ages,

and all and all countries concurred to fink Europe into an abyss of pleasures; which were rendred the more expenfive by a perpetual change of the fashions in clothes, equipage and furniture of houses.

THESE things brought a total alteration in the way of living, upon which all government depends. "Tis true, knowledge being mightily increased, and a great curiofity and nicety in every thing introduced, men imagined themselves to be gainers in all points, by changing from their frugal and military way of living, which I must confefs had fome mixture of rudeness and ignorance in it, though not infeparable from it. But at the fame time they did not confider the unfpeakable evils that are altogether infeparable from an expenfive way of living.

To touch upon all these, though flightly, would carry me too far from my fubject: I shall therefore content my felf to apply what has been said, to the immediate design of this discourse.

THE

THE far greater share of all those expences fell upon the barons; for they were the perfons moft able to make them, and their dignity feemed to challenge whatever might diftinguish them from other men. This plunged them on a fudden into fo great debts, that if they did not fell, or otherwise alienate their lands, they found themselves at leaft obliged to turn the military service their vaffals owed them, into money; partly by way of rent, and partly by way of leafe, or fine, for payment of their creditors. And by this means the vaffal having his lands no longer at so easy a rate as before, could no more be obliged to military fervice, and fo became a teThus the armies, which in preceding times had been always compofed of fuch men as thefe, ceased of course, and the fword fell out of the hands of the barons. But there being always a neceffity to provide for the defence of every country, princes were afterwards allowed to raise armies of voluntiers

nant.

and mercenaries. And great fums were given by diets and parliaments for their maintenance, to be levied upon the people grown rich by trade, and difpirited for want of military exercife. Such forces were at first only raised for prefent exigencies, and continued no longer on foot than the occafions lafted. But princes foon found pretences to make them perpetual, the chief of which was the garifoning frontier towns and fortreffes; the methods of war being altered to the tedious and chargeable way of fieges, principally by the invention of gunpowder. The officers and foldiers of these mercenary armies depending for their fubfiftence and preferment, as immediately upon the prince, as the former militia's did upon the barons, the power of the fword was transferred from the fubject to the king, and war grew a constant trade to live by. Nay, many of the barons themselves being reduced to poverty by their expenfive way of living, took commands in those merce

nary

nary troops; and being still continued hereditary members of diets, and other af femblies of state, after the lofs of their vaffals, whom they formerly represented, they were now the readieft of all others to load the people with heavy taxes, which were employed to encrease the prince's military power, by guards, armies, and citadels, beyond bounds or remedy.

SOME princes with much impatience preffed on to arbitrary power before things were ripe, as the kings of France and Charles duke of Burgundy. Philip de Commines fays of the latter, That having made a truce with the King of France he called an affembly of the ⚫eftates of his country, and remonftrated

to them the prejudice he had fuftained by not having standing troops as that king had; that if five hundred men had been in garison upon their frontier, the king of France would never < have undertaken that war; and having represented the mischiefs that were ⚫ ready to fall upon them for want of • fuch

'fuch a force, he earnestly preffed them

to grant such a fum as would main<tain eight hundred lances. At length

they gave him a hundred and twenty thousand crowns more than his ordinary revenue, (from which tax Burgundy was exempted.) But his fubjects were for many reafons under great apprehenfions of falling into the subjecjection to which they faw the kingdom of France already reduced by means ⚫ of fuch troops. And truly their appre⚫henfions were not ill-grounded; for when he had got together five or fix ‹ hundred men at arms, he presently had

a mind to more, and with them dif • turbed the peace of all his neighbours: 'He augmented the tax from one hun⚫dred and twenty to five hundred thou

fand crowns, and increased the numbers ⚫ of those men at arms, by whom his fub'jects were greatly oppreft. Francis de Beaucaire bishop of Metz in his history of France speaking of the fame affair, fays, " That the forefaid ftates could not be inC • duced