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is come hither," fays the bifhop, "to practife and to fee what his genius fhall be capable to rife up to. These are the words, but Burnet was accustomed chiefly to court manners, and could not fee the fovereign through the favage. That a hard-handed fellow, uncouth in appearance, and working in our docks as a fhip carpenter, should defire to polish and refine his people, and that he fhould take that method of accomplishing his purpose, was doubtlefs 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 pleafing Prince John Sobiefky, who outlived his renown for wisdom, virtue, and valour, and died despised by all in 1697. Whilft in two years more the Swedish hero, Charles, fet his own crown 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 perfect and obfequious fubmiffion.

The birth of a new kingdom likewife was at hand, and the old house of Hohenzollen felt the wish to change its rank among German leaders; affuming the title of King over Pruffia; its nafcent importance has been happily tranfmitted to us by the great defcendant of this great elector Frederick de Brandenburgh, who having caught the univerfal panick concerning the univerfal monarchy aimed at by Louis XIV., enter'd with willingness into the league against him. Of that rich fheaf our William was the bandage and tie; he too had been lately exalted from Stadtholder in one country to Kingship in another; "but 'twas the moment," fays the royal author just mentioned, "for princes to bud out and disclose themselves;" he might have added that they budded out at a wrong time of year, like apple bloffoms gracing fometimes with barren beauty, October or November. Pruffia being itself little beyond a defert watered by blood of heroes in the contest between Guftavus Adolphus and the Imperial generals Tilly and Pappenheim; Europe faw it claimed with lefs averfion;

Leopold

he

Leopold was not unwilling to acknowledge any prince who would lend him one thousand men to fight against France, Augustus 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 purchase. Charles of Sweden meant to poffefs the whole a wolf counts not the sheep nor liftens to their names laughed to see a new throne erected only for his amusement to pull down: but though poffeffed of one vaft project, his head contained nofubordinate 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 vast arena of the world, which had not been traverfed with more rapid, more reftlefs vehemence fince Retrospection first presented it to view. His exploits must lend fire to our future chapters though; for the year 1700 left him brandishing his weapons around, as a stag in a foreft fharpens his horns, for the purpose of running at, he cares not who.

A

CHAP.

PP

VOL. II.

CHAP. XIV.

SPAIN, PORTUGAL, GERMANY, HOLLAND, AND GREAT BRITAIN, FROM 1650 TO 1700.

THE

HE twelfth chapter of this swiftly-flown Retrospect quitted Louis XIV. when, like a mofs-grown tree, he spread his arms abroad, but fprouted out no more; while lichens covered the root with leathery obstructions, and every parafitical plant fucked up his moisture, preventing further progrefs of his powers, and twifting round his trunk their hindering obfequiousness; yet he expected to revive again, if once unhappy Charles of Spain would die, and leave him room for new expanfion :That wretched prince, twice married, and still miserable in having no fon to fucceed him, had chofen to adopt the son of the elector of Bavaria, and his death put all Europe in confufion, till on the testament of this poor Spanish monarch, the world seemed well-refolved to wait no longer; fo that by an act of unexampled infolence they divided his poffeffions even before his death, by the memorable Partition Treaty. Indignation at feeing himself fo treated, haftened the end of a life remarkable in no fense, but that it was the object of all contemporary fovereigns, who confidered his difmiffal as their fignal for feizing his property. Enraged at this idea he bestowed, by a folemn act that filled the parting moments, all he poffeffed in this world upon Philip duke of Anjou, fecond fon to the dead Dauphin of France, by Mary Anne of Bavaria ; nor could he have made a wifer or a more equitable difpofition: this was in the year 1700. John de Braganza, furnamed the Fortunate, his neighbour in Portugal, had been happier :-He left fons, though they were not like himself. Alphonfo the eldest, who succeeded him,

married

married a pofthumous daughter of Charles Amadeus, duke of Savoy; but falling immediately into an incurable madnefs, the nuptials were defer'd, and Don Pedro, his next brother, having in the interim made himself agreeable to the princefs, whofe terror alienated her mind ftill more from poor Alphonfo: they were confummated by difpenfation with the last-named offspring of great Braganza inftead of him, to whom the lady was betrothed. Voltaire makes a buftle about this tranfaction as if overflowing with moral turpitude, but it is thus the Portugucze relate the tale; and fay moreover, that the king was taken care of in Ifola Tercera, one of the Azore ifles, nor did his brother affume any title but that of regent until his demife, which happened not till 1683. Don Pedro was quietly established on his throne when Madrid was fhaking with convulfive terrors, and the eventful year 1700 faw Lisbon a commercial town, flowing with riches lefs wickedly obtained than those of Spain or Holland, and profpering accordingly. Ferdinand the fecond, opponent (if he might be fo called) to great Guftavus Adolphus, left his empire meanwhile quietly fecured to Ferdinand Ernest his son, whofe fucceffor Leopold, by dint of philofophical compofure and plain fenfe, dragged through a long reign of forty-feven years without much applause indeed, or much blame : but frequently affaulted, he lost little territory, and perpetually tormented, he never loft his temper. His grand object was to ftop the progrefs of France towards power, of England towards wealth. To effect the latter fcheme, he haraffed that wretched elector Palatine, married to a fifter of Charles the firft: but fecing how little her perfonal afflictions affected the purfe of Great Britain, he got our money to affift him in the war againft Louis quatorze, over which the Stadtholder of Holland prefided; and thus turned one of the ftates he hated against the other. The year 1700 found him a true mourner for William the third's ill ftate of health, as he could not hope to be fupported by his fucceffor in the fame manner. We must however, go back and fee what our own country actually did do and fuffer from 1650 to 1700, the most important moments of her Pp 2 life.

life. We left her protected against foreign powers by Oliver Cromwell, whofe triumphs on the ocean rendered him formidable to the fierceft of them :-His conquest of Jamaica was useful to commercial splendour, and his leaving it to be named after king James by those who took it, inftead of naming it after himself; thewed unaffected greatness of mind; but what, perhaps, gratifies an English reader of his reign more than any acquifition that was made during its continuance, is the total fcorn. fhewn by him of the Portugueze ambassador's nobility and confequence when put in balance against one Briton's life; and to say true, all Europe looked with admiration on an act as new to mankind as it was just and reasonable; when Don Pafferano de Saa, brother to the envoy of our best ally, was publickly beheaded upon Tower Hill for murder of fome man whofe name has been long forgotten. But the protectorate was of short duration. Though stern in council as ferocious in fight, Cromwell's ruggednefs like that of the cocoa-nut was confined to his exterior: the milk of tendernefs within haftened its premature decay. A dutiful fon, his mother's perpetual terror left he should be affaffinated, tormented her own days and fhortened his. To please her he was ever changing his apartment, and used to fhew her fometimes that he wore armour under his clothes. Of the children on which he doated with uncommon fondness, Mrs. Claypole was the acknowledged darling, and fince he had bred them up to have no prejudices, they had none in his favour. That lady lived and died a royalist, nor fpared to embitter with political reproaches the parting scene between herself and an indulgent father, of whofe renown many a higher lady than Mrs. Claypole might have been justly proud. Mrs. Fleetwood was a determined democrat, a leveller, who confidered his power as a criminal ufurpation over the people's rights; while Richard, for whom he accepted, and to whom he refigned that power, which however procured he had ufed only for England's good; was of a quiet unambitious temper, and Henry his other fon had, as Hume fays, a project ever in his head, of restoring Charles the fecond to his throne.

That