PART I. church lands, which they had held fince the peace of Paffau 3+. A. D. 1629. BUT it was easier to iffue fuch an edict than to carry it into execution; and Ferdinand, though poffeffed of an army of an hundred and fifty thousand men, under two of the ableft generals in Europe, found reafon to repent of his temerity. France gave the firft check to his ambition. Cardinal Richelieu had early interested himself in the affairs of Mantua Lewis, in perfon, had forced the famous pafs of Sufa, during the fiege of Modena. And peace was no fooner concluded with the Hugonots than the cardinal croffed the Alps, at the head of twenty thousand men; gained feveral advantages over the Spaniards and Imperialifts, chafed the duke of Savoy from his dominions, and obliged the em4.D. 1630. peror to grant the inveftiture of Mantua and Montferrat to the duke of Nevers 35. The duke of Savoy, during thefe tranfactions, died of chagrin; and Spinola, who had failed to reduce Cazal, is supposed to have perished of the fame diftemper. The accommodation between France and the empire, which terminated this war, was partly negociated by Julio Mazarine, who now firft appeared on the theatre of the world, as a priest and politician, having formerly been a captain of horse 3. MEANWHILE the elector of Saxony, and other princes of the Augsburg Confeffion, remonftrated against the edict of Reftitution: they maintained that the emperor had no right to command fuch reftitution, which ought to be made the fubject of deliberation in a general diet. A diet was accordingly held at Ratifbon; and the greater part of the Catholic princes exhorted the emperor to quiet the Pro 34. Barre, ubi fup. Barchelius, p. 185. Puffend. Comment. Reb. Succ. lib. i. 35. Auberi, Hit. du Card. Rich. 36. Id. ibid. teftants, LXXIV. teftants, by granting them, for a term of forty years, LETTER the enjoyment of fuch benefices as they had poffeffed fince the treaty of Paffau. But this advice being vigo. A.D. 1630. roufly opposed by the ecclefiaftical electors, who made ufe of arguments more agreeable to the views of Ferdinand, he continued obftinate in his purpose; and the Proteftants, in order to fave themselves from that robbery with which they were threatened, and which was already begun in many places, fecretly formed an alliance with Guftavus Adolphus, king of Sweden 37. -But before I introduce this extraordinary man, we muft take a retrospective view of the northern kingdoms, which had hitherto had no connexion with the general fyftem of Europe, and had scarce offered any thing interefting fince the death of Gustavus Vafa. ERIC VASA, the fon and fucceffor of Guftavus, proving a diffolute and cruel prince, was dethroned and imprisoned by the ftates of Sweden, in 1568. He was fuccceded by his brother John; who, after attempting in vain to re-establish the the Catholic religion, died in 1592, and left the crown to his fon Sigifmund, already elected king of Poland. Sigifmund, like his father, being a zealous Catholic, and the Swedes no lefs zealous Lutherans, they depofed him in the year 1600, and raised to the fovereignty his uncle Charles IX. who had been chiefly inftrumental in preferving their religious liberties. The Poles attempted in vain to reftore Sigifmund to the throne of Sweden. Charles fwayed the fceptre till his death which happened in 1611. He was fucceeded in the throne by his fon, the celebrated Guftavus Adolphus 38. RUSSIA, during that period, was a prey to civil wars. John Bafilowitz II. dying in 1584, left two fons, 37. Puffend, ubi fup. Barre, tom. ix. 38. Loccen. Hift. Suec. lib. vii. PARTI. Theodore and Demetrius. Theodore fucceeded his father on the throne; and at the inftigation of Boris, his prime minifter, ordered his brother Demetrius to be murdered. He himself died foon after; and Boris, though fufpected of poifoning his mafter, was proclaimed king. Meanwhile a young man appeared in Lithuania, under the name and character of the prince Demetrius, pretending that he had escaped out of the hands of the affaffin. Affifted by a Polish army, he entered Moscow in 1605, and was proclaimed czar without oppofition; the mother and fon of Boris, who was now dead, being dragged to prifon by the populace. The rage of that populace was foon turned against Demetrius. He was flain on his marriage day, together with most of his Polish attendants, who had rendered him obnoxious to the Ruffians. A body, faid to be his, was expofed to public view; and Zuski, a nobleman, who had fomented the infurrection, was declared his fucceffor. But fcarce was Zufki, seated on the throne, when a fecond Demetrius made his appearance; and after his death, a third. Poland and Sweden took part in the quarrel. Zufki was delivered up to the Poles, and Demetrius was maffacred by the Tartars. But a fourth, and even a fifth Demetrius appeared and Ruffia, during thefe ftruggles, was repeatedly ravaged by oppofite factions and foreign troops. At length Michael Theodorowitz, fon of Romanow, bishop of Roftow, afterwards patriarch, related by females to the czar John Bafilowitz, was raised to the throne; and this prince, having concluded a peace with Sweden and Poland, in 1618, reftored tranquillity toRuffia, and tranfmitted the crown to his defcendants 39, DENMARK affords nothing that merits our attention during the reign of Frederic II. who fucceeded his fa 39. Ludolf. Puffendorf. Petreius. ther LXXIV. ther, Chriftian III. in 1558; nor during the reign of LETTER his fon and fucceffor, Chriftian IV. before he was chofen general of the league in Lower Saxony. And the tranfactions of Chriftian IV. even while vefted with that command, are too unimportant to merit a particular detail. The iffue of his operations has been already related. SWEDEN alone, during thofe times, of all the northern kingdoms, yields a fpectacle worthy of obfervation. No fooner was Guftavus feated on the throne, though only eighteen years of age at his acceffion, than he fignalized himself by his exploits against the Danes, the ancient enemies of his crown. Profiting afterwards by peace, which he had found neceffary, he applied himself to the ftudy of civil affairs; and by a wife and vigorous administration, supported with falutary laws, he reformed many public abuses, and gave order, profperity, and weight to the ftate. In a war againft Ruffia, he fubdued almost all Finland, and secured to himself the poffeffion of his conquefts by a treaty. His coufin Sigifmund, king of Poland, treating him as an ufurper, and refufing peace, when offered by Gustavus, he over-ran Livonia, Pruffia, and Lithunia 4°. An advantageous truce of fix years, concluded with Po 40. Loccen. lib. viii. Puffend. lib. ii. During this war, the prae tice of duelling rose to fach a height, both among officers and private men, in the Swedish army, as induced Guftavus to publish a fevere edict denouncing death against every offender: and by a ftrist execution of that edict, the evil was effectually removed. (Harte's Life of Guflavus, vol. i.) When two of the generals demanded permiffion to decide a quarrel by the fword, he gave a feeming confent, and told them he would himself be an eye-witness of their valour and prowess. He accordingly appeared on the ground, but accompanied by the public executioner, who had orders to cut off the head of the conqueror. The high-fpirited combatants, fubdued by such firmness, fell on their knces at the king's feet; were ordered to embrace, and continued friends to the ends of their lives. Scheffer. Memorand, Snee, Gent. land PART I. land, in 1629, gave him leifure to take part in the troubles of Germany, and to exhibit more fully thofe heroic qualities, which will ever be the admiration of mankind. GUSTAVUS had many reafons for making war against the emperor. Ferdinand had affifted his enemy, the king of Poland: he treated the Swedish ambassador with difrefpect; and he had formed a project for extending his dominion over the Baltic. If the king of Sweden looked tamely on, till the German princes were finally subjected, the independency of the Gothic monarchy, as well as that of the other northern kingdoms, would be in danger. BUT the motives which chiefly induced Guftavus to take arms against the head of the empire, were the love of glory and zeal for the Proteftant religion. These, however, did not tranfport him beyond the bounds of A. D. 1630. prudence. He laid his defign before the states of Sweden; and he negociated with France, England, and Holland, before he began his march. Charles I. ftill defirous of the restoration of the Palatine, agreed to fend the king of Sweden fix thousand men. These troops were raifed in the name of the marquis of Hamilton, and fuppofed to be maintained by that nobleman, that the appearance of neutrality might be preferved. The people were more forward than the king. The flower of Guftavus's army, and many of his beft officers, by the time he entered Germany, confifted of scottish and English adventurers, who thronged over to fupport the Proteftant caufe, and to feek renown under the champion of their religion 42; fo that the conquefts even of this illuftrious hero, may partly be afcribed to British valour and British fagacity! 41. Rushworth, vol. i. Hamilton, vol. i. 42. Burnet, Mem. of the House of THE |