in Poland, informed his court, that thoughts were entertained of electing the ate king of Great Britain, king of Poland. Louis XIV. eagerly recommended this honor to James, but he himself steadily refused it. He told them, that ⚫he should ever retain a grateful remembrance of his friends in Poland. But that his acceptance of any other sceptre would amount to an abdication of that which he deemed his right. That therefore he was resolved to remain in his present forlorn condition, possessing less hopes than ever of being restored, rather than to do the least act of prejudice to his family.' The same year, at an interview between king William and Louis, the latter proposed that the prince of Wales, James's son, should succeed to the throne of England, after the death of William. The king with some hesitation agreed to this request. He even engaged to procure the repeal of the act of settlement; and to declare, by another, the prince of Wales successor to the throne. Even this proposal, however, was rejected by the high-minded James. He told the king of France, that, though he could suffer with patience the usurpation of his nephew upon his right, he would never permit his own son to be guilty of the same injustice. He urged, that, should the son reign in his father's lifetime, that circumstance would amount to a formal renunciation. That the prince of Wales, by succeeding to the prince of Orange, would yield his sole right which was that of his father, &c. From this time James seems to have relinquished every hope of his restoration, and to have resigned himself entirely to the austerities of religious enthusiasm, and that melancholy which superstition, as well as his uncommon misfortunes, had impressed on his mind. In the beginning of September, 1701, when he was, according to his daily custom, at public prayers, he fell suddenly into a lethargy; and, though he recovered his senses soon after, he languished but for a few days, and expired on the 6th of that month. The French king, with great humanity, paid him several visits during his sickness; and exhibited every symptom of compassion, affection, and respect. On the last occasion of this kind he said to the dying James, I come to acquaint you, Sir, that when God shall please to call your majesty from this world, I shall take your family under my protection, and acknowledge your son, as he then will certainly be, king of Great Britain and Ireland.'

Though the defeat of the French fleet at La Hogue had put king William out of all danger from any further attempts from that quarter, he by no means possessed his throne with tranquillity. The want of a common enemy produced dissensions among the people, and William began to find as much uneasiness from his parliament at home as from an enemy in the field. This uneasiness was not a little heightened by the death of his queen, who was taken off by the small pox on the 28th December, 1694. For some time he was under a sincere concern for her loss; but he soon lost all other anxieties in the greatness of his apprehension for the balance of power, and the fluctuating interests of Europe.

One of his chief motives for accepting the crown had been to engage England more deeply in the concerns of Europe; and all his policy consisted in forming alliances against France. But many of the English had no such animosity against the French. These, therefore, considered the interest of the nation as sacrificed to foreign connexions; and complained that the continental war fell most heavily on them. At last William became fatigued with the opposition and bickerings of his parliament. He admitted every restraint upon the prerogative in England, upon condition of being properly supplied with the means of humbling France. For the prosecution of the French war, the sums granted were indeed incredible. Now began the operations of the never-terminable national debt. The parliament, not contented with furnishing such sums of money as they were capable of raising by the taxes of the year, mortgaged those taxes; first irregularly and temporarily, then in a more systematic and permanent manner. The war with France continued during the greatest part of this reign; but at length the treaty of Ryswick, in 1697, put an end to those contentions, in which England had engaged without policy, and came off without advantage. In the general pacification, her interest seemed entirely deserted; and for all the treasures she had sent to the continent, and all the blood which had been shed there, the only equivalent received was an acknowledgment of William's title from the king of France. The king, however, being freed from a foreign war, now set himself to strengthen his authority at home. He at first earnestly wished to keep up those forces which had been granted him during the time of danger. The commons however, to his great mortification, passed a vote, that all soldiers in the English pay, exceeding 7000 men, should be forthwith disbanded; and that those retained should be natural born subjects of England. With this vote the king was so exceedingly displeased, that he is said at one time to have formed a design of abandoning the government. From this, however, his ministers diverted him, and even persuaded him to pass the bill. These altercations continued during the remainder of king William's reign. He considered the commons as a body of men ambitious of power, and bent upon obstructing all his projects to secure the liberties of Europe: he veered to Whigs and Tories indiscriminately, as interest or the immediate exigence demanded; and evidently considered England as a place of labor, anxiety, and altercation. When he had any time for relaxation, he retired to Loo in Holland, where, among a few friends, he indulged in those festivities which he relished. Here he planned the different successions of the princes of Europe, and labored to undermine the schemes and the power of Louis, his rival in politics and fame. William indeed could scarcely live without being at variance with the French court.

Peace had hardly been concluded with that nation, when he began to think of resources for carrying on a new war, and for inlisting his English subjects in a continental confederacy. Several arts were used for inducing the people to second his aims; and the whole

nation seemed at last to join in desiring a new French war. He had been in Holland concerting with his allies operations for a new campaign. He had engaged in a negociation with the prince of Hesse; who assured him, that, if he would besiege and take Cadiz, the admiral of Castile and several other grandees of Spain would declare for the house of Austria. The elector of Hanover had resolved to concur in the same measures; the king of the Romans, and prince Louis of Baden, undertook to invest Landau, while the emperor promised to send a powerful reinforcement into Italy: but death put a period to these mighty projects. William was naturally of a feeble constitution: and it was by this time almost exhausted. He had endeavoured to repair his health, or at least to conceal its decays, by exercise and riding. On the 21st February, 1702, in passing to Hampton Court from Kensington, his horse fell under him; and he was thrown with such violence, that his collar-bone was fractured. Being nearest the palace at Hampton, the fracture was reduced there; but in the evening, as he returned to Kensington in a coach, the motion of the carriage disunited the fracture. This proved a fatal miscarriage of the For some time he appeared in a fair way of recovery; but, falling asleep on his couch, he was seized with a shivering, which terminated in a fever and diarrhoea. Perceiving his end approaching, the subjects of his former care lay next his heart; and the fate of Europe seemed to remove the sensations he might feel for his own. The earl of Albermarle arriving from Holland, he conferred with him in private on the posture of affairs abroad. Two days after, having received the sacrament from archbishop Tennison, he expired on Sunday, March 8th; having lived fifty-two years, and reigned thirteen. -He was in his person of a middle stature, and thin habit. He had an aquiline Roman nose, sparkling eyes, a large forehead, and a grave solemn aspect. He left behind him the character of a great politician, though he had never been popular; and of a formidable general though he had seldom been victorious. Cunningham, his panegyrist, adds that of sincere piety. He was succeeded by the princess Anne, daughter of James II. and younger sister of his deceased queen Mary II.

case.

Anne ascended the throne in the thirty-eighth year of her age, to the general satisfaction of all parties. William had died at the eve of a war with France; and the new queen, who generally took the advice of her ministry on every important occasion, was now urged by opposite counsels; part of her ministry being inclined to war, and another part to peace. At the head of those who opposed a war with France, was the earl of Rochester, lord lieutenant of Ireland, first cousin to the queen, and the chief of the Tory faction. At the head of the opposite party was the earl, afterwards duke, of Marlborough. That of Marlborough preponderated; the queen resolved to declare war; and communicating her intentions to the house of commons, by whom it was approved, war was accordingly proclaimed. In the declaration that announced hostilities, Louis was charged with having taken

possession of a great part of the Spanish dominions; with designing to invade the liberties of Europe, to obstruct the freedom of navigation and commerce; and with having offered an unpardonable insult to the queen and her throne, by acknowledging the title of the pretender. This declaration of war on the part of England was seconded by similar declarations of the Dutch and Germans. Louis XIV., whose power had been greatly circumscribed by William, expected on the death of the latter to enter on a field open for new conquests and fame. At the news of the English monarch's death, he could not suppress his rapture; the people of Paris, and indeed through the whole kingdom, testified their joy in the most public manner. At seeing, therefore, such a combination against him, the French monarch was filled with indignation; but his resentment fell chiefly on the Dutch. He declared with great emotion, that as for those gentlemen pedlars, the Dutch, they should one day repent their insolence and presumption, in declaring war against him whose power they had formerly felt and dreaded. By these threats, however, the affairs of the allies were no way influenced. Marlborough was appointed general of the British forces, and by the Dutch he was chosen generalissimo of the allied army. He had learned the first rudiments of war under the famous marshal Turenne, having been a volunteer in his army; and by that general his future greatness was prognosticated. The first attempt that Marlborough made, to deviate from the general practice of the army, was to advance the subaltern officers, whose merits had been hitherto neglected. Regardless of seniority, wherever he found abilities, he was sure to promote the possessor; and thus he had all the upper ranks of commanders, rather remarkable for their skill and talents, than for their age and experience. In his first campaign, in the beginning of July 1702; he repaired to the camp at Nimeguen, where he found himself at the head of 60,000 men, well provided with all necessaries, and long disciplined by the best officers of the age. He was opposed on the part of France by the duke of Burgundy, a youth of very little experience in the art of war; but the real acting general was the marshal Boufflers, an officer of courage and activity. Wherever Marlborough, however, advanced, the French were obliged to retire before him, leaving all Spanish Guelderland at his discretion. The duke of Burgundy, thus finding himself obliged to retreat before the allies, returned to Versailles, leaving Boufflers to command alone. Boufflers retired to Brabant; and Marlborough ended the campaign by taking the city of Liege; in which he found an immense sum of money, and a vast number of prisoners. This good fortune consoled the nation for some unsuccessful expeditions at sea. Sir John Munden had permitted a French squadron of fourteen ships to escape him by taking shelter in the harbour of Corunna; for which he was dismissed the service by prince George. An attempt was made upon Cadiz by sea and land, Sir George Rooke commanding the navy, and the duke of

Ormonu the land forces: but this also miscarried. At Vigo, however, the British arms were attended with better success. The duke of Ormond landed with 2500 men, six miles from the city, while, the fleet forcing their way into the harbour, the French fleet that had taken refuge there were burnt by the enemy, to prevent their falling into the hands of the English. Eight ships were thus burnt and run ashore; and ten ships of war were taken, with eleven galleons, and above a million of money in silver. In the West Indies, admiral Benbow had been stationed with ten ships to distress the enemy's trade. Being informed that Du Casse, the French admiral, was in those seas with a force equal to his own, he resolved to attack him; and soon after discovered the enemy's squadron, near St. Martha, steering along the shore. He quickly gave orders to his captains, formed the line of battle, and the engagement began. He found, however, that the rest of the fleet had taken some disgust at his conduct; and they permitted him to sustain, almost alone, the whole fire of the enemy. Nevertheless, the engagement continued till night, and he determined to renew it next morning. But he now had the mortification to perceive, that all the rest of his ships had fallen back, except one, which joined him in urging the pursuit of the enemy. Four days this intrepid seaman, assisted by only one ship, pursued and engaged the enemy, while his cowardly officers remained at a distance behind. His last day's battle was more furious than any of the former; alone, and unsupported by any of the rest, he engaged the whole French squadron; when his leg was shattered by a cannon ball, and he himself died soon after of his wounds. Two of his cowardly associates were shot on their arrival in England; one died in his passage thither; the rest were disgraced.

The next parliament, which was convened by the queen, was highly pleased with the success of the British arms on the continent. The house of commons, composed chiefly of Tories, voted 40,000 seamen, and the same number of land forces, to act in conjunction with those of the allies. Soon after, the queen informed the parliament, that she was pressed by the allies to augment her forces, and upon this it was resolved that 10,000 more men should be added to the continental army, but on condition that the Dutch should immediately break off all commerce with France and Spain; a condition which was readily complied with. In the beginning of April, 1703, the duke of Marlborough, assembling the allied army, opened the campaign with the siege of Bonn, the residence of the elector of Cologne. This held out but a short time. He next retook Huy; the garrison of which, after a vigorous defence, surrendered prisoners of war. Limburgh was next besieged, and surrendered in two days, and thus the campaign concluded; the allies having secured the country of Liege and the electorate of Cologne from the designs of the enemy. In the campaign of 1704 the duke of Marlborough informed the Dutch that it was his intention to march to the relief of the empire, which had been for some time oppressed by the French forces;

and the states gave him full powers to act as he thought proper, with assurances of their assistance in all his endeavours. The French king, finding Boufflers no longer capable of opposing Marlborough, appointed the marshal de Villeroy in his place. But Marlborough, who, like Hanibal of old, was remarkable for studying the disposition of his antagonists, having no great fears from Villeroy, still proceeded to the assistance of the empire. Taking with him about 13,000 British troops, he advanced by hasty marches to the banks of the Danube; defeated a body of French and Bavarians stationed at Donavert; then passed the river, and laid under contribution the dukedom of Bavaria which had sided with the enemy. Villeroy, who at first attempted to follow his motions, seemed all at once to have lost sight of the enemy; nor was he apprized of his route till informed of his successes. But, in the mean time, marshal Tallard prepared, by another route, to obstruct Marlborough's retreat with an army of 30,000 men. He was soon after joined by the duke of Bavaria's forces; so that the French army in that part of the continent amounted to 60,000 veterans, commanded by the two best generals then in France. To oppose these, the duke of Marlborough was joined by a body of 30,000 men, under the celebrated prince Eugene. The allied army, with this reinforcement, amounted to about 52,000. After various marches, and countermatches, the two armies met at Blenheim. A terrible engagement ensued, in which the French were entirely defeated, and a country of 100 leagues in extent, fell into the hands of the conquerors. See BLENHEIM.

Soon after finishing the campaign of 1704, the duke of Marlborough repaired to Berlin, where he procured a reinforcement of 8000 Prussians, to serve under prince Eugene in Italy. Therce he proceeded to negociate for succours at the court of Hanover; and soon after returned to England, where he was received with every possible demonstration of joy. The arms of Britain, in the mean time, were no less fortunate by sea than by land. Gibraltar was taken by the prince of Hesse and Sir George Rooke: but so little was the value of this conquest then understood, that it was for some time in debate whether it was a capture worth thanking the admiral for; and at last it was considered as unworthy of public gratitude! Perhaps it has been since estimated as much above its value, as it was then doubtless estimated below it. Be that as it may, the British fleet, to the number of fifty-three ships of the line, soon after came up with that of France, consisting of fifty-two men of war, commanded by the count of Thoulouse, off the coast of Malaga; and this was the last great naval engagement in which the French for many years ventured to face the British on equal terms. The battle began at 10 A. M. and continued with great fury for six hours; when the van of the French began to give way. The British admiral for two days attempted to renew the engagement; but this was as cautiously declined by the French, who at last disappeared. Both sides claimed the victory, but the consequences decided it in favor of the British. In the mean time, the

Spaniards, alarmed at the taking of Gibraltar, sent the marquis of Villadurias with a large army to reduce it. France also sent a fleet of thirteen ships of the line: but part of them were dispersed by a tempest, and part taken by the British. Nor was the land army more successful. The siege continued for four months; during which time the prince of Hesse, who commanded the town for the English, gave many proofs of valor. At length the Spaniards, having attempted to scale the rock in vain, and finding no hopes of taking the place, drew off their men, and abandoned the enterprise. While the British were thus victorious by land and sea, a new scene of contention was opened on the side of Spain. Philip V., grandson of Louis XIV., had been placed on the throne of that kingdom, and received with the joyful concurrence of the great est part of his subjects. He had also been nominated successor to the crown, by the late king of Spain's will. But, in a former treaty among the powers of Europe, Charles, son of the emperor of Germany, was appointed heir to that crown; and this treaty had been guaranteed by France herself, though she now resolved to reverse that consent in favor of a descendant of the house of Bourbon. Charles was still farther led on to contend for the crown of Spain, by the invitation of the Catalonians, who declared in his favor; and, with the assistance of the British and Portuguese, promised to arm in his cause. Upon his way to his newly assumed dominion, he landed in England; where he was received on shore by the dukes of Somerset and Marlborough, who conducted him to Windsor. Here he was kindly received by the queen; and furnished with 200 transports, thirty ships of war, and 9000 men. The earl of Peterborough, a man of romantic bravery, offered to conduct them; and his single service was rendered equivalent to armies. The first attempt of this general was on the city of Barcelona, at that time defended by a garrison of 5000 men. The fort Monjuc, situated on a hill that commanded the city, was attacked; the outworks were taken by storm, and the powder magazine was blown up by a shell; upon which the fort immediately surrendered, and the city soon after. The conquest of all Valencia succeeded the taking of Barcelona. Charles became master of Arragon, Carthagena, Grenada, and Madrid. The British general entered the capital in triumph, and there proclaimed Charles III. king of Spain without opposition. To these successes, however, very little regard was paid in Britain. The victories of the duke of Marlborough aione engrossed the public attention. In 1706 he opened the campaign with an army of 80,000 men. He was met by the French under Villeroy near the village of Ramillies. An engagement ensued, in which the duke gained a victory almost as complete as that of Blenheim had been; and the whole country of Brabant was the reward of the victors. See RAMILLIES.

The French troops were now dispirited; the city of Paris was in confusion; and Louis XIV., who had long been flattered with conquest, was now humbled to such a degree as almost to excite the compassion of his enemies. He intreated

for peace, but in vain; the allies carried all be. fore them; aud his very capital began to dread the approach of the conquerors. But what neither his armies nor his politics could effect, was brought about by a party in England. The dissension between the whigs and tories saved France, now tottering on the brink of ruin. The councils of the queen had hitherto been governed by a whig ministry; for, though the duke of Marlborough started in the interest of the opposite party, he soon joined the whigs, as he found them most sincere in the design of humbling France. The people, however, were in fact beginning to change, and a general spirit of toryism to take place. The queen's personal virtues, her successes, her deference for the clergy, and their great veneration for her, began to have a prevailing influence over the nation. People of every rank were not ashamed to defend the most servile tenets, when they tended to flatter the sovereign, or increase her power. They argued in favor of strict hereditary succession, divine right, and nonresistance to the monarch. The Tories, though they joined in vigorous measures against France, were never ardently her enemies: they rather secretly hated the Dutch, as of principles very opposite to their own; and longed for an opportunity of withdrawing from their friendship. They began to form plans of opposition to the duke of Marlborough. Him they considered and described as a self-interested partisan, who sacrificed the real advantages of the nation, in protracting a ruinous war, for his own private emolument and glory. They depicted the country as oppressed with an increasing load of taxes, which, by a continuance of the war, must become an intolerable burden. In the mean time, a succession of losses began to dissipate the conquering frenzy that had seized the nation, and to incline them to wish for peace. The earl of Galway, who commanded the army in Spain, was utterly defeated at Almanza, by the duke of Berwick; and, in consequence of this victory, alt Spain, except the province of Catalonia, reverted to the power of Philip V. An attempt was made upon Toulon, by the duke of Savoy and prince Eugene by land, and an English fleet by sea; but to no purpose. The fleet under Sir Cloudesly Shovel, having set sail for England, was driven by a violent storm on the rocks of Scilly. His own ship was lost, and every person on board perished. Three more ships met with the same fate; while three or four others were saved with the utmost difficulty. In Germany, marshal Villars carried all before him, and was upon the point of restoring the elector of Bavaria. The only hopes of the people lay in the activity and conduct of the duke of Marlborough, who opened the campaign of 1707, about the middle of May; but even here they were disappointed. The duke declined an engagement; and, after several marchings and countermarchings, both armies retired into winter quarters about the end of October. The French made vigorous preparations for the next campaign; and the duke returned to England, to meet with a reception which he neither expected nor deserved.

The most remarkable transaction, however, of this year, and indeed of this whole reign, was

⚫he union between the two kingdoms of Scotland and England. Though governed by one sovereign, since the accession of James to the throne of England, yet each nation continued to be ruled by its respective parliament; and often pursued opposite interests to those of its neighbour. A union had been unsuccessfully attempted more than once, and had indeed been the cause of bloody wars so long back as the time of Edward I. and III. In all the former proposals on that subject, however, both nations were supposed to remain free and independent; each having its own parliament, and subject only to such taxes, and other commercial regulations, as those parliaments should respectively judge expedient. After the destruction of the Darien colony, king William had endeavoured to allay the national ferment by resuming the affair of a union, with as much assiduity as his warlike disposition would allow. The terms proposed were the same with those formerly held out, viz. a federal union, somewhat like that of the states of Holland. With this view the Scots were prevailed on to send twenty commissioners to London; who, with twenty-three on the part of England, met at Whitehall in October 1702. Here they were honored with a visit from the queen; but the treaty was entirely broken off at this time, by the Scottish commissioners insisting, that the rights and privileges of their countrymen trading to Africa and the Indies should be preserved and maintained. It was, however, resumed in 1706, when the commissioners again met on the 16th of April. The Scottish commissioners still proposed a federal union; but the English were determined on an incorporation, which should not afterwards be dissolved by a Scottish parliament. Nothing but this, they said, could settle a perfect and lasting friendship betwixt the two nations. The commissioners from Scotland, however, resisted this; but the queen, being persuaded to pay two visits in person to the commissioners, exerted herself so vigorously, that a majority was at last gained; and all the rest yielded, though with reluctance, excepting Lockhart of Carnwarth, who could by no means be persuaded either to sign or seal the treaty. The articles being fully prepared on the 22nd of July, they were presented next day to the queen by the lord keeper, in the name of the English commissioners; and a sealed copy of the instrument was likewise delivered by the lord chancellor of Scotland. They were most graciously received; and the queen the same day dictated an order of council, threatening with prosecution such as should be concerned in any discourse or libel, or in laying wagers with regard to the union! The treaty, however, was regarded in Scotland with very different feelings. The terms had been carefully concealed, so that nothing transpired, till the whole was at once laid before parliament. The ferment was then so general, that all ranks of people, however divided in other respects, united against this detested treaty. The nobility and gentry were exasperated at the annihilation of their parliament, and the consequent loss of their influence and credit. The body of the people cried out, that the independence of the nation was sacri

ficed to treachery and corruption. They insisted that the obligation laid on their members to stay in London, attending on the British parliament, would drain the country of its money, impoverish the members themselves, and subject them to the temptation of being corrupted. Nor was the commercial part of the people better satisfied. The dissolution of the India company, the taxes laid on the necessaries of life, the vast number of duties, customs, and restrictions, upon trade, &c., were all matters of complaint. The most violent disputes took place in the parliament. Lord Belhaven made a most pathetic speech, enumerating the miseries that would attend this treaty; almost every article of it was the subject of a protest; addresses against it were presented to par liament by the convention of royal boroughs. the commissioners of the general assembly, the company trading to Africa and the Indies, as well as from shires, stewartries, boroughs, towns and parishes, without distinction of whig, tory or presbytery. Nor was the resentment of the people without doors less than that of the mem bers within. A coalition was formed between the presbyterians and cavaliers; and to such a height did the resentment of the people arrive, that they chose officers, formed themselves into regiments, provided horses and ammunition burnt the articles of union, justified their conduct by a public declaration, and prepared by force to dissolve the parliament. The duke of Queensberry, the chief promoter of the union, was obliged to move through the capital guarded by double lines of horse and foot.

The articles of the treaty were, however, rati fied by parliament, with some trifling variations, on the 25th of March, 1707; when the duke of Queensberry dissolved that ancient assembly, and Scotland ceased to be a separate kingdom. The queen now informed the English parliament, that the treaty of union, with some additions and alterations, was ratified by an act of the parliament of Scotland: that she had ordered it to be laid before them, and hoped it would meet their approbation. She observed, that they had now an opportunity of putting the last hand to a happy union of the two kingdoms: and that she should look upon it as a particular happiness, if this great work, so often attempted before without success, could be brought to perfection in her reign. This important measure was completed on the 1st of May, 1707; and the island took the name of 'The United Kingdom of GREAT BRITAIN.' The queen again expressed her satisfaction when it received the royal assent.She did not doubt,' she said, 'but the whole business would be remembered and spoke of hereafter, to the honor of those who had been instrumental in bringing it to such a happy conclusion. She desired that her subjects of both kingdoms would from henceforward behave with all possible respect and kindness towards one another; that so it might appear to all the world they had hearts disposed to become one people.' The 1st of May was appointed a day of public thanksgiving; and congratulatory addresses were sent up from all parts of England, excepting the university of Oxford. The Scots however, were totally silent on the occasion. In