the republic of Genoa in the most vexatious and humiliating manner; rendered himself odious to the papal court; and revoked the edict of Nantes, by which Henry the Fourth had permitted freedom of religion to the French Calvinists. In consequence of this measure he came to be regarded by the protestants as a second Diocletian; and deprived himself of 800,000 industrious subjects, who transferred their property, their talents, and their detestation of Lewis, to Holland, Brandenburg, and other protestant countries. At the same time he menaced Cadiz; and prevented the pope from carrying into effect his plan of improving the police of the city of Rome.

William of Orange derived the most important advantages from these circumstances; because every proceeding of the haughty monarch tended to convince the powers of Europe of the necessity of combining against his dangerous preponderance. England was indeed at this time under a state of oppression; Vienna besieged by the Turks, and Hungary in a state of insurrection; while in Holland' party spirit divided the nation, and blinded the enemies of William to such a degree, that they would even have been inclined to put the republic under the power of the king, for the mere purpose of deposing the stadtholder. Lewis, however, at length irritated this party against himself by promulgating some commercial regulations prejudicial to their interests; while their banished brethren in religious profession, drew the most terrific pictures of the cruelty of despotism.

The court of Vienna was convinced by William, that the Turks could only be humbled by depriving the king of the power of making diversions in their favour, and of exciting the Hungarians to insurrection. They were in reality, no longer formidable by their own resources: the janissaries had degenerated from their former state of discipline; many of their number had married, and were engaged in occupations in which they were unwilling to be interrupted by war: the commanders had nothing to do but

to revere their master and be silent; for since t seignor had been accustomed to shut himself up i lace, the only path to eminence was by unworth and offices and dignities were sold by eunuchs: religion of the country had been corrupted since of Morad the Fourth.

Emerich Tököly, with other Hung blemen, who had been irritated to t pitch of resentment, especially by the oppressions on the protestants, invited Mohammed the Fourt tect the constitution of Hungary. Kara Musta grand visier, marched with a numerous army tow gary; and in a short time arrived before Vienna, rison and citizens of which made an heroic defen the conduct of Rüdiger von Starhemberg. John who had become king of Poland by delivering h country from the disgrace of being tributary to th Charles of Lorraine, one of the best generals o who had been expelled from his country by Le John George the Third elector of Saxony; M Emanuel elector of Bavaria, and several other the empire, saved Vienna from the arms of the in This occurrence was followed by a succession o which cost Mohammed the Fourth his throne. to investigate the treachery which gave rise to th tribunal was established at Eperies, which destr strength of the hostile party in Hungary. The that kingdom was now declared he and the emperor Leopold at the sa acceded to the alliance which had been formed by of Orange at Augsburg, for the preservation of dom of Europe, and which was espe rected against Lewis the Fourteenth. The necessity of some means of defence against prince who had it in his power to support the Tu desire of retaining the imperial crown in the ar

family; and even the prospect of the extinction of the
Spanish branch of the house of Habsburg, contributed to
draw the court of Leopold into a protestant alliance. The
imperial princes began to comprehend why Lewis gave
himself less concern about them since they had come under
his power.
The house of Brunswick saw in the hereditary
stadtholder, the childless husband of the heiress of Great
Britain; and considered that he might also favour their
pretensions. The great elector was systematically, and
from inclination, devoted to him; and was the only person
from whom William concealed no part of his views.

The troops of the elector amounted to 20,000 men, 6,000 of whom had gained the victory of Fehrbellin; and had pursued the Swedish general, count Horn, into Livonia. He had ten frigates, by the help of which he gained possession of Stralsund; and he had forcibly exacted his rights against the court of Spain, which owed him a debt of 2,000,000. From the most trifling regulation of the police of Berlin, to the most important interests of European policy, nothing was above and nothing beneath the care and intelligence of Frederick William. The same hand which planted the first cauliflower at Berlin, also designed the maxims by which his family has gradually raised itself to an equality with the most powerful dynasties: his system was pursued in its material points by his successor; a prince who in many respects displayed a narrow mind, though capable of great exertion, fond of glory, and cautious in the council.

A. D. 1689.

The hereditary stadtholder had acquired friends even in Switzerland and Italy. Moulieres, the French resident, had advanced the maxim, that the alliance with his master allowed the Swiss to form no other connection of that nature; upon which the thirteen cantons, whose zeal was excited for their independence, laid aside their internal dissensions, and declared that they would rather sacrifice

their alliance with Lewis than their

sovereignty. When Franche Comt a part of France, the catholic cantons announc inhabitants of Bern, that they would henceforw in defending the Pays de Vaud as th of the confederacy: and when Stra the senate of Bern established a c for the investigation of all the imp and resources of the republic, which was from the ministered on a more systematic plan. The cant to cultivate the good will of the imperial court stadtholder was revered in the 'protestant part o land, as the pillar of civil and religious liberty.

Victor Amadeus, duke of Savoy, entered int tions with him, and the great pope Odescalchi, or the Second, contributed to the common cause, b influence and his revenue.

CHARLES the Second of England, died in the y a prince who frequently deceived all parties, but scarcely be the object of serious hatred to his subj knew how to gain the affections of those about hi affable and facetious manners, and even by h he was better pleased with the effusions of Rochest tious muse, than with the dissertations of his gr on the doctrine of passive obedience: he under art of captivating, though no man could rely on է

His brother James was a zealous proselyte of th catholic faith, and connected with the order of th he was not destitute of useful knowledge or re but deficient in knowledge of human nature, an just estimation of his own powers. He had a r

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James sent an embassy to the pope, in testimony of his obedience he invaded the constitution of the English church, infringed the constitutional documents, and the forms of right, and dreamt that he could compel the nation to confirm these innovations by an oath!

A purer flame of freedom arose at this era among the English than in the time of Cromwell: Algernon Sidney and the profound Locke had displayed the principles of the social compact; abstracted from which it is impossible to conceive a political constitution. The former, together with his illustrious friends, had perished on the scaffold; but the magnanimity with which that venerable patriot had defended with his last breath the rights of the people, still lived in the memory of the Britons. One part of the nation was enthusiastically attached to freedom, and another was chiefly inspired by hatred of the papal ceremonies; but all agreed that the king had no just or constitutional power to dictate to the nation in such matters. James had of fended many of the nobles: and the displeasure of the king, which ordinarily annihilates courtiers, excited these men to resistance, and induced them to address themselves to the stadtholder, who was his nephew and successor, and the presumptive heir to the throne.

At this juncture the queen of England bore a son; an event which produced different effects on the hopes of the catholics and protestants. The hereditary stadtholder, immovable in all contingencies, was confirmed in his resolution of rescuing England from the tyranny by which it was now oppressed: but he kept his own secret; and, preserving his usual character of tranquillity, reserve and impenetrability, he allowed the deluded king time to prosecute his offensive enterprises. Many of the English nobility re-. paired to the Hague, where William lamented their situation: he fitted out an armament; but contrived so

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