were all expreffive of fome inward grief, which the cared not to utter, and which preyed upon her life. LETTER LXXII. At last, her death being visibly approaching, the privy A. D. 1603. council fent to know her will, in regard to her fucceffor. She answered with a feeble voice, that as she had held a regal fceptre, fhe defired no other than a royal fucceffor; and on Cecil's defiring her to explain herfelf, fhe faid, "who fhould that be but my neareft "kinfman, the king of Scots?" She expired foon after, without a ftruggle, her body being totally wasted by anguish and abstinence 27. HISTORY does not afford a more ftriking leffon on the unfubftantial nature of human greatness than in the clofe of this celebrated reign. Few fovereigns ever fwayed a fceptre with more dignity than Elizabeth: few have enjoyed more uniform profperity, and none could be more beloved by their people; yet this great princefs, after all her glory and popularity, lived to fall into neglect, and funk to the grave beneath the prefsure of a private grief, accompanied by circumstances of diftrefs, which the wretch on the torture might pity, and which the flave who expires at the oar does not feel. But the reign of Elizabeth yields other leffons. 27. Camden. Birch. Strype. In this account of the death of Elizabeth, I have differed, in fome particulars, from the crowd of hiftorians. But, in conformity with general teftimony, I have mentioned her nomination of the king of Scotland as her fucceffor; yet a refpectable eye and ear witness tells us, That she was speechless before the question relative to the fucceffion was proposed by the privy council. He candidly adds, however, "that by putting her hand to her head, when the "king of Scots was named to fucceed her, they all knew he was the man " for defired foould reign after her." (Memoirs of the Life of Robert Carey Earl of Monmouth, written by himself, p. 141) The late John earl of Corke, editor of Carey's Memoirs, gives a lefs liberal interpretation of this fign: he fuppofes it might be the effect of pain. Pref. p. x. G 3 It A. D. 1603. PART I. It fhews us to what a degree of wealth and confequence a nation may be raised in a few years, by a wife and vigorous adminiftration: and what powerful efforts may be made by a brave and united people, in repelling or annoying an enemy, how fuperior foever in force. THE character of Elizabeth herfelf has been too often drawn to admit of any new feature, and is beft delineated in her conduct. To all the perfopal jealousy, the coquetry, and little vanities of a woman, fhe united the found understanding and firm spirit of a man. A greater share of feminine foftnefs might have made her more agreeable as a wife or a miftrefs, though not a better queen; but a lefs infidious policy would have reflected more luftre on her adminiftration, and a lefs rigid frugality, on fome occafions, would have given more fuccefs to her arms. But as fhe was, and as fhe acted, the must be allowed to have been one of the greateft fovereigns that ever filled a throne, and may perhaps be confidered as the moft illustrious female that ever did honour to humanity. LETTER FRANCE, from the Peace of VERVINS, in 1598, to the Death of HENRY IV. in 1610, with fome Account of the Affairs of GERMANY, under RODOLPH II. N LETTER LXXIII. O kingdom, exempt from the horrors of war, could be more wretched than France, at the peace of Vervins. The crown was loaded with debts A. D. 1598. and penfions; the country barren and defolated; the people poor and miferable; and the nobility, from a long habit of rebellion, rapine, and diforder, had loft all fenfe of juftice, allegiance, or legal fubmiffion. They had been accustomed to fet at naught the authority of the prince, to invade the royal prerogative, and to fport with the lives and property of the people. HAPPILY France was favoured with a king, equally able and willing to remedy all thefe evils. Henry IV. to a fincere regard for the welfare of his fubjects, added a found head and a bold heart. His fuperiority in arms, to which he had been habituated from his moft early years, gave him great fway with all men of the mili tary profeffion; and his magnanimity, gallantry, and gaiety, recommended him to the nobility in general; while his known vigour and promptitude, together with the love of his people, curbed the more factious fpirits, or enabled him to crush them before their defigns were ripe for execution. BUT to form a regular plan of administration, and to pursue it with fuccefs, amid fo many dangers and difficulties, required more than the wifdom of one head, and the firmness of one heart. Henry ftood in need of an able and upright minifter, on whom he G 4 might PART I. might devolve the more ordinary cares of government, and with whom he might confult on the noft import ant matters of ftate. Such an affiftant he found in his fervant, the marquis de Rofni, whom he created duke of Sully, in order to give more weight to his meafures. SULLY feemed formed to be the minifter of Henry IV. Equally brave in the field, and penetrating in the cabinet, he poffeffed more coolnefs and perfeverance than that great prince, whofe volatility and quickness of thought did not permit him to attend long to any one object'. Attached to his master's perfon by friendship, and to his intereft and the public good by principle, he employed himself with the moft indefatigable induftry, to restore the dignity of the crown, without giving umbrage to the nobility, or trefpaffing on the rights of the people. His firft care was the finances; and it is inconceivable in how little time he drew the moft exact order out of that chaos, in which they had been involved by his predeceffors. He made the king perfectly mafter of his own affairs; digefting the whole fyftem of the finances into tables, by the help of which Henry could fee, almost at a fingle glance, all the different branches of his revenue and expenditure. levied taxes in the shortest and most frugal manner poffible; for he held, that every man fo employed was a citizen loft to the public, and yet maintained by the public. He diminished all the expences of government; but, at the fame time, paid every one pun&tually, and took care that the king should always have fuch referve, as not to be obliged, on any emergency, either to lay new impofitions on his people, or to make ufe of credit. By thefe prudent meafures, he paid in the He space LXXIII. fpace of five years all the debts of the crown; augment- LETTER ed the revenue four million of livres, and had four millions in the treasury, though he had confiderably reduced the taxes 3. SULLY's attention, however, was not confined merely to the finances. He had the most found notions of policy and legiflation; and he endeavoured to convert them into practice. "If I had a principle to establish, fays he, "it would be this; that good morals and good laws are reciprocally formed by each other." No obfervation can be more juft, or of more importance to fociety: for if the government neglect the manners, a relaxation of manners will lead to a neglect of the laws; and the evil will go on, always increafing, until the community arrive at the highest degree of corruption, when it muft reform or go to ruin. "Hence," adds Sully, "in "the affairs of men, the excess of evil is always the "fource of good." In confequence of this mode of thinking, he co-operated warmly with the king's wishes, in reftoring order and justice throughout all parts of his dominions, and in getting fuch laws enacted as were farther neceffary for that parpose. BUT Sully's maxims, though in general excellent, were better fuited in fome refpects to a poor and small republic than to a great and wealthy monarchy. Senfible that a fertile country, well cultivatd, is the principal fource of the happiness of a people, and the moft folid foundation of national profperity, he gave great encouragement to agriculture. But the aufterity of his principles made him an enemy to all manufactures connected with luxury, although it is evident that a profperous people will poffefs themselves of fuch manufac 3. Mem de Sully, tom. iv. 4. Id. Ibid. tures; |