whom, however, he had no male Confidering his natural and ac- In the year 1707 he was appoint. ed one of the commiffioners for treating of an union with Scotland; fworn of her majefty's privy-council, and nominated one of her principal fecretaries of state: but when the whig-intereft declined at court, he was removed from this employment. However, immediately after the acceffion of George I. the earl of Sun derland was sworn of the new privys council, and appointed lord lieutenant of Ireland: but his bad ftate of health not permitting him to vifit that kingdom, he refigned the office, was conftituted lord privy-feal; and, in the sequel, vice-treasurer of Ireland. He afterwards attended the king at Hanover; and, on his return, was appointed one of the principal fecretaries of ftate. In the year 1718 he was declared lord prefident of the privy-council; next year appointed first commiffioner of the treafury, and, upon his refigning the place of president, his ma→ jefty conftituted him groom of the ftole, and firft gentleman of his bedchamber. He was now known to be the firft in the king's favour and confidence. He acted as one of the juftices in his majesty's abfence, and was inftalled knight of the Garter in the year 1720. He con→ tinued at the head of public affairs, which he managed with integrity and ability, till the day of his death, which happened in the year 1722. He was a nobleman of an engaging character, with a good capacity well cultivated, a lover of the arts, and a patron of genius. By his fecond lady he had four fons, of whom the eldeft, Robert lord Spencer, died in his infancy. He was fucceeded by Robert, his fecond fon, earl of Sunderland, who died unmarried, at Paris, in the twenty-eighth year of his age. Then the title devolved to the third fon, Charles earl of Sunderland; who, by the death of William marquis of Blandford, only fon and heir of Francis earl of Godolphin and his wife Henrietta, dutchefs of Marlborough, fucceeded to that *The bonours of John duke of Marlborough were, in the year 1705, limited by act of parliament to his daughters, and the heirs male of their bodies successively. title in the year 1731, as alfo to an annual rent-charge of 8000l. purfuant to the will of John duke of Marlborough. At the decease of his aunt Henrietta, dutchefs of Marlborough, which happened in the year 1733, that title likewife devolved to him, as heir to his mother the lady Anne Churchill, fecond daughter and coheir of the faid John, duke of Marlborough. This nobleman was appointed lord lieutenant and cuftos rotulorum of the counties of Oxford and Buckingham, one of the lords of his majefty's bedchamber, and captain and colonel of the fecond troop of horfe-guards. He was after wards inftalled knight of the Garter, promoted to the command of the fecond regiment of foot-guards, and raised to the rank of brigadiergeneral. In this ftation he attended his majefty at the battle of Dettingen, where he behaved with great gallantry. He continued to rife in the fervice to the ftation of lieutenant general, was fworn of the privy-council, appointed lord fteward of the houfhold, and nominated more than once one of the regency in the king's abfence. In the year 1755 he was made keeper of the privy-feal. He afterwards commanded an expedition to the coaft of France, where he took Cherbourg. Then he was fent over to Germany, to command the British auxiliaries in the army of prince Ferdinand of Brunfwick; and in the year 1758 died at Munfter, univerfally regretted, as a nobleman of untainted honour, and unbounded benevolence. By his dutchefs, Elizabeth, daughter of lord Trevor, he had three fons, and two daughters, ftill living. The eldeft fon, George, the prefent duke of Marlborough, was born on the 26th day of January, in the year 1738, and his godfather was king George II. His titles are, duke of Marlborough, marquis of Blandford, earl of Sunderland and of Marlborough, baron Spencer of Wormleighton, and baron Churchill of Sandridge. Arms. Quarterly, argent and gules; in the fecond and third, a fret, or: over all, on a bend, fable, three efcalops of the first. Creft. In a ducal coronet, or, a gryphon's head, between two wings, erected, argent, gorged with a plain collar, gules, beaked, or. Supporters. The dexter, a gryphon party per fefs, argent and or: finifter, a wyvern, argent, wings expanded, each collared and chained, fable; and each collar charged with three efcalops, argent. Motto. Dieu defend le droit, Fr.God defend the right. Chief Seats. Blenheim near Woodftock, Oxfordshire; Marlboroughhoufe in London. COMPENDIOUS HISTORY OF FRANCE. [Continued.] Co LOVIS, like a very weak politician, had by will divided his dominions among his four fons. Thierry, the eldeft, inherited the country of Auftrafia lying between the Rhine and the Meufe, whose capital was Metz, befides thofe territories which the Franks poffeffed in Germany, and great part of Aquitain. Clodomir became king of Orleans; leans; Clothaire of Soiffons; and Childebert of Paris. Such was the divifion of that country, which about this time began to be diftinguished by the appellation of France. The union which for fome time fubfifted between the four brothers, arofe from their common apprehension of a formidable neighbour, Theodoric king of the Ostrogoths in Italy, whofe power was greatly reinforced by his abfolute authority over the kingdom of the Vifigoths, which he now governed in the name of his daughter's fon Amalric, heir of Alaric deceafed. Clovis had no fooner expired, than Theodoric feized upon fome towns in the dominions of France, and a war enfued; but this difpute was foon compromifed, and the Goth left in poffeffion of the towns he had taken. In about feven years after this event, the peace of France was fuddenly difturbed by the invafion of Danish pyrates, who failed into the mouth of the river Meuse, and made a defcent on Auftrafia, when they ravaged the country of the Attuarij, between that river and the Rhine; the fame that how conftitutes part of Guelderland. This, however, was but a momentary calamity. Theodobert, the fon of Thierry, tho' no more than eighteen years of age, being fent against them with a body of troops, defeated their king Cocheline, who fell in battle, and took a great number of prifoners with their whole booty. Thierry was at this time employed in making preparations for a war of greater importance. He had engaged in a league with Hermanfroy, king of Thuringia, against Balderic, brother of that prince, whofe dominions they agreed to fhare equally between them. They took the field in conjunction, and gave battle to Balderic, who was was totally defeated. Then Hermanfroy took poffeffion of the conquered country, and refused to conform to the articles of the alliance. Thierry was greatly exafperated at this perfidy; but he fuppreffed his refentment during the life of Theodoric, who was uncle to the queen of Thuringia. He was also father to the wife of Sigifmund, king of Burgundy, who bore to that prince a fon called Sigeric: but she dying, Sigifmund efpoufed another wife, who by falfe infinuations excited the father's refentment against her fon-in-law, to fuch a degree, that he ordered the young prince to be ftrangled at a banquet. Such horrible deeds are not to be wondered at in an age of ignorance and barbarity! The three kings of France, Clodomir, Childebert, and Clothaire, taking it for granted that Theodoric would no longer protect the murderer of his grandson, and allured by the hope of booty and conqueft, invaded Burgundy without any pretext of quarrel, defeated Sigifmund, who with his second wife and two fons, falling into the hands of the victors, was fent prifoner to Orleans, where Clodomir caufed them to be ftifled in a well. In the mean time Sigifmund's brother Godemar, having affembled a body of troops, foon recovered all that the French had conquered. But Clodomir, reinforced by his brother the king of Auftrafia, who by the bye had lately espoused the daughter of the murdered Sigifmund, they défeated Godemar in a pitched battle at Veferance, near the town of Vienne. The victory however was fatal to Clodomir, who engaging himfelf too far in the purfuit, was known by by his long hair, and flain by the fugitives. Godemar, hoping this circumftance might reftore the fortune of the day, rallied his troops, and, making a stand, prefented on the point of a lance the head of Clodomir, imagining that fuch a fpectacle would difpirit his fubjects. But it produced a contrary effect, by infpiring them with fuch a thirft of revenge, that they fought with redou bled ardour, obtained a compleat victory, and ravaged the whole country with fire and fword. Nevertheiefs, Godemar found means to recover the greater part of Burgundy, while the three furviving fons of Clovis, were bufied in ravishing different parts of the kingdom of Orleans from the three minor fons of their brother Clodomir, Theodoric the Oftrogoth, who had alfo poffeffed part of Gaul, died about two years after this tranfaction, leaving his kingdom divided between his two grandfons, Amalaric, king of the Vifigoths, in Spain, and Athalric, about ten years of age, the fon of Eutharic; who being dead, the tuition of the minor devolved to his mother, Amalafunte, the fhare of Amalaric confifted of Septemaine, or Languedoc, and he fixed the feat of his empire at Narbonne; while Athalaric inherited all the reft of his grandfather's dominions, and was acknowledged king of the Oftrogoths. Hermanfroy, king of Thuringia, had been always attached to the Goths; and therefore Thierry, king of Auftrafia, did not think it prudent to call him to account for having refufed him his fhare of Balderic's dominions, until a great mifunderstanding arose in Italy between the princefs regent Amalafunte, and the most powerful of the Oftrogoth noblemen: a misunderstanding which effectually hindered her from embarafling herfelf with the affairs of France. Thierry feized this opportunity of attacking Hermanfroy, and engaged his brother Clothaire, king of Soiffons, in the quarrel. They invaded Thuringia with a great army, and Hermanfroy hazarding a pitched battle, was totally defeated. The confequence of this defeat, was the lofs of his kingdom, and afterwards of his life, of which he was deprived by the order of Thierry. In the mean time, Childebert, king of Paris, declared war againft Amalaric, king of the Visigoths, who had efpoufed his fifter Clothilda, and ufed her brutally on account of the difference of religion, he being an obftinate Arian and the a good catholic. Childebert, in revenge of this ufage, marched into Languedoc, defeated him under the walls of Narbonne, plundered that city, and carried off his fifter Clothilda, who died, however, on the road to Paris. Then Childebert, being joined by his brother Clothaire, refumed their former defigni of making a conqueft of Burgundy, which Godemar ftill poffeffed. He again ventured a battle; again they obtained a victory, and in the first campaign, deprived him of Autun and Vienne. In the beginning of the next year, thefe two victors. were guilty of fuch perfidious cruelty as proved a difgrace to human nature. They perfuaded their mother Clothilda to bring the three fons of their brother Clodemar to Paris, on pretence of putting them into poffeffion of their father's kingdom. Two of thefe innocents were ftabbed by the hands of their inhuman uncle Clothaire. Clothaire. Clodoalde, the third, was privately conveyed from his reach. In the sequel, he received the tonfure, took orders, and gave his name to the church and village of St. Cloud, at the distance of a few miles from Paris: thus the dominions of the murdered princes were annexed to the kingdoms of Paris and Soiffons. This fame year was fatal to Thierry, king of Austrasia, who died at Metz, leaving behind him the character of a bold warrior, and able politician for the times, intirely deftitute of principle and humanity. He was, moreover, a fort of a legiflator; for he not only ordered a digeft to be made of the laws of the Franks, Almains, and Bavarians; but he also altered and retrenched fome particular laws, in order to accommodate them to certain new regulations established among his fubjects. His fon and fucceffor Theodobert joined his two uncles in their defign upon Burgundy, which they fubdued and divided among themfelves; the unfortunate Godemar having been taken and confined to a caftle, where he ended his days. Immediately after this conqueft, the emperor Juftinian, having planned the conqueft of Italy, fent ambaffadors with rich prefents to the three French kings, to prevail upon them to join him in attacking the kingdom of the Oftrogoths; and they closed with his propofals: but Vitiges, a politic prince, who at that time fat upon the throne of Italy, as the fucceffor of Athalaric, defeated the purpose of this agreement. He not only bribed them with much more valuable prefents, but actually agreed to cede in their favour the country of Provence, and all the other places he poffeffed on this fide the Alps, on condition that they would affift him against the emperor. They forthwith accepted his offer all thofe provinces were annexed to the French empire; and Theodobert, in pursuance of the treaty, fent fix thoufand auxiliaries to Italy, where they helped Vitiges to recover Milan, which had been wrested from him by Belifarius, the emperor's general. [An. 535.] Next year, however, this French monarch exhibited a remarkable inftance of perfidy towards his ally. He entered Italy at the head of one hundred thousand bar-, barians, on pretence of fuccouring Vitiges, whofe army, under Vrayas, was encamped near Milan, in the neighbourhood of a body of Romans, whom Belifarius had pofted at Tortona. Theodobert having arrived at Pavia, where the Goths received him with the warmest demonftrations of friendship and gratitude; inftead of joining Vitiges, fell upon his army by furprize, routed it with great flaughter, expelled the Romans from Tortona, ravaged all Liguria, facked and deftroyed Genoa; then, like a true barbarian, returned with his booty to his own kingdom. He afterwards, in conjunction with his two uncles, offered fuccours to Vitiges, who was by this time befieged in Ravenna by Belifarius, to whom, rather than confide in the profeffions of the traitor Theodobert, he furrendered at difcretion, and was conveyed to Conftantinople, where he finished his days amidst the tranquility of private life. [To be continued.] The |