luxury could wish. The fhip was moored which had on board these rareties; her freight was beauty to delight the eyes of youth, and spoils to ftimulate the avarice of age. One barrel of gunpowder protected and polluted the gay veffel, and one noble dame on board having difcerned it, just as they touched the fhore when all hands were employed, lighted a match, and calling her companions round: Now, Chriftians, females, friends, fhe cried aloud, we all die free at last. With these bold words the long-premeditated explosion burst: which hindered any more from being heard, ten Turkish mariners alone escaping, told the true tale and called her a Venetian. This was perhaps, in Selim's opinion, the most striking event in Selim's reign, who left to Amurath his eldest son, an empire unimpaired, but fuch ill health as any leffer courage could not have struggled with, being for nineteen years fo tortured with the stone, that much of perfonal prowess could not be hoped from him, and the great battle of Lepanto, gained from his predeceffor, put the Europeans in good heart, though Selim said of it and not unjustly, when he was told how Doria had destroyed all his fleet: "I'm forry "for it; I fay I'm forry for it, but having faid fo, fure I've faid enough: "because when all is done, the lofs is but as of my beard, which if I "cut to-day, 'twill grow again: but when the Christian kings loft Cyprus by valour of my trusty flaves and baffas, it was as though they "loft an arm I think, for to their fide it grows no more for certain.” Brave Amurath was not difpofed, to difgrace his noble origin, but his bad health obliged him to keep peace a little, and the Venetians' strange behaviour would have obliged any fovereign to make war. 'Twas in this reign I fear, that Peter Emo took a fhip in which was the widow of Ramadin Baffa, governor of Tripoli, a Mahometan princefs, with her train, and 800,000 crowns. The commander feized upon the spoil, murdered two hundred and fifty men in cold blood, among whom was the widow's only fon, whofe life fhe vainly begged upon her knees: while forty waiting women who attended her were violated, ftrangled, and thrown into the fea. The republick wifhed indeed R 2 indeed to appease Amurath's refentment, and wash away in Emo's forfeit blood, all memory of fuch an outrage, but hiftory records, and Retrospection can't escape it: Ramadin's widow leaped into the sea. This Sultan fhowed much more refpect to our ifland than to any other Chriftian potentates; his letter to Elizabeth, preferved by Knollys, is curious to a modern reader. "Moft honourable matron "of the Christian religion, mirror of chastity adorned with brightness, "and of fovereign power among the people which serve and praise Jefus; mistress of kingdoms and reputed of great majefty, Eliza"beth queen of England, to whom Amurath, Ottoman Emperor of “the eastern world, wishes a happy reign," is the fuperfcription. The contents are concerning Philip the second's armada, and full of good intentions towards our country, which mourned its incomparable miftrefs about the fame time that Amurath's decease produced the boastful verfes fet on his tomb, 1600. Me tumidum fortuna tumens erexit in altum, The death of thefe fovereigns mark the end of the century, and Guthrie fays, that till their reign the Turks had always confidered England to be a province or tributary realm to France. If fo, Elizabeth feems to have enlightened them; but the fact is very difficult to credit; Solyman and Mahomet II., before his time, must have known better concerning the ftate of Europe. CHAP. CHAP. VII. ITALY, GERMANY, SPAIN, ENGLAND, FRANCE, AND THE NOTRH. PROGRESS OF REFORMATION. FROM A. D. 1550 TO 1600. UROPE feems to have been, in the year 1550, pretty well EUR per fuaded as to the neceffity of reform, and doubtful only how much was to be done: as Germany was the original focus of dif fention, Italy was looked to now for provocations, and a bad pope was defired by the enemies of Rome with much more earnestness than its inhabitants contended for a good one. J. Maria Giocci was bad enough. Reginald Pole, coufin to Henry the seventh of England, and firm adherent to his eldest daughter, was their firft choice, but having been elected in the night, he sent a request that the conclave would confirm his election by day, as he detefted deeds of darkness: this they refented; and haftily threw the mantle on young Cardinal de Monte, who took the warlike name of Julius III. although himself a mere voluptuary, of whom one reads nothing but that he made his monkey's keeper a cardinal, to the no fmall offence of the college, who exclaimed that the new dignitary poffeffed neither virtue nor learning. Why, I pray, for which of my virtues was I promoted ?” faid the fhameless Pontiff. "Come, come, we know each other, and "should tell no tales."-" My Innocent,(the lad who looked to his "menagerie,) will make as good a cardinal as any of us." A daring blafphemy is likewife related of this Pope, which Henri Etienne attri 66 butes "This If butes to Leo X. how he faid among his friends and favourites, “fable about Jefus Chrift has answered pretty well to us, hah!" true the tale, I hope 'twas Julius made the horrid speech: his religion was then worthy his morality. An irreproachable character, Marcellus by name, fucceeded, but lived fcarce a month after his election, and Paul IV, haughty and impetuous, reigned in his ftead. The people, hafty as their fovereign, fet up his ftatue the first year, broke it the fecond, and flung it into Tyber. He quarrelled both with France and Auftria for relaxing of their perfecutions against Lutheranism, which he vainly hoped, with the duke d'Alva's help, to extirpate by main force: but feeing protection granted to the Colonnas, he became quite outrageous. 'Tis recorded however, that this primate's feverities fell heavy even upon his own nearest kinfmen, when accufed of vices that difgraced their stations or their calling. His death called Pius IV. to the chair, who fummoned the famous calvinistic queen, Joan d'Albret de Navarre, to appear before the inquifitorial tribunal at Rome; but Charles IX. of France would not, though bigotted, permit this infult, as he deemed it, to a widow'd mother of princes boafting his blood royal, and the profecution was dropped accordingly. Maximilian the emperor next begged his Holinefs to take off from his German clergy the vows of celibacy, and grant the euchariftic cup to all communicants-two things repugnant to that new fymbol of belief which he had published, and which is known by name of Pope Pius's creed, fanctioned by the Council of Trent, held under, and new opened by diffolute Julius, his anti-predeceffor. The cup was obtained however, for Hungary and Bohemia, and the Pope died of vexation. His fucceffor was of the fame temper, and a more violent perfecutor ftill; fo that whatever Paul IV. did, feems loft in the feverities of Pius V. who burned his own beft fubjects, fteady Catholicks, Carnesecchi and Palearius, one a noble Tuscan, the other an author, only for faying that the Lutherans were in fome points excufeable. It was in this pontificate the battle of Lepanto was gained, and our A our Elizabeth formally excommunicated: and it was this cruel-hearted fovereign who bestowed upon the duc d'Alva a rich fword and belt, with thanks for fuch conduct in the Low Countries as would have graced a campaign made by Caracalla. Without encouragement from Pius V. Charles the the ninth of France would never have brought his confcience to endure the premeditation of a maffacre which has no ex. ample: but the Pope died before it was put in execution, and was beatified in 1712 by Clement XI. Truth is he led a temperate and yet auftere life, and acted lefs by paffion than by principle he had not. fo learned Chrift as to love his fellow fervants; He delighted to tear the sheep himself, not feed or fave them from the wolves. A contrary character makes a pleasing contraft. Gregory, the learned, the gentle, and the grave, who gave up, with difinterested heroifm, all claim to the kingdom of Portugal, which the ftrange death or lofs at least of Don Sebaftian threw among three European potentates, as a bone of contention. The Pope not only declined all difpute concerning it, but fent to congratulate his rival Philip upon the fuccefs of his arms there he fent no congratulations, nor permitted any rejoicings on the maffacre of St. Barthelemi; but intent upon reforming the old Julian calendar, made the Proteftants appear truly ridiculous and contemptible, when out of childish fpite to Rome, they forcbore to count time by a more commodious method than had been till then adopted, and fhewed mankind that their refearches after learning were prompted lefs by defire of general benefit to the world, than of freeing it from that particular yoke which to say true had long been both heavy and painful. Inquifitorial tribunals were now frequent, and grew every day more ftrict and more fevere, as they became more neceffary auxiliaries to the finking power of the popedom. Gay Venice refolved however, to exclude them. Priuli, their doge, faid, "What though "What though our republick "has fuffered fomewhat in her confequence by the Ligue de Cambray "made in 1508, and fomewhat in her wealth too, by thefe new dif "coveries, let us not be fapp'd as well as battered: let us keep liberty "at |