lady, who married her new lover the nobleman, with a large dower bestowed by the fovereign, on condition they fhould neither of them ever more appear at court.

But Venice attracts more than a glimpfe of Retrospection. While fhe was gaining laurels at the Holy Land, her province of Dalmatia rebelled; Michaeli and Bolani his fon-in-law, dukes and doges of that day, reduced them however in a fhort time to obedience, Spalatro being taken; although the Padoani mifchievously endeavoured to forward the evil by changing the courfe of the Brenta, then better known. by name of Medoacus. After a flight punishment they too returned to their duty, and the republick kept profpering exceedingly, keeping in their own hands all trade with Grand Cairo, and having close connection beside with other powers, to whom they fold fpices from the east with very great advantage. Gems now grew into an article of luxury in Europe, and to the Venetian fhips or gallies all merchandize and all naval refiftance to the common enemy was confided. At thefe crufades much therefore was found which our western inhabitants went not thither to look for, and fome of their importations are now unobserved, because they are grown fo common. But 'twas in opposition to these Venice gallies that the Turks always fent out an emir or emeral, whence Christians from that time called him an amiral* or admiral, who headed and commanded any fleet. Mofaick work was new learned on these oriental excurfions; and Italy, ever first to adopt the elegancies of life, difplayed fuch diligence, that old Falcandus the hiftorian of Sicily informs us, how in this century the cathedral church at Palermo had its walls decorated with that ornamental incruftation. But Conftantinople had preserved many arts after Rome had loft all fight of them, the fovereign still refiding fafely there, while Goths and Vandals facked the deferted city, and left few traces of its priftine greatnefs. About this period likewife, upon fome difpute between the Duke of Bavaria

* Milton fays amiral, without the d.

and

and Conrad III. emperor of the weft, fprung the firft germ of that long-lafting feud between the Gwelphs and Gibelines, which, though it diftracted and even defolated Europe for fo many years together, feems to have left at last only a faint remembrance of the folly upon the mind of an hiftorick reader, like the old conteft of the centaurs and lapithæ upon that of a claffick and mythological student. Conrad meantime, who built Ulm in Suabia, fo called ab units, from the quantity of elm trees that grew there on the banks of the Danube, took the town of Winsberg in Germany, granting only the women's lives, and as much household stuff as they could carry away with them. Those who were married coming out each of them loaded with a rebel husband to fling at the king's feet, the gallant fovereign rewarded their fidelity by pardoning all the inhabitants of a town poffeffing fuch conjugal virtue. Our fweet Spectator calls the city Henfberg, and makes the prettiest story of it imaginable; but he, as Johnson fays of Gold smith, touched nothing he did not improve.

Nullum quod tetigit non ornavit.

Had I their powers to make Retrospection pleafing, I would endeavour to draw on my readers fo as to give the remaining part of this long chapter to the affairs of France, whofe king Philip went not to Paleftine, detained by Bertrade wife to Fulke of Anjou, who had left her own husband and prevailed upon her lover to betray his fon Lewis le Gros, whom she dosed afterwards with ineffectual poison, and was forgiven. This Lewis difplayed the ftandard of St. Denys, the celebrated oriflamme, in his difputes with neighbouring nations, and on his deathbed drew his ring from off his finger and put it on that of his fon Louis le Jeune, who married Eleanor of Guienne and Poictou; and accepted the truft of a great kingdom, which his father told him should be governed only for the people's good. Truth is, they had as yet little to do with any arts of government. The barons there, as in England, were all feudal lords; but the crufading fever and confequent delirium having im

pelled

pelled many of them to fell of them to fell up their poffeffions, Lewis purchased; and the small towns having befides bought their freedom from their chiefs, dropt to the king of courfe, who becoming protector to them, became mafter too; and the chain of ariftocracy began to ruft in that country before any other throughout Europe. The Franks were from the beginning first to be free; and now in an old deed, preferved till lately among the the treasures of St. Denys, appears for the first time to our retrospective eye the word from whence comes the dauphin of France: Guigo comes qui vocatur DELPHINUS made fome exchange of lands with Hugh Comte de Grenoble; the date was 1142, and after the middle of the 12th century the title was become fixt and hereditary. Soon after this, or perhaps feven years before, the houfe of Bourbon took its rife from Archibald Comte de Bourbon, or Borbonius. His device when in the wars of Palestine was a globe, and written round it orbi bonus. But we must not forget old England.

СНАР.

CHAP. XVII.

W

TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 1200.

HEN the foul of our fecond William, furly to maintain his rights, and faucy with hope of extending them, was fled; his next brother, and heir of course to a prince who had no children, was Robert duke of Normandy, who had approved his valour both in Europe and Afia; but he being engaged among the chiefs who leagued for the recovery of Palestine, heard not what paffed, in the New Foreft. Hampshire; while Henry, the Conqueror's youngest fon, was, happily for him, upon the Spot. Active and vigilant, and as it appears wholly unrestrained by fraternal affection, or principles of justice, from seizing what of right belonged to another, he hurried to Winchester, and fternly demanded the keys of a caftle there, where the regalia were in thofe days kept. Breteuil, to whom the dead king had confided his treasure, remonstrated a while and then refifted; but Henry drew his fword, and the Earls of Warwick and Meulant fwore to abet his pretenfions, which Breteuil dared no longer difpute, and the coronation was foon performed in St. Peter's church, now Westminster Abbey. A general council, the origin of parliament, was fummoned; and to those who compofed it the new fovereign made a speech, giving as a reason for his aspiring to command them, that he was born after his father was crowned here and acknowledged, alluding perhaps to the favourite distinction among the Greek emperors, when they had a fon born in the purple, as they called it, porphyrogenitus. Henry was graced with learning, and knew these things; he had been furnamed Beauclerc for his accomplishments; but his auditors found themselves more VOL. I. cafily

O o

eafily perfuaded by an argument of greater folidity: he offered them a charter, mitigating in fome measure the royal prerogative, and annulling as it was exprefs'd, evil customs and illegal exactions, by that very epithet, allowing that there were exiftent laws, and that his father broke them. Princes well affured of their own juft title, are feldom forward in appealing thus to the immediate interefts of their people, while those who accidentally, or by favour of concurring circumftances, come in to fuddenly acquired or fcarcely expected dignity, willingly part with a fmall fhare of power to preferve the reft inviolate; nor does this trick of conciliation often answer as to purchafing affectionate regard, which ever naturally follows the true heir; and the resiliency towards Robert of Normandy was feen the moment he arrived in France; but by loitering on his journey with the fair daughter of had greatly Converfana, the foft climate of Naples, felaxed his martial fpirit; and though many barons from here deferted to his ftandard, he wifhed only for peace he faid, and that on almost any terms. Whoever fays so, shall be sure of bad ones; he loft England and Normandy both; but I believe, although he died in Wales, that he was buried at Glo'fter: there is a recumbent figure of him there in the cathedral. Henry meanwhile fhewed himself no hypocrite; he granted a charter and privileges to the city of London, which they have kept with more attention than our kings bestowed on prerogatives imagined lefs liable to violation; he willingly gave up the right of inveftiture, which placed all power over churchmen in Rome alone; and flattered by Pope Innocent's admiration of his literary abilities, compromifed the matter by making the bifhops pay homage to him as their fuperior lord for their temporal baronies only. Much was enjoyed by individuals under this reign, which had been harfhly enough denied in the foregoing; for we fee Rufus difpofe of ecclefiaftical preferments plainly in the old story of two monks coming to court for purpose of purchasing an abbot's place, offering each of them magnificently, fedulous to outbid each other, nothing doubting but he should have it who gave most. A