pope Leo IX. came into France, and held a council at Rheims, in which feveral canons were made against incestuous marriages, fimony, and other crimes, which, in spite of the feeming piety, or rather fuperftition of that age, were but too frequent ; and fome bishops were alfo depofed, not much to the king's good-liking, who had been better pleafed if the pope had remained at home; and, therefore, when pope Nicholas II. entertained thoughts of making like vifit, the king opposed it with fuch firmness, that he was obliged to defift from the defign. This monarch was of an active difpofition, intrepid in time of danger, and very generous. He was defirous of maintaining and extending his authority, in which he was not unfuccessful; but his attempts to the prejudice of the duke of Normandy were alike fatal to his quiet, his honour, and his interest.

King Philip, at the time of his acceffion, was about eight years of age; and it might have been fuppofed that either his mother, or his uncle, would have been called to the regency, and intrufted with the care of his education; but, as we before obferved, the king his father thought it prudent to make another choice. He knew the queen was very unfit for fuch an office. She had weak parts and ftrong paffions; and, being a foreigner, was without refpect, and had but few friends amongst the nobility. Her conduct after his demife, fufficiently juftified her exclufion, though she made fome struggle to prevent it, but without effect; the very oppofite reafons induced the king to decline placing any confidence in the duke of Burgundy : he was rich and powerful, too nearly allied to the young king, and great 7

intereft among the French lords, and befides had once fet up a claim to the crown but Baldwin V. furnamed the Pious, earl of Flanders, to whom he committed the care of his fon, and who was his brotherin-law, had all the qualities that could recommend him to fuch a truft; he was brave in his person, but mild in his behaviour, and very cautious in his conduct; vigilant, but not fufpicious; tender of the prerogatives of the crown, but more fo of the welfare of the people; fincerely religious, and a man of strict honour. He gave his pupil an education fuitable to his rank and birth. he kept the nobility in awe, without giving any of them just cause of offence. He maintained peace by remaining always armed; and having intelligence that the people of Aquitaine were difpofed to revolt, he, under pretence of repreffing the Saracens, entered their country fo fuddenly with an army, that he prevented their defign, by putting it out of their power to pursue it. In a word, he governed with dignity and reputation, infomuch, that history fcarce furnishes us with an inftance of a minority fo quiet, and none more happy, than this. An example the more memorable, as the conjuncture was extremely delicate.

The only colour that count Baldwin gave for cenfure, was in his conduct towards duke William of Normandy, who, under the specious pretence of being called to the fucceffion by Edward the Confeffor, in prejudice to Edgar Atheling, who had a better title to the crown than his own, was preparing to invade England. The count gave him leave, upon this occafion, to raise forces throughout France and Flanders, which, from the event, was judged in po

impolitic. Yet the duke, being his fon-in-law, he could not, with a good grace, deny him; but the French own, that there was another more powerful motive. The Norman was enterprizing and so fortunate, that Baldwin was afraid of his relentment; being juftly apprehenfive, that, if he had croffed him in his defign, he might have entered France with that army he had raised against England, where he fucceeded more speedily, and with greater facility, than could poffibly have been expected. But, to balance as

A. D. far as poffible this increase

1066.

of his power, an offenfive and defenfive alliance was concluded between the crowns of France and Scotland; which, though it did not prove effectual, was, notwithstanding, the only remedy that was left. Soon after this great event took place, count Baldwin died, and left the young king, his nephew and pupil, in the peaceable poffeffion of his dominions, when he had attained the fifteenth year of his age, and had fome able minifters about him.

The king, as we obferved, had been perfectly well educated, and was not at all deficient in point of capacity; but his mind had a wrong turn, which appeared in all his actions from first to laft, though at the beginning of his reign he was as eager and active, as he was indolent and paffive during the greatest part of it. Geoffrey Martel, count of Anjou, having no children of his own, left his eftates to the fons of his fifter; the elder, Geoffrey, furnamed le Barbu, was an honeft worthy man; but the younger, Foulques, was of quite a different character, and from thence received the furname of le Rechin, which implies morofe and cruel. Under pretence February, 1764.

that he had not his full share of the fucceffion, he made war upon his brother; and having corrupted fome of his principal officers, who betrayed him into his hands, put him into prifon, where he was fo ill treated, that it made a great noise, and many of the nobility, and even the king, threatened Foulques, in cafe he did not fet him at liberty. He thought it more expedient to facrifice the Gaftinois to the king; and Philip, having a fhare in the spoils, troubled himself no farther about the unfortunate Geoffrey. This, in itself, would be too minute a circum. ftance for our notice, if it did not afford us a perfect notion of this prince's character, and of that subtlety and want of fincerity which ran through his whole conduct. He had a strong propensity to interfere in all quarrels and difputes amongst his neighbours, under colour of mediating between them, or of fupporting the diftreffd; but in reality, he meditated only the aggrandizing his own power, and procuring either a recompence for his affistance, or a confideration for being quiet. He gave the ftrongest proof of this in a cafe where, of all others, it ought leaft to have appeared. His tutor Baldwin, earl of Flanders, left behind him two fons, Baldwin, who fucceeded him in his dominions, and Robert, count of Frize. The elder made war upon the younger; bar, being killed in battle, Robert poffeffed himself of Flanders, and constrained the widow of the deceafed to retire with her two fons, Arnold and Baldwin, to Paris, where they were received with all poffible teftimonies of respect, and had the ftrongest affurances given them of being reftored to their dominions. King Philip entered Flanders ac

L

cold

A. D.

cordingly, with a numerous army: but, having the misfortune to be totally beaten near St. Omers, and the young count Arnold being unfortunately killed by his uncle, Philip, foon after, abandoned the widow and the orphan, who had recourfe to the emperor Henry III. for his protection; and, in all pro bability, had recovered their dominions, if the monarch of France had not entered into the interefts of count Robert, who, to bind him fafter, engaged 1073. him to efpoufe Bertha, the daughter of the countefs of Frize by her first husband, which obliged count Baldwin to content himfelf with the county of Hainault, and to make a ceffion to his uncle Robert of his hereditary dominions. This did not give the French any high idea of their monarch; who, though he was fo unfortunate in his foreign expedition, was haughty and oppreffive at home, and governed his fubjects as if he had thought the regal title gave him a power to op. prefs; and, at the fame time, took from those who felt the weight of his oppreflion the right of complaining, as well as of redrefs; and the circumstances of the times were fuch as permitted him to do this, with out meeting with any remarkable check.

It is no great wonder that a prince of fuch a difpofition should not be very careful of commerce, or pay a deep respect to the law of nations and it appears that this was the cafe, fince fome Italian merchants were plundered in his dominions, and, upon their report, the then pope Gregory VII, took the affair very high. He made it a pretence to inquire into the general character and conduct of the king; and finding

thefe fuch as they really were, he took from thence occafion to write to the duke of Aquitaine, exhorting him and the other great lords of France to remonftrate to the king, whom he ftiles monfter, wild beast, and tyrant, against his proceedings, promifing to fecond their reproofs with the thunder of the church. This did not immediately produce the effect that was intended; the great lords in France saw that the king was dininishing his own power, by harraffing and impoverishing his fubjects; and as to thofe vices and crimes imputed to him by the pope, they were not fo innocent themfelves as to defire to fee fuch precedents introduced and the pope having the depofition of an emperor upon his hands, had not leisure to blow the coals long enough to raife a rebellion in France, which was very happy for the king. He was no lefs fortunate in his firft war against William, furnamed the Conqueror, who came over from England with an army, in order to reduce Hoel, duke of Bretagne, who refused to acknowledge him for his lord. The first fury of his arms was fperit against Del, to which he laid fiege, and from before which he was obliged to rife, with the lofs of his baggage, by a numerous army conrmanded by king Philip in perfon; and foon after, this quarrel being compofed, a peace was concluded, which heightened the prefumption of Philip, who thence concluded in favour of his forces and fortune.

This tranquility did not, indeed could not, laft long, confidering the fituation of things, and the oppofite difpofition of the two monarchs; for William was open and violent, Philip malicious, which, however, he knew well how to conceal. He

held

held a clofe correfpondence with Robert, the eldest fon of the Conqueror, a prince as ambitious of authority as he was incapable of executing it. He had been the author of all the disturbances in Normandy; and at length, pretending to refent a childish action of his two younger brothers, retired from court, and broke into open rebellion. Philip not only encouraged as he had excited this behaviour, but also gave to Robert the town of Gerberoi, in Beauvoifins, a place of fome ftrength, and very well fituated for the purpofe of difturbing Normandy. King William followed his fon thither with an army, and befieged him; but the former being well provided, made a good defence, and prince Robert, who, with all his faults, was one of the braveft men of his time, in a fally, wounded and unhorfed his father, but without knowing him, till his voice difcovered who he was in his fall. Robert then raifed him up, threw himself at 1081. his feet, and fet him upon his own horfe; which contributed fomewhat to another peace, but never to a thorough reconciliation, the father being as little difpofed to forgive as the fon was to be quiet and Philip, who affected up on all occafions being the mediator, was equally an enemy to both.

A. D.

Some years elapfed before things broke out again into a flame; and

even then William, who never fought quarrels, would not have entered France, if the flippancy of the king's tongue had not provoked him to a reply, which made it neceffary. The English monarch, who was a very unwieldy man, being indifpofed, kept his bed for fome time; upon which Philip faid often to his courtiers, "Tho' William is fo long lying-in, I doubt, when he comes abroad, he will be as big as ever." Which being reported to that prince, he faid to thofe about him, "It will not be long before I go abroad, and let him know that fo many lights. fhall be carried at my churching (for the cuftom then was, upon fuch occafions, for women to carry a torch) as fhall enlighten all France, and make him repent his jeft." In execution of this threat he befieged the city of Mantes, ravaged the country round about, and, having taken the place, burnt it; but was fo exceffively heated by approaching too near the fire, that, turning his horse to retire, and finding a ditch in his way, he, in leapingit, received a contufion from the pommel of his fad. dle in his ftomach, of which he died not long after at Rouen, leaving behind him three fons, who were upon the worft terms poffible with each other, and confequently stood alike, exposed to the efforts of their ene mies.

.

[To be Continued.]

GENTLEMEN,

Farnham in Surry, Feb. 6, 1764.

Your humble fervant,

J. C.

a foreigner, than the extreme liberty, which we enjoy in this country, of communicating whatever we please to the public, and of openly cenfuring every measure, entered into by the king or his minifters. If the adminiftration refolve upon war, 'tis affirmed, that either wilfully or ignorantly they mistake the interest of the nation, and that peace, in the prefent fituation of affairs, is infinitely preferable. If the paffion of the minifters lie towards peace, our political writers breathe nothing but war and devastation, and reprefent the pacific conduct of the government as mean and pufillanimous. As this liberty is not indulged in any other government, either republican or monarchical; in Holland and Venice, no more than in France or Spain; it may very naturally give occafion to these two questions, How it happens that Great Britain enjoys fuch a peculiar privilege? and Whether the unlimited exercise of this liberty be advantageous or prejudicial to the public?

As to the first queftion, Why the laws indulge us in fuch an extraordinary liberty? I believe the reafon may be derived from our mixed form of government, which is neither wholly monarchical, nor wholly republican. It will be found, if I

politics, that the two extremes in government, liberty and flavery, commonly approach nearest to each other; and that as you depart from the extremes, and mix a little of monarchy with liberty, the government becomes always the more free; and on the other hand, when you mix a little of liberty with monarchy, the yoke becomes always the more grievous and intolerable. I fhall endeavour to explain myself. In a government, fuch as that of France, which is entirely abfolute, and where laws, cuftom, and religi on concur, all of them, to make the people fully fatisfied with their condition, the monarch cannot entertain the leaft jealoufy against his fubjects, and therefore is apt to indulge them in great liberties both of fpeech and action. In a government altogether republican, fuch as that of Holland, where there is no magiftrate fo eminent as to give jealouly to the ftate, there is no danger in intrufting the magiftrates with very large difcretionary powers; and though many advantages refult from fuch powers, in the preferving peace and order, yet they lay a con fiderable reftraint on men's actions, and make every private fubject pay a great respect to the government. Thus it feems evident, that the two