? Get my bufinefs done to-morrow — mark me : or this, fhaking him as he knelt, fhall an- fwer it. Such admonitions had their due clfcd:, yet did not a cen- tury pafs, before the kings head of the fame country JJiook and fell, under the ftill rougher gripe of a Houfe of Commons. Meantime his Majcfly and his people were wholly of a mind in driving out the intermediate power of the clergy, and keeping within our own ifland thofc fums which ufed annually to find their way to Rome, where Anne Boleyn's father carried the lafl mcffage from England, and re- fufed to kils the flipper. He was encouraged in his refufal. And now, after a variety of contefls and convocations where many lay- men, and not a few of princely rank, difplaycd a profundity of learn- ing that would be deemed pedantic even in profejfors of our day, it was in the year 1530 agreed, that a fct of articles fliould be drawn up, exprclfuig and particularizing the jufl caufes of feparation in what the Lutherans called ConfeJJto Aiigii/lana, from the town where all met together CH.T.] EUROPEAN PRINCES. TO A. D. 1550. 105 together under the Emperor's fandion. Thcfc articles were com- mitted to the lenient hand of fcmi-cclcftial Mclancthon for corredion, as all the Proteftants, and moll of the Papiib were willing to fubmit to his dccifion, whofc character for every virtue, every excellence, Hood fo hiiih among the difputants, that neither envy of friends (as they are called) or malice of foes, could ever fmd a flaw in it. A German prince eminent for his own abilities, had fent for him when but four- teen years of age, to inftruft his fon in the Greek language, and at fcventccn he gave public leSave me the hoy, I caft have wives enozv. He had beft reafon to fay fo, when Jane accepted his hand, reeking as we may call it with Anne Boleyn's blood, the very morning after her once loved form was flung negleded into an arrow cheft. Anne of Cleves, his next choice, pleafed him not on trial, and his capricious diflike of her renewed the differences between him and Charles, but that misfortune he CH. v.] EUROPEAN PRINCES. TO A. D. 1550. 107 he counted little on, and flic the happicft far of all his wives, accepted three thoufand pounds a-ycar from him, lived in good friendfliip with her fucceflbrs, and w as always treated by the king as a fifter ; while the unlucky objcds of w hat his Majelly called love, followed one an- other faft to the (hades below. It was now Catherine Howard's turn to attract his eye, as it feems (he had attracted many : and my compe- titors, tlie little table books,* who give commonly the trueft account of fuch matters, put /wr down for the firft female who ever ufcd p; f is in England. Be this as it may, the publick executioner had it foon in charge to unpin beauteous Catherine for the block ; thcfc whims though fatal to ambitious folly, were not, however, fo infupportable as the outrageous cruelties committed in this reign, under pretence of reli- gion. Three hclplefs anabaptifts, men ; and a woman of the fame pcrfuafion, were burned at Smithficid, becaufc they had faid that faith and repentance could not be predicated of infants, let the kingyTzy how he will. This was hcrefy ; and our new head of the church faw them confumcd. Lambart, a poor fchoolmafter, provoked his death by dcfiring to difpute with the king concerning the real prefcncc in the iacramcnt, unlike the man who refufcd to contend in philofbphy againd Adrian, A. D. 130, bccaufe the emperor had ten legions he faid, to oppofc to his ten arguments, Henry had the odd vanity to accept this challenge, and the inhumanity, after confuting his antago- nift, to bum him : the fchoolmafter, one of whofe favourite tenets was rcjcftion of faints' mediation, cried out from the flames : " None but " Chrift, nunc but Chrift," and expiring, Ixire teftimony to his true (aith in our common Redeemer, whofe blcft injunctions to love one • Thofc fame rcpofitories of knowledge tcJl liow damalk and provcncc rofcs were unknown till tliU reign, which likcwifc law many fruits imported wiiolly new to us, apricots among the reft. This may be fo; Kngiand had rcafon to remember >':h. however, fincc the days of Henry VI. , and that fatal walk taken in the Temple garden. It mir_ht indeed be from a hedge they plucked the rival flowers, but a* (Ijc place was a garden, 'tis not probable. O 2 unotlicr ]08 POPES AND THE OTHER [ch. v. another were never worfe obeyed than now. The brutality of this poor creature's puniiliment, who appears to have been what we now call a calvlnlll: ; the tortures ofAnne Allcew, a learned and fteady lutheran, who was racked till they were forced to carry her diflocated body in a chair to the ftake, and the decapitation of More and Fifher, Romanifts, mark the fanguinary temper of our ferocious fovereign, and ftain his charadler with indelible marks of impious rage, ill covered by religious zeal for creeds of his own compofmg; while the inconllant appetites to which fo many unhappy women were expofed, betray a depravity of morals well worthy his wavering notions of religion. We muft not however forget, that fuch difputations between king and fubjeds were by no means new in the world. Alexis Comnenus contended whole days with the Ma.nicheans at Phillipopolis, in the eleventh or twelfth cen- tury, and -condemned his fuccefslcfs antagonift to dreadful punilh- ments, though not to aftual and immediate death. But we return to England, where though the inftruments were faulty the great work ■went on ; the door of Chriftian knowledge now was opened, no more could people plead ignorance with regard to faith or duties, their in- veftigation was clofc, and truth gradually rifmg from the mifts of error, fprung upward to falute the fun of general illumination, while thofe who firfl had helped to dig her out, floundered themfelvcs in the fog of contending vapours. After his fixth marriage with Catherine Parr, Henry's keen appetite for argument feemed only equalled by that thirfl of blood which left him but with life, and that extindl in 154 7, faved the duke of Norfolk from an execution undcferved. The fubtle Queen finding her name on the dead lift by accident, turned the full tide of rage fhc could not ftop, and let it fgend itfelf on her pur- fuers. She outlived her tyrant and married again, having but little afFedion for his memory Francis the firft of France, deeply afFeded by his brother's death, fo he had always flyled Henry the eighth, faid he fhould not furvivc long, in efFed he died in three months after. 'Twas fuppofcd indeed, the vifit artful Charles had paid this prince, dazzled CH. v.] EUROPEAN PRINCES. TO A. D. 1550. 109 dazzled him firft of all, and then cajoled, but in the end preyed on his health, and laftly broke his heart ; when he perceived, though late, the trick put on him, by which he was obliged to reftore, however reluc- tantly, the Milanefe for ever. Another fovercign, the Famcfc Pope, who fucceeded Clement VII. died not long after thcfe, of grief and difappointment. He had ex- communicated Henry without etFedl ; he had tried to eflablifh the inquifition at Naples with very ill ctFeA ; he made a league with the Venetians againft Turkifti power, which proved abortive in a fhort time ; and tried to get a truce kept ten years between the Emperor and the King of France, which was broken in ten months : but neither the rapid advances made by Solyman the Magnificent, nor the fteady firm- nefs and folidity gained by the Reformation would have killed him, had not each foreign arrow been poifoned by domcftic diftrefs, each fhaft winged by his grandfon Odavio, whofe father, Paul's legitimate Ton bom in wedlock before he took holy orders, died at Placentia by affaf- fmation. That town loft, that fon killed, and thofe hopes of comfort which yet remained, being deftroyed by 0acious trumpet : Thev make me that I dare not truft thefe eyes. Dancing in nilfls, and dazzled witli lurprife. Dryden. Nor could the recipe of Sannazarius ftrengthen our fight, though vhcn Frederick king of Naples, in that poet's prefence, confulted phyficians for the purpofc, he obfcrved flirewdly, " Among us au- *' thors, Sir, envy is found of wondrous efficacy for making men " look Iharp, and fee fmall faults ; I know not what thefc learned •" gentlemen will find of ufc for kings." My readers and myfclf have little caufc fur cn\7 ; our favoured iiland flood not fo high among furrounding potentates tlven, as fhe docs this day: for though the prlnccflcs of' it read Plato, and Roger Afcham reproached the univerfity with the court maidens' fuperior erudition, Eliza Carter, and Comciia Knight, (brink not from the comparlfon ; nor did the learned ladies of that age leave us, as thofe of this day will leave our potteritj;, works of acknowledged merit as remembrancers. War- ton finds nothing but lady Juliana Bcrncrs' book upon hunting among the early works of Henry the eighth's reign, or little fooncr, which own a female hand ; but hunting, like literature, was confined to the }^randcei. Lord Grofvcnor takes his title, I believe, from the groi vmctir of Henry Vil. and as to learning fublimated by genius, all his flowers were caught by the uf^lnr ranks of life, as thofe oi' fulpliur per campatmm ; what flaid below was coarfc enough methinks, when in the year i.'J.^O a young man was obliged to promife faithfully that he would ftudy hard, artd learn to read not alone tlic Latin Teftament, • Adr. 'I'utnchus called Jofcph Scaligcr monflrum fin* viiio. We muft n(jt fay HI piffurM poefii however, for Godfrey bckalchcn make* pride one of his fcvcu vices, and Scaligcr had iumc ait hut 1 think. Vol. II. P but 114 PROGRESS OF SCIENCE, DISCOVERY, [ch. vr. but even Cornelius Nepos, if need were, before he fhould fbticit holy orders. Till then the Pfeudo Evangclium was our common claffick, and held its poft in the cathedral church of Canterbury fo long, that the hole ftill may be fecn in that old pillar it was nailed to. Dean Colet firft drove this book out of date by his expofition of St. Paul's Epiflles. He founded that noble inflitution St. Paul's School, dedicated to the infant Jefus, and he made the Accidence for thefe boys in the great work called Lillic's Grammar, of which Erafmus wrote qui mi/ii, as Dr. Johnfon told me : what part Sir Thomas More contributed I have forgotten ; but our fovereign j\idicioufly -enough clapping Colet on the back, faid, " Well ! let every man chufc his own doftor, this " fhall be mine." Not long before this period Corderius too made his incomparable Baby Dialogues ; Erafmus's Colloquies were intended for adults ; Corderius's were compofed to divert little John Calvin when a child. Under fuch agricolifts well might the plants flourifh ; Wolfey took them from the feed-bed to his magnificent nurfery at Oxford, where by permiffion from Clement the fevcnth, forty lefTer monafte- ries had been deftroyed to build one beautiful pile, meant by the favou- rite to have been called Cardinal's College ; but after his difgrace the king finifhed and called it Chrift" s Church. 'Twas from ^at hour he meditated the diflblution of the drones entirely, fo he often called monks and friars. The going out of Gothick ideas kept pace with the exit of their architefture. Eton and King's College Cambridge had been fabricated by Henry VI. and yet remain beautiful fpecimens of the art with which our anceftors (unacquainted with Grecian models,) imitated the mingling boughs at the top of a high avenue ; and while any afFeis folly far before them all. After writ- ing a ftrangc poem in praife of Mary Magdalen, which MonHeur de la Monnoyc calls Mthtf i'ain.reoi pious extravagance, be fouitd out tliat his name, his own name, pick- ing the letter* carefully by mctagram, formed tlicfc words, // eft de Carmel, and in- ftantiy put on a frier's frotk ; and in a few yean; more diflovered that that fame fcn- te«cc was rontaincd in it, in another lapgodgc, I^'.in of courfe. He died loon after Ui» diiioovery, wkI (,'armtl$/t devnn was written on his tomb. V 2 ran Il6 PROGRESS OF SaENCE, DISCm^ERY, [c». vu ran for refuge to our Edward VI. to whom fclence, in every (hapc and drefs, -was welcome. Malherbe alone hated the new way, as he called it, although by no means bigotted to the old one. He thought of no- thing but purifying the French language, and making it what it be- came in another century or lefs, under the exan after marrying a pretty pca- lant wcach at Knutftrup : his family w ere all afflided, all enraged at the 118 PROGRESS OF SCIENCE, DISCOVERY, [ch. vr. the unmerited honour beftowed upon art Individual of inferior birth by a man of fuch dignity, though with fuch a nofc ; but the king inter- terfcred again, and pacified the relations, faying, ajirottomers mull be allowed their eccentricities : and this bon mot of Frederick II, who loved Tycho, and built the caftle of Ura7iianho\xrg for his obfervatory, brought up the humour of calling any deviation from common modes of life an ccce^itricity ; but the joke is loft when not made upon an af- tronomer. Pelletier meanwhile wrote upon algebra, upon criticifm, and upon peftilential fevers, fet up a new orthography in France, which few people of the prefent day can develope, and which hin- dered his books from being read when he firft wrote them : his tranf- lation of Horace however, is applauded, and his long commentary on Euclid eftecmed, fo that none can boaft greater verfatility of genius. But RetroJ^eStion cannot ftay to pick the beft ears out of an acre of wheat ; numbcrlcfs innominata croud the glafs, and glorious names befide, which our clofc limits leave us not even power to enumerate. Wc will call up one fliade or two more — then with a flourifh like that ofUlyffcsin the defccnt into hell, drive thofe away who ought to drive down us. " While thcfe repelled, a train oblivious fly;" our wand touches Lord Chancellor Bacon, worthy that name fo dear to fcience, fo couiLcd by philofophy, that fhe herfelf has worn it twice, and once more tried it on within the fpace of four hundred years. As from Edmund Spenfer's prolifick mufe fprung almoft all the Englifh poems which we now read and quote ; as from old Sir John Gower's three paftlcs * was probably hatched the delightful tale of Portia and her cafkets ; fo from Lord Bacon's Eflays have proceeded Spedators, Tat- lersj Obfcrvers, Worlds ; while every thought of his, being folid gold, dudilc and malleable, I fee not where will end the wiredrawing : but * Gower's Confcffio Amantis has a flory of the Emperor Frederick who, for his difport, had three artful pafties made juft alike: one filled with two fat capons, one ■with florins, and one with ftraws and dirt. Some poor beggars were called in to chufe with much ceremony before the king, and their miftakcs caufed him much content. whilft CH. VI.] AND TURKISH EMPIRE REVIEWED. Ug whilft \vc borrow, wc, like other creditors, feek to defame our lender's ■wild extravagance, and find a fault where we commend a virtue — If parts allure thee, think how Bacon fhin'd. The wifcft, brighteft, meaneji of mankind fays Mr. Pope : but had the charge of bribery been proved, he would have fhared it with Edward the third and Henry the fifth, heroes not t}un forgotten. Bribes had been openly given to every king and every chancellor for pcrverfion of juftice, until Sir Thomas More refufcd them, and he was blamed by his own family for fo doing. Dauncey, his fon-in-law, reproved him lor not taking money for fn'tls^ as the y>hrafe was thtn, and Sir Thomas laughed at him ; but greater flill •when carried forth to execution, a woman followed, blaming him loudly lor refbfing her ^'ift, and lofing her honeji caufb, for fo fhe deemed it. " Peace, babbling wife," exclaimed the dying philofopher, " I well recoiled me of the cafe and the decree ; and would repeat it " this day again, were I in that chair indcad of this,'' pointing hu- moroufly at the fcafFold. But whilfl Lord Vcrulam was making chemical experiments, or ftudying cafuiftry, or fioring his capacioxis mind with general knowledge to a degree of plenitude undreamed of by his praecurfors in literature, his clerks, Cichazi-like, took bribes; and thofc men wonder at it whofc grandfathers would h:.ve been proud, not alhamcd of taking bribes themfclvcs : but every thing was under- going a refincmcilt, an'd vice among the reft. Alter the year lOoo, our retrofpedih'c eye will not fee grofs and pro- minent ofTcnce fo often. The fupcrficcs of life began to obtain a fmoothncfs little known before. Lan\\.\\ their princes than they are. Wolfcy and Irene had doubtlcfs in- dulged thrmfclvcs oft in imagining how the fond tyrants would refulc than nothing, and yet 'tis plain they had no influence at all ; nor ever could have made their mailers ftir a llcp, on any road tl;ey did not like to move in. So 'twas with ElTcx and Elizabeth, but Roxolana was a real favourite : and drew on the firft prince and hero upon earth to do an ad himfclf and all his fuhjods di (approved, 'break every law ol" cuilom and of nature, marrj' his Have and feat her on a throne, whence ihc commanded the immediate death of haplcfs Mullapha till then uther, whom they both fo honoured, and in fome rcfpe6ls fo ftridly followed, had long left the ftage of flruggle to them, and though he held his own opinions firm, condemned not theirs. Calvin lies nobly interred in his own church at Geneva. Humble Melancthon with his laft breath begged to be laid at Martin Luther's feet. He fet up no leparation, he made no new creed, his ftudy was peace ; but like King David, when he fpoke to them thereof, they made them ready to battle. A death fcrene, a countenance beaming with hope, bore wit- ness to his purity and truth : the night of his departure, the twentieth of April, l.''.0o, he drew up four reafons why he longed to leave this world. Firft : That he Ihould be no more tempted to fin, he faid. Secondly : That he Ihould look on his Redeemer. Thirdly : That he Ihould learn to comprehend the myftick union of God and man in the facred pcrfon of our Lord Jefus Chrift. And fourthly : That he Ihould be plagued no more with theological difputes. Such was the favourite difciple of Luther, and fuch the man whofe laboured eulo- gium was the work of Bojfnet. A life apparently of far Icfs confe- qucnce ftcpt a fliort time before him from this ftage of bufinefs and of indolence, this theatre of adivc virtue and of fcnfelcfs apathy. Jeanne la Folic ever incapable to do any thing hcrfclf, except watch the dead body of her handfomc hufband, for whom her jealous pafTion con- tinued in full force fourteen years after his demife, had prevented (by living fuch a length of time) her fon Charles the fifth from quitting the thrones and powers he had once fo fought, and now fo carncftly dcfircd to get rid of. When however there was no danger of leaving Spain to the caprices of crazy Joanna, he called a meeting of the dates, and gracefully enumerating the difficulties he had endured for S 2 his 140 ITALY, GERMANY, SPAIN, ENGLAND, [ch. vii. his fubjeds, the battles won, the provinces faved under his adminiftra- tion, and the dellre lie now felt to expiate in fecret whatever he might have been led to do amifs, he haftened toinvefl his fon Philip with his dignities, and tortured by a painful and inveterate difeafc, fought fud- dcnly to bury in the filent Ihades of monaftick retirement that bufy genius, that once ambitious fpirit, which had for half a century or more controlled the many, and abafhed the wife.* He quitted Spain, and Germany, and royalty, the laurels of glory, and the mines of Mexico, requiring only a fmall penfion from his fon, which Philip for the firfl half yc^r forgot to pay. This monarch had been always un- lucky in his very near connedlons ; his mother mad, his aunts ill- treated, his {ifher miferable, and his fon ungrateful. But in the cell all forrovvs nre forgotten, There love and fricndfliip ccafc. As for unfeeling Philip, he feems to have attracfled affcdion by the very means another man repels it. Charles always admired his haughty manners, while his wife, fanguinary Mary of England, doatcd on him ; and had not her folly been diverted into a current dill more hateful, by the zeal for re-eftablifhing Popery among lis, (he might have pafled her time like poor Joanna, in watching him when dead, left any woman but hcrfclf fhould touch his corpfe. As 'twas how- ever, a murmuring people, a dlfdainful fpoufe, an unfuccefsful war, and barren bed, combined to break her heart, and make of him once more a youthful widower. The firft wife left him a fon Don Carlos, whom 'twas fuppofed the parent prince, alike callous to every fenti- ment of foftnefs, ordered to be taken off by polfon : certain 'tis, he married Ifabella of France, that young man's promifed bride. Unna- tural and cruel in every relation of life, this Philip was on one occafion, * The following anecdote is fomctimes related to prove that an unquiet temper will neverceaie tormenting itfelf and others; " Thou haft difturbcd the world long enough, good brotlier," faid a religieux, whom restlefs Charles had waked one morning in the convent before the hour : " let «' us poor fellows alone, I pray thee, who like Uiyfelf have forfakcn U." CH. VII.] FRANCE, &c.— PROGRESS OF REFORMATION. I4i a philofopher. When in revenge for the infults which his fquadron received when brave Sir William Monfon brought him over to marry our queen of England, he fet on foot againft her fucccffor the formi- dable Armada fo much talked of, while Europe hung fufpended on the projcd ; a fudden and fcvere train of accidents rendered it abortive, and none but the Icing's fool dared tell him the difaftrous tale. " Well ! " but," fays Philip, *♦ I did not fend the fleet out to combat againft ** winds and waves." 'Twas he, however, fent the duke D'Alva to combat againft Chriftians of every denomination except one, and that with fury and religious rage unequalled, unlefs in the records of pagan perfccution. This hot-headed nobleman made a vow to his fair miftrefs, that he would extirpate Proteftantifm with fire and fword. He ex- tinguiflied life in thoufands ; but his cruelties confirmed the caufe he fought to ruin. With the fine helmet fent by Rome he warded off fome blows, and with the gauntlets formerly blcft by her inexorable fbvcrcign Pius V., he certainly did crufli countlefs multitudes of Cal- vinifts and low church profeffors of Chriftianity, who periftied call- ing on the name of Jefus. But Heaven fruftrated thefe fierce intents, and turned the fanguine ftream into a fertilizing power, which filled whole pro\-inccs with juft abhorrence of the Roman yoke. In IB7Q the ftatcs of Holland having revolted againft Philip, and he to punifli them, having commenced a perfecution little inferior to thofe of Dccius or of Dioclefian, they rufticd from fcaffolds and affaflinations to the {ca, and fought as the Venetians did, who fled from Attila, a watery re- fuge. Seven little provinces before the century clofcd were therefore fecn feaircd by dykes and channels, in an independency at firft fcarcc hoped for, fifhed for their immediate fupport, and traded to procure better exiftcncc in time to come. Diciter Archimedes terrain potuiOe moverc, yEquoni qui polult fiftcrc Don minus eft. A fage of old boaficd to move the earth, Thofc who could flop the ka were no IcCi worth. Philip 141 ITALY, GERMANY, SPAIN, ENGLAND, [ch. vir. Philip, now mafter of Portugal however, foon (hut his ports againll: thefe new republicans ; and they in return tried to ruin his new fub- jefts in Eaft India. Cornelius Houtman, a debtor detained at Lif- bon, fhewed them the way, and touching firft at the Maldivia and Sunda ifles, fixed his firm colony at Java, Ypite of obftrudions from the Portugueze ; and the great city founded there gives, whilft I write, its name to the parent provinces, which, no longer Holland, fubmitted in the year 1 79O, to accept from France the name of the Batavian commonwealth. How would the Prince of Orange have ab- horred that thought ? He on whofc arm Charles V. leaned while pro- nouncing his heroick abdication — he whofe apology charges Philip with murder in the death of his third queen Ifabelle, and inceft in his fourth marriage with a daughter of Maximilian, his own nephew, by Mary his own fifter, emprefs of Germany, daughter to Charles V. In the laft year of the fixteenth century however, his fon by that lady fucceeded him, Philip the third. The whole family were alike bi- gots to the eftablifliment of that fatal Inquifition firft introduced by their great anccftors Ferdinand and Ifabella. The duchcfs of Parma, daughter of Charles V. drove Flanders into a rebellion by endeavouring to force it on ihofe fubjed;s during her regency ; and Jeanne la Folle could never be waked to confcioufncfs, except once after her hufband's death, and that was when they told her that the inquifition was likely to be abolilhed. Mary of England feemed to have had no folace, except in figning the condemnation of hereticks to the flames ; and Toledo due d'Alva, fuppofed a natural fon of the fame houfe, had the fame prejudices. The Italians confidered that man as a coward, it appears, by an old manufcript in the Badoera family, which calls him capitano gencrale hi tempo di pace, maggior- domo maggiore di S. M. in tempo di guerra. Scrbellone and he agreed however, to cut the holy Bible into flips of parchment, and lard the living thighs of Protcftants with the pieces, as a punifliment for their refolution not to prefer the word of man to that of God. His death and CH. VII.] FRANXE, &c.— PROGRESS OF REFORMATION. 143 and that of !iis maftcr were painful and flow, and afforded time for re* pcntancc. Pliilip infiftcd on feeing his own funeral performed, and expired with the coffin in the room, a few months before the edidl of Nantes was publifhed for free toleration of Proteflants in France ; a proof that all his impious pains to exterminate 'em were vain, and every way fucccfslcfs. Germany meanwhile, her darling emperor gone, accepted of his brother Ferdinand, a quiet charaAer, who made peace with the Reformers, and truce of eight years alfo with the Turks ; faid thofc were the bcft princes who made the leaft; buftlc, and, careful to make none himfelf, entailed the fucceffion (if Maximilian Ihould leave no iffuc male) upon the fons of his own daughters, fifters to that joung king of the Romans : and 'tis obfcrvablc that this manner of difpofing things gave (almoft in our own day) pretenfion to the houlc of Bavaria for the empire againft the hufband of Maria Therefa. Maxi- milian II. however luiJ fons, notwithftanding which he was contented to lofe the crown of Poland by ncglccft, and fuffcrcd the Ottomans to brave him at Zigcti, or Zikcti, where Solyman the Magnificent loft his life. If its inhabitants were indeed, as antiquaries tell, the true defccndants of thole argonauts who followed Jafbn, or of the Phthiotes who accompanied Achilles to the ficgc of Troy, they needed not con- fidcr their walls as degraded when fuch a warrior fell before them. Poor Max'tmiHan acknowledged his own fceblcncfs, which he endea- voured to ftrengthcn by marrying one of his daughters to Philip II, of Spain, and one to Henry II. of France, whilft his cldcft fon Ro- dolphus, whofc long reign finiflics the century, paflcd his time be- tween a laboratory and a riding-houlc, lb that no care was taken of the ftatc at all, nor durft his minillcrs approach him when fo employed, let what would happen. One of them indeed, difguifed as a groom, got admittance juft to inform him of the fire at Conftantinople, which it was hoped might ftop the progrefs of young Amurath, whofc. gallant fpirit, his ill health then unknown, made Chriftianity tremble. Rodolphus calmly bid him note the chronology of fo curious an oc- currence, Ui ITALY, GERMANY, SPAIN, ENGLAND, [ch. vii. currence, and be careful to ufe the new ftyle introduced by Gregory the thirteenth ; for while this Emperor fpent his days in chemiftry, his nights were devoted to aftronomical obfervations ; and the ma- nege, his only exercife, filled up every other paufe of exiftencc.* That Venice was nearly depopulated by a pcftilence, or England threat- ened by a Spanifli invafion ; that one fovcrcign prince had been aflaffi- nated by a Jacobin friar, and another publickly beheaded in the realms of a near kinfwoman, to whom fhe ran for fuccour from her own ; affeded Rodolphus but very little: his brother Matthias, undertook the defence of Hungary and Bohemia from the Turkifh arms, while the neceflary fupplies were raifed by a begging-box ; all which gave no concern to the Emperor, who died not till fixty years old, unacquainted with fome of thefe circumftances, undifturbed, and unmarried A. D. l0l2 ; Kepler's Rudolphine tables perpetuating his memory as a phi- losopher, while the hiftoric mufc rejc<5ts acquaintance with fo bad a po- litician. But if tranquillity thus degenerated into ftagnation at Vienna, our RetrofpeSi too long detained from France, looks back thither to the death of all-accompliflied Franqois, incomparable Roi ! w hen that amiable prince however, who once fupported in the hour of death the fainting frame of Leonardo da Vinci, expired himfelf in Guicciar- dini's arms ; leaving fix millions prcfcnt money in his coffer, and griev- ing only that he had not fufficiently diminilhed the neceffary impofts : His gay fon Henry II, fuccceded to the throne, and fate on it when Charles V. preflcd by ill health, and allured by admiration of his fon Philip's lofty demeanour, yielded to him his hereditary dominions. Henry had no fuch efteem of him : he joined the League of Protcf- tants againft papal and imperial oppreflion, although himfelf a Ilomanift by principle ; but finding rcafbns to repent that ftep, made peace with * Over his riding -houfe, he wrote the word A.D.S.I.T. in capital letters thus. The arch-duchefs Ifabella explained it in this manner: JuJIriaca Domus Suus Inftai Tu- mulus. She had a notion Guftavus Adolphus was the man who was to be the ruin of their family, and fhe fancied Rodolpho had found it out by aklicmy or allrology, and that he wrote thefe letters in that perfuafion. Spain, <:h. VII.] FRANCE, &c.~PROGRESS OF REFORMATION. 145 Spain, and was accidentally killed by Montgomcri in a tournament ■which he gave in honour of the marriage between Philip II. and Eliza- beth or Ifabella, Fille de France as flie was called. He left feven children by Catherine de Medicis, a lady of boundlefs ambition and fplendid acquirements, and Mademoifcilc de Luflan, who writes his life, fays, that being wounded in the eye by his antagonift's lance, he would not have endured exiftcnce had he cfcaped the fever caufed by agony, fo much did he regard the beauty of his perfon, and the Queen's attachment, which he confidered as depending on it. For while Diana de Valentinois was his miftrcfs, and at fifty years old poflefTed his fondeft affcdions, the fubtle Florentine guided his counfels, and younger by twenty years than her gay rival, held her place fteady in his true cftecm. Francis II., her eldeft fbn, enjoyed the crown two years ; he was hufband to our beautiful Mary of Scotland, niece to Henry VIII., and niece befidc to the no lefs famous Guifes. They, leagued with Italian Catherine, planned the extirpation of Protcftantifm, which certainly did lolc its name in France during his reign ; when they were firft called Hiigui'notSy from St. Hughes gate, in the great tower which fcr\cd them as a place of private rendezvous. They were, however, by the furious zealots we have named, foon routed : a martacrc of hundreds, nayofthoufands followed; and while the flirieks of females and infants filled the air, unnumbered bodies were thrown into the water, till the rcludant Loire, faturatcd with humanity, rolled her choked waves more filcnt to the fca. Thcfc horrors, however, fcarccly could be i'aid to taint the virtue of a feeble prince, not quite eighteen years old when he expired, leaving his next brother heir to a throne he mounted at eleven years of aL'c, In e\ il hour for Protef- tants did he ever mount it : //uy iccm however to ha\c provoked both Charles and the Queen Mother by unnecelfary and bitter raillerie>. The firft caricatura print wc read oi* was publiflicd at Paris by the ilugucnot party, rcprcfcnting a negotiation between the Devil and ( atbcrinc ;<3:ion, ended the male heirs of the houfc of Valois, in this fovc- reign's aiTaffination, 1589, when Henri IV. de Navarre afcended the GalUck throne. His mother, Jeanne d'Albrct, was a Calvinift, and diligently imbued the prince with her own notions, but Gaultier, his firft preceptor, being of the Ilomifla pcrfuaiion, their young man pof- iibly grew up without a ftrong con^ idlion on cither fide ; perhaps in- deed, his real bias was to popery, from which the lady held him w]ule Jlie could. Henry was never able ftrongly to refift female influence, and Jeanne d'Albret had a predominating fpirit, endued befide with more than Spartan fortitude. The popes had given away all her hereditary realms to Spain, and fhc indignant helped the Huguenots with her pen, purfc and fword. This hardy dame had wedded Antoine due dc Vcndomc, lineal dcfcendant of Robert dc Clermont, fifth fon of great St. Louis, and firft lord de Bourbon ; and when Ihc was about to bring her famous fon into the world, her father, Albert II. king of Navarre, (who never left the room) infifted on her fmging fome ftanzas of a Bcrnoifc ballad between the paroxyfms of parturition. This family had been dofcly purfucd and carefully watched by Tufcan Catherine and her cruel (Juifcs, cfpecially when Charles IX. died without iffuc ; yet after all Henry the third, leaving no heir's by beautiful but ne- glected Ix)uifc dc V^audcmont, that lady caught his fpirit of devotion, and turned nun ; while the ambitious Florentine, forced to endure the fight of the young Bourbon fct on the throne of France, recurred to all her artifices, and fucccedcd in making him divide it with her daughter Marguerite dc Valois, hoping no doubt that when four of her children had fucccflivcly reigned in Paris, the fucccflion muft be fixed in her own progeny for ever. In vain ! — Fair Margaret's gallan- tries were fo early notorious, her hufband was obliged to fhut her up ; and though, having obtained a divorce from her, he married a coufin T2 of 148 ITALY, GERMANY, SPAIN, ENGLAND, [ch. vit. of the flimc Medicean houfe, old Catherine broke her heart. She had adorned France with many beautiful buildings, and enriched it with valuable MSS. from Italy ; but was juftly detefted by a people whofe blood file fparcd not. Mary, though of the fame family, was no lite- rary charadcr: when the Swifs envoys came to compliment her, llie who undcrftood them not, ailced Mellon what they faid ?. The cour- tier replied boldly : — " Madam, they fay your Majcfty is more lovely " and more excellent than any princcfs ever feen on earth." A pcr- i'on picicnt/miled: — "Well!" fays the Queen, " Melfon tells what " they ot/g/it to have faid."* After her marriage with the King, Mar- garet was no more forbid the court, which flie filled with her intrigues, her verfes, her talents, her amours, and laftly, like her brothers, with her penances. Brantome celebrates her wit and elegance, and her me- moirs are deeply intcrefting. The Queen of Navarre's talcs however, were compofed for Henri the fourth's grandmother, filler to Francis the firft. The book was named Les Marguerites de la Marguerite dcs PrinccJJes, tres iUuJlre Heine de Navarre. Marguerite means a pearl, and likewifc a daify. I fuppofe the compiler, who at firft called it heptamerm, meant that his readers fhould confider thefe as picked pearls or flowers — choice talcs. It was this lady's daughter, Jeanne d'AIbret, who gave to the admiring world one of its gayeft, bravcft, grcateft chieftains, the gallant Henri IV. who loved his fubjeds, pro- tefted their interefts, extended their commerce, and confirmed their happinefs. 'Twas after the peace his change of religion procured for France, that her artificers learned to work in glafs, a manufa6lurc till then confined to Venice, but Lyons in this reign begun to flourifh, and tapcftry work gave hope of that perfedion we have witneffed fincc in the fine Gobelin's loom. Silk too was cultivated in Pro- * Mary de Medici loved gallantries well enough ; and fo encouraged Ottavio Ri- nuccini, called by feme authors inventor of Italian operas, that he followed her to France, and loft his wits for love. Recovering, he hid his fliame and difappointment in a monaftery. vencc. cH.vn.J FRANCE, &C.--PROGRESS OF REFORMATION. ug vcnce, and the kind king exprefled his friendly vvifli that every pcafant from Picardy to Pcrpignan fhould have a pot and fowl ready to boil in it, each Sunday through the year. His good intentions were well fcconded by w ifc and faithful Sully, of whofe fervices Henry appeared moft fcnfible : for when his rival miftrcfles tormented him with their jealoufies and jars, his anlwcr was — a dozen pretty girls were of not half the value- in his eyes as that one honeft man. How rightly he had judged, the great event declares; for Sully, though himfelf a Lu- theran, urged his maftcr to accept the terms, and take the kingdom and catholicifm together. " Change then yourfclf,' replied the fo- vcrcign. " That could do only mifchicf," faid the minifter. I may ". be a Proteftant, and no harm done. Your Majefty /w;//? ahfolutely " profcfs the Romilh tenets." The fweetnefs and focial temper of this prince made him after that event little lefs than adored at home, while his heroick courage in the field, by proving him rcfpedlablc for well-tried valour, filled even felfifli Spain with admiration, ren- dered him a powerful mediator for Holland, and helped to heal every breach between the then prefent Pope and the Venetians. The clofmg century found and left Henry well employed, and Clement VIII. made Rome rejoice in fo ufeful a converfion, A. D. lOoo. While thefc things went forward in the fouthem parts of Europe, the north failed not to feel the quick'ning power. Alexander of Po- land and Lithuania expelled all Tartars from his wide domain, which, now engaged in endlcfs wars with RufTia, thinned the cxcefTivc popu- lation. Guftavus Ericfon introduced Lutheranlfm into Stockholm, and made that crown hereditary in his own family. Freedom follows hard upon the heels of reformation, and many privileges were granted to the commons in all countries, where they were found a bar ufeful to kings, who by their means fhut out the old nobility, no longer now confidercd as ecjuals to the prince. Sigifmund and Maximilian dif- putcd violently for that realm where ariftocracy lived longed — P'lhiuJ. The due d'.Mcncon, fon to Catherine dc Medici, had tried f'>r it, but 150 ITALY, GERMANY, SPAIN, ENGLAND, [cii. vn. ■was called home to reign in France ; and our Elizabeth was arbitrcfs between that kingdom and the Turks at laft. Among the events of thefe days, far the moft important to mankind of thofe approaching to the arftic circle, was the aufpicious birth of great Guftavus, hero of the north, fon to Charles of Finland and Chriftiana of Holftein. Rctro- JpcSlhn fees them with pleafurc to the old name oi AthauJphns, worn by many a jomberfgher, add the anagram of Auguftus Caefar or Ctzar; and while his father attempted the jundion of Livonia to his poflef- fions in the year 1599 and iCoo, when the free commerce of the Baltic Sea was become a prize worth contending, thai arbitration was committed to our queen Elizabeth, who fent Dr. Rogers, a man of more good fenfc than dignity, her envoy to Copenhagen. But Eng- land has been out of fight too long : we left her trembling under the rough grafp of tyrannick and uxorious Henry, whofe gentler fon, Ed- ward the fixth, lived not to beftow on her the confolations reafonably expelled from a prince of fuch premature difpofition towards piety and learning, whofe only fault feems to have been the preference of virtue to hereditary right, in endeavouring to fettle the fucceflion upon Jane Gray, whofe grandmother, wife to Charles Brandon, feems to have conferred upon her offspring no part of that contempt for quccn- fliip which flic herfclf exprefTcd. The Betynges, Nippes, and Bobbes, fo pathetically lamented by Jane Gray, were bcftowcd on her by the duchefs of Suffolk, to make her accept a crown flie had no claim to, and her philofophy only ferved to make her endure punifliment, poor foul ! for committing a fm to which flie had no temptation.* Mary, true heirefs of England's crown, and cldeft daughter to Henry VIIL by Catherine of Arragon, took away this haplefs princefs's life with far more provocation than that of any other fubject during her dreadful fanguinary reign, marked by the death of two hundred * I have heard that the three fentenccs found on her tablets, written in Greek, Latin, and Englilh, are yet prefei-ved in my Lord Gage's family : his anceftor begged the pocket-book, which Jaiic gave him when (he went to execution and CH. VII.] FRANCE, &c.— PROGRESS OF REFORMATION. I5i and feventy-eight Proteftants \nfeparate fires ; among whom we enu- merate, I think, five biOiops,* twenty- one clergymen, eight gentlemen of diftindion, eighty-four tradefraen, one hundred countrymen, and threefcore women and infants, one born amid the flames ; a baby martyr, baptized indeed, as St. John faid we fhould be, by the Holy Ghoft and with fire. The comfort was, that fuch a fovereignty lafted but fix fliort years. The fole attempt at an excufe for fuch feverities was the conlcnt of parliament, who looked on them, as it appears, with no extreme difguft : yet was the nation not infcnfiblc to that which touched it in a tender part. A jealoufy of Spanifli influence was early (hewn, and the Queen's marriage articles canvafl!ed with well- judged care. The hufband flie made choice of was unpopular; and when Sir William Monfon brought him over, the admiral reminded his majcfty's fubjeds by a broadfidc, of the rcfped due to our Britifli flag which they perhaps unintentionally forgot. Philip however, forgot not, nor ever could forgive the offence. The prcfs now teemed befidcs with light performances on heavy topicks, according to our Englifh genius. I queflion whether fmall books faftcned par uii filet, and fince from thence called pamphlets, were known before this occafion. Norris fays, " That " if angels were authors, none would ufc folio paper." He meant BrU'tJh angels. Guicciardini fills two enormous folios w ith the events of forty years only. Let fuch as love a pen more volant than im- prcflTive, patronize Retrojped'ton. Of fuch a reign a bird's-eye view is heft : yet let not Mary lofe her praifc for fcholarftiip. She,, like her fiftcr and her coufin, was a hard ftudcnt in her early youth, and Cathc- * Among all the martyrs, Latimer fhcwcd mofl unaffeAcd courage, liic day before his execution, " MaAer lieutenant," fald he to the gentleman in whofe cuflody be waf iicpt, " if no more fuel is brought, I niall certainly deceive you and your •' fovereign lady." — " No, no," replied the lieatenant, •♦ tliat'« impoflible," (mean- ing hii cfcape. ) No wood was brought however, and I^timer on his rc-appcarancc in fix hours more, exclaimed, *< .Said I^not well that ye Hiouid be deceived. Yc " brought mc here a prifoncr to burn me, and vctily I die to-night with cold." rine 152 ITALY, GERMANY, SPAIN, ENGLAND, [ch. vii. rinc had upon her death-bed charged her not to ncgled her Latin or her virginals. My heart tells me they were connefted nearer than wv think for. When mafs was daily fung, and in that language, Latin and Tinging furely went together, and till fome one who knows tells me the contrary, I fhall believe that we went on pronouncing juft like our neighbours on the Continent, orma veerumque caiino, not as we do now, arma v'trumque cano, till came the Reformation. TulTer in his verfes feems to hint, that being brought up for a choirifter, " Tojing t til queere," he calls it, they fent him to Eton fchool. To learn flraightways The Latin phrafe.* • I fuppofe he was not worthy tofing in the cathedral till he had learned Latin, and the claflicks were thus made fubfervient to the mufical education: his diftreflTcs are laughable enough as he relates them. It came to pafs that borne I was, Of lynage good, and gentle blood. In Effex layer, and village fayer. That Rivenhall hight ; Whiche village ly'd by Bantree's fyde : There fpend did I mine infancy. And there my name with honeft fame Rcmayns in fyght. I yet but younge, no fpeeche of tongue. Nor teares withal, that often fall From mothers cies when child out cries To part her fro : Could pitty make my father take. But out I mud to fing be thruft. Say what we would, do what we could. His mind was fo. ( )h painfulle tyme! for every crime What tooied eares, like bayted bearcs. What bobbed lyppes, what perkes and nippcs, \\'hat hellifli toies ! CH. VII.] FRANCE, &C.--PROGRESS OF REFORMATION. 153 But (nAs call off attention from conjedhires ; when death from dropfv of the breaft, miftaken for thatftate of pregnancy hoped by the Papifts, relieved our realm from fanguinary Mar)', and fet her prudent fifter on the throne, whofe early policy, confummate thoughtfulnefs, and native lleadinefs of charader, had faved her through intolerable fcenes of danger before that happy hour of acceffion ; and afterwards faved us What robes, how bare ! what College fare ! What bread how ftale ! what peny ale ! Oh Wallingford! how wert thou abhor' J Of us {>oor boics. Thence for my voyce, I muft (no choyce) Away of force, like pofiing horfe. For fundrie men had placards then, Such chylde to take ; The better brcft, the leffer reft. To ferve i' th' quecre, now here now there; For time fo fpent how I repent, And forrow make. But mark the chauncc myfelfe to advaunce ; By friendfliip's lot to Pauls I got. So found I grace a certaine fpace There to remaine. In Bedford's care, the lyke no where For cunning fuch, and vertue muche. By whom fome part of muCckc's art N'owe did I gain. From Pauls I went, to Eton fent. To learn ftreightwaies the I.alin phrafc, \\ here fiftie three ftripes given to me. At once I had. For fault btttfmall, or none at all. It came to p«f» that bcai'u I wa« ; See, livrdalc,* fee, the mcrcic of ihc'- To mr poor lad ! • This UwMt it thcUJai AylcdbyBsylc, EUgantiffimui tmrnm hiiarm Ulirarium masijin. Roger Afcham pnifcl him higl'ly. Vol. II U v^hcIl 154 ITALY, GERMANY, SPAIN, ENGLAND, [ch. mi. wlicn Philip, ftung by revenge at her retufal of his hand and fricndfliip, fcc forth, to fwallow up our independency at once, his powerful and, as he deemed it, his iiiv'iucible Armada. All Europe ftood fpedlators ■when 'twas feen, how by no more than twenty thoufand failors raifed in hafte, this pondrous fleet, " Under the weight of which," fays Benti- voglio, " the very waters groaned," was turned away ; and the winds fiuiflied what their arms begun. All England, cluftering round the patriot fovereign, faw that reciprocation of calm confidence which bed afTures, and beft deferves fuccefs, changed into triumph both of prince and people, who haftening paid their praifes at his altar who alone maketh men to he of one m'md in a hoiife; and greatly rewarded Eli- zabeth that day for having never taken away one fubje6l's life for reli- gious opinions, or even wreaked unchriftian vengeance upon the per- fecutors of her own favoured fedl. All Proteftants on her acceffion had been fet free, no Papiil: punifhed. Dr. Rainsford prefented a pe- tition, " That her grace would give liberty to four captives lately " chained up by her predeceflbr : Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John." — " By my faith, Doilor," replied fhe merrily, " we muft ftudy a while " the will of thefe prifoncrs, to fee if they confent to their own enfran- " chizcment." The Bible and Teftament in Aulgar tongue were in- ftantly publiflied, and diligently diflcminatcd however. The Queen, a high church Lutheran herfelf, kept her own chapel and clofet richly adorned with crucifixes, madonnas, &c. but by protefting Chriftians of all denominations, courting her catholic fubje<5ls at home, fupporting the calviniftic ftates abroad, and wifely leaving the myftic parts of our mod holy faith as obje(ft3 of veneration, not difpute ; all parties were conciliated, and to her fage reply when queftioned hard about our Saviour's real prefence in the facraijient, people of no perfuafion could objed* Chrift was the word that fpake it. He took the bread and break it ; And what that word did make it. That I believe, and take it. Elizabeth's ca. VII.] FRANCE, Sec— PROGRESS OF REFORMATION. 1 55 Elizabeth's heart, unaduated by foreign blood, was truly Engllfi ; llic had a natural trugality of temper, which difpofcd her never to trifle with her people's money; and when they threw unaiked fubfidies into her lap, Ihc was the no lefs careful of expences. A fpirit too of trade and commerce polTeflcd a large proportion of her mind; and Grelham, whom (he fancied had been able to retard Phihp's progrcfs by draining his coffers, flie named her royal merchant ; and vifiting the great Ex- change he built, gave tliat place the like appellation, conncding in all Englifii minds for ever the ideas of loyalty at home with traffick abroad *. But while Harrifon tells us that a flranger entering her court would think himfelf fet down in a univerfity, {o learned were the noblemen and ladies of her train ; while reading, fpinning, and em- broidery employed the inferior maids about the palace, where was kept up fcverity of manners Hill confecjucnt on fuch a bufy ftudious life ; the Queen fixed her defire of approbation chiefly on this, that whereas two thoufand criminals ojcar were executed during her father's reign, Ihc never had condemned tluee hundred in the time either for theft or murder. 'Tis apparent tliat the vail progrefs of reformed re- ligion added to that fccurenefs of our property which trade requires, and a good government delights mod in beftowing, had made im- mcnfc improvement in the morals, which, whilft great barons gave un- limited protedions, could not be taken care of; thefe haughty lords 'twas her care to rcprefs, and few of them were left, though Derby ftill kept (late as allied to the throne ; and I believe Lord Hurlcigh had about his pcrfon twenty gentlemen of one thoufand pounds o'ycar each as retainers. The Earl of Efllx too feems to have been a nobleman • Sir Richard Clougli, partner witli Grcfliain, fuggcftcd the nccclTity of a burfc, as hij Icttciscall it. He was an Antwerp mcirliant, and afhamcd to fee our traders here walk in the rain lie faid, wliilc men of ids eonleciuencc flood under cover on the ci>ii- tinenl. Clougli had acccfs to ibe great ; he had married Catherine Tudor dc Ik-raviie. dcfccndant of Henry the fiftir* widow, and whofc firft iiufband was Sir John Salull)uiy of LIcweney ; be wai Lnight of Jcrufalcm hnnjdj, and called the richcft cwninioncr upon the ifland. U 2 quite 15G ITALY, GERMANY, SPAIN, ENGLAND, [ch. vn. quite of the old fafliion : gallant and gay, and wild for exploits of chivalry, his Ihowy charader attraded the Queen's notice ; but though he was a favourite, and a fancy one, it flill appears he loved his royal miftrefs Icfs than did any of her courtiers ; being attached to antique modes of gaining popularity, calling the apprentices about him againfl his fovereign, from whom when he received a box on the car he put his hand to his fword as if to remind her, that Devereux * was as good a name as Tudor ; the anagram of that name, vere Dux, he wore in his hat : but fuch a fpirit of old baronage, royalty w'ould not endure. In 1601 his head was cut away, and the Queen fmiled no more ; yet Ihe returned to her former occupations. Her heart was not a fickls one, as Fuller fays, where her grace's kindnefs did light, there it did lodge : and though it was her temper to pay liberally, but rev\ ard Sparingly, fbe Ihowered on this nobleman many honours, and upon Burleigh fuch emoluments that he left fourteen thoufand pounds weight of gold behind him, bequeathing it, oddly enough to our no- tions, in fo many ounces each to his furviving friends and relations, having realized in landed property only four thoufand pounds o'year. When the Queen died Ihe lefr this country fo much improved and happier than Ihc found it, that philofophlcal Raynal fays, it was time death took her, for that a prince who never will provoke fubjcds to infurre j[^ovrni, not convince, they ftand forth in a filly fituation, and miilt r.ot wonder if they are juftly laughed at. James made himfclf bcfidt: ftill more contemptible by weak at- tachment to a worthlefs hn\, young Robert Carr, for whom his fond- nefs fprung fo fuddcnly, that ftx months had not elapfcd after they firft met, before this idle pageant was hung round with titles, honours, and court favour, to that aftonifliing )et ridiculous degree, the old nobility found themfelvcs all obliged to keep away, or crouch with aukvrard, iU-put-ou fubmtiBon to my Lx>rd Vifcount Rochcfter. It mi^'ht iGs SEVENTEENTH CENTURY; .'C 1 [cii. vm. might indeed tend to difarm rcfentment of fuch folly, to hear their new king with unwilhed candour confelling to his parliament the dif- ficulty he had ever found in refufng fu'iis : an infirmity his majefty's commons were moft careful not to catch from him. Tliey refufed c\eTyfuit he made to them for money ; and that with a feverity and tartnefs fcarcc credible, when we rcflcil that many members muft have recoUeded trembling, like Yelverton their Speaker, then alive, before the prefcnce of his prcdcccflbr — Her lion-port, her awe-commanding face, Attemper'd fweet to virgin grace, however, was now laid cold in earth : faces of a far different caft and lex attracted the notice of the new monarch, and the people whom their late fovercign had made happy, now began to find out that they would rather be powerful. It was not abroad that James could make them fo : prince Henry, who promifed to have been a martial charac- ter, died in his early years. One faying only of his has been recorded, but that was a good one. The French ambaffador, who had cajol'd his father long, called upon Henry for commands at parting : " Tell " your maftcr," faid the brave youth, " how you left nie employed ;" and rcfumcd in his prefcnce the cxcrcife of the pike. His death, and the unhappy marriage of his filter to the Eledor Palatine, who, hop- ing from England that relief he never received, ran himfelf into un- utterable diftrelTes, were heav'y prefages of ruin to the Stuart family. Poor Ann of Denmark, confort to James, died of a dropfy in the year 1OI8, fretted by thefe events, which brought it on : and hating, as Ihe faid, to hear of Goody Palfgnrve, fo Ihe always called the ill-llarred Queen of Bohemia,* left all flie had to Charles, but could not, as flie obfervcd, * Elizabeth of Bohemia had been an carly-taught child, and her parents' hopes of her were high. The marriage ruined all; yet was that princefs greatly beloved abroad, in the Netherlands particularly, and they called hex \he 2uecn oi Hearts, which cH. vin.] ITS EFFECTS ON ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, &c. iOq obfened, give him the high thoughts that died with her dear Henry. She died not her IcU' however, till fhe had been prevailed on by the Arch- biftiop of Canterbuiy to fuperfcde Rocheftcr in the king's afFeclions by placing another youth, eminent for perfonal attraftions, in his way, who helf>ed them all to drive the Scottilh minion down a precipice he had prepared for himfclf, by putting his mailer to excefs of trouble in faving him from punifliment for murder : this wretch having leagued with Lady Effex, his favourite miftrefs, to poifon Sir Thomas Ovcrbury, a man who had committed no ottencc, except endeavouring to prevent their marriage, and her divorce from a hufband James had all reafons to protect and not offend. Such nuptials were new things, and (hocked our Englifli morals, although loofened exceedingly by importation of luxuries innumerable and till lately quite unknown. " In thofe days," as Harrifon fays, " they flcpt on ftraw pallets for the " mod part, their heads rcfting on a round turn'd log, which, covered " with a coarfe fliect, fcrvcd as bolder : nor were pillows known, favc " for the old man of the houfe and yongc wyfe when with chyldc, a " fack of chafFc to reft their heads upon." But what is moft worth minding is that all people fccm to have liked the rough times beft. When we had willow houfcs, wc had men of oak, fays an old writer, but now the houfcn are oak, I fear me the men are but willows. Witncfs alfo the pretty old popular ballad in James's time, when im- provements came forward apace; it is prefervcd in Drydcn's Miltcl- lanics and Percy's ballads, and is called an old Courtier of the Queen's, and the Queen's old Courtier. Coaches, watches, knives ufcd re- gularly at meals, and pewter plates, expelling trccne platters from tree-wood ; tobacco, coffee, chocolate, Ipiccs and pcrlnmc^, new minerals, new vegetables for purpofe of food, phyfick and de- wlucli had already loft ihc A in chocur, 'lis plain. X'^r. i^n can(aux apparcmiucnt, wa« thr anfwer: and a pi^ute was extant at .\nt\vcipin old General Giiifi's time, i(|.i< - fcnting till* lady like a poor .Vrs/fA ttavclling Ii(p5;.ir, Iicr c!;;Id at lici hack, .im! Kit; James carrying the cradle. Granger from Arlluir VVillon fays an hifi woman, Iiut t.lizabctli (^anibarini dcfcribcd licr as wearing a Sitiuh pla:<1. Vol. H. y \\M. 170 SEVENTEENTH CENTURY ; [en. tiu. light, poured in upon this nation, in the laft five years of her reiijn, and the firft five of James the firft, to a degree perfedly incre- dible : yet whilft opium fcduced men to temporary forgetfulnefs of their cares, not even the frefli importations of all that can plcafe the palate, or irritate the appetite, nor the narcotick fubftltutcs of flecp for the r pofe of voluptuoufncis, rendered them happy in any wife as it appears. Suicides grew common ; and as exiftcnce was too much fweetencd, it began to cloy. In political lite the effcds were ftill more diicernible ; and as reftraint feemed dropping oiF itfelf, the people longed to pluck it quite away. In proportion as freedom ad- vanced forward, all ftruggled to meet, embrace, enthrone her — never enquiring, as Elizabeth propofed to do, of the evangelifts, whether fhe herfelf wiflied fo iiery warm and tumultuous a reception. Know- ledge likewife, fcience in every branch, fprouted and fprung, till' prefled as far as ever it could go, was in danger of running to feed. Pricfts, princes, foldicrs, ladies, children, piqued themfelves on ftudy, and delighted on abllrad: enquiries. When fovereigns were icholars, and the courts of kings became fchools of difputation, not to have been pcdantick muft have been impoffible : it would be pedantry mthis age to enumerate their works, and praifc their powers. A friend of mine, when we were at Venice, bought a little book called Je/iis Filer, or dc Piicrlt'ia Domhi'i, written I believe by Cotelerius, one of the pro- digies of the feventeenth century. He explained the Greek teftament ViX. iwehe years o/^ before a clerical affembly, at ouverture du livre, and the Old Teftament in Hebrew, adding his own comments in fiuL-nt: and colloquial Latin. There is another book in the world, th.ough on the fame fubjed, of inferior value, tranflatcd from the Aral)ick by Sikius, called 'Evangclhan Infanttce, if I miftake not ; but ti-.crc Ci.rilt is examined by the Jcwifli Dodors in allronomy, medi- cine and nietaphyficks : in the little tract v.c purcl;akd, he runs to his grand mother, St. Anne, for apples, &c. and thcfc odd performances uavc rife to numberlefs and beautiful pictures : the fanto bambino, f :r cxiimplc, learning to walk, by Rafacllc ; Jcfus working with his father, CH. vin.] ITS EFFECTS ON ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, &c. 171 father at the carpenter's trade, by Carraccl, and a thoufand more. Corrcgio's ideas are almoft all from iacred fubjeds ; he was a poor man and illiterate, and died long before the period we are reviewing. So did his admirer and imitator Schidone, w ho, becaufe Corrc.':;io was bom in coarfe life, fcemed to think no other worth reprtfcntiug : he idolized the hand which penur)- could not paralyfe, the heart which ignorance could not freeze. Caracci too, immortal, inimitable Ca- nicci, bore tcftimony to hts unfunned merit, w hich lives on, cnjoving praife as dcathlefs as docs Hans Holbein, who with his left /lo//^ painted our Henry and his favourite females ; or even Titian, whofc dropp'd pencil was picked up by Charles V. with the well-remembered com- phmcnt that fuch an artift Ihould be only ferved by Caifar. But when our Retrojpf€iion is employed on thofc who bcft bellowed the new-blow n pleafures that fpring from the ncwly-dug-up foil of intellcd, let our de- lighted eyes fix upon him to whom perhaps wc owe our happieft mo- ments — the poet of daily life, of hourly ufe ; our folace w hen alone ; our pride in the theatre ; Shakefpcar ! w ho, if he had an equal in Homer, a competitor in Ariofto, never, oh never fhall acknowledge a fupcrior. Shakefpcar ! whofe mind, like to our Wicklow mountain, produced his gold in maflcs from the mine — not in a fliining fand or brilliant duft, wafiicd from the diftant bed. Nor warm'd by patro- nage, nor fertilized by education, nature and genius claim him for their own, and w hilc they laft, he lives. Ben Johnfon too, who taught our Englilh ftage to lludy mafters then fo long forgotten, muft not himfclf in his turn he forgot ; whilft, like Pouflin, he (ludicd nature through the medium of that antique he undcrllood fo well, that he Ikh left us perfuaded of his pow cr to rival them ; though meaning but to imitate, and transfufe their perfections into his language and our own. Cervantes next, that never-dying name, whofc peculiar happinefs it is to hit the taftc of c\CTy nation, to be commended, honoured, loved, in every clime, and every clinic ^likc. Indigenous in all countries, and flourirtiing with equal pcrfcc- Y 2 ,^ tion 172 SEVENTEENTH CENTURY ; [ch. vin, tion in Scotland and Amboyna — thus, — tow'rs the tall larch tree : till botanifts of all realms willingly forget, whence came at firft the natu- ralized foreigner. But now Amboyna's name calls us juft to review the condud: of thofe ftatcs which, when they fled from Philip's cruelty, fettled in Holland ; and being fupported by Elizabeth, maintained an honourable independency, of which they rather called than achiozv- ledged the Prince of Orange as their head. He w-as Statliolder indeed, but his powers were limited with jealous care, and his countrymen, for fubjedb they certainly were not, grew formidable in the eyes of all Europe, though Venice alone was content to league with them» From the Poor D'ljirejfed States, their ftyle to our Elizabeth ; they now called themfelves " High and Mighty Lords' — a title ofFenfive among Chrif- tians, as bordering on blafphemy ; while their behaviour in Pegu, where it was faid they trampled on the crofs, and bowed to an idol, for purpofe of prevailing on the emperor to trade with them, fhewed little regard to the facred religion of Europe. Commerce indeed, was their tutelary faint, and intereft appeared to be their only god : but they difcovcred Streights La Maire, they under Spilfberg beat the Portu- gueze in the eaft ; whither attraded by the fragrant gales from fpicc trees that lent their odour to each aromatick monfoon, the war- like plunderers preffed forwards,, and refolving that none fliould fhare the fpoil, feized all the fruit, and then cut down the plants ; fecuring by fuch means a vile monopoly, and circumventing their befl friends the Englifli; who under gentle James, gave them up willingly thofe cautionary towns which his predcceflbr had infifled on as a fort of hoftage for their gratitude, rather than compenfation for kindnefTcs received. All the rich iflands witneflcd their barbarous condudl when Amboyna was made the fcene of general maflacre, and. thofe Britifli merchants who efcapcd dTaflination and were put to torture by a new dreadful method, being obliged to fwallow gallons of water, with which the Hollanders drenched them till they confefl where was their wealth, and let them have it all. This was about the year 1520. Yet while the CH. vni.] ITS EFFECTS ON ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, &c. 173 the aggregate of this new nation Icemcd fo vile, that, as our poet fays : Hell has its AV/Acr-Lands : — fomc individuals bloomed in excellence, as do the tulips 'mid the fens they dwell in. Barneveldt, their virtuous minifter, rendered the grcatcft fcrviccs to his country ; actuated by what even yet appears the trucft motives of pure patriotifm ; and though the Dutch tolerated all •worfliip, and Teemed attached to none, polemick. divinity, well named theologia arniata, employed his pen and fvvord. Againfl Prince Maurice of Naflau, this bufy controvertift was oppofed ; lifting himfelf among the Arminians, while Xnsfuccefsful advcrfary (not h'xsfcrefie one) held con- trary opinions concerning grace and predeftination, fubjeds the world, now fcized, with as much avidity as if they were hoping not only to underjiand which is moft difficult, but to coiitroid them, which is wholly impoflible. The fynod of Dordrecht condemned poor Bar- nevelt, however, and he loft his grey head in the caufe at feventy- two years old, A. D. lOiy, or there-abouts.* His fons engaged in a confpiracy foon after, under pretence of revenging a fathers death-. One of thefe youths cfcaped by flight, and one was taken. Theii weeping mother, all arrayed in black, threw herfclf mute and prof- tratc at the feet of much-embarrafled Maurice : " You amaze me, " Madam ; rife I beg of you," exclaimed the great Nallau ; "but " tell me firft, why did I not fee you in this pofture begging your " htijbands life r" " Becaufc," replied the lady, riling with dignity, " My hufband was Innocent, my fons are guilty." Her interference laved the life flic gave. That of Trince Maurice had been attempted • it was fuppofcd he began tlic Tu.'ifomania, ys it was not unjuflly called , when twelve or fjurtcen years after Barneveldt'. death, a coiicflion of tlirfc flowers were fold for nine lAtufaiiit pounds Kngiifli ; it bclonccd to Woutcr BrotkliollmcnAcr : oiu tulip in the eollcd'tion, called par tmincnce i>em,)cr Auguftus, was valued at Icvcn hundred pounds of the money. In April lOT.b) an order of the flatc, a check was put to this (Inuigc trade, by iovalidalin^ tlie cun:ra£\s made by purchafcts and venders. 174 SEVENTEENTH CENTORY; [ch. vm. in a ilrangc manner fomc years before by the Archduke Erneft, \v]u) having ]oil a battle, pcrfuadcd one of Naffau's guards, a Roman Ca- thoUck, to murder his mailer, afTuring him that the mafs he had af- fifled at in the morning had a peculiar quahty of rendering him in- vifiblc. This made him bold ' of courfe, but it made him rafh too ; and finding himfelf feized with the knife in his hand; " Why how' *' could you fee mc," exclaimed the foolifh fellow, " 1 thought myfclf . " invifiblc." This miftake, though favouring of madnefs, did not pre- ferve him from the death due to aflaflins. At no great diftance of time from this conp-mavqui our RetroJpeSIion is conftrained to fee the great, the gay, the brave Henry the fourth of France ftabbcd in his coach by Ravailhic, a half crazy devotee, who fancied he was doing God good fervice. The people, pcrfuadcd he was only an inftrument of a deep confpiracy, put him to torture ; and though he confcfl: nothing, and had, as 'tis now fuppofed, nothing to confefs but the regicide, all France was of opinion that many were implicated in this horrid crime, though never king was more beloved than he, or had more qualities to attraft r.ffcdion. His friend and favourite, his firft minifter Sully, retired from the world immediately ; but Henry was fcarcc lefs adored by thofe he had been rough with. The Comte dc Soiflbns, who had no mind to bring up his forces, in 1507 I think, and who cxcufcd him- felf by pretending fomc pilgrimage or prayer, though he received the rough reply well known, " Ventre St. Gr'ts ! V\\ make him faft as well " as pray if he does not obey my orders," died almoft in our fathers' time at a prodigious age, bearing teftimony to the heroick virtues of Henry IV. not eclipfed by thofe of his defcendant the famous Prince Eugene. By him the divided provinces were re-united too, and under his reign flouriflied manufadories till then unthought of. The children left behind v\cre young, and the Queen wholly given up to folly and favouritifm : Econora Galligni, therefore, a Florentine, and through her influence over Mary dc Medici, her hufband likewife, fuftcr brother tj that princcfs, Concbini by name, governed the realm : new CH. viii.] ITS EFIT.CTS ON ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, &c. 175 new honours were fhowered on them every day ; and Conchinl, \\ hen become Marcfchal d'Ancre, difplaycd talents which made the whole nobility as furious as did the haughtinefs with which he treated them. He was abhorred, purfucd, and diligently watched ; good fenfe difiiked his iatcriercncc ; envy laid fnares for his undoing ; and murder, ap proved, it" not commanded by the boy king himl'clf, met his lail un- lucky ftep as he was entering the Louvre. Vitri's hand ftruck the blow, but le Due dc Luyncs dilated the meafurc ; and France was ruled by a child's favourite inftcad of a woman's. Paris rejoiced how- ever, acknowledging the young monarch as completely of age at four- teen years old, and helped him to drive his mother into confinement at Blois. She begged leave to go hovic, but was roughly refuled ; and 'tis curious to obfcrve the French hiftorians blackening Mary de Me- dici's charader in an o> er-heard convcrfation between her and HaiTom- piere, at one time ambaflador in England. The writer of La Vie dc Louis XIIL tells bow fhe was known to promife him wealth, honours, and carcjjh, in exchange for his ready obedience, hes biciis. Us lionneurs, & Ifs carejjh : fo tbcy render the poor Queen's words, which, in her native tong\ic, the only one (he ever learned to fpcak, were //' hcyi't, gTomri, e It car'ichi : employments, charges, in French. It is a literary blunder, from ignorance of the language merely. It is, perhaps, my ignorance of the':rs, which renders me incapable of iiuefHug what they could mean by calling Conchini t\\c python ; for favouritifm was by no means ended in him ; it was transferred to le Due dc Luyncs, who let the I'rince dc Coiidc out of his confinement, kept \Iary at a diftancc from her fon, and in the fole interview they permitted i)er to have with him, after the Marefchal d'AncTc was nij more, let down the king's part of the convcrfation in writing, and made him get it by heart. He was a married man meanwhile, and f;iir Anne of .'\iillria was his wife. But no verfcs, no prailcs could furj. if, in hriiiity and cleg;:ncc, thofe Cct Ar.re li bcllc, '0 ■/'-"> vantc fi :.rt M\i.i'rpr,r. w'licb 176 SEVENTEENTH CENTURY ; [ch. vm. which tlie Tame poet had made upon the haplefs Florentine, who now all but witncffcd from her window the cruelties committed on the body of Conchini, which was dragged up and down by an infuriated mob, who calling him an excommunicated Jew, dripped, wounded, mangled his half-buried corpfc, dug out for purpofe of wreaking on it far worfc Ihan brutal indignities ; and laying hold of his lady, threatened her with the fame treatment ; flie was, however, brought to judgment, as they called it, and there formally accufed of having bewitched the Queen, and being alked, on her Ihort trial, by ivhnt means fhe had gained fuch an afcendancy over her miftrefs's affeftions ? By thofe fame means, replied Leonora fleadily, that a great mind always finds to rule a little one. When fhe was carried to the ftake, where, after fome mutilations of her body,, it was burned, the people hooting as Ihc paflcd along ; Che popolazzo Francefe ! exclaimed La Marefchale with indignation ; but feeing Sillery among the crowd, rc- qucfted his nearer approach, that flie might beg his pardon for fome ill offices file had once done him when in power : that ceremony paft, in manus tiias Dom'me I flic cried aloud ; in manus tuas ! expiring as if infen- fible of her torments. Her brother, the Archbifhop of Tours, hearing of the death and confifcation of his friends, although an exemplary cha- rader, fald he would never truft himfelf with Frenchmen, and efcaped over the Alps to the monaftery in Piedmont ; while the Due de Luynos pcrfuaded Louis trcizc to tear from his Huguenot fubjeds all thofc lands and eftates in Guienne, Languedoc, &c. which they had enjoyed under his predeceffor. This ftep produced a temporary rebellion, where Montauban fignallzcd himfelf on the Proteftant fide, and le Due de Maycnnc, fon of the Guife, who had fo often oppofed Henri quatre Jiand io liand, after the old modes of Chciialerie, and was at length pardoned and protected by him, fell from his horfe, and died fighting for the CatliolicJi caufc, fo Jiravely maintained by all his noble houfc. Thefe events bring our RctrofpeStion to the year ]020, or a little more, when by the death of his fiivourite, Louis the thirteenth was again fet free CH.] r lu. ITS EFFECTS ON ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, &c. 177 free to make a new choice upon nobler motives. The Due dc Luynes firft won his affcdions by making bird-hme tor him to catch fparrows ; piegrkhis a prendre les moincaux. But Portugal now claims a glance of Retroflexion. Wc left her employed only in difcoverics, and mentioned her fmce then only in the words of flippant Florian : a flight recapitulation of her hifl:ory is therefore neceflTary, to introduce the revolution which will be obferv- able in our next chapter. Her rulers have dcfcrvcd well of mankind in general, and in the latter times have been eminent for keeping faith with England. John I. then was natural fon to Peter the Severe, and fuccecded to Ferdinand, who took the Moors* heads for his coat armour, as mentioned in Vol. \. This was in 1383. He beat the Spaniards, fcizcd upon Ceuta, and died full of days and honours, A. D. 1 '1 33, at eighty-five or eighty-fix years old. For love of his memory, and in con- Cderation of his merit, baftards were, from that time, deemed admifliblc to the throne, in failure of legitimate fons and daughters, and were, after his time, preferred to nephews. It was in preference to a firft coufm alone that he himfelf was called to reign : and his fon, by our Philippa of Lancartcr, Prime Henry, has been already mentioned as a promoter of difcoverics. Triftan Vaz, who firft landed on the Madera ifles,and is fup- pofed to have called them MaJe'tra, was an emifllary of his ; but that young prince died too ftjon. Alphonfo the fifth, however, lived to take Tangier, and to rejoice in the hope of future wealth f'.'und on the Gold Coaft of (iuinea. He was furnamed Africanus, and was fuccecded by John the Rigorous, whom no man could bias or turn, 'twas liiid ; when a courtier now and- then took courage t/) attempt it : " Nay, \\:\\ ," re- plied John, " that king who ad'^ by guidance or governance, is no king " at all." Many of his faying*; arc recorded by Vieyra. " I can," fays he, "anfucrfor my own conduct, while 'tis mine, butif 'tis thecfinduol *' of ajiotlicr man'.- mind, how dreadful will be fuch refponfibilit) ? " A tnifty fivouritc rc[)refentcd fomc hardfliip to him as felt by the jMopK-. *' Will you pretend to love my fubjecls a-. I do, foolifli fellow ':" c lics VoL.'n. Z lohn. 178 SEVENTEENTH CENTURY ; [ch. rnr. John, juftly furnamed the Unperruadeable ; •* I was born to rule my " oivti people, and I will rule them my own way." So he did, and with good advantage, as it has been affirmed, to the nation in general, never deviating for private gratification cither of himfelf or others. In his reign a Duke of Braganza afpiring, loft his head : he was the king's fifter's fon, I think ; but Juan had no family fondnefs. When his only child died of the fmall-pox, " God loves Portugal," exclaimed the unfeelins parent ; " that filly boy could not have done his duty by the •' nation; Emanuel will prove a better fucceffor; I Ihall be removed now " foon myfelf ; had the prince furvived this difeafe, my life would have " been longer ncceflary, and longer prefcrved." He was quite right; the pains he took to colonize and extend thePortugueze dominions in India ; the plans he formed for taking burdens off the poor at home ; the bravery he had evinced againft the Moors, were all confidered as models by his diftant but attentive relation, Emanuel, who in a fhort time fucceeded to his throne, and was faid to reftore the golden age. He proteded men of letters, encouraged commerce, took towns and fortrcfles in Africa, rewarded thofe who with an enterprizing fpirit brought home accounts of daily new found lands, but checked that zeal by which the countries fo difcovered felt cruelty confequent upon fubmiffion. He comforted the nation in general for the lofs of John the Rigorous, but could not confole the Queen, who in her hufband's laft moments expreffing her grief aloud, ** Be quiet," faid the expiring patriot, " Emanuel will be good to Portugal." " What care I for " Portugal ? I have loft my fon, and now I lofe my lord," fhe cried. John put his hand before her lips and died. His fuccefibr, after an exemplary reign of twenty-three years, dcfired to be laid at his feet, leaving John the third on the throne, who inherited many of his father's virtues, and is famed for fome peculiarly his own. His fhips in 152-1 brought into Europe the firft accounts of Japan, and to him David King of Ethiopia fcnt ambafladors. His Portugueze Majefty, however, more fliockcd by the ignorance of thcfc wretched mortals, than flat- . tered I CH. viii.] ITS EFFECTS ON ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, &c. 1 79 tared by their homage, engaged St. Francllco Xavierus to transfer his fpirit of good works and charitable inftrudions to nations newly found. This incomparable miflionary, therefore, quitted the Hofpital of In- curables at Venice, which he ferved in the capacity of ordinary or curate ; and at the command of John IIL, taking fome jefuit aflift- ants with him, propagated Chriftianity all along the coaft of Coro- mandel. Cape Comorin, the Molucca Ifles, the Peninfula of Malacca, and even Japan itfelf. Letters ftill extant prove the prodigious talents and learning which this pious creature, truly devoted to heaven's fervice, was willing to bury in places where they could be but merely humble, and often fupcrfluous attendants upon true holinefs towards God, and djarity for his creatures. Thcfe are the charaAcrs our Retrofpedive eye loves to repofe upon : thefe are the men who exalt human nature by imitation of that divine Saviour who took it on himfelf. The body of Xavierus refts on the ifland of Formofa, as I think ; he died there in 155 2. His royal patron meanwhile wedded his only fon to a filler of Charles V. but they both died before the king did ; and Don Se- badian, fo well known to fame, was their pojihnmous and only child. The parent princcfs fcarcc furvived his birth a moment ; her hufband's death had prcficd upon her heart, and difqualificd from all power to endure or combat the pangs of parturition. Her offspring fuccccdcd, at three years old, to royalty, but added a romantick genius to his valour and virtue, which foon deprived Portugal of all advantages from cither. He would go himfelf to propagate the Chriftian faith in India : when ■ftopt from that project by nearer dangers to that Catholick religion which fccmcd an objccl of paflumatc fondncfs to Scbaftian more than of pious care ; he joined King Philip the fecond of Spain againft Mulcy MolfKh, the hcroick defender of Mahometanifm, and invader of his nephew's rights King Mahomet, vho helped the Portiigue/.c in hope of conquering for himfelf, no doubt, and dcftoying an uncle vshofc ill (late of health rendered him more eafily overcome. The battle of Alcazar was fought in 157y. Mulcy Moloch, carried to the fit hi in a Z -2 litter, 180 SEVENTEENTH CENTURY ; [ch. viir. litter, encouraged his troops, and animated by the noble noife and thunder of the war, fick as he was, leaped from his couch, and fought gallantly at their head ; till overpowered by illncfs, not by wounds, he dropt ; and charging thofe round him not to reveal his death, fell glorioufly, while his brave troops, thinking him flill a witnefs to their valour, charged heavily on bold Sebaftian, who having had three horfes killed under him they hoped would yield, " Surrender, Chriflian king ! they cx'\t^, fur render ! your life is fafe with us'' " But who Ihall favc my honour?" replied he, and ruflied among them, till he found his death. His corpfe was never found ; his haplefs kingdom, a prey to ieven candidates at once, dropt to the King of Spain, whom Don Antonio do Caftro vainly attempted to keep out : when the Due d'Alva, red with the blood of the Protcftants, returned from all his horrors in the Netherlands, and taking pofleffion of Lilbon, treated the nobles with imexamplcd cruelty. Philip the fecond and his fon governing Portugal by viceroys, oppreflcd her terribly ; and the lafl named prince con- tributed no little to her depopulation likewife, when all thofe Moors and Jews were driven out, that made nearly a million of fubjcds, fent from both realms at once. Such condudl, though it rendered Spain a dcfert, gave fplrlts to the old Braganza houfe, w ho even then planned the reftoration of that independence which Portugal fo well dcfervcs^ Philip the third was ftill employed in Flanders, where he continued the fyftem of oppreflion. Spinola, his general, took not Oftend, how- ever, till after fifty thoufand men had lofl their lives before it. Our brave Sir Horace Vcrc flipt through his fingers with four thoufand foldiers, and he was forced at length to acknowledge the Free United States, as fuch, in the year lOo4. His fon, Philip the fourth, employed his agents to cajole our James I. with promife of a marriage between his fon Charles and the infanta of Spain ; while projeds of more im- portance were maturing, in what he deemed his natural dominions t and the year 1O22, filcntly carried on the Portuguezc confpiracy, which in eighteen years more fct on the throne of his anceftors, Jean Ic Fortune. CHAP. en. IX.] PORTUGAL, PERSIA, INDIA, CHINA, &c. CHAP. IX. PORTUGAL, PERSIA, INDIA, CHINA, TURKEY, AFRICA, AND ROME. TO 1650. WHILST the princes of Portugal were running the race of Chrlf- tian pcrfeAion here at home, their fubjcAs in the eaft fufFered gricAous degeneration, falling far below the true flandard of pagan morality : and whilft the fon of virtuous and exemplary Albuquerque recorded in elegant language his father's pious intentions and heroick deeds, Nurio d'Acunha adcd in dired oppofition to his fo great ex- ample. Wilhing to make himfelf mailer of Daman, an ifland on the coaft of Cambaya, he fell iipon the inhabitants fvvord in hand. " Why '• all this flaughter ? European," faid their chieftain, " take the place " quietly, but let us go firft, and give us neccffaries for our emigra- " tjon." The hafty and unfeeling Ninio (for fo his coimtrymen pro- nounce his name) put them every foul to the fvvord. The King of Pegu, hearing thefe particulars, refolved upon refiftance, and long wars enfucd. The rubles of that place however, although not ccjual to thofc found on Ceylon, attraded Corca, who, after lofing fome of his Portupucze by the valour of thefe antagonifts, thought it was befl to deal with them by ftratagem : and as both parties now began to wifli for peace, let it Ixr confirmed by oaili thev faid — nqrcrJ. " We fwear *• u{H;n a book here in the eaft, the Veidani ; it contains our law and " our belief." " Wc ttx)," fays Corea, " fwear by the blcll Evan- " gelifta." — " Bring out the volumes, Chriftian," cried the King of Pegu, •' and let us ratify our folcmn contract." An immcnfe multi- tude 182 SEVENTEENTH CENTURY; [ch. ix. tude of Indians, peacefully arrayed, arrived to witnefs the •well-meant tranfadion, calling the fun to look into their hearts. Corea had but thirty men with him ; but they were all in arms. When his book had been kifled, he held it up with a triumphant laugh, fhewing it the foldiers — " It was afong-book only that I fwore on," cried the cool traitor from our temperate zone, " Fall on thefe fellows ; cut them all " to pieces :" and fo they did, leaving not one alive. Another Portu- gueze, in confequence of a religious vow, he faid, knocked down the pagodas all at once, and fet his men to maflacre the poor Malays, who innocently came to weep over their ruins. Nor did the kings longer receive the produce unimpaired of oriental tribute. Remittances, which had enriched the coffers of John the Rigorous, were diffipated and detained by thefe truly worthlefs governors, who fought for fpoil like bcafts of prey, not men ; and having plundered the inhabitants of provinces, they were fent forth to civilize, not dcftroy, they robbed their fovercigns of their juft revenue ; while torturers, mur- derers, Lnquifitors, thieves in fliort, (call them how elfe we will) brought fhamc upon their country and religion, and made the name of Europe much abhorred. The fource of all this mifchief is not hard to trace. When 'twas fuppofcd the Pope of Rome had power to beflow nations that he never faw, w ide-fpreading difl:ri6ls of which he had fcarce time to read an adequate dcfcription, the reft followed ofcourfe; for if he gave enormous territories to a Portugueze king, he had not ftipulated to withold the property of individuals from a Portugueze captain, or the inferior officers who cheated htm, while he was defrauding the crown. It was a train of error and offence not new in the world, for where men are, there will be offence and error. So long ago as the days of Xenophon may Retrnjpe^ioft fee thefe ills provided agalnft ; where, in the Cyropoedia, the young prince is cen- fured for having, in his rage of liberality, bcftowcd a big coat which belonged to a little boy upon a great boy that he thought would fit it better. " Nay," fays his inftrudlor, " you are now in danger of grow- CH. IX.] PORTUGAL, PERSIA, INDIA, CHINA, &c. 183 " ing unjuft, when you fcek only to be generous. The little boy has " a right to his own coat, fit him or not, and 'tis tyrannick violence to " take it from him." Alexander VI. when he drew the line of de- marcation between Spain and Portugal, in South America, might have perhaps been turned from his purpofe, had he been reminded that he was acfting like the baby Cyrus, of whom he had read no doubt, but with more care concerning the language than the fentiment. Various misfortunes retard the progrefs of fcience : when learning ■was newly revived, fcholars ftudicd chiefly to polifli the key of the place where her long-entranced body lay : they fwept out her apart- ments neatly, claiTcd her pofleflions diligently, and fpent no little time upon the Jia'tr- cafe, admiring and juftly the gradual, the luminous afcent. 'Tis otherwife now'that fhe is once more in decay from age, as then from Jlchufs. Every pretender, like myfclf, who can make a light ladder of ropes, runs up now, and enters by the window, venlur'iug a fall, for the fake of fomc literary plunder, which we devour and digcft, and truil to our agility for more ; but never knowing cither the comforts or forrows of repletion, we feize the fentiment, and negleft the lan- guage. Such reflections will however, but retard our work. That it may not be gloomy beyond endurance, the charadler of Juan dc Caftro breaks the cloud ; and though Raynal rcfufcs not to grieve aloud that any Chriftian fhould behave with honour, he confcfl'es this man to have poflcft an elevated foul, and fays he had imbued it with the maxims of old Greece and Rome ; which appears not to have been a mere author's fpccch or common-place, for Caftro, after conquering Surat, amufcd himfclf and his companions with inftituting /ww^ra/ games, after the antique manner, to celebrate the heroes who died in battle ; nor were thcfc vidories as cafy as thofc of Cortcz or Cabral in the wcftcm world. Cojc Sophar was an antagonift worthy a warrior's arm, and one of Icfs note than Caftro would fcarce have vanquifticd him. The Indians indeed admired their prowcfs — but the faying of a Malay J8 4 SEVENTEENTH CENTURY ; [ch. ix. Malay chief ihews the fupcriority of thefc men's minds to thofc who Inhabited America. While Montezuma verily believed our Europeans children of the fun, this fcllovf w ifely remarked, that Providence had fliewn its care for human kind in creating Portugueze men few in number, juft like the lions and wild bcafts, faid he ; had they been plentiful as rabbits, our race had furely been annihilated. The Queen of Portugal however, when flic heard the bullle made at Goa by Juan, after his dcftrudion of the people who oppofed him, faid it was a pagan triumph ill befitting a chriftian hero. The reigning prince foon after thefe events, heard of a deep confpiracy in India, formed among the rulers of fome places yet free and independent : he therefore haftened to fend Ataida, who learned particulars of the ill- laid plot from a trufled miftrcfs of Idalcan, one of the combined princes, who could not keep his fecret from this favourite, and (lie be- trayed him to the Portugueze. It is obfcrvable that in both hemi- fpheres a love for novelty quickly engaged the females to promote the happinefs and flability of thefe new-comers. Women firfl courted the Trafcalans to entertain and make friends with Cortez — a woman now threw the Eaft Indies into Ataida's hand, but he fcorncd to abufc his power. While he managed the public money, none was embezzled ; w hilc he held the reigns of fovcreignty, none were opprcfTcd : but the death or lofs of Scbaftian, as it involved the parent kingdom in a tem- porary chaos, fo the milucky accident which happened to this go\ cr- nor ended all comfort of their fubjeds in the colonies. Soon as they heard Philip of Spain was their mailer, and Portugal now a mere pro- vince to that crown, a total change appeared. Some rich men made thcmfelves independent, fome turned pirates, and fome joined the princes of the country, v\'ho admired their powers and gratified their pride. All funk immerfcd in vice, which Caftro had checked, and Ataida in fome mcafure had rcflrained. Manners grew mpre and more depraved, till Hollanders, urged by avarice, as the Portugueze had been .Simulated by miftaken piety, and inflamed by martial ardour, ftcpt forward CH. IX.] PORTUGAL, PERSIA, INDIA, CHINA, &c. 185 forward and difputed with them the empire of the oriental feat of gems and fpiccs. Dutchmen were become exceedingly formidable in Europe : the year 15t>0 faw their fleets humble the Spanilh flag. They had, like ancient R«>me, at beginning of their republick, granted an afylum to all pirates, by way of galling their tyrant Philip ; and 'twas their coun- try man Houtman's having been long detained for debt at h'tfbon which taught them how to torment the Portiiguezc, when his prudence pro- cured him an alliance with the principal fovereign of Java, purchafcd God knows how, or by what facrifices; but in ]Gu2 their Eaft India Company was eftabliflied. Their competitors loll ground every day, and all went fo much in favour of thefe Batavians, that after Philip the fourth had unwiiely renewed war with them, when they were grown able to make head againft his power, and quarrelled with France be- fidc, he gave them caufc of triumph every hour, and llicwcd his in- crcafed vvcaknefs, fo that the valiant Portuguczc, by a well-concerted plan promptly executed, Ihook off the Duchefs of Mantua's miferablc adminiftration, and fcorning to be governed by the King of Spain's aunt, fuddcnly fet Jolm of Bragan^a u^on their throne, A. D. l640. This gallant prince was of the royal flock, and lineally defcended from him whofe neck fell under the axe of John the Rigorous, whofe race being cxtinguifhed in Don Sebailian's fole fon Antony, it was mod juft and happy for mankind that brave Braganija, in whofe family the blood was bed preferved, fliould rule his own hereditary realms by name of Jean U Fortutie, fourth, of the name. This admirable fove- reign, dcfcrving all that heaven had done for him, behaved mod fw<-ctly after his elevation, wearing the fame drcfs that he did before, and partaking of a tabic by no means more fplendid. '.' All foods " nourifti a man," iaid he, " and all clothes cover him. The diffc- " rcncc iKtwccn other people and princes is fimply this, that th(y *' fhould \x f^cnlle — but we fhould be kind." His reign, to wliich by ail n»cn was wiOicd a long continuance, laftcd tilWlCoo. Of his co- lonies in the caft indeed, few or none remained. Macao, Goa and Vol. II. A a 'i'lmor. 186 SEVENTEENTH CENTURY; [en. ix. Timor, were his beft pofleffions there: if however he learned how little -yvife it is for a fmall country to defire wide fpreading colonies at a oft diftance from the parent ncft, he gained more than they could bring him in, experience: for had things taken what is called a fa- vourable turn, Llfbon muft have been by that time a town of fa<5tors and merchants merely, with a good hofpital for fick failors, impaired by long and frequent voyages to an unwholefome climate. In the weftern hemifphere, the Dutch began likewife to threat and teaze the Portugueze when deferted of their rulers, and took the town of Paraiba from them about l635 : but 'twas retaken afterwards un- der the reign of John, while Puerto Seguro defends their Brafjls, rich in fugars, odours, metals, medicinal plants, &c. to this day ; Bata- vian invaders having been finally driven thence about the year 1650. 'Tis curious to fee how the new continent, however, degenerates from the old ; I know not whether any produdl of nature is quite as per- fect in the occidental world, mountains and rivers excepted, as in our own hemifphere. Though the tropical birds fecm more curious and beautiful in fouth America than any where : a condor thnt trufTes a calf as an eagle in Scotland would a rabbit, is perhaps peculiar to that region, and yet the roc's egg, mentioned as a prodigious rarity in the Arabian talcs, fecms the fame creature, and Pennant mentions the bird called a nick — when I afked him pcrfonally of the matter, I faw he confidcred the roc as a real, not a fiditious animal, but that it was lefs unfrequently feen in the 'vceji, under the name condor. The world in fhort, began to be known, examined, and arranged in the period of our prefent RetrofpeSl, namely, the firft fifty years of the fcventccnth century, pretty well ; and men faw how filly they had been, to think it was going to be deftroycd at beginning of the twelfth. Chrift fays exprefsly, " that this gofpcl of the kingdom Ihall be preached in all the world for a witnefs unto all nations — and then JliaJl the end come."' To do men juftice, they did fpare no pains for pro- pagation of that religion which had been originally founded on the gofpel ; I CH. nc.] PORTUGAL, PERSIA, INDIA, CHINA, &c. is; gofpel ; and though from pohcy the Romanifts locked up the word oi" 'God at home, their miflionarics \villingly promulgated abroad thole cxTingeHcal truths which CA'en miUtatcd againft their own intcrcft, and Jefuits in Paraguay were in our latter times found living among their profe!ytc-8 with fimplicity and gentlencfs refembling the Quakers' co- lony m Pennfylvahia. It was however, with none of thcfc pious and virtuous intents that the Dutch fought in lOoi, to open a communi- tation with China, trade was //«■//• only means, and wealth their only V?i(h : but the Chinefe fteady to the lame purpofe, intereft, have taken ■precisely the contrary method ; and as it was for benefit of thofe repub- licans to enter into every country, fo was it for the benefit of thcfc impcrialifts to keep every countrj's inhabitants at diftance from their own. If then it may be accounted as approbation to declare, that ■•vhilft a flux and reflux agitated for many rolling years the other paits •of our terraqueous globe, one nation remained rcfolutcly ftagnant, that praife belongs to Cliina, while Symes confcffcs they coin no mo- ney yet, but in their commerce with us at Canton, ufc Spanifh dollars. "Their fecond boaft is a remote antiquity, but Folic was their anccftor ; fo he was ours, if Nohe, Noe, Koah, be the man, as Mr. Bryant rightly ■conjectures. Confucius, fuppofed to have flourilhed about the time of Cnefus, and the elder Tarquin, five hundred years before our Saviour's mcamation, was their Icgiflator, and his laws, who was at once their Solon and their Socrates, are dill obfcrvcd, and laugh at the conftancy of Sparta to her Lycnrgus. The codes indeed rcfemblc each other in nothing unlcfs pcrmifiion of thievery perhaps ; as Ferdinand An- drada found them in the year LllS, and as Hambroeck left them 1 0-1.0, fuch are they now, and fo did >4Lncas Anderfon dcfcribc them in I7'j7 ; adding not an idea to thofe given us in Herbert's travels, 1O32. Duhaldc and Ic Comtc tell us fome amufing talcs of thcfcduc- ing women lent by the king of Xi to corrupt the morals of their emperor and mandarins, and how Confucius left the court, and with icvcnty-two dodors, a fort of Scptuagint, fct down Kis dirc : but why our modern men of letters Ihould fo eftccm the Chinefe {\^t fuch a rule I fee not. Had t/uy been bred each to his father's trade, much fjxrculative nonfenfe had been c\en yet unborn. Voltaire would have kept office accounts and llruck trcaiury tullics witli more cxadncli than he ufcd in his compilation IDO SEVENTEENTH CENTURY ; [ch. ix. compilation of hlftorick annals : RouiTeau would have been an lioneft watchmaker at Gcne\a, and Diderot's acutencfs would all have been bcfcowcd upon the knives he lliarpencd. They might exclaim with Nero, " Ifliat art'ijls pcnjlicd ! when we turned Polymathifts. Their friends in China were in i O^o however, although fortified with Afiatick fences, ftrangcly difturbed by Scythian turbulence, and Cum Chi, laft of the old dynafty, being befieged by Li Cum Quci, hanged himfelf in dcrj>air, like a very Engllfhman in November ; while Ufum Quei, the general of his armies, calling in Tzum Ti, the Taitaar, or as we call him t!ie Tayiar king, by way of auxiliary ; the race of Yao was ex- changed for an Ifmaelitifli fovereign. No alteration however, as it ap- pears, v.as made either in government or civil life. Ever ready to ap- plaud tJic'ir oven way, and defpife all the world befide, they Hill eat dead dogs as they did in the year 10-12, and ftcal with their toes as in iri20 ; and while the great mandarins made a joke of our prcfents in 1 7y(), their fagc and hoary emperor fcnt to the king of England in return a book he could not read, nor learn to read, nor take the fmalleft intereft in, was he ableto read it to-morrow. Such are the wife and the polite Chi- nefe. Wlien ourCharles II. once was riding over the Surrey hills, he faw a gentleman's feat, and aik.ed fuddcnly whofe it was. " That houfe. Sir," replied one of his attendants, " belongs to 'Squire Buckle of Banftead, a " gentleman of oool. o'year ; and what is worth remarking, an't pleafe *' your Majefty, it has remained in his houfe from father tofon for five " hundred years nowabout, and never either increafed or diminiflied in •' value." " A rare family i'faith !" exclaimed our merry Monarch, " which for fo long a time has never had either one wife man or one " fool in it. And with the like praife, if praifc it be, we will difmifs " this empire." That of the Turks did in no wife refemble it. A fu- rious tumult of the JanilTarles, who, like the elephants in battle, al- ways cither win the day by their weight againft an enemy, or lofe it by the confufion they caufe in turning back and trampling their friends, uilicred in the reign of Mahomet the third, who, having had private CH. IX.] PORTUGAL, PERSIA, INDIA, CHINA, &c. 19 1 private Information of his father's death, kept faft the fatal fecret and invited his nineteen brothers to a folemn feafl ; they, ignorant of Amurath's danger, though accuftomed to hear of his ilhicfs, came with pleafure and were ftranglcd to a man ; ten pregnant fultanas being on the fame day thrown into the fea. But the fierce foldicry, enraged they had not been confulted who fhould reign, rofeon the inflant and committed furious outrage, till Mahomet, and the great Bafias w ho had &xcd on htm, by bellowing immenfc largcfles upon them, pur- chafcd a quiet moment. A new tent was in that moment fuddenly credcd near Santa Sophia's temple. The young Sultan there placed before his ow n body the revcr'd parent's corpfc, a certain flielter ; and from that poft, fccurc and confident, harangued thefe riotous defen- ders of his perfon. " What would you have ?" faid he, " here I remain " fole progeny of this your favourite Emperor. Here He his other Tons ! *' lifting a curtain w hlch concealed the murdered princes : I'll join their " number or reign over Turkey." The Janiflaries fhouted " Long live •* great Mahomet ! lord over all, from rifing up of the fun to going " down of the fame." A banquet was prepared for all the guards, and a few of them being that evening fomewhat difpofed to mifrule in their mirth, largcflcs were no longer produced to appeafe 'em, but cannon planted round the principal fquarc, reminded them more roughly of their duty. Thus was the flate tranquillized at once, but Ma- homet had Chriftian foes to contend with, who would not fo be ftlcnccd. For whilft the Emperor Rodolphus collcdcd pidures, or counted the drops as they fell from a retort, or worked a favourite horfc between the pillars, or watched the immerfion of one of Jupi- ter's fatcUitcs ; Count Erneft de Mansfelt, ftyled the Ulyllcs of Ger- many, battled the Turks with fuch fuccefs at Strigonium, that after a dreadful fiegc it was taken, and the old Alibcg who defended it was killed fighting at eighty-two years old, after having told Palfi, the fum- moning General, tbat fire, fword and famine were the fame to him, fo as be fcrved Im maftcr faithfully ; fo as honour accompanied hiu) to the 192 SEVENTEENTH CENTURY ; ' [ch. ix. the door of death, and the Prophet called him in at the gates of Para- difc : but new and dangerous foes fcemed ftarting up againft the Ot- tomans. Some Ruffians, fo they are now called, Mufcovltes then, fig- nulizcd themfclves, when being united with the Tninfj'lvanians, they beat the old general, Sinan Balfa, at Bucareft, upon the banks of the Danube, where he had wifely formed a bridge of boats, on which a fccne of horror was exhibited, fcarcely furpafs'd, if equall'd in carnage, by the far-fam'd paflage of the Gran icus :— water with fire in ruin re- conciled. Nor were portents and prodigies here wanting to fill up thv confummatc tragedy, when on the morning of the fight an eagle, high- foaring above both the rival armies, {looped, not unlccn or unobferved of either, and perched upon the tent of Sigifmund. When Ihc had fate a while and plumed herfelf, the Chriftian warriors Ihouted, and fiiruck fuch panick on all Turkifli hearts who heard the clang of her wings as (lie flew off, that their great Baffa, expert in war, could not controul or counterad. Upon the firft aflault they fled, fure of de- feat yet dcfirous of fafety, to the bridge of boats, and when juft over, their purfucrs followed. Sinan fct fire to the fore-laid train, and the machine all blazed up in an inftant: while Chiefs confufed in mutual flaughter, Moor and Chrirtian rolled along, and made it Mahomet's beft policv to repair by negotiation the heavy lofs he had fuftained in war, exciting the Chan of Tartary to enter the territories of Moldavia, and make a ufeful diverfion in his favour. Buda being favcd meantime from falling into the hands of the allies, and a rebellion at Conftanti- nople criifhed in its infancy, the Sultan yielded himfelf up to pleafure, and died of the dlforders caufcd by its excefs, leaving young Achmet fuccelfor. A plague of locufts diftrefled the realm during his admi- niftration, nor did his tributary kings of Fez and Morocco contribute a little to difquiet him. Thofc diftrifts had been ufurped by a bafe- born prince, whofe flcep was everlaftin^^iy broken by the noife of a pre- ternatural drum: c!\ii difturbances followed, and Achmet was called to the dccifion. A fudden ftoppage of the periodical rains happening immediately I CH. IX.] PORTUGAL, PERSIA, INDIA, CHINA, &c. 193 immediately on his arrival, that and other occurrences of Icfs im- portance were all attributed to the powerful forcerics of Miiky Haniet, whom they averred to have a blue tooth — t/<7a/^j«/ according to the runick ideas of Denmark and Norway, which feem to have been believed in Ibfter climates upon this occafion : Achmct commanded the tooth to be drawn ; but the enchanter with one hundred men only, defended himfclf and his tooth fo well againft two thoufand Turkifli horfe, that the Sultan himfelf began to fear the wizard ; the more, as an -cxprcls came from Conftantinople to tell that a peftilence was begun there according to the words of Muley Haniet, who threatened his ca- pital and even his children at home, if he continued to abet the ufurping prince, who, although affifted by the fovcreign himfelf, could not be happy while the drum l)cat inceffantly in his ears *. Achmet next ordered all the dogs out of the metropolis, where he fuppolcd they added to and communicated the contagion — but thcfe animals being held half facrcd in Turkey, a dangerous infurrcdion was fet on foot, and the dogs recalled the fame day. An unexampled tempcft now raging in the Mediterranean which dellroycd vaft quantities of Ihip- ping, during which time Muley Hamet dropt down dead by a flafli of lightning, confirmed the notion that he was fome way conncded with the world of fpirits, who fnatched him thus in whirlwinds from the earth. A ftrangcr thing than ftorms, however, happened loon after, when Achmet himfclf dying, his brother Muftapha was fet upon the throne as regent for young Ofman during his minority. How this man had been prcfer\cd or overlooked, (o contrary to oriental cufloms, is furprizing ; but every rule has ita cxccpliun, and Mullapha profited but little by the accident, for he was fuun fcnt back to his confinement and the reins of adminiftration were confided to Ofman, declared of age at fixtcen years old. This youth planned tlic war againft Pohind with acknowledged ingenuity, and would have profecuted it, 'ti.s flip- pofed, v%ith adivc valour, hud not home-bred feditions prevented and • Addilon drew pctlupt from anecdotes of tliis drummer the fiift ido iC.'i [ch. ix. funk of courfe, and lie there ftill ftruggling in vain through two long centuries againft the weeds of offence and groflnefs which clofely clafp them round. Some of their books were burned ; and Bartolomeo Borghefe was juftly enough ftrangled, and then burned too at Paris, for feigning to be fon of Paul V., who had no children ; and whole charadler was that of a lawyer and a fcholar, a ftatefman and a divine. He canonized his contemporaneous faint, Carlo Borromeo, whofe virtues would compenfate for many wicked individuals of his per- fuafion, and whofe ads of beneficence ftill live, recorded by the Laza- retto of Milan, a prodigious work, and one whofe fame no invaders who fteal his filver ftatue, &c. can ever take away. It was, however, fup- pofed that the beatification of this excellent nobleman would take the edge off a new celebration fet on foot by George Duke of Saxony, wlio prepared for, and in his own pcrfon at length attended a Ihowy jubilee to the memory of Martin Luther in l6l7> after the grand congrefs of confederated princes at Nuremberg, called two or three years before. If this was intended, the failure ot effed was obvious as defervcd. Whatever was intended, Paul V. after beautifying his own capital, and intcrdiding that of the Venetians; after having received a real embafl}' from Congo rcquefting miffionarics to Africa, and accept- ed the French king's mediation between Rome and Venice, died, and was fuccccded neither by Bcllarmine nor Baronius, his old competitors for the chair, but by Cardinal LudoviH, Archbifliop of Bologna, who lived to enjoy his final exaltation but two years ; and after canonizing St. Ignatius, founder of the Jefuits, and Xavler the Apoftle of the Eaft, as he was fcarce unaptly called, * died likewifc, and made way for Urban VIII., two hundred and thirty-third bifhop of the xAd fee, who firft * It is, however, worth remarking, that Xavicrus was beatified, on a report of his body's being found upon the ifl:ii;d of Formofd uncorrupted ; thus contrafling Pope, or Arbulhnot's celebrated epitaph upun Chartres ; becaufc after daily, for many years, de deferving to be accou .ted a /aim, or holy man- for w!iat he had really done : Xavier was at length regifteied as fuch — for what he ccuid not do. beftowed en. IX.] PORTUGAL, PERSIA, INDIA, CHINA. 203 bellowed the title of ytnir Enthteiue on cardinals ; and who, like his anti-prcdeccflbr, quarrelled with the Venetians, but made a lefs honour- able termination of bis differences with them, than did Paul V. This was a Florentine Pope, a belles-lettres man, a man of elegant more than elevated fentiments ; fo pleafing a poet, fo polite a fcholar, that he obtained the appellation of the Attick Bee : )ct was he forced to fuffer the inquifition to condemn his ingenious countryman Galileo, bccaufc he would openly maiutain what Copernicus had quietly alTertcd and taught : that the fun was flationar}', not the earth ; in contra- dijflion to the Ptoloma;an hypothefis, which was fuppofed more con- fonant to holy writ. Bcllarmine probably recolleding what our allrono mer willingly forgot, how Boniface, bifhop of Mentz, had been excom- municated by Pope Zachary, A. D. 7-15, for teaching the fphasricity of the earth, begged of Galileo to be quiet, when he firft: broached to him the new hypothefis, urging that although Copernicus had taught the mathematicks at Home, he had more prudence than to broach thcfe difputable opinions there ; and added the impoflibility of his protcding him. But _/?•/><• timm nihil eft, &c. as Perfius fays ; and Galileo would not be rcftraincd ; he therefore had to abjure formally in the metro- polis of Italy, the notions which Copernicus taught peaceably in a hanfcatick town of Polifli Pruflia, without the comfort of thinking or making any one clfe think thofc notions original. Having heard of Metius's new invented glafles however, he fct himfclf for the remain- der of his days to endeavour by their means at more certain intelli- gence of thefe planctar)' motions, till lofing his fight, and his lady betraying his manuferips to her confcfibr after that accident, the papers were all burned, and Galileo began to think of turning the pendulum to common ufc, which he had till then kept for aftronomical purpofes. At a prodigioufly advanced age, death ftopt his further projeds, and left his fon Vincent to bring them to perfection ; but he had the good fenfc to ftudy at Venice, not at Rome. There Innocent the tenth. called the PamphUi Pope, began to reign on death of Barberini, C c 2 whofc 204 SEVENTEENTH CENTURY ; [ch. ix. whofe family was cruelly perfecuted by Donna Olimpia, widow to the deceafed brother of the new elected fovereign, who did nothing without her confent, proving to us, that Fuller's quaint remark was not ill founded, where he fays, that the church flood more in need of a falique law than the flate did, as it was often governed by the diftaff. It was not very often that its delicacy had been more infulted by females, than in the year 1650, under this pontificate, when a lady openly governed and difpofed of all employments civil, military, and ecclefiaftical, to the no fmall fhame of the Romilh court, and triximph of thofe profeffing purer morality. Among thofe boafted princes, he who is perhaps the moft defervedly gloried in by us who proteji againft the innovations and abufes of papal power, muft be the fubjed of the n«xt chapter's RetroJ^e6iion. CHAP. CH. X.] SWEDEN, GERMANY, FRANCE, AND AMERICA. 205 CHAP. X. SWEDEN, GERMANY, FRANCE, AND AMERICA, DOWN TO lOSO. FROM warmer climates and a ftcadicr funfliinc, we turn the retro- fpeStrve tube away, and watch the corul'cations of a brilliant meteor, that blazed along the northern hemifphere. Our chapiter laft but two, page 150, announced the birth of truly great Guftavus, fur- named Adolphus, fon to the King of Sweden by a fccond bed. The houfe of Auftria treated his firft appearance on the horizon with con- tempt, called him a cold aurora borealls, a chief of fnow, whofe fame would foon diflblve and melt away under more tepid influence. They learned to change their haftily- formed opinion, when afterwards his very fword was faid to be enchanted ; and the compa Louis Xllf. ■would find himfelf obliged to grant them afliftancc and march an army into. CH. X.] SWEDEN, GERMANY, FRANCE, AND AMERICA. 211 into Germany : " Oh, fir, no need of that, (rejoined Gufta\-us) ; if your mafter means in this manner to cxprcfs his wifli of making a campaign " againft the Swedes, (pointing at them) wc will treat him with a battle " under the walls of his own metropolis." Before the fctting of fo bright a ftar, another anecdote or two muft be lecorded of its courfe. When after pafling the Lech, a dangerous exploit,hc entered Augfbourg. birth-place, or rather naming-place of Proteftantifm as Antipch of old was of Chriftianity, prince Albert the Bavarian met, and claimed a boon, he fald, of the king's jufticc and knighthood ; that boon wa? neutrality for his own innocent family, who ought, he fald, not to be per- fccuted for their religious opinions. " Sir, (fald Guftavus) there is Juliana " Eledlrefs Palatine, a widow'd princcfs, and there is EUzabeth of Eng- " land, a ftill more unhappy wife , and lawful queen over Bohemia, " who are pcrfccuted to poverty for their religious opinions, and have not " where to lay their heads, can juftice and knighthood look on r" The duke retired, and the monarch got a dreadful hurt that day by a favourite mare's falling under, and then rolling over him, ftruck by a cannon-ball as he fur^cyed the trenches. Charles V. was right, he cried, the moment he could fpcak : " Kings are never killed by cannon- balls you find." Both fovcrclgns were right. Guftavus rofe from the ground, and heard that very evening the death of count Tilly. " Poor " fellow ! (exclaimed he with a figh) then ur fliall meet no more in " this world ; he was a brave old Ibldler, and I'm forry." The next enemy who fell, lx:fore he himfelf obcy'd the call, was Siglfmund, the warlike Pole ; who, after an adive reign of forty-five years, devoted to the fervicc of popery againft his own relations, friends, and even intercrt, died in 1 632. " Another foe taken from opprefling our " Proteftant brethren, (fald Guftavus) and God leaves me ftill to protect; " them : " He 'a< coidc avcc la micnnc ; France jc fors dc ma prlfon, Quand foa ainc furt dc la (icnnc. The queen, Anne of Auftna, did not difllmblc her joy in the lofs ol a miniftcr who had made ufe of his delegated authority to feize all her private papers once, upon hearing Ihc had written to Madame de Chev- rcufc ; 1\G SEVENTEENTH CENTURY ; [cn.r. reufc : and a lady of high quality, whofe brother he had brought to the axe for trcafonable pradticcs many years before, going to fee him lie in ftatc, Dec. lO 12, is faid to have addrcilcd the corpfc half mali- cioufly, half profanely, \vith the words of Lazarus' s filler Martha in the Gofpel : " Ah, Lord ! if thou hadft been /lere, my brother /itid fiat " died." Be thcfc talcs fa(5l, or fable, his mailer foon followed him : he was a prince, mal place, between Henry the fourth and Lewis the four- teenth, a figure in a bad light fomchow, facrificed to the nobler objcds in the group : our eye rcfts on Richelieu's ftrength, on Colbert's growing powers, or on the infant prince, ennobling, illuminating the glorious days to come. The father may fade into nothing when he will, after it has been told of him, that he convened les etats ghieraiix for the lafl: time, till we faw Louis XVI. do it to his ruin in 1789. France grew in power and importance every inflant ; her cardinal's glowing embers kept a kindly warmth about the country that he loved fo well ; and in the war kept up againft the Spaniards, le Due d'Eng- hicnne, better known afterwards by name of Ic Grande Conde, won the famous battle of Rocroy, and took Thionvillc. Spain looked from Carthagcna's tow'rs upon a fea-fight, difgraccful to her own fuperlor force, under flieltcr of her own batteries. Turenne aflifted to make this minority more fplcndid than the a(5lual reign of princes Icfs fa- voured by fortune, and beat the Impcrialirts by land, whilll another naval victory at Caftella Mare ufliered m the year lOlS, and produced the peace of Munfter. During this time the internal affairs of the .country were governed by Cardinal Mazarin, who had prodigious in- fluence with the king's fole furviving parent. Italian politicks feem always to have fwayed the realm of France, when a queen mother has been regent. This was natural while the ladies came from Tufcany ; but Anne of Auftria had found him ufcful to keep a balance of power againft hated Richelieu in her hufband's good graces, and he kept the poft of miniller, which dropt to him on that great man's death, half 1)y rendering himfclf neccfl'ary, and half by fhcwing himfelf fuccefsful. A pro- CH. jc.] SWEDEN, GERMANY, FRANCE, AND AMERICA. 2j7 A prodigious confpiracy of old nobles, princes of the blood, &c. was raifed againft this cardinal in the year li549, chiefly, as it appears, bc- caufe he was a foreigner ; and he left the kingdom for a while, but it was only to return with more power and magnificence. The king was no longer a child, but 3. youth, and Mazarin's nieces were on this occaCon auxiliaries of the firlt rate importance ;- but we muft leave France to fettle her own atFairs ; in lOoO, a moment in which her whole foil fecmed teeming with genius, though Maynard, who makes the ihadc I think between Malherbc and the enfuing wits, Bolleau, Racine, &c. * was found dead in his clofet, thcfe lines upon the door ; Las d'efpcrer ct<)fition ftopt the progrc/s of a trade which brought tobajco to our land, with other luxuries that fccmcd to render as rich altliough difcontcnted. CHAP. 224 SEVENTEENTH t:ENTURY ; [ch. CHAP. XI. GREAT BRITAIN ONLY TO i650. OUR eighth chapter left King James, firA of that name, fovereign in Great Britain, {o was our country, our whole ifland called after the reigns of ii^enry, Edward, Mary, Philip and Elizabeth, the initials of which names Camden fays, compleated an old predidion that when hempe is fpun, England's done : our flyle being altered from the king of Scots acceffion, to the compofite word Great Britain. James however, feemed to enjoy royalty only as it gave him power to feed favourites. The gay drcfs and elegance of mien and manners for which young Villicrs was fo very eminent, foon rivettcd his conqueft over a heart made vacant by difgrace of Robert Carr, who feems to have left no trace of his power, nothing but talcs of infamy, and the V. Old Jhfnnie/fet flill ufed by tumblers, taken from ///;« who excelled in feats of adivity. The newer minion now in three or four years at fartheft, from being cup-bearer at firft, became knight of the garter, mafter of the horfc, conftable of Windfor, warden of the cinque-ports, chief juflice in eyre, and lord high-admiral of England, adding to thcfo places of truft and offices of emolument, the titles of vifcount, earl, marquis, and at laft duke of Buckingham. His beautiful and provi- dent mother, fays his biographer, having given him an education more of gay courtefy than deep literature, no one ever filled fuch a poll with lefs danger of lofmg it; and Du Puy, in his H'l/ioire des Favorites, gives Villicrs the palm for managing in fuch a manner, as to procure and keep, free from all ri\alry, his mailer's purfe and perfonal afFedlion, wholly rH. XI.] GREAT BRITAIN ONLY, TO 1650. 223 ■wholly Ins own for ever. As the remaining part of James's reign was in reality his, the king will have lefs lliarc in our RetroJpeSiion, ex- cept perhaps to obfcrve that the cautionary towns were by the royal order given up for money to fupply the duke's delight in magnificence. Meanwhile a manifeft change of manners took place, no fewer than twenty thoufand mariners protected us, two Ihips of fixty-four guns each were built, and commerce brought hither the broad-filk manu- faftory. Saltpetre was worked in England, fugars were cultivated at Barbadocs by negroes ; the flavc -trade flouriflied, and gazettes were printed in every country, communicating intelligence from fliore to fhorc. The word was originally Italian. Gaza in that language means a magpie: they published a gazetta, or little chatterer, at Venice, telling the news of the day, in I G29 ; the fmall coin which paid for it was, from the paper itfelf, term'd utta gazetta, and Thcophrafte Renaud, a furgeon of Montpelier, printed one for the amufement of the fick in 1 03 1. In fcven years more we had not only newfpapers in London, but even private towns boafted their weekly courants. New- caflle was the firft. The Thames made during this reign na- vigable to Oxford, increafcd the internal traffick of the nation, and the new river brought to London by my countryman. Sir Hugh Mid- dlcton, increafcd the comforts of a now fplcndid and full metropolis. Hackney coaches, twenty in number, plans of fcdan chairs for ladies, evinced an alteration all defired to fee, a ftate of eafe and luxury which all dcfi red to partake; while the pretty ballad prcfcrvcd in Drydcn's Mifcellanics, fhcws how the nobility changed their mode of living and flocked in crowds to the capital, where fuch attradions were con- centrated, where fccnes were added to the theatre, where converfation was growing to be a fort of fcicncc, and books written to regulate it were tranflatcd into Englilh. Ariftocracy, deprived of its power in didant provinces, fought compenfation from familiar talk in the town, where cultivated minds, congenial fpirits might be found, with whom to difcufs the politicks of the day ; and leaving abftrufe ftudics, Vol. II. y f profound 22(5 SEVENTEENTH CENTURY; [ch. xi.. profound enquiries and logical ratiocination behind ; gay wit and lively rhetorlck fucccedcd to the publlck favour. Romance was going faft: out of the world, though not yet wholly loft. Lord Surrey's paiTion for fair Gcraldine, heated up to a fine poetick phrenzy about the year 1540, feems to have been no longer the falhlonable reading, and even the writings of Sir Philip Sydney grew daily lefs and lefs in vogue, though Johnfon quotes the Arcadia as a ftandard of language in our own day, and Surrey is at this time ftyl'd our earlleft Englifli claflick. His love being inflamed by a magical glafs Indeed, wherein Agrippa ilicwed him his lady repofmg on a couch reading a fonnet written by himjclf, while a wax taper gave him a glimmering fight of her beauti- ful countenance, rendered more intercftlngly a tranfient palcnefs, was- not likely to pleafe the middle of a century like the 17th. It was cxt adly calculated tor the days of Petrarch, whofe paffion Surrey warmed his own after, ending it much In the fame manner too; for having been victorious in a tournament where he challenged whole nations, and bravely rlfqued his life for her fake, all Europe refounding with praife of her great merits, and his firm attachment: this flaming lover afterall quietly married Frances, daughter to theEarl of Oxford, by whom he had many children, while the bright Irlfh damfel (fuch Walpole fays flic was) and daughter to Fitzgerald, not Tufcan Geraldi, was con^ tented to be third wife of Clinton, earl of Lincoln ; fuch conclufion of fuch rant, brought the rant Itfelf quicker to conclude. The laft tournament held in our country, for Elizabeth's amufemcnt ^ on Blackheath, was of ill ending. A dwarf appeared tendering the Queen a paper, fignifylng how fome knights from a far country, devot- ed to their dames, had vowed to maintain the honour of their beaur ties againft whoever fliould affirm his fair one more excelling. " My ♦' bold 'Squire," replied, her Majefty,. " you give rtiort notice, yet ftiall *' your challenge be anfwered." At the trumpet's found, therefore, out ftarted champions on both fides richly accoutred, and M. Cornwallis was terribly hurt by Sir J ohnPerrot, natural fon to Hen. VIII. The Queen felt greatly CH. XI.] GREAT BRITAIN ONLY, TO itijO. ^227 greatly dillrclTcJ, and a Mahometan envoy prefent, wilcly exclaimed : " If thcfe combatants be in carneft, this is too little ; but it they be in " jcft, believe mc 'tis too much !" A mcilengcr at that moment arriv- ing to tell how Henry II. of France had received his death's wound in a fmiilar conteil ten days before ; the entertainment was broken up» and tournaments put to a final and fatal end, both in our own country and our neighbour's. Thefe romantick and dangerous amufements, had their exit hallened ftill more, by the tafle people took up of tranflatina; the old Greek tragedies and currcc^ng our ftage by model of the old Greek drama. In this again our fovereign bore her part, and rendered the Hercules (Etjcus into Englifti. I fuppofe Shakefpear was a better courtier than to ridicule what had attraded her immediate notice, elfe (liould I be tempted llrongly to believe, that the nonfenfe he puts into Bottom the weaver's mouth about Ercles' vein, a tyranfs vein, and a part to tear a cat in, had reference to Hercules, in the Queen's favourite play, throwing the bcafts about from the top of Mount Qita. Her Majcfty was not the only woman employed in Greek literature, and ver- fjfications of old poets by female hands, were then coming out every day. Puttcnham fays, " We would not have girls be too precife poets, left with fuch flircwd wit as rhyim requireth, they become hateful to huf- bands who love not fantaftick wives." Harvey had faid in his charadcr of a maid of honour, Saltct item, pingatque cadem, do^umquc pocma Pangat -, ncc inuf» ncfciat ilia mcas. flutthc fear of dying maids and^«£|^/<' «■ vww^//, as Puttcnham threatens, Teems to have taken immediate cffed ; and ladies were fo well warned by turn, and by Edward Hake afterwarils, in his Tuiiclt/ione of Time Pre- fent, that inllcad of being fuch fcholars, that Roger Afcham reproached the univcrfity with the court lalfcs' fuperior erudition, they ran into a -contrarv extreme, and by the time the Stuart race was ended, a family re- ceipt hook contained all the literature of an Engliih country hufwife, however high her rank, while Swift's account of Queen Anne's maids V(2 of 228 SEVENTEENTH CENTURY 5 [ch. xi. of honour, forms a droll contraft to Harvey and Afcham's notion of that poft under Elizabeth, and of their knowledge who occupied the flation. All changed apace ; Hake wrote a book on the impiety of dancing,^ but girls did not leave thai off as willingly as grammar. The art, how- ever, underwent many alterations : a dance called Pavan, from Pavo the peacock, becauie they performed it in long robes puffing and trail- ing after them, was difmill'cd, and the fame figure to quick-time came in with Scots' reels, &c. We call it a truj'sd peacock* ftill, in the north, becaufe the train is tuck'd up as in a jig. The galliard which fet Sir Chriftopher Hatton high in his fovereign's favour, txWJiep by Jiep he became lord keeper ; ftill held its place at Paris, where Furetierc tells us, that in 1 558, a book of Orchejbgraphy was publiftied, denoting the names of various motions in a dance, fiefon, fiefon relevee, brifee marche and clofe : words now familiar to us all, but apparently new enough to Englilh people in Addifon's time, becaufe the Spcdtator makes much fport out on't. The Morefco, or Moorifh dance, brought in by Catherine of Arragon> is fcarcely gone quite out of the ifland yet, I believe. Morris dancing (for fo by corruption it was called) lafted till George the fccond's reign at leaft, and morrice pikes for the pur- pofc were common in Wales five years ago. Queen Mary delighted much in what reminded her of Spain and Spaniards ; but tumbling and trampoline tricks, at that time a novelty, ifichaunteJhcr, as wc read, to niuche merriment. What winder then, if James of Scotland, her firft coufm once removed, was ftruck with fuch performances ! his mind was not empty, though it was flexible, but no endowments give the power to ufe them. That quality depends on Jirengtli of mind, not fulncfs. This prince faw plainly bow the world was going, and he faw plainly too, he could not ftop or turn it. He recommended other modes to his nobility, and told the great lords with * From a trufs''eifca comes the woxi Jitath/pey, I believe. good CH. XI.] GREAT BRITAIN ONLY, TO i6oO. 229 good icnfc enough, that here in town they could appear only like great Ih.p-- upon the ocean, but that in their own fliires and boroughs, they would Ihine like great fhips at a river's mouth, eftcemed and wondered at, and benefiting thofe around. The wife maxims of a man whofe conduct was repugnant to de- corum however, juft at the moment when decorum began to hold a higher price th.ui learning; failed of' all cffccl upon his hearers, who faw him ever}- day duped by Gondcmar, cajoled by BafTonpicrrc, and fool'd by Buckingham, almoft to fatuity. The trick this laft named nobleman played, bringing a fucking pig wrapt in a mantle for the king to kifs, making him believe it was a new-born baby to which his. majefly had promifed to fland fponfor, was a device even below con- tempt, had it been praclifcd on a child of eleven years old : yet fcrved it as a (landing jcft at court, and to that foolery the duke alludes, when in his letters from France and Spain, prcferved in our Britifh Mu- feum, he begins, " dear dad and j^ojfip. One is not forry to fee every oncof fuch cpiillcs, ending however, with your Highnefs' humble ^ar;^ and [cm. xi. future miniftcr make his deliberate cteears, upon Lord Chcftcrfield's opinions before they were publiihed, paid fecret, yet cafdy-difccrncd addreffes to Anne of Auftria, wife of Louis XIII., whom he invited upon vifiting when confined by a cold to her bed, by the fide of which fate a lady, employed in preventing too cloic approaches, and crying out occafionally : " All M'^nfciirttcitr ! (iiicfu'itcs " vom donci' Ce nejl pas altifi quan adtejfe la Heine Je Frame." T)ie thoughts 232 SEVENTEENTH CENTURY; [ch. xi. thoughts of feeing his fon married, however, confoled the old king a little for the talcs told of his favourite's conduft ; and though this lady's fortune was farfhort of that he had hoped with the Infanta, flic was daughter to a king, which this monarch feemcd to confider as a quali- fication indifpenfdble to a Princefs of Wales. She was fhortly wife to a king, but his people's veneration for royalty was waning apace ; and fome who loved it ftill, fretted at the odd miftake made in proclaim- ing the fucceflbr Charles rightful and difputahle heir, &c. inftead of rightful /wdifputable heir. A worfe omen, however, might rcafonably have been drawn from that young heir's attachment to a nobleman, a<'aln{l: whom all ranks tcftificd now their undlflcmblcd avcrfion, not- o wlthftandlng which he continued to hold places quite incompatible with each other, though my countryman, his true fervant, Howell, admoniflied him in the quaint phrafe of the times, how his Grace would {land firmer without help of an anchor, meaning the office of high admiral, now fuppofcd too arduous a poft for any one man to hold, and Buckingham was rcfponfible for half a dozen more bcfidc. He and his mafter however, feemed refolved to do their own way, and then truft to their own fklU for pacifying thofc they had offended. This mode of proceeding did well vciihin the palace, when king Charles with his own hand turned out of it all the French fcrvants who came with the Queen, I think, for impofmg fome odd penances upon her. The confefTor, bifliop of Mcnde, ran to his miflrefs for refuge ; but her hufband fuddenly catching her up in his arms, hafted with her to the bed-chamber and locked her in, fo that, although fhe broke all the windows in the room, and tore off her hair, there was no remedy, fubmlifion followed of courfe. •' A family," fays fome philofophcr, " is but a little kingdom, and a *' kingdom is no more than a great family." The faying was truer when 'twas fpoken than when our foverclgn applied it; he foon found that the fame talents will not do for both. Charles was an excellent hiifband, father, and mafter ; but knew not how to rule a powerful ftatc CH. XI.] GREAT BRITAIN ONLY, TO i650. 233 flatc fwcUing with opulence, and ftrmcntlng with new and ycfly knowledge, that foamed itfelt" into a rocky head below, a Itrong mcphitick vapour hovering round, over which dangerous ftcam who holds his face, lofcs or wits or life. Buckingham, hecdlcfs and daring, was the firft to fufFer by his encouraged folly ; he would be fcnt am- baflador to France; Louis XIII. fwore he never fhould come there again ; in a romantick paffion Villiers threatened that he would fee Anne of Auftria fpitc of her hufband and of all his nation. Our own was by this freak engaged in wars w hich the furly parliament would not give money to fupport ; why fliould they ? Di (grace of courfe attended our attack upon the iflcs of Rhe and Olcron, and aflaflination waited the flafliy favourite's return. * Howell's account of it is fuccind, yet comical. " The duke, fays he, rofc in a zue/I Ji/po/cd humour from his " bed, and cut a coper or two, md then to brealfnj], amid ft a rujfihig irahi " of courtiers and commanders ^ The event is known to all, for in fuch paflagcs hillory holds out her features prominent for Rctrofpedion s eye to fcizc the outline : yet 'tis odd that a man writing to the Duchcfs of Buckingham's own aunt, (hould dwell with admiration on the cir- cumftancc of King Charles's quiet behaviour and fercnc acquicfcencc in his Io(s, nor can one refrain from fmiling to fee him make his exit with a caper. Clarendon's ftory of Sir George Villiers appearing to an old dependent friend, and rcqucfting ///;// to warn his fon againrt: fuch an accident, is indeed confirmed by his Majcfty's condud, who had often heard the talc no doubt ; and the hiftorian fays, that Countcfs Buckingham, mother to the favourite, was in nowife aftonifli- cd, though much grieved, having a fure truft in the fpcdrc's words. Spcclrcs, however, were unncceffary to tell what was fo very likely to happen ; and wc fee Lord Portland, who fuccccdcd him as high ad- miral, frighted to death ahnoft bccaufe feeling in his pockets one day * liiiducUcr» fonn married Uic Earl ofAntiim, Lord Rutland having, as appears, quiilcly cunliilcl liis t!..u5li'cr, tn vvlmlc liouie Howell iltlcnbts hun riding on a pr,j}. htft, foon as llic news lud reached Iiis (ouii'.iy (eat. Vol. II. G g when (i34 SEVENTEENTH CBNTURY j [ch. xi. ^^■hcn he changed them, a paper was found rumpled Up with thcfe words on it. Remember Cafar. Sclt'-love prompting him to think himfclf threatened with the fate of a hero his lordfhip in nowifcrefcmbled, he ftaid from council, pleading fudden fickncfs, and let no one in to com- fort him except the Marquis of TuUlbardinc, his intimate friend, who, in order to change the converfation, alkcd him if, he had yet bcftowcd the trifling poft he promifed upon the fon of their common acquaint- ance. Sir Julius Csefar ? adding, that he had taken the permitted liberty of putting a paper in his lordfliip's hand once, reminding him of the kindncfs defigned by two words only, Remember Ca/ar. Port- land then recollected the circumftance, provided for the innocent caufc of his panick,- faid nothing to his companions, but haftily quitted the court, and told the tale fomc years after. Cefar is originally a Venetian family ; L' Abate Cefarotti of Padua is of tire fame houfe : they almoft always baptize their fons Julius or Auguftus. Of this ferVant, how- ever, his majefty had no lofs ; he prepared for the coming ftrugglc, and apparently rcfolved to encounter it with roughnefs ; every houfe of commons which he called throughout his reign renewed and en- forced that ftruggle, and every parliament diflblved boafted fome old prerogatives loft to the crown. Party rofe higher and higher every year ; and diftinctions were foon obfervcd about keeping Sunday, which Ilomanills and Lutherans had till then alike agreed to hold as a high feiVival, being the day on which our Lord rofe from the dead ; it had been fo accounted fince the time of Conftantine, till Calvin feeing the abufcs confequeht upon merry-making, gave men to underftand it fliould be kept hol'tly, not gnily : a caution ufeful in the induftrious cities l.c inhabited, w here if the people arc allowed to play, they'll fbon fiul or.t it \\cre as well to work too, and fo the Sabbath is profaned and broken. But in our illand's foggy air, Calvinilin faw each object ot'dilfention maguificd ; and being grown much more morofe than at her birth, fuffcrcd ,\ith four malignity her harfa profeflbrs to drive even devotional mufick from the church : all ornament, all elegance was chafed away, each gloomy ill-prcfiging idea being with avidity fubHi- .tutcd rii. XI.] GRKAT BRITAIN ONLY, TO iGoO. 235 tuted in their ftead. Pn-nnc, whole aullerity fuqDalTcd belief, wrote aj^ainil: all amufements, all divcrfions; and tore the gilding otF life's bitter pill without rcmorl'o. When wc were called, in the laft volume, to turn OUT Rctro/pe^i upon the reigns of Theodolius or Piilchcria, a meagre troop attrd<^lcd our attention, but i/iey praftifed cruelties only on themfelves : thcfc ccnfured all who did not pradifc them, and tried to i'cttic forrow by eftablifhment, and to perpetuate it by long entail. The court, adhering to old ufages, was the more abhorred ; and to fay true, the cutting oft' Prynne's cars, and pilloring him, fcems a pre- pofterous mode of making their own notions popular, or deferving of approbation. It Certainly incrcafed the fed; of Puritans, and great was the company of the preachers, who called our clergy dumb dogs, bc- caufc the Icdurcs were in Anglican churches fliort, compared with the regular fcrvice or form of prayer; while thefe new teachers found fomc latent merit in extemporaneous petitions to heaven, and harangues to their mortal auditors full three hours long. Preachhitr was an art now, almoll an accompliOimcnt all over Europe; and little BoiTuet, when jull fix years old, was blcft with a peculiar talent for it. The French Melanges tell a droll ftory how the child's father called a large company of wits, lords, ladies, &c. to hear the baby hold forth ; his exhibition of premature excellence beginning after luppcr, and lalting till one or two o'clock. Je nut jmnais eiitcuiiu prfchcr, niji lot mji tardy iays Voiturc. I never heard fuch carh ot late preaching in my life before. But wo. return to England, v\ hence Ha/clrigg, Hambdcn, Cromwell, pnning tluir lincerity, refolved to emigrate ; and for our colonics in North America qiiit a country where the old crofs upon a church top, an organ in the choir, a furplice in the delk, and, above all, a decent altar whereon to celebrate our Sa- viour's facrifice, commemorating his laft fuppcr, offended their righteous fpirit. In an ill hour the king forced them back, by a llrange abufe of the authority flill left him ; for if men like not the vvorfliip or govern- ment of their father?, they fliould leave it. Compulfion never made good fubjccts yet, and that thtj'e men lived to be thorns in poor ^j g 2 Charles's 236 SEVENTEENTH CENTURY j [ch. xi. Charles's crown, no reader can much regret ; from them he Jid de- fcrvc reproach for tyranny. Yet was there no popular or general cry as I can learn againft fubordination ; what ncareft drew towards re- fcmblance of next century's fcenes, was the faying of a member of parliament, " That men were grown too wife now to let one perfon *' rule them." He meant, however, but a transfer of that rule from the king to the liouj'e. For this purpofe the lords grew obnoxious, and the l(jwer alfcmbly fjghed far their removal ; from poxver, as it appears, but nothing more. The tale Clarendon himfclf tells of a London citizen quarrelling with a nobleman's waterman, about faying that the fwan he wore as baiif^e being his maftcr's crell, was but a goofc, proves how fcvercly offences towards fuperior birth were puniflied. The tradefman paid fo high a fine it bankrupted the man. The Earl of Sutfolk, in the year 1 034 too, had been called a hafe lord by Sir Richard Granville, who thought himfelf cheated by him, (perhaps it was fo) in a conteft for property ; he was, iiowever, forced to pay eight thou- fand pounds for defamation : nor can a modern reader forbear to re- joice in the abolition of a ftar-chamber, that levied ten thoufand pounds upon Sir George Markham's eftate, as a fine during the fame reign, only becaufe he had horlevvhipt Lord d'^Yrcy's huntfman for in- folence to li'nu in the field while fporting : but challenges and duels once fo iVequcnt were out of fafliion ; that fiery fpirit was evaporated, and the coarfe dregs of avarice more folid, funk behind. Puritanifm felt more fliocked by fliowier vices than by meannefs, and pecuniary compofition for private offence was natural to England. See the firrt volume of this work, eleventh chapter. Corruption once again crawled forward into dirty life : Wentvvorth, a bufy fpeaker aguinfl grievances, attraded notice from the houfe of commons ; and Charles, who felt authority Hiding from under him, refolved to try the force of influence, and buy his friendfliip by prombtion. The Earl of Strafford now de- fended meafurcs he had once appeared to think pernicious ; and like the tame jackdaw, with cap and ftockings, was foon purfued by quondam companions as a defcrter : bis intimacy with Archbifhop Laud, en. XI.] GREAT BRITAIN ONLY, TO 1 650. 237 Laud, however, confirmed him in his court principles, and he delrnd- cd church and king to death. Charles, who had felt an unfilled void in his heart fince Buckingham was killed, gave to thcfe two great llatcfmen all his confidence ; but the queen who dillikcd rivals in her hufband's afFcdion ; having futfered fome perfonal infults from the lall named nobleman, and who wifhed to be the only favourite lier- felf, when republicanifm rofe upon the ruins of our conftitution, and rebellion s vengeful talons fcizd on Laud ; was obferved to exprefs her- Iclf lefs angrily than fljc had often done on fmiilar occafions. She urged the king too on that great concelfion, when he agreed to expel his fplritual lords from parliament, which fcemed furprizing to thoic who knew how highly a daughter of the Bourbon houfe was likely to hold up ariftocratick power. Her majefly however, true to the church and court of Rome, Jefp'i/'ed our ecclefiaftical arrangements no "Aliit Icfs than prefbyterians or even independents hated them. She doubted not but that the divifion among protcflant partizans would drive all England back to the infallible papacy which fhe preferr'd in heart and foul, to a hufl)and whom fhe had from her infancy been taught t«> confidcr as allied and predeflined to certain damnation. Placed among fuch fubjcds, fuch bofbm friends, fuch counfellors ; our fovcrcign hurried forward his temporal undoing. While Strafford's impeachment and execution, tho' not unwelcome to the lady, filled his indignant mind with fierce refentmcnt, approaching to a criminal ddirc of revenge ; — the horrid mafTacre of proteflants in Ireland at which the Englifli were taught to believe that he connixcd, the Scottifli covenant, and fome fketches of a new form of government moulded on that in Holland, and publickly handed about I^ondon ftrccts, incrcafcd hifi rage ; and irritated it to a temporary phrenzv. He fuddc-nly acufcd five members mofl diflinguiflied for patriotifm in their fcnfc, and in his, fcdition ; of treafon againft the ftate : and dro\e himfcif to VVcflminfler to feizc, and drag them away for condem- nation. They cfcapcd, and made fo good ulc of their lives thus favcd, that 'i38 SEVENTEEISTH CENTURY; fcH.xr. that tlicy filled the town with tumults and were brought back to their Icats in triumph by the multitude, whofe noify arrogance now drove the king from his metropolis, and prompted him to fhip away his queen and daughter, the betrothed Princcfs of Orange* fate for Am- llerdam. From Dover where they parted, Charles rode in hafte to York ; receiving at that place the laft propofals for accommodation before the fword was drawn. They were conceived according to the fpirit of the nrjo times, and he rejeded them according to the fpirit of the old ones. Then, without any well-founded hope of fuccour from abroad, without any fettled revenue at home, without money and without a fleet, he fearlefsly fet up his royal flandard at Nottingham. To thofe bright colours fo long dear to England, loyal ifls from every quarter flocked in apace, nobles and gentlemen of ancient families rallied round them as their defence from democratick tyrants, whilfl; the honed peafants, ever defirous to fee the royal caufe triumphant over all its enemies, clung round their monarch, who led them on with chearful confidence, nor feemed much to refle!acc afforded one, but Oxford. From that city, the true feat of Icnalty and learning ; Charles difpatched couriers to requeft accom- modation ; but no terms now, however advantageous, would be lif- tciicd to by a parliament, whence many old moderate members had fcceded, many had fallen in battle I believe, fomc had changed fides, difguftcd with their comrades ; and fomc had died of grief. In this extremity CH. XI.] GREAT BRITAIN ONLY, TO 1650, 24i extremity the diftreflcd, almoft the quondam monarch turned his ryes to Scotland, his lather's native country, ever heloAcd by both, and in lOiO, he dcUvered himlelf up wiconditioiiaUy ialu Lord Lcvcn's hand, then general of the Scotch army at Newark. Thefe, glad to fhare in that wealth they had long regarded with envy quickcd by appetite. Ibid him dircdly to his Englilh enemies for four hundred thouland pounds, infulting him during the lliort ftay made amonglt them in every poffible mode. When the king full was told of the 'ixiic bargain — a meflenger fcnt by the parliament to !■ tch.him there, found him at chefs, — " Go on with your game, fir, " in an unaltered voice to his companion, was all the anfwer which he mad'o ; they went on, and as a proof that ChariCs's fpirits were not agitated, after an ho\ir's play he won. This was of a piece with his conducl, when being in chapel an exprefs came and faid, Buckingham was aflaffinated — his Majelty fate the fcrvice out in calm and iindilturbcd devotion : much had befallen him fmcc then to //ott' ; yet wai his heart the fume. Hillo- rians never fail to blame the Scotch for Idling thus the life of an un- happy prince ; but they fay little of thofe fcorfs which he w as made to fuffcr while among them ; yet furely to fui with temptation mufi: be more pardonable than 'tis to fm without it ; four hundred thoufand pounds were in thofc days a purchafe for any crime, but to tread down already fallen fortunes, and prefs the recent wounds of royalty to tor- ture, only for the plcafurc of feeing them bleed frefh ; is a dif grace upon the fpccies furc, a fbain to human nature. The war Iiouevcr, by the King's dclcrtion of his adherents, was here at an end, he was himfelf conveyed toHolmbv Iltjufc, Northamptonfliirc, and while the conquering army bullied the once vidorious and arrogant common- wealth, he fccretly hoped to be called in as umpire among his hot contending fubjcds. But Cromwell, who was rifing to the height from which he lud lent his hand to Uing down his maftcr, fulicnd nothinir (that once done) to impede his rapid progrcft. **Ucturning \m re as tedious asgoo'cr," Macbeth (ays ; and Oliver had only lii^ '.in/ nul hi-- Vol,. II. H h <<>j\fliciur U2 SEVENTEENTH CENTURY; [ch-. xr^ confcicnce in his way ; 'twas ncceflary that one fhould be appeas'd and one removed. As for the parhament at Weftminfter, he had fpirit and fenfe enough to defpife t/tem, in oppofition to whofe meafurcs he fet up a. Ibrt of mihtary parliament, under his own immediate influence and con- trol. To tcafe the hou^c of commons, thefc petitioned and rcmonftrated, juft as the commons before the war begun, had done by the king, and with the fame fuccefs ; every conceiTion producing a new encroachment, till all their power was completely gone ; to tcafe Cromwell again, and fhow mankind " how even-handed juftice returns th' ingredients of each poifon'd chalice to our own lips," darted up a new fprout from his own independent tree ; a new fed:, calling themfelves Levellers, who cried aloud, that all mortal men were equal, that all fubordination and. government was of human inftitution and profane ; that no one ought to obey any one ; and that all property Ihould be Ihared in equal por- tions through every realm. This folly grew dangerous and might have proved fatal, had not bold Oliver, apprized of their meeting, fuddenly appeared among them, and commanded them to difperfe. A fancy anfwer from one of their orators provoked the general to levelhira with the earth, and having killed half a dozen of thefe wife men of Gotham and hanged half a dozen more, the reft ran away ; nor could they be any more colledcd for purpofc of enforcing thofe doctrines which hc^ himfclf had indeed taught, while they were convenient to him ; but without ever fuppofmg them fit for rational creatures to acl upon, ox< pradife. Another ftroke of unoppofed fcverity accelerated the end of England's troubles. Left fome connexion fhould by chance grow up between the houfe of dupes at Weftminfter, and their much in- jured fovereign, cornet Joyce with, three hundred men was difpatch!d to bring him to the camp at Cambridge, where the commander in chief fet fpies about his perfon, and by perpetual alarms of that aflaf- fmation he had long cxpedled, frighted the gentlemen attending on his bed-chamber, till they prevailed on him to run away, and feek for lheltcr> CH. X.'.] GREAT BRITAIN ONLY, TO 1750. 243 ihclter in the Illc of Wight, where Carysfort caftle was his prlfon till 'twas thought fit to bring him back to Loadon : where incredible of- fences had been committed, and various diforders fuffered by all con- ditions of men, under the oftenfible guidance of a weak parliament, incapable of doing civil juftice by any, and apparently unable to dif- band an army raifcd by thcmfelves ; thcfe happily for all mankind, now clofed around the city gates with Cromwell at their head. His prefencc there brought peace, fubmiflion, and obedience. He font their filly mayor and flieriffs to the tower, drove eleven members into exile for treafon and fcdition, as he called their impotent attempts to rcfift ///w ; and then made what was left of the houfe, return him formal thanks for his faithful conducfl. Poor Charles was now in- formed his trial was coming on ; the day being arrived, feventy pick'd men from one hundred and thirty-three who had been named to fit in judgment on him, appeared in their places, Bradlhaw the prefidcnt at their head, our long impriibn'd monarch featcd at their bar ; but ftcadily difclaiming their authority, and rejcding their jurifdidlion, jnadc no anfwcrs : left, as he faid, he Ihould appear to fandion a court which never had cxiftence in law, and which they had no right to hold. When permitted to fpcak, rejcding the (iyle of rcfponfe, he ufcd the language of unfullied royalty ; protefted himfelf their native and iicrcditary king, faid no man could be juftly tried but by his peers, and ^(kcd what was become of the houfcof lords? by that very enquiry ta- citly confidering himfelf as an old Gothick baron, whofc great anccftors raifcd to the fovcreignty in Scottilh land, centuries before, and England dropping to his houfc by heirfliip, he was in his own fcnfc, their true and rightful ruler. This fccne three times repeated, he as often refufed to nrcognize their fclf-crcated court ; as often fpoke to them by appella- tion of his mifguided fubjcAs, obtcfting heaven that he never wronged ihcm, but fubmitting to the fentcnce he had merited from heaven for having, in compliance with their wiflies, as he faid, confented to a virtuous fcrvant's death, meaning the Earl of Strafford. Such 11 h '2 temperate, 7M SEVENTEENTH CENTURY ; [ch. xr temperate, fuch pious ferttimcnts, fuch truly intrepid and dignified behaviour could not, and, in effeft, did not fail to make a temporary imprcffion. But Cromwell plied the foldicry with fongs, and pfalms, fa- natical hymns too, all in praifc of liberty and freedom's glorious caufc, till they thought what they were doing was to purchafe paradifc ; while he, proteiling 'twas againll his -will', and by immediate infpira- tion that he afted ; they willingly threw off what they now called aloud the beggarly elements of jufticc and humanity, and truftcd to the hiter- iial movements of their hearts. Thefe, now fuggefted the immediate execution of Charles Stuart (as they called him) and on the 30th day of January, 1 049, ^^ "was led forth to the fcaffold amidft infulting fol- diers, whofc fpitting in his face, but called Tip in his memory the de- vout recolledlion how his Saviour had been fo treated by the Jews. His laft words were an carneft exhortation to thofe who ftood around, that they fliould inftantly return to their obedience, and ex- piate their crimes by fidelity to his fon and lawful fuccefifor. One ftrokc given by a malked executioner, difmifll'd his foul to happinefs, and wondering Europe faw in the next year the commonwealth of England, a great nation, which did indeed at that time exhibit a mar- vellous congeries to all calm fpecflators ; to KetmfpeSimi s eye a mingled mafs, confifting of royalifis juftly enraged 'gainft their ignoble plun- derers : republicans oddly over-reached by men they meant for tools alone, a dciltical minority ftriving for rule, though contrary to confent of all the reft, and a grave fct of empty-headed fanaticks, wholly un- l"killed in ftate affairs, w^hich they confidcrcd z% profane, \^v\.otfnper- fliions, and \\\\o, when treating with the Dutch, betrayed a weaknefs which bent beneath that politicar burden they would not fuffer their king to bear for them. His^;vv and d'ljlroivn d head at length laid low, our ecclefiaftical fcemed more perplexed than even our civil ad- miniftration. The clergy beggar'd, bore with amazing patience their hard hap, while their oppreflbrs, fplit into a thoufand fed:s and parties, formed clubs of fcparatifts almoft ad infinitum, everv little piece cut off. c«. :n.] GREAT BRITAIN ONLY, TO i GoO. -240 off, cither uniting to fome other Httlc piece hkc the polypus, or like the iamc polypus ibrming apart a Icparate creature, endued with hie ajid crawhng among the rell. Take Dun with his club, take Smcc and Iiis tub. Or any feci o'd or young ; The devil's in the pack if choice you can lack, We are four/core religions flrong ; fays a high church ballad of the times ; to undcrfrand which \vc mul.: recollecfl that the Smcctymnians were profcflcd followers of ^'tephcn 3/arfhall, Edmund Calamy, Thomas loung, J/cithcw A'ewcomcn, and /f'Tlliam S'purflow, five famous diflcnters, who, in the cabaliilick man- ner, formed of each name's initial the imaginary word /mefht/i nuns, and their difciplcs laftcd a good while. Calamy's writings arc even yet thought well of; and his morals were irreproachable, if we forgive him faying that the frflh.i/ called Chriflmas was burled in a fj/f, and he liopcd it would rife no more. But it was a time when fome changed their opinions every day ; fome diflcnihlcd them, and fome temporized without fhame backwards and forwards, as intcrcrt prompted, or ca- price hit off. Seldin fays there was at one moment a hot debate, whe- ther Uflicr might fit in an affembly of divines. " Marry (quoth he) " 'twere better to have propounded another queftion, and Jiitc down " to think whether his m-jjefl-y's architect, Inigo .Tones, were worthy to " fit in a company of moufc-trap makers." Yet all thefe pe()i)lc fan- cied, or faid they fancied themfelvcs filled v.lth the IIf»!y (iholt; nor rccolle<5lcd that the apoftles, after the coming of that comforter, laid the Qmc things in different Inngiiagc;. Thefe, in their mother tongue ahjnc, taught different opinion-. Menir.vhilc poor Martin Luther's workb had l)een burned long before, aiu! that by parliamentary autho- rity, bccaufe he had faid in tlu 771 that next to theology, a virtuous con- dud, andgfK)d elaffick knowledge, he ' ved he mnfick of tliccliureh : feeing that by fweet founds anger i^ forj^i ': -n, devotion kind'; th, .iiid the devil flecth av..i\. But captain Henry Bell, hearing how tlie col- loquia 246 SEVENTEElSiTH CENl'UIlY ; [ch. x i. loquia mcnfalia, or table talk, a fort of Luthcriana had been confume'd, called to mind how he poffeflcd a fmall edition of it, and thinking much upon the fubjcdl, dreatned, how an old man (landing near his bedfide, lugged him by the ear, crying, " Sirrah, go now and tranflatc that little " book you brought from Germany, I'll find you place and leifurc to " perform it in." And fo fure enough he did, fays Bell, " for I was " committed prifoner to the gatehoufe, and worked upon it there — my " folc amufement, for five years at leaft ; Archbifliop Laud fending me *' before his death forty pounds in gold." Such was the prelate con- demned to fuffer decapitation under pretence that he favoured poper}. But Luther was no more cfleemed than was Urban the eighth, by thcfe extraordinary perfons, . among whom a clafs of people in procefs of time fprung up, who firmly expcded our blefled Saviour's inftant appearance on earth, Antinomians, . fifth monarchy men, who pro- claiming thcmfelvcs incapable of error, calmly propofed to fupprefs all clergy, all fchools, and all courts of judicature — and thus did they be- have, who had fojuftly protefled, fo loudly exclaimed againft papal in- fallibility. When their enthufiaftick phreiizy came to its height indeed, and they ran through' the affrighted flreets, faying that Jefus was their leader, and knocking down all they met: force was applied, and after fome lives loft, a temporary quiet from thcfe turbulent faints was ob- tained. The year 1053, however, faw Cromwell at length peacefully feated upon his Icl f- created eminence : the only man in all the w^orld, perhaps, who could have ruled fuch mortals in fuch times. His high, his fingularly-conftruded fpirit, pervaded the whole heterogeneous mafs he had to manage ; levigated, reftraincd, and gave formation to its £ghting elements. Stern in his counfels, confufcd in his harangues, he awed the feeble and perplexed the ignorant. A ruggcdnefs of man- ners too, ferved happily the ufeful purpofe of keeping diftant all ideas of royalty, while his alfededly uninviting countenance, kept even his firmeft friends from clofe approach, or undue familiarity. Skilled in ■tbe canting language of the day, he executed the moft daring projcds with BK. X 1. 1 GRE^YT BRITAIN ONLY, TO i GiO. 247 with the moft ftcady hand, while his tongue talked ot" '* waiting upon " Providence," " wrcftling with the Lord," and fuch ftrangc phrafes, not then by any fcft I fuppofe confidercd as now by all, egrcgioufly ab- furd : but coming juft fo near to uninteHigibihty, that they carried as it appears, to his auditors' minds, the cuftomary efFeds of obfcure vcrbofc- nefs uttered with gravity and fervor ; a Heady veneration, a fource of the fubUme. As for the wretched remnant of a parliament, when they began to prate of their pretended power from on high, he troubled not himfelf even to pretend regard ; but llarting up one moniing from the council board, fuddcnly exclaimed that he felt himfelf compelled to do an acl which made his very hairftand up an end. Then bailing to the houfe of commons, three hundred chofcn foldiers following his ileps, " and how long fit vr here?" he cried aloud; " Begone, for fhamc ! " give place to honcftcr men : you arc no longer a parliament — the " Lord has done with you ; /tell you, you are no longer a parliament." Sir Harry Vane alone tried at a reply, but the general's jeering voice drowned his in exclamations of " Sir Harry Vane ! Sir Hany Vane ! " the Lord deliver me from Sir Harry Vane !" Then looking con-> tcmptuoufly at their mace, " Take me away that fool's bauble," faid he, while Harrifon, by his command, dragged the fpcaker from his chair. Such was the condu''^^ [cH.xrr. and that fo ill paid, that when Cardinal de Rctz caHe J one day to vifit them, the princefs Henrietta, afterwards duchcfTe d'Orleans, was lying a-bcd, bccaufe, as her mother told him, Ihe was not well, and they could not afford fire to warm her. Mazarin however lived not long, he was content to die, he faid, when he had put into his mailer's arms a queen worthy France, the pretty Spanifli Infanta, whofe brother born fickly, and as the phrafc is, kept aJ'tve by art, gave the houfe of Bourbon rational hopes of annexing Spain with all her ill-acquired wealth to their poffeflions ; but this hope the king formally renounced, (one fees not why) at his marriage ; and Voltaire fays, that the Queen's fortune was fo fmall, it coft more than 'twas worth to fetch it from the frontiers. Philip the fourth had indeed fuffered fufficient mor- tifications ; the times were changed in that country fince his imme- diate grand-father, in piety and pride built the Efcurial, the work of twenty-four years, the expence eight millions fterling, with filver lamps three yards in circumference, and candleflicks of the fame metal fix feet high : all this in honour of St. Laurence, whofe fine monaftery he had at St. Quintin, been obliged to batter down, making a vow of compenfation accompanied with oaths, that no time fliould ever fee that faint fo venerated as by him ; and 'tis therefore that the whole toge- ther, palace and convent, form with their courts the figure of a gridiron, emblem of the old martyr's virtue and inftrument of his death : an emblem and inftrument profaned and vilified by Cortez, thirteen cen- turies after, when Guatimozin, the emperor of Mexico, was llrctched on it, in order by tortures to force from him thofe treafures he had caft into the lake for fecurity : but punifhmcnt was coming on apace. l\>:tugal and Holland, now independent powers, enjoyed the humili- ation of a country once fo proud and arrogant ; but of late con- llraineu by articles in the treaty of Wefl:phalia, to accept thankfully the friendihip of thofe they deemed for many years unworthy pardon. France had not, however, ten fhips that could carry fifty guns in l053, and while Cromwell's vid:orious fleets covered the ocean, old Mazarin, wrapt up in that perpetual w/"!?////;/ apparently inherent in ecclefiafticks of \ CH. xii]. FRANCE, SPAIN, SWEDEN, ITALY, TO 1 700. 25 1 of the Roman ftatc, fought only how to make the king forget all for- mer fancies, while he enriched his nephews and his nieces, leaving them trcafures vhich amazed mankind. Hortenfia, married to the Comte de Meillerayc, and hating her hufband, \\as made duchcfs of Mazarin in her own right, and lived for many years in England after the Rcftoration. The Due dc Crequi, her brother, had been employed to pay fervile court to Oliver during the protedorate, but was defpifed and threatened, and there is yet, as I believe, a letter fomewhere pre- ferved from Cromwell beginning, " T/wn tici'itor Mazarin f and de- manding the keys of Dunkirk, it I'm right. To this peculator of the publick money fucceeded a greater minifter, a w ifer man, Colbert; than whom no ftatcfman ever more contributed to aggrandize his country. He cftablifhcd manufactures and promoted commerce : his care of their marine is ftill vlfible in its effeds. He fer\ed the nation, and fo loved his prince, that when abufed, and pamphletcd.and libelled, one faid " There is a bitter fonnet againft you publiftied this morning" — " Is the king's " honour offended by their verfes ?" was his immediate queftion — " No, " not at all." Then am not I offended," was the reply. This extra- ordinary man was an elcve of Mazarin, who fent him not nineteen years old ambaifador to Denmark, and in a few years more to Portugal. He had likcwife his ihare in that famous treaty of Weftphalla, by which a new cler();cd of cluftcring round his lovely daughter's character each contrarlct} of cx- • What an affliiHion this muft h.ivc hccn to Oxcnftiern one may gii< fs l>y the ac- rmint whidin'» hail, wlicrc to obtain reception in gotliicic rred a Pro- tcflant of any denomination, and felt the edict of Nantes as a fitter round his feet. Yet when the Due de Crccjui, his ambalTador, fancied hinili-lf oticnded by the Pope's guards at Home, the fatibfaeacc for multitudes of robbers thus encouraged." All other nations gave up the gothick prerogative at once, but LcvnIs the fourteenth would not yield a llcp. He fcnt Monficur dc Lavartin, with exprcfs orders to favc from juilice the firll rafcal who was feen running to- wards his precind;s, and if complaint was made, to give the fellow active and even armed defence. An opportunity foon offered, Lavar- din followed his mafter's directions, and paraded before the windows of the Vatican, with four hundred men ranged for immediate battle. Innocent refented the affront, rcfufing the ambaffador admittance to his prcfcnce, till pardon fliould be afked, and this vile immunity re- nounced. Lavardin wrote home for orders, and heard in return that Iiis king had arrefted Renucci, nuncio from the Holy See, fcizcd upon Avignon again, and menaced Rome with war, J^vis le vieur.ger, fays his flattering hiftorian. In return, Innocent confcious that he was right, intcrdided the church of St. Lx)uis, where the French always hear divine fervice, and prepared for a lading conteft on the very day he died, after having commanded females to drcfs decently under pain ot' excommunication, and after having tried to publifti a bull againft lavifhing away the papal revenue on private families, but not one car- dinal would give his consent. The Ottoboni fucceflbr lived too fliort a time to do much good or harm, and Innocent XII. fucceeding to the virtue* of his anti-prcdc- cciTor with more health of body and hope of long life, drove on the bull againft ncpotifm and got it figned, 'fpite of his cardinals' remon- ilranccs. The boofts of myftick divinity rccommcading quictifm and placing all merit in a mind abftradcd from the world, and filled witJi Vol. II. K k love 258 SEVENTEENTH CENTURY; [ch.xit. love of Jefus Chrift alone, were by this Pope declared unfound and even erroneous. Their great promoter and protector Fenelon, fub- mitted his opinions with filial reverence ; nor would converfc with heaven itfelf when unpermitted by the parent fee. With thefe coni- folatory charaftcrs, dear to the impartial retrofpeoitve eye, we leave the ecclefiaftick ftate fhorn of its beams, bereft of power much to injure any one, but under the guidance of Innocent XII. defiring no increale of dignity, and only wilhing that peace he could not keep. His valuable life was fnatched away from further trial of his virtue in the year 1 700. Meanwhile vi<5lorious l/ouis, juftly deferving that furname of Great, which was adjudged him- afterwards with needlefs formality, augmented his power with folid advantages, never loft fight of midft all the daz^ zling fplendours that furrounded him. The year ] 004 faw him fur^ pafs his former caroufals in the famous fete de Verfaillcs ; three queens were fpedatreffes of the ftiow, bcfides our Charles the fecond's fifter, become fifter-ln-A/w to the king of France, whofe fancy ftie touched by her wit for a while, and was jealous when La Valiere, her maid^s fuperior beauty called off his attention. Her gentler foul folicited ^■ heart, but found in her royal lover only a defire of triumph. Refift- ance inflamed his paffion and excited him to add each artifice of ele- gant gaiety, that might foftcn and feduce away her watchful virtue : he might have faid with Prior's Solomon, I court her various in each fhapc and drds*. That luxury can form, or fpeech exprefs: " '^vv^. and 'tis iuppofed the Poet drew his character of Abra from La Valiere. Madame however, Henriette d'Orleans was ufeful to his purpofes, if no longer pleafing to his humour. The fugitive prince her brother, to whom as to herfelf and haplefs parent, France had refufed Ihelter •when moft in need ; was now reftor'd : and by a laxity of difpo- fition unexampled, was willing, in time of his elevation, to forget both injuries and favours received in his diftrefs. Charles wanted money CH. XII.] FRANCE, SPAIN, SWEDEN, ITALY, TO 1 700. 25i) for thofe empty plcafurcs which fccmcd to compcnfate all his forrows paft ; and Lewis wanted aggrandizement of his dominions. The king of England fold, at his ililer's rcqucft, and the king of France pur- chafed, by his quondam favourite's intervention, that Dunkirk which Oliver had bra\ ely protedcd. The Englilh miniller Clarendon car- ried away into banifhment the hatred due to fuch an unpopular ftcp, and ow: vncTry monarch, who valued nothing but a woman and a joke, accepted a French lady of his filler's train, and joined in the general laugh againft his only true friend, the chancellor. His new acqui- iition however, attraded the more ferious care of Louis quatorze ; who meditated an in\ afion of Holland, now grown fancy by the decay of trade to trembling Venice, Ihrinking from Turkilh power ; grown faucy too by tlic ftrange flothful temper crept over Great Britain, and by the induftrj- of its own inhabitants. The riches they had accumu- lated in the eaft held out a glittering temptation to the gay ruler of Vcrfailles, who diifembling his purf>ofe and deferring it, ufed the in- termediate moments in ftrcngtheniiig his frontiers, improving his armies, keeping ftrid difcipline among the troops by land, and view- ing with rational and fmccre delight tlie prodigious movements made by Colbert, to give his mafter the dominion of long-refradlory Ocean. He had cftabliHied a maritime council, which the king attended in pcrfon once ©'fortnight ; a Weft India company was crcded, an- other for the Eaft; his majefty fet this laft up himfelf, and perfuaded the queens, the courtiers, the miniftcrs to fublcribe ; he called it ///.» company, and to that ftep Pondicherry, &c. owe their exiftcncc, their importance to Europe at kaft. Colbert adorned France too while he enriched it, the paved roads, tl»c gol>clins' tapcftry, the fa(jadc du Louvre arc the works of Colbert, who put it in the royal mind to fetch Bernini from Rome, and fct up Pari^ as a rival tu Italian talle, Italian luxur\. Yet while the King delighted to fliinc himfelf in a triumphal car. the fun reprcfcntcd fliining around hini, the motto, ncc plinihui impor, having obfcr^cd his minifter's de\ice, a fqwirrcl climbing, and the words K k 2 a quo i6o SEVENTEENTH CENITTRT^^^^^^ ^ [cm xir. a quo non afcendam P he was ofFcnded, and Colbert dircdver*d by ex- perience what Voltaire fo fcnfibly obfcrvcs, that 'twas his mafter's in- tentions that every Frenchman fliould be gay, but no man great ex- cept himfelf. He was of the flimc mind m ith regard to other fovc- reigns. The Pope's nuncio and nephew, when' he came to humble him- felf about the affair of Lavardin, was received with pompous politqncfs,. and magnificent attentions, which fliowcd how fricnce civilized the world and wit affillcd in the work, Louis XIV, forced his contempora- ries to flatter him, and by his happy acceptance of their homage, taught them how flattery fliould be received, France was now forwarder in manners than any other country of Europe at his acccffiem A late writer tells us, that the elmmUers des provinces in France nev^r left ©ft' beating their peafantry, till comedies, novels, &c. taught the Jine people forfooth, that fome amufement as well as advantage might be made out of the coarfe ones. Molicre's plays graced thefe times, and upon this principle may be fappoled to have done more for humanity than thofeof Corneille, who rcprefents man always inaftate of exalta- tion, fometimes above humanity itfelf. Their King meantime in- fpired all his court and all his country with talents of which his own celebration feemcd the folc object, the increafe of his dominions the fole Intent : he left it to the poets to fay clever things, content to give them daily new fubjc<^ on which to exercifc their genius. Unlike Chrift;ina, he was well aware that a head poflcfled wholly by the fop- peries of literature, refembles the fummer-gilded iflands in the caft, all fpicc and no bread, for the Molucca inhabitants grow not corn ; the pith of fago ferves them at their meals, ufing it in the fame man- ner as we ufe a loaf, but although neither a profefs'd wit himfelf, nor a rough foldier ; never was general {o fer\ed in war, never was prince fo celebrated In time of peace : that his troops might be ready when the quarrel was prepared, he fent them .out to exercifc againfl: the Ottomans, who headed by their grand vizier, brave Mufl:apha, threat- ened the lofs of Hungary to Europe. Their threats were vain : and Raab eiT. xn.J FRANCE, SPAIN, SWEDEN, STA^Y, TO » 7D0> i6i Raab was faved this time, for the emperor Leopold, wljofe young Ita-- Han leader Montecuculi, and French forces under la Fcuillade, won him the famous battle St. Godart, while Dutch and Englilh quarrcl- Hng for the dominion of the i'cas and honour of the flag, as it wbs- called, weakened each other's ftrcngth, and helped accelerate the mo- ment when Holland (hould be completely over-run-; nor Holland only, all the Netherlands were fliortly given an ill-rdifting prey to this new conqueror, who feeing London flirunk up by peftilcnce and fire, Madrid mourning her imbecillity, Vienna in fear of vlfitation from the Turks, and Portugal employed in fpinning a dofe web of defence for bcrfelf to flccp in, regardlcfs of her fellow* on the continent : conceived,- perhaps, in 1O70, the project of fctting up at Paris the ftandard of uni-- vcrfal monarchy,, and the defign of renewing the days of Charlemagne. Philip the fourth's death, his lady's father, afforded him, not a prrtt'nrc, ■ but a good opportioiity of fcizing the Low Countries in right of his queen, the fair Infanta,, wha had renounced all claim trf fuch pof-- fcflions at her marriage ; and as to Holland, fo rapid was the king of France's progrcTs there, that ih the firft campaign of 1O72, a fuddcn panick pervaded the vcr)' ftrccts of Amftcrdam, where, with tlic true commercial terror on their fpirits, trembled the whole body of her wealthy merchants, till William de NaiTau, upon whofc ancient ho- nourable houfc they looked with jealous eye in time of peace, favcd the cxiftcncc of their expiring country ; '.vorth Jhvii'fr had it pro- duced him alone. His early judgment, his intrepid valour, hi> ff)ri light foon convinced the wondering world that it co\i!d hold anotlKr clia- raftcr of eminence, and that it was not made w holly for I .oxw quator/c. While this young >varrior's pertinacious fpirit ftrengthcncd by fucccls and purified from meannefs, locked itlelf up in fcorn of thole who yielded, and in ftem rcfolution to defend the Protcftant caufe, Ihould all things terminate in a religious war; the marquis de Turcnne, little fufpcfting that he was fighting 'gainfl his trueft friends, while he ])ro- raotcd French aggrandizcnwnt, took in no more than twenty-two day? (fa>>- 352 SEVENTEENTH CENTURY v^^f.h i [ca. xh. ((ays his biographer) no fewer than forty towns ; chafed tlic ImperiaUlts acrofs the Rhine, and drove the elcftor of Brandenburgh home with diigrace to Berlin. A cannon ball, however, burft this formidable meteor at Safpach, 27th July, l-O/S. The king buried him among tlie royal corpfes at St. Deny*, nothing doubtful of Wis future happi- Dcfs when he had perfuaded him, not without difficulty, to forfakc the Lutherans and depend upon the Romlfli tenets for falvation. Turcnne's virtues would have done credit to any communion of Chrlftians ; he was modcft, gentle, pious and humane, and that he ftained fuch an ami- able character by dejertion, a foldier's mcancfl: vice, we will attribute to his royal ieducer, who could n«t be pleafed, w even ferved by a Pro- Ujlant. While the prince detConde, emulous of his coufrn's favour, difconcerted the Dutch at Senef, and raifed his fame fb high, that only B<^)iruct'-s tongue icould celebrate his excellence as it defcrved ; Sicily wltnolled the triumphs of Louis fourteenth, through another eminent general, brother to his.mlftrefB, la DuchclTe de Montefpan, and known to hlftor}' by name of le Due de Vivonne. He exhibited much ikill in tadlcks atDouai and Lille, was wounded In the war with Holland, but his fucccfs at Mcffina made him mardchal de France ; bis wit and pleafantry created him admirers hi all who were admitted to thofe cir- cles, where his fiftcr Gabrlelle gave an example of learning and piety to her contemporaries : his other filler Athcnals, Icfs beautiful than TAb- befle de Fontevrault, but a ery handfome ; and pofleffing thofe talents for -converfation, which at the court of Louis the fourteenth, were called, in honour of their family, tJLj'prtt de Mortemar, kept her royal lover's paffion warm and unabated for fo many years, that (he faw his youngeft daughter by her legitimated, and marrie- member, and Ypres only fevcn. .Una dies lothoros, Burgundos bcbdomadas una. Una donnoii Batavos luna — quid Annus crii ? iaid the philoibphcr Mariottc, * which Bouhoiirs tranflates into four French lines : — II prit en un jour la Lorraine, La Bourgognc en unc Icmaine, \ji Mollandc en un mob, nialgre le CaAillaR, Que ne prcndra-t-il en un an ? Burgundy's conqueft cod a week, a day fuflic'd Lorrain, A month gave Holland to our arms, what will the year contain ?" But while his arms over-run all Europe, vcrfcs on his praife deluged his native land; conquered nations were rcprcfcnted round his (latuc, v'lro immcrUili dedicated one building, premiums were offered to him who " Mariottc was the man who firil affirmed to have fccn a white or colourlefs rain- bow. Nfentzclius mcolioas fuch a tiling fome years afterwards ; I faw one uncc myfelf. fliould 10 1 'SEVENTEENTH CENTURY ; ^[cii. xn. -flioulil Airpafs'that compliment by another. Viviani fct up this in- scription on the houfc prcfcntcd liim by Louis quatorzc : " Edes a " Deo Jnfa," alluding, perhaps, to the appellation Dieu-dotnie given at the king's birth, when Anne of Auftria prcfcntcd the gold baby of (xjual weight with his to Lorctto, as an acknowledgment of prayers heard for fo happy a pregnancy. But the people were now not thankful, but giddy with admiration of a fovcreign, the warmth of whofc patronage drove up each art into a fuddcn perfection at home, and the brilliancy of whofc acts abroad, being refleded back on his tranfportcd fubjeds, flione in the dazzled and offended eyes of all the fober part of thinking Europe. Burnet i'-dys exprefsly, " That the buftle made about his growing greatnefs by -" his own poets, &c. at home, frighted mankind into a future alliance " againft him more than any fmgle a<9; of ambition difplaycd among " his neighbours abroad." There were however, fiknt flatterers, who plcafcd as much as the loud-fpcaking ones, and did lefs harm. The ting, on fome progrcfs, vifited le Due d'Antin at his chateau, and after admiring the difpofition of his grounds, a new mode of elegance and luxury in thofe days, cenfured the placing a iong row of trees that con- cealed a happy view of the adjacent country : when he rofe next morn- ing they were all gone. Lyouis enquired what could have become of them ? — The duke replied, " Nothing can live under your majefty's " condemnation." Sir Thomas Grcfliam thus in one night, when he entertained Queen Elizabeth at Ofl:erley, built up a wall acrofs a .court, the too great fize of which^^ had critlcifcd in the morning : for tafte admits alteration, but defire o( gaining their attention "who have much to beftow, remains through all ages the fame. Sovctcigas had every day lefs and lefs to give away, and 'tis flrange to obfervc, that the ambitious monarch whofc reign is under our prcfent Retrojpec- tlun, voluntarily took from his own and his fucceffor's prerogative what was known by name of droit dcfc'ignorage. Voltaire mentions it, he alfo mentions the rough reply of nn marchand clairvoyant to the CH. XII.] FRANCE, SPAIN, SWEDEN, ITALY, TO 1700. sfis the minifter Colbert : '* You found the carnage leaning on one fdc " (iays the man) fo to fet matters right, you overturn it on the otlier." Morcri tells the fame anecdote. — " Louis quatorze, a mis mo'ivs dc dif- " taucc cnire les hommcs" Lewis the fourteenth has contributed to clofc the breach of diftindion among men, fays liis bell hiilorian. His plan was to pinch the upper rank of nobility, and bring forward lemoycn pcvplc; giving away the duty upon coinage, however, was a relief to all : I*hilip Auguftus (^dieu donni like himfclf) took one third, St. Louis a fifth, Charles the feventh in his diftrefs raifcd it to three-fourths, and Lewis the fourth renounced it wholly in lO/O. It was a folid purchafe paid for frivolous and empty praife : his invention of the bayonet fixed to the mufket's end, was a fourceofmorc rational commendation, bc- canfc it (hewed he underftood, and had thought much upon the art of war, and that whilft his camp for luxury rcfcmbled that of Pompcy, his dcfirc of excellence led him to imitate Ca;far. The French ftill fight in the manner th'is king taught them. He was the firft general too that ever inflituted military uniforms ; they were at beginning a fort of favour, or, as it were, a ticket of admittance to his plcafure-houfcs, Fointainebleau, Marly, &c. but he turned them to fcrious ufc, and all Europe adopted the meafiire. The fchools for engineering and artil-' lery fct up under his regulations at Douay, taught new modes of dc- ftnidion, while the fine hofpital des Invalidcs at Paris, yet unfurpaficd, gave courage and hope of paternal care to them who rif(jucd their livrs in fuch a fovcreign's caufe. The arfcnals at Hrefb, Toulon, Ilochcfort, yet live to evince his ardour of excelling in maritime affairs, and from the few vcflels France poflciTed in 1O50, thrcefcore (hips of the line and thirty or forty frigates, paraded the fcas in 1 08 1 under their white Aandards. Meantime Louifiana and Cayenne coloni/ed, were a proof . that Ixjuis the fourteenth confined not his thoughts even to Europe, while the prodigious elevations at Verfailles, the aqueducts at Main- tenon, the gardens of Sceaux and fabricks of Chantilly, fcemed as if in ' the mere cmbclliilimcnt of hi* own native land were tunrrntratcd all Vol. II. L J his i66 SEVENTEENTH CENTURY j [ch. xii. his ideas. Bernini had five guineas o'day and a prefeut of five thou- fand pounds llcrHng, not llvrcs, for liis trouble. Memc dans fes flaijlrs il ejl toujaurs btros. G^allant and gay he fiH'd each fleeting houc, A hero in his pleafures as his pow'r. When one of his daughters, by Montefpan, married a prince of the' blood royal 'fpite of that prince's mother, who long oppofed the con- nefated for thofe of more barbarous times, tilts and tournaments ; they had been profcribed fmce Henry's accident, and duels a mitrance, as they were called, meaning to the laft gafp, had been feldom rcquefled fince Francois de la Chateigncrie's fatal end : he had begg'd as a boon from Henri quatrc, that Jarnac and he might light to death in their fovereign's prefence. After a few rounds the challenger was hurt, unhorfed, and hamflrung. " Beg your life, proud lord !''' cried his antagonifl. " Never," exclaimed le Seigneur dc la Chateigncric." .farnac threw himfelf on his knees at the King's feet: " This mif^aken man, fire, has begg'd a boon, and it was granted ; re- " fufe not my requefl as well." The fovcrcign granted it. " Com- " xnand me then to prcfent my prince that valuable life I wilh not to ** take." " Vainqueur en tout ! a conqueror in every thing .'" exclaimed *' Henri quatre ; bring hither the appellant inflantly." They did fo, but he tore open all his wounds, and died upon the field. A frightftil fort of quadrille ; four kinfmen againfl four, called /uis, however, and had the pleafure to fee that little crofs more fought alter than placcb of profit-: but this reign has hitherto fbewn its hr't^ht fide alone to the e}'cs of RetroJpeSliou. The "black rcverfe exhibits the revocation of that famous edidl of Nantz, by favour of which thoufands of inoffcnfive Huguenots lived in peace, and contributed as artificers to the delights of Trianon and plcafures of St. Cloud. A letter fuddcnly fent, figncd by the King of France, drove them to ruin head-long ; tlicy were driven to worfe than ruin ; they were driven to dcfperation. " Let them (faid the dreadful fentcnce) " be pufhed to the laft extremity : let them, in a word, change their " religious opinion; for mine, or dread my vengeance." Voltaire tries to lay the fault of all on Louvois ; but v\ ell he knew that Louvois flirr'd no ilep without his mailer's orders; all was diftrefs and agony, and death ; no Vifcomtc d'Orte * was fccn ftcady to the caufe of humanity, as when in Charles the ninth's reign his virtue favcd the Protcftants at Bayonnc from perfccuting fury. Babies were now in time of peace and plenty, times too of vaunted delicacy and affeded tender- ncfs, torn from their fhricking parents, and while the adivc and unin- cumbered flew from the following fword, prifons and galleys fcrvcd as jnifcrabic refuges for old, and fick, and dying martyrs to Calvinifm, now founded in the hearts of many who had before been Icfs ex«lufively addiftcd to that ftill growing fed. L/ondon received on this occafion fhoals of workmen ; Holland gained admirable officers and foldicrs ; the nephew of vidorlous Du Quefne, their admiral, embarked with a large colony to the Cape of Good Hope ; and while other emigrants haftily fled to America, and France found her provinces difpcopled of • Lc Vifcomtc d'Orte'» Tamou* letter, exprcflcd tbU fcntiment : " Your majcfty «• has many brave officcn here, but not one hangman : we rcqucft orders which ho- *• nour can obey , and promife your majcfly to die wiUingly in defence of your " cTown and dignity, which ibcfejnfanto, belplcfs old men, and females, arc incapable •• gf iDJarin^** L 1 2 more 208 SEVENTEENTH CENTURT; fcH.xii. more than half a millioni good and ufeful fubjefts^ the old Chancellor le Tellier exclaimed, in atranfport of joy, ISuiic dimUfiSy&c. He was, I think, brother to the King's confeflbr, and upon terms of intimate. and fober friendfliip with the new favourite Madame de Maintcnon. Thefe three real and ftcady adherents to a church they thought infal- lible, felt as if that church was difgraccd by their fovcrcign's laxity of morals; to compenfate which, their mad miftakcn piety excited him to ferve, as they beheved, the caufc of heaven, by acting in defiance of its laws, and fet on foot a perfecution inorc worthy Herod than Lew is the fourteenth. Infants of two years old were not more inoffenfive than thefe Huguenots; and if they were, Lewis had blood q{ itittocen/s, in the ftrideft and moft fcnptural fenfc, to anfwer for. Many and many were the children catched from their mothers' arms, and hurl'd on this occafion into damps and dungeons, whence their pure fouls flew to the Almighty's throne, prefented by their guardian angels. Safe in his care let us leave them,, and look how Lewis profpered qficr this unpro- voked exertion of his power. It was five months before, that humbled Genoa, bombarded by his admiral,brave Seignelai, fent their proud doge, continued in his office for the purpofe, to requeft pardon at his feet for having fupplied Algiers with powder and ball, hoping, through fuch per- fidious condud:, to oTjtain from the Venetians thofc advantages which it fccms to have been always the ruling paffion of their petty ftate to pro- cure. When, with a parade of politenefs, the courtiers at Verfailles aflced Lefcaro wliat he found there moft admirable ? — he, with Italian promptitude, and Englifti drynefs, is faid to have replied, " myjelfy The fame l085 celebrated the Siamefe embafly, and blew up the glittering bubble royal pride to its fuUeft extent : from the foul murders of the fouthern provinces, and exile of his fellow Chriftians that fame year, may Retrofpe&ton date that hiibhle sjhr hiking. The firft blow fortune hit him •was through the perfon of his protegi, James II., a prince no way refembling himfelf, except in his attachment to the Romilh fee, and hatred of bis Proteftant fubjeds: a mirror of thofe crimes which drew vengeance cii. xu.J FRANCE, SPAIN', SWEDEN, ITALY, TO 1700. i6q vengeance upon Europe's greatcft character, was now prefented before Lewis in its mcaneft ; he could not recognize the vile fimilitude ; he pitied the fugitive king, received him nobly, and fcnt him back to England under French colours to regain his throne : ffier^, however, was William dc Naflau too firnrly fcatcd for his power to (hake, whom to oppofe with mofx; fuccefs was his mod ftrong inducement to accept it. Some oKi naturalrfts mention a breed of horfcs called charojfi, Vion-ey d'\ not fhrinklng even from h'ts glance •which terrifies every other inhabitant of the forcft : fuch was the warrior prince who by the famous battle of La Hogue, fought 1 Oo2i revenged the death of Dc lluytcr in lOrO, and fliewcd the king of France that fca was «o/ h'n clement. Du Quefne, who had beaten the Dutch that day, had been re- warded withthc ruin of his family ; and the prcdcftinarlan CaK inifts now cried, a judgment, when he was forced to fly the country he had fervcd; againft his own opinions. But Lewis growing into years and ill- nefles, and weaned by Malntenon from fports and fliows, to which hb naturaV inclinations led him, felt no refrertimcnt but in acfts of tA'ranny : a horrid refolutlon to ravage the Palatinate for no adequate offence committed againft him, preceded but a moment the com" pleat cxtinAion of every comfort it contained. The fire kindled once by Turcnnc there, was a J^ark when compared to the confla- gration lighted up by Ix)uvol3 — redu'ifom tout en cendres, reduce it all X.O afhcs, was the word ; its execution was too dreadfully corrci^t. All Europe, fhockcd at thcfc extravagancies, looked with dlfguft and horror on a fovcrcign, who from his foft retreats and f'lmmcr palaces, didatcd death of millions unconcerned. Difgurt awaked alarm, and- common intcrcft pwintcd the eyes of all mankind towards Wil- liam : he, expert in political intrigue, felt his heart beat rcfponfive to the call — the call of war, to which alone he waked; war againft Ivcwis, whom alone he hated. The plains where Manheim ftood> now amercdcfcrt, drove many by revenge, more by dcfpalr. Into his growing 270 ^SEVENTEENTH CENTURY;' [cu. xir. growhig army. France, half fatigued, fcnt out her Due de Lux- embourg, under whom many battles won, others difputed, fignalized the afternoon's warmth of her glorious day ; but the King ilaid at home, old Louvols died, Luxembourg's health was cruelly impaired, Vilkroi, gallant and generous as he was, could not keep William and his forces from taking Namur: and from the year ] GQ/ , to the century's extinction, our Retrofpe^ifon, now a mere gazette, fees Lewis trying to gain in the cabinet what he was hourly lofmg in the field. — " There are no longer " any difputes exifting," fald he gracefully, and figncd the peace of llyfwick, nothing doubtful but that Spain mufl drop into his hands of Gourfc ; while Charles II., there fick and without fons, worn out with ill- ncfs, grief, and old age too, although he numbered only forty-five years, would, probably in confideration of fome towns given up, make his lail will in favour of the Bourbons. The interval which this convention obtained to Europe was ufed in whetting up their martial inftruments for the renewal of hoftilities : France is 'fb much the leading feature of the times, one fcarce can fee the other powers at all, during the grand days of Louis XIV ; fo fliarks that follow a vail man of war, 11:111 fight, and court, and quarrel unobferAcd, yet \^\\zn Jhc i wrecked, well picafcd they gambol round, and gain fome fpoil. Leo- pold, Ion to Charles V., Duke of Lorraine, indeed, fought to gain no- thing but the power he moft valued, that of ferving his own lubjeds, and benefiting fo far as in him lay every Chrillian creature. Among contemporary fovereigns, fmall and great, this chara<5ter appears the Man of' Rnfs. He repaired houlcs of his old nobility, and married their daughters into fuitable families, w^ith money faved out of his own fmall Hock : his gifts were made with fuch peculiar grace too, that they produced certain attachment by alienating all idea of humiliation. His .manners, highly elegant and fafhionable, ftrove to make morals once again refpeded in an age corrupt beyond cxpreflion : and as his vir- tuous father, Charles the fifth, was pardoned his fidelity to one wife, dowager CH. xn.] FRANCE, SPAIN; SWEDEN, ITALY, TO 1700. 271 dowager queen of Poland, at a time when the court of Verfaillcs openly encouraged c\cry vice, and that of London delighted to laugh virtue out of doors. Even Leopold I., emperor of German , in whofc fevour all nations now begun to unite, who never ftirr'd a hand to help himfelf, who knew perfectly that it was no good will to /ih/i, but in- tercfted views 'gainft France alone which formed the league of Auf- burgh, and curbed proud Lewis in his fierce career, did juftice to the character of Charles and his fbn, faying always how /le was the be/i of princes, let who would bo the greateft. Leopold, indeed, was no common man himfelf, nor was his fate through life a common one. He was beloved by his people, although ill ferved by his minifters ; had penetration to know it, and philofophy enough not much to care about it; faid that all would end right in this world, and that thofe only were wife men who tliought about the next : for that, and for every rcafon he muft therefore juilly love the Chriftian warrior who, witlv John Sobicflci, his wife's brother, had in the year 1(*>83, faved poor Vienna from the baleful crefcent. The interval of peace afforded by that brcathing-timc agreed upon at Ryfwick, /it' emjjloyed in cafing his fubgc(fls from their taxes, intercfting all the petty princes in his fevour, reminding them that he was fon to Philip the fourth of Spain's eldeft filler, and that when Charles fliould die, his will would be worth attending to. Lewis of France meantime, too little careful to heal the wound which fuch cxtcnfivc \Nar8 hacj made in his finances, fell to cxhaufting his half- ruined country, by building the great bridge o\cr the Seine, and vying with Imj;crial Rome in fplcn- dour and magnificence. Ftcil ut DaviJ, tedifii^at ut SohtmH, was the Icgcnda read on a fine church he built, the motto was well chofcn : like David be had been reproved from the pulpit in a fermon preached .by It Pcrc Mafcaron, upon tlic farayus text, T/iou tirt the Man. ■iji SEVENT-EENTH CENTURY j [oh. x«. Man. l/ikc David, lie received correction generoufly, and gave the prcaciicr a bi/hoprick in fix months. 'Tis true tliat his own fcruplcs had ahcady begun to operate as the charms of Maintcnon's convcr- I'ation and difficulty of arriving at a nearer intimacy with her, drew liim from Fontanges, and ahenatcd him from Montcfpan. Soionion's miftrcires were undoubtedly more numerous, but were fcarcely main- tained in a higher ftyle of luxur}' than thofe of Louis XIV., his chil- dren were all ennobled, the due de Vermandois' beauty, and braver} , and death in battle are well known, fo arc liis mother's w ords, w hen to the convent which concealed la Valiere's faded form, they brought the news of his lofs. " Muft I then mourn (faid Ihe) the death of htm " for whofe birth not tears enough have by me yet been flied." Her pafTion for the king hatl been fmcere, and when they parted, " Let " me have your name alone (faid Ilie) no other prefent but provifion " for a life of penitence and prayer." She died not till 1710, and Val de Grace tlill fliews the pidurc of Socur hou'ifc de la Mifericorde, painted as a Magdalen by Lc Brun. Her daughter married le pr'inci de Conli. Her royal lover, fonder of his own glory than of ought elfc, forgot her foon, delighted with the new globe made at Paris, an inch to a degree, the fize and expence of it enormous, the inl'cription a proud one : Pace beat toluni bcllo qui tenuit orbem. Volumes however, would not hold the contefts of wit employed to vary and refound his praife who paid his pofcts and his architeds fo liberally ; the rage for keeping miftreflcs ended in a fecond marriage with his laft favourite, la veuve Scarron, who laid hold of her maftcr's heart by his ftrong prejudices in favour of llomifli tenets ; he was her mafter not the lefs however: her family originallv Calvinifts, and fa- vourites with Henri quatre, gained nothing from her nuptials with the king ; fhe begg'd no favours for a Protcflant of courfe, the faith from w hich flie had hcrfclf apoftatized : her letters fliew the little blifs fhe CH. XM.] FRANCE, SPAIN, SWEDEN, ITALY, TO ] 700. 273 flic got by't. Condemned to amufe a man no longer willing, or pcr- liaps able to receive amufcmcnt, (he often wifhed for death, and told her friends fhe fcarccly could endure her fituation : they all depended upon her good offices — they were all difappointed : Madame de Maintenon injured no one, but none were better for her patronage. I.x)uis XIV. was never, fmce he became a man, drawn from his pur- pofcs by female influence : he was cafily enough perfuaded to plague the people he fct down for hcreticks, and when once weary of his gaudy miftreiTes, lived more to his liking with an eafy friend, who doubted not but he knew bed in all ; feldom fuggclted, and never contradi(fted : though prpfcnt at his fccret hours when minillcrs were admitted to the calxHct. The year 1 700 then leaves the Great Monarch great and princely flill ; and iVill difpofed to idolize their king, his harafs'd fubjc<5ls, who over the fine facade which graces the Louvre fet up thcfc flattering lines : Quid valcat bcllo Lodoix, centum oppida monftrant ; Monilrat quid valcat pace, vel una Domus. To prove his pow'r in war we fliow, '* A hundred cities ta'en by ftorm , By this once princely dome you know, Wliat Louis can in peace perform. Meanwhile the frantick Huguenots from the fouthcrn provinces of this cxtcnfivc realm, driven to dcfpair, and almofl to d'lJlraSlion by his un- merited, his unprovoked fcveritics, plundered of their property, fired in their houfcs, robbed of their children ; ran round Europe filling each country %%ith prophetick curfcs againfl the tyrant author of fuch ruin. Two hundred thoufand human beings migrated from the Ccvenncs alone, and the fwcet country round about Grenoble, all at once. Many of thcfc fell into tranfports of grief irritated to madnefs, and uttered raving predidions which they pathetically called a cry from the dcfcrt, fuch he had made their homes ! Among the wonderful denunciations pronounced by thcfc poor fouls, many have now in our own day been Vol. II. M m dreadfully »74 SEVENTE1SNTH CENTURY; [ch. xit. dreadfully fulfilled. A pafTage I once copied out but have miflaid, contains thefe ftriking words, too well contraftcd to the unfeeling flat- teries we have juft revifed. '< Oh Verjailles ! Verja'tlles ! voh'ich thou " proud prince haft erediedfor thy glory ! Oh Verfailles / Vcrfa'tlles ! foon ^'Jhall all this magnificence be loft : I fee, Ifee it fade, and die away ! be- *^ fore a hundred years fiall pafs, no traces of thy Jplendour f^all remain ! " rats, mice, and fpiders fhall pojpfs thofe walls, r^ifed to evince thv ** majejly and poivr." Whilft now I write, time verifies the'bold con- jecture : the century is not yet paft ; the palace in its prefent Itatc proves the prcdidion true. CHAP. CH. xni.] EAST, WEST, AND NORTH. 275 CHAP. XIII. EAST, WEST, AND NORTH, FROM 1 650 TO 1700. PROGRESS OF SCIENCE MANNERS, &C. RETROSPECTION can fcarce begin this new chapter more aufpi- cioufly than with the fentiments of Lord Bolingbrokc in his fixth letter to Clarendon. " The end," lays our noble author, " of the fif- " teenth century, is the true epocha for us who live in the eighteenth *' to care about : fomc indulgence," adds he " may be given to a tem- " porary curiofity in the review of what pail before that time ; becaufc " to be entirely ignorant of tlie ages preceding that aera would be ** fliameful, but to be learned about them is merely a ridiculous affec- " tation in a man who means to be ufeful in the prefent age." This pofition, true or 'alfc, is at Icaft confolatory, from fuch a writer. Thofe who read my book arc in no danger of being too learned by revifing a crowd of events, which having filled fifteen centuries almoft, arc com- preflcd into one quarto volume ; and we dilate as we get forward too, that more room may be afforded for thofc newer occurrences which though in thcmfelvcs not greater, are of greater as of more immediate intcrcft. It is indeed wonderful to observe how the new fituation into which tlic world half unaccountably appeared to Aide about that period, influenced every individual ; and how that influence went on incrcafmg, till in two centuries more. A, D. 1O50, aimoft all things, all places, and all people appear to us under new forms, in fo much that vthc analoev between Cliarlcs the fevcnth's time, and that of Ivouis \1V. is to be iruceJ, not fccn. Since then thole revolutions and dif- M m 2 covcries 276 -EAST, WEST, AND NORTH, [c«. xnr. covcries which produced fuch a change in civil and in ecclefiaftical policy, all happened, as Bolingbrokc obferves, about the year 1500 ; he. advifcs his young pupil to look flightly at them, but lleadily at their; effeds. The Turkilli empire perhaps felt them leajl, yet was there a kind of change creeping forward even under an oriental fky. The Fetva ifluing a mufti's mandate to dcpofe Ibrahim although unworthy, -was for ought I have read unprecedented, and there were excefles com- mitted during Mahomet the fourth's minority of which old Knollys. gives us no example. That the inhabitants of Conftantinople fhould defire peace was, to fay no more of it, an odd thing : that they ihould tumultuoufly furround the feraglio and demand it, was fmgular indeed. Violence however, which io often defeats its own purpofes in every country, muft almoft neceflarily defeat them in that, where for want of fettled views among the leaders, all difunited and of contending in- terefts, fedition though rampant funk inftantly to nothing, foon as the voice of Kiuperli was heard. This fage old baffa, called from his government at Damafcus, when little lefs than fourfcore years of age, well knowing that to excite fcntiments of loyalty, the moft hkcly me- thod was giving fubjccfls a fight of their hereditary fovereign, he drew young Mahomet out of his palace, and being inftantly created Vizier, rode with him through the town and awed the rioters : w ho though infenfiblc to the calls of juflice or humanity, felt their imaginations ftruck by the contrafted appearance of youthful beauty and venerable age united to appeafe them — they bowed beneath the heir of all the Ottomans, and faw their Sultan confident that with their aid, Europe fhould bow down too. His Vizier took fome Greek iflands, old Te- nedos and Lcmnos I believe, and offered the Venetians peace for afum of money they would not pay. Prevailing on his mafter to remove the court from tiubulent Conflantinople a while, he died, but a young Kiu- perli fufFered Turkifli defpotifm to endure no curtailments, Turkifh cru- elty to be charged with no degeneration — of eighteen hundred prifoners taken CH. •xiii.J FROM 1650 TO A. D: 1700. 277 taken on the confines of Hungary four hundred only were left k«- maflacrcd. The tired Mulfulmcn however, murmured at the work, and that muft be allowed unufuiil. The Tartars now invaded Poland, drove off to flavery one hundred thoufand fouls after the old fafhion ; and the fiege of Candia was undertaken by Mahomet, which after three years alternate aflaults and blockade, at length capitulated ; and the Sultan had a moment's breathing-time beftowed to curb his rebellious brothers, whom gentler cuftom had fparcd at his acccffion. Bears (hould be tamed however, as Raynal fays, before you break their chains :tto (Iranglc prince Orkhan became indifpenfable, and that crime was now committed by prudence, which ufed to be attributed to nc- ccffity. Meanwhile Michaelowitz, Czar, as he was called, of Mufcovv, tried (but in vain) to make all Europe care about the carrying off thofe Poles to death or exile: Europe, intent on polilhing her more fouthcrn nations, thought little concerning thefc which were fcarce civilized. The Turks and Tartars difpeopled Lithuania, made the Ukraine a dcfcrt of courfe, and near half a million of Ciiriftians deftroycd or cap- tivcd, called up the united valour of John Sobiclli, and tlie pious ar- dour of his brother-in-law, Charles due de Lorraine. When neither Kiupcrli's death, nor reports from home, could ftop the lifted fcjmitar wielded by ambitious Mahomet, their fliields de- fended poor Vienna in her utmoft danger, as once Apollo faved the walls of Troy, not dcftined then to fall ; and the preaclicrs in their thankfgiving fcrmons took for text, " There was a man fcnt from God " whofc name was John." To (]uell the tumults of his capital the Grand Signior returned ; but returning, not viclorioui, the Janiflarics, ■with whom he had never been a favoiirite, dcpoftd and fhut him up in his fcraglio, whence fliort-livcd Solyman III. v\as fetched, and fcatcd on a momentary throne. Achmet II. laftcd but little longer ; and Muftapha 11. dcfirous to die in battle rather than by poifon or the bow-ftring, took in an evil hour for himfelf the field againft prince Eugene, who, on the plains of Zcntha, left twenty-two thoufand Turks dead 2.78- EAST, WEST, AND NORTH, [ch. xuu dead round their emperor, no longer able to renew the fight. The peace of Carlowitz and his difgrace were little diftant from each other; and the year 1700 faw Achmet III. a lefs unfortunate and lefs unpo- pular fovcrcign, lead forth his armies 'gainft the Yellow King, for fo they ftyled Peter the Great in Turkey. Had mankind annexed the fame idea to this appellation as we do, who call our fuperannuated fea com- manders byname of a Yellow Admiral, I know not why: Peter was the laft man who dcferved it. John Cafimir king of Poland, was in that fcnfc a truly yellow king, who, in the year 1O68, deferted his country and go- vernment, after the example of Chriftina. He had been ajefuit, and Pope Innocent complimented him with a cardinal's hat, but he chofe Paris for the place of his retreat, not Rome ; Louis XIV. delighting to fee the fovcreigns of England and Poland under his protection, gave this fon of Siglfmund III. by Conftantia of Auftria, I'abbaie dc Saint Ger- main, where the fon of our Charles I. had, fome years afterwards, a court appointed him. Cafimir however, was nobler minded than James who could not, or than Chriilina, who would not rule their hereditary realms in peace : he never took the title of majefty or even eminence, Imt was called Monficur I'Abbe till he died. The Swedes meantime, llimulated with the dcfire of rendering their names llluftrious, longed to follow the tracks traced out by great Guftavus. Ilaynal fliys, that )the houfcs of coufcqucnce throughi>ut the whole nation were hung with tropliies. Agriculture after Oxcnfticrn's death, was too much iKglcded certainly ; and I fear the old gothick fpirit q\' plunder and of ■roving, mingled itfelf with the new fpirit of colonizing, and of trade. They connedcd themfelves in North America however, nor fcems that an unlikely country to attract their attention, but we hear of them in Perfia too under the reign of their Cliarles XI. whofe father quarrel- ding with gentle Frederick the third, hisnci^^hbour, on account of fome poffcflions he knew not, I believe, the gcograj/hy of; followed his ill- refifting foe ulmoft to Copenhagen's walls. The far-famed Algernon .S)dncy, there ft^pt war's fiics in this arcHck volcano's eruption for a while. CH. xifi.] FROM iGjO TO A. D. 1700. 270 while, and took the prey out of Guftavus's teeth, commonly called Charles X. : his fenlibility Incread'd the triumph oi'thc /hi- Ji/i!////iiifi/s>, who faw delighted an old Vandal chieftain ftniprgllng under the llrong gripe of a young commonwealth. " And mull I then be (faid he) " prcfcribcd to by parricides and pedlars ?" — On a review of his own fttuation 'twas plain he mull be iau his troops -Acre all inclolcd within an ifland, and our pcotccloc's fleets covered the Tea. A- fullcn peace was the immediate conlequcncc, anil Swcdea's monarch went him home to die. His Ibn Charles XI. loll no importance among his con- temporary princes, he was invited to Iharc the advantages of a conven- tion called the triple league In JOOS, what time Lewis the fmirtccntlt who had run over Franche Comte the year before, accepted that dillrld with Cambray, Alx and St. Omcr's in lieu (as he cabled it) of the Queen's rigljts, who had, in cffed, ho rights, bccaufe they were all forfeit at her marriage. Again, when the peace of Ryfuick was con- cluding, Charles XI. haftencd its determinations ; for obferving there our cxil'd abdicated James, caballing to- get his fccond wife fome flated provifion, "Let her, exclaimed the king of Sweden, fuddcnly, hasc " her own jointure paid her now at prefcnt, her hulhand is dead to- " his country." This fbvereign was not famous for his courtcfy to queens — " You were brought hither, dame, to bring us children, not " to obtrude advice," was his well-remembcrcd admonition to his own conlbrt, Ulrica Loulla.; yet would he not fuffcr her brother, duke of MolUcin Gottorp, to be ill-ufed or plimdcred by Chrillicrn the fifth, although be fuccecded to a throne rendercil hereditary by the attach- ment of his fubjc<5ls to his mild parent and prc«Iecefl()r Frederick IIL Such a prince deserved fuch a fon as gentle Ulrica brought him ; Charles XJI. to whom he left his crown in ltig7 or 98, clofe on the new century : — he left him with that crown the royal lands, which Chridina, during her Ihort adminlflration, had pawned for money to lavilh upon favourites. The exchange of fuch a ruler for her coufin, w as no lofa to tlie nation (he dcfpifcd, where, though improvements had. 280 EAST, WEST, AND NORTH, [ch. x left for modern Fn iichmcn's philofophy to difcovcr that pnejl-iraft was tlic caufe oi nukiy in an kland where unafliftcd ignorance, and uncontrouled vice, looked in vam U>wards a fca covered with Chrillian vefl'els lor juftice, fentiimtit, or information. They were left as lound in 1 'iO;. C)t Eur()i)cs fl.itk- \'oi,. II. N n "cfs. 282 EAST, WEST, AND NORTH, [ch. xiii. ncfs, however, we will not complain ; fhe produced Bochart, the learned and pious enquirer into all that can corroborate the teftlmonics late days give, to the truth of our earlieft and only unerring book, the Holy Bible. His Phaleg and Canaan, his Hierozoicon did not, indeed, powerfully re- commend him to Queen Chrlftina's court, where a well-turned compli- ment or neatly pointed epigram, was more prized than ufeful know- ledge, actuated by deep and ftrong erudition in a member of her father's faith : yet Bochart's tale of the Torpedo has been confirmed by our own fenfatlons ; and Vaillant's Giraffe of 1 790, is his Camelopardalis, who died 1OG8. The Sabbatical river, mentioned by Pliny and Jofephus,. has not yet re-appeared ; I know not whether Bruce had read of it, but whoever does read the writings of this period will be amazed to fee how little has been added to general Information fmce Lobo travelled and Ludolphus wrote. That the Abyffinians held firm the religion of Diofcorus, patriarch of Alexandria, who promulgated it among them in the year 5 \ "J , agalnft the Romanifts who endeavoured to bring them forcihh into the pale about 1O80, we all know; they refifted the new docftrlnes as they called them. Purgatory, Tranfubllantiatlon, and Celibacy of their Clergy, with violence, and drove Alphonfo Mendez from their court and country. Portugucze miffionaries had better fuccefs eaftward, and fuch of their forts and iflands which have fallen to the Dutch, favs Gordon, who was himfelf a Cah inift, have loft the good notions put into them by the firft named Europeans concerning Chrifcian obligation. Among the Japancfe fix hundred thoufand fouls once profeffed our faith ; I think in the year l.'iyft, in the eouric of a century, not one dared call himfelf a Chriftlan. llaynal fays, the Philippine Iflands have been cruelly treated by Spam ; and the old books of travels do tell how the Hilanoones (meaning mountaineers) daily encreafc in nun:Lbcrs from the opprcffive treatment of the viceroy, who keeps his tyrannical court in Luconia. Of the Mogul's cmnire founded by Tamerlane, which attrads the RctrofpcSl of a trading nation chiefly by its riches ; that of a learned oue, chiefly on account CH. xni.] FROM l6jO, TO A. D. 1700. 283 account of its natural, not its political hillory ; little can be told here, and in that little fmali intercft can be taken, though the province of Agra alone is faid to contain forty large towns, three hundred and forty fmall ones. TJie ftablcs of the Emperor at Delhi, his horl'es fed with bread and butter and fugar, bowls of rice milk, &c. ; the ftately throne under which he himfelf late, under a canopy fringed w ilh pearl, and fliaded on the top by a peacock's tail, large as life, compofed all of moft precious ftones, imitating in colorlfick radiance the real plumage of a bird lb beautiful, ferses to allure the infant ftudents in relative geo- graphy ; and though I always took the tale to be in Mandingo language, tobauhofonn'to, a white man's lie, yet it ufcd to comf>enfate me for the talk of learning what delighted the fancy Icfs, how Timur Beg, or Ta- merlane, made a lading imprcflTion upon the country in 1 393, leaving his own defcendants to fuccced him : they, however, deeping too foundly on the hereditary throne, Aurengzebc murdered and exiled all pre- tenders but himfelf, and feizing the dominion by force in 1 005, dcfired to incrcafe and extend it even beyond the facrcd Ganges : that this rough conqueror ftiould in a pathctick difcourfe tranfmlttcd as original to us by Kcrnier, and I think by Perc Catrou likcwife, lament his want <»f education, and eameftly intreat his fons to ftudy and obtain know- ledge rather than power, is particularly ftriking, and a young reader fails not to wilh fuch a prince a hillorian, fuch as Xenophon. Shah Allum however, who was the fuccelTor, was not of his father's mind : few men arc ever of their father's mind, when that mind has been inforced with pomp of counfcl, and oft-repeated admonitions, which tdifguft, not allure %-ulgar fouls. HaiTam Shah, Aureng/xbe's youngeft fon, was no nearer delighting in pacific fpcculations than his brother ; their cruel contcfts for increafc of territory difturbcd the peaceful banks of that pure rivrr where on its verdant flopes, in foft tranquillity, fit the Gcntoo tribes, truly innocuous, well meriting an unmolcrtcd courfc of that longevity they never Ihoitcn in another creature, whilft from pcrfuafion of mctcmpfychofis nothing is killed by thrni, who N n 2 harmlcfslv 284 EAST, WEST, AND NORTH, [ch. xnr. harmlcfsly permit each animal its own mode of enjoyment, refolute to dcftroy none : and happy in their ignorance of the new philofophv, ^vhich, by exalting vegetables to life, love, and fentiment, would take from thcfe poor Brachmans even their prefent fubfiftence, and fright them from plucking off a lettuce leaf, left the pale blood fhould, flowing from the wound, reproach their gentle fouls with harfhncfs, and ftain their charadlers with cruelty. Thefe Banians really live like Gideon's fleece, moiftened by dew of heaven, as it appears, whilft all around is drought of every virtue : and it fliould feem that arms of fwift deftru6lion, even gun- powder, was known among this neighbour- hood before we Europeans had the ufe on't. Something there furely muft have been to defend the tributary kings of Ava and Pegu, whofc feven idols, all of folid gold, whofe large black ftone, like that adored by Heliogabalus, with two enormous diamonds {hick for eyes, would not long keep from England's bank, I fancy, or that of Amfterdam, if the dull fovereign did really fit as it's fuppofed, hke Dalay Lama in Thibet, regardlefs of what pafl"es all around him. Certain it is, that the Mogul's empire owes much of its degradation to that folly of committing vaft provinces to omrahs, rajahs, and nabobs, who fought, aud traded ; and robbed their mafter, and enriched his foes, and daily xmdermined his territory, which wc muft quit when Thamas Kouli Khan, great reprefentative of the Sophies, though taking the modeft title o( Nadir Shah, rofe to the zenith of renown, juft at the century's clofc, by a bold irruption into the very heart of Hindoftan with fixty thoufand troops : he was a Chriftian of St. Thomas, who planted our religion throughout Perfia, and his very name imports it ; but the ill underftood devotion of his country was mingled in his much- corrupted faith. The rebellion he headed againft tyrant Seffrc will be forgiven him, when we have read that 'twas that fiend's amufement to pluck the eyes out both of men and women with his own hands, when in- toxicated with opium, fwearing he preferred that fport to the beft Iherbet : and had Prince Thamas executed heaven's vengeance mildly. CH. XIII.] FROM i650, TO A. D. 1700. 2B5 all would have agreed that it was J /i/i/y done : his conduct, which at firll •was greatly cftcemed, changed however in 10 ftrange a manner, tiuit it was faid he was not the Sophy of Pcriia, but an impoftor. Nadir Shah by name ; who killed the Chriflian, and aflumed his nominal diftindion : A new Smerdis, come again to prove that even in the year 1700 after our redemption, the felf-fame tricks were play'd, and in the felf- fame places too, that had amufed mankind five hundred and twentv years before it. A ftrangcr thing even than this is, our prefent notion of all riches returning to this continent, where it was firil found, a notion Itartcd firil in France, and \Nhich gains on the world exccedinglv. (luthrie fay^, that Kouli Khan's booty of immenfe treafure (the peacock in coloured gems among the reft; never left India : Raynal believes it was buried under ground, but that commerce has carried much of the two hundred millions to Europe : he thinks, indeed, that the American gold and filvcr, after making many circuits, and dividing itfelf in many channels, fettles at laft under the rifing fun ; certain it is, that the Spaniards arc obliged to negled their richeft mines in South America of late, left money Ihould loie in value ; and the commercial philofophers who puriuc this fpeculation now, fay boldly, that if ever the wealth of Potofi were to be cxhauftcd, v,c muft look f(;r it on the coaft of Malabar. It was for Afia then that Mexico wa- plundered, and tlic wealth of Peru paffing through Spain, Holland, England, &c. is delhncd to be buried under ground by Banians, who confulering it, fcarce un- )uftly, as poifon to the prace and wcllare of humanity, dig holts for all they can lay hold on. From them v\ ill \sx crols over, but not by the little narnm- ftrait late timc>. difcovered ; and turn our rclrojpctiivc tube to coarfcr life, leaving the Facjuirs who pierce their fltHi to purchafe Heaven, and hurl thcaifclvcs from high pagodas, where females ftrui-^irlc for the glorious privilege of dying with a man they never loved, to the hard lavage of Canadian fnows ; where the five Indian nations, fallen and taciturn, pradilc no cruelties upon themjelves, untaught the artificial palTions, which add weight to the burden life is born to bear. Grieving 280 EAST, WEST, AND NORTH, [ch. xiir. Gricvinc^ a tortured foe is the fell fport of Adirondacs and Cayugas ; and as they tear up their own dead with ihricks, bcfeeching them to accept the facrifice of fix, or of fixtccn captives taken in war between one of thefe thinly peopled diftrids and another; the women, with frantick gcfturcs, ho\vl around ; tiirowing frcfla fuel on a fire kindled to increafc the prifoners' agony, till the voice of a Mohawk is heard from far, difturbing the horrid rite. Pre-eminent over all is the A'lohawk tribe : the bear is his enfign in fight. The Ipeech of their Sachem to colonel Alexander Glen feems a grand fpecimen of Canadian eloquence. 'Twas in the year 1 085, coeval -v\ ith the occurrences of other countries under our prcfent rcvifal, that Monfieur de Hcrville, a French general, encouraged the Oneydocs to furprize our fort at Schcnedlady, where they murdered and mafiacrcd, and, what was much worfe, carried away fomc Englifli and allied hi- dians captive : — The confternation of our Britifli foldicrs was beyond belief, and a hafty retreat from fuch a neighbourhood was propofed at Albany, where we had another fort, full of women and children, juftly terrified by fuch perfidious treatment from the French, who had fccn the cxcefl'cs of their copper-coloured friends committed on our people with a fneering and favage delight. The Mohawk Sachem's embafiy amufed, perhaps confoled, and gave them courage to renew a war more hideous than had been cxpeded on our parts. " Take heart, brother," faid the brave old chieftain, " We give this belt," prefenting wam- pum, " to wipe away your tears. The enemy is deceitful, and in his •' deceit he lliall perifli : — The Mohawk will not be twice deceived ; we •' prcfent you eye-water to render you clear-fighted. Do not pack up '• and away Corlear ; the fun has been cloudy, but will fliine again : wc " will fcalp the Frenchmen foon, and pour hot fand upon their bleeding •' ikulls. Ilemcmber wc are of the race of the Bear ; and a bear never •' yitlds. Brethren, be courageous, and let this bind the chain of bro- •' therhood," giving a belt of wampum. — " We mull all be Bears ; but " let usfortity Schene<5ady like a beaver hishoufc," giving a bcaver'slkin. It CH. XMi.] FROM 1650, TO A. D. 1700. 287 It feems to me as it* thcfc accounts, wlien new from the countries, and trefti upon men's minds, had a good deal imprefled people here in England. We read in the Spe<3:ator of a Mohawk club. The merry men too who ftroll along the ftrccts of every metropolis to do unmean- ing mifchief in the night, knock down a feeble watchman, or terrify an old woman into anticipated death, for a Joke; called themfclves Mohocks in Queen Anne's time, while fober citizens ufed to be forti- fying their houfes like the beaver, to keep fuch crazy fellows from breaking their windows after twelve o'clock. Prior fays, Give the boy port and potent fack. From milk-fop he flails up Mohock ; for writers now drew piAurcs from real life in France and England. 'Till thofc days imagination was exhaufted to form, or hiftory hunted over to find, fcencs of amufement in their works of fancy ; Sydney's Arcadia and Spencer's Fairy Queen : for Shakefpear only had ventured to hold up a mirror to manners, not then elaborately dreffed at all, or delighting in her own refemblance. But from l()jO to 1 700, fuch improvements had been made in focial intercourfe, that people never had enough of it, till the prefs reflcdcd back on their enchanted c\ es the pleafurcs found in a refined fociety. Madame de Sevignc on this principle, called the world round to witnefs that maternal atfeCtion lor a favourite daughter, felt no doubt by thoufands, but exprelTcd then uith an elegance wholly new to mankind. Romances tw) had received their laft polifh from the flowing pen of Scuderi, penfioned by Loui-^ quator/.c. in whofc reign firfl fprungup the idea of abridging thefe higli hcroick prolixities, which no longer much allured common reader.- ; and fearce was the French Sappho, as they called her, cold inearth. when Marie Catherine dcs Jardins, who married Monfieur de Ville Dicu, introduced a change among thefe fcK)thing fii, whofe fame has gone forward, enlarging in fize and rifmg in Ibblimity, like the fabled goddefs fung by Virgil (not his ftiperior), till in thefe times, diftant almofl two centuries from that he- lived in, his noblefl pancgyrift, Samuel Johnfon, foars into praife of him fo loftv and fo radiant, no other reputation could fupport, no minor merit vindicate, a claim to fuch fupcrb eulogium. After thefe courfers for renown's green laurel, but far! how far beyond the diftance pofl ! Cowley and Waller come, as after Childcrs, .lafon or Ecli[)fe, a finifhed pair of high-drefs'd gennets from the manege, graceful and fmooth, expert, and elegant, gay-coloured and well bred : — Rough Butler too, whofe wit and fparkling intelligence, uttered by a grotcfque figure, fuch as the maiks prefixed to Terence's comedies, fail not their firft aifault upon a reader's mind, who feels fmall appetite indeed to come again, where olives and caviare, mangoes and hot cafliu nuts form the treat, long- kept Stilton cheefc ferves as the fole dcjjert. But Dryden ends our liil of firfl-nite poets, who lived and died with the llxtccnth century : Dryden, who gives to our mental digcflion more ponderous food than this, and fearches every fcience, every element, for imagery, t<-. CH.xni.] FROM l650, TO A.D. 1700. 289 to entertain thofc faculties in his readers which he appears to fancy equal with his own : fo exquifite is his profc, we wifh he never had been led to lole his time in meafuring quantities and feeking fylla- blcs : fo admirable his poetry, we hate to think that profe Ihould in- terfere, and rob us of his flights. Like Shakefpcar's Florizcl to Pcrdita, th' enamoured looker o'er fuch works breaks forth — What you do, fweet Still better what is done : for when you fpeaic I'd have you do it ever ; wlien you fing, rd have you buy and fell fo, fo give alms : Pray fo, and for the ordering your affairs To fing tJtciii too. When you do dance, I wilh you A wave o' th' fea, that you might ever do Nothing but t/tat ; move ftill, ftill fo. And own no other fundion. But not thofc only who couM gladden life were at this period the boaft of Britain, Harvey and Sydenham knew how to prolong it, turning America's rich produce to account, whence bark, the great rcftorativc, was brought ; and fmooth as even Waller's verfes flowed, the falutary olenm palnia Chr'i/l'i. The pine-apple, afterwards fold in whcel-barrows about the ftrcets of London, was brought thither from Holland within tlic period under revival. Sir Matthew Decker was the man who added tluit luxury to our tables : the old travel books of l528, mention it under the name ananas ; yii;a7 to Jaxmir, but of a rough r'inJ, anJ Jkalee. Vanilla fccms to have never familiarized itfclf among us; wc ufc it only to perfume fine chocolate: 'tis truly an ivy, and clings yet to its old habitation, defpifing a new-built wall. Xalapa, originally thcMoorifli name of a town InOld Spain, carried over to South America, now gives appellation to the Mexican convolvulus, beautiful in its colour, and of a clafping genius, known to the aiK)thc- carics in England as a ufcful purgative, and called jalap ; but codiincal the infcd, and cochineal the flirub, to which wc owe the brilliant Vol. II. O o red apo EAST, WEST, AND NORTH, [ch. xnrv red that dyes our ftufFs, and heightens the painter's powers, lives chiefly near the gulph of Honduras ! unfathomable waters. Fondas or Hondos, whence Honduras. By names of places we indeed beft trace how far the French, and where the Spaniards and Englifli, have penetrated : Boca de la Maddalcna, Iflc Santanilla, &c. Cape Francois, Vingt- une, Watling Ifland, and Rum Key. Labat was millionary in the days we fpeak of; what he then told and afterwards wrote, has never been contradifted. Pontanus, who edited and correded Cluvcrius, died 1650, 1 believe, but not till he had added much to the general ftock of ancient and northern geography. I fufpecl him to be author of fome Latin lines which I have read, but cannot find this moment ; of which the following is a tranflation equally unknown to me, and quoted but by memory : Mark how the fiuitful Danube flows, Realms and rehgions parting, A friend to all true Chriftian foes. To Peter, Jack, and Martin. Now Proteftant, and Papift now. And fometimes Both or either. At length an infidel does grow. And ends his journey neither: So have I feen foinc youth fet out. Half Proteftant half Fapift ; And wand'ring long the world about. Some new religion to find out, Turn Infidel or Atheift. Pontanus had better have held clofe to learning, and let attempts at wit quite alone : having thought it a clever thing to fend a verfe enigma to Schrcvcrius enquiring of his friend what that could be which would grow greater in proportion as you took fomtthing from it every day? Schrcvcrius wrote him word, Toutano demas cannina, major er'it, that it was Pontantis ; from whom if you took all his poetry, he would be greater than he was before. To a writer who collected the lives of ladies illuflirious for their virtue and literary acquirements, we ought to wifh gentler treatment. Meantime France no more looked en. xin.] FROM l650 to A. D. 1700. -ipl looked out for anagram and enigma; the time was paft when Racan and Malhcrbe diverted themfclves a whole evening in making out Greek names by which to celebrate their favorite females, both of which liappen'd to be called plain Catherine, from whence Malhcrbe drew Arthcnice ; 'tis faid, Racan took Erac^lhine, having firft enquired of his mailer whether it zcouid Jo or no. Mademoifclle dc Gournai had led the way, and Tannequi Ic Fevre having loll his fon, a prodigy of learning at eleven years old ; delighted to faik his own name in that of a daughter, whole erudition was admired by the cercle dcs fiavants who frequented her father's houfc. Chriftina heard of licr eminence, and wrote her a letter expreffing the eamcft dcfirc Ihe felt of converling w ith fo extraordinary' a lady, and of hearing that llae had quitted the Protcftants, for whole focicty Ihe was too excellent, &c. Louis XIV". who loved not literary accomplifliments in women, gave her how- ever to underftand through his emiflaries, that fome favour might be gained by changing her religious opinions, and Mademoifclle Ic Fevre w ould have lillcned more readily to thcfe o\ crturcs, 'twas faid, had not young Dacicr, who was jull then refufcd by the famous Dc Launai, afterwards Madame Staal, becaufe he was a Lutheran, ap- plied to Tannequi for i:illruction, and found bis way to fair Anna's Jicart. They married, but the lady made ufe of all her inllucnce in turning her hulband IJrom the way of truth and of their fathers : they retired to ftudy the eviJenccs as flie faid, the allurements rather of Ro- manifni, and they came out to abjure their old opinions as heretical, and to confidcr thofe who profclTcd them as accurj'cd. That talk per- formed, Dacicr was liberally penfioncd for iiis hillory of medals, was made the King's librarian, &c. while his wife contributed the Flonts hi ufum Dclph'm'i. \\\\X\ fuch fmonth looks and many a tuneful word, The firft fair fhe bcguil'd ltd cafy tord : Too blind with wit and beauty to beware. He fell unthinking in the fatal liiarc, &c. O o 2 They iQ2 EAST, WEST, AND NORTH, [ch. xiii. They had no children however, except their works, and when requeftcd to write in favour of Popery, wife Madame Dacicr fteadily rcfufcd ; but whilft Maintenon and herfelf quitted the unfafliionablc iidc of the queflion, and hafled to enhft in the contrary party, Pere Hardoiiin ap- pears to have had an honelt: terror feize upon his foul left Chriftianity itfelf were iri danger : much of what he then faid has certainly fmce come clearly to pafs ; and I am partly of his mind, that he did not rife every morning for fifteen years together at four o'clock to find out nothing that his neighbours did not know ; he fcems to have known that there was an extenfive plot laid even then for purpofe of fhaking our holy religion to its foundations, and fo there certainly was, and he perhaps might have impeded its progrefs, had he not afTerted pro- pofitions wholly untenable concerning the clafTical books fo long re- vered, condemning them all as impoftures. To this error it docs not appear indeed that he was led by any vain-glorious humour of his own, or defire of novelty, but a firm perfuafion of the church's infallibility and incapacity of miftake, for from his notion that whoever was ca- nonized muft be of necefTity a faint, fecmed to proceed all the reft of the confequcnccs. He was however treated as a vilionary pkht de ch'i- meres, qui ftc vo'it que d atliecs par tout : and Vcrtct, a Protcftant mi- nifter at Geneva, made his epitaph to the delight of Jcfuits and Janfc- nlfts and all — 'tis too long to tranflate as well as tranfcrilic. In cxpcdlationc judicii Hie jacct Hominum Pardoxaotatos Natione Gallus, Religione Romanu?, Orbis Littcrati portenturh, Vciicrandse Antiquitatis cultor et dcftruftor, Do6lc febricitans Somnia ct Inaudita commcnta vigilans edidit Scepticum pic egit, Crcdulitatc puer, audacift Juvenis, deliriis fenex. France en. xiif.] FROM ld50» TO A. D. 1700. 2f)3 France did at this her il-afon ol* renown teem with wit, worth, and genius ; we left old Lewis furrounded by his flatterers, who celebrated, recorded, or collected the works of thofc that did record and celebrate his j^olden day • Bnn ere, Bouhours, Boilcau, Bofluet, Corneillc, Kacine, Menace, and 1-aft forgotten La Fontaine perhaps, but every one would be a belejprtt; Dumay , tlie famous confcillcr de Paris, who had been brought ■up to a ri^ltor-d life in a dillant province, and who had realized a great eftatc bv ftudy of the law, made himfclf fo famous for his verfes, bon .mots, &c. that M'.':..igc wrote thefe lines upon his tomb. Uc .'liiuflrc Dumay dont tu vois le lorubcau, Pitil^nt ! revere ici la ccndie ; Dijon quoiquc Tliouloufe eut le droit d'y pretcndic F n tul It gtorlcux bcrccau : 1,'Oufe fjr fa rivo tranquilic Vm 3 longtems oui Ics vers charmants et doux. La Garonne en coofut un cnvieux courroux, , El du terns mcmc dc Virgile, Lc Tibrc en eut etc jaloux. His native river now no more Sliall li.len as it flows, Dumay lies buried on our fhore, Far from his fav'iite Oufe ; The Garonne jealous of fuch lays, Her envious head witlidiew; And Tybcr, even in Virgii's days. Might have been jealous too. While then PoufTin's fame, never cxtinift, called after him, but at an aw- ful diftancc, Scbaftian Bourdon, IjH Brun, Mignard and Jouvenct ; and while Claude (jcIcc, driven from a paftry-cook's fliop at Nancy for imbccillity, died at Rome, leaving his own country immortalized by his appellation, Claude de Lorraine; flouriflicd at fair Ancona, Carlo Maratti, laft of Italian painters worth the naming. That fwectly-glowing tint, that outline loft in rotundity, tlic fine contorno and well managed groupe 2<)4 EAST, WEST, AND NORTH, [ch. xiu. groupc fo long the hoaft of Rome, were fled to Flanders, whence Van- dyck and Rubens brought them to Great Britain, and with them Sir Chriilophcr W^rcn co-operating, tried to ellabUfli the fine arts in England, where Sir Jofiah Child tells us, with truth no doubt, that in the year lG88 more men walked the Exchange who pofleiTed 10,000l. than there were men who pofleflcd loool. thirty years before ; a ra- pidity in the proud ftream of general opulence not to be be credited but from fuch authority. If it be equally true what Hume fays, that a young gentlewoman thought herfelf well clothed and happy in a good ferge gown about A. D. l05O; and that in 1O88 her daughter's chambermaid would not have wome one like it, we may fee the dif- tant provinces kept pace in due proportion with the capital : it was in ]0/0, I believe, that a board of trade firft became neceflary in our nation, and the earlicft American convention bears nearly the fame date, when Spain and England ftruck the limits of their refpedlivc colonies; but the firft Chriftian treaty the Chinefe made was with Ruffia. With this progrefs of riches, luxuries, and focial intercourfc, fume individuals were even yet ill-pleafed. Whilft every other pen was praifing the joyful days of Louis XIV. Monfieur de Valois faid, " The people are turned fools, and Paris is no longer what it was ; one " cannot walk the llrcets for carriages. In my thiir, there were but ** three coaches in all the town ; one belonged to Queen Catherine de " Mcdicis, one to Diana d'Angoulcfmc, princefs of France, and tbe •' other to Chriftopher de Thou, prcfident of the parliament, who was '•' grown gouty, and could no longer fit upon his mule : but now each " paltry fellow fcts up his equipage, and covers his mean birth by fplcn- " did drefs, forgetting the hon v'laix temps." Valefius who edited in iGa-l, Examples of Vice and Virtue, written by the Greek Emperor Conftantine Porphyrogenitus, a fort of felcdla;, feems like Pere Har- doiiin to have had ibmc notion that all thcfe later improvements tended but little to promote religion or morality, although well planted fci- cnce put forth frefla ramifications daily in ever}' country ; and mechanic arts CH. xiii.] FROM 1 630, TO A. D. i;oo. 295 arts arrived almofl at jierfedlion in ours, patronized by Boyle, -who might have been himfelf a profeflbr, yet filled as it Ihould Teem with the fame lalutary dread of atheiftic Infolence, he left a legacy to keep its poifon down by antidote ; and while the fublime genius of im- mortal Newton hovered with angels' wings over the high-grown tree, pointing its loftieft afpirations up to heaven, and confecrating know- ledge to the praife of its Creator ; Dear Fenelon devoted /lis branch of it to the free benefit of his fellow creatures; a friend to whom, he ftrovc to educate in t'.c young heir of France, fon to the then dead Dauphin, for v.hofc ufc immortal Tclemaquc was written, and com- pofcd with language equal to the fentiments, pure although free, and wife although poetical : for him how willingly would ReirofpeSilon wait, could we find praife, as he found merit cafy ; but Canibray for his panegjrifl fliould have Jdiiifon. Turn piimum ladiis gclidi calucrc triones; and the frozen north felt the dcfirc oi foftcning her fevcrity by learn- ing's gentle influence. Tlic Mufcovltes, after they had for many years been governed bv a divifion in tiicir monarchy of two brothers and a fifter, dropt at the century's clofc into the hands of one fole Emperor or Cajhr — Cfzar. He joined with Leopold againft the Turky, and pofll-fl- ing himfelf of Azoph, faftcncd his forces upon the banks of their Hlack Sea, reminding them of the red aj)plc, which they now began once more to rccollcift, calling Peter the Orange Tawney, or Yellow King ; this brought to mind in many thinking men, a fancy that the Ottomans, onco fo formidable, had paiTcd the acme of their power, and our con- tcmvorary, Eton, faysj •• it ended when the Vi/ier Kiuperli breathul " his lall." Dr. Lloyd wrote a book upon the fubje«5t ///<•«, filird with many weM-fttidicd calculations, and I'ctcr the Ctzar who had no learn- ing at all, and fcarcc could calculate a fum in fimple addition, v,:\^ lfx>kcd up to as the future dcftrojer of Mahomctanifm in Europe. Bumct we will own expreflcb fomc contempt towards hit^. •' lie 1q6 east, west, and NORTH, [ch. xirr. " is come hither," fays the bifhop, " to pra(ftife and to ice what his " genius JJtall be capable to rife up to." Thefc are the words, but Burnet was accuftomed chiefly to court manners, and could not fee the fove- rcign through the favage. That a hard-handed fellow, uncouth in appearance, and working in our docks as a fhip carpenter, lliould de- fire to polifli and refine his people, and that he fliould take that me- thod of accomplilhing his purpofc, was doubtlcfs difficult enough to conceive, almoft impoffible to execute ; but God, whofe providence the elegant author deprecates when he obferves fo large a portion of mankind committed to the care of rugged Peter, put away the pleaf- ing Prince John Sobicfky, who outlived his renown for wifdom, virtue, and valour, and died defpifed by all in lOy". Whilft in two years more the Swedifli hero, Charles, fet his own cr6wn upon his own head, foon as his gallant father was expired, and begun treating the world with little ceremony, as he determined foon to teach it a pcrfec^i and obfcquious fubmiffion. The birth of a new kingdom likewifc was at hand, and the ©Id houfc of HohcnzoUen felt the wifli to change its rank among German leaders ; afluming the title of King over Pruffia ; its nafccnt import- ance has been happily tranfmitted to us by the great defcendant of this ercat elector Frederick dc Brandenburgh, who having caught the univcrfd panick concerning the univerfal monarchy aimed at by Louis XIV., enter'd with wlllingnefs into the league againft him. Of that rich Ihcaf our William was the bandage and tie ; he too had been lately exalted from StadthoWer in one country to Kingfhip in ano- ther ; " but 'twas the moment," fays the royal author juft mentioned, " for princes to bud out and difclofc themfelves ;" he might have added that they budded out at a wrong time of year, like apple bloirom.s gracing fometimes with barren beauty, Odober or November. Pruffia being itfelf little beyond a defert watered by blood of heroes in the contelt between Guftavus Adolphus and the Imperial generals Tilly and Pappenheim ; Europe faw it claimed with lefs averfion ; Leopold CH. xni.] FROM i650, TO A. D. 1700. 297 Leop>old was not unwilling to acknow ledge any prince who would lend him one thoufand men to fight agalnll France, Auguftus of Saxony, eager to fecure Poland, made no objection : and William cared not much what price was paid, when a new enemy to old Louis was to be the purchafe. Charles of Sweden meant to pofTcfs the whole : a wolf counts not the flieep nor liftens to their names ; he laughed to fee a new throne erefted only for his amufement to pull dow n : but though pofTefled of one vaft projedl, his head contained no fubordinate plans which might bring it to bear. Impulfe and energy were the fole auxiliaries fought by that hot-headed champion, that prize-fighter in the vaft arena of the world, which had not been tra- vcrfcd with more rapid, more reftlefs vehemence fmce RetroJpeSiion firft prefcnted it to view:. His exploits muft lend fire to our future chapters though ; for the year 1 700 left him brandifhing his weapons around, as a ftag in a foreft Iharpcns his horns, for the purpofc of running at, Ju caret not who. Vol.. II. P p CHAP. 298 SPAIN, PORTUGAL, GERMANY, HOLLAND, fen. xi CHAP. XIV. SPAIN, PORTUGAL, GERMANY, HOLLAND, AND GREAT BRITAIN, FROM i05o TO 1700. THE twelfth chapter of this fwiftly-flown RetrofpeSl quitted Louis XIV, when, like a mofs-grown tree, he fpread his arms abroad, but fproutcd out no more ; while lichens covered the root with leathery ob- ftrudions, and every parafitical plant fucked up his moiflure, preventing further progrefs of his powers, and twifting round his trunk their hinder- ing obfcquioufnefs ; yet he expected to revive again, if once unhappy Charles of Spain w ould die, and leave him room for new expanfion : — That wretched prince, twice married, and fl:ill miferable in having no fon to fuccccd him, had chofen to adopt the fon of the eledor of Bavaria, and h'ls death put all Europe in confufion, till on the teftament of tliis poor Spanilh monarch, the world feemed well-refolved to wait no longer ; fo that by an aft of unexampled infolcncc they divided his poflefTions even hcfore his death, by the memorable Partition Treaty. Indignation at feeing himfelf fo treated, haftened the end of a life remarkable in no fenfe, but that it was the objed: of all contemporary foverelgns, who confidercd his difmiflal as their fignal for felzing his property. En- raged at this idea he bcftowed, by a folemn alc alliance was figned, engaging to allill l/cwis in ruining Holland, contrary to the common intercll of all Eurojx;. The bcft thing done was colonizing Xew York, which was named after the duke our admiral, inventor of lea fignals, who was a ufcful friend to (ircat Britain, though there was never much reti- prucal affedion between tlieni. Charles made a generous grant of Mary- land to my Ix>rd Baltimore ; and the I'ar-iamed qiwkcr, William r<'nn, • Lord Jrrnivii 'vis made Farl of St. , Milan's , two fliccfs rontigiimis to cacli oilier arc TCt called hy lib name. 'Pic laft fccnis a title fur royal rniinCi.1i"ns : Ndl Gwvnne and her cliildren poirdTed it a« a dukedom. Vol. If. Q i| Hicwcd 306 SPAIN, PORTUGAL, GERMANY, HOLLAND, [ch. xiw fhewed both hemifpheres at once the beauty and worldly intercft of benevolence, when in the North American ^or^j, deftincd to bear his nominal diftindion, Fenvfylvan'ta ; he cultivated a friendfliip with the fcar'd inhabitants, and binding all in one fraternal chain of tolerating gentlenefs, called his new fettlement Brotherly Love, implied in the word Philadelphia. Meanwhile many unheard-of fancies pofl'eflbd men's minds at home : one Vcnner, during this reign, for three days together, paraded, without moleftation, the ftreets of London, pro- claiming King Jefus, and declaring thelaft day arrived. From phrcnzy however, when his followers proceeded to plunder, they were reftrain- ed and punilhed; or rather, I believe, oppofed and conquered, the terrors of felfifnncls cxtinguifliing the tumult of diftradion. The blafphcmies of James Naylor, who fancied h'wnicM MeJJiah, and rode through Briftol, the people crying Hofannah as he went along, likewife difgraced thefe days, which the plague vifitcd, and L/ondon's conflagration could not mend ; for while thefe odd pofleffions held the middling ranks of life, a daring and fhamelefs profligacy, fcarce lefs frantic, feizcd on the empty heads of noble youths, impelling them to a6ls of favage indecorum. Dalrymple tells how thirteen men of fafliion — the future chancellor. Judge JeiFeries, 'mid the groupe — ftript to their ftiirts, and drank the King's health, perched up like pigeons, on a monftrous fign poft fixt at a tavern door. Another fet celebrated the 2Qth of May by dancing wholly uncovered, excepting by fome oak leaves, in a balcony of the Strand, I think, till the mob, much lefs unrea'fonable in their excefles, threw ftones and wounded them, and drove them in by force. Ro- chefler confeft afterwards that he had pafled three whole years in ebriety unbroken ; while the royal brothers appeared to flight or be diverted by thefe horrid frolicks, paffing their own time in gay voluptuouihefs, dcflring only that no traces of puritanifm might be left. With all this arts and fcicnccs were not ncgleded. The royal travellers tried to fet up fome imitation of a French opera at Rutland hculc, where Made- moifcllc Subligny danced pantomimical ballets, 1 believe, and contem- poraneous CH. XIV.] AND GREAT BRITAIN, FROM j 650 TO i roo. 307 poraneous with LuUi in France lived our Englifh Purcell : the air to which he fet the words. My lodging is on the cold ground, particularly, io pleafcd King Charles, he took the girl from off the ftage who fung it ; and as (he was a native of North Wales, he called his daughter by her, Mary Tudor : Jhe married the Elarl of Derwentwater, and became mother to the rebel nobleman who was executed (almoft in our own time) for his adherence to the Stuart family. Playhoufes were patron- ized by the c6urt, and though the reprefentations were itidecent to a ihamelefs degree, it was not their indecency which fo much diftin- guiflied them from what had been endured by other ages, as a ftraiii of profane jefting which now firft began to be encouraged, and which Mr. Congrevc had the honour of carrying to perfed;ion. New manufaAories added fplendour to every fhow ; and happen -^-hat would, commerce appeared to gain by it. The fine mode of dy- ing woollen-cloth was brought from the continent by Exlward Brewery pcrfccution of the Huguenots abroad fcnt over workmen hither, where money grew plenty, and the encreafe of coinage between Charles the Second's reign and his brother's, was ten millions two hundred and fixty thoufand pounds. Yet was their council-chamber, while the clddl of them occupied the throne, become gloomy and employed in unravelling plots true or falfc during the latter days, fo that foul talcs of midnight murder, quick fuccceding to fcnfclcfs pranks of wild nodurnal merriment, forced into concurrence even the contradidory vices, fcnfuality and fufpicion. " Thcfc," faid the Prince of Orange, " arc your talking kings;" and kept his own lips firmly clofcd upon thofc projcds which his heart was big with: the fame fpirit of taci- turnity which prompted him while yet a boy to conceal, inllcad of punilhing, the treachery of a page that nightly read his letters, grew up with his riper years; and as on that occafion he provided the pagr proper papers on which to cxcrcifc his genius for examination ; fo ho afterwards continued the like cautious condu<^ through life ; uniting in a manner peculiar to himfclf, the \lgour of }outh in every battle Q q 2 Avith 308 SPAIN, PORTUGAL, GERMANY, HOLLAND, [ch. xiv- •with the warinefs of age in every negotiation.* He faw with filent plca- fure Charles and James making, by their perverfc behaviour, way for his lovely wife to wear the Englifh crown. He had married the duke of York's eldcft daughter, by Ann Hyde, who had always held firm to her rcligiaus opinions Ypite of her hufband's feducements, and had in zeal- ous care brought up her favourite Mary to inherit them. The father of this princefs could not be more attached to Popery than flic to Pro- teflantilrn, but her morality kept pace with the pious ardour flie ex- preflld for our reformed church — the duke difgraccd his choice of Romanifm by an ardour for pleafurc, vyhich no devout fentiments feemcd to rcftrain. He built the houfe in Long Acre, with a varie- gated front for his baths ; but as it foon became a place dedicated to intrigue more than health ; bagnios were from that time conftdcred as bearing a bad charader, one only excepted, which took an Indian- appellation, by which its known to this day I believe — Hummums ia Ibme oriental language meaning a fudatory. After long expe(5la- tion of the royal feat, our gay king gave his brother a near chance for it by fuddcn illnefs, from which however, he recovered fo as to en- quire laughingly what would be faid of him after his deceafe : the courtier's impromptu reply is well-known how his epitaph (houldrun: Here lies tlie mutton-eating king, Wliofe word no man relics on, Who never faid a foolifh thing, And never did a wile one. The monarch's anfw cr is not fo familiar to us, although a very happy * To confcfs the truth, it was time to grow war)': princes were no longer literally (ir figuratively charlifcd by proxy. Mr. Murray, mentioned by Burnet, was the laft whipping-boy, and his poor mafler Charles I. had found no fubftitute to bear the puniHimcnt upon his age, though that gentleman when very young ufed to be corrcftcd for the royal childien's faults, as was cuftomary among courts; the page was accounted happy whom they fcleftcd for this purpofc, and was Aire to grow up a favourite. one.. CH. XIV.] AND GREAT BRITAIN, FROM l6bO TO 1700. 309 one. " Your charader is really pretty near the truth," fiud he, " becaufe " w hat I ha^ c /iiiJ was wv o'.cn of couric, and what I have (fone has " commonly been of yours, or of no "wifcr man's funrgcftion." The graver people liowcvcr, were attentive to obferve in what con^munion this prince vvouUl at length expire ; and the Papifts exulted in the idea that he at laft received the facrament from a Romifli pricft, fuppnrted in his bed by the duchcfs of Portfmouth, who was of the fame pcrfua- fion. James was no fooner fTxed upon the throne than he openly profefl'cd himfclf a friend to France, an enemy to Holland, and almoft a fub- jcA, but certainly a dutiful fon to the Pope, whom he diftreft with attentions, of which Innocent XI. clearly forcfaw the confequenccs, and faid among his intimates : " We muft excommunicate this man *' for rooting up that little which was left us of adherence in England." In effect, his fondncfs for Rome appeared a paflion more than a re- gular attachment ; and that it took up all his thoughts was deeply injurious to him and to his people; who had they been of his mind, or he of theirs in theological matters, would have had a good fovcrcign in James II. though not a great one. Ho was eameft to make roads about the kingdom, and had a flrong dcfire to encreafc the internal commerce of our ifland ; the firfl turnpike at Slilton was fet up by his management, and the care of regulating pofts, ftages, &c. committed to Ogilby the tranflator of Homer, under his own infpcdion. Care for keeping fhips fvvcet and clean from infection, was one of the bene- fits we owe to this prince, whofc 3di\ity during both the plague and fire of London, during his brother's reign, did him great credit, hut the prcdilcdion he had always Ihow n to France, and his re< cnt mar- riage with a lady of the houfe of Modena, conncded with the French court, and called the adopted daughter of I>ouis XIV., helped to alienate his fubjcds' hearts from bim, and turn them toward the prince t)f Orange, from whofc charader a Itrong contrafl was drawn, but little to the uncle's favour. Dazzled however, as it appears, by the prifmatiek rays that flionc round the head of Lewis the fourteenth, our brother 3 1 SPAIN, PORTUGAL, GERMANY, HOLLAND, [ch. xi v . brother kings meanly preferred, one haftily, the other deliberately, to live penfioners upon his royal bounty, rather than rule over a free people, by fubmitting to ufe that influence now grown indifpenfable to whoever meant to reign at all. , The time was pafl when men were fubje6ls from affe(^ion ; Eng- land now only defired a king, becaufe having experienced a common- wealth, they liked a king better: yet Charles, had he lovedh\% native ifland, might have been a happy fovereign over it, and the good humour ■which even his brother was welcomed with upon acceffion, was more than they deferved who thought with pleafure only on continental de- lights ; a warm fun and unreftrained enjoyment of thofe gaieties gilt by its beams imdcr a brighter fky. Thofe tricks however, which were tolerated in the eldeft of thefe half Sicotch, half French monarchs, were dcfpifed in the younger ; a bill of exclufion had been propofed during his brother's reign, and the bifliops' loyal fpirit threw it out. No grateful fenlc of fuch loyalty lived in the fclfifli bofom of the dukeofYork, who, foon as the crown was dropt upon his head, manifefl:ed his antipathy to our church by every poflible mode, and the command iflued out to thofe very bifhops, infifting on their concurrence in its ruin, feemed like the fignal for revolt. His fubjcAs had fcen hira violate the charters granted them by his prede- ceiTor, had heard his intention in cxprefs terms to keep alive that power and fovereign fway, which they well knew he poffeft not without their permiffion. They had obfcrved the Whigs obliged to buy- their lives from his corrupt and cruel chancellor, with lums that reduced them to beggary, making Mr. Prideaux in particular, pay fifteen thoufand pounds to get out of prifon, though he never arrived at knowing why he was thrown in : yet rather than renew fcencs of horror too lately exhibited, all might have been endured, had he not fcnt thefe bifliops to the Tower, and publickly received a nuncio from the court of Rome. The Queen was delivered of a boy, but no rejoicing except among the Papifls followed. The circumllanccs of his birth were dubious, a cH.xiv.] AND GREAT BRITAIN FROM 1650 TO 1700. 311 nimour was fprcad among fomc Protcftant dreflcrs, or inferior women in the palace, that the bed-chamber was chofen as a place commodious for the purpofe of deception. There was a pair of back llairs juft at the Queen's head, and report faid how a baby had been conveyed thither in a warming pan. Princcfs Mary of Orange made ftridl enquiries of courfc ; and princcfs Anne, married to the heir of Denmark, (but living at London) made UnA examination. The clc6lrefs of Hanover, daughter to the unfortunate queen of Bohemia, wrote to Chamberlaine, the famous accoucheur, about the matter. His anfwcr is given by Dalrymple, and though he was a Calvinift, and a man pcrfonally of»- fended by king James, though being fo applied to befides, he would naturally have wilhed to pleafc his illuftrious corrcfpondeni, one may- plain ly fee that he thought it a go^p's tale. Popular impofturcs commonly gain credit at the inftant, but lofe it afterwards ; of royal impofturcs the contrary may be obferved. Pcrkin Warbeck, who pretended to be duke of York in Henry the fcventh's time, was then confidercd as a mere deceiver ; 'tis now while I write, the falhion to believe he really was the perfon he profeflcd to be. The name he aflumed o( Peter Tell- truth, we muft own to have been at kaft well contrived. The fon of James II. lived not fix months among us. Clamours and groans and hiflcs (without threats) procured the bifliops' rclcafc. The king was reviewing his army and the whole camp Ihoutcd for joy : our infatuated fovcrcign could not yet perceive the precipice under his feet. He went on driving his Protcftant fub)C(fts from every employ- ment and putting in thofc of his own perfuaf»on# till even the Spanifli ambalfador cxpjreflcd hisfurprize at fuch conduct, and bigot as he was himfclf, conjured his majcfty not to give his confeflor and other priefts •fiich pjwcr and encouragement. The nation was inflamed with rage in the lourtli )ear of this rcigu : A (udden panick feizcd the houfes of parliament, and to cxciic fomc Ihew of paftion in the populace, thofe French Huguenots (prophets they were called) ran loofe alxjut the country 3 1 a SPAIN, PORTUGAL, GERMANY, HOLLAND, [ch. xiv. country tqwns and villages, falling into trances, and prediding the downfall of Popery and evil end of Louis quatorze The learned, and pious, and amiable Innocent eleventh, dcfircd that he might fee, ex- amine and converfe with fome of them ; and 'tis faid that when he faw one of thefe fellows playing over the very fame tricks which he had himfelf known praftifcd by Romanifls through Italy, to make the pea- fants, Ihop-kccpers, &c. believe them under demoniacal poflcflion : he turned his head a\vay, and wept the lamentable wicktdncfs of human nature. Our populace here in England, however, ftood quiet fpccla- tors of a revolution formed and carried into cfFcil by a large body of Proteftant nobility, a church opprefled and ftruggling for exiilencc ; a country party rlfing in opulence and dignity every day : affilled by mer- chants and traders rich beyond even the calculation, or hope, or wiflies of their fathers, and who of courfe defired liability to their enormous gains. To all thefe, learning, wit, and fatire lent their combined forces, exalting the happinefs of freedom, and free enquiry into every thing lacred and political, civil, natural and moral. Decent refpcd was loft in terror and revenge; numberlefs members of the king's own houfe- hold ran as for refuge to the prince of Orange, with him to plana Dutch invafion, in which alone feemcd to center every hope of fafety. The fccptre was confirmed, they faid, in popiOi hands forever, by birtli of a prince of Wales ; and cxpedation of fanguinary Mary's reign being revived, the nobles almoft all turned del'perate. James learned their intentions from the hand-writing of Lewis the fourteenth him- felf; a private exprefs came to Whitehall whilft Sir Godfrey KncUcr %va.s painting his pidure. Ihe king bowed fmllingly to liiin, and opened the packet, which as he perufed it, adually and literally dropt from his half-dead hand. The queen and her fon were fent away next morning, nor did any counfellor or frientl fuggeft that the child might be detained without injury to religion or government. Glad to be quit ot iJicm and their attendant priefts, jefuits, &c. now hated more and more : \\'illiam or Jaracs leemed to be all the quctlion, and to the lat- ter CH. XI v.] AND GREAT BRITAIN, FROM 1 650 TO 1 700. 3} 3 ter few or none adhered — the courtiers lie called round him added re- proach to dclertion. Sir Charles Scdlcy, Avhofc favourite child he had fcduccd, told fome one loudly, he would now compenfate that obliea- tion. " My daughter was made countels by this king," faid he, " without »r>'Confent: I will make his daughter a queen now without " aiting ///>." The more one reads of anecdote, the more one fees that on this fingular occafion no one behaved quite well except the Stadtholder himfelf. He fhewed no hafte or greedinefs of power : he came not till repeatedly called to fave us — as thofe who called him faid, from popery and (lavery : and at this diilance it does feem as if no other way for lafcty had been thought on ; although the danger was fo great, that princcfs Anne, in private letters lately publifhed fays, " That Ihc will live on a/ms, or die well pleafed, rather than not hold " fail her Proteftant faith." Young Churchill too, a page at court, iaid prettily in fome fecrct paper of thofe times, " That he was his maf- " tcr's fcrvant, but that his foul belonged to God alone — and though," added he, " I live not, Heav'n knows, the life of a faint, yet will I die the " death of a martyr, rather than comply againft confcicnce." When the prince landed at Torbay, however, he found the welt of England free from commotions : the pcafantry and artizans can fcarccly be ex- cited to wifh for violent changes, nor had they been injured or offended by their fovcrcign. The fight of foreign troops difpleafed t/icni more than had done the diftant reports of what James did among the uni- vcrTitics. When coming forward he made Ihcw of refiflancc, the com- mon herd where'er he paiTed rejoiced. When fuddenly repenting even that fliow, he retreated, his foldicrs wept aloud, his fubjeds mourned — in vain ! P" righted where no fear wa?, he fled to and as quickly /row his capital, where letters from the diftant queen feemed to decide his un- determined fpirit. PrcfTed by her call, and foothed by her accounts of I x>uis the fourteenth's generous treatment ; difgulted with his cour- tiers' condud, dcfcrtcd by his daughters, threatened by their hufl)ands, terrified by the real fears of his furrounding pricfts and popifli counfel- VoL.lI. Rr lors: a 1 4 SPAIN, PORTUGAL, GERMANY, HOLLAND, [cii. m v . lors ; urged on bcfidc by the vile artifices of Lord Sunderland, who fcems to have aded the part of Jofeph Leman in Clarifla Harlowc — he e'en flung down the great feal into the Thames, and fled forever from a land he never loved, where he had yet an army of forty thoufand men ready to abet his pretenfions to the crown, although they had flioutcd when the bifhops were releafcd. A navy too, confifting of no fewer than a hundred and fevcnty-thrce (hips. Lord Dartmouth at their head, whofe letter preferved breathes the trucft loyalty, and whofe life was cer- tainly devoted to his fervice. That being once brought back again to London, he again ran away, fliows now like phrenzy or fatuity: yet was James neither a man foolifh or abfurd in convcrfation. He was obferved always to excufc his female fucceflbrs, who, in their turn, fpoke of him not unhandfomely : but his attempts to gain in Ireland what he had never needed to lofe at St. James's, made him but more confpicuoufly to Europe a creature and prof ege of Louis XIV., whofe compliment to him at parting was genteel and natural, when embarking him on board a noble fleet for purpofe of conquering our filler kingdom, he faid, " Now, Sir, the befl; that I ca?i wilh (or you is, that / may never have " the happinefs of feeing you again." The bans jfiofs and replies of, and to princes, are not always genuine as this was. Waller's anfwcr when Charles II. jokingly obferved, that he had praifed Cromwell with more energy than marked the verfes made on /lis (the king's) return, is well known. " Oh, Sir," cried he, " your majefty mufl recoiled: " that we poets always delight more in fidion than in truth." This was well faid, but the thought was borrowed. Luigi Allemanni, an Italian, that lived at Paris in the days of Francis the firft, who pa- tronized all men of letters, wrote a fatire againft Charles quint, and in it were thcfe words : L'Aquila giifagna Che per piii divorar due roftri poiU — meaning that the fpread eagle of the Auftrians devoured a double portion, becaufe of her two heads. When peace w as proclaimed, how- ever, CH. XIV.] AND GREAT BRITAIN, FROM iC50 TO 1 700. 3 1 -i ever, between the contending powers, Allemanni happened to be named chargd d' ajfa'irc^ tor Vienna, and tlicre, in a conference with Charles the tilth, the ambaiiador broke out into a rapturous praifc of Germany, and that imperial magnificence he fo delighted to contem- plate. " Ay, ay," fays the Emperor, laughing, " Viva I'Aqiiila " grif'agna !" " Magnanimo Principe !" replied the prompt Italian: " I was then in ray poetical character, which as }ou well know, de- " lights in fiction ; my prcfent fituation requires plain truth, plain profe, " your majefty may be aflurcd of my iincerity jult from that very cir- " cumftance." But RctrofpcSikn fays 'tis time to tell how James II. was driven back to his dear refuge France, while William's grander d.eftiny fccmed fixed by the immortal battle of the Boync, till the more ufeful Tea fight off La Hogue, when the French navy received yj/r/i a blow. Then that, as Shakefpear fays, " was ftronger made, which was before " bound up with ribs of iron." The prince of Orange then had time to try how much reciprocal affection would grow up between a people who made him their tool to check the regal power in future fovcrcigns ; and a bra\c leader from a foreign land, who had niade them his tool to check the progrcfs of ambitious France, and meant to put their guineas in his balance, which was to weigh againft that conquering monarch. But although both fuccccded in^hcir iiinis, neither appeared as if delighted with the inftniment. Fadlion diflurbcd their parliaments perpetually, and private pique divided all his councils. " Pleafurc is always in '^ tfu luxt box" laid n»y 1/Ord Lyttlctou, walking round Kanclagh. Thofc who perambulate the globe can fay nothing more true, and no- thing more cxj)rcffivc. After a \ery few years we mourned in England here our lovely queen, and William loft a wife, who, as it appears from biftory, had really as fuch, no equal. Beautiful, virtuous, tender, truft- ing and ufeful : ever fubmitting all things to his will, whofe company made all her pleafurc and enjoyment. The grief her hufband felt was part cxprcflion, atui nverfation upon j)ious or political fubJet^Ls was all he ever joined in alitrwards. Her letters to him arc a prcx)f not (jf her excellence alone, but in fomc mcafurc of his too, who, in a character (6 R r :; near 3i6 SPAIN, PORTUGAL, GERMANY, HOLLAND, [ch.xiv. near perfedion, infpircd a flame fo ardent, pure and lafting. No pro- geny however blellcd their bed. Nature rct'ufcs her heft confolations to thofc who aA agalnfi: her obvious laws ; nor could they be more grofsly violated than by a daughter fitting unchaftifcd by her own con- ;(biencc upon a living parent's throne. Around our realms meanwhile, though vice received no countenance from the court, and piety's pro- motion fecmed Queen Mary's favourite care ; a fpirit of atheifm and irrcligion fprcad their poifons in a furprizing manner during their joint and feparate reign. Jamaica lately colonized, was no fewer than three times defolated by hurricanes, a new and frightful phcenomenon : an earthquake, being attended with ftrange commotions of the air and fea in 1O92, almofl fvvallowed up Port Royal its metropolis; when the Swan frigate was flung by a furious, yet providential violence of wind and ■water, over the houfe tops, and forcibly driven into the earth, fo as to ferve for no bad afylum to the few terrified creatures who outlived the lofs of property, friends and habitation. Charity was requcllcd for them in the mother country ; fcrmons were preached, and fubfcriptions fet on foot in favour of the fufferers. Royal bcnefadlions led the way, and the King and Queen (for the firft time I read of) fet down their oiames among thofe of their fubjcds in a joint fum fo raifed. Such conduct, and fuch fcntlments, arc among the bcll''fruits of that new mode in which mankind feemcd difpofcd to arrange themfclvcs, and the conti- nent of Europe where the wifell (unlcfs Chinefe arc to be fo cftcemcd) have fixed their refidencc. There were other confequences not quite as pleafmg. Theological difputes among the dodors of our own Anglican church tormented its internal peace, while wit and South entered the lilb againft Watcrland, Sherlock and learning. Calvinifm fplit into a variety of feds, and complained as we ourfelves did of licterodox opi- nions. Pere Sirmond, upon \S.v terra firma, frighted the friends to Chriftianity by his notions, and Pere Hardoiiin, by running too haftily into our enemy's camp, fccms to have had thofe eyes put out which watched the world io narrowly. Meanwhile politicks grew into a common CH. XIV.] AND G REAT BRITAIN, FROM 1 650 TO 1 700. 317 common topick of convcrfation, and appeared likely to become every* body's care ; religion was, after Queen Mary's death, gradually more and more flighted, while fcience herlelf began a little to neglecft, or at leaft relax in her ftudies, and fit like Venus to be attired by tlie Graces : no more bobbed lips and toozed ears, fuch as old Tufler and poor Lady Jane Gray lamented in times pall. Mr. l^cke brought up new me- thods more congenial to the liberal fpirit of the now Whi;:gifla na- tion, and far more flattering to that high afpiring genius, that indepen- dent humour, warm in all youthful hearts, v hile parental tendemefs, which delighted in hearing how children were to be /Ayri/ into know- ledge ; fmiled to obferve the accumulated intellecfl of one whole ge- neration dedicated to the purpofc of fa\ ing care and trouble to the next. Old whipping Bufby was the laft fchoolmaflier, I believe, who tried at forcing boys by dint of mere feverity into literature, and he died in lOyS. Sir Richard Steele gave weekly infl:ruclions to climb the hill Difliculty by fome ftiort cut, or eafy path to Fame. Freedom be- came the univerfal theme, and freedom in- opinion pervading church and ftatc, laughed at old rules, and pointing out abfurdities in parents, guardians, kings and governors, leflcned authority in every hand that was accuflomcd to hold it. Perhaps it muft be confcft that fome re- form was not unnccefl*ary, when fo late as the marquis of Ncwcaflle's time, that noble author felt hlmfclf conllraincd to exhort rlding-maf- tcrs not to carrj' /iravv fiones in their pockets, for purpolc of throwing them at their pupils when they committed faults in the maiu'-gf, flitc ungracefully on horfeback, or the like. Mrs. Catharine Clark too, wife of the learned Samuel, fcems to have been kept clofe tf» randen rr^imr, when he extols her for having never rilrn from table without making him a cotutcfy, and for never drinking his health without a reverential bow; but this mode of being ridiculous, went out apace. Comedies exhibited fathers in the charadcr of old miferly wretches*, devoting their daughters to a long courfe of forrow in the arms of fome fliocking partner, deformed or othcrwlfe difgiifting, for the fake of momv ; till ai8 SPAIN, PORTUGAL, GERMANY, HOLLAND, [ch. kiv. every audience joined in loud applaufes bcftowed on the fpirited girl ■who broke fuch chains, and the young lover who was reprefcnted ai infinitely deferving. Plays, however, had fome good influence, and the lair Queen who fviffered her hufband and her people to place her on an exiled parent's throne, flicwcd evident figns of agitation at fome paflagcs ot" Drydcn's Spanifli Friar, which flie herfclt" had refcued from the obli- vion her father's prohibition flung it into : witncfs alctter of Lord Not- tingham's, long preferved by Mr. Oldys, and now depofited in the Britifli Mufcum among Dr. Birch's papers.* That nobleman always faid among his friends, that if King William were to die before his confort, flie would, he was confident, call her father home : her intents, if fuch they were, however, expired when Ihe did ; nor were the Englifli likely to feel much attachment to her huflband, or he to them. Sullen and taciturn, they viewed his manner with refpedlful diflance, but no afFe<3;ion ; yet jealoufy fubfifts fometimes where no love is : they could not bear he fliould like Holland better, and infifted on his turning ofl^ the Dutch guards who had witnefled all his glories, and partaken all his perils. On this Jbk occafion, a natural and fmcere exclamation burft from his fvvoln heart: " Oh, but if I had a fon, (faid he) by " Heaven thcfe honcft fellows fliould not quit mc." William -vn as not a ftrl<5l republican even in his own country ; he had maintained in his youth againft the De Wits that portion of au- thority which was configned to him as Stadtholder, without diminu- tion ; and to fee himfelf, when king, lefs able to do any adl of royalty than he was while Prince of Orange, necefllirily muft have been very grating to him. He wanted to fliine in the eyes of all Europe as the defender of its liberties againft Louis quatorze, to whofe court his an- tipathy was increafcd, no doubt, on hearing that when a random fliot * Tliofe papers fhew fhe had not read the play ; but commanded it to be a£lcd, in hopes "iwould ridicule the churcli of Rome, till Ibme parages pointed againft fe- male and filial ufurpation, gave he. fucli pain Ihc fcarce could keep from fainting. CH. XIV.] AND GREAT BRITAIN, FROM i()50 TO 1 700. n 10 in fome Irifh engagement grazed his fhouldcr, all Paris was illuminated, tlic fpies they had about us having brought them word that the king's life was in danger. Such meannels offended all the world, and prin- cipally our ever faithful friends the Portugucze : " What a man is this " Graud Motiarque, as they call him," cried Don Pedro: " if William " dies, my mourning fliall be decpeft ; for if he is a hcrctick, he is a " hero too : and 'tis fufficient he Ihould be damned in the next world, " methinks, without infulting his memory in this." 'Tis of the fame fbvcreign that we have heard it related, how when the laft grand treaty of the fcventeenth century was brought for him to fign, he kicked it impatiently with his foot as it fell from the table, and it tore. The minifters replacing the pieces with looks of affliftion and fur- prize, " Give yourfelves no concern, good gentlemen," cries Peter II., " you know the Grand Monarque breaks all his treaties, and \\ ill break " this in three weeks after he has fet his juwte tot, far worfc than I " have done." The year 1 700, however, when Tournefort fet forward for the Archipelago on a botanical tour, the firft: upon re- cord ; when Caffini drew his meridian line acrofs Bologna, and the monks were afraid it would difturb Santa Petronilla ; the year 1 700, in which the famous poet, Dr)dcn, breathed his laft tuneful note, took from us an infant prince, the hopes of England, fon to Queen Mary's fjfter, bred here, and here inftrufted ; a model of excellence, fo far as his years admitted of f>erfcdion : but as his pious mother had, with- out repining, followed no fewer than fixtccn of her offspring to the grave, fo did (he with unexampled and godly minded rcfignation, fee every hope extinguilhcd by ///> death, which now appeared a (ignal for the Jacobites to bring forward their real or pretended Prince of Wales. The Prot* ftiint females having no ilfuc, and the Duke of Zell being in every fcnfc at a dlltance, King William had, in a manner, adopted this child, the Duke of Glo'ltcr, whofc pr^grcfs in every fcience was allonifiiing ; and only cfjuall'd, not I bclicvo I'urpafs'd, by ICdwanl VI., no Icfs unhappily fnatchcd away. The Princcfs uf Dcnm;'.rk bore our uiiited 320 SPAIN, PORTUGAL, GERMANY, HOLLAND, [ch. xiv. luiitcd lofs better than did her brother-in-law, who, as the phrafc is, never more looked up. Lord Somniers had been in a manner forced from his councils juft before ; not as the Earl of Strafford from thofc of Charles the firft, by a fcverely fcrutini/ing parliament, the cen- furing power, which made comphance the purchafe of fupplies ; but by a fet of fa<^ious nobles, whofe whole employment fecms to have been teafing and difturbing tlic reigning Prince, in order to prepare the way for h'ls admiff.on, to whom they would fcarce have afforded larger means of doing what he liked, and would not have approved when once 'twas done. A notion was^ imbibed, that kings might be called in and driven out again as pleafcd men beft ; but the notion made no one happy ; 'twas impoffible that government could maintain {lability while fuch ideas prevailed ; our rival fovereigns both were very ill ; but firft, and with the century expired the half- abdicating, half-exil'd, half-tam'd, and half-tyrannick, James the fecond ; whofe haughtinefs and cruelty, as he had adopted chiefly from fancying they were neceffary qualities for a king, he wholly laid afide when all hopes of being a king were over. He died with exemplary marks of love for tJiaf reli- gious perfuafion to which he had facrificed ail earthly intereft ; and though the remote occafion of his death was doubtlcfs a heart broken by the behaviour of his daughters, the immediate caufc of his laft convulfion was fuppofed to be a fudden influx of joy upon the kind vifit of his friend and patron, Louis XIV., who promifed to acknow- ledge his infant fon as fucceffor to Britain's throne, in fpite of treaties or declarations to the contrary. That promile, explicitly pronounced at his bed's fide, brought the laft founds of diftant confolation to the dull ear of a dying prince, whom no ingratitude from the children of his firft marriage could cure of fondncfs for thofc born in his latter d:r.s; and whofe tender embracements at parting finally with the favourite boy, fcrved afterwards as a full refutation of the ftorics once r;iifed and long believed, and of late raifed again, concerning his fpurious birth. CHAP. en. XV.] SWEDEN, DENMARK, POLAND, &c. CHAP. XV. SWEDEN, DENMARK, POLAND, RUSSIA, AND TURKEY, FROM 1700 TO AD. 1725. THE fatigue of looking a long way back for ftriking events, and oc- currences of confcquencc fufficient to detain the reader's willing RctroJpe6lion, now changes to the fear of fufFering fuch fads to efcape as have engaged thofe very readers, or their immediate parents, in pur fuits of confequence to prcfcnt happincfs or mifcry. Difcourfc of long paft ages fcems to die away as docs the diftant roar of dafhing waters, and the revcrfcd pcrfpcdlivc long llrctchcd out to catch remote tornados, alte'rs now ; and fhcws men ftruggling with new entanglements, the fhifting fail c^f fuddcn filfy paflion, and the under current of concealed intcreft. When the fca threatens to run high, }iowevcr ; the little petrels long fluttering round fomc large majeftick vclfcl, drop for fecurity into her ample xcake, where for a while an artificial calm gives them conveyance over the wild ocean, and opportunity to look around, Sofccls the author of this Syllabus, -while foIlowingMufcovy's immortal Czar to empire and to fame. Wc have not time indeed to take Ins road, but fcizc at heft a momentary advantage from that vaft freight of glory which he gained, by means that would moll ftrangely have retarded the courfe of any other prince hut only him. liy flud^ing to obey lie learned to command ; and as foon as the death of his brother Ivan had left him no partner in the feat of fuprcmc power, he p\it the crown as 'twere into commiflion, and voluntarily entered himfclf, while young, f>f the coarfc college held by (harp advcrfity in partner- fhip with lalxiur. A drummer now in his own regiment, Peter ftudicd a f jldicr's duties, and led a foldicr's life ; by merit rifing fi)on Vol. II. S f ' to 223 SWEDEN, DENMARK, POLAND, AND TURKEY, [ch. xv. to be a fcrjeant, he knew how to punifli breach of dlfclpUne, and quickly faw 'twas that alone which rendered armies formidable in fight, or gave renown to thofe that led them on. Brave, but con- fidcring bravery alone as a mere fmgle attribute among many far Icfs jndifpenfable to generals or kings, this extraordinary perfonage appeared to feel that his own fubje<5ts were as yet only his fellow barbarians, yet he felt too that they might one day be all which humanity can boaft on earth — fcholars, foldiers, chfiftians ; they were yet far from all. The Greek church was indeed profefledly the church eflablilhment of Mufcovy, but fo ill were the Scriptures underftood, their Patriarch forbid all fmoaking of tobacco, as a crime againft Heaven, while drinking to excefs was pardoned and encouraged, " becaufe, (faid he) •' the brandy goes down a man's throat, the fmoke comes out at' his " mouth, and what comes forth from the mouth 'tis that defiles a " man." So much for their religion and morality. With regard to fcience, no one in Ruflia then pretended to it : the comet which ap- pearing in 1080, remained vifible till March l081, and engaged the attention of England, France, and Italy, while Newton and Halley, Caffini and Dc La Hire, fludied its courfc, and counted its fteps by trigonometry, finding its diftance onefcmi-diameteronly of the ear/h, not the earth's orbif, when at its clofell degree of proximity, the poor Mufcovians burned in their capital an amball'ador's fccrctary who cal- culated an eclipfc of the fun. Even fimple arithmetick was unknown, and Voltaire feems to think the accounts of their fovercign's treafury were kept with no greater accuracy than a Mexican quipos : he is, however, delighted to find out how they carry their ideas of exiftcncc as a nation liven thoufand two h\indred and feven years back, as if the chronology of fuch enquirers could be worth recording, who to turn away this terror of the iky, this unaccounted-for appearance which affrighted them, had recourfe to forccry and magick arts, fcarcely reproved by the patriarch himfelf, around whofe horfe they clung for fafety, and proftrated thcrafelvcs beneath its feet. Peter refolved wifely CH. XV.] FROM 1700 TO A. D. 1725 323 on his difmlflal, with wliom, more than with brother John, he had lliarcd authority, but Ruflia was not ripe tor luch a mcafure. An cmbaflagc was fcnt to Amllcrdam, and in the train of his am- baflador went Peter's Telf — arrived in Holland, he refolved to catch the fpirit of the country, and he caught it : entering their docks as a working carpenter, Michacihoff by name, he learned how to conftrud and man a trading veflcl ; but fancying more might yet be gleaned from lis, con- cerning (hips of war, he crofled to England, and remained incog, a la- bourer at Chatham and at Plymouth : a fchool for mathematical and nautical knowledge at a fmall town in Kent, boalls him an inmate for the purpofes of itudy, and one would think the man had known he was to ha\ e lived and reigned for fifty years, when he pafled nine of them thus in abfolute improvement, and clofe, though coarfe educa- tian. Delicacy however, will not be learned in a dock-yard, nor was refinement likely to rcfult from pradlice of a foot-foldier's life in camp or town. VV''hcn Peter married he difliked his conlbrt, and after fhc had brought her fon Alexis, the emperor Ihut her in a convent, where Ihc remained till death. The Strelif/ers revolted, and he broke them; " There Ihail (fays he) be no more Strelitzers to rebel." With thcfe he furely took the fliorteft way, however with himfelf he had chofen the longeft; but when got home he had no more time to lofe. Patkul had fled from Charles eleventh's feverity, and found a kind reception from Augulhis, cledor of Saxony, an adivc chara terrified the Polanders, by telling the cardinal primate they fliould have no peace till they had chofcn another fovereign, and driven away from them their newly-ele^lcd Auguftus, that he feeing force alone could defend him, went out and fought for his crown boldly at the head of twenty-four thoufand men, lofmg the battle to twelve thoufand Swedes, and with the battle all well-founded hopes. Cracow indeed, held out againfl the viftor, refufmg to open her gates at his command ; but Charles feeing a man preparing to fire a cannon on him, from a low parapet, leaped on the fellow with a fudden fpring, and fnatched the lighted mifchief from his hand. To the flrange promptitude and va- lour of this adion, all fubmitted : Mankind applauded the theatrick ftroke, and Poland's throne was declared vacant the fame day. That a Sobieiki fhould fit on it feemed equitably judged by Alexander's mo- dern imitator. That it fliould be refufed by a young prince flill more heroick than Abdolonimus, brought back to every body's mind the long-paft ages of half-fabulous hiflory, and the plains of Narva were compared with tlie battle of Arbela. Czar Peter only forbore flirink- ing from fuch lights or fuch recoUedion. " My brother of Sweden " acts admirably the part of Alexander, "faid he," but in me fliall he find " no Darius." With that true obfervation between his lips, this em- peror's care was to gather up all the flocks from wafted Poland, and ft ill worfc threatened Saxony, fetch in workmen, fet up manufadures, dig canals. CH. XV.] FROM 1700 TO A. D. 1725. 327 canals, and lay the firft ftonc of his new metropolis, meant to be called by his own name, and placed in a convenient part of his dominions, •whence to protecl them againft intrufive violence. Such condu<5l was by no means unnecefTary : Charles fent a little fleet to try their fortunes on a new element. The projed: failed, and whilft his rival fet up Sta- niflaus Lcckzinlky on Auguftus of Saxony's throne at Warfaw, Peter took the town of Narva, ran up and down the ftrects fword in hand, to hinder thofe excefles which always are committed by conquering troops in a long-refilting city after fubmilTion ; and (hewing the inha- bitants his ftaincd armour, cried out, " 'Tis Rujfian blood with which " I am thus covered, faving^07/r wives and children from my mad fcl- " lows." When he went home after this expedition, it was to launch an cight)-g\m man of war, the firft that ever touched the port Arch- angel. Oppofition to fuch a fovcrcign appeared unlikely to produce that fame which Charles, more young and more hot- headed, fighcd for im- mediate enjoyment of : add to this, that man will try to be happy /owinccd that he will not at yours.'^ The Saxon's . compaflionatc heart braved a difgraccful refufal, and received one. " Well !" faid he, gaily, " I might have reflcded that we loft Poland to this extraordi- " nary man by getting a vidory, not a defeat." The fad; was true, and perhaps docs ftand fingle upon hiftorick annals ; for when in the year J 704, Auguftus had fent to defire terms of accommodation, he was, while they were on the tapis, tempted to win one battle over Maycrs- feld, the Swcdifli general, at Califli. lie did win it, and dug, by this means, a little deeper thcabyfs of mifery in which he was plunged be- fore. Charles was but made the more indexible to each propofal under confidcration, and while the cledor caufcd a Tc Deitm to be fung in his depopulated capital, came orders which he dared not difubey, inftantly to abdicate the tUronc they fought for. It' tJiis occurrence is un- matched in ftory, fo is the vifit made by Charles in 17(>7, and his re- turn liifc to the camp again, where all his captains looked \\itli wild T t 2 alarnj. 332 SWEDEN,DENiMARK:, POLAND, AND TURKEY, [cw. xv. alarm, left he fhould be detained ; but their bold fc ereign drove on towards the Ukraine, not futfcring one tear of joy when he came back. Peter meanwhile, a(5livc, prudent, and pertinacious, ceafed not to build his new city, or bring arts and fciences into his old one. Mofcow felt the influence of her prince's prefence ; and he felt unfeigned delight in thofe improvements, which juftly might be called the work of his own hands. From the firft moment that he planned another metropolis, he refolved not to abandon that where his earlicft fondncfs was fixed ; but when the Dutch difcovcrcd a defire of trading to Peterfburgh, every encourage rnent was afforded, and every temptation to fuch a commerce was difplayed. Ruffia grew wifer, and richer, and happier every year, notwithftanding the threats of her tremendous neighbour, who making advances yet unchecked, was burning huts that he called villages upon his march, and failing not to beat feverely every general fent by the Czar to oppofe him. The troops that cluf- tured round Grodno were happily, by a grand manoeuvre, faved from his fury ; but the Mufcovites fell before him by hundreds and by thou- fands. An invading army, however, penetrating through a country under latitude 08, during the months of December and January, fcems as if It would need no valour to deftroy, no ftratagems of war to extir- pate it ; every ftcp trodden was in terra incognita, each mountain was guarded by bogs unforefeen, and each marlhy ground was fortified by rocks fcarce difcernible through fnows nearly eternal. Like terriers who fight the half-ftarvcd, half-tired fox in his earth, the Swedes, animated by their mafter's call, forced the poor peafants from their wretched habitations, and fliarcd their unfufficing morfcl under ground. Charles cau2;ht, and difciplined two thoufand Zapporavians, and turned their arms againft their emperor ; ftill preffing on for Mofcow, he refolved to take Pultowa on his way to that place, and at Pultowa, Peter, like Caefar's ghoft, refolved to meet him : it was in fad, to thefe contend- ing princes, Philippi or Pharfalia. Voltaire indeed fays, with his accuf- tomed penetration, and with that brilliancy which no tranflators can do en. XV.] FROM 1700 TO A. D. 17'25. 333 do juftice to, that the ftake and hazard were by no means equal. Charges the twelfth's title of Invincible might be loft in a moment ; but Peter's claim to that of Great, as viclory had not conferred it, defeat could not take it away. It was his enemy that futiered jv defeat. Wounded fcvcrely in the foot; and ancle only three days before, the king of Sweden was carried to ae moft." Muflapha the fecond could keep none : he had loft a decifivc battle to prince CH.xv.J FROM 1700 TO A. D. 1725. 335 prince Eugene, and liad figned with the peace of Carlowitz the dc- mifllon of his throne. Life and dominion, however, which were wont to go together at Conftantinople, were fcparated on this occafion. Achmct, brother to the Grand Signor, fufFcred to live when he was called to reign, now contented himfelf with dcpofing, and did not kill, but confine unhappy Mutlapha. He put to death, indeed, thofe who had any part in the revolution, which fet the crown on his own head, " left by and by," he faid, " they might fct it on that of ano- *' thcr ;" but he appears to have been a gentle em,peror, and eafily pcr- (uaded both by his mufti and his mother to treat the king of Sweden with refpe<5l. Somewhat in Charles's charadlcr and afpecfl attracted notice and veneration from the Turks : he drank no wine, nor ac- knowledged the pope's fupremacy, two things that pleafed the Muf- fulmen extremely ; and Sultancfs Valadi called him her Lion, and begged Achmet to help him break his toils. Poniatowfky, who nc- gociated for him with the court, made Chourloudi the vizier promiic him great aflfiftancc ; and Charles, who wanted aniufcment in the pa- lace they allotted him at Bender, begun to examiiic what plcafures read- ing could afford him. Some French books belonging to his generals lay about. Norberg tells how the Cid de Corncille was dirtied, and as wc fay, thumb'd by frequent turning over ; but Boilcau's fatire againrt Alexander the Great, where he calls him a madman, was torn out of the volume. Meanwhile, by intrigues frequent among the Ottomans, Chourloudi loft his head, and a new vizier came into power, who of- fered the fugitive warrior fhips to tranfport him home, but wiflicd not to involve his maftcr In a war. This faithful fervant was at length re- moved, and the baffa of Syria called to council, was willing to en- gage againft the Mufcovitcs. War was proclaimed, and Peter rufliing forward, fought the dcclfivc battle in Moldavia, where Pruth revenged the (laughters of Pultowa. The Turks, however, little difpofcd to prcfs their viftory, liftcncd willingly to the Czar's requcft for ac- commodation ; and whcr» king Charles came galloping from Bender, he 336 SWEDEN, DENMARK, POLAND, AND TURKEY, [cu. xv. lie arrived juft time enough to hear peace proclaimed with many ad- vantages in favour of the Porte, Enraged, he loaded the Grand Vizier with reproaches. " As if," replied the old Turk calmly, " I " had no right to gain good terms for my own fovereign," — " Good " terms !" cried the Swedilh hero, " Why, you liave gained fomc " towns and provinces, perhaps, but you might have carried the Ruf- " fian emperor chained to Conftantinople." — " And what would his " fubjcds have done the while?" fays Baltagi coldly ;'' all Chriftian " Princes muft not run from home fo." The friendlhip between him mid Charles was now diflblved, though neither could avoid eileeming the other. Baltagi Mahomet refolved to drive him, by fair means if poffibie, from thcTurkifh territories. The Gothlck Chieftain refolved to wait till he could force his way to Mofcow, and obtain troops from the Grand Signor to take him there. The fultan Achmct had no fuch in- tentions ; fworc he knew nothing of this valiant king except his tem- perance, courage, and misfortunes, on vv^hich he meant to fhed the dew, the healing due of favour. Such cxprefllons implied fuperiority, a ftylc Charles would not admit of: he infifted upon an army to con- voy him thence, and when rqfufcd, declared his refolution to remain near Bender, whether the fovereign of the country would or no Awhile they debated, and awhile they laughed; but Charles had fortified his rural palace, and in a fitof enthufiallick pliren/.y, defied tlic fultan's felf and all his troops, who he declared unable to dillodgc him. In fact, he threw entrenchments round the houfe, and with three hundred followers alone, prepared for its defence. The noblemen, the cook.s, the king himfelf laboured day and night upon the works, as if it had been a rational employment, and formed them with fuch care, as fliewcd the Turks that it would cofl much pains, and many lives in- deed to force them. Old Mahomet's firfl: aflault confilled of ititrea- ties that his majefty would not oblige the Ottomans to commit an adl of inhofpitality, by hurting him or his faithful flaves. Such talk but irritated our hot-brained champion, w ho threatened to cut all their beards CH. XV.] FROM 1700 TO A. D. 1725. 337 beards off if they came again. The Janiirarics then, their ardour long repreifed by admiration, cried out, " Well ! if this Ironfidcs -jc'tll leave " his lile among us, we muft fall on him, for the Mufti has confcnted, " and calls it an ar. Jolinfon, tlic Do^'^or's anfwcr wa?, " I Ic [.Irked '• liis principles , he did not take them hy the bunch." Mr. dc Fetau, a ftea'ly Un- nianjft, Ic I'ctc VcUu—Ptiaviut faid mufa for him after hisdrath. 344 SWEDEN, DENMARK, POLAND, AND TURKEY, [ch.xv. " can de/iroy .what I myfelf ha\c Jet up, dear to mc as it was, and fingu- " larly beautiful," " I fee," replied the Queen with an unaltered voice, " that you have deftroyed what was the ornament of your palace; do •' you like your palace better now 'tis gone ?" After this confcraicc Peter lived but a few weeks, and expired in his confort's arms. Prince MenzikofFtook care of his new fovereign's intereft; her cldefl: daughter the Duchefs of Holflein's Secretary was prefent, and Catherine was proclaimed with acclamations the evening of her lord and liufband's death. The beginning of 1 725 found //^r upon the Imperial feat to which her merits originally raifed her — the exiled favqurite rcftored of courfe. CHAP. CH. xvt.] FRANCE, ENGLAND, SPAIN, &c. CHAP. XVI. FRANCE, ENGLAND, SPAIN, HOLLAND, ITALY, AND AUSTRIA. FROM 1700 TO 1 ;2o. IN courfc of fuch a work as this epitome, 'tangled 'tis true, yet not without a plan, wc have been obliged to mark our mazy way by objcf fad diftrcfs, hung out as 'twere by Nature in a ftorm. A heap of ftones fomctimcs, proof of man's art and induftry, directed us ; 'till coming nearer home, the fet-up mile-ftoncs rcfrclh our hearts with hope, and fcrvc as promife of a now, not very far-diflant conclufion. Boys will indeed, for fport, deface thofe guides, and when we mifs our way, in confcquencc of their malicioufnefs, will follow and hoot after us for fools. No matter ! the princefs in the old Arabian Talcs could not get up the hill, I well remember, without Hopping her cars, and rcfolving to pufli forward, fearlcfs of the wry faces made by the idlers on the mountain's fide, who wiflied to ftop her progrefs. Wc arc ar- rived at the beginning of that century, properly called our ozni, and have fccn many attempts made by individual princes, proceeding from that hard baronial phalanx which broke down the Roman empire, (lafl of appointed monarchies) to fynthetize the ruptured parts anew, and reign over thofe realms, which of right belonged to their fellows. To this end, we have obfcrved each taking the fame method of attain- ment, calling in help from the lower ranks to fhakc their higlily-ftt competitors, yet never fceming to think they Ihould thcnilclvcs be Vol.. II. X X ' Hiakcn. 346 FRANCE, ENGLAND, SPAIN, HOLLAND, tec. [ch. xvi. fhaken. I except Charles XIL indeed, an anomalous characiter, of whom nothing can be related unlcfs what he did, the others are moll worthy remark in what they thought. Had all kings been like him. Vainly the lagc, vviih retrofpb£ll-ue eye, AVould from th' apparent ivliat conclude the v.'hy ; Infer the motive from the deed, and Hiow, That what men did was wliat they meant to do. The intentions of Charlemagne, of Margaret dc VValdcmar, of Gre- gory the fcventh, Charles the fifth, and Louis quatorze, were nothing equivocal ; but every day rendered the proje6l lefs pradicablc, and the impoffibility of fuccefs more apparent to all but prejudiced and interefted eyes. Nor is there any thing much flranger on revifal, than that fo- vereigns who faw and felt authority melt from their grafp like a fnow- ball, even in their own territories, fliould yet be fighing to expand thofe territories, as if leaf-gold were eafier to hold faft in one's hand than a wedge. Lewis the fourteenth however, when his grandfon Philip d'Anjou was declared heir to Spain, feemed to think only of the rich plains and moorifli palaces fpread forth before his view. " The Pyrenaans are no tnore," cried he exultingly, while ready hope hafted to rekindle the half-cxtingulflicd fires of ambition. Pope Inno- cent the twelfth confirmed a fucccflion which fccms to have had no- thing unjuft in its difpofal, both claimants being of equal affinity to the tcflator ; and our great NafTau's aftive foul befide, which long had been detained by temperate habits, yet oer inforrnJ its tenement of clay, feemed as if not unlikely to take wing now, and leave the Bourbon mafler of mankind. On William's laft excurfion from that home he loved much lefs than Holland whence he came, fome Dutch informers had made him ac- quainted how his queen, during her lifetime, ufcd to fend money for her mean father's private expenccs, by means of a trufly fervant ; and how the princefs Anne of Denmark had, fince her filler's death, dont the cu. xvi.j FROM A. D. i ;oo, TO THE YEAR 1723. 317 the fame thing. This news, with that well known to all the world, how Louis Ic Grand had recognized the boy as lawful fucccflbr and fovcrcign of Great Britain, gave him a juft alarm ; and recolleding that fomcwhat wrong might ha\c perhaps arifcn from his own hitherto tacit permiffion of my Lord Granville, whom Pope calls the polite, and Lord Godolphin's odd attachment to the fair Modcncle, King James's wife ; he called thofe noblemen, and told them plainly he fhould henceforward take amif:> their fending to that lady little prc- fents, fuch as till then he had allowed them in, as teilimonials of an empty pafTion they had amufed themfclves with keeping warm, by writing verfes in her praife, &c. calling her M'tftrefs in a mingled ftylc, fomething between affection and refpccl, which it appears by this, wore out but lately. The two lords ended with lefs reludlance their romance, as they were themlclves feized with terror at the ideaof uni- vcrfal monarchy ; that prevailing panick which robbed the young Pre- tender of numberlefs adlicrcnts, and drove into the intercfts of the cle<5lref> Sophia, not only all the Whigs, but many Tories cruelly treated by James and his chancellor Jeffries, who, in addition to their private wrongs, felt the publick fpirit of oppofition impel them againft the encroachments of all-ufurping France. That nation's ncarelt enemy found therefore that fear a cement between him and his Englifh fub- jc il Which to all eyes docs yet difclole ; 'Hie whltenefs of the rebel role. To teacli with tcndcrncfs indeed, and to reprove with politcncfs the foibles fprlnging from a confined education, was the work ofthofe in- comparable papers known by the name of Spedators, Tatlcrs, Guar- dians, which with alTiduous and happy care fcftencd our folitarj' hours, and turned our idle ones to profit ; leaving to poftcrity befide the va- luable portrait ofthofe manners which marked the commencement of England's eighteenth century. Nature meantime enjoyed the grow- ing tafte for liberty : fome mothers ventured to unfvvathc their infants, long boimd in bands for the firft quarter of their lives ; Le Noftrc brought from France the fpirit of emancipating trees or garden orna- ments; no longer after 1725, or but rarely, cut into peacocks, fwans, &c. in the pleafure-grounds of noblemen. Pope praifcd the growing arts, himfelf an artift : his fatire checked young and unfledged follies ere they flew. Paris teemed with poets, England fwarmed with cpi- grammatids. Alma novem genuit celcbrcs Rhedycina* poetas Bubb, Stubb, Crabb, Trapp; Young, Carey, Tickell, Evans. Out of all their fight however, mounted from Germany a towering author, who fcomed to think that One • We read of Rktdjtina for Oxford, not only in U)cfc Hues but in many local poems. Qucre, Was the word borrowed from Uhtdichan in Wclfh? The fcholars know, I fuppofe. Thi Ford of Oxtn is Rhcdjihan in our old Cambtian tongue, that's tcitain ; and I have heard that Bft-ffitrtt, Bifphtrnt, had the fame meaning in Greek. Vol. II. Yy 3^¥ FRANCRi J^iVr<:^LANb; SPAIN, HOLLANlt), &c. [cir. xyi:^ One fiie-nce oiiiy will one genius fit, So vail is ai t, fo narrow human wit. • lycibnkz, on the contrary, feerncd dcfirous to drive ten fcicnccs in- hand, like Nero's horlcs at the Olympian game. If fome were refrac- tory, wlio need wonder ? Thofe that have ftuniblcd worft, Voltaire who laughs at him could not have guided : yet did this giant fhrink a little certainly, when touched by the fliafts of ridicule in the comical romance of Candidc : but a Briareus in literature ought to have Gc- ryon's body at lead ; he will be fure enough of Cerbcrus's three rpouths to bark at him. Leibnitz, although a Lutheran, felt no unjuft alarm from the re- mote danger he apprehended was lurking in that new fpirit of inde- pendence, fprung up not only in rtatcs but individuals too, driving the old words obedience and protcdion, dependence and attachment,, out of all modern vocabularies : Jits plan was to fee the Emperor head of all Chriftian potentates, the Pope bifliop of all Chriftian churches, yet not n^cddling with temporal affairs. The ftrangcft thing was, his imagining fuch a plan poffible to execute ; and in fuch a moment L when eyes far lefs piercing than thofe of Leibnitz thought they dif- ccrncd decay in cycry part of what had been tJie Roman empire, papal or imperial. Befides thcfe regular and orthodox opponents to his fchcmc, the infidel light-horfemcn galled his flank,, and tried to cut off his retreat ; nor were they the lefs willing to ad in fuch. a fervicc, bccaufe a general from their own central force, had faid, in fpite of the new whiggifh dodrines, that man was but a many- headed mon- fter, and muft be kept tame by reftridion. It was indeed curious to obfervc two minds fpringing up at an immeafurable diftance from each other, meet on this controverted fpot, like as in Ham gardens the two ftreams, which rife on different fides the county of Derby; and finking under ground at places far remote frorrr one another, burft up again together in Mr. Port's ground. But when Hobbes died of adual old age, Leibnitz could fcarce have turned thirty-two years. The CH. xYi.] FROM A. D. 1700, TO THE YEAR 1723. 355 Thei excellent pohtifi' Innocent XI. lived then ; and the French wits iaid, that before peace could be made in Europe, J^mes king of Eng- land muli turn Huguenot, and the Pope Roiiun Catholick. Odefchal. chi was however Catholick enough, though he did long to abolilh f^li altari prk-ilegtnti, and though he did try to hinder vagabonds from claiming lancluarv upon church itcps, rendering the Lord's holy houfe a den of thieves, in oppolkion to Louis quatorzc, who fcnt La- vardin to infult him fort. But this prelate law further than he, or than Leibnitz did. " What can iilo r" faid he to the Duke of Pcrtli, impatiently, wiicn hard prcft to fupport the Stuart cau, or did (ill tlic Vicntli 1nv;ifion. t InniK^nt the r-th. » V y ■:. with 356 FRANCE, ENGLAND, SPAIN, HOLLAND, &c; [ch. xm. with enemies, or even my bed friends will find fault." The fame de- licacy and fear of offending Ibllcwcd that elegant minded pontif}' in his politicks : Auftrla and Bourbon llruggling for the crown of Spain grieved his pacifick uncontending fpirit. He would have grieved more, could he have thought that any Fretich hillorian would have blamed his virtuous prcdeccffor's condud: upon the fame occafion. Innocent Xllth, between two claimants, equal in affinity of blood, gave, as Vol- taire fpitcfully obfcrves, the preference to France, only becaufe he feared for the liberties of his native Naples, if Leopold's fifth fon, the Archduke Charles fliould reign; nor can I find corruption in fuch a motive ever praifed when actuating the conduct of Protejiant princes ; but candour lives not in. unbelieving bofoms, and therefore (fays le Seek de Ltouh quator%e), wc fee a Pope of Rome treating all as matter of flate, a king of Spain making a mere flate queflion matter of con- fcience. Clement the Xlth perhaps pleafed that great writer better : he fteadily refufed to acknowledge either competitor, and forbore granting the invcftiture of the Sicilies, aUke to Philip d'Anjou or to Ciiarlcs. Tormented by the encreafe of Jaivfenifm at home, and frighted by reports made of the Jefuits' condud. abroad, while their accufcrs told of llrangc conceffions made to the Chincfe, in hope of gaining profclytes, till it fhould fcem as if rank Spinozifm was taught by mifTionaries fcnt to inftrud men in Chriflianity ; the primate hailed to withftand this otience, and prohibited all toleration of fuch dreadful error ; but thofc he tried to check lived at a diflance : and being defirous to obtain footing in the eaft, the Jefuits triumphed over him awhile, and be- »ran ('tis faid) to deferve in India thofe evils which awaited them in Europe. This extraordinary corps of dangerous auxiliaries had been accepted willingly by Paul IIL to whom, and to whofe IbcceiTors they fwore perpetual and implicit obedience. Making themfelves all things to all men, however, they foon forgot why 'twas at firfl they did fo. Afliiiled by the various and complicated temptations of that world, which tH. XVI.] FROxM A. D. 1700, TO THE YEAR 1725. 357 which 'twas their duty and intent to buftlc in : fuch of them as en- gaged in commerce naturally began fighing for emolument ; fuch as had care of royal confcienccs fwcllcd with ambition, and thofe who entangled themfclves in argument got tainted with the new philo- fophy. Clement was weary of the order, becaufe difgufted by the faults of a few ; yet finding it fcarce poflible to clear himfelf from the entanglements of fophiftry, the importunity of avarice, and the perils of political cabal, made himfelf what blamclcfs entertainment he could out of the growing literature of the times ; heard with admiration the difcoverics made by Newton, llftened with rapture to the mufick of Scarlatti, and ftudying our Englifli language, read the vifions of Mirza with delight. "May I , faid he expiring) but repent of all my fms and " follies, with that truth with which I have ever regretted my acccpt- " ancc of that great dignity in which I die, the Lord will fure have " mercy." Conti, the fick but irreproachable Innocent XIII. fucceeded, and was prevailed on to invell Auilria with the difputcd kingdom in his gift ; but rcfufcd Parma and Piacenza, as fiefs of the church. His reference of the bull Unigenitus to another tribunal, and their con- fcqucnt condemnation of it in 1 722, flicws the diifolution of all power in the Sec completely ; and but for lietrojpcciion from that time, we fhould know little about popifli authority, or even popifli influence. The 243d bilhop of Rome cared not for either. He lived on fixpcncc Englifh money o'day, drank no wine, cat no meat ; begged to difmifs his guards as unbecoming the fervant of his Saviour's poor ; for fuch he was, feeding and teaching them, and humoroufly calling the pau- pers, who furrounded him perpetually, his ut'f'hrxs. 'i'lius Bcnedid Xlllih would not hear of Itate affairs at all ; but tried, in vain, to rc- llrain the voluptuous manners of his clergy ; forbidding that flowing peruke which fccms to have obtained very fuq)rizingly in »courts, camps, and churches: wearing his own grey heir, and infifling on all who approached him, wearing thclr's. Under this good Orfmo's fove- rcignty however, the town was left wholly to the care of the due de 358 FRANCE, ENGLAND, SPAIN, HOLLAND, Ac. [ch. xvi. dc Cofcia, wliofc exccfles were little fufpcded by a pontiff whofc mind was employed chiefly in endeavours to liivc his own foul ; and to that bell ol'ull occupations, we muft leave him in 1725, and turn back to Great Britain, which, governed by a native fovereign, ought to have fuffcrcd daily Icfs and Icfs from their contending fadions, and did ih ; for, although Whig and Tory llill were forms ofharfli and virulent re- proach, both parties forwarded the fpirit of improvement, and both were contented to undertake a vigorous and expenfivc war abroad, for the fake of fupporting the houfe of Auftria in its claims, curbing the ambitious boldncfs of Louis quatorze, and maintaining inviolate the balance of power in Europe. The queen was by no means a martial or a literary charader ; yet will her reign be ever eminent in Britilli annals, as a fun-bright period both of vidory and fciencc : fcrious her- self, and /crene as the emperor called her ; for he rcfufcd the title Majcfty, even at the moment of deepert obligation to the fovereign of .cdator of his talents than a competitor : and Villcroy, loved by his maftcr as fon to his oldcft friend, loft a decifive battle, witnefiing the wonderful alike and lafting imprcliiori made by the equally heroick, fcicntitick, and fuccefsful conqueror, upon the fliakcn continent of Europe. The French king did indeed once, Tpite of his courtiers, give the command to Villars, whom they hated ; and who, on kifling hands to be gone, faid— " 1 go to hght the ene- " mics of your majcfty, whom I leave furroundcd by my own," They accordingly failed not foon to report how that - commander had dif- obligcd the cleftor of Bavaria by forcing him upon the field of glory. Louis called Vilbrs back, and fending him to the Cevennes, told him his generals Ihould fhow their hauteur only to enemies or hcrcticks.- 'Twas Marefchal Tallard who loft to us the famous battle of Bleiiheini ; where of ftxty thoufand fubjeds of France, remained alive only four- teen thoufand, and thofe pr'ijonen. Among them one young fellow was obfervcd fighting in the adion with uncommon fpirit : MarlUro' fcizcd him ; and, " Yon arc my capti\c, gallant youth (faid he) had your fovcrcign font out only a thoufand fuch this day, we fcarcc had won it." " Pardon mc. Sir, (replied the prompt Parifian) our Grand Monarque. *' has in his fcrvicc thoufands fuch as I am : wc wanted one like j'o//." In confcqucncc of thcfe rapid and unparalleled fucccfics, the em- peror no more debated about quitting Vienna, but felt at leifurc to plan future comjuefts : he made our general prince of Mindclhcim ; nor could Icfs have been cither offered or accepted. Parliament thanked him for that national fplcndour, that radiance which his ex- ploits had thrown around the kingdom of (xrcat Ikitain ; and at their infligation the Queen willingly commemorated his high prow cfs,. by an obcliik and palace far more magnificent than any Ihc hcrfclf pof- fciTcd. All hcroifm however, confifts not in fighting. Philip due. d'Anjou, fon to the Dauphin, who fo nobly faid, " The king my •' father, and the king my fon, flwll henceforth l>c my glory, regardlcis " of OOO FRANCE, ENGLAND, SPAIN. HOLLAND, Sec. [ch. xvu " of felf," deferves our beft cfteem. Crowned king of Spain, in right of his grandmother, married to Louis quatorze, or rather perhaps in right of his great uncle's will, confirming that fucceflTion ; finding, upon his publick entry 1 /Ol , that his new fubje<5ls feemed but little plcafed ; and feeing too that much the larger part of Europe had made a com- bination for the houfe of Auftria, took up that i'uddcn and truly ho- nourable refolution of leaving our continent entirely, faying, " he " would not go even to paradife without confentof the faints." Upon this principle he crofled the Atlantick with feveral of the old nobility, adherents to his caufe-and perfon, and carried many bleiTmgs to the colonies of Spanifh America, where he reformed abufes, and made friends ; while Lewis the fourteenth endured the fliock of England's, Holland's, and the Empire's fury for twelve long years together. At length the gallant due de Vendome's victory gained at Villa Viciofa, and much more than that folitary battle Ihining through many defeats, our glorious Marlborough's difgrace, and the confequent peace of Utrecht in 1/1 3, called him home, and put him in peaceable poffef- fion of his well difputed kingdom. Two years more faw him feizc Naples and the Ifland of Sardinia, but they were given up again by treaty ; and with them his favourite, the intriguing Cardinal Alberoni, who had a thoufand fchcmcs, bcft dlfappointed by that dcferved dif- milTal. Philip however, fick of many griefs, this lall the greateft ; now formally abdicated his Spanifh throne in favour of his fon Don Lewis, hoping that he would rule in peace thofe realms for the domi- nion of which, all Europe had contended till quite faint. The fun's cclipfe, fo fatal and fo terrifying, that the birds went to rood at ten o'clock in the morning, and fome few flars were fecn on the horizon, ilruck to his heart ; reminding him of that fok/I roynl which blazed {o brightly round the car of his yet living anccftor, "when the old Bourbon motto* had been changed, and one offcnlive to the race of mankind *" DrW bonus /«;■ Nee pluribus impar. fubftituled CH. xvj.] FROM A. D. i70o, TO THE YEAR i;j2. 30 1 fubftitutcd in its place. The convent walls %Acrc in a fortnight more to have clofed round him, when the young king's death, by the fmall- pox, fetched him, by deputation of his fubjcAs, forth again, rcqiicftin«f him to mount the feat of fovereignty, into which fate hcrfclf fccms to have thrull him forcibly after all : fincc neither his grandfather's original renunciation of his rights at marriage with the Infanta; nor the fuc- cefsful arms of Marlborough and Eugene : no> nor his ou'n graceful rc- fignation, could keep him out. A. D. 1 725 found him according to his merits, peacefully fettled at well-pleafcd Madrid, after having obtained Naples and Sicily for a fon by his fccond bed, Don Carlos; who wa* alfo made Duke of Parma and Piacenza, and after his father's death and that of his brother Ferdinand, bccarlic king of Spain. Jofcph the fifteenth meanwhile wedded to a lyutheran princcfs, of the Brunfwick houfc, fucceedcd fih father I^opold, and clung to the allies from private fondncfs, no Icfs perhaps than from political nc- ccllity. But though 'twas faid, he would not have been f<)rry had Charles of Sweden, as he once exprcflcd it, infilled on l»is turning Lutheran too, Jofcph forbore not to opprcfs his Protcllant fubjeds in poor Hungary, whom he fquee/.cd hard for money, while the. com- bined troops were />ro/Jy/.\/'/v fighing for that opinion, \\hich they long liad followed. The fma!l-jx)x however, fatal in beginning of the century to princes; carried the emperor to the grave betimes, and drew his brother Charles the fixth frorti Catalonia, where Philip's partizans had made Iiis refidcncc fomcwhat uneafv, and very infecure. Charles was proclaimed at Vienna 1 rn, and notvvithftandiiig the affairs of Spain were by no means decided at this time, he had the fpirit to dc- c larc war againil the Turks, who were defeated by brave Eugene at Pctcrwardine, lofing Belgrade and Temcfwar to his victorious arms. The peace of PaiTarowitz in 1 7 J 8 completed his glory and the Ottoman dirf!;racc. To this intrepid, but ever benign warrior, the commiiVioned dcftroycr Marlborough was ufed to leave all care of -wounded, dead, or dying foldicrs; whom /w afliilcd with his purfo, foothcd with hi<» Vol.. II. Z /. fwcetmfe 362 FRANCE, ENGLAND, SPAIN, HOLLAND, &c. [en xvi. fweetncfs, and wept over them when more could not be done. Thefe open, generous virtues, fecn in his countenance, induced Villar?, when once they met at Radiladt after the battle of Dcnain, 1712, to feize his hand and fay, " Ah, Monfeigncur, we are no enemies — your " foes are at Vienna, I fuppofc — and mine arc at Vcrfailles" That battle ofDenain ferved fomewhat to accelerate the peace of Utrecht, and turn Prince Eugene's fword upon the Turks. After the black dc- figns of Alberoni had fo far proved abortive, that dctedion went but a little ftep before difgracc — Auilria breathed from fatigue; Spain entered not unkindly into the quadruple alliance, 1 720, nnd \njivs years more was figned the treaty of Vienna. We muft however turn back to Louis quatorze, who, in the news of his enormous lofs at Blenheim, learned for the firft time that he was not invincible. More than one hundred leagues of ierrajirma for- faken, were among the earhell confcquenccs of this defeat, which carried fuch a conftcrnation with it, that many officers of high rank flung themfelves half deliberately into Danube, rather than furviVe a day of fhame,^ they faid. Soldiers followed the example from con- tagious fear, and Marlborough marched forward to Alfatia. The king of France now recalled Villars from the fouthern provinces ; but in the meantime twenty thoufand more of his unhappy fubjeds co- vered the plains of Ramillies, where our refiftlefs general's name and perfon lliruck terror to all Frenchmen's ears and eyes ; which turning to the ocean> once obedient but now rebellious to their Grand Mo- narquc, faw the danger of Toulon added to the lofs of Gibraltar; and on the day when England's fleet threatened dcftru Aion to their boaftcd lea-port, a fudden darknefs, only furpalTsd by that which happened afterwards in 1/15, brought to our failors' recoUedion an odd fermon preached on, the firft y«ar of the ccntur}^ in which one Mr. Fleming had predidcd the pcrfed extindion of French monarchy to take place A. D. 1794, adding expreflions, as if their emblem, the fun, fliould foon be (horn of his beams. The failure of iavafion in favour of James the CH. XVI.] FROM A. D. 1 700, TO THE YEAR j ; 32. 303 the fcconds acknowledged offspring too, hurt his kind patron worfc even than his own misfortunes, till their dreadful aggravation, by the hot-headed duke of Burgundy's pcrverfenefs, and his near peril of being taken prifoner, tlirew Paris into an agony. III health and death fprcad tiirough the royal family; ill humoiir through the nation; famine followed fail on tlie heels of \var ; the olive trees were frozen in Pro- vence; the vines of Burgundy were bligbted. Inhuman terms were now^ propofcd by the allies; and fo propofed, as if on purpofe to be re- jeded, by old Lewis; who firft a faucy, then a fuffering hero, rc- folved to retreat, and leaving his oiiiccadulatorj' capital, defend his fhat- tcrcd provinces inch by inch ; rather tlian meanly pay the expences of a war to drive his own progeny from the Spanifh throne. But whilft the red-ftaincd glafs of Retrofpe6lion fees in five years two hundred thoufand Frenchmen loll in thofe numerous engagements, which fuc- ccedcd in fknguinary rapidity to each other, Icfs than two hvmdred tlM>ufand more 'twas thought could fcarce have perifhed from diflrefs and illncfa. Heaven faw 'twas time to ftop the tide of human woes. And was that talk left for fomc mighty charaAcr to execute ? Say my young readers. No! 'twas a feeble woman's work at laft. Her flug- gifli mind fupplicd the place of virtue; her timorous temper faved the lives, born and unborn, of millions. Looking back, we may ob- fcrve this laft of our Stuart priiices amufcd awhile, then governed, and at length adually tyrannized over by the duchcfs of Marlborough ; who, carclcls of thofe arts by which Ihc rofe, negle<9:cd fboliflily her poll as favourite, and from her lord's fiicccfs upon the continent, deeming her party perfcAly immoveable, had, in an evil hour for them all, introduced to petty offices about the bed-chamber an obftquious coufui, with whom the fovercign was induced to chat familiarly, when left to fdl up vacant hours ;is he could. This lady, we are told, wbs a Tory by principle, (Irengthened no doubt by intercfl, and by her then unacknowledged connexion with Mr. Harlcy, who having by this Mrs. Mafium's arts fccrctly learned the way up the queen's private flair?, Z z 2 held mi FRANCE, ENGLAND, SPAIN, HOLLAND, &c. [ch. xvr. held hidden conferences with her majefty concerning the condition of diftraded Europe, and haftcned tofupplant the diftant duivc, and drive him from her good opinion, by telling how the world accufed that general of protrading wars injurious as cxpenfive to his country, that he might Ihinc among contending potentates, accept their prefents, and propagate his own glory, without regard either to the. crown at home, or to the people; who would be ruined by vaft debts incurred only to plcafc infatiable allies; while t/uy perhaps adding perfidy to their rapacioufnefs, would, if we left not t/iem, leave us, &c. making conditions for themfclves apart. The talcs he told were true. The manner of making thofe truths heard were bafe and mean — no matter. Harley and his female agent, whom yet he never trufted with his-fchemcs, eafily obtained afcendancy over Anne's mind, which had only been bent back from the tory caufc by accidental confidence placed in a whig favourite : her heart mull have been naturally with thofe who profcfled love for kings and kingly power; but with their high church principles, and preachments of non-refiftance, long ago exploded, ad- herence to hereditary right feemed to go hand in hand. The fcru- pulous princcfs, left without a child, felt her foft heart entangled 'twixt a brother whom fhe had certainly o/ce thought was fpurious, and the ftill lefs beloved cledrefs, to whom,* as to the next Proteftant heir, niece of King Charles the firft, our Whigs looked up for fafety from that church of Rome, whofe wounds lately inflided on us were fo fharp, that people could not fee the hand was palficd, and never would be able to ftrike more. Queen Anne however feemed to have forgotten in her laft years that fear of Jefuits, which marks her letters in her fa- ther's reign, when an oddjc-M dcs mots handed about, ferved to increafe our terror of their duplicity, and we called it the Jefuit's Creed. •One of Princefs Sophia's letters to her royal coufln, as prefcrved among Mac- pherfon's papers, laments, or rather apologizes, that fhe does not write in Latin. Very Ihangc, that a larfy to whom laiiguages'wcrc fo eafy, did not teach her own native Eng- lilh to her fon, whom yet (he wanted ro fix upon the ifland, even whiUt tlie fovrreign of it could not be confidercd as very Tick, or at ail fuperannuated. CH. XVI.] FROM A. D. 1 700, TO THE YEAR 1752. 365 Pro 6de ten«o faoa Afiirniat qux Romana, Supremus quando Rex cd Erraticus turn Grcx eft Altare cum ornatur Populus turn beatur Afini nomen meruit - Miflam qui defcruit Qua: docet Anglicana, Videnlur mihi vana ; Turn plebs eft fortunata. Cum caput fiat papa. Communio fit inanis t^um meiifa vino panis. Ilunc morem qui non capit Catbolicus eft et fapit. The device is fo contrived as to contain the fcntimentsof one church. Bead in {hort hncs, of the other in long ones. I hold for faith What Rome's church faith. Where the king is head That flock's mif-lcd ; Wlicrc the altar's dreft The people's bicft He's but an afs Wlio ihuos the ma£i '\^'hat England's church allows, My confcience difavows ; The flock can take no Ihame, Who hold the pope fiipreme ; The worfliip's fcarce divine, Whofc table's bread and wine; Who their communion flies, Is catholick and wife. A ftrangcr thing however than to fee a fovercign's mind fwayed by converiing with new intimates, is to fee Burnet fo completely dazzled by the bright rays of Marlborough's renown, that he even laughs at the idea o( naming Gibraltar and Minorca in fome addreiTes carried up to the throne ; although thofe were the only folid and lading advantages from all our bloodfhcd. Meantime the poor Queen, worried by faAious nobles, declined in health and fpirits every day ; (he had carried one point in government and but one, which was of her own devifing : it was a great one, worthy of Catherine or Elizabeth ; and being conceived in virtue, it matured into profperity. She bad united England and Scotland, and by their happy incorporation rendered hcrfelf true fovcrcign of our ifland. She wifhed now to carry one other point, and die in peace with her old nctgbbour Lewis, to whom her firll antipathy was Icflened by change of Miti TRAXCE, ENGLAND, SPAIN, HOLLAND, &c. [cn.«vi. of lavouritcs from Whig to Tory. Her fccretary Bolingbroke, after- wards married to the niece of Madame dc Maintcnon, had always fliewn a fondnefs for the French, nor were the kindncfTes their king had (hewn her exiled family, viewed by expiring Anne with that uvcrfion which in her hufband's time they had excited. With Prince George died much of her hatred to the baniibed court, and Mrs. Mafliam plied her pious foul with fcruples in behalf of her father's child, which when all hope of having one hcrfclf was over, made I truft, ftrongcr impreiTion. But all thcfe changes of opinion paflcd not unnoticed by the bufy Whigs ; our allies took the alarm too; Germany rcmonftrated, Holland threatened aloud. Prince Eugene was fent over to entreat her Majcfty not to dcfert fuch troops at fuch a moment: all in vain ; nothing could fliakc the queen, though every thing perplexed her ; contending paffions heated all men's minds, while writers like the warring deities in Homer, fanned the warm flame of fadion into madnefs. Swift took the field againft Addifon, and conquered. The condudl of our allies was cxpofed in one pamphlet, the rapacity of our general hinted at in many. Envy's fly fnakes, like great Achilles' fpcar lent by Minerva for the fatal purpofe, found fome ill-fallened joint in valiant Hedor's armour, and flung him with an unrecovered wound. John duke of Marlborough was difmifled all his employments, and to the wonder of half breathlcfs Europe, Anne of Great Britain figned the peace of Utrecht. His laft great vidory at Malplaquet, where danger faw himfelf defied by courage in many a memorable ad of feariefs intrepidity, obtained ftill better terms of accommodation, and fixed the triumph of the Tory favourites. Since time indeed and cool reflexion have come forward, we fee that nobler terms could not be •wiflied ; and daily prcflurc of debts then contraded, prove that a con- tinental war does us no good : yet I believe that not this nation only, but the whole Chriftian world at once was fliocked at fight of gallant Marlborough's difgrace ; and 'tis obfervable enough befide, that though this leader's laurels when they are touched, do furely flirink from the accufing cir. XVI.] FROM A. D. 1700, TO THE YEAR 1752. 3O7 accufing hand, and like the fenfitivc plant feem to confefs there is rumcv\ hat wrong within ; the moment that hard preflure is removed, they llill return with beauty unimpaired, and flouriih under a more genial Iky with undiminiflicd grcennefs. It our finances, tor example, did fuftain ibmc injury from his perpetual calls tor men and money, fuch was their miferablc ftatc in France, that fix weeks before he died A. D. 1715, Louis quatorze negotiated no fewer than thirty-twd millions in bills, to receive eight millions only in fpccic ; notwith- Handing which, fays Voltaire, " The burden might ha\ c been borne had " commerce been at this time flourifliing, or had the nation's paper " credit been refpcdcd." The laft obfcrvation is (to fay true) a mere author's period, for paper credit never am be refpccted, but ^^'herc it defcrves refpecfl, from being of equal value with the cafli it rcprefcnts. No people pay fo little veneration to unfubftantial mthhigs as the traders; yet even tliey' -were ilrangely deceived four or. five years after their old king's deccate, when a man named Law, native I think of North Britain, rcjedcd as a mountebank by Victor Amadcus of Savoy, fojuftly called the fage, made application to the regent of France and was liftcned to. Money was never more ncceflary to their kingdom, and avarice will hearken to incredible talcs. This fellow taught thcni to believe him a new Columbus, and feduced them lb far as to fet \ip a bank, and call it Miflifipi : prince, people, all were duped, and iu one year fo fwelled the gaudy bubble to their view, bills were nego- tiated up to tour times the amount of all the currency contained within the realm. Before it burfl 'twas faid, fome worthlefs governors of this ideal traffick found ways to realise enormous funis : our countryman, of courfc, who with them fought a (licltcr from thr curies of mankind, and found a fafeone in voluptuous Venice. Mean- while, fpitc of that accident, the (late was filcntly repairing its loflts. Nothing fo certainly regenerates fpent fortunes, publick or private, as a minority. Under even the ^o and forming a chain between omnipotence and humanity. 'Tis dif- ficult to find a new way of being either wife or virtuous, either abfurd or pcrverfc. The adherents to orthodoxy had condemned Sabcllianifm at the council of Alexandria in 26o, becaufe it maintained that the lame God and Father of all, defccnded incarnate upon the earth, he had created ; redeemed it by his death ; returned to heaven, and came down again upon his holy apoftlcs. Nor do Dr. Sonth's fcrmons militate very Jirongly agamfi this notion, although hf. lies buried in Weftminfler Abbey ; and lived to hear his great opponent Sherlock, accufcd of trithcifm : yet as the mad prophet faid by Louis quator/x, " It is not " the Duke of Marlborough, nor Prince Eugene, which fliall cut down " and utterly deflroy thee ; but men of w hom thou haft not now a " thought." Religion was not deeply injured by thcfc difputes : the pupil of Mr. Locke, the famous Lord Shaftcfbury, in his elegant and fpiritcd work called the Charafteril^icks, did more real hurt to the true good old aiufe, than all profelTors of theology put together ; ;ind I re- member a friend of my own ten }cars ago, when anarchy and aiVaiU- nation reigned in Paris, and the life-blood dropt daily warm from the guillotine, faid the French will l>c Icfs wretched when a civil war breaks out among them, becaufc killing will then be in the hands of foldiers, who arc bred to if, and undcrlhmd lioiv : now each man mur- ders for himfcif, mcthinks the flaughtcr's doubly dreadful. My friend judged very rightly ; and while the contcfl between orthodox and he- tc redox 37G AMERICA, ASIA, AFRICA, AND EUROPE, [cii. xvii. tcrodox opinions of Chrlftianity was agitated by divined, expert theo- logians who well knew where to attack, and where to defend, the church was in lefs danger, Icfs difgrace too, than fmce a bold irruption of Vandal forces overwhelmed us, fcoffcrs and tramplcrs — complete Pro- lepants, as Mr. Gibbon bluflies not to ftylc himfelf, proteji'ing againft every faith as folly ; and valuing, as another great writer cxprefles it, virtue beyond all religion, and friendfhip beyond all virtue, *Tis worth remarking likewife, that as war was carried on with lels ferocity about the year 1 712 and i;i3 than ufual, though greater numbers than ever were deftroyed, fp Hterary quarrels were conduced in a mode lefs brutal and offenfive. No more calling horrible names, like Bcza and Tilleman ; no more rancorous abufe and bitter revilings, like Milton and Salmafius ; no more horfeplay and grofs raillery, like Dryden and Settle. Les qncrelles lUteraires vv^ere carried on by Pope and Addifon, Swift and Steele, with a polite afperity alone, or fometimes even with a feigned afFedion, not ill ridiculed by Fielding, when he makes his puppets. Punch and Joan fay, after a torrent of bad language beftowed on each other, Since wchate like people in vogue, Let us no longer call beaft anJ rogue, Gentler titles let us ufe. Plague one another, but not abufe. Pretty dear! ah ma cherc! Joy of my life, and only care. In the mean time it feems as if the trade and valuable connexions made by our good allies the Portuguezc in Africa, died fall away, fmce their adivity in the caufe of religion was relaxed. The lift of kings in Congo and Angola baptized by Chriftian names, ends, I think, with the feventeenth century : and the reiiftance made againft converfion by the beautiful Black Princefs Zingha, is, for ought I know, the laft anecdote that can attrad attention, before the general relapfe of thele countric? CH. XVII.] FROM A. D. 1725, TO THE YEAR 1750. 377 countries into a ftate of barbarifm, broken but by feme Mahometan fett!crs in HoulFa or Tombu(5loo, places now nearly inaccelliblc to mo'!crn enquirers. Upon the model of this Princefs Zingha, Mr. ConfTfCve perhaps formed his Moorifh queen Zara's character, favourite of our theatres, when reprefented by incomparable Siddons. The poet has, however, altered the circumftances, and changed the motive. Zingha's ambition was to rclgn over her father's fubjedls ; but in his latter days European eloquence prevailed, and perfuadcd him to lca\ c young Giagha, his brother's fon, heir to the fcathcr'd crown. From this boy, aged but ten years, and baptized a Chriftian, Zingha refoK cd to wreft the fupremc authority : fet by her intrigues the Dutch agaiuft liis partizans from Portugal : " And now," faid flic, " my brave com- '* panions, while thcfe mad fellows cut each other's throats, let us unite *• in defence of our country and o\xr fet'tchei," — the objcAs of tlicir woi - ihip. High fpiritcd as handfome, fuch a leader called round her roc>n a numerous band of blacks, prepared to die in her defence ; but a white man was ftill, and had been long, her private friend. This Spanilh officer, favcd b)- her care from fliipwreck once, and tcmpeft, when all the crew but him periflicd on her coall ; had held for four long years the poft of favourite, in vain foliciting return to Europe. Her ftnidnels for his pcribn however, and apparent concern for his happinc-fs, gave him a hope her favage heart was melted into a true and lading klnd- ncfs ; and when flie hung her gaudy chains about his neck, he thought ibmc rcalbn might be formed to fancy that ^le might be the j)erfon led by htm. His fmging feguedillas clurmed her ear, and he fuppofcd that (he might one day be induced to think, that " trutlis dhiuc came " mended from that tongue.'' But foon as flie perceived he meant to turn her thoughts from love of em[)irc to retirement, while he kept corrcf- pcndence with her foes, Zingha condemned him to immediate death ; and during the affliding hours that followed, when fhe, no longer miilrefs of hcri'cif, had even forgotten the watch-word to her guards, fomc Portugcuzc furroundcd and confined her, promising her life, and Vol.. I. 3 B even r,78 AMERICA, ASIA, AFRICA, AND EUROPE, [ch. xvu. even royalt} , if flie would but confirm in the fucceflion her little Clirifrian coulin, they called John. But even thefc propofitioi^ flic rcfufcd, and flyin;^ unniolcftcd to her native woods, ended her days ia iblitudc and Ibrrow. The Spaniard havini^ cfcaped her fury, told the talc, and there are novels written on the flory. . Succeeding fovereigns being Icfs engaged in propagating Chriftian faith among the Africans, than in fixing the bounds of European power, left Congo and Angola to be trodden occafionally by Maho- metan merchants, and fometimes by Arabian fiiciks perhaps ; whilll that Don Pedro, who married his brother's betrothed wife, confining the firft hufband on the Azorc Ifles, left after a long reign. King John the fifth his fon and fucceflbr ; who fate till 1 750 on a throne ever in clofe alliance with England, and ftudious but of two things as it appears; to keep the crown in their Braganza houfe by any mcafures and by any marriages ; and to fecure ftrift friendfliip with Great Britain, fliould that crown ever be endangered falling into the hands of Spain, their haughty neighbour. We arc to recoiled indeed, that John the fifth was not by f/uii princcfs, who had been married to Alphonfo ; of her fcarce juftifiable nuptials with her hufband's brother Don Pedro, one daughter only was the offspring, and Ihe, I think, died, leaving no family — king John the fifth was by a fccond l>cd. Lord Peterborough's conduct throiigh queen Anne's wars had given thcfe nations frelli rcafon to rcfpe^l our alliance, when he performed among them even prodigies of v^ilour; ads of prowefs worthy the days of chivalry indeed ! Storming towns, rcfcuing. ladies, Madame de Popoli in particular, from the mofi: fhocking indignities, on which flic exclaimed, " I'm favcd by a hcretick! I'm favcd by a heretick!" and fending quickly for her confcflbr, befought of him permiflion to pray for that Englifli my lord. " For his converfion. Madam — but no more," returned the language of bigotry on the inftant, "/wis not in a Jf ate of grace, " }ou know." He was in a (late of exultation however, on his return ; but cH.xvii.] FROMA. 0.1725-, TO THE YEAR 1/50. 37(.> but when thcv huzzaed under his windows at fomc inn where he dined one da^ , Bhftol I beUcve, a ringleader of tlie populace cried out, " Long live the Duke of Marlborousch !" thinking 'twas he. " Give " mc leave,". faid Ivord Peterborough (haftcning to the balcony) " give ♦♦ tnc leave, good friends, to reftify your millukc, nad prove to you that " I am not the Duke of Marlborough. Firft, you Ibe, I have but eight 1* or ten guineas in my pockets (turning them) and fecondly, you fee " thofc few arc at your fervicc ;" throwing them among the mob, and then fitting quietly down to his dinner. Of war and fighting however the world at length was weary; and (Jeorge the firft, whofe Io\cl"or peace was well known not to proceed from unwillingnel's to take tiie field, died not till he had prevented, by judicious treaties, all appearance ot' future quarrels with the king of Spain. On his dcmife his Ion came to the throne, with fome advantages over ii is predeceHbr ; fomc more knowledge of our language, and fomc allillancc from the adive fricnd- fliipofa highly accomplilhed confort, who fet hcrfelf fcduloudy to comprehend the duty and true intereil of /its fituation and her own. The Tory party however took pains and plcafure in decrying all that ihc faid or did, fufpedcd artiulncfs in her condcfcenfion. and refufcd praifc to her frugality, under pretence that it was didated by avarice. The women fnccred at her majclly's turn for ftudy, they were learning to be clever v;ilhout ftudy. Swift, Addifon, and Steele had required that ladies fhould f{>cll corre<^ly and write elegantly, althougli a gram- matical education was hooted at; and to obtain the riid'nneuls <>1" Icicncc was going out of falhion even for boys, fincc playing them into languages had been recommended by Mr. Locke. A cliild who tonvcrfcd fluently in fcvcn ditferent tongues at fevcn years olil, wa- pro futun iicidth by early ftudy, a« did the haplcfs heptaglog. Nc rebellion againk .5 P> ;■ Tud .r^ 3S0 AMERICA, ASIA, AFRICA, AND EUROPE. [cii. xvn Tudors or Plantagencts had ever brought fo keen a fmart on its abettors as that of 1/15. New notions, new opinions, new manners, poured in apace. A mind of magnitude above its fellows rofe from the coarfcr ranks of humanity, and faid the age of reafon was at hand, when fchools and univerfities fliould grow aftiamed of claflicks and fuch trumpery. But though an acute furveyor of things prefent, he Uttlc dreamed how his preditllon was to be accomplifbed : he meant to hft that reafon he revered, under the banners of religion certainly ; and hoped fhe would prove a powerful auxiliary in virtue's fading caufe. But virtue fled wherever Walpole followed, who openly de- nied her ferious cxiflience ; although his near friends faid,. and knew, that he himfelf poffefled fome admirable qualities, added to unremitted chcarfulnefs, animating a vein of pleafantry with that good humour which can alone difarm the harfheft cenfurcs. His care, however, feems ever to have been beftowed on low and petty objet the na- " tion in conftant tranquillity, if they (the Tories) would have let '* him reft." 'Tis told too, that by one a<5l of parliament alone he took CH. xvti.] FROM A. D. 1725, TO THE YEAR 1750. 381 took off no fewer than one hundred petty duties. This condu comba-^ tants, not doubting but God's grace and approbation too went with the victor, as (ays Jofcph dc Ilerreras in his hiftory. Whilft orator Henley howc^ er was penfioned by government, for fecret lerviccs in Ibmc weekly paper, and of courfe proteeted in all he fhould attempt, a fchool of difputation was fet up by this fellow, the firft I read of, who preached lectures in the butcher-row, where people paid a fliilling each, and boaflcd, that by his impious i)uf)'ooncry he- bad put f/ie ihtirch and all i/uit in imminent danger. We mull re- member that this coarfe animal wa« in holy orders ; and Warburton iays that he adminiftcred the facramcnt in the fame place where he held forth as a ledturc -reader, or I do not undcrftand the pailagc rightly. 381 AMERICA, ASIA, AFRICA, AND EUROPE, [ch. xvii, rightly. But people found out how, it church authority was gone, and dignity dlfregarded ; charity at leaft, and philanthropick benefi- cence, would much incrcafe among us, as fupcrftition (fo all devotion now was called) declined. A charitable corporation had upon this principle been inftitutcd fo me years before, for relief of the poor, by lending them fmall fums upon fmall pledges; but in 1731 the pre- cious projcd: came to a head and burft, when the kind governors ran off with half a million of pounds fterling, ftolen from the indigent and lazy, who were tempted to borrow upon bad fecurity, and whom the noble pawn-brokers fpared not to plunder when once within the net. Hogarth believed it was in fpirit of dcrifion that three blue balls, or fometimes golden ones, was after this time hung at the doors of leflcr traders in the fame v'tle voay. They reprcfentcd gilt or painted hubbies ; and bubble was a word came into ufc when our South Sea fchcme fol- lowed up that in France, called Miffifipi. For the full tide of wicked- ncfs and folly rolled not to our fliores alone: Socinianifm became al- moft the eftabliflied faith in Germany, and even that was every day dcgencraring into Dcifm. Suicide grew fafhionable on the continent. Robeck's body was found on the banks of the Wefer in 1 '35, I think : his vindication of the felf- murderous a(fl by modern philofophy wa3 quickly printed, and dlfleminated with diligence. Cold-blooded crimes too were the boaft of London ; where a book-binder and his wife rea- foned themfclves into killing each other and their only child, leaving a letter behind them, recommending their cat to protcdlion of the neigh- bourhood. Before the year 1 /.if) was concluded, Mifs Blandy poifoned her fa- ther for oppofing her defired match with Captain Cranftoun ; Mifs Waring, or Warren, native of Britain, but refident at Paris, being pcrfuaded by her mother to marry Monfieur Odr}s a lame man, teller of the exchequer, againft her liking, called for a boiled egg at the wedding dinner, and putting in a few grains of fublimatcd mercury with the fait, killed herfclf before her hufband's face and all his friends, coolly CH. XVII.] FROM A. D. 1725, TO THE YEAR 1750. 385 coolly obfcrving, " they would ha\c it fo." And Mr. Barctti tells a tale, nearly the fame date, of a Venetian lady, who, having been long prefTcd to take the veil againft her inclinations, hanged herfelf up. in the convent's parlatory, while her halt-lVantick parents, incapable oi hindering the horrid deed, were paying her a vifit, outfidc of the grate. Nor were thcfe forrows fufficient. Thinking men grieved to fee the church of Rome molefted by Molinilts, Quictills, &c. rendering cvep the beft efforts of its own beft friends unable to defend it. Cardinal de Noailles, and Pere le Tellier, had battled it during the lail pontificate. with a violence which would have been dangerous even in fafc times ; the Cardinal ilill protcfliug he could not fubmit to be le vah-t Jes Jcfn'ttes : and helping to inflame all France againft the ConfefTor, whofe cruelties and thofe of all his houfc againft the Proteftants, were now even in the opinion of Proteftants themfelves, likely to be \ ifited with judgments fufficicntly dreadful, both on his own family and Uiat of his mafter. The too long protracted quarrel bctv\een the pa- pal chair and Cardinal de Noailles, was however made up at hifl on his receiving the bull Unigcnitus, and Benedict the thirteenth hafled to receive and rcftore the offender. On his death, Clement the twelfth a Florentine nobleman, was eledcd; his firft care was to punillx the due dc Cofcia for his exadions during the retired lite of the pious prcdeccffor ; hia next, but that was f»r more difficult, was to ftop the vile tongues of Benedict's dctamers, who in the true profligate f'pirit of the times, cried out, " That 'twas as well live under a Tiberius, who left the world tf> pradife in a Iccret cavern new modes of wick- cdnefs, while Scjanus t}'ranni/ed over the pubUc weal ; as under Or- fuio, who quitted convcrfation with the world only to flane himfelf in a remote comer of the palace, whence he came forth but upon days of public devotion ; wlulft the rapacious fubftitutc lorded it over, and gricvoufly opprtffed the ftate." Clement found it more cafy to obtain reftitution from Cofcia's fa- mily, than to filcucc thcfe cenfurers of all men but thcmtclvcb — lure \'oi.. II. 3 (I fiourpe 386 AMERICA, ASIA, AFRICA, AND EUROPE, [ch. xvii. fcourge of an cledlive fovcrelgntj- ; though •with the ill-gotten wealth which he obliged thcfe firft otfendcrs to refund, many large purchafes were made of books for the Vatican ; but even that offended the de- tradors, wlio arraigned this pontiff's adive virtue as feverely, as they had dcfpifed unreafonably the gentle manners and mortified charader of him who went before : for nothing but vice could pleafe a vicious nation, and Rome was once more arrived even at the perfection of difTolute manners. We recoiled good emperors in old time, treated much as the prefent century did the good popes ; and after the laft of thefc, Corfini, had reigned ten years, a difgraceful buftle and hot conteft enfued, who fhould enjoy this phantom of pafl power, this faded purple, exadly as befell in tl?c firfl volume, when Goths and Vandals, and ruin were at hand. It dropt however happily upon the ilioulders of Profpero Lambertini, a prelate of immenfe abilities, to which a conciliating temper, ready wit, and morals free from re- proach, gave an additional value. To his care we muft, in 1 ;50, leave his undeferving fubjeds ; and returning^ to our own church, muft lament to fee one of its bulkieft pillars pecked at, I guefs not why, by Mr. Law, as if religion's friends wanted frelh enemies to hinder and obftrud them in her defence : nor did the attempt fail to provoke fcorxiful and ill-applied infult from Warburton, who, if he did indeed contemn his adverfary, it was from making a rafh judgment of his powers. Law's admirable book, the Serious Call, dcferves the higheft praife ; and had its merits made but one impreffion, much honour ought to be attributed to the fudden and almoft preternatural cffed: which it produced upon that Proteus of impofture Pfalmanazar, whofe blaf- phcmous extravagancies difgraced the age we fpeak of; whofe fophif- tries baffled and brought fliame on the profeflbrs of our faith in every modification, every fed ; and whofe rigid ads of exemplary penitence, though good for his own foul, made but incompetent amends at laft to an offended public. All Europe fcarce could hear of his converfion ; all ca. XVII.] FROM A. D, 1 725, TO THE YEAR i ; 50. 387 all Europe had been ftaggered by his controverfy : he had in many places pcrfonated a Pagan Japancfc fo perfcdly ; had difputcd fo in- gcnioufly with Jefuits, Lutherans, Gilvinills : had fought them all fo on their own ground, with fuch unmatched dexterity, that when at length he was arrived in England, he publi/hed boldly an odlavo vo- lume, containing a feigned account of his imagined country, the ifland of Formofa, making a language of his own, and telling how 'twas fpoken in thofe parts. In fine, carrying the jcft on fo far as gravely to dedicate this impious forgery to Henry lord bifhop of Lon- don ; and a privy counfcUor to good Queen Anne, if 1 remember rightly. Pfalmanazar fays, that this prelate fcarccly underftood Latin as he pronounced it : and though Dr. Mead believed he was a cheat ; neither he, nor Halley, nor Woodward could deteft him. Innes the clergyman, who baptized him as a new convert to Chriftianity. and who meant to make advantage of him in fome way, never dared give a hint of his fufpicions, excepting that when once he caught him trandating Cicero into Formofan, two different ways ; he looked around, and faid, " Sir, you were unprepared, I fancy, were you " not ?" They parted after this ; Innes died foon ; and Pfalmanazar. many years after, (Iruck by Law's ferious Call, did of his own accord confcfs his curious, though abominable contrivances, avowing how it w^as his pradice to take opium, and counterfeit ill health, gout, and fwcUcd legs, for counterfeiting's fake, as it appears to me, who can find out no end anfwcred by t/iaf. His impious adoration of the fun was dreadful ; but he atoned for many vile offences, by having before death acknowledged, and repented of them all, leading a long life of exemplary piety and great diligence, and at lad ending his various day in the communion of our Anglican church, profeffmg his prefer- ence of it to any, and to every other, as he told Dr. Johnfon on his dcath-bcd, though confcious there muft be dcfc<5ls in all. No en- treaties could however prevail on him to reveal his real name, nation, or family. Mr. Villettc bclic>cd h« was aCiafcon, though Frenchmen 3 C 2 liave 388 AMERICA, ASIA, AFRICA, AND EUROPE. [ch. xvh, have rarely fuch flexibility of organs as to render, like this man, every tongue his own. But the death of Charles the fixth, emperor of Germany, recalled attention from individul knaveries, towards the infolent ones, then fct on foot by whole nations at once. Henry was dead, andTencin* nilcd at Paris : when fpite of the pragmatic fandlion, by which it was fup- pofed that the deceafed's dominions had been fecurcd to his beautiful and deferring daughter Maria Therefa ; and fpite of that paffion with which Frederick of Pruffia fays, " all Eun.pe was infpired towards the houfe of Auftria and its intercfts ;" the rcftlefs cabinet of Verfailles found means to induce the eledor of Bavaria to (land forth and contend againft the fcarce-difputed r'lg^ht of Charles's only child, who faw Silefia torn from her by one adventurous neighbour ; Bohemia threatened by another ; and flie herfelf an objeft of compaflionating tendernefs, not knowing where fhe could lie in with fafety. The ladies in England talked of fubfcribing their jewels to affift her, and our king George the fccond, taking the field in perfon, won the battle of Dcttingen, where his ads of perfonal prowefs endeared him to his valiant fubjeds, who love courageous condud in their fovereign ; and though fomc fuUen wife ones here at home found out that we were fighting abroad only for our own honour and the profit of others, (a matter not difficult to difcern) Great Britain and her gallant mo- narch loved one another better from that day. As to internal politicks in this country, Tories had long pcrfifted in protefting, perhaps in be- lieving, that every foul fin committed through the nation, ought to be charged upon Sir Robert Walpole, till a fort of general alarm was, by their repeated efforts, at length excited, and thofe who panted for the ports of this long-reviled miniflcr, perceived the iniquity of his retaining thofe ports any longer : while the Whigs meanly ftirunk from fupport of the man, who never, during his continued adminiftration, had been * Tencin's baftard fon was d' Alembtrt. known CH. xvn.] FROM A. D. 17-25, TO THE YEAR \7r,0. ssg known to dcfcrt the caufe of one private friend. After having cking to the maft, however, (if Onflow's tcftimony, preferred by Coxc, be true) when he could no longer guide the helm, he dropt : and the l^ing did not forfakc the fer\-ant whom he had rcafon to think faithful in what concerned his matter's purfe and peilbn. 'Twas left for the fubfequent rebellion to rivet more clofcly the now daily growing union between our people and the reigning houfc. When Tencin, tur- bulent and bold,-excitcd an ill-planned projcd of dcfcent on Scotland, headed bv the grandfon of James the fecond, in quality of prince regent ; that youth expedcd much allillance from Tory families remote from London, and bent his courfe towards Wales. No en- couragement, however, being received there, and the old feudal chief- tains from the north difliking further progrcfs through our ifland, forced their fubmiffivc leader back again, and freed the capital from thofe commercial terrors, which lefs intimidated than amufcd its king, round whofe royal ftandard every rank, every dcfcription of men rallied, confiding in his bcft protection who fct himfelf fcrioufly to arm for their defence, fending, in the mean time, for his fon duke William, who, leading his veterans on, quickly by the dccifn c battle of Culloden, relieved the terrified metropolis ; and after that day we heard no more of the pretender coming with his hungry troops to put our property in danger, armed with a m'tfjive weapon called dirk : for the dear Lon- doners in thofe days, really did feem more ignorant concerning the manners of a Highland laird, than they are now about the government of Mamelukes and Beys. Failure of this foolifli adventure too, in pcrfon of a prince who knew not cither how to make his arms rc- fpcctcd, or his misfortunes pitied, put an end to what was left of jacobitifm amf)ng us, and the whole nation joined the grateful chorus God J'ave great George our King! Notes had been taken in payment by the merchants who fubfcribcd for his and thcff own fupport, upon the Bank of England ; and loyalty , the firlt of national virtues, found iu 390 AMERICA, ASIA, AFRICA, AND EUROPE, [ch. xvn. its reward in wealth and fame and national refpedability. Nor did the iire- works, played off in honour of a general peace, figned at Aix la Chapclle, pleafc, the people better than did the fovereign's obferva- tion and reproof of that fupinenefs among our clergy, which was fuppofed to have fuffercd many weeds to grow both in religion and morality, I well remember when the ardent, though irregular, exhortations of Mr. George Whitfield roufcd the metropolis from its llupor, that feme application was made to his majefty iox Jilenc'nig him, as they faid ; his reply was echoed about immediately. ^' Shall I {cncd the \i^\ng\ make " him a h'tjliop .'" Much mifchief had indeed been fuffered fmce it had grown the faftiion to forbear all mention of our Saviour's paffion from the pulpit, except upon Good-Friday, and even that day was ftridly commanded to be obferv cd, or elfe might poffibly have been forgotten. While the young preachers entertained their congregations with one tritical eflay or another, and To reft the cufhion and foft dean invite, Who never mentions hell to cars polite. Dodor Doddridge Indeed publifhed a tradl capable of ftimulating the moft enervate Chriftian, and drawing attention from the moft fordid worldling, called the life and converfion of Colonel Gardiner, who was killed at Prefton Pans : but I know not whether it had much effed. To the pious and elegant James Harvey, redor of Wefton Favell, the church owes, I think, more folid obligations. His works were uni- verfally read, and more meritorious than thcfe, as feated nearer to London, grand vortex of iniquity — ^The redor of Wclwyn,the chaplain of the court, whofe fpirited reproof of Monf. de Voltaire, and fteady op- pofition to him in a mixed company, when he yidiS on t\ic Aiitl-chriji'tan miflion here in En^nd, tells more to the honour of hii Abdiel-YiVc opponent, than even thofe fublime and well-known effufions which genius CH. xvii.] FROM A. D. 1725; TO THE YEAR 1750. 391 genius will throw off fometimes, when heated by devotion's flame in night and foUtude : although AGde their harps cv'n feraphs flung To hear thy fweet complaints— Oh Young ! It is indeed the concentrated fire of the laboratory which, as we know, produces what is mod valuable in medicines for the mind : yet will not the loyal bonfire, blazing in open air, and fparkling in defiance of cold blading winds, be fcorned at length by heaven's eternal King. Fuller fays prettily that as Ahab was wounded between the joints of his armour, fo has the Anglican church been ^ruck between epifcopacy once put off; and calvinifm, never fitting us, ill buckled on. But our religion found an unexpcded and uny^z/peded patron too in Richard- fbn ; who makes fiftion the favoured conduit of truth, and brings the ftream of piety unfullied from its pure and far-diftant fountain to the capital, as Addifon iays fweetly of the Roman aqueduds. While riTcrs there forfake the fields below. And, wond'ringatMWr^/.nv, in airy channth flow. Mufick likcwifc, which about the end of the 1 6th century had in Italy fuffered hcrfclf to be fcducc'd fo far as not to refufe afliftance to the drama, although her chief employment was the church ; fo that Le matin Catholique et le foir Idulatrc, Kile dina de I'autel, et foupa du theatre. came to us in her thcatrick drefs about the beginning of the eighteenth century, and before the portion of time now under revifal, from 1725 to 1750, was grown ancdablifhcd favourite among the great and gay ; while thofc who had left money or Icfs taftc exclaimed, and charged much of our acknowledged ill conduct in upper life to the enervating fwcctncfs of Soprano fingers, then firft heard among us, and the loofc ftylc of that mufical tragedy known by the name of an Italian opera. Nicolini 392 AMERICA, ASIA, AFRICA, AND EUROPE, [ch. xvri. Nicolini di Napoli fecms to have been well apprized of the danger, by his folicitude to engage friends among the popular writers of the day : and as he was the firll to venture over in charair it uelles de Paris to fay at his death, " Oh, what a pity 'tis " that we fliall not fmg one de profundis for this charming fellow, who " has fo often made us fing te Dentn." Count Saxe had an idea that much depended upon ttames ; or having faid lb once, perhaps in fport, his biographers have let it down as ferious. He certainly did marry ViSioria de Loben, and certainly was divorced from her, alledging that he liked her company Icfs than her appellation. The lady wilhed no change ; but he was the offspring of bright Aurora, as he faid, and like the fun jaavdl gild many regions in. courfe of his various day. The plains CH. xvnr.] FROM A. D. 17'25, TO THE YEAR 1750. 403 plains of Malplaquet firft witneffed his heroick ardour in battle, where he was wounded and unhorfed, and fought on foot. Being requeilcd to retire — " No, no, he cried — / like It" In effeoth and keep her in good humour, left Ivvan's dungeon fliould attrad thofe thoughts fhc fought to drown in palatable p>ifons, which fliortened while tliey ftupificd her forrovvs. Elizabeth had bcfidcs borne three children to ;i f'a\ourcd noMeman, llazumofflky, who had received her marriage v*)\\s in private, under a ltri<5l oath never to be acknowledged, Thefc voung co\ints Tarrakanoff and their jiretty lifter gave, 'tis to be fuppofed, nmhratrc Vi Catherine, but her difcretion fupprelfed all antipathy, and they received a foreign education. Voltaire fays fomcwhcre, and with truth he fays it, that the revolu- tions in palaces arc not always followed l>y revolutions of the ftatc. Such was the cafe with Iluflia ; from thofe dull days when Peter firft drew 4o6 AUSTRIA, TURKEY, RUSSIA, FRANCE, &c. [ch. xvin. drew up that monftrous mafs out of its primitive obfcurity, each hour had contributed to its improvement, and every fovereign added fome- what to its importance. Anna Iwanovvna beat away the Turks ; Elizabeth maintained her nation's confequence abroad too, even while immcrild in fenfuality at home. The Grand Duke bred at Holftein, and bringing thence even a tanatick fondnefs for Frederick of Pruffia's military talents, put his raw Ibldicrs in a flate of difciplinc to them un- known before ; and the Grand Duchefs, from tender remembrance of licr native place, began even at fifteen years of age to fofter that com- mercial fpirit which had fo long before pervaded Stettin, and by which arts, manufaclurcs, and even fcicuce, live. Meanwhile under good Frederick and Ulrica's reign, fprung up in Sweden the young but tow'ring genius dcftincd to draw the admiration of an age lefs prone to adore the majcfty of God, than lofe itfelf in wonder at the works of nature. Thcfe works Linnarus undertook to arrange, facilitating future ftudy, caufmg the very exiftence of Mcntzclius to be forgotten (who iathe year 1710 publiflicd the firft index nomimim plantarum) and pur- chafing to himfclf a name above his brother hotan'ijls, nt inter v'lhurnl aipreffi. They indeed, with humbleft thanks, and praifcs half profane, cried out aloud, " Dcus creavit, L'mnaus d'tfpofntt ;" and like UlyiTes when he faw the palm-tree, pride of Delos, &c. Raptur'd tliey ftood, and to this hour amat'd, Witli rev'icnce ('C was the number of that alTembly or convention wliiJj defbroyed his futcefTor I.oiiis felzc too, 'tis at Icaft a ftiangc thing, and mult much amaze the commentators, who have con- fidcred tliiit as due to the church of Rome, Ihmiith or Lateiiios. But in Rev. xiiith chap. iSth vcrfc, and in Rev. xviith chap, jth verfe, the apoftle fays it is the number of a vtnyi : the other two expofitions apply it to a va ioi:. Comcniusisauthor of our little Oibis Pictusfor Uubies ; it is obfcivahic that alrolog^ always militates a-^a'.njl agronomy : the old exploded I'toicmaick fyHcm is in that litt'e book fet forth for inftruflion of liis fcholars. its I, . . 5o V . . 5 D . . 500 O . . . V I . . 5 1 . c . . 100 V . . . 5 s . . . 66G CH. XVIII.] FROM A. D. 1725, TO THE YEAR 1750. 400 its bcft defenders. Among the various fouls loft or endangered by the in- undation, the fate of Roufleau gives one moft concern : if he was not a Chriftian, jt' niefforce de Vitre (I try to be one) fays he fomewhere : the others Icem to have made no rcfiftance. On Montfaucon.'tis true, all arts were loft. Filled with divine grace, and guarded by human learning, his humble heart, like that of his great model Mabillon, rcfigned itfelf to faith, to hoj>e, to charity; and whilft his vain contemporaries, dem't- f^avants, entangled their own paths with nets of fophiftry, he, who pofleflcd more erudition than them all, ftept on with confidence from truth to truth. Can even li'n life, added to the examples of Fleury, Fenclon, Pafchal, and more furprifing as nearer to the feat of fm, that mermaid's melody, which to the unfccn whirlpool drew men's fouls, and in a moment funk them — Louis the good duke of Orleans, dead long fince ? Can a whole army of heroes or of martyrs, born in France, compenfate to mankind for all the crimes of that ftrangc ternary de- livered down to infamous remembrance by Abbe Harruel ? For if, as by his Ixwk may be gathered, the true fpirit of Antichrift Ibught by the primitive Chriftians in imperial, and by the firft reformers in papal Rome, did after all adually refidc in thcfc three Frenchmen, Voltaire, D'Alcmbtrt, and Diderot, it is a marvellous finiftiing indeed, and cu- rious refutation of all paft conjeftures : nor can we fufficicntly thank or reward that Hercules who dragged this Cerberus to light. Meanwhile it would not really be impradicublc for thf)fe who fearch and think they underftand futli matters, to trace and reconcile their worfhip o( thetnj'elvcs and their own rcafoiiy with the idea of that pecu- liar kind of idolatry mentioned by prophet Daniel, and quoted by our blcfl'cd Sa\iour, as that abomination that makes dcfoUite ; meaning per- haps that not only all fenfe of his facred prefence ftiould be driven from the church, but that an abfolute vacuum, a total drjolatiou, as now in France, fliould f(/i!ow. Tliis dreadful phantom IVre Hardouin fancied he faw coming forward with the firft years of this our century; and though his friends drew from him a half forced recantation, he died in the Vol. II, S F fame 410 AUSTRIA, TURKEY, RUSSIA, FRANCE, &c. [ch. xvnr. fame mind 172U- Oh, had he heard thefe dwellers in dead waters call thcmfclves by the unaccountable appellation of Cacouacs,* would not his clofe acquaintance with the Greek have fuggefted fomewhat of the croaking cry kekoax ? And would not that again have prompted his fancy, fertile in ftrange ideas, to conceive fome odd yet poffiblc affinity between them and the unclean fpirits, three in number, mentioned chap. lOth of St. John's apocalypfe, as coming forth from the old dragon's mouth in form oi frogs — I almoft think it would. But with fuch bold unauthorized conjectures, our RetroJ^eSl has leaft of all to do. Deep in their miry bottom let us leave them ; where Quamvisfint fub aqua, fubaqua malediceie tentant, Vox quoque jam raucaeft, inflataque colla tumefcunt. Ipfadilatant patulos convicia liftus Tcrga caput tangunt, colla intercepta videntur. Spina viict, venter pars maxima corporis albct, Limofoque nova? faliuiU in gurgilc raiite. 'Tis time to follow their pupil and coadjutor Frederick, who, buiicd in dripping the cmprcfs queen of Silefia, had neither leifure nor incli- nation .to fet about rebuilding the Temple of Jcrnfalem at Voltaire's re- queft ; though I did hear in converfation once, many years ago, that letters paffed between him and Voltaire, while he was Prince ofPruffia, upon that extraordinary fubjed. When, after many dif- putes however, much oppofition, and feveral fruitlefs, becaufc tranfient alliances, he found himfelf at length not only in pofleffion of his hereditary domain, but likewife of the long-dcfired duchy, ceded to him at the definitive treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, he prudently forgot the impious projed, and began improving the commerce, arts, and agri- culture of his country ; where he aboliflied all ufe of torture upon criminals, tried to put an end to the pradice of duelling, and wiftied to eftablifh a regular court of honour. Had he been author, among all * See Barruel, firil vol. third chapter. CH. xviii.] FROM A. D. 1 725, TO THE YEAR J 750. 4 1 1 his wife fpccchcs, only of the following fentimcnt, 'tis fure mankind would have been his debtor, when he obferved, •♦ That a few good " ftatutcs made a nation happy, but a multiplicity even of them, tend ** only to cmbarrafs the adminiltration of jufticc." Full of talents for poetr}', for mufick, for Icgidaturc, for ratiocination, for every art of peace in fine; thcgettiiu of this great prince pufhed him on war ; and fuch was his hatred to our holy religion, fuch his adherence to the new philofophy, by which he held himfelf as pledged to crufJi it, hvafer tinfame, that we are abfolutcly compelled to lament thofe moments when his military powers were left uncxercifed. as in the year 1/50. Notwithftanding the excellence of that Frederician code, which I be- lieve is abftjlutcly as near to perfection a> our confined humanity allows. The king of Sweden meanwhile, hulLand to the filler of Charles XII. twelfth, loft his queen 17 11, and much diftrefs had followed her dc- mifc. Four c-andidatcs difputed the fuccelfion, but the emprefs of all the Ruflias, or as (he then was called Czarmi Elizabeth, took off the duke of Holftcin, ha\ ing named him grand duke, and given her intercft toyoungAdolphus Frederick, who was confidercd from that day as fuc- ceiTor, although the old king unmoleftcd remained upon his throne ; the gcntlcll, mildcft, oldefi, of all the fovereigns in Europe, A. D. 1/50. His relation, Frederick IV. whom Charles of Sweden fell upon in early youth, had lived in quiet at Copenhagen, ever fmce (itorge the firll of England had mediated for him a beneficial peace, about 1/21. His capital indeed was burned down eight years after, but was rebuilt with great magnificence. His crown dcfccndcd without dif- pute to hisfon Chriftiem VI. who feemcd to emulate all that we read bcft, of the Ijcft princes. He called a council for proteding com- merce; he ftudicd how moll to enrich his country ; he gave up un- Tcqucilcd the monopolies by which his father's coffers had been filled. " They brought in a great revenue," l;iid his miniller. •' Too great, " 100 great by far," replied the generous parent of his peopk-, «' if ■" they coft one figh to one of my taithful fubjeds." He cftablilhed •^ F 2 connedions 412 AUSTRIA, TURKEY, RUSSIA, FRANCE, &c. [ch. xtjii. connexions with Eaft India, opened his ports, and made the Ham- burghers compound fome old difputes with a large fum of money. He bought the duke of Holllein off with well applied treafures, and fccurcd the duchy of Slefwick to his own family. Such were this king's virtues, and fuch his reputation, that the Swedes, one party at leaji when their queen died, begged him to fend his fon to reign over the old Goths and Vandals at Stockholm. Another choice however being^ determined on in that capital, where young Adolphus married to Louifa Ulrica, of Pruffia, was confidercd as prcfumptivc heir ; in the year 174O Frederick fucceeded happily to his own patrimonial dominions, and governed the now well-civilized and loyal Cimbri, Teutons, and Danes, with generous care. He wedded our Louifa, daughter to George the fecond of Great Britain, who brought him a fon before the year 1 750 was expired. But the affairs of the fouth muft not be longer left out of remem- brance. Old John of Portugal died after having reigned pretty near half a century. From the Braganza throne he dropt mature in 1750, having long before then cfpoufed his daughter to the prince of Aiturias, and his fon Jofeph, who fucceeded him, to a Spanifh infanta, both upon one day. This lafl named lady, Marianne Victoria, had, whilfl a child, rcfided at the court of France, where fhe received her educa- tion as dcllined wife to Lewis the fifteenth ; but her intended hufl)and being taken ill at fixtccn or at Icvcnteen years of age, while flie was yet a little girl not marriageable, 'twas thought the wileft way to fend her home ; providing the young fovereign with a confort, capable to bring heirs, and that immediately. Their hafly but happy choice fell on Maria Leckzinfky, as we know, and young Vidoria was queen of Portugal. But Spain had no great rcafon to be pleafed. Philip of Anjou there had fuffered plagues and mortifications enough in the long courfe of his flormy day. His fecond wife, Elizabeth Farneze, had been fufpefted of adding fbme frefli weight to the burden. After pafTmg not a few tedious years in that anxiety of mind, which the foft voice cH. xviii.j FROM A. D. 1725, TO THE YEAR 1750. 413 voice of FarincUi alone could charm to momentary peace ; anxiety which France had, by fending back his little favourite, incrcafed in lieu of foothing : he left this world for a better in 174O, when Fer- dinand, his fon by the Jirji bed, fucceeded. He was the fixth of that name in Spain, and fo attached to his fair Magdalene, filler of Jofeph the fecond, newly become king of Portugal, that future chapters will Ihew him at her death laying afide all bufjncfs, and renouncing all pleafure, except the iad one of hearing Farinelli fmg her favourite air, beginning Per quel caro amplejfo. Meanwhile, to the magnificent ftipend beftowed on that unequalled performer by Philip d'Anjou, whofe laft melancholy hours had been rendered lefs infupportable by his exertion of talents completely match- Icfs; the generous Ferdinand added the order of Calatrava, and called him to fome office in the court. That court became more gay and more good- humoured under the aufpiccs of Maddalcna. She had pre- vailed on her foft-hcartcd hufband to make up the difpute 'twixt them and France, giving to their young dauphin his half-fifter : a. match, particularly pleafing to Don Carlos, who with the young Maria The- rcfa and other princeflcs, was child to Philip by his iecoud Venter, and likely to fuccecd in Spain himfclf, as gentle Magdalene brought no heirs at all, and lived on the bcft terms with her hufband's family. On all thofe families a general damp was thrown by death of this con- fumptive dauphincfs — a lofs replaced in 1/17 by Mary Jofcphina ot. Saxony, mother to Ijou'ufe'tze, to his two brothers, and their incom- parable fiftcr Madame Elizabeth, whofe grcatncfs and whofe misfor- tunes the world has lately witncffed. Wc leave their virtuous parents both alive' in 1 750, when, notwithftanding the corruption of manners, an'J the decay of piety at Paris, their condudl was by all acknowledged cxcmpUry, and their devotion edifying. If it •wcTeJiriilly, as it is in fbmc fort popularly true, that no pcopfc can be great who have ceafed to be virtuous, we Ihould fee France lofing her conicquencc apace during the reign of Lewis the fifteenth. But -114 AUSTRIA, TURKEY, RUSSIA, FRANCE, &c. [en. xvni. But though fhe no longer thundered on the fhores of Africa, or re- ctl\cd ambafladors from Siam, bribery iiad learned to influence thofe whom conqucil could not fubdue. Tiie fcttlcments of North Ame- rica were infidioufly gaining in value and extent, and Louifiana kept Spreading her name over trads of ground fo w idc, and in many re- fpefts fo defirable, that (ircat Britain began, after lying long fupinc, to leel herfclf fufccptible of juft alarm. Even in tJi'is Ihallow book young readers may have learned, how by a kind of tacit compaii among difcoverers, or among thofe princes whofe fubjccls the diibovercrs were, it was agreed that polfeffion of the coaft gave claim to the inland : and in effed, all the firft charters be- ftowed upon the early colonizers of our new-found hemifphcre, limit the diftricSs thereby difpofed of only from north to fouth, leaving the ftretch of country eaft and weft wholly difcretional. That nothing was to be allowed the wretched natives, appears a maxim of cruel po- licy, common to all. But the French, as they grew better acquainted with their manners, treated them Icfs unkindly, invited them to in- termarriages, and took every method poffible to keep them quiet ; whilft they, intent upon encroachments on our provinces, filcntly pafled boundary after boundary, and added, without noife or buftle, fort to fort. It was of manifcft difadvantage to England that the houfc of Bourbon, in the pcrfon of old Louis quatorze's grandfon, pofleflcd the throne of Spain and its American treafures : fmce that day, our wife men who underftand ilich matters, feem to think, that a glaring par- tiality has been fhewn to the French in all thofe feas, and that a port into the Pacifick Ocean would be to us another Gibraltar. But 'tis not from our fuperficial work that found maxims of prefent policy muft be cxpeAed : a general RetroJpeS of fa6b is all we promifed. Had the work been undertaken by any author competent to draw conclufions of that nature from the events, much had been added to its value and importance. JBut WiC muft point our telefcope towards Italy, where Venice, ra- dically CH. xViii.] FROM A. D. 1723, TO THE YEAR 1750. 4J5 dically fick of a confirmed phthifis, kept in the year 1/50 a bright blooming colour, which impoled on fome, who thought it the blufli of health. This ftate had not been treated by the univcrfal conque- ror Lewis the fourteenth, as was her hated rival Genoa, when he de- clared Cardinal Ottoboni, their fubjed, prote,Mn^iJiaijfax, as the fettlcrs enumerated days fince governfRe«t>iiad con.iJiw>ft;t^eir charter. In his travels through the interior ofihat regjoti. ^Jt-tie iknowa to Britons in thofc days, he often fliared the hut of lomc French In- dians, and defcribed their manners as amiably fimplc, innocent, and artlefs. Wc never could forget his ftory of a Canadian giil, eighteen years old, fetting her head-drcfs by a pail of water placed as a mirror for her moucki toiletie, as flie termed it ; or ixow, converfrng with her on more ferious fubjefts, flie informed him that the nature of fui was well known to her, who had been taught by les botts Frcm^ois, that Eng- liih women were the wickcdeft upon the face of the eatth, making no fcruple to wear wide hoops, like the blcfled VirgiaMary, who being a French lady born, ought to haA e that privilege facrcd to hcrfclf alone — enforcing thcfc words b) pointing to a dreffed image on the houfe top, and praying to it for her new acquaintance's sonverfiou and fafe return to Halifax. That place proved daily more and more ufeful in taking off difbanded troops turned looic upon London, in confcqucnce of the peace of Aix-la-Chapclle. A peace wife men faw plainly could never laft long, although Great Eritam poured her young nobility Ibrth in full tides to Paris, while flexible adventurers from that corrupted me- tropolis, began to fwarm in ours. Among thefc a Capuchin friar, Pcrc Norbcrt by name, befidc his own fpirit of fupplying himfclf witU ready cafii, polTeflcd a fecrct mandate from Pope Bendedid XIV. to hifirudi us. He was an anti- Jeftiit, favoured for that reafoa by Larar bcrtini, -who bellowed on him a bag of zecchines, fome indulgencies ncceflary to his ni'ijjion, and a- box of rcliques to keep Chrillian faith warm in our heretical, and as he deemed it, half-pagan country. Wc all witneffed his envoy's abilities, and J my felf remember him perfecflly vndcr the feigned appellation of Monf. Parifot, w'ho fct up a gobelin manufactory CM. xnc.] FROM A. D. 1 750, TO THE YEAR 1 ;ao. 42 1 raanufa<5lor)' at Fulham, obtained a lubicnptiou (as B-irctti told me), of lo,oo7, a tiipeflry flowcr-pidurc, from Ikitillc, againlt the original, grew out of this beginning. Mcan- whiie all fcrgcs for nuns and friurs' wear, were made at Exeter ; and tliusour folks cared little, Icfs tiian they fliuuU have done in fad, at feeing thcinfclves, even in the eighteenth century, accounted for mere brutes by the church and court of Home, while the pcrvcrfc adhciiou of its members to evcrv fallen prejudice againfl: reformation, hindered no trade, nor lelTencd the confumptiun of our flannel drapery. Thus too, the liberal and polirned Liimbertini, who when the intriguing carr dinal, driven from Spain, talked to him about the St. Marino bulincfs, faid, " Why Albcronl's appetite never fails fure : he has been ftrinng " to get down a falmon thefe fix years, and is now in chace of a min- *' now ;" appears in this fore-fhortened Rctrof^Kd fcarce above the level of a Canadian wench. But princes think with moft good.fcnle, wlicn they arc thinking about other princes : all Europe heard how our Prince of Wales patronized the growing pafTion for commerce ; he did more, he patronized every popular idea, he taught his- children to (peak out of Addifon's Cato, and called the famous James-Quin about him to inftmft them. Quin had fo (hone in the theatrical characlers w hich defend liberty of the fubjctt ajainft ri fial power, that he hud waxincJ himfclf up into much fervour of Whi^i;ifm; and as his talents gave bin* occafion often to keep company with learned men, a difputc fprung up one evening concerning the death of Cliatles L, which, contradiding Warburtor>, he juftificd. The future billiop battled him a while, and at length, thinking^to fccure his Miitory, " Tell me at luift, good Mr. " Quin (he cried), inilrudt me by what law you make tliii act dc- " fenfible ? 1 afk you by, what law ?' " By all the law (replied our " ador promptly), by all the law that futh a king had left alive lu the "nation." That no Whig ever maintained the caufe with more ready wit, or graced it with more humanity than Qulit, aU.wiUxcadily allow ; 422 GREAT BRITAIN, IRELAND, AND AMERICA, [ch, xix. allow ; but that the patronage of fuch wit, and fuch principles, by a Prince of Wales, was at Icaft ill-timed, none can rcafonably deny. It could tend only to diftrefs the crown, which already pretended to go- vern chiefly, if not wholly by influence ; whilft the authority, cvcti of Parl'iiviiciit, which from the day that Mr. Quin approved fo, had rifen into v\hat was fooliflily termed omnipotence and majejly, began to flicw ttfrlfon the decline. The king's fpeechcs recommended unanimity among the members — in vain. A Wcftminfter cledion flicwed that blelTing to be at an immcafurable diftance. The honourable Mr. Mur- ray was charged with riotoufly obftruAing the high bailiff in his office, and bid to beg pardon of the Houfe upon his knees. Murray refufcd, and was carried about in triumph by the mob. Parliament was baffled, a pamphlet, worthy later times, called Legion, was handed about ; the buds of democracy fwelled apace, and wanted but an opportunity of hurfting. The king laughed, becaufe the unpopular candidate had made himfelf jufHy odious by bringing over a band of French per- formers for our theatre ; but the government trembled : they felt ih- ftlm^ivcly, though they did not fee clearly the approaching danger to all exifting governments. Mr. Pelham, a man of plain fenfc, looked but to the prefent moment, and faw there his favourite tax on coaches become c\ery dav more productive, and every day more approved. The fchcme hit upon under his adminlilration for naturalizing the Jcwp, was rendered unavailing, as Julian's attempt had lx;cn to rebuild their temple : and as that was, by literal and pofitivc cxplqfions of the ground rendered abortiv e, fo was this project, by fury of a tumultuous populace put in the right, as if it had been purpofely, now twice to- gether, by men blind to their own and to the publick int<:rcft. But the Prince ot" Wales's unexpe<5tcd death changed all converfation on a fud- dcn Hrt other fubjcds, and nobody in the world fcemed to fuj'pcd Ivow that world was going, except the confpirators upon the continent, who meant to overturn it. Our fiilcr kingdom Ireland, who had long lamented her fate, noxv ypncarcd to mix rclcntment with her grief; and as her rents rofe, and her CH. XIX ] FROM A. D. 1/50, TO THE YEAR 1730. .123 her trade increafcd, added peevilixnels to complaint ; nor wiflicd to re- coiled: that Sir VVtIliam Petty, the hero of calculators, had oWlrved, that it' Ireland was all funk in the (ea, and its inhabitants tranfported to the fens of Eflex, the fovcrcign and the fubjcdls of Great Britain would all be enriched by the lofs. Our colonies acrofs the Atlantick too, growTi rich and fplendid, and vyin* with the mother country in every convenience, every fuperfluity of life, felt their ill humour fcnfibly incrcafmg, and fretted ft)mc of their governors into fuicidc. Frcncii violence was added to intrigue ; De Villiers attacked Colonel, after- wards General Wailiington, beat him, and took a fort from him on the Ohio : offences were repeated till hoililities recommenced ; but the war began inaufpicioufly for England. Aftera feries of Icfler vexa- tions, came the ftrange, and even yet half-unaccounted-for miifortunc of Braddock's army, loll in the wilds of North America. When to this grief was added Admiral Byng's behaviour l^efore Minorca, and ^t^ con- fequent capture — London looked as if diftradted. Shopkeepers wept behind their counters in unafFeftcd agony of forrow, while the king's coach was purfucd up and down with loud cries of a firing for Byng, a garter for Blakcney ; as if upon St. Philip's fort, which he defended, hung our laft hopes. And well I recollcdl my own two ncareft fricndh, with facc» of real defpair, relating how the duke of Newcallle had de- clared before them loudly, in his own full levee -room, tliat three weeks more would certainly decide, and upon JCnglifli ground too, whether England Ihould or fliould not become a province to France. It v.»s now more than time to change the minillr)' ; Pitt was callccl in by the united voice of king and n<)bles, parliament and populace. Nevvr man fo enjoyed, never man fo defer\ed a nation's confidence ; .he loon repelled the terrors of invafion, reftored the realm to its own i:o<;d opinion, and (hewed the wondering world, that if Britannia DiJ, after fomc diftir.guifli'd leap, I.ct falllicr wrig))t and licni to Hip ; S'trjt](lit g3l]iCMn{;iill her aflivc rtrcngth, Slic fpriing up higher — halt' her length. The J? 1 GRKAT BRITAIN, IRELAND, AND AMERICA, [ch. xix. The milli(»ns voted to this miniftcr's difpofal were not employed to gahi liini fuffrages who had our hearts ; they were all fpcnt in raifnig mtional reputation. Every foldier, every failor he employed, caught and communicated the patriot flame ; adding befide, the fplcndors of hcroifm to the dignity of conqueft. Kiches likcwifc, upon the wings he wove, flew far and fetched in more. Clive's unexampled fucccUcs •in Eail India gave the bright carncfl: of a golden current, pouring in wealth which aftoniflicd even its pofleflbrs : and while fome wife ones feared the future confequcnces of fuch a fuddcn influx, fuch a tide of opulence upon our country ; all were delighted with the defeat of Su-* rajah Dowlah, whole tyrant indolence had waking heard, without cxprcflions of regret, the miferies endured during his flecping hours by one hundred and forty-fix brave F.ngliflimen, confined by miflake in the black dungeons of Calcutta, where no fewer than one hundred and twenty-three perifhcd with thirll: and fever, heat and rage, merely bcraufc the flumbers of that Sybarite were not to be difturbed. l/ouifburgh, taken by Amherft and Bofcawcn, with the laft- named warrior's triumph otF Gibraltar; Hawke's fignal vidory gained amidft fighting elements near Breft: the capture of Gorce in Africa by Kep- pcl ; the low fubmillions of aggreflbr France, amid the fnows of Canada and heights of Abraham, fcalcd with the bcft blood of that immortal youth whofe death, even tlicatrically grand, imprelfcd itfclf for ever on our memory : and moil at" all perhaps the plains of Minden, where flxty thoufand French flew before Icvcn thoufand Englifh troops, led by I/ord Granby, and eager to revenge the vvrongs and robberies made in their king's cle(5loratG ; came crouding to the heart of (jcorge the fccond, which, flawed by age, unable to fupport them, •/w/y/yw/77//g-/>', as Shakcfpcar fays of Gio'llcr. A young prince next, with every qua- lity capable of juftly delighting happy fu'ojeds, mounted the throne as fuccefTor, and boafted himftlf native of JKi/g/'anJ* T/uy indeed *' At bis coronation, tlie feats wliicii Iwd been let or hired at the fame ceremony ft. I Qaccn Anne at livelhiliings-cacli, coft five guineasin the year nci-. Queen Kli- zabeUrs CH. XIX.] FROM A. D. 1700, TO THE YEAR 1780. 425 liftcned to that once condefcending vaunt w 1th little complacency : fo- reign princes, unllcilled in our conftitution or their own prerogatives, were by no means unwelcome to the Whigs ; and growing arts, and icicnccs and commerce, had left few genuine Tories on the ifland. The king was found almoft the folc pofll'lfor of obfblete virtues and Tor}' propenfities : and his warm attachment to our true Chriilian faith, his filial reverence for his fole furviving parent, and partiality to- wards his old Scotch preceptor, foothcd his own confcicnce more than pleafed his people. Meanwhile the war went forward with vigour and rapidit)-, upheld and puflied along by Mr. Pitt, whofe powerful mind, like a calm fum- mcr fea, lifted the hcavieft weights, nor fecmed to feel a fenfc of their incumbency. The ftate machine which his late predcceflt)rs, the Pel- ham brothers, bent beneath, was poi(cd by him without a difficulty ; although Not two {Iroiig men th' enormous bulk could raifc, Such men as liv'd in thofc degenerate days ; Yet this as eafy as a Twain could bear The fnowy flecc«, he tofs'd and (hook in air. In cfFcft all Europe looked up to him as to its arbiter, and manifcftocs \vcrc made by crowned heads againfl Mr. Pitt. But Tory meafures, which always tend toward peace, j>er\aded the cabinet ; and our great miniftcr, rcfufmg to retain rcfponfibility where he no longer held ab- folutc rule, went out of office with a pcnfion, whilll hoftilities were carried forward by Lord Bute only as they were indifpcnfibic tov\ards obtaining terms of accommodation. The Havannah fort, and Her- mione rcgillcr (hip howci-cr, by their valuable captures, added to the birth of a Prince of Wales, kept people quiet till the year 1 7C3 ; when « convention, called the Peace of Paris, was figncd ; and although ccr- «ab«th'* coronation coft the moft cxprnfirc of its fpc^tors only a ufirt (fixpcncc). WLul an iocreafe of wealth ' Vol. I. 3 H tainly 426 GREAT BRITAIN, IRELAND, AND AMERICA, [ch. xix. tainly honourable and advantageous to our nation, as all lookers-on imagined, our own country folks murmured aloud, and deemed fuch terms a wretched compenfation for thirty millions increafe of national debt. A paper called North Briton now engaged to gall the admini- ftration, which had a Scotchman at its head ; and being encouraged for its airinefs and pleafantry, foon grew infolcntly feditious and abu- five, and at length called the king's fpeech an impudent fallacy. When kings were affronted in the tenth and twelfth centuries, 'twas by their equals the offence was given, and the two knights went to decide the difputc by duel. Here was the democratick gauntlet thrown at ma- jefly in mufflers ; and the only gentleman who in all England would have been permitted to pafs over fuch an indignity in acquicfcent filencc, was, by his fituatlon, in this cafe compelled to bear it. Be- caufe he was king, no fatisfaAlon could he obtain ; his meiTcngers were derided, his fecretary's warrants abolifhed ; and when the inju- rious paper was to be burned, his attending fheriff, Mr. Harley, efcaped with wounds and brulfes, and difficulty, from the mob. John Wilkes meantime having, like Difcord, thrown his apple down, with only one word changed, to the Jlrongeji — was, like Dif- cord, driven away for a time under fentence of outlawry : he went to ftrengthcn his principles by converfation with the new philofophcrs Ih France ; and the mlniftcr here at home found the general diflike of his mcafures beginning to be attended with fomethlng not very unlike fcrlous danger to his perfon, and his perfonal condud: had been in no wife conciliating. Mr. Pitt indeed had not aimed at obtaining hearts by Infmuation any more than did his fucceffor ; but then he knew how to pofTefs himl'clf of them as a right ; and loftinefs of genius will fometimes be fubmitted to, where pride of learning cannot be endured. Lord Bute was a fcholar, and a reafoncr, and a Chrlll:ian ; but thofe arc qualities which do not neceffarily and of their own nature be- llow cither military or political courage. He retired to his books, re- (i)lved to fave his own life, and leave the helm of ftate, which dropt into CH. XIX.] FROM A. D. 1700, TO THE YEAR 178O. 42/ into the hands of George Grenvillc, who, although neither a rafli nor inexperienced man, was ftruck in evil hourwith the idea of taxing our American colonies, faved from the French by his great brother- in-law, foon to be called Lord Chatham ; and grown fo rich, fo happy, fo luxurious, by even that (hort interval of fuccefs and courfe of trade, that he fuppofed " thefe children of our planting would not," as he cxpreflcd himfelf, " refufe to lend fome fmall affiftance, fome kind " aid at leaft, towards paying off a debt contrafted to fupport them ; " debts of a war firft kindled in their quarrel." How little Grenvillc knew of thofe new notions which waited but the moment of difclo- lure, all nations now are witnefles. America refufed, not even civilly, fine fliading ; to follow it however, is but catching at 430 GREAT BRITAIN, IRELAND, AND AMERICA, [ch. xix. at the rainbow : and Cowley had the praifc of originality, as to the fentimcnt, which is fcarce tenable methiiiks, while members of Parlia- ment arc thcmfelvcs fubjcd: to the laws they make; he who firft moves tlie bill muft, if it pafles, be punifhed fliould he break it, and thofc who chufc their members for fcven years muft hold their pcrfons facrcd, not infult them. The ancertors of their new proteges in North y\merica had entertained higher notions concerning parlia- mentary power; but it was doomed that old St. Stephen's chapel, which had in lOlQ trampled on necks of kings, and quite annihilated the ancient ariftocracy of the realm, fliould in 1779 witnefs the ar- raignment of its own dignity by the companions of its own order ; and liftcn, half-befiegcd by an impetuous populace, to inftrudlions from an alchoufe club. Yet notwithftanding flie was thus both fapped and battered; Britannia, like Achilles, confident of cclcftial aid, though tvcry now and then fliddering and ftaggering, when the leagued waters, thus tore up the ground from under her, propt on her mafly fpear rcfifted ftill, turning with fuUen boldnefs againft the tide of en- \ious combination. Byron and Barrington proteded our Weft Indies ; Guadaloupe Submitted to our arms, and D'Orvilliers difappointed re- treated from our fliorcs. The Spanifli admiral, like him who had commanded the invincible armada, looked on Mount Edgccumbe with a longing eye. In vain ! they fled ; and left to John the painter till the praife for burning Brltifh fca-ports. The fame flcrn fpirlt of fixed refolution rcfided in our king. A rapid fucceffion of fcarcely remembered mlnlfters poflciTrng neither his nor his people's confidence, had by that very rapidity of fucceffion weakened the I'abrick of government, and ftorms of ill applied eloquence lent their affiftance to fliake it. Yet flcady in his own unbending principles, the guardian of our ftate ftirred not with all their efforts, but feemed to fay with Don Sebaftian, " Why let them empty their whole quiver " on me, I have a foul that like an ample fhield, can take in all, and " verge enough for more." And though Lord Chatham had pronounced his CH. XIX.] FROM A. D. 1750, TO THE YEAR 17S0. 43 1 his Majefty the grcateft courtier of his own court, pohtenefs and conceffion wcte with him no fvnonymes: nor has one day palt fiuce without evincing, that the firm texture of a well condenfed charaortion. The fancy indeed was not new. Latona reclines againil the female palm-tree, when about to bring forth Apollo and Diana, becaufe, like her, if Ihe dies, flie will revive in her young ones, and diffuic future exillence through the living world.* Some modern fcholars had hazarded a like opinion, and Dr. Grew read his to the Royal Society as early as lO/G. Mr. Ray faid (lili more on the fame fubjedl twenty years after, in his preface ; and old Labat was only laughed at for protefting that they had good dates growing in their convent-garden at Martinico, though no tree of the kind could be found nearer than tvco leagues. 'Twas a monaftitk " 'lj}ic Drfbylotiutn* bad many ages ago niaintaiucd a aution, that tlic w^fp went fjom the male paim-trcc to the female, aad carried impregnation with it. 'Iliis is fo true, lljat the Arah* called tlicm palm-tree flics ; and there is an alfuflon fas I have rMd) in Pcrfick lanj^oagc, making it a joke, to f.iy "The fli«'« Iwrc been there," «bca lidios, lik« G.iy*» Doris, ought to exctaim— "*: GcMd hcav'n ! (flic cries), ,1 ■ > .. ;^ Dirfpftd pK ffoni tljcfc tc4»ing/.fj. . • Vol.. II. .1 I p.ilm. 434 GREATBRITAIN, IRELAND, AND AMERICA, [ch. xrx. palm, the anfwcrers replied, and botany was better ftudied every day. ■ It has in the courfe of this RetroJpeSl been Ibmewhere obfcrved, how the tall elms, or limes, difpofcd in long rows, and mcetiiig at prodigious heighth, impervious to the fun ; gave to our anceftors the ftatcly imagery realized by them in the Supporting pillar- work of their antique cathedrals, halls, and colleges. This taftc had yielded in its turn to one for buildings neither Grecian nor Gothick, neither ample nor commodious; fturdy rather than ftrong, and occupying fpace, rather than beftowing it. Lord Burlington had introduced a better mode than this, not far in the century, and clofe-clipt hedges which had accompanied thofe houfes of the laft reigns, neat but flat, fpiritleis and unmeaning, fuddcnly dropt away ; and were Succeeded by the Smooth lawn and fweetly-tangling fhrubbery. My heart yet dances with the fond remembrance of its firil extafies, when my relations, led or by accident or curiofity, took me with them to Porter' s-lodgc, a place near Shenley-hill, in Hertfordfhire, where my young eyes firft opening upon rural elegance, felt it an Eden after the dull walks of uniform Eaft Hyde, whence gardener's fheers, with their uncealing noifc, exiled the nightingales ; and tonfile yew-trees, cut in aukward forms, robbed the poor countr}' of its dearcft charm, that of affording frelhnefs to the fancy, and fubllituting fylvan ideas in a mind bat- tered and dufted by long refidence within a city's wall. One Mr. Brown, native of Stowc, I think, a Servant to Lord Cob- ham, claims the honour of reinftating nature in her rights, and Seating her once more upon her ruftick throne. When his Superior talents had procured that portion of wealth, and well-deServed efteem, which Such uncommon merit had called Sorth ; we arc told that his carriage met by chance that of the great Lord Chatham, where it was difficult to diSengage the wheels. At parting, Pitt called out at the coach windows, " Well, go you now and adorn England." — " Go you," re- plied Brown, " and prefcrve it." The hand with which he fleered the CH. XIX.] FROM A. D. j/oo, TO THE YEA*R J780. 435 the helm of ftate, had certainly prcferved us from the then impending danger ; but we were fmce that day driven too clofcly to the contrary Ihorc, nor did the quickfand fecm leis dangerous than the rock. He had himfclf in fome mcafure contributed to our ditircfs, and we had to regret his keenefs of contempt for c\ery mcafure adopted by "e\ cry focceflbr : men capable of imitating Pitt only in his profufion. Pitt ! ■whofe abilities unequalled as uncontroulable, were viewed with wonder, almoft exclulive even of envy's felf. When Walpole was difmifTed from office duties, the man was with the miniftcr annihi- lated. This he confeffed, when pulling down a book in his fine library at Houghton-hall ; he found attention flown, and tried another, returning that too to the fhdf, a third was fetched ; " But ah," ex- claimed Sir Robert, '* long habits of bufinefs have quite poilbned " pleafurc, I can make none from literature at leift." Ivord Chatham, on the contrary, cultivated his own fertile mind with unremitted care, in place or out ; and pouring the furplus upon that of his fon, fccured fo us the only fucccffor worthy himfclf; as Adrian when he died 'adopted Antonine. After having perhaps felt the impofTibility that thok fliould be fubducd by gentle methods, whom he himfclf had i'oothed into rcfiftance, by recommending on our parts perpetual con- oeflions, bidding us Be to their faults a iiulc blind, Be to tlicir viilucs very kiud, &c. His laft appearance in that venerable houfc, which had fo often wit- nciTcd his eUxjuence, and bowed (as it did then) to his acknowledged fupcriorlty, was to oppofc the mean difmembermcnt of England's folid empire. " This ancient and noble vionarcliy, my lords," as it that day was called by him who fb well knew each point in the political compafs. Ix:t then the Jqfl words o{ the Jirji fpcaker upon earth, be indelibly imprc(rcd on every heart; and let each inhabitant of this if!and deprecate all vile proftrations at the foot of France, whofe pow- ers, even when united with thofc of Spain, Hcl'a id, ar^ America, he died defying. To this great (latcfman's fliuiing charadcr was Aipcr- 3 I 2 ad«lcd -f36 GREAT BRITAIN, IRELAND, AND AMERICA, [ch. xw. added that of a long lift of writers, formed to embellilh even an Au- gullan age ; Hume, Smith and Gibbon, Robcrtfon, Gray and Mel- moth : while Bcattic, Blair, and Johnfon, ftrove to amend it. The laft, denfits et brevis.fcttiperjtbi coitftans, like Thucydides ; fixing at length the limits of that language, in which he taught a pure morality drawn from its lacred fource, the fount of truth. Fergufon fpurning our low fpot called earth, fent his fublimer contemplations to the fky, where he had the felicity to fee, in J/Gl, the repetition of that beautiful phe- nomenon, a tranfit of Venus, promifed by Kepler when he firft con- ftrudled the Rudolphine tables* 1598, and obferved by Horrox, our in- genious countryman, in lOSQ, whofe latin letter to Crabtree on the fubjcd: is particularly elegant. Bryant meantime brought to the bcft caufe fupport from the beft learning; and Jones, like the white ftonc of the apocalypfe, the gnoftick abrafax, leaving his white mind ahraja tabula carte blanche ; carried to India a foul clear from pre- judice, prompt to receive thofe truly facred mprejjions he fmce has been deiirous to reproduce as truths engraved by oriental eloquence. Yet were the thirty years we are reviewing, oddly polluted by un- natural falfehoods, and people not contented to tell lies, I'rved in them. George Pfalmanazar, who had eaten raw flclh and wor- fliippcd the fun, to make men fancy him a native of Formofa, was fcarcc cold in earth before new fidions, new fables perplexed us. An obfcurc girl, by a meanly conftruded tale, fet London in a fever of difcordant opinions ; and the mayor, who wifhcd to punifh what he deemed perjury, fcarccly efcaped with life from her adherents. A boy counterfeiting nephritick pains he never felt, fuffered in Guy's hofpital the firft incifion of lithotomy, before he would confefs 'twas all a trick; and fome years after that, the Douglas caufe drawn to difgraceful length, fhowed that high birth \\'as no fccurity againft fufpicion of a black impofture. Strange literary fraudulcnce was found in Lauder, charged on Macpherfon, and proved dear on Chatterton. Junius, * I'he Rudolphine tables were fo called from the cinpcror RodoJphus, mentioned in this Retro/pea. clad a laugh at the ftudied aukwardncfs of his manner. It w.is no good joke tiiqpgh when forms went out fo faft, and fovereigtis fct the door fo wide to let them through, that many \\\{c tiling*, and many good ones croi'.dcd out at the fame time. • I'liJcr one dv^kc even kings may f'C killed. 444 PORTUGAL, SPAIN, FRANCE, GERMANY, &c. [ch. xx. Don Carlos helped to polifh his new country : 'twas his reign that faw fuppreflcd thofe unaccountable things, called has, fome of which were adled for his amufcmcnt, in the country, whilft Squillace was hooted out of the metropolis. In thofe dramas, none but women were permitted on the ftage, where that monarch thought it beneath the dignity of man to appear. He drove Farinclli from his court, faid^ Los cappoties fon husnos fobre las niefas, and honoured a reprefentation with his prefence, of which the following was the dramatis perfonae : it muft have been a curious piece : Athe'tfm A monflrous figure. The Synagogue .... A filthy woman. The Heathen Religion . . An ugly lady. Baptijh A fine boy. IVit, Drefled as a young man. And St. Paul .... Habited as a grave perfonagc. Yet fuch were the theatrical Ihows which he deliberately, as I've read, preferred to the delightful dramas of the corre<5t, elegant, and tender Metaftafio. A prince fo partial to old ufages, fliould not have banifhed flap't hats and clokcs, while he encouraged thefe incongruities, numer- ous as ftrange, among which, the devil turned preacher, by Calderon dcUa Barca, beats them all for humorous oddity. The Spedator's llory of a trick plaid by two coquettes, in a French province, who fwathc their lover, is taken, I believe, from a Spanilh Mociganga, whence it crept into a little book called, 1' Academic Galante, printed 1708; yet while fccnic reprefentation lingered far behind, Peter CoUinfon fays, " They knew how to plant the palma dactylifera, male and female, " by tradition from the Moors, without having ever heard of Linnaeus." Their monarch meanwhile mindlefs of the foon- forgotten clamour, Paz con Yngalaticrra, Y giierra contoda la ticrra ; meaning " Peace with old England, and war with all the wofld," was hafty and happy to declare the independency of North America, which Don Bernardo di Galvcz folcmnly proclaimed at New Orleans, 17/9: CH. XX.] FROM A. D. 1750, TO THE YEAR 1780. 445 1 77g : and by the quicknefs of that meafure, a royal floop of war, be- fides fome vclTels laden with ftorcs at Lake Pontchartraln, dropt into the hands of his countrymen. In four Ihort months however, Sir George Rodney took a brave man's beft revenge, in a grand capture of fifteen merchantmen richly freighted, with their convoy, a fine fixty-four gun Ihip and four frigates. Don Juan di Langara, in left than a week after that, off Cape St. Vincent, ftruck to our gallant M'Bride of the Bienfaifant, an old French prize ; which having the fmall-pox on board, could not, without danger to his life, receive the Spanilh admiral when conquered : the Englifli fiiilors, for that reafon, refitted Don Juan's own (hip, the Phoenix, and navigated her fafcly into Gibraltar. But we muft turn our telefcopc towards France, where Louis XV. had been lofing that lovely title Blenaime, with which we left him honourably inverted in 1750, and by which he would have been known to hiftory for ever, had he died of that illnefs which fo alarmed all ranks of people for his fafcty. In 175 7 one Robert, fils de Pierret called d'Aniitiis, from the town he was born in, and late a domeftick in the Jefuit's college there, aflaflinated and wounded, but did not kill the king ; whofe acquicfccncc in the tortures inflided on the wretch, plcafed nobody in France or out, and proved a hard, if not tyrannick heart. So did his hearing, with an ideot exultation, of Richelieu's ravages in the clcdorate of Hanover, when he fet fire to the orphan houfc at Zcll, and hanged the favourite hounds left by George the fccond of England in his own palace at Herenhaufen. 'Twas Monf. de Foulon who held the contra early trick lb rivettcd that j.rincc's paiTion lor. the cliacc, tfjat to this hour 'tis his favourite amufcnjcnf. A niarrij^a: bcr Vol. II. 3 \, tv.xoi 450 PORTUGAL, SPAIN, FRANCE, GERMANY, &c. [ch. xx. twccrf him and Marie Caroline, iifter to the Queen of France, contri- buted to the lilUng and poUfliing his mind, which like the lava of his own Vefuvlus, brings down a precious Hone fomctimcs amid the heap of rubblfli that it fufes ; and which, though worked with difficulty into trinkets, is ufcful as ballaft to fliips, and as foundation ftoncs for fu- ture houfes. Gorani's ftory of his taking a turkey from a poor wo- man,* who not knowing him, begged his intcreft with the attorney general, whofc opprcffion was intolerable, is in the tafte of old feudal times, the Miller of Mansfield, and a thoufand more ; yet the great lawyer's countenance, reproached feverely by his honcft fovercign hold- ing the turkey in his hand, and pointing to it as undeniable proof of the rafcallty which was deteded by the king's accidental mcctin"- of this diftrefied woman in the wood — if painted by Angelica, would go ftrait to the heart, and leave more learned pidures empty of all effcd. His grief for any poor creature's perifliing under ariftocratick tyranny could never be appeafed by his queen's eloquence, though words had no fmall effcQ. on one who poffeft fo few. She found it eafy to per- fuade him feize Bencvento, and enter into the league of Princes joined to deftroy the order of Jefuits. Miraculous indeed was that preterna- tural eagcrncfs which prompted even the heedlefs and fuperftitiQus fo- vereigns of Europe to lend each a hand in picking out cement from the papal throne. Lambertini fcarcc appears to have confidcred its de- * The woman having fhelteied her fovereign from aftorm, when feparatcd hy iliat ftorm from his couitieis, took him for an aUcndant gentleman, and begged his good word to fcreen her from the rage of llic attorney-general, to whom fiic had refufcd her only child as miftrefs, and fentthe giil away— though well convinced he had alicady planned lier often threatened deftniflion. " What," fays the king, " will you give " mc, and 1 will get the rafcal puniflied ?" " A turkey," replies the woman. " Meet «' me to-morrow morning, the dead bird in your hand, at/uc/i a place," fays Ferdinand " andl will enfure you proteftion." She came, and the king feizing his bribe, brought it laughing to the council chamber, where after no fmall roughnefs to the man who wronged her, (he was called in to witnefs his dilgrace, and made houfekeeper in one of the empty palaces, wltt a comfortable falary. ftrudion CH. XX,] FROM A. D. 1 750, TO THE YEAR 1 780. 45 1 tru'2 PORTUGAL, SPAIN, FRANCE, GERMANY, &c. [ch. xs, " except in change for a neat room in your firft dormitory, as I \vi>l •• never, 7iever quit my hold on thefe my chofen friends and old com- '« panions." He was no worfe than his word. When a tumultuous conclave, yielding to the intrigues of Louis quinze, feated tliis great man on the papal chair: " Here comes a bright rainbow after otir " long cloud,'' exclaimed his countrymen ; and Clement fourteenth, was proclaimed late in an evening in the month of October, 1 7O9. His found flecp afterwards, the difficulty of awakening him next day ; and his firft words on waking, proved a mind fupcrior to 'the chances of this world, more than fublimer fpceches would have done. " Oh ! ay, I do remember now, that I am Sovereig?i by the " Grace of God, (faid he) and fliall enjoy the prime felicity of having ** all the world duly informed, every time I have been bled, or takca " phyfick." It was indeed by the grace of God, that this extraordinary perfon was put in, apparently to break that fall the Romifh church was fated to endure ; when that throne which three popes fitting in at once, had not been able to fuik ; could at the time he mounted have been held firm by no man of lefs a(51:ive or vigorous chara<5ler than Ganga- nell't. It is obfervable that all the Chriflian world called him by that name, oftener than by that of Clement fourteenth. Another proof that he could eafier give immortality to his own family-appellation, than even temporary exiftcnce to the iinking papacy. Portugal exafperated at Malagrida's condud, meditated means to make herfclf a feparate patriarchate, and Spain menaced aloud. France irritated by Rezzonico's ill-judged behaviour towards the duke of Parma, fhewed a high fenfc of refentment, while Naples, adding Pontc Corvo to Benevento, abridged St. Peter's patrimony fouthwards, and half Poland was in pofitive rebellion. A fpirit of atheifm hovered over Auftria with bat's wings, and fpread among the French its ever- baleful fhade : yet the new primate conciliated all. " They are raif- " ing up (cried he) a rampart of pamphlets againft religion, but it " will cir. XK.] FROM A. D. 0750, TO THE YEAR lyso. 453 " will be blown down by breath of the gofpcl." His partiality for France however he took no care -to conceal, and wept the death of Ixjuis quinze, his friend and bcncfa«Sor, with unfeigned grief, cxpreflcd fb beautifully in the claffical and elegant letter to his fucceflbr — That Titus himfclf 'jcoulJ have been envious, was the Princefs Borghefe's ex- prcffion. It was perhaps to the French bon vtot, attributed to Flcury, when he obfervcd, " that fire, water, and the Jefuits, were good fer- " vants but bad mafters ;" that we may at lafl afcrihe his willingnefs to dcftroy a body of men he fo truly loved, individually; for, next to virtue and honour, Ganganelli loved a French bon tnot, and was never feen pcevifli or angry but when they loft a battle, or a fliip to Britain; who in her turn admired, at feeing thus a Pope of Rome hold down his cardinals with an air of ftridncfs, and call the common people round" him with a good-humoured fpecch of " Ay, look at ;;/«•, my " lads, and fee what a low-born fellow like yourfclves may arrive at." In cfFccl, it was his (\>oxt parccre fubjeiUs et dcbclLirc piper hos. He fpared not the great lady, who, thinking to take advantage of fuch lenity, laughed at his edict for forbidding cards on a Sunday, faying, " flie dcfpifcd " monks and their college rules ;" but fuddenly, at fight of an officer in her apartments, found herfcif obliged to drop on her knees by 'his Holincfs's command, difmifs her company, and repeat a patcrnofter. Next day a billet came to her couched in thefe words — " Madam ! " for this time you have been chaftifcd by a monk, precifcly according " to oiir ca//<',r weak cordials, however ; and, with their help, he bore the pelting of a pitilefs dorm longer than any prcdcceflbr ever did, and kept his fpirits up furprizingly ; tRough all agreed the name he took was lucklcfs ; Pius fcxtus : Semper fuh fcxtis pcrd'iia Roma fu'tt .' befides that, as Clement XIV. made him cardinal, the common com- pliment was omitted in his forbearance to take that appellation. Early miftakcs under this fovercign too, accelerated his court's dcftruclion. He quarrelled with Spain about canonizing their favourite Palafox ; and Don Carlos fhewed himfclf obftinate in the difpute. Lambcrtini had laughed at the aukwardnefs of that prince's proftrations ; but JRomc faw no more proftrate princes after that day. Catherine of llufiia took offence concerning her bifliop de Mohilow ; and though his Holi- ncfs's letter was one of the firft which artfully ftilcd her by the new and dcfircd diftindion, Imperial Majcjiy ; her anfwcr was diredcd fimply to Pius fextus, bifhopof Rome, zx\Apope hi his mm diJirlSi, putting him on a footiiig with her own mufcovitifii clergy, the high dignitaries among which, arc all ftilcd popes in that country. God knows, the wonders prcfenting themfolves before the bright though {crcnceycs ofafloniftied Bralchi, might cafily have confounded a more confummate politician. Whether he turned them towards Venice, whofc noblemen feemcd to be travelling for improvement in the ftudy of Englifh whiggifm and French philofophy : or whether looking at the Gcnocfc rcpublick, he obfcrved Corfica llruggling for perpetual independence under Paoh, who faid his people wouM be hewn to pieces, man by man, rather than fee their little ifland funk in the tcritorics of any oilier nation. The comtc de Marbccuf v^hodif- putedthat matter with them fuccefsfully in l/Ou* f'lw, as 'tis faid, un infant born at Olctta, who fmcc has fubjugated both Home aiid Paris. Such" 456 PORTUGAL, SPAIN, FRANCE, GERMAN%&c. [ch. xx. Such an occurrence indeed could not be difcorned by any lefs than pro- fhctick fight into the future. Pius the fixth's might well enough be dazzled and amazed, when he contemplated much nearer obic6ls. Even thofe harafled Jefuits, whofe quick fuppreffion had been fo clamoroully demanded by CaihoUck princes, proteery king; yet, ftrangc to think, thofe cheriflicd CH. XX.] FROM A. D. 1750, TO THE YEAR \7BQ-p ^y. Ab7 chcrlfhcd allies of men who placed their happiiiefs and glory in power uncontrouled — but as I have read in fome old book, that God placed fire in everj' nation nnder heaven, that none might cfcape the general punifhment at the laft day, fo it appears that thele internal agents fowed with care their ftrangc opinions into erery bre;ift, that none be- fore that day arrived, ftiould fail to derer\e it. Elie one could hardly credit what is told of baron Knigge, at twenty-five years old renouncing all tcrrcftial amufemcnts, to make his fport from fubterruneous horror?, and labouring as it were to obtain a fier)- diadem from demons, with twenty times the pains and fclf-dcnial that a ccleftial garland would have coft him. Voltaire had long ago prepared the ground in Switzerland where Moniicur de Bruys fays in his Memoircs dcs Suilfes, " That things " were even in his early time come to fuch a pitch of corruption at *• (jencva, that had the two men been both alive when he wrote, " Servetus would have burned Calvin." Jofcph's the fecond's mind fecmed well adapted for the reception of thcfe dodrines. Maria Thcrcfa's bigottcd fondnefs for all the exteriors of religion, had dlfgufted him; while her being frequently duped by hypocritical appearances in time of divine fcrvicc, fo as even to penfion cunning fellows, \\ ho fate where they might be oblcrvcd wit#)out fufpicion, beating their bofbms out of affcded contrition, was undoubtedly abfurd, and the more cafily •discerned as fiach; bccaufc he and his mother never much had loved each other. People at Vienna, who had opportunities of know lug, told me, when I was there, that the emprefs's early partiality for the arch- duke Charles was fuch, flic would not even look over Jofeph'sjnvenile performances. It fliould be added too, that his good tutor, bifliop of fomc place, if I remember rightly, fet her imperial majclly's favour to hazard, by honcftly protcfting againfl maternal injuftice, and was re- warded when his pupil came into jxjwer. The queen had ever Ix'cn a gentle cliaradcr, and fullered hcrfdf to be guided by herhuA)and. She wa« fuppofcd to have after his death given her hand m />rrt\afft<) prince Vol. II. sM Kauii t/, 458 PORTUGAL, SPAIN, FRANCE, GERMANY. &c. [cii. xx. Kaunitz, who had of courfc great fway in the cabinet council, dlfliked war, and' was difliked by the emperor, who had difcovered the connec- tion between them. Her fcrupulous behaviour too concerning the duchy of Deux Fonts, looks as if Ihe repented at the clofe of life the laxity Ihe had lived in, not unreproached, with regard to Poland, during the afternoon of it. Tenacious of her authority, flic was how- ever faid to have informed her fon, flic fhould, as queen of Bohemia, withdraw her troops, for that it was ridiculous to fee fuch contention ' for a territory, the fee fimple of which (were it fold) would not pay one yearns expcnces of the war, nor afford fubfiftence to the armies which attacked, defended, and difputed its poffeffion, as many hours as it at one time contained thoufands of fighting men. Such were the para- doxes, and fuch the fituations in Germany, juft before the year l /"So. CHAP. CH.XXI.] FROMA.D. 1750 TO THE YEAR 1780, 459 CHAP. XXI. REMEW OF TRANSACTIONS IN THE EAST AND NORTII, FROM 1750 TO 1/80. TT THILE the king of Pruflia might juftly be fald to emulate Julius ▼ ▼ Caefar in his genius for war, his talents for government, his taftc for literature, mufick, all the arts of peace, and all the rcfearchcs of philofophy : the Britifli general Clivc purfuing the fteps of Pompcy in the eaft, like him drove the enervate natives before him ; and having difcovercd the grand fource of wealth and luxury, faw it flow in full tides home to his native (horc, there fwallowing up much of that manly virtue for which his countrymen were once fo famed, and foften- ing them into Sybarites, till they felt even the doubled rorfe-leaf as a vvTong. If half were done indeed which is allcdged to have been done for purpofc of changing the Eaft India Company in twelve years time from a knot of bufy and induftrious merchants into an aflbciation of powerful princes, ruling fifteen millions of fubjeds in fpreading diftrids, forming a territorial dominion larger than their native land* — it is Icf: * Briunau did cettaiolf* like the maid in Virgil, five ut templis prxfigcret arm« Troie, caplivo five ut k ferret in auro, Vcnatrix unum ex omni ccrtaminc pugnx Ccca fcquebatur. Our Fjiglini ambaflador, Sir Hiomas Rowe, in liil 5, had mortified the Great Mogul of that lime bjr a prefciit from King JanK» tlic firft, of Mcrcator's maps. " I.ct me," (ays tl>e Indian King, •' furvey my twn domains here."— lie did fo , and the talc goes 3 M 2 he- 460 TRANSACTIONS IN THE EAST AND NORTH, [ch. xxi. ftrangc that riches fo acquired (hould carry, like thofe from Mexico, no bleffing with them. Orlentalifts have, to fay true, been always flavcs : like the ftory of the girl fkinning eels, our leaders might cer- tainly plead iJielr hc'ing ufed. to it ; yet if it be true, and KctroJ'peSlion is obliged to own it io, that the Mogul, kept a ftate prifoner by our arm* at Delhi, was forced to make the fervants of the company, omrahs in ■what was ofjuft right his own domain — intereft itfelf will confcfs that too much was done on our parts, and too much was fuftcrcd on theirs : when tearing from religion her coftly trappings, and from adminirtra,- tion of empire its dignity and power, they fell next upon the neceffaries of life, and ha\ ing by monopoly of rice and fait brought on a mur- derous famine, compelled the fad furvivors to pay taxes which had been levied on the happier dead. A tyrant of their own, native of Myfore, Hyder Ally, ftarted up foon, and fhowed the miferable inhabitants what lie was capable of, who had received birth on thecoaft of Coromandel^ and education among Dutch troops at Nagapatnam. He working on the wcaknefs of the Nizam governing a tradl of land mentioned by Milton as peculiarly delightful, where Malabar and Decan Jpread their I harms, put hlmfclf at the head of a prodigious army, was beaten by Colonel Smith in 17O7, and made his averfion to the Englifh an cx- cufc for ruining all they left uufpoilcd; dcftroying fields of rice, cutting the looms, and miffing his aim when ftriking at Madras, managed fo well, notwithftauding the failure, as to make himfelf an advantageous peace in 1 jOy. Many abufes were however fuppofed to have been re- formed by dive's fecond voyage to India, or Parliament would not have thanked him for his fcrvices in 1773. The year after that, Smith was offered 400,oool. I think, not to pillage Tanjore; and we then read the lie wasfo grieved at feeing tlic fmall fpace they occupied, he gave the maps back and would fee them no more. How would the dcfcendants of that prince, in 1757, have been (hocked had lie conceived the poflibility of a company of merchants belonging to an ifland not much bigger than Borneo, domineering over him and his tributary princes — but 'tis moft like he never underftood his own difgrace fo deeply. names CH. xxi.J FROM A. D. 1750 TO THE YEAK 1/8(1. 401 names of Zemindars and Rajahs laying their turbans at foot of" Mr. HalVmgs, with this expreflion : " Do ycmr pleafure, and do it with " your own hands, for I am your fla\-c." If" from a country w here even metals, even marbles fiif^cr diminutivm by the intenfe heat, and an air to which nothing but pure gnld can be fafciy cxpofed, anv mans honefiy fliould come home untainted, we mnil conclude him furnifhcd with the only certain antidote — a high fcnfc of his religious duties — the Afo^ of antiquity fcnt down from heaven to the wifelt of all travellers, Ulyflcs, who quaffing the cup of Circe, forced from that fcductr this exclamation : Amazing Hrcagth fuch puifons to fuflain, Nol mortal ihou, nor niortirits ; and allronomy. 462 TRANSACTIONS IN THE EAST AND NORTH, [ch. xxi. aftronomy, whofe votaries employed in larger fpcculations ftill, feems always to confider fpace as nothing ; fent out her Banks and Solander, convoyed by Cook, whofc never-dying name commanded thofe veffels freighted by learning, and winged by curiofity. Humanity marked the progrels of thefe expeditions, and difcovcry of much more than was fought — rewarded them. That near proximity of the great continents Afia and America, by afccrtaining which an hundred mouths at once .were ftopt who had denied the poflibility of our earth's being peopled from one parent ftock, was of great confequence and comfort to be- lievers; while Haflclquift, a Swedifli voyager, had before ihc'tr day con- feffcd the truth of holy writ in his account of Palcftine, full as he fays of capabilities in 1752, a rich red mould, that if 'twere cultivated, \vould (are his words) amply reward the labours of the hufbandman. His journey, quite in modern fpirit of the times, exhibits in each page a philofophical attention to keep ever)' devotional idea carefully from his reader's mind. He went from Sweden a true difclple of Linnaeus, refolving to bring home none but the natural hiftory of Judaea ; and tells us, that while fome prejudiced liftener to thofe monks whom he delcrlbcs as infciling the country, dropt on their knees where Beth- leliem was once fuppofcd to ftand, kilfrng perhaps with pious fervor that earth which they imagined to have been one day preffcd by the beneficent footlteps of a Saviour — he amufcd hlmfelf with thinking of a plough, fo conftruded that it might water the ground while it turned it up. Well! all thefe wights, however they attrad \hs, retroj^e^'ivc eye. Did as became diftinguilh'd men, Witli compafs, pencil, (word 01 pen — In all life's viiits left their name, In charafters which yet proclaim 'I iiat they with ardour fought to raife At once their arts and country's praifc ; And in the writing took great care " :,., i hat all was full, and round, and fair. — Prior, ' , ,, Trom CH. xxi] FKoyiil/ri.ifioJWi^^ikYkAR 1730. 4S3 From the writings of an' accottipllfhed coatcmporary of theirs too, Ho- race Walpole, may be drawn fomc plcafing conflation; where he fays prettily that truth and error gain upon each other like the land and fea, yet ftili the happy balance is preserved. We may then reafonably hope that proofs of our religion arc preparing to appear in the warm clime where its firll feeds were dropt ; and witncfles will probably yet be produced from all lands, of fatSs which can alone bring faving healtli unto all nations. The Manillas meanwhile were i^aKeri by an earthquake of dcltruc- tive confequcnce, fcarce inferior to' that which defolatcd Damafcus, and yielding in nothing to the horrors exhibited at Lifbon. The Azores trembled in their hollow caves, whence flew the plovers which they firft were named from : the Guanches too were difcovercd in Tcneriffe, when that great mountain cracking, gave up its embalmed dead ; by avarice and curiofity foon carried to England, where I faw at the Admiralty about the years 17()3 or 17O9, a female fo prcfervcd as to excite a juft ailonifhment, not to add reafonable contempt of care for dead bodies — fmcc when exerted to perfection of fkill, it was notable to protect this princefs from being exhibited a Ihow in London, or from re- ceiving reanimation at the laft day in the mufcum of Oxford univerfjty ; a place probably never heard of in hcrr time at Guia in the Canary Iflcs. But all nature gave figns as if the laft hours of our world were approach- ing ; rough concuflions (hook every ihore, and Ocean /iciweti on his ex- tended bed, as if in agonies preceding diflblution. Philofophical reafontrs found the fcconti caufc of courfe, and calmed men's fpirits by telling them, and with truth, that thefe were the tricks of clertricity. Africa was not forgotten by the more civilized continent. When my L<;ril Halifax was at the board of trade, I recolIcJ b.'iitii;- Oh folitude ! romantick tnuid, VVhetlicr by nodding tow'rs you ticad. Or climh the Andes' clifted fide. Or by the Nile's coy fource abide ; Or ftarting from your half-year's fleep, From Ilcclaview the thawing deep ; Or Tadinor's marble waftes lurvcy. Or in fomc rootlcls cloiftcr ftray, Sec. While to the countries of Fez and Morocco, before Ben Abdalla chofc to quarrel, for no realbn, with the king of Spain ; an earthquake at- tended witli more than ufual horrors, invited her approach, as fuch a • Ignatius Sincho about ten years afterwards applied to Sterne, if I remember rightly, and begged the ufe of his pathetick pen for the poor negroes. Doflor Johnfon meet- ing the prcfent Bifliop of London at a bookfellcr's, once in my company, tlicv talked about it; but with fuch afperity, my rccolieftion retains that rather than the end or drift of their c«nverfation. It mull be now thirty-live years ago, ov rather thirty-two. Sterne died I thipk in n^S. fuddcn CH. XXI. j FROM A. D. 1750, TO THE YEAR 17SO. 465 fudden and dreadful diminution of mankind has not been often fuf- fcred, fcen, or recorded. With regard to the old ICinpcror of China, Kien Long, his ftcady refolutions of keeping his country unpolluted bv touch of coonciion with any other, feems to have contributed to its fefcty, even from difaftcrs apparently fent by commiflion frum other worlds. We read of no pcftilcncc, no earthquakes there. But Turkey BOW has been too long forgotten, where, on a declining throne, we left poor Mahomet fifth fitting in i 750, forced to inglorious peace with Kouli Khan ; engaged with ill fuccefs enough againft Germany and Ruflia, and terrified by fires at Conftantinople, into perpetual change of miniftry and meafurcs. Such was the pertinacious fpirlt of morti- fying this unhappy fultan, that he, who never heard of fimilar pradiccs at home, and could not read hiftory of what happened abroad, fuffered /ad thoughts to prey upon his empty mind, Ihakcn ftill more by thefe extraordinary concuflions of the land and fca, one of which threatened all Egvpt, and even fomc nearer provinces of his wide empire, with deftrudion ; till death relieved him from difordered fancies and a fixed mclancholick habit, 175-I. On that occafion Ofman the third, hi.s brother, was fct up; and held the Turkifli fceptre three years more, Tucccedcd by his nephew Multapha third, in 17^7- This prince dcr firous to rertore the Ottoman glory, provoked in l/Og or 1/70. the willing Czarina of Mufcovy to war, by giving protedion to fomc Polifh emigrants, who ran for refuge among his dommions, from Scythian cruelty, and barbarous pt)liticks. Under pretence of feeling for their pungent forrows, a great preparation was made, and Mufiuhncn were (ummoned almoft to rife tn majje. But though the imputed caufc of quarrel was a new one, the mode of opening their campaign was after ancient and rcfpcded ufagcs. All Chrilbans were prohibited, on pain of death, from profaning by their appearance in the ftreets or windows, that fublime difplay of Mahomet's fa.rcd banner, carried in iblemp pomp bctbrc the Vizier, v^hcn he obeyed the mandate of his mailer, and fct forth from the capiui to dellroy his enemies. Proclamation . Vol. II. 3 N for 466 TRANSACTIONS IN THfi EAST AND NORTH, fcH. xxi. for this purpofe was made, but made in vain. Two flippant females, French women of courfe, defied the united prejudices of nations, and took their dangerous ftand at a balcony. Thence by contemptuous titterings they caught the quick and outrageous eye of a fierce populace, eafily induced to let go the proceffion, pull down the houfe, and kill thofe who took pains to proted; the ladies, who had the pleafure of fetting the whole town in tumultuous uproar, and their own lives in peril, not to be exprefV. I know not whether the European dames ever learned to comprehend, that the death-dlfpcnfing bov\ ftring was cut from their white necks at laft, not by any admiration of their beauty, or any refped to their rank, but becaufe Muftapha, like Ben Johnfon, thought it fcems, that -a ftate's anger Should not take cognizance of fools or women. Calling his Mufti to confultation in all hafte, that officer of church and ftate replied, " TTiat females having no fouls, ought not to lofe " their folc exittence for their fenfelefs faults ; and that what could be *' done by Chriftians of that fex, fliould be forgotten by wife fcrvants " of the prophet." Conftantinople thought it an ill omen however ; and when Prince Gallitzin attacked the Turkifli entrenchments at Choczim, making prodigious fluughter, and by pulhing his advantages, beat them again not more than tliree months after ; the rough Ja- niflfaries began to doubt the myftick powers of a ftandard which had been ftarcd at by Adelaide and Caroline Broyard, who through this folly of the infidels, revenged the terrors confcquent upon their own. The Vizier's caution too, and military prudence, which fuper- ftition foon attributed to fome fpell caft on him by the Chriftian ladies, who ufed (faid they) no veils to counterad their operation, was repre- fcnted by the Sultan as mere cowardice; and in compliance to thefc defires a coarfer charader was preferred, who ftimulated by phrenzy not unlike their own, purfued with the remains of their much Ihattcred army CH. xxi.] FROM A. D. 1750, TO THE YEAR J780. 4()7 army the ftill retiring Ruffians into Poland, burned fomc fmall towns, and fired the magazines, dilpatching fuch news liomc to Conllantinu- plc as lent the emperor to return thanks for vidory, wluht every think- ing man began to fee a probability that Catherine's troops might one day quite furround the Porte by land and Tea ; and feat, lor ought ap- peared, a Scythian dame upon the Turkifli throne. Such was Prince Romanzow's luccefs at Ockzakow, Prince Repnin's courage and Proforowky's zeal, when to repair tlie Mufcovitilh honour, the plains of Pruth witnefled a triumph to their arms, obliterating all that the Czar Peter the Great had fuffcred on that fpot. No dignity of mind could fail to Ihrink a little from the various perplexities with which poor Muftaplia was foon furrounded ; an infurrcAion among his Cireek liibjc*^ excited to revolt by the Count Orlow afflicted him, but the le- dition in Egypt favouring Ali Bey, confounded and Juflly amazed all mankind. This high fpiritcd demagogue planning the freedom of that bafcil among nations, propofed opening the port of Suez, fpokc loudly of dividing the ifthmus, and being warmly abetted by the "V^enctians. hoped for the rule of the Ilcd Sea. An armiilicc with Ruliia now was ncccfl'ary, that this extraordinary rebel fliould be checked ; whofe partial fucccfs fecms to have given courage to future adventurers, although he and his patriarchal friend, the Sheik Dabir were, after long refillance, fiiially crulhcd, before the year 1/75. Muftapha out-lived this confolation but a fliorttime, and died well defcrving of a better fate than fixteui painful years of tur- bulence and faAion, unprovoked by his clemency, though never un- piinifhed by his julbce. His confidence in a brother's care of his young. fon, fhews a prodigious change in Turkilh manners, which certainly foftcned apce, although the contempt and antipathy flicwn to women, if exerting any powers exprcluve of equality with the other fex ftill remained, while remembrance was retained of Forka among them. She had been one of thci: great prophet's moll fpiritcd oppofcrs, when a marauding party of his attacked her cadle, long and N 2 valiantly 468 TRANSACTIONS IN THE EAST AND NORTH, [ch. xxr. valiantly defended, and at length taken by ftorm. To this circum- ftance fome writers on Arabian and Turkifh cuftoms attribute their degradation of man's natural companion into a Have ; and in this, Abdul Hamet, reigning for his nephew Sclim, under title of Achmet the fourth, conformed to the common ufage of his country. The reign" began moft inaui'picioufly however ; his Vizier loll the great battle near Siliflria, to Suwarroft^, who in a ftiort time demoliflied the Reis Effendi and his 40,000 men, even without a blow : when Alexis Orlow having burned the Turkifh fleet, ruin fecmed to farround the iublimc Porte on every fide ; and the hafly and unfavourable ncgocia- tion fct on foot in 1774, was confirmed by the mediation of France,, ■with frcfli conccffions from Conflantinople, 1779. 'Twas now all Europe faw, and what to B.etrofpe£iion\ eye is ftranger far, all Europe fcemed to pity too, the mean prollrations of a fplendid power, againil which they all were leagued ere while, and leagued in vain. Some cool refleding minds opened their teflamcnt, and obfervcd with re- verential awe, how the four Turkifh fultanics expired upon that very day, when Prince Eugene won the great battle that happily pre- ceded the peace of Carlowitz, that incident tallying clofely with the gth chapter of St. John's apocalypfe, l.^th verfe ; others who were not perhaps in every thing of bifhop Wilfbn's mind, were led to re- coiled; the Arabian prophet's veneration for locujis, apparently confi- dcring that animal as fymbolical of himfelf, his colours, and his troops :* and thofe who loved to turn the page of hiflory, began to * The woicl locuft fignifying God'i army in Arabic, Mr. Michaelis obferves, was the rcafon Maliometfoibade them to be injured : I fuppofeyfM mesining a burthen, in the fame laii^uage, made the fame interpreter take the matter h'terally ; and defcribe a dying finne; as a pcrfon carrying his fardel bound upon his back over a plank laid crofs the deep river ; if he finks under it he is condemned ; if it rolls off his Ihoulders fpontaneouCy, and dropi into the water, leaving the man liglu to purfue liisway, he is accepted. Bunyan's Pilgrim could not be taken from this, I think, yet there's a manifefl affi- nity. feel CH.xxr.] FROM A. D. 1750, TO THE YEAR 17 80. 469 feci the whole force of an old axiom, quod Jis ejje velis, when they per- ceived the Ottoman empire formidable to humankind, while favage bar- barity brandilhed the battle axe ; now rather mollified than fertilized by cultivation of arts which fuited not the loll : fure it is, a nation or an individual cither, who late in life departs from his original chara left to be done; and Retrofpc5iton niuft turn her tube towards the north of Europe, where Poland, apparently dcftined to fee her throne contcftcd evcrlaftingly, between a Staniflaus and Auguftus, had on mature deliberation pre- ferred this laft-namcd prince, and font le phi/ojophc htenfa'ifant, as he was called, to die under protcdion of his daughter, the Queen of France, at Nantci, in Lorraine. His countrymen however had not ftudicd the old adage with regard to matrimony — ^'* Chufe where you " love, and refolve to love your choice." Wc arc told how in Yemen's land, Tobha means a king by fuccef- lion, and Tuvima means a king by elcdion : the Poles cared neither for Tobha orTumma, as it appears; yet a king they would have; but afford- ing little more regard to this mild and moderate fo\ereign than to his predccelfor, they looked on with fmall concern, and faw the king of Pruflia drive him back to his eledorate. He died there, 1/03, and Madame de Bianconi, dame dhonneur to his amiable confort, ufcd to mingle tears with her recital of le Grand Frederic's cruelties to that un- happy family. When Drefden's fad diflrefs was at its height, the poor cledrefs ftood before a cabinet where fome valuable papers were depo- fitcd, protcfling to the officers who fearched her palace, that flie would die at the door rather than fee it opened. They took her in their arms with mock rcfpeft, adding fome infulting expreffions Ihe was not, as flic exprcfTed it, bom to bear, and left her laid on her own bed, whence (he arofe no more ; for in an hour's time, calling her maids and confeflbr, llie faid, " That all phyficians help was wholly vain ; her heart was broken, " begged to receive the facrament" — (he did {o, then prclfcd Bianconi's hand, and breathed her laft. Richardfon fays truly, in a Ictttcr writ- ten by Lovelace, that our compaflion is ftrongly excited, chiefly be- caufc the futferer is a Clariila. How many girls, adds he, fhare the fame fate unnoticed ! ! So they do. Our RetroJ}e£l can fcarc^ly grafp, much lefs enumerate the horrid outrages committed by thefe officers in Poland, where, by their khigs command, in 17/1, when he refolved to CH. XXI.] FKOM A. D. 1750, TO THE YEAR 178O. 471 to i>eople his own barren lands at their expence, foldiers were Icen bind- ing young females hand and foot, and carrying them off as criminals, forcing fuch parents too, as pofleflcd any thing, to add a hog, a cow, a iheep, a bed, for marriage portions. How many hearts were then broken ? Yet our eye refts upon a death of greater dignity — It does, it does ; the very letters, the charaders in which our narrative's com- pofed, confiit of great and fmall, bigger and lefs ; nor could Voltaire himfclf, when in his rage for general equality he wrote the Siec/g dc Louis giuitorze all in minufculars, bring up that pradice among the flattering writers of his time. Poland's frightful and aftonifhing dif- membcrmcnt was certainly one of the greatefl, llrangeft, and leall to be cxpcded occurrences recorded in this fummary : it was the firft breach in the new fyftcm, and fmce Europe was become a fort of com- monwealth cemented by commercial intereft, each (late nominally in- dependent of the others, yet each virtually fubfifting through the fup- poftlcs of mafly gold, £0 long prcferved in that old family, melted down for their owner's prc- iknt and prc!"Gng nccdfitics. Baroncfs Wielopolllta'* immcnfc etlatcs too» confilcated without one confcious pang, by the cmprefs queen, whofc haiih dcctecs drove that unhappy lady to madncfs, beggary, and fuicidc. Fof Poniatowlky, (called one fearce fees why) king of the country ; his ieiKurc and half- accoraplifbcd eilaiTination in 177 i, appears to have been followed by no, confequcnces of magnitude, equal to the attempt. He 472 TRANSACnONS IN THE EAST AND NORTH, [en. xx. His virtues availed him as little as his hardihood, to which alone upon that tr.inar occafion, he muft have owed his life: the bcft thing which betl-l liim in his age, was to have been once the favourite of Catherine in his youth, and that was worth but little, when his tyrant who had in 1 7O4, ligncd, fealed, and fworn to renounce every claim on Poland, fcntin the year 1 773, her fancy envoy Stackenburiih, with orders not to be deficient in hauteur towards the king : accordingly whtn he was dealing at the game of pharos — and Poniatowfki entered the room : the Ruliian pointed to a chair (we read) and continued his play un- mindful of all but that. i?tr condudl was notwithflanding the Icaft offen- five among all the perjured powers. In the year 1 7 74, llie condcfccndcd to remit 25OyO00 rubles to the man (he once had loved, and once had helped to ruin : while emigrants daily ran to her dominions, as a re- fuge from the cruelties of Frederick, and the unfeeling fternnefs of Maria Thcrefa, leaving the bigot queen and plilofophick phllanthropift, the pleafure of mutual alliance, mutual applaufc ; while curfcs of chrifiian martyrs followed her foldiers ftcps, and blighted nature flirunk at his approach. Unlike thefc charadcrs fuperior Catherine, though individual life was nothing fhcltcred by the rclationfliip of hufband or fon's confort, when her convenience called for their extin<5lion, thou- fands have owed their being and felicity to her wife inftitutions, her mild government, herliilutary laws; and millions yet unboni may blefs the hour when after 1 754, her heart was held firm to the \\\xi- fian throne by birth of a young boy, on whom 'twas thought the grand duke looked w ith eyes more jealous than afFedlionatc, fo fond was dying Elizaveta of her heir. When once inaugurated, and placed in his aunt's feat however, on which occafion, he was feen to fliew a Icvitv not quite becoming ; Peter declared his paffion fof the Pruflian hero, wore his uniform, called himfelf his lieutenant, carried his pi<9;ure upon his finger as a ring — flighted the infant Czarowitch, and even talked of fettling the fuccclfion on young Iwan : by ill-judged vifits to this haplefs prince accelerating his aflaflination, aiid bringing forward '-' other CH. XM.] FROiM A. D. 1750, TO THE YEAR i;80. -173 other tragical events which his friend Frederick had foretold. The death of fuch an emperor 'tis plain could have produced, however 'twas occafioncd, no evil to his country ; when the OrlofFs with a vaft party of nobility fet Catherine the lid. in the place of power 1 762. Her comprehenfive mind, her code of laws, her abolition of the tor- ture, and ftill exprciTed defire of chriftian toleration, demand the thanks of mankind and enforce their crtcem. Her reign was a fucccflion of general benefits done to her kingdom and the world in general, her care for the police was fuch, that Peterfburgh became the fafetl city of all Europe to dwell in ; and thofe who come from thence may be for- given if they reproach the towns of London, and Paris, which were called poliflied long before, while her imperial rcfidcnce was a bog. The attention of this queen to trade indeed, added to her infatiate third of univcrfal dominion, gave her ill-thoughts of England ; and ill-will to our profpcrity. She knew Great Britain's power over the fca, and tried to bend, tliat which flie could not break. If the fad tale Gorani tells be true, how an Englifli conful at Leghorn, was made fubfcrvient to her cruel purpofc on the unfortunate lady, who bred at Home, was cheated by Alexis OrlofF's arts, into confent of a mock marriage w ith him, and a rebellion againft Catherine — we fee the neighbour nations blacken under her Ihade, as the fwamp Ihumac tree is reported to poi- fon thofe who touch and tamper with it. *Twas in 1771, that this poor Princefs TarrakannofF, under pretence of feeing the Mufco\ irifliand Britiih navy riding along fide each other, near to the Tufcan fliore, was trapt on board a Ruflian (hip and carried to the port of Peteriburgh, where fhc wasfaidto expire under the knout, a martyr to the cmprefs's ambition, and her care to exterminate all progeny of her prcdeccfTor's private marriage with Count Razumofflky. That fuch a Sovereign knew not the extent of her punifliment could not be alledged ; none throughout her whole dominions, wide as thry were, fo well knew what was done in them as the Czarina. She anfwercd many of Mr. Coxc's queilions hcrfelf, that he might not difccm the ignorance of her bcft Vol, II. 3 O governors. 474 TRANSACTIONS IN THE EAST AND NORTH, [ch. xxr. governors. To our incomparable Mr. Howard fhe was lefs communi- cative, bccaufe he would not go and fee her fine improvements. I follow prifons, was his word, not palaces. In the fame drain Diogenes of old delighted to trample on the pride of Plato. " He docs it with ftill greater pride," rejoined the favourite difciple of great Socrates. Mr. Howard loft information and gained nothing by his forbearance of innocent flattery. The emprefs received all letters, all petitions, hcr- felf ; fate with the children of the Czarowitch herfclf: they were by his fecond marriage. The firft confort, unhappy princcfsof Hcflc, was not permitted to bring heirs to Catherine, who, while her fon and daugh- ter-in-law from Wirtemberg travelled for amufcment, made it her's to watch over the inftrudlion of t/ieJr young ones, write tales for them herfclf, and fee their tutors mindful of their duty. We will leave in 1779 this charadler to her panegyrifts, who for the a miring at my ortliodoxy, and adding, what pity fuch a one fliould be a herctick ! Ferdinand of Naples would not however by the great brother-in-law's folicltations be led to break up any old ufagcs, except prefenting the white palfrey, which he was willing enough to clcape. His heart was fet on feeing his town full, and 'twas his fport to fhcw the Grand Duke of Tufcany, how runaways from Florence filled his ftreets. They were when I faw them, thronged by thofc dreadful earthquakes which had dcfolatcd all Apulia and its environs, and driven multitudes from Sicily, &c. to fcek refuge under the wing of their pa- ternal prince, who, when the dreadful news arrived, fliut himfclf up and behaved like one diftra6led. The queen, enraged, cried, " Here's " a coil, indeed — vihy, one would think that you had loft a child.'' — " And have I ttot, dear miftrefs," cried the monarch ? " Oh, tell not me, " I have loft fifty thoufand of my children, and find no means of fupply '* for the furvivors." No diftrcfs ever yet was fecn to equal that of which Marie Caroline fpoke fo lightly. Her huftjand's beautiful and tributary coufin, Geracc Grimaldi, a feudal countefs of the old fort, was, with her ancient caftle and numerous attendants, fwallowed up alive by a yawning chafm made in the earth r while four thoufand faithful fubje^ ftrove in vain to refcue her loft body from the black abyfs, whence iiTuing flames for fourteen days fucceffively, guarded the princely prey. •' God grant," fays Count IppoUto's pathetick letter," that the columns of ** our terraqueous globe may not be finally loofcned by thefc concufliuns! •* God permit that the ncccffary balance both of natural and ///on;/ things " may be once again rcftored!" BolU were indeed roughly ;ind pretcrna- turally fhaken, and blind iclf-fufficicncy drove unheeding fiK>|< into each opening gulph. Among thofc who thought moft highly ol thcmfclvcs, from comparifon of her own accoinpUfliments with thofc of her con- fort, might be ranked the queen of Naples. When Guftavus came to her court on a vifit, and talked away, :\s, was his cuftom, about the re- volution at Stockholm — " Where was the queen all this time, Sir," fays Marie Caroline. — '• At home, nodoybt," replies her royal friend ; Vol. II. 3 Q ' •• bur 400 GENERAL RETROSPECT, [ch. xxir. " but I forget, becaufe no one confulted her on the occafion." — " Ah ha J" exclaims Calabrlan Ferdinand, in his loud voice and boiftcrous manner, " you fee, miftrefs — (fo he always calls this princefs, becaufe " fhe firft taught him to read and write) — you fee, miftrefs, kings are " wifer in the north, than they are down in thefe warm and effeminate " latitudes. Here Sweden's monarch, a fine fellow ! can rule hisivife " as well as his country !" The vifit was not long delayed, however, after this converfation. Marie Caroline efteemcdno fovereigns but her brother Jofcph, who found few fuch fmcere admirers as herfclf. To gain the world's applaufe, he undermined the firm fupporters both of church and ftate ; yet fcarce could have fecured, I think, even his own approbation, when he who had devoted his whole reign to demolition of monaftick orders, mull have obferved upon a RctrofpeSl how he had condemned himfelf, or was at leaft by unfeen power condemned, to lead the life of a laborious monk. St. Paul, who preached falvation to mankind, and at the fame time perfected his own, paft not his time more painfully than did this emperor, worn out with difficulties, cares and griefs, before he was forty-nine years old. The benefits which he conferred, though numerous, were fecret ; the evils refulting from his condud, though few, were glaring : his reft perpetually broken by fchemcs to reconcile con tradi dory projeds, his every paffion crofled, his nppetitcs blunted, and his odd refolution not to return even the inno- cent carcifcs of a faithful dog, the only thing that loved him, as he faid ; were difpofitions fit for a faquir, or for a half-difciple of thefe modern philofophifts, whofe fervice is hard, and whofe reward is wretchednefs. The Milancfe, governed by a German, were ill-pleafed of courfe ; the Brabantines, ftill lefs content witli an Italian,* and when his beft de- fences in the country were all difmantled, the people's warmeft preju- dices all offended ; Jofeph felt fretted at finding hh own oppofed. » Count Wiltfeg governed at Mila/i, as we all know. Count Belgoiofo had his palace at BrulltUs. The CH. XXII.] FROM A. D. irso, TO THE YEAR 1790. 4qi The king of Frviffia's death and charadcr affords a llriking contrail. " Let us eat and drink, if" to •morrow we die," was his maxim : he ne- ver fecms to have contradided himfclf at all, and huving apparently contradided others only when ibme llrong paffion pulhed him to the acl, mankind forgave his violences, and he died, regretted even by thole whofe families had been confumcd to nothing in his lervice: and while the emperor's beneficial kindneflcs were ftill attributed to caprice, Fre- deric's feverities went through the world under no rougher name than Trulftan d'lfc'tpl'me. A bright Bohemian ruby, nurfcd in Flvit, was the true emblem of this great king's charadcr ; and, to fay truth, his fuc- ceflbrcame forward to no fmall difad vantage after one lb rough, but yet lb radiant. He had a bufy time indeed, an adive part to play in Holland engaged in civil difcord, and rcfolved the Stadtholdcr fhould hold tlielr Jlates no longer. The orange faded faft after 'twas fqueczcd by France and Spain, and poifoned againft England its bell friend : and Frederic the third had the ftrange mortification to fee his filler grofsly infulted by Dutch boors, who puffed with new ideas of democracy, fmoaked their tobacco in the princcfs's prefence, detaining her upon the road, frighting her horfes, and brutally laughing at her female fears of being overturned in the canal. Thcfe domellick afflidions, howfoevcr, kept not his mind from projcds of ambition ; and Poland's impatience under the yoke of her participators, offered him hope of making ufeful alliance there, with a new, a ftrong, and independent republick. But Mufco- vitifli Catherine kept the nominal king of that country a penlioncr on her munificence, nor meant to loofe old Lufitania into a fituation of chufing her own fcUowlhips, among which the Turk, every day more and more caly to aflimilate with Chriftian powers, might pollibly with to be one. The court of Petcrftiurgh, on that account, held Ponia- towiky faft, and I'parcd no pains to incenfe his haplefs nobles againft each other by mutual accufations of evil which they fcarcely could have hindered, and l«rrow.s which, when they fuffcrcd from furround- ing kings, thcmfclves redoubled on their wretched pcafantr)-, till all was anguilh and all waa opprcftion. It was a time of turbulence unccjualUd; 3 Q 2 no dp2 GENERAL RETROSPECT, [ch. xxii, — no country fcemed at eafe, although philanthropy and a defire of ge- neral happinefs had never been fo talked of. Grave authority hafted to heaven, like Aftrasa in flvbulous times — >nor could the king of Sweden hold his firm. The grand Autocratrix herfelf difdained not to u{e often female influence inftead of ftrift command ; while by rewards unparalleled in ftory, flie purchafed her beft fervants' beft afFedions. There is indeed fomething like deftiny written on the charaders of dilVmguifhed perfonages : for though this lady changing her favourites, heaped on them all at parting liberal gifts of land and money, tenants and cottagers, diamonds and trinkets to immenfe amount : fending them away to travel for the moft part, which muft have carried vaft fums out of the country — we hear of Catherine's bounty flill, and never of her profufion. The queen of France liked to make prefents as well as fhc did, and give fine entertainments ; but with her frolicks nobody fecmed pleafcd. After le prince de Guemene ^ 'oke for thirty millions, l,500,oool. fterling of our money in the year 1782, Louis feize refolved to fet bounds to the much-blamed extravagance of his gay confort, and when flie alked for 4000 pounds Engllfli for fome fine (how, bid Turgot bring her the cafh all in gold, not paper, that fhe mighty^^ what fhc had required — was his word ; and that, out of the aftual fubfiftence of the people. Lovely Antoinette with filent,* but fweet fmilcs, accepted kindly the reproach with the rouleau ; and changing its difpofal, gave it all in little fortunes to one hundred poor youths and maidens who appeared dreiTcd in a decent uniform, with happy faces, flandlng in two rows, when the king went next time to Notre Dame. A character of fo much true defcrt, levigated by fo much frivolous hilarity, would once have • Know, fmiler ) at tl)y peril art thou pleab'd, ; - Thy pleafure is the proniife of thy pain. ' Misfortune, like a creditor fcvcre, But rifes in demand for thy delay. She makes a fcourgc of part profperity To ItiDg thee more, and double thy diftrefs.— — Fcaw^'i Wight Thoughts. been CH. XXII.] FROM A. D. 176O, TO THE YEAR i7go. 493 been all but adored in France ; but more than virtue now was neccf- fary to make kings beloved, and more than merit or than beauty, queens. Some of the peniionors upon this charming creature's greatly abuied bounty, difgraccd her choice ; and Tome lamentations concern- ing her altonifhing expenccs greatly difgraccd the lamenters. Her milliner's penfion of I5ol. o'ycar Englifti, was talked of as enormous % as for the annuity paid to I'infame Raucoux, it had been better never talked of at all. A near relation of Charles Lameth befides, was fiiid. to have aflifted in emptying her ever-open purfe ; and with the money and anecdotes picked up at Vcrfailles, confirmed her kinfman in his re- folution to ruin its pofleflors. The light-hearted daughter of Maria Thcrcfa dreamed not of deep defjgn* ; Ihe wore caps a la Keppel, faw his cfEgy trailed through the dirt after the 27th of July, 1/78, clap- ping her hands with joy; and liftening with tranfport to every tale that brought ill news for England from America, till having caught a fcvcre cold, fome one oblerved it was the iiijitteuza brought over from New Vork. " Ah Madame ! (cried a lady of the court) we fliall foon catch " a difordcr thence, more dcfperate, and no lefs contagious." " What " can that be ?" exclaimed Antoinette ! " The tndependenza" rcplie." Vaupillicrc : but incurable difeafe of all the French finances much ac- celerated this fybilline oracle's fulfilment. To remedy it Neckar was called in, how vainly ! The king, who fecms to have been feldoni wrong when confulting his own heart only, (iiid aloud, " This man " will make a mifcrable miniftcr for our cxtcnfive dominions, accuf- " tomcd as he has been all along to the little Swifs cantons." " Sire, " wc will never confult him about rtate affairs (replied Maurcpas), he " is a mere banker." " With which poft you will (iliys Ixmis) find •♦ him not contented." But though Calonnc, who, when the queen wanted money always made one anfwer, and faid Madame, if polfibic the thing fliall be done { and if ////poHible, it fhall be tried at, was without doubt, a c-afh-kccpcr more plcafmg. Scarce any experiment Neckar projxjfcd to try as remedies to the grand evil met with a real oppofition from the fovereign; who willingly, before that man's arrival, had 494 GENERAL RETROSPECT, [ch. kxu. had very much abridged his prerogatives, aboHfliing the morima'w, giv- ing up the corvette, and extinguilhing the droit de pourfuite, whilft he even denied himfclf a tour to Fontainebleau in 1780, for fear of frefli cxpcnces, httle imagining, that in eleven years he Ihould be forcibly detained from driving to St. Cloud, by a people whom he loved too well. His predcceflbrs had heaped debts and taxes on them ; his ftudy was to fufFer — all himfelf. The three or four lad reigns liad quietly endured upon the civil lift, even the annuities paid to the miftrclTes of their king's miniftcr : Madame de Vergennes' pin-money was the lart of thcfc fliamelcfs charges. Louis feize meantime, deftined to expiate all Ihe'ir crimes and follies, contraded his own eftablifliment fo clofcly, no room was left for fpread of influence; thus cutting off from one hand, by a reform bill, all means of conciliating men of talents or confe- qucncc, whilft by the inflammatory temper of the times, allfcnfation of power was melting away from the other. Left thefe meafurcs ftaould prove infufficient to his ruin, fome ftrange fatality, or ill-timed advice, prompted him to retrench the foldiers' pay, and difoblige the only body of Individuals joined together for his protedlion. Reform indeed in every branch belonging to his ftate had been fo long defirable, that 'twas grown dangerous, fo long had it been neceffary, it was (to fpeak in paradox) impradicablc. An old. majeftick building fallen to decay with long- permitted ivy clinging round, is a true emblem of the French king's court. The vegetable bat had fixed its claws fo faft and thriven fo exceedingly ; that each apartment was quite over-run, and naxious animals made nefts in it, accelerating the fabrick's ruin : where the great ftoncs disjoined by leaves and dirt offend each looker on : " Cut down the clafping evil," is their cry, " tear it away." Lcfs fupcrficial obfervcrs will on approach, fee how the pliant branches bv their tv^ift, hold tight thefe parting maffes to each other, giving an artificial firmnefs to the whole. A financier like Necker haftened its fall, he cut the fupplemcntal cords of binding wood, difturbed the ob- fccne birds, and ran away, leaving the houfe to tumble, when 'twas time ; but every little incicjcnt brought on that hour. When long before. CH. xxii.J FROM A. D. 178O TO TH2 YEAR lygn. 405 before, they idolized our Franklin; he mufl have laughed I think while teaching them to fing fa ira, for from liim they learned it ; the poor queen dancing her pantln to the tune, drelTed in the fcmblance of her favourite philofopher, muft have reminded him of haplcfs Dido, * who careffcd infant love, as (lie did infant liberty, to her undoing. But foUv was not confined to females : wits wrote the following line upon Franklin's buft, Kripiiit fuliQcn cacio, fceptrunique tyrannis. " and the princes applaud with a furious joy ,and the king fcized a ffani- beau with hafte to deftroy." The nation was intoxicated ; air balloons, anew plaything, pleafed all ranks of people ; another philofophical fop- pery was introduced under name of animal magnctifm. Man's powers over his own rea(bn were daily exalted — he w ho profefl'cd to extract from perfpirable cflence the elixir of life, was liftencd to by thofe who ought to have defpifed fuch arrogant abfurdity ; and fonic man was expeclcd to walk in wooden fabots over the unfrozen river faftcr than k horfc could trot over the bridge. This fcems like madnefs or fatuity, tnais ih narjolcnt de ^ejpr'tt qitc contre Diei/, as one of their own angrv jcftcrs faid agdinft the other; and Neckar the ftate quack, when recalled, could think of no remedy by which to fave it, except the defperatc one of caWin^ ks cfjfsgen^ranx. Thry were not les efatsgenereiix an mohis. Louis le trop bon, as Dr. Moore calls him, made a much grander cfFort for general relief ^.v mero niotu, by ordering a fort of income-tax likr ours; but his vile parliaments, who had the effrontery to call thcm- fclvcs an clfcntial part of the French government, oppofedthat falutary meafure, bccaufe then, they muft have paid import as well as the menv peupk. They had obtained their lituatic) CHAP. XXIII. SKETCH OF EVENTS, FROM l/QO TO 1790. AS in our firft chapter of this RetroJ'peCllou Rome took up all the attention of our readers, leaving tJiat only luminous and promi- nent, the other dates, if dates they may be called, huddled in heaps, and diftanccd to the back-ground ; fo in thefe lad little moving pic- tures of our (how, thefe derniers tableaux de not pet'tts ombres chinoifes, France takes up all the room ; the reft appearing fcarcely important to the general interefts of humanity, but as they adopt or rejc(ft her prin- ciples and condu6l ; while from a comer of her capital arofe, as Rof- fcau fays, " that new-fangled philofophy, the fmoke of which ftiflcs " the voice of nature and of man."* That " not one prodigy foretold our fate" can hardly howcA'cr be complained of with jufticc. The aurora borealis, not feen in England till the beginning of this century, was confidcred as portentous by the vulgar, and wondered at a little even by the wife, who then firft viewed the northern lights dcfccnding into unufual latitudes. Mef- fieurs Roftanand Dc G)ftc, aftronomers at Geneva, obferved in 17O2 the fun cclipfcd three digits in a preternatural nebulofity never ac- covmtad for ; and Mars was 1 7OO faid by Toaldo the Venetian to approach the earth more nearly by two millions of miles than be was wont. Having written the circumftancc down from hh lips, I read it confirmed in an Annual Regiftcr of that year, when the planet named ' Ic'hrc a dAkmlxrr?. 3 K 2 ]rom 500 SKETCH OF EVENTS, [ch. xxnv from the god of war was in his pcriheHon 3 1 ft of Auguft. Schroeter's obfervations upon^cnus mention extraordinary appearances exhibited by that planet July 31, 1703. And as to our ovon terraqueous globe during the laft half of this eventful century, fuch raging typhous, fuch dcftrucftivc earthquakes fhook the European quarter or continent, a? were accuftomed to fpend all their fury upon the torrid zone, fparing thoi'e lands which cannot, as her warmer climate can, reftore them- lelves in a few months again, fmoothing the brow of nature. France felt infuriated by her laft devaftation, fmce wlwh things have no more flowed in their ufual current. All her good-humour too feemed blown away ; her levity, her loyalty, each charadieriftick of her nation loft. Prior, who knew her well in happier days, would fure have faid, con- templating fuch dreadful alteration, Tliy%um'rous vein, thy pleafing folly. Lie all neglefted, all forgot ; And penfive, wav'ring melancholy, Thou feai'ft, and hop'ft, thou know'ft not what. The naturalift meantime w^ould be comparing her to the gay fox- hound ftruck with madnefs, " for a while," as Mead obferves, " ac- " knowledging his mafter, though recklefs of his food and friends ; " but foon fnapping at him." Our poet Somcrville dcfcribeali»s'^»ca- ture, Snuflang th' infeftious breeze, This way and that h€ ftares aghaft, and Harts At his own fhade ; jealous as if he deem'd The world his foes. Then from his lungs inflam'd Malignant vapours taint the ambient air, Breathing perdition. His dim eyesiire glaz'd. J^ow frantick to the kennel's utmoft verge Raving he runs, and deals deilru&ion round. The pack fly diverfe ; for whate'er he meets. Vengeful he bites, and every bite is death. Sa cjr. xxni.] FROM A. D. 170O, TO THE YE:\R 1796. 501 So fared it v.ith France and with her neighbours at beginning of the Tear 1 7^)0, the lirft week of which faw the defert^ king ftript of his belt prerogatives, and now and then applauding iHic decrees with un- afFcftcd firaphcity. •' Jc trouve (iiivs he) votrc arret fort fage^' to fomc of their dcclfions. The bilhop of Autun's treachery towards his own body, ibon with the nobility .md commons amalgamated into one in- flexible mafs of equality, now firft opened the eyes of the moft Ciirif- tian king, who beheld with horror the catholick religion formally fup- preffed by edicts of autliority ; churches turned into warchoufes or barracks ; diftin incipient chaos in the country was added a drachm of fclf-intereft and ill-will to Favcttc, he lent his fupport to a monarchical club, although when two years before the French had, in their puerile paliion for Roman ideas, propofcd eftablifhing an order of aCincinatus, Mirabeau had openly preferred the pulling down every order indifcriminately. Yet did the court moft willingly forget all his paft 4ur^laiaa»«g»iiift the Queen; when, in a violttit fit of the tooth-ach, he exclaimed, '• Eft •• cr. que j'ai done nn repuhFique dans la bouchc !"♦ and this b^ti mot • What have I gol here, a ifpubluk in my moulh 1 went 502 SKETCH OF EVENTS, {ch. xxiu. went about all Paris. Worried by Lameth after all, and perhaps half affrighted at the phantom he had himfelf called up from caverns of till then unopened guilt, the phantom of Egalite (as he would needs be called) replacing his virtuous coufui, Mirabeau* died. Over the defert plains of Egypt, or of Syria thus ; purfued by the hot wind iwifter than he, a hooded vulture drops to earth fatigued ; and from his carcafe fpring millions of noxious infers, fwarms of vile animals, that buz and fting, deftroying all that follow. Marat, whofe maw unfatisfied with flaughter, refembled death in charadler and feature. Danton, whofe every decree (fays Mcrcicr) fmelt of the brandy-calk from whence he drew his ardent thirft of blood. Hebert and Hcnriot, Chabot the capuchin, ftruggling for the palm of impiety againll Du- pont and Chaumette, atheifts profefled. Ferocious Collet d'Herbois, their proconful, who, like the executioner Sam/on^ confidered fmglc murders as loft time, and tied 3000 unrefifting fools together, lliot for a fhow at Lyons. Mercilefs Carrier ! whofe unpitying eyes feaft- ing on agony, faw the poor pricfts and women, two and two, faftened in pairs and flung into the Loire ; till its infulted ftream, putrid with human carcafcs, grew poifonous, endangering the lives of thofe who drank. Proud Pethion too, brutal le Gendre ; Fouquicr Tinville, and Fabre d'Eglantine, jackalls to Rohefpicrre, hero of all thefe horrors. Aflaflin by hereditary right, his name compounded -of thofe that his anceftor Damien had womc — " A murderer from the beginning." In contraft of thcfe creatures, our Retrojpe^ion next is called to view * Qiiere, Whether his family was wliolly diftin£l from that of MiraSaud, the aca- demician. There was a book called Syftemc de la Nature, attributed to tliis Mira- baud in mo, ten years after his death, and the French fay, falfciy attributed. Vol- taire's anfwer to that book is notwithftanding worth attention now. In it he fays — " God preferve us from an abominable prieft, who (hall dip his impious hands in the *' blood of his Prince ; and God prefeive us from aa angry and barbarous tyrant, " who not believing in God, is a God to himfelf; who facrifices friends, relations, " and fubje£ts to his own fury and ambition without remorfc." Would not one think he was fpeakiug ot.Talleyrand and Pobefpierre ? the rH.xxiir.J FROM A. D. 1790, TO THE YEAR 1796. WS the confcientious bifhops, and their clergy's magnanlmoixs refufal of an oath tendered to undo, and fwcetened to cnrnarc tiicm. The death of" Chriftian martyrs now began to vie with thofe of our firft volume ; and thefe laft labourers in Jefus's vineyard refoh ed at clofe of life to claim their penny, with thofe of ancient time who we have feen, under the reigns of Nero and Dioclefian, bearing the heat and burden of the day. But whilft we venerate the names of Bcaupoil St. Aulaire, Maujy, and St. Pol de Leon, with the incomparable daughter of Ga- zette, whofe lall dear objeft in this various world, was his own lovely child emulating Murphy's Euphraiia ; let not le marquis dc Bouille paft unremarked over the field of our contraOilcd tclcfcope. Bouille, whofe virtues exerted not exhaujied in another hcmlfphcre, returned to manifeft in this, a loyalty a tout outrancc, tr) ing each mode, each poiTibility to fave his king from the apparent ruin ; and finer in that he failed, trying at leaft to draw the expedcd vengeance upon his own head from his mafler's. A fiflcr's love alone could equal this : Madame Elizabeth, upon the horrid 2lfl of June, flicwcd the fame unequivocal dcfire to fave the king's life, and even his con fort's peace, if poffiblc, at the cxpence of her own. But after every fludicd refinement of cruelties unutterable had been l^ng pradifed on their ill-fated houfe ; after M. dc la Fayette, pre- tending by negfigcnce to favour their efcape, as cats let a moufc run ■when all the holes arc itopt, had triumphed in their abjc<5l return to his captivity ; when that fhort triumph pafl, h'n popularity was funL in that of Santcrre, made general in his place, who, with plebeian in- folencc, fcorning difguife, unharbourcd once again the royal game, and hunted it into the fell dcvourers' mouths the fatal tenth of Au- gufl. On that day, flilcd by them the fourth year of liberty, firft year and firfl day of equality, the celebrated fraternity of illuminated free- mafons burft their fclf-creatcd (hackles, avowed their fccret, and con- fcfTcd their meditated emancipation of mankind from all fiibordina- tion and government, exclaiming, " France is (nc, the univcrfc will quickly follow her example." Our 504 SKETCH OF EVENTS, [ch. xxin. Our RetrofpeSfion cannot now paufe to obferve upon this extraordi- nary combination, but 'twere impoffible not to have remarked it. Three hundred thoufand adepts had been counted in the lall cerife of that im\\o\y brotherhood, which two millions of pikemen had fo well Supported, that it appears as if the deputies themfcKxs did not dare to ufe the king with decency. Merlin de Thionville faid to the due de Choifeul, as they croft each other in the corridor, " You remain with " him, ha ?" — *' Till now I have done fo," replied, with ftarting tears, the fteady royalift, " you will not part us, Merlin !" The reprefen- tative fcemed much afFcded, preflcd his hand cordially, flipt to the airembly, and voted the immediate difmiflion of thofe five faithful fer-^ vants who till then had followed the fortunes of their mailer. At parting with them, Louis feize exclaimed, " This is too hard ! Why " Charles the firft of England was permitted to keep a few friends " with him to the laft." The Queen, when they all five ran to her Avith their purfcs, whatever they had faved out of the general" wreck, cried out, " Oh keep it, keep it, generous Monfieur Obyer ; you'll want " it more than we, you will indeed ;" and turning from him, with pa- thetick grace, added, " for you have longer time to live." Jofeph and Leopold, her imperial brothers, were dead before that day. The firft of thefe princes, after haying fpent much of his reign in a delufion, died upon the 20th day of February, l/QO, juft as the mift removing from his eyes fticwed him to what a race of mortals he had lent the aid of his abilities. Eight years pafled uneafily in groundlefs appre- henfion left religion ftiould be too much reverenced — were ftink in two years more of not ill-founded fears left it fliould never be reve- renced at all. The natural alliance between church and ftate had been completely proved by the proceedings of the French aflembly, which overturned both at one ftroke ; and though the Brabanter's plea for rebellion was different at beginning, he faw them moulding it into the form of that ftrange novelty, the French Republick, gazed &t by Europe as an air-balloon ; and though like that 'twas dangerous, and en. XXIII.] FROM A. D. )790, TO THE YEAR 171)0. 505 and like that ufclefs, was gaped after with apparent admiration, every country longing to take one ride, and try one fall. However fomo wife folks cried out, with Shakefpcar's wreftler, " I'll warrant your " grace fliall not entreat them to a fecond, who have fo mightily pcr- " fuaded 'em from a firll." Jofeph meanwhile, his heart wearing thinner by care, and foftcr by afflidion, felt all his projects palficd ere yet mature, and faw the fifter he was once fo proud of, reduced, and vainly, to Iblieit Sympathy from thofe whofe adoration he had cxped- cd her to command. Health faded before fuch chilling blafts of dif- appointmcut, and comfort vias found only in the virtuous (bciety of a young princefs he had cholcn for his nephew's confort, and in the hope that (he would bring heirs to the imperial throne. Her feeble endurance of a firft pregnancy filled him with thofe alarms w hich Hill encrcafcd as his own end drew near, and the account of /ier death ac- celerated /lis. Having however lived a philofopher, the fon of Maria Thercla rcfolvcd to die a chriftian : " and tis fuch, my lord," faid he to Cardinal Migazzi, " if I have ever offended you , I beg your pardon " heartily." — " Sire," was his eminence's aniwer, " all your offences •* againil men, your death will expiate ; for thofe committed againil " God, (jod is merciful." This was indeed a cold viaticum for a much mortified and penitent prince. The Huguenot nurle to Charles the ninth was kinder. From Leopold the world cxpedlcd a contrary conduct to that of hL brother, but he Icnrcc gave them time to ap- plaud or to condemn, dying, and not without fufpicion of poifbn, in Februar) , 1 792, leaving hii ion and fucccflbr, Francij II. to take up arms againil the French, who kept his aunt in ftricl confinement, and had infulted his late uncle in their alVcmbly, where Taillefer called birr un vrai plaifatit, and tin fcttlllatU , and wa>4 only interrupted by the general cry of War, IFur, H'ur. This they endeavoured to provoke from all princes, by encouraging relKJlion in all fulyccts, fctting on foot a new fort of futumalia — u barring ovt of kings, and calling all the fchooi-boys to affift them. The king^, to do them juUice, were Vol., II. 3 S . not 506 SKETCH OF EVENTS, [ch. xxiii. not hafty, but each finding his own metropoUs filled with plotters to bring his perfon to the block, 'twas time to ftir ; and a combined army, under the Prince of Brunfwick's command, preceded by imprudent manifeftoes, added {lability to French violence, and bound up their various fadions in temporary union. But whilft the clubs and convention of Paris exhibited a behaviour no Icfs ridiculous than frantick, drcfling up vagabonds out of their own llrects, to perfonate ambafladors from all parts of the globe, and liflen- ing to the fanatical harangues of a foreigner who ftiled himfelf orator to the human race, &c. War, war, war againft every fovereign power became neccffary, as Louvet himfelf confcfles; indifpenfable indeed to their no longer concealed intent, de tuer la royaute mime.* As this ■was to be accompliflied by any poffible means, five months before the fatal tenth of Auguft, when to cure their own conftitution, they ftabbed it in the temporal artery by depofmg and imprifoning Louis the fixtccnth ; Guftavus Hid. of Sweden fell in a ball-room by the piftol of a jacobin, who had worn marks of his maftcr's favour, and of whofe treachery he entertained no fufpicions, although as many footh- fayers' dreams and prodigies were produced to keep him from that mafquerade, as croffcd Julius Ccefar in his way to the capitol., Rcpub- licanifm had no triumph in relating how princes dropt under their hands ; each died in fentimcnts of firmnefs and of piety. Guftavus, polifhed and intrepid to the laft, expired like Auguftus, (of whofe name his was the anagram) in compliments to his furrounding friends. The Queen of Portugal indeed, had funk under the diftant profpedl of thefe horrors, and loft that reafon which, had flie poflefled it, would fcarce have conduced her fafely through fuch a ftorm. Catherine of Ruffia, fecure in her prodigious diftance from the grand focus of confufion and diftrefs, contented herfelf a long time with exciting other courts to ftop the progrefs of danger ; and dcfirous to temporifc, fuffered the babies in her palace to fing ^a ira, and to dance la carmagnole for her diverfion and that of Plato Zuboff" at the * To kill even royalty itfelf. en. xxiii.] IROM A.T). 17Q0, TO THE YEAR \7[)6. 607 hermitage. When flic difmiflcd the French ambaflador, flic told him laiiehing, " Bufmcfs mult be minded ; I am an anfiocrate you know " of courjc. Farewell ! and hate me as little as you can." In the fame fpirit of duplicity flie drove away Culonne and the Count d'Ar- tois, and faid, no em'tgre fliould ftay more than llx weeks at Pctcrf- burgh — while from her own officers Ihe took an oath of luitred to'jcard the French Rrpiiblick. Spain, during this period, felt that influence which France has al- ways retained over her councils fmce the coronation of Philip d'Anjou, but operating now in a new and contradi<^lory manner; and new philo- ibphers, the Prince of Peace, and Marquis di Aranda,* turned her affec- tion round from king to people. A faint interpofition, made without hope of faving Louis's life, was by the French received without or notice or cffetft. Spain, whofe inquifition's fclf was driven down into a power- Icfs college of enquir)-, had greatly changed opinions in thefc lall days, and while they kept their buli-feafts, cared but little whether fur- rounding fovercigns were or were not maflacrcd. Poland was bufy- in revolutionizing hcrfclf, under the favourite of the north, Kofchieffsky; who won fome battles, fettled fomc forms of government, and made not only Poles, but Engliflimen believe a while that revolutions were of admirable ufe, by raifing up a violent fermentation in each ftatc, whence a purejpir'tt would come over the helm, and fix the happincfs of human kind. The earthquake of Calabria did on this principle make fwcct one poiliinous fountain by concuffion ; but wc have lived to find that poor amends for fevcnty thoufand people killed or ruined. * Marquis, or Count d'Aranda was the man who willicd lo engrave upon tlic front of every churcli, he laid, as equal in excellence and dignity, William i'cnn, John Calvin, Jcfui Chrift, Mahomet, and Martin Luther ; propofing their united or alter- nate veneration : it lliouid be blafphcmy to fpcak a word in praife of Icrdinand or iCabclla, their part fovercigns ; and he would recommend it to. be deemed good pru- dence to take all the duJices, church-plate, &c. to the mint, and build inns with tlir money .-^Pt/atio < . 3 S 2 Oxxr 508 SKETCH OF EVENTS, [ch.xxui. Our London Correfponding Societies faw not fo far. Free-mafon s Hall, the proper fcene for fuch debates, refoundcd with feditious blaf- phemies : a fteady hand alone could have rcftrained them from their own fighcd-for ruin : but fteady fortitude has power to reftrain thofc whom no logick can convince, no rhetorick perfuade. Mr. Burke's eloquence, rich as it was, and radiant, did no good. The pen which taught how " unobtrufive virtue, exciting no aftouifliment, kindling " no emulation, extorting no praife, is ftill moft difficult and moft " fublime," Jlrengthened thofc eyes which his book did but dazzle, and the remarks on Dupont's fpeech, by the fame author, Hannah More, has no fault but that of perpetuating a name defervedly configned to ob- livion. The world always judges rightly in the end of literary perfor- mances ; and Mr. Burke's pamphlet of conftcUated periods will be for- gotten, while Mallet du Pan's Hurope in Danger is confultcd as oraculous, and believed in as prophetick. Bcrofus, the Chaldean hiftorian, thus prefcnted his performance to Antiochus ; and fo delightful was its dic- tion, that his contemporaries cried out they would erc(S to him a co- loffal ftatue : " A ftatue be it of the cojnmonjize,'' laid the king, " but " give it ?Ljilver tongue.''*' Meanwhile our retrofpeSiive tube muft turn to the laft prifon of poor Louis feize, for from a monarch's captivity to his death is a fliort fpace, as wx have often heard — " he croudcd that fliort fpace with " every virtue." Whilft Germany and Pruffia armed in his defence, and fecmed as if preffing on to his deliverance, not a word cfcapcd him, as if wifliing to owe his life to any but a Frenchman's hand. Thc'tr ftrange cxccfles pained, their crimes afflifted him : he dreaded more his countrj'men's difgrace than his own execution : he was, I think, w illing to remove royalty itfelf, if it was thought to obftrudl the happinefs of thofe that he defired to live and die for : and when, * This tale is told of Antiochus Soier. He was called Thcoi, God, for his wife judgment, but took in modefty the anagram, S'Ahe, corrupted to Soicr, as I have read and heard. with CH. xxiu.] FKOM A. D. 1790, TO THE YFAR 1796. 509 with that politcnefs inherent in his family and nation, he had waited on Garat, who brought his fcntencc back to the door of his apartment in the Temple, " Send up the dinner (faid he) now 'tis time." Thefe were moft truly unobtrufive virtues, and gained accordingly fo little praife, that I have read a loyalilt fong, faying in French — " Our good king " thinks himfcif an incumbrance upon the ftate, and fliews his fubjeds •' the method of taking that incumbrance away." He did accordingly deny all accufations of refiftance or duplicity; and innocent as infancy, laid his anointed head under their guillotine, leaving Paris a polluted mafs behind, unfitting for the rcfidence of fuch a foul. The royal wretched widow underwent more mifery after his dcceafe : feparatcd from her fon, her daughter, and her fifter-in-law, (he was foon thrown into a common dungeon, whence two fierce dogs rufliing out open- mouthed at her unexpcdcd entrance, put her in fits, which were fup- pofed to have fomewhat injured her fine faculties. She had enquired and heard the ill fucccfs of the invading armies, on which her hopes •were hung. Shouts of rejoicing at Dumouriez's victories chilled her ftrickcn heart, and few words of any fort fell from lier lips at trial or at death. Treading haftily upon the foot of Samfon the executioner, habitual politcnefs indeed rcfumcd its place, and " pray excufc mc, " friend," was her lad fcntencc. Some writers tell how flic looked round from off the tumbril cart that fhe was tied to, as if amazed at the alterations of the town, whence tvcry vcftigc of its ufual appearance had been removed by Robefpicrrc and his adherents. Indeed the rage for overturning altars, dcftroying ftatucs, plundering old burial-places ; together with infcriptions on the new ones fetting forth, that death was only an eternal fleep !!!!!! added to utter abolition of Sunday, and the fight of churches convert- ed as the republican narrator himfcif confeiTes, into gaming-houlcs, brothels, &c. muft have made the city an epitome of hell. But if Paris was a fccne of flaughtcr every day, of rcAclling and pillage all the night, Lyons was dill worfc treated; fo was poor Nantes, fo was Avignon. Their :>io SKETEH OF EVENTS, [ch. xxin. Their new dit^lator, from his dirty lodging, which, to do him jufticc, he never changed, dealt death around him with unfparing hand ; both to his countrymen and ftrangers ; to Englilh fcjldiers quarter was re- fufed, to Englifli prifoners every accuflomed decency of accommoda- tion was denied ; and General O'Hara, who had fought againft their new republick, eat horfe-bean broth out of the fame gammelle with llclen Williams, once fo lovely and beloved, among her own friends, which for theirs, flae quitted. Such were the terrors of this tyrant's reign, that Mcrcier tells us — " Had an officer knocked at the door of " any citizen, and faid to him be ready with the dawn to-morrow, " Samfon expcdsyou at his guillotine ; no citizen however high would " have refilled, and none however low could have cfcapcd." No co- louring but red fliaded to black, can paint the reign of Robefpierre, falfely called Maximilian — which was his younger brother's name, 7iot his — no chriftian pen defcrihe it. When Caracalla fet fome fol- diers to murder the unarmed audience coming from a theatre, he had been incenfed by the reprefentation of a play aftcd on purpofe to ftrike him with remorfe ; thh unoffended dcfpot, on the contrary, having fupt freely at a friend's houfe, and fearing left the mafter's hofpitality might have drawn forth fome fecret truths he wilhed not to commu- nicate, determined, with unheard-of inhumanity, to flop the lips of all who had partaken it. Accordingly next day, each feparate foul was fent to its account, companions of the table, fervants w ho had w:aited, girls that came in to fliare a little ball given after the entertainment ; feventy fix perfons, as the flory tells, among whom none were/pared ! !* Contagious * How different was the behaviour of our Cromwell ! whom the French branded as a charafler of every vice, and above all, fufpicion. Walking with Thurlow one long fummer evening in the Bodleian Library at Oxford, they talked on bufinefs till the ftroke often warned them to part ('twas a late hour in thofe days) : when the f«- cretary feeking his hat, difcerned a young man faft aflcep in one of the recefTes made for ftudents. " All we have faid is betrayed," exclaimed he fuddenly, drawing his fword, which Cromwell held fufpended j and looking at the lad attentively ; " Come " away CH. xxiir.] FROM A. D. 1790 TO THE YEAR 1796. 5U Contagious phrcnzy fccmed to feize mankind, who halt* applauded his ferocity while he permitted, though he fcldom fliared, their grols intemperance or ftudied profanations. Infants of three years old were taught literally to fuck their fellow-creatures' blood ; ladies wore little guillotines as ornaments, made of cacnellon ftone and gold : members of the p>olitlcal aflembly leaped from their feats, and danced the car- magnole, like frantlck bacchanals, their partners drefled up in prieft's vcilmcnts, and their muficians habited like fatyrs. A woman of no mean rank being prevented ajjijiing at the horrid 10th of Auguft, by labour pains, called her fon born that day, D'lx dAout, in honour of the maflacrc, for which fa(5l Merclcr is my authority. A fchoolmaftcr came forward to protcft his and his young boy's hatred of God, and renunciation of divine authority. Our own fools here in England, fung Plant, plant tlic tree, tlic glorious tree, 'Midft blood and bones and flaughtcr: and our wife men acquitted thofe who fung it. Events appeared with- out their ufual confcqucnccs in the world ; battles gained over the French by land or fca, whether by their own opponents in the Vendee, or by the combination of foreign powers allied toprotc(5l royalifm, pro- duced no cfFeft ; or none proportionate to the victories that were ob- tained. Each country appeared as if ftruck in the vital part ; the cha- ra^eriftick feature of every nation as it were, oddly deformed. France loft her loyalty ; Holland her far-famed hank of Amftcrdam ; Italy fuf- fcred in her ecclefiaflkal jpieitdour ; and even Great Britain inwardl) mourned incipient mutiny exciting in her Jieet. Science herfclf fufFercd ibme revolutions ; and taftc, no longer clafTical, cried out for German - tmtpf Sir (faid he), no man can feign fuch flccp furroundcd by fuch circumflances. ** Air* fafe enough i but let us learn at IcaA from tliit adventure, how very diflicult it " \»Xofptak unheard, and bow impotnblc to ail with tto much caution:' plav-* 612 SKETCH OF EVENTS, [ch. xxim. plays and novels of a new fort, filled with what the Parifians call, em- phatically enough, phantafmagorie. Was it for this, in Leo's foflcring reign, Learning uprofc with tempefls in her train ."• And now, if no aflcrtion made is truer, than that " literature, well or " ill condudled, is the great engine by which all civilized ftatcs muft " ultimately be fupported or overthrown," what can become of the moft civilized oi alljiaics ? When their own writers fay, and truly I believe, " that could you put a pen in Satan's claw, it would not trace lines " more corrupt or more repugnant to well ordered communities, than " thofe which ftill employ the youth of France to read and to approve. "+ Scholars in our ifland did certainly both fee and deprecate the coming florm. Profeflbr Robifon confirmed the aflcrtions of Barruel, and warned us of approaching danger. Bifhops gave energetick charges to their clergy ; religious trads written by pious laymen of high rank, gave new recommendation to virtue, and poor people were furniflicd with incomparable admonitions, well fuited to their charader and Na- tion, from the promoters of the cheap repofitor)'. The foe of man- kind found his attempts fteadily oppofcd, his vigilance counteracted by our preachers ; and although in the Anglican cftablifliment, difciplinc long confcfre4 dormant, lay even ftrctched for dead, fince all authority had been changed for influence : that influence was at leaft -well em- ployed. And if our metropolitan was much againft his will con- demned to hear the hammers beat upon a funday noon, getting the new opera houfe beautified againft a new year : thofe churches that refounded with condemnation of fuch condud were filled with decent and attentive auditors. Whilft at fubfcription chapels, built like theatres, no lefturer could gain that popularity on which he now de- pended, by any means more efficacious than that of inculcating due * Purfuits of Literature. f Mercier's Nouveau Paris/ a»*VoJei ** detcftation en. xxfii.J FROM A. D. 1790, TO THE YEAR 1796. 5i3 dctctlation of thofc dreadful principles, tlic effcft of wUich became hourly more notorious, as every body had fomc tale to tell,, more dread- ful than the laft. I fliall relate but one from tuv ozva knowledge, and for any thing I ever heard, unprintcd. Sometime in May, 1794, when L'2,000 pcrfons were confined in various prifons of the capital, and by thole men too who for love of liberty had pulled down the Baftilc, and guillotined poor old La Tude, one of the fcven people whom they found there ; a lady at la Concicr- gerie languiflied Ibme weeks in diilrcfsl'ul anxiety concerning the fafcty of that fon from whofe protcding arms (he had btcn torn. That death which her companions lliunncd, flic fought ; but her turn was delayed, and the fine (lockings (he had on when dragged to prifon, were cut otf thofe fwcllcd legs they would no longer cover. •* I'oyez unpen lionc,"* laid flic to the goalcr ; who at length roughly referred her to a dark hole, whither his cuftom was to throw the things worn by the mei\ who had been executed. She put her hand in, and pulled out a pair all ftaincd with blood, but which flie quickly recognized, as having marked them witli her own fingers not three months before, for ufc of the dear lad (he was in hopes had efcaped. Thofe hopes were now ex- pired ; and when the man turned round to drive her backamong the CTOYiA, Jhe -was expired too. Such fccncs were grown familiar with the French, and to their now national though brutal furor, we mu(t oppofc the national and princely liberality of Britons. Our duke of York's fpecch to his men, on hearing of Barrere's decree, that to the £ngli(h and Hanovcriah foldiers no quarter (hould l)c given, and hi.s gallant recommendation of a contrary condutil, makes us amends for reading their wild boafts, which in (late papers do appear like mad- ncl's, and in another century would have been fo accounted ; but tiie contagious phrcnzy fpread to Holland : and when their Stadtholder wax fled to our ifland, dill partial to his colours, and ever fond of his fa- mily ; their icy plains received the bold Dumouriez, who fluflied with «unquc(l threw his eyes acrdfs the fca, hoping to crcd his (landard • Do but fee, Sir. Vol. II. 3 T tn-cjlor 6J4 SKETCH OF EVENTS, [ch. xxni. tri- color on London's tower. Tliere deftiny refufed, as erfl at Troy ; when tlic too haily hero heard a voice crying — Patioc'us, no: this hcav'i- defended wall Defies thy force, not fated yet to fall ; Thy frienj, thy greater farilfliall withftand, Tioy fhall not fall even by Achilles' hand. Our wooden walls were now its bcft protecflion : the dry rot which leemed to infeft each fabrick formed upon fubordinate dignities on earth, had only threatened, had not yet penetrated through their fides ; while that vile worm was growing, Lord Howe's immortal vi6lory upon the firft of June feemed as the prelude, not confummation of glory to our king, our miniiler, and our country ; who, while they fcnt out Duncan and Jervis, Trowbridge and Nelfon, Sir Sydney Smith and Sir Edward Pellew — all never-dying names, before whdfe foe the fierce and vaunting Frenchmen never yet failed to fly, fed here at home their numerous prifqners and their emigres with our bcft bread and tendereft confolations. " If I had lived (faid gentle Louis " fcizc in his laft moments to his confcffor) I would have thanked the " king of England for that kind refr.oc offered to our clergy." " Mats " ccft line nat'fon vraiemcnt Iteiifatfante ;"* So faid poor Pius fcxtus too, when our navy defended the Italian coalls from plunder, and he ftruck a medal with a mo'tto on it expreffive of thefc words — Rome faved hy Br'itpi cannmi ! What a change ! fmce the firft pages of our firft vo- lume ; and what a change too from aiiother ftation, w hither his Re- iroJpeSi would point more naturally, <-he very early pages o? our fecond ! How muft a man fo formed for quiet times and claflick pleafures, have felt hlmfclf crufhed and confounded by the crumbling ruin that feemed to Yhut liim in on every fide. Yet his biographers take pains to tell us, that all found temporary alleviation from fight of fugitive princeflfes, aunts to the king of France, feeking afylum in his capital. Pius fextus was no great character 'tis certain, and the time was arrived, when • But 'tis really a befleficci^tjUjtion. „ • men Y t. CH. XXIII.] FROM A. D. 179O, TO THE YEAR 1706. 513 men were meafured fair without advantage of their pedcitals. Vanity is a confoling quality, a flattering dileale of tlic mind, and Dr. John- fon told me once a ftory of a man liigh in the learned world, but long Tmce dead, whofe fondncfs for iiis own powers olthe pen were fuch, he longed to publifli his pathctick letters to the unregarding leduccr of his daughter — lb he called a fellow whom his girl, lefs romantick than himfelf, had foolilhly ran away with. " Nor feemcd to fee (faid the " rough author of the Rambler, //// / told him J, that he was perpe- " tuating his dowdy's, and his own difgrace." Not much unHkc to this the Roman pontitF delighted in his epldolary correfpondence with crowned heads, although on the moft diftrefst'ul of all fubjeds. Among thcle, Mufcovitifll Catherine found moll Icifurc to keep it up : (he liked his Holinefs's letters better than the epillle from Kien Long of China, who was never named at her court after he wrote it ; and, tliough fmcc the allonifliing exertions of her great general, valiant SuwarofF, who at IfmaclotF had difplayed feats of prodigious braver; , fo as to animate mankind to mutual (laughter, by an example worthy the warriors or the knights of old, her hopes of driving the Turks from Europe, and fctting her own progeny on his throne, were put by to another planting leafon. Potemkin took due care their roots Ihould take no injury, while his ambition, willingly was gorged with even thing but independent fovercignty, the diftant profped of vshich ga\c him to endure life a few years longer, diverting its ennui with pouring out whole facks full of diamonds, jewels, precious gems, upon a tabic co\trcd with black velvet, as we arc told, there to admire their value and their luilrc. Thofe who have read much of great men's private hour?, will recoi- led (empty as this may be) the ttedium vila lefs innocently amufed, and black velvet put to a worfc ufe than by Potemkin. He died under H tree upon his journey to the town he had built, and called after hi> fjUfx-n EkatarinaI;ofF. Poor Sultan Sclim now appeared the only per- Icin not pcrfuaded that all great ■emj)ires, and liisown the firil, were 3 T 2 haurdon dc I'Oife, who had followed him clofe up, attacked, and Mth the aid of Tallien, tore him down from that pre-eminence, \n hence h«had fecn companions, friends, enemies go to the guillotine obedient, urcfifting as the old gladiators in Roman days, vsho parting the cm- pc»r on their paflagc to the Coioflfeo, were accuilomed to cry out, Ave imprator! tnortturi tefalutant ; but Robefpierre never, like Claudius Cxt, anfwcrcd them, Jvfte vox — and by that word difappointcd tljc pcoj- of their (how. He faw the royalifts all martyred, the Hrilfotincs extituifticd, the Dantonifts deftroycd, adherents to the crown and fupptcrs of the republick alike expiring, and in fuch crowds, that the lafl f to iinpo- verifli old England than even to ferve thcmlelves ; and when the true intcreft of that coimtry, which each at firft pretended that they came mto the field to fight for, was totally forgotten by them all, extrpt (Jrcat Britain, its natural and accuftomed foe — nay, when not even hrr difintertftcd virtue could forbear rejoicing at the firange filly figure v%hich Spain made, tricked (»f her fliips, and hung out to the dtiilioii of all Europe with certain lofs of commerce, character, and ti>nfe- qtlcnoe • Catherine of RuHia, featcd on a height whence (he could lee • Hie tlay of llic dog. f TliC enemy of luiiuaiikintJ. the 520 SKETCH OF EVENTS, [ch. xxm. the ant-hill all in motion, and view the refult of its buftle undifturbed, became folc arbitref's of our whole continent. She only could have ftllled tlic fighting elements in France, when towards the ciofe of the. year 1 7[)6 chaos was come figain: flic might have given ftrength to the leagued princes, animation to the grand caufc of religion and morality ; but when at laft flie felt a fond defire to amufe the favourite s valiant brother, Valerian Zuboff, whole delight was war; and when the Britiflx mimfter had infplred her with hope of forwarding her darling projcrt to fet prince Conftantine upon the throne fo long, fo cruelly ufurped by Ottomans ; when, in a word, flie was at length prevailed onto iign that document by which fuch vafl, fuch fignal changes would have been wrought, the pen dropt from her preparing hand — and Retrofpec- iio7t can ufe none imprcffive and fublime as that of Mr. Eton, with whofe words we clofe this chapter — Myflerious heaven ! Ihe died. The Britifh tninifter who had been at her court foliciting her help on former occa- sions was oddly charaflcrized by Mirabeau, who fays in his memoirs, " The Due de " Brunfwick would liave fcnfe enough to know, before he feels the impotence of his at- " tacks upon our great nation, were not his ears perpetually poifoncd by ihatjly minifter, " that artful ftatefman, Ihat cunning creature, Harris, who like his country will often " be found i/cvcr, but upon veiy few occafions ivife." CHAP. CH. xxrv.] FROM A. Din796, TO THE YEAR 1800. 52 1 CHAP. XXIV. *!:u .'^fiUj 'is.'inTfd nf.>rMi ■ .j Ufa, iA^'^^'6xyi^''tk&^5 OF i^E CEisrruRY, FROM I79O TO 1800. BEING arrived at the intcreftlng moment when Retr(^e5iion ccafcs and obfervation is begun, our book muft with this chapter end itfclf, and be fubmitted to the reader's RetroJpeSI. If found at laft too fhort for ufc, too long for entertainment, the writer will be forry ; Yet if wc fliadows liave offended, I'hink but this, and all is mended — That you liavc but fluinbcr'd here, AVhilc ihcfc vifions did appear. — Mid/ummcr Ni^ht'i Dream. The early vifions of Rome's glorj-, papal as imperial, " are va- " niflied into air, into thin air." Her fccond cycle of twelve centu- ries is more than flown, and deftiny demands his due. That the fuc- ccflbrs of her laft great founder " have been of late compelled to take " the loweft room" at the long table of our common maftcr, they owe to the coarfc ftrugglcs he forbade : when pufhing for the topmoft place ♦ 'ttv fa w and fcl t * The faucy follower grown a forcrcign lord, Kxc hanging I'ctcr's keys for Peter's fword. — dwiey. W howfocvcr, when his church was young, " flic girded licrfcif and " walked >^hcre Ihc woiild," let us lament rather than triumph over • See I »th chapter of St. I.ukc's Gofpcl. sth and :itli vrrfcs. v Vol. II. r.V her 321 LAST FOUR YEARS OP THE CENTURY, [ch.xxiv. her, ♦' when now, being old,* another girdcth and carricth her whi- " ther fhe would not :" and as a great preacher of the prcfcnt day wifely admonifhes," " Let us not, while poring over the monuments of pad " greatnefs, ncglcdt to ftudy thofc infcrlptions on them, from which " fome warning may be drawn for future times," DifFerent ideas will be called up in different minds by like events, or by the fame narra- tion : each ftudcnt draws after the giant ftatue/ and takes his view according as he fits to it. Far as the pad occurrences have place all this goes w ell ; and to anticipate what is yet to come, tranfcends alike our limits and our power. When the uncertain figure paffes by^ and like thofc of Eliphaz,f fear makes our bones to fliake ; we cannot difccrn the form thereof, though thro' the filent night a voice be heard. Kett, King, and Whitaker, with numbers more, have lent learned and grave conjedlures towards explaining, after a mortal mode, the awful figns which have diftlnguiflied this half century, fertile in wonders above all the reft : and if, befide texts from both Teftaments, defcrlp- tion of the latter days by the fimyo« caffe at the lame critical iuftant, our reply was, that Ncllbn came toute-fu'tte with the chaJJe-caffJ . He did indeed; a victory fo won, and Juc/i a viiflor)', was new ujxin the annals even of iiritilh feamanfliip, when Egypt's echoes anfwered to the names of Berry, Ball, and Trowbridge ; Icfs appropriate perhaps than that of Bcllerophon when employed againft I'Oricnt, with the fuccef* an- nexed to that old ap})cllation; when in half fabulous times wc read how fell Chimera yielded to his power. Was our brave leader on that glorious day ever to read this trifling fummary, he might condemn me OS Canute his minftrcl, lor thus comprdling deeds of fuch diftin- guiflicd merit into a few weak lines; but how clfc mull I find room to notice even for a moment, the confcquent recapture of Malta by out troops, the joy of Aultria and hopes of Italy, reanimated by this turn in favour of princes ill combined againll the power of France, which to oppoi'c required equal exertion among all the allies; and it was found only on England's part. The kings of Naples and Sardinia fcnt away for fal'cty to tlicir infulatc dominions, could but applaud : the plun- dered dukes of Modcna and Parma could but pray ; and Switzerland's brave, but tliinly fpread inhabitants could only die in defence of a caufc, which rotting at the core, Ihcwcd private interell and bafc intrigue working their way even to the foftening furfacc. Among thofc that were in fcrious eamcft, let us however llop to celebrate the Bcmoifc women, fix hundred of whom at lead wore foldicrs coats, and fell in honour's field; felling their lives dearly in that difguilc to Frenchmen, who when they found them fpinning in their cottages, • He Jinu hit line unJtr iht dantr'i pJnt. 3X2 had 532 LAST FOUR YEARS OF THE CENTURY. [cii. xxiv. had ftuck their infants upon points of fj>ears ; and violated their free will by force of arms, under pretence of giving them liberty. Ven- geance is virtue in a caufc like this; but life muft have endured fad change in Europe, when female honour could find no fecurity lave from a mufkct in a female hand. Arts, fciences, and commerce, profpercd we muft own ; while princedoms, virtues, po^'crs felt decay. Manufadlurers in our own realm furprifingly enriched, rofc to refpeda- bility and juftly: they only wondered (when they bought up old family eftatcs) why they were made to pay fuch price for labour : nor had fir Richard Arkwright poffibly ever reflected that the wonder was, why any body tilled the earth at all ; when for attendance on his fpinning- jennies, a man might gain more in one day, than he could carry home for toiling at a plough or cartbcft part of the week, in many an Englifli county. High payment for provifions was moft natural, where money flowing in with every tide, augmented in a degree quite unexampled the circulating medium; and months to feed increafcd beyond imagina- tion under a mild government and laws proteding every indivi- dual agaitift all poflibility ofoppreffion. Union was next in confe- quence of this fame gentle fpirit, offered to Irifhmen ; at length ac- cepted, not fuddenly, or without much of .that hefitation which did but little flatter, to fay true, the fpread of fuch attradiion : but they perhaps thought, that as touched iron lofes all its magnctick qualities when once bent into form of a rin^, the marriage might be found lefs beneficial thtjn 'twas at firffc fuppofed. Be this as it may, France mirft have fuffered fome mortification furely, when fhewn her evil influence recdiled upon herfclf ; incapable of feparating the Britifh Ifles, or lef- fening the love borne to their exemplary fovereign, by each individual of his now widely extended domain. Meanwhile difcoveries were diligently purfued, and chrifliantty dif- feminated in places where it appear t have been driven, as much for the accomplifliment of prophecy, as for the benefit of ignorance. A Maroon war, as it was not ill called, againft and among the chefnut * Maron is French for chefnut — whence marone colour. CH. XXIV.] FROM A. D. 17<)6, TO THE YEAR 1800, 933 coloured people, dclolatcd our Weft Indies indeed, and horrible cruel- ties were perpetrated thereby wicked chieftains: charadcrs which, as the writer of a book called the Purfuits of Literature obferves, arc better left for ever in oblivion, than dragged to light only that they mav be execrated. During that time however, Moravian millionaiics had been fuccefsful in countries of later difcovcry, and the fame annual rcgiftcrs record much happincfs as well as mifery diltufed over the new hcmifphere. WhiHl the northern (horcs likcwife of Africa (hook with the cannon^ of contending Europeans, Mungo Parke proceeded iilently upon his travels caftward, hoping to reach its heart, tracing at Icaft the courfc of the majcftick Yoltbah, which appears ftill to have kept that Ethiopick name among its natives, reminding us of the Almighty's thrcatenings againft Jcrufalcm, when for her love of their idolatries, Ezekiel was infpircd to call her by that appellation, faying, " Son of man ! wilt thou judge Aholah and Aholibah? and declare unto them their abomi- nations."* , Names have endured few changes in the call : a parfcc, native of Ifpahan, and refident in London, was enquired of whether his country- men remembered ftill the viitos are alluded to in an abraxas ftone poffefTed as I believe by Mr. Townley, notwithftanding the true a;em (hould be •jchite, and ahra-fax its name; comf>ofed of the PerTick word for fair, and the Latin word, or half on't, for Sijione. Fifteen had merit as a myftick number, when mean- ing was attached to fuch ftrangc matters three hundred years ago. But thcfe conjectures tire my readers' patience : Oh ! let them then at leaft kindly prefer A for ahfohx), in the Roman mode, to C, that meant condemno : for whether the world's end be coming foon or not, 'tis fure the laft (hort chapter of this/utnmnry draws towards its final pe- riod. We have prefentcd you a pafling Ihow ; Icfs durable than pleaf- ing, Icfs plcafing than uncommon ; while empires, fcicnces, opinions, dates, took each their momentary turn and vaniflied ; as in the ap- pearance now and then exhibited when morning dawns on Faro dl MciTma, and the high mountains rifing like a wall behind it, give to the glafly furface of the fca, powers far exceeding that of any mirror : rcflcding every objecA 'Should the patronage equal Mr. Stockdalc's expectation, it is his intention to prcfent with the Map of I r-Und, gratis, or at a final! price, a Hillcry of the Union between the two kingdoms, in one volume 4to. For this purpofe Mr. Stockdalc will confulcr him- fclf obliged by being favoured with a corre^ed copy of every publication upon, or con- acCled with this fubjed, whether for or againd the meafure. The cod of the Map of Ireland to Subfcribers (hall not exceed I'hree Guineas, and that of Great Britain, Five Guineas. No money will be takea until the delivery of the Mapy^ ^c. but they will be con- fidcrably advanced in price to Non-ftibfcribcrs. \ Topographical Account of the United Kingdoms will be publilhed about the fame lime, in three large volumes royal 4to. with Plaie.s. The above Maps will form one large Atlas, nearly double the thickncfn of Chan- chard's Maps ; or may be put on rollers as three diltiiiCl Maps of England and Walc<:, S:oiland, and Ireland. Noiwithftanding the fubfcriptlQn isonly juft opened, it is daily filling with rapidity, and will certainly foon exceed the numerous lid for the Maps hj Chauchard, which was, by much, tlw largeft ever known in England. The Publilher is confidcai thai ibe Subfcribers* copies in the firA 2CO0 improflioii.s will, on the day of publicaiion, be worth double the fubfcripiion price, though no money is taken in advance. A lift of the Subfcribers will be printed. PUcaJilly, i Jantury^ iSoi. SUBSCRIBERS THE IMPERIAL MAPS. HIS MAJESTY, HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE DUKE OF KENT, HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE DUKE OF CUMBERLAND, HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS PRINCE ADOLPHUS FREDERIC, HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS PRINCE WILLIAM FREDERIC OF GLOUCESTER Marquis of Salifbury Lord Vifcount Caftlereagh Robert Marftiall, efq. Right Hon. Thomas Pelham Nicholas Gay, efq. Rev. William Coxe John Bagfliaw, efq. Lord Lifmore Sir Henry Lambert, bart. Capt. Towers Wogan Browne, efq. Mefl'rs Hammeriley's and Co. Mr. Benjamin Lepard John Weyland, jun. efq. Thomas Afton Coffin, efq. Captain William Smith, R. N. Earl of Mountnorres Hon. and Rev. T. J. Twifleton Earl of Kerry Hon. Cropley Afhiey William Bell, efq. W.N.W. Hewett, efq. Sir John Neuport, bart. William Hughes, efq. Nathaniel NichoHs, efq. Michael Keane, efq. two cc^ics Captain Lcthem General Avarne John Smyth, efq. George John Legh, efq. Major W. L. Hughes F. Jodrell, efq. Jacob Henry Aflley, efq. William James Atkinfon, efq. Lord Midleton William Fowke, efq. Richard Congreve, efq". Jackfon Barwis, efq. Robert Charnley, efq. John Heath, efq. James Rice, efq. Samuel Pcploe, efq. Thomas Parker, efq. S. Doorne, efq. James Warre, efq. Rev. John Lempiiere SUBSCRIBERS TO THE IMPERIAL MAPS William Thomas St. Quintin, efq. Sir John Hawkins, ban. George Garrick, efq. Charles Wolfcicy, efq. Major General Cradock, two copies S. N. May, efq two copies Thomas John Parke, efq. John Parke, efq. Lord Grey George Glenny, efq. Capt. F. H. Ro.ld Jofeph Pringle, efq. George Chalmers, efq. RicharJ Borough, efq. D. H. Price, efq. J. R. Whitcfoord, efq. Mifs Lawrence Mifs Waller Lord Rous Sir John Coghill, bart. John Sulivan, efq. Thomas Law Hcxiges, efq. Rev Edmund Cart Wright, jun. Henry Thompfon, efq. Samiiil Thornton, efq. Mr. l>)ugla$ Thoiupfon Lord Chttwynd William Young, efq. M. Juftice Downcs Robtri Sicarne Tighe, efq. P. N. Roberis, efo. Ifaac Hiriman, efq. General Sir Joim Adon, bart. Lieut. Col. D. Robert fon Major BItwii Thomas Bjcon, tfq. Sir Cecil Wrav, bart. William GofTip, efq. jofeph Chearnley, efq. Colonel 1 hfirnton Rcy. Mr Bechtr Lord Clonbrcck Robert Doyne, efq. GeorKC Rofs, efq. Loid ICilmaine John Wilkinfon, efq. John Price, efq. Jofeph Walker, efq. Rev. C. Wrbber Bernard Shawc, efq. Charles Cole, efq. Right Hon. St. George Daiy Capt. George Monro Rev. Thomas Harwood Lord Vifcount Southwell Hon. Admiral Berkeley Rev. John Dampier W. H. White, efq. Admiral Sir John Borlafe Warren, bart. Rev. Francis Annefley Rev. Charles Baillie Rev. Dr. Marriott Sir Richard Colt Hoare, bart. Lieut. Col. WalOiam Garbctt Rev John Robert Lloyd William Owen, efq. Mr. J. Parflec H. N. Jarretf, efq. Read Kemp, efq. H. Banks, efq. Rev. John Evans Royal Exchange Infurancc Company of Dublin Mr. Collins Sir Fr.ilcrick Etien, barf, Gabriel Piozzi, efq. W. Upton Glcdflancs, efq. Jofeph Labat,efq. Frederick Thomas Foftcr, efq. Rev. Thomas Grinfield Rev. Dr. Beaufort Rev. John Holden Samuel Shaw, efq. John Ycrbury, efq. Robert Johnfon, efq. William Johnfon, efq. Charles Oflwine, efq. Henry Alexander, cjq. James Du Pre, efq. Lord Rolle Captain Baldwin Jamei Mackintotb, efq. Rev. I)r. Clarke Robert Birch, efq. J. Phillips, efq. Alexander Olborn, efq. J. Woolfreys.efq. Major Frederick William Bullcc Charles Hurt, efq. Sir Robert Peel, bart. SUBSCRIBERS TO THE IMPERIAL MAPS. Hon. Charles Finch Sir Edward Winnington, bart. Cliarles Liitwidge, efij. Major Wife Mrs. Broiigh Geij. Lord Adam Gordon * Jofcph Kayo, cfq. David Ellis, efq. James Lloyd Harris, efq. Hon. Edward Spencer Cowper John Simpfon, efq. Major Bowen Hon. S. E. Eardley George Cherry, cfq. Rl. Hon. Thomas Steele Rev. George Prcdon Major Keaiic John Cobb, efq. Lt. Col. Loft Mr. Simon Hchl Jofias Dii Pre Porcher, efq. Mr. Felix Smiih William Minier, cfq. Henry Jermyn, efq. Crawtord Davifon, efq. George Cavendilh, efq. Mrs. Yarborough Lord Craven Rev. James White Lieut, .Alexander Smith jofeph Litiledalc, efq. Rev. Mr. Gilbert Beresford Peter Dii Cane, efq. Geiicr.ll Grinfield John Kerrick, efq. Charles Francis Forfter, efq. George Ruirell, efq. Mr. Alderman Williams Robert Udiiey, efq. William Gumbleton, cfq. Henry Walker, efq. Rev. Humphry Aram Hole Col. George Vanghan Hart Sir William Young, bart. James Mingay, efq. Kev. Stephen Wcfton Ivichard Cooper, efq. James Grant, efq.' George Henckell, €fq. Sir John J. W. Jervis, bart, William Freemantle, efq. Mr. James Scatcherd, fi.\ copies Mr, C. Geifweiler, fix copies Mr. John Walker, fix copies Lt. Col. VN'eflropp Capel Cure, efq. Lt. Col. Chriftmas General MalTey Thomas O'Reilly, eCq. Robert Dalrympic, efq. MeflVs. Murray and Highlcy, fix copies Majoi^ Leflie Lt. Col. Depnifs Leonard VafTall, efq. William Hales, efq. Frederick Thomfon, efq. Stephen Moore, efq. William Moore, efq. Anthony Bacon, efq. Thomas Bacon, efq. John Calcraft, efq. Thomas Sherrard, efq. Rev. James Lowry SiafFord Squire Baxter, efq. Edward Protheroe, efq. Mr. John Smith Anthony Chearnley, efq. Thomas Thorotop, efq. Lewis Montolieu, efq. Her Serene Highnefs the hereditary Priucef* of Tour and Taxis Count de Bcrnftorf Frederick Francis Baker, cfq. Nicholas Carliflc, efq. Richard Arkwright, cfq. George Pure foy Jervoife, efq. Thomas Raymond Barker, cfq. William Baldwin, cfq. John Baker, efq. Mr. Richard Phillips Lord Ribb'.efdalc G. H. Errington, efq. William Hayton, efq. Thomas Grimftone, efq. . Rev. John Lloyd -% ivil5 THE UNIVERSITY OF CAUFORNIA LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY BERKELEY Return to desk from which borrowed. Thii book is DUE on the last date stamped below. AU6ii u Ib:,^ ^^ 29Sep'52«13 APRll 2009 m ' ♦M ^^ ■ jS'J ji- « H % ^