world, which embroiders with brighter colours the robe of spring, and gives music to the autumnal blast; which reconciles man to the greatest calamities, from a conviction that all is ordered for the best, at the same time that it makes him enjoy with more sincere satisfaction the gifts of fortune, and the pleasures of society, Newton, leaving behind all former astronomers, surveyed more fully, and established by demonstration that harmonious system of the universe, which had been discovered by Copernicus; and Locke, no less wonderful in his walk, untwisted the chain of human ideas, and opened a vista into the mysterious regions of the mind.

The philosophy of Newton, all founded on experiment and demonstration, can never be sufficiently admired; and it particularly merits the attention of every gentleman, as an unacquaintance with the principle of gravitation, or with the theory of light and colours, would be sufficient to stamp an indelible mark of ignorance on the most respectable character. But the discovery of Locke, though now familiar, That all our IDEAS are acquired by sensation and reflection, and consequently, that we brought none into the world with us, has had a more serious influence upon the opinions of mankind. It has not only rendered our reasonings concerning the operations of the human understanding more distinct; it has also induced us to reason concerning the nature of the mind itself, and its various powers and properties. In a word, it has served to introduce a universal system of skepticism, which has shaken every principle of religion and morals.

But the same philosophy which has unwisely called in question the divine origin of Christianity, and even the hinge on which it rests, the immortality of the soul; that philosophy which has endeavoured to cut off from man the hope of heaven, has happily contributed to render his earthly dwelling as comfortable as possible. It has turned its researches, with an inquisitive eye, towards every object that can be made subservient to the ease, pleasure, or conveniency of life. Commerce and manufactures, government and police, have equally excited its attention. The arts, both useful and ornamental, have every where been disseminated over Europe, in consequence of this new manner of philosophizing; and have all, unless we should perhaps except sculpture, been carried to a higher degree of perfection than in any former period in the history of the human race. Even here, however, an evil is discerned:-and where may not evils, either real or imaginary, be found? Commerce and the arts are supposed to have introduced luxury and effeminacy. But a certain degree of luxury is necessary to give activity to a state; and philosophers have not yet ascertained where true refinement ends, and effeminacy or vicious luxury begins.

LETTER XX.

A general View of the Affairs of Europe, from the Peace of Ryswick to the Grand Alliance, in 1701.

As we approach towards our own times, the materials of history grow daily more abundant; and consequently a nicer selection becomes necessary, in order to preserve the memory from fatigue. I shall, therefore, endeavour to throw into shade all unproductive negotiations and intrigues, as well as unimportant events, and to comprehend under one view the general transactions of Europe, during the ensuing busy period. Happily the negotiations in regard to the Spanish succession, and the war in which so many of the great powers of the South and West afterward engaged, to prevent the union of the crowns of France and Spain under a prince of the house of Bourbon, are highly favourable to this design. In like manner, the affairs of the North and the East are simplified, by the long and bloody contest between Charles XII. and Peter the Great; so that I hope to be able to bring forward, without confusion, the whole at once to the eye.

The first object, after the peace of Ryswick, which engaged the general attention of Europe, was the settlement of the Spanish succession. The declining health of Charles II., a prince who had long been in a languishing condition, and whose death was daily expected, gave new spirit to the intrigues of the competitors for his crown. These competitors were Lewis XIV., the emperor Leopold, and the elector of Bavaria. Lewis and the emperor were in the same degree of consanguinity to Charles, both being grandsons of Philip III. The dauphin, and the emperor's eldest son Joseph, king of the Romans, had therefore a double claim, their mothers being two daughters of Philip IV. The right of birth was in the house of Bourbon, the king and his son the dauphin being both descended from the eldest daughters of Spain; but the imperial family asserted, in support of their claim, besides the solemn and ratified renunciations of Lewis XIII. and XIV. of all title to the Spanish succession, the blood of Maximilian, the common parent of both branches of the house of Austria-the right of male representation. The elector of Bavaria claimed, as the husband of an archduchess, the only surviving child of the emperor Leopold, by the infanta Margaret, second daughter of Philip IV., who had declared HER descendants the heirs of his crown, in preference to those of his eldest daughter, Maria Theresa; so that the son of the elector, in default of issue by Charles II., was entitled to the whole Spanish succession, unless the testament of Philip IV. and the renunciation of Maria Theresa, on her marriage with the French monarch, were set aside.

Besides these legal titles to inheritance, the general interests of Europe required that the prince of Bavaria should succeed to the Spanish monarchy. But his two competitors were obstinate in their claims; the elector was unable to contend with either of them; and the king of England, though sufficiently disposed to adopt any measure for preserving the balance of power, was in no condition to begin a new war. From a laudable, but perhaps too violent, jealousy of liberty, the English parliament had passed a vote, soon after the peace of Ryswick, for reducing the army to seven thousand men, and these to be native subjects ;(1) in consequence of which, when supported by a bill, the king, to his great mortification, was obliged to dismiss even his Dutch guards.

Thus circumstanced, William was ready to listen to any terms calculated to continue the repose of Europe. Lewis XIV., though better provided for war, was no less peaceably disposed; and, sensible that any attempt to treat with the emperor would be ineffectual, he proposed to the king of England a partition of the Spanish dominions, at the same time that he sent the marquis d'Harcourt, as his ambassador to the court of Madrid, with a view of procuring the whole. Leopold also sent an ambassador into Spain, where intrigues were carried high on both sides. The body of the Spanish nation favoured the lineal succession of the house of Bourbon; but the queen, who was a German princess, and who, by means of her creatures, governed both the king and kingdom, supported the pretensions of the emperor: and all the grandees, connected with the court, were in the same interest.

Meanwhile, a treaty of partition was signed, through the temporizing policy of William and Lewis, by England, Holland, and France. In this treaty it was stipulated, That, on the eventual demise of the king of Spain, his dominions should be divided among the competitors for his crown in the following manner. Spain, her American empire, and the sovereignty of the Netherlands were assigned to the electoral prince of Bavaria; to the dauphin, the kingdom of Naples and Sicily, the ports on the Tuscan shore, and the marquisate of Final, in Italy; and on the side of Spain, the province of Guipuscoa, with all the Spanish territories beyond the Pyrenees, on the mountains of Navarre, Alva, and Biscay. To the archduke Charles, the emperor's second son, was allotted the dukedom of Milan.(2)

The contracting powers mutually engaged to keep the treaty of partition a profound secret during the life of the king of Spain. But that condition,

(1) Journals, Dec. 26, 1697

(2) De Torcy, vol. i. Voltaire, Siécle, chap. xvi

though necessary, was not easily to be observed. As the avowed design of the alliance was the preservation of the repose of Europe, it became necessary to communicate the treaty to the emperor, and to gain his consent to a negotiation, which deprived him of the great object of his ambition. This difficult task was undertaken by William, from a persuasion of his own influence with Leopold. In the mean time, intelligence of the treaty was privately conveyed from Holland to Madrid. The Spanish ministry were filled with indignation, at finding a division of their monarchy made by foreigners, and that even during the life of their sovereign. The king immediately called an extraordinary council, to deliberate on so unprecedented a transaction; and the result, contrary to all expectation, but perfectly conformable to the laws of sound policy, was a will of Charles II. constituting the electoral prince of Bavaria his sole heir, agreeable to the testament of Philip IV. in favour of the descendants of Margaret, his second daughter, to the utter exclusion of the offspring of Maria Theresa, her eldest sister, and the whole house of Bourbon, also excluded by the Pyrenean treaty.(1)

The king of Spain unexpectedly recovered from his illness, in some degree, and the hopes and fears of Europe were suspended for a time. Meanwhile, England and Holland had every reason to be pleased with the will, which was infinitely more favourable to a general balance of power than the partition treaty; but the sudden death of the electoral prince of Bavaria, not without strong suspicions of poison, revived all their former apprehensions. Lewis and William again negotiated, and a second treaty of partition was privately signed by England, Holland, and France, notwithstanding the violent remonstrances of the court of Madrid against such a measure.

By this treaty, which differed materially from the former, it was agreed, that on the eventual decease of Charles II. without issue, Spain and her American dominions should descend to the archduke Charles, second son of the emperor; that Naples, Sicily, the marquisate of Final, the towns on the Italian shore, and the province of Guipuscoa, should fall to the share of the dauphin, together with the dutchies of Lorrain and Bar, which their native prince was desired to exchange for the dutchy of Milan; and that the country of Binche should remain, as a sovereignty, to the prince of Vaudemont.(2) In order to prevent the union of Spain and the imperial crown in the person of ONE prince, provision was made, That in case of the death of the king of the Romans, the archduke, if raised to that dignity, should not succeed to the Spanish throne. In like manner it was particularly stipulated, That no dauphin or king of France should ever wear the crown of Spain; and a secret article provided against the contingency of the emperor's refusing to accede to the treaty, as well as against any difficulties that might arise, in regard to the exchange proposed to the duke of Lorrain. (3)

From thus providing for the repose of the south of Europe the attention of William was suddenly called towards the north, where two of the most extraordinary men that ever appeared upon the stage of human life were rising into notice; Peter I. of Russia, and Charles XII. of Sweden. Peter, whom we shall afterward have occasion to consider in the character of a legislator, had already rendered himself formidable by the defeat of the Turks, in 1696, and the taking of Asaph, which opened to him the dominion of the Black Sea. This acquisition led to more extensive views. He resolved to make Russia the centre of trade between Europe and Asia: he projected a junction of the Dwina, the Wolga, and the Tanais, by means of canals; and thus to open a passage from the Baltic to the Euxine and Caspian seas, and from these seas to the Northern Ocean. (4) The port of Archangel, frozen up for almost nine months in the year, and which cannot be entered without a long, circuitous, and dangerous passage, he did not think sufficiently commodious; he therefore resolved to build a city upon the Baltic Sea, which

(1) Voltaire, Siècle, chap. xvi.

(2) De Torcy, vol. 1.

(3) De Torcy, ubi sup.

(4) Voltaire's Hist. Russ. tom. i. composed from the most authentic materials, chiefly furnished by the court of Petersburg,

should become the magazine of the North, and the capital of his extensive empire.(1)

Several princes, before this illustrious barbarian, disgusted with the pursuits of ambition, or tired with sustaining the load of public affairs, had renounced their crowns, and taken refuge in the shade of indolence, or of philosophical retirement; but history affords no example of any sovereign, who had divested himself of the royal character, in order to learn the art of governing better that was a stretch of magnanimity reserved for Peter the Great. Though almost destitute himself of education, he discovered, by the natural force of his genius, and a few conversations with strangers, his own rude state and the savage condition of his subjects. He resolved to become worthy of the character of a MAN, to see men, and to have men to govern. Animated by the noble ambition of acquiring instruction, and of carrying back to his people the improvements of other nations, he accordingly quitted his dominions, in 1697, as a private gentleman in the retinue of three ambassadors, whom he sent to different courts of Europe.

As soon as Peter arrived at Amsterdam, which was the first place that particularly attracted his notice, he applied himself to the study of commerce and the mechanical arts; and, in order more completely to acquire the art of ship-building, he entered himself as a carpenter in one of the principal dockyards, and laboured and lived, in all respects, as the common journeymen. At his leisure hours he studied natural philosophy, navigation, fortification, surgery, and such other sciences as may be necessary to the sovereign of a barbarous people. From Holland he passed over to England, where he perfected himself in the art of ship-building. King William, in order to gain his favour, entertained him with a naval review, made him a present of an elegant yacht, and permitted him to engage in his service a number of ingenious artificers. Thus instructed, and attended by several men of science, Peter returned to Russia, after an absence of near two years, with all the useful and many of the ornamental arts in his train. (2)

The peace of Carlowitz, concluded soon after the return of the czar, seemed to afford him full leisure for the prosecution of those plans which he had formed for the civilization of his subjects. But Peter was ambitious of the reputation and the fortune of a conqueror. The art of war was a new art, which it was necessary to teach his people; and valuable acquisitions, he thought, might easily be obtained, by joining the kings of Poland and Denmark against Charles XII. of Sweden, yet in his minority. Besides, he wanted a port on the eastern shore of the Baltic, in order to facilitate the execution of his commercial schemes. He therefore resolved to make himself master of the province of Ingria, which lies to the north-east of Livonia, and had formerly been in the possession of his ancestors. With this view, he entered into a league against Sweden with Frederic Augustus, elector of Saxony, who had succeeded the famous Sobieski in the throne of Poland.(3) The war was begun by the king of Denmark, who, contrary to the faith of treaties, invaded the territories of the duke of Holstein Gottorp, who had married a sister of Charles XII.

In these ambitious projects the hostile princes were encouraged, not only by the youth of the king of Sweden, who had succeeded his father, Charles XI., in 1697, when only fifteen years of age, but by the little estimation in which he was held by foreign courts. Charles, however, suddenly gave the lie to public opinion, by discovering the greatest talents for war, accompanied with the most enterprising and heroic spirit. No sooner did the occasion call, than his bold genius began to show itself. Instead of being disconcerted, when told of the powerful confederacy that was forming against him, he seemed rather to rejoice at the opportunity which it would afford him of displaying his courage. Meanwhile, he did not neglect the necessary preparations or precautions. He renewed the alliance of Sweden with England and Holland;

1) Voltaire's Hist. Russ. tom. i.

(2) Voltaire, ubi sup.

(3) Voltaire's Hist. Charles XII, founded entirely on the original information.

and sent an army into Pomerania, to be ready to support the duke of Holstein, his brother-in-law.(1)

On Holstein the storm first fell. The Danes, led by the duke of Wirtemberg, and encouraged by the presence of their sovereign, invaded that dutchy; and after taking some inconsiderable places, invested Tonningen, while the Russians, Poles, and Saxons entered Livonia and Ingria. The moment Charles was informed of the invasion of Holstein, he resolved to carry war into the kingdom of Denmark. He accordingly left his capital, never more to return thither, and embarked with his troops at Carlscroon, having appointed an extraordinary council, chosen from the senate, to regulate affairs during his absence. The Swedish fleet was joined at the mouth of the sound, by a combined squadron of English and Dutch men of war, which William, as both king of England and stadtholder of Holland, had sent to the assistance of his ally. The Danish fleet, unable to face the enemy, retired under the guns of Copenhagen, which was bombarded; and the king of Denmark, who had failed in his attempt upon Tonningen, was himself cooped up in Holstein, by some Swedish frigates cruising on the coast.

In this critical season, the enterprising spirit of the young king of Sweden suggested to him the means of finishing the war at a blow. He proposed to besiege Copenhagen by land, while the combined fleet blocked it up by sea. The idea was admired by all his generals, and the necessary preparations were made for a descent. The king himself, impatient to reach the shore, leaped into the sea, sword in hand, where the water rose above his middle. His example was followed by all his officers and soldiers, who quickly put to flight the Danish troops that attempted to oppose his landing. Charles, who had never before been present at a general discharge of muskets loaded with ball, asked major Stuart, who stood near him, what occasioned that whistling which he heard. "It is the sound of the bullets," replied the major, "which they fire against your majesty." "Very well!" said the king:"this shall henceforth be my music."(2)

The citizens of Copenhagen, filled with consternation, sent a deputation to Charles, beseeching him not to bombard the town. He on horseback received the deputies at the head of his regiment of guards. They fell on their knees before him; and he granted their request, on their agreeing to pay him four hundred thousand rix-dollars. In the mean time, the king of Denmark was in the most perilous situation; pressed by land on one side, and confined by sea on the other. The Swedes were in the heart of his dominions, and his capital and his fleet were both ready to fall into their hands. He could derive no hopes but from negotiation and submission. The king of England offered his mediation; the French ambassador also interposed his good offices; and a treaty, highly honourable to Charles, was concluded at Travendahl, between Denmark, Sweden, and Holstein, to the exclusion of Russia and Poland. (3) While William was in this manner securing the peace of foreign nations, the most violent discontents prevailed in one of his own kingdoms. The Scots, in consequence of an act of parliament, agreeable to powers granted by the king to his commissioner, and confirmed by letters patent under the great seal, for establishing a company trading to Africa and the West Indies, with very extensive privileges, and an exemption from all duties for twenty one years, had planted, in 1698, a colony on the isthmus of Darien, and founded a settlement, to which they gave the name of New Edinburgh. The whole nation built on this project the most extravagant ideas of success; and, in order to support it, they had subscribed the very large sum of four hundred thousand pounds sterling.(4) The situation of the settlement, it must be owned, was well chosen; and, two hundred thousand pounds of the money being raised, much might have been reasonably expected from the persevering and enterprising spirit of the people, animated by the hope and the love of gold. But the promise of the future greatness of New Edinburgh, the intended capital of New Caledonia, proved its ruin. Its vicinity to Porto Bello and