his habit of thinking, only for the office of Grand Inquisitor. Hence he was long the terror, but never the admiration, of Europe.

Nor was Philip's character more amiable or estimable in private than in public life. Besides other crimes of a domestic nature, he was accused by William, prince of Orange, in the face of all Europe, and seemingly with justice, of having sacrificed his own son, Don Carlos, to his jealous ambition; and of having poisoned his third wife, Isabella of France, that he might marry Anne of Austria, his niece.(1) The particulars of the death of Don Carlos are sufficiently curious to merit attention. That young prince had sometimes taken the liberty to censure the measures of his father's government in regard to the Netherlands, and was even suspected of a design of putting himself at the head of the insurgents, in order to prevent the utter ruin of his future subjects, for whose sufferings he had often expressed his compassion. In consequence of this suspicion he was put under confinement; and although several princes interceded for his release, his father was inexorable. The inquisition, through the influence of the king, who on all great occasions consulted the members of that ghostly tribunal, passed sentence against the unhappy Carlos; and the inhuman and unnatural Philip, under cover of that sentence, ordered poison, which proved effectual in a few hours, to be administered to his son and heir of empire. (2)

No European prince ever possessed such vast resources as Philip II. Besides his Spanish and Italian dominions, the kingdom of Portugal and the Netherlands, he enjoyed the whole East India commerce, and reaped the richest harvest of the American mines. But his prodigious armaments, his intrigues in France and in England, and his long and expensive wars in the Low Countries, exhausted his treasures, and enriched those whom he sought to subdue; while the Spaniards, dazzled with the sight of the precious metals, and elated with an idea of imaginary wealth, neglected agriculture and manufactures, and were obliged, as at present, to depend on their more industrious neighbours, for the luxuries, as well as the necessaries, of life. Spain, once a rich and fertile kingdom, became only the mint of Europe. Its wedges and ingots were no sooner coined than called for; and often mortgaged before their arrival, as the price of labour and ingenuity. The state was enfeebled, the country rendered sterile, and the people poor and miserable.

The condition of the United Provinces was in all respects the reverse of Spain. They owed every thing to their industry. By that, a country naturally barren, was rendered fertile, even while the scene of war. Manufactures were carried on with vigour, and commerce was extended to all the quarters of the globe. The republic was become powerful, and the people rich, in spite of every effort to enslave and oppress them. Conscious of this, the court of Madrid had changed its measures before the death of Philip. After much deliberation, that haughty monarch, despairing of being able to reduce the revolted provinces by force, and desirous of an accommodation, that he might end his days in peace, but disdaining to make, in his own name, the concessions necessary for that purpose, transferred to his daughter Isabella, contracted to the archduke Albert of Austria, the sovereignty of the Low Countries.

Philip II. died before the celebration of the marriage, but his son Philip III., a virtuous, though a weak prince, punctually executed the contract; and Albert, after taking possession of his sovereignty according to the necessary forms, wrote to the States of the United Provinces, acquainting them of that deed, and entreating them not to refuse submission to their natural princes, who would govern them with lenity, indulgence, and affection.

The States returned no answer to the archduke's letter. They were now determined to complete that independency for which they had so long struggled. But although their purpose had been less firm, there was a clause in the contract which would have produced the same resolution. It provided.

(1) See the Manifesto of the prince of Orange, in answer to Philip's Proscription.
(2) Compare Thuanus lib. xliii., with Strada, lib. vii.

that, in case the infanta left no issue, all the provinces in the Low Countries should return to the crown of Spain; and as there was little probability of her having offspring, the States saw their danger, and avoided it, by refusing to listen to any terms of submission.(1)

The first material step taken by Albert and Isabella for reducing their revolted subjects to obedience, was the issuing of an edict, in conjunction with the Catholic king, precluding the United Provinces all intercourse with the kingdoms of Spain and Portugal, or with the Spanish Netherlands. This was a severe blow to the commerce of the States. They had hitherto, singular as it may seem, been allowed an open trade with all the Spanish dominions in Europe, and had drawn much of their wealth from that source, as well as increased by it their naval power. An idea of general advantage only could have induced Philip II. to permit such a traffic; and an experience of its balance being in favour of the republic, as will always be the case between industrious and indolent nations, made it now be prohibited under the name of an indulgence. But the interdict was issued too late effectually to answer its end. The Dutch, already strong by sea, sent out a fleet to cruise upon the Spaniards; their land levies were prosecuted with great diligence; and, in order to make up for the restraint upon their home trade, they turned their views towards India, where they attacked the Spaniards and Portuguese, and at length monopolized the most lucrative branch of that important commerce.

Meanwhile, war was carried on with vigour in the Low Countries. Besides several bodies of Germans and Swiss, the States took into their service two thousand French veterans, disbanded by Henry IV. on the conclusion of the peace of Vervins: and that prince generously supplied the republic with money, under pretence of paying his debts. The archduke's forces were, in like manner, much augmented by fresh levies from Spain, Italy, and Germany. Each party seemed formidable to the other, yet both were eager for the combat; and several towns having been taken, many gallantly assaulted, and no less gallantly defended on both sides, the two armies came to a general engagement at Nieuport, near Ostend.(2) The field was obstinately disputed for three hours. The confederates began the battle with incredible intrepidity; and the Spanish veterans, who composed the enemy's van, received the shock with great firmness. The conflict was terrible. At length the Spaniards gave ground; but, repeatedly turning to the charge, repeatedly were repulsed, and, in the issue, utterly broken and routed, with the loss of five thousand men, by the valour of the English auxiliaries under sir Francis Vere, who led the van of the confederates.(3) We must not, however, with some of our too warm countrymen, ascribe the victory solely to English prowess. A share of the honour, at least, ought to be allowed to the military skill of prince Maurice; to a body of Swiss immediately under his command, that supported the English troops; and to the valour of the many gallant volunteers, who had come from all parts of Europe to study the art of war under so able and experienced a general, and who strove to outdo each other in daring acts of heroism.

This victory was of the utmost importance to the United Provinces, as the defeat of their army, in the present crisis, must have been followed by the loss of their liberties, and their final ruin as independent states; but its consequences otherwise were very inconsiderable. Prince Maurice either mispent his time after the battle, or his troops, as he affirmed, were so exhausted with fatigue, as not to be fit for any new enterprise, till Albert was again ready to take the field with a superior army. Overtures of peace were renewed, and rejected by the States. The confederates laid siege to Rhimburg, and the archduke to Ostend. Rhimburg was reduced, but Maurice did not think his strength sufficient to attempt the relief of Ostend.

Meantime, the siege of that important place was vigorously conducted by

(1) Metern. Grotius. Bentivoglio.

(2) Grotius, lib. ix. Reidan, lib. xvii. Bentivoglio, par. iii. lib. vi.

(3) Id. ibid.

the archduke in person, at the head of a numerous and well appointed army. The brave resistance which he met with astonished, but did not discourage him. His heart was set on the reduction of Ostend. All the resources of war were exhausted; rivers of blood were spilled, but neither side was dispirited; because both received constant supplies, the one by sea, the other from the neighbouring country. New batteries were daily raised, and assaults made without number, and without effect. The garrison, commanded by sir Francis Vere, who had gallantly thrown himself into the town in the face of the enemy, repelled all the attempts of the Spaniards with invincible intrepidity; and at length obliged Albert to turn the siege into a kind of blockade, and commit the command to Rivas, one of his generals, while he himself went to Ghent, in order to concert new measures for accomplishing his favourite enterprise.

The States embraced this opportunity to change the garrison of Ostend, worn out and emaciated with continual fatigue and watching; and as the communication by sea was preserved open, the scheme was executed without difficulty. A fresh garrison, supplied with every necessary, took charge of the town, under the command of colonel Dorp, a Dutchman, colonel Edmunds, a Scotchman, and Hertain, a Frenchman; while sir Francis Vere, with the former garrison, joined the army under prince Maurice.

The army before Ostend, composed of Flemings, Walloons, and Spaniards, was reinforced with eight thousand Italians, under the marquis of Spinola, an officer of great military talents, to whom Albert wisely committed the conduct of the siege, after the ineffectual efforts of Rivas. Spinola showed, that no fortification, however strong, is impregnable to an able engineer furnished with the necessary force. Ostend was reduced to a heap of ruins; and the besiegers were making preparations for the grand assault, when the governor offered to capitulate. Spinola granted the garrison honourable terms.(1)

During this memorable siege, which lasted upwards of three years, and cost the king of Spain and the archduke the lives of fourscore thousand brave soldiers, prince Maurice made himself master of Rinbach, Grave, and Sluys, acquisitions which more than balanced the loss of Ostend; and Albert, by employing all his strength against the place, was prevented, during three campaigns, from entering the United Provinces. The Dutch did not let slip the occasion, which that interval of security afforded them, to push their trade and manufactures. Every nerve was strained in labour, and every talent in ingenuity. Commerce, both foreign and domestic, flourished; Ternate, one of the Moluccas, had been gained; and the East India company, that grand pillar of the republic, was established.(2)

But, as a counterpoise to these advantages, the States had lost the alliance of England, in consequence of the death of Elizabeth. James I., her successor, showed no inclination to engage in hostilities with Spain; and concluded, soon after his accession, a treaty with that court. Through the intercession of Henry IV., however, he agreed to supply the States secretly with money and what is very remarkable as well as honourable, it appears that James, in his treaty with Spain, had expressly reserved the power of sending assistance to the United Provinces.(3)

The republic, at present, stood much in need of support. Philip III., now sensible that the infanta could have no issue, and consequently that the Netherlands must return to the crown of Spain, came to the resolution of carrying on the war against the revolted provinces with the whole force of his dominions. Large levies were made for that purpose; large sums were remitted in the Low Countries; and Spinola was there declared commanderin-chief of the Spanish and Italian forces.

The States saw their danger, and endeavoured to provide against it. They empowered prince Maurice to augment his army; they recruited their gar

(1) Grotius, lib. xiii. Bentivoglio, par. iii. lib. vii.
(3) Winwood, vol. ii.

(2) Le Clerc, lib. vii

risons, repaired their fortifications, and every where prepared for a vigorous resistance. Spinola expected it, but was not discouraged: and his success was rapid for two campaigns, in spite of all the efforts of Maurice. But although he had made himself master of many important places, he had yet made no impression on the body of the republic; and three hundred thousand doubloons a month, the common expense of the army, was a sum too large for the Spanish treasury long to disburse, and a drain which not even the mines of Mexico and Peru could supply. His troops mutinied for want of pay. He became sensible of the impracticability of his undertaking, and delivered it as his opinion, that it was more advisable to enjoy the ten provinces in peace and security, than to risk the loss of the whole Netherlands in pursuit of the other seven, and ruin Spain by a hazardous attempt to conquer rebel subjects, who had too long tasted the sweets of liberty ever again to bear with ease the shackles of monarchy and absolute dominion.(1)

A

The court of Madrid was already convinced of the necessity of an accommodation; the archduke was heartily tired of the war; and the sentiments of the general had great influence both on the Spanish and Flemish councils. If the duke of Parma had failed to reduce the seven provinces, and Spinola gave up the attempt, who, it was asked, could hope to subdue them?-as there was no answering such a question, it was agreed, though not without many scruples, to negotiate with the Belgian republic as an independent state. suspension of arms accordingly took place; conferences were opened; and, after numberless obstructions and delays, interposed by the Orange faction, whose interest it was to continue the war, a truce of twelve years was concluded at the Hague, through the mediation of France and England.(2) This treaty secured to the United Provinces all the acquisitions they had made, freedom of commerce with the dominions of Philip and the archduke, on the same footing with other foreign nations, and the full enjoyment of those civil and religious liberties for which they had so gloriously struggled.(3)

Scarce had the court of Spain finished one civil war, occasioned by perse cution, when it plunged into another. Philip III., at the instigation of the inquisition, and by the advice of his minister, the duke of Lerma, no less weak than himself, issued an edict, ordering all the Morescoes, or descendants of the Moors, to leave the kingdom within the space of thirty days, under the penalty of death. These remains of the ancient conquerors of Spain were chiefly employed in commerce and agriculture; and the principal reason assigned for this barbarous decree was, that they were still Mahometans in their hearts, though they conformed outwardly to the rites of Christianity, and therefore might corrupt the true faith, as well as disturb the peace of the state. Persecution prompted them to undertake what they had hitherto shown no disposition to attempt. They chose themselves a king, and endeavoured to oppose the execution of the royal mandate; but being almost utterly unprovided with arms, they were soon obliged to submit, and all banished the kingdom.(4)

By this violent and impolitic measure, Spain lost near a million of industrious inhabitants ;(5) and as that kingdom was already depopulated by long and bloody foreign wars, by repeated emigrations to the New World, and enervated by luxury, it now sunk into a state of languor, out of which it has never since fully recovered. The remembrance of its former strength, however, still made it terrible; and associations were formed for restraining the exorbitant power of Spain, after Spain had ceased to be powerful.

(1) Bentivoglio.

(2) Grotius. Bentivoglio. Winwood. 44) Fonseca. Traycion de Morescoes.

(3) Grotius, lib. xvíí. (5) Geddes, Hist. Expuls. Moresc.

LETTER LXXII.

The domestic History of England, from the Defeat of the Spanish Armada, in 1588, to the Death of Elizabeth, with some Particulars of Scotland and Ireland.

THE execution of the queen of Scots, and the defeat of the Spanish Armada, freed Elizabeth from all apprehensions in regard to the safety of her crown. What part she took in the affairs of France and of the United Provinces, and what attempts she made by naval armaments to annoy the Catholic king, we have already seen. We must now, my dear Philip, take a view of her domestic policy, and her domestic troubles; and of her transactions with Scotland and Ireland, from this great era of her guilt and her glory to that of her death, which left vacant the throne of England to the house of Stuart.

The leading characteristics of Elizabeth's administration were economy and vigour. By a strict attention to the first, she was able to maintain a magnificent court, and to support the persecuted Protestants in France and the Low Countries, without oppressing her people, or involving the crown in debt; and by a spirited exertion of the second, she humbled the pride of Spain, and gave stability to her throne, in spite of all the machinations of her enemies. After informing her parliament of the necessity of continuing the war against Philip, and how little she dreaded the power of that monarch, even though he should make a greater effort than that of his Invincible Armada, she concluded thus:-" But I am informed, that when he attempted this last invasion, some upon the sea-coast forsook their towns, fled up higher into the country, and left all naked and exposed to his entrancebut I swear unto you, by God! if I knew those persons, or may know of any that shall do so hereafter, I will make them feel what it is to be fearful in so urgent a cause."(1)

Elizabeth's frugality in the administration of government seems less, however, to have proceeded from lenity to her people than from a fear of bringing herself under the power of the commons by the necessity of soliciting larger supplies, and thereby endangering her royal prerogative, of which she was always remarkably jealous, and which she exercised with a high hand. Numberless instances of this occur during her reign. Besides erecting the Court of High Commission, which was vested with almost inquisitorial powers, and supporting the arbitrary decrees of the Star Chamber, she granted to her servants and courtiers patents for monopolies, which put invincible restraints upon all commerce, industry, and emulation in the arts, and enabled those who possessed them to raise commodities to what price they pleased. Salt, in particular, was raised from sixteen pence a bushel to fourteen or fifteen shillings, (2) and several other articles in proportion. Almost all the necessaries of life were thus monopolized; which made a certain member cry out ironically, when the list was read over in the house, "Is not bread among the number?" (3)

These grievances were frequently complained of in parliament, but more especially by the Puritans; a religious sect, who maintained, as the name imports, that the church of England was not yet sufficiently purged from the errors of popery, and who carried the same bold spirit that dictated their theological opinions into their political speculations. But such complaints were made at the peril of the members, who were frequently committed to custody for undue liberty of speech; and all motions to remove those enormous grievances were suppressed, as attempts to invade the royal prerogative. The queen herself, by messages to the house, frequently admonished the commons "not to meddle with what nowise belonged to them (matters of

(1) D'Ewes, Journal of Parliament.

(2) Ibid.

(3) Ibid.