PART I. tures; and that, if they cannot fabricate them, they must be purchased from foreigners with the precious metals, or with the common produce of the foil, which might otherwife be employed in the maintenance of useful artizans. HENRY himself, whofe ideas were more liberal, though generally lefs accurate than those of his minifter, had jufter notions of this matter. He accordingly A. D. 1602. introduced the culture and the manufacture of filk, contrary to the opinion of Sully: and the fuccefs was anfwerable to his expectations. Before his death, he had the fatisfaction to fee that manufacture, not only fupply the home-confumption, but bring more money into the kingdom than any of the former ftaple commodities 5. HENRY alfo eftablished, at great expence, manuA. D. 1607. factures of linen and tapestry. The workmen for the firft he drew from the United Provinces; for the last, from the Spanish Netherlands. He gave high wages and good fettlements to all. Hence his fuccefs. He was fenfible, that induftrious people would not leave their native country without the temptation of large profit; and that after they had left it, and become rich, they would be inclined to return, in order to enjoy the company of their friends and fellow-citizens, unless fixed by fuch advantages as should over-balance that defire. In order to facilitate commerce, and promote the conveniency of his fubjects, he built the Pont-Neuf, and cut the canal of Briare, which joins the Seine and the Loire; and he had projected the junction of the two feas, when a period was put to his life, and with that to all his other great defigns. 5. Sir G. Carew's Relation of the State of France under Henry IV. In the prosecution of these wife and falutary meafures, which raised France from the defolation and mifery, in which she was involved, to a more flourishing condition than fhe had ever enjoyed, Henry met with a variety of obstructions, proceeding from a variety of causes. A heart too fufceptible of tender impreffions was continually engaging him in new amours, deftructive at once of his domeftic peace and of the public tranquillity; and, what is truly extraordinary in a man of gallantry, the laft attachment appeared always to be the Arongeft. His fenfibility, instead of being blunted, feemed only to become keener by the change of objects. Scarce had death relieved him from the importunities of Gabriel d'Eftrees, whom he had created duchess of Beaufort, and who poffeffed fuch an abfolute afcendant over him, that he feemed refolved to marry her contrary to the advice of his wifeft counsellors-no fooner was he extricated from this einbarraffment than he gave a promife of marriage to Henrietta d'Entragues, though not yet divorced from Margaret of Valois, his first queen, whofe licentious amours had difgufted him, though perhaps as excufeable as his own. That artful wanton had drawn this promife from him, before the would crown his wifhes. He fhewed the obligation to Sully, when ready to be delivered; and that faithful fervant, tranfported with zeal for his mafter's honour, tore it in pieces. I believe you are turned a fool!" faid Henry. "I know it," replied Sully; " and wish I were the only fool in France 7." SULLY now thought himself out of favour for ever; and remained in that opinion, when the king furprised him, by adding to his former employments that of master of the ordnance. The fentence of divorce, which Henry had long been foliciting at Rome, was procured 7. Mem. de Sully, tom. ii. LETTER ia PART I. in 1599; and he married, in order to please his subje&s, Mary of Medicis, niece to the great-duke of Tufcany. But this step did not put an end to his gallantries, which continued to embroil him perpetually either with the queen or his miftrefs, created marchionefs of Verneuil. And Sully, whofe good offices were always required on fuch occafions, often found the utmost difficulty in accommodating these amorous quarrels, which greatly agitated the mind of Henry 3. BUT Henry's moft alarming troubles proceeded from the intrigues of the court of Spain. By thefe the duke of Savoy was encouraged to maintain war against him; and, after that prince was humbled, the duke of Biron was drawn into a confpiracy, which coft him his head. Other confpiracies were formed through the fame inftiA.D. 1608. gation: the queen herself was induced to hold a fecret correspondence with Spain, and a Spanish faction began to appear in the king's councils 9. THOSE Continued attempts to difturb the peace of his kingdom, and fap the foundations of his throne, made Henry refolve to carry into execution a defign, which he had long meditated, of humbling the house of Auftria, and circumfcribing its power in Italy and Germany. While he was maturing that great project, a difpute concerning the fucceffion to the duchies of Cleves and Juliers, afforded him a pretext for taking arms and this circumftance naturally leads us to cast an eye on the ftate of the empire. WE have already brought down the affairs of Germany to the death of Maximilian II. His fon, Rodolph 8. Ibid. tom. iv. lib. xxv. It was a fatirical furvey of this weak fide of Henry's character which induced the fage Bayle to fay, That he would have equalled the greatest heroes of antiquity, if he had been early deprived of his virility. 9. Dupleix. Mezeray. LXXIII. II. who inherited, as has been obferved 10, the pacific LETTER difpofition of his father, fucceeded him on the imperial throne in 1576; and, although more occupied about the heavens than the earth (being devoted both to afstronomy and aftrology, which he ftudied under the famous Tycho Brahe), the empire during his long reign. enjoyed almoft uninterrupted tranquillity. The equity of his adminiftration compenfated for its weakness. The chief difturbances which he met with proceeded from his brother Matthias whom we have feen governor of the United Provinces. The Turks, as ufual, had invaded Hungary; Matthias had been fuccessful in oppofing their progrefs; and a peace had been concluded, in 1606, with fultan Achmet, fucceffor of Mahomet III. The Hungarians thus relieved, became jealous of their religious rights, conferred their crown upon Matthias, their deliverer, who granted them full liberty of confcience, with every other privilege which they could defire ". Matthias afterward became mafter of Austria and Moravia, on the fame conditions: and the emperor Rodolph in order to avoid the horrors of civil war, confirmed to him thofe ufurpations, together with the fucceffion to the kingdom of Bohemia, where the Lutheran opinions had taken deep root 12. In proportion as the reformed religion gained ground in Hungary and Bohemia, the proteftant princes of the empire became defirous of fecuring and extending their privileges; and their demands being refufed, they en- A. D. 1609. tered into a new confederacy called the Evangelical Union. This affociation was opposed by another, formed to protect the ancient faith, under the name of the 10. Letter LXVIII. vii. 11. Heifs, Hift. de l' Emp. liv. iii. chap. 22. Id. ibid. Barre, Hifl, d' Allemagne, tom. ix. Catholic PART I. A. D. 1669. Catholic League. The fucceffion to the duchies of Cleves and Juliers, roused to arms the heads of the two parties, who may be faid to have flumbered fince the peac of Paffau. JOHN WILLIAM, duke of Cleves, Juliers, and Berg, having died without issue, several competitors, arofe for the fucceffion, and the most powerful pre-. pared to fupport their title by the fword. In order to prevent the evils which must have been occafioned be fuch violent contefts, as well as to fupport his own authority, the emperor cited all the claimants to appear before him, within a certain term, to explain the nature of their feveral pretenfions. Meanwhile he fequeftered the fiefs in difpute, and fent his coufin Leopold, in quality of governor, to take poffeffion of them, and to rule them in his name, till the right of inheritance fhould be fettled. Alarmed at this step, John Sigifmund, elector of Brandenburg, and the duke of Neuburg, two of the competitors, united against the emperor, whom they fufpected of interefted views. They were fupported by the elector Palatine, and the other princes of the Evangelical Union, as the emperor was by the elector of Saxony, one of toe claimants, and the princes of the Catholic League; and in order to be a match for their enemies, who were in alliance with the pope, and the king of Spain, they applied to the king of France's. HENRY, as been obferved, wanted only a decent apology for breaking openly with the house of Auftria. That apology was now furnished him. The proteftant envoys found him well difpofed to affift them and a domeftic event contributed to confirm his refolution. The king was enamoured of the prin 13. Heifs et Barre, abi fup. cefs |