admirable preface to the Life of CICERO. In writing history, as in travels, instead of transcribing the relations of those who ⚫ have trodden the fame ground before us, we should exhibit a series of observations peculiar to ourselves; fuch as the facts and places fuggested to our own minds, from an attentive survey of them, without regard to what any one else may have delivered ⚫ about them: And though in a production of this kind, where ⚫ the fame materials are common to all, many things muft neceffarily be faid, which had been obferved already by others; yet, if the author has any genius, there will be always enough of what is new, to distinguish it as an original work, and to give him a right to call it his own:' which, he flatters himself, will be allowed to him in the following letters.

As to the form of Letters, in which this collection appears, it was owing to this circumftance; great part of it was fent to the author's friends in ENGLAND, in that drefs, from MADRID: and when he came to review the whole, he faw no reason why he should alter it; it is the easiest and most comprehensive vehicle of matter; it allows of more liberty than a stiff and formal narrative; it affords more relief to the reader, there being perpetual breaks, where he may pause at pleasure.

BUT there is one circumstance in this publication, which affords the author no finall fatisfaction; and that is the giving his reader a fresh proof of the happiness, which he enjoys in being born a Briton; of living in a country, where he poffeffes freedom of fentiment and of action, liberty of confcience, and fecurity of property, under the moft temperate climate, and the muft duly poised government in the whole world. A liberty that cannot become licentious, because bounded and circumfcribed, not by the arbitrary will of ONE, but by the wifdom of ALL, by the due limits of reason, juftice, equity, and law: Where the prince can do no wrong, and where the people muft do right: Where the lawless noble is no more privileged from the hand of justice, than the meanest peafant: Where the greatest minister stands accountable to the public, and, if he betrays the interefts of his country, cannot bid defiance to the just refentments of the law.

LET

LET an Englishman go where he will, to SPAIN OF PORTUGAL, to FRANCE or ITALY; let him travel over the whole globe, he will find no conftitution comparable to that of GREAT BRIΤΑΙΝ. Here is no political engine, no baftile, no inquifition, to stifle in a moment every fymptom of a free spirit rifing either in church or state; no familiar, no alguazil to carry off each dangerous genius in arts or science, to those dark and bloody cells, from whence there are

veftigia nulla retrorfum.

THE Monfieur is polite, ingenious, fubtle, and proud: but he is a flave, and is ftarving; his time, his purfe, and his arm are not his own, but his monarch's. The Italian has neither freedom, morals, not religion. The Don is brave, religious, and very jealous of his honour, when once engaged: yet oppreffion and poverty are his portion under the fway of an arbitrary monarch. And though he may boast, that the fun never rifes or fets but within the vast limits of the Spanish monarchy, yet he will never fee liberty, fcience, arts, manufactures, and commerce flourish in them with any vigour. The Portuguese is equally a flave, ignorant, and fuperftitious. The German is continually at war, or repairing the havock made by it. The Hollander, funk in floth, and the love of money, is only active in commerce out of avarice. All thefe, weighed in the balance against BRITAIN, in point of happiness and advantages, will be found light: Let it, therefore, be confidered as no illiberal end of this publication, to inspire the reader with love of the British conftitution.

THE papers, which compofe the following Historical Introduction, confift of three parts. The first contains An extract from the works of the Marquis de Mondecar, a noble, learned, and judicious Spaniard, fhewing the rife and origin of the feveral kingdoms into which SPAIN was divided, and whofe provincial divifions fubfift to this day. The fecond is A short view of the hiftory of Spain from the death of Charles II. to the prefent time: This period was chofen, as being that of the acceffion of the BOURBON-family, which forms a new æra, and is, in the hiftory of SPAIN, what the revolution is in the hiftory of ENGLAND; our modern politics

hardly

hardly looking farther back than the present settlement in SPAIN, and the partition of the Italian dominions, which enfued upon it. The third part of this historical introduction is, A lift of English ambaffadors, &c. at the court of Spain, with the treaties, &c. which it was thought would be no unufeful appendix to the former.

To conclude: Should there be, among the more humane readers, one who, in any remark, circumftance, or reflexion, may imagine that I have heightened or exaggerated this account of the Spanish nation, or have been any where too fevere in my animadverfions; have caricatured the features, or magnified the manners of that people: he will, upon better information, discover, that THIS is by far the most favourable and candid account of SPAIN, which is not written by a Spaniard. Those who will take the pains to read what the Marshal BASSOMPIERE, the Countess D'AUNOIS, Father LABAT, the Abbé VAYRAC, Madame de VILLARS, M. DESORMEAUX, Don JUAN ALVAREZ DE COLMENAR, himself a Spaniard, and others have written upon this fubject, will see the difference between a fair, true, and impartial account, and one dictated by a heart overflowing with gall, and penned with the ink of invective. And yet, what is more remarkable, their defcriptions were written by authors of the fame religious perfuafion with the Spaniards, by true and zealous catholics. If mine has any merit to claim over their's, it is by fhewing, that a proteftant has written a more favourable account of a catholic country, than catholics themselves have published. Truth and fact have been throughout the fole objects of my attention. I had neither ill-nature to gratify, or fpleen to indulge: I abhor all national reflections, and defpife from my heart the little prejudices of country, or custom. Upon many accounts I love and revere the Spaniards: 1 admire their virtues, and applaud their valour. All nations and regions have their respective merits. But, notwithstanding, I have fteadily kept that juft rule in view,

Ne quid FALSI dicere aufus, ne quid vER1 non aufus,

Hifto

Historical Introduction.

(The remarks of the Marquis de MONDECAR upon the Spanish hiftorians being judicious, new, and not commonly to be met with, I thought proper to give the reader the following extracts from bis work.)

TH HE Roman empire in this country lafted fomething more than 400 years after the commencement of the Christian æra: but the Spanish history is connected with the Roman for near 600, till that empire was utterly extinct. The GOTHS entered about the year 400. HIMERIC, with the SUEVI and ALANS, conquered GALLICIA, about the year 408. These SUEVI, who gave name to GALLICIA, fubdued PORTUGAL about 464. REQUINA, the son of HIMERIC, conquered BISCAY, ANDALUSIA, and took SARAGOÇA and TARRAGONA in 488. RECAREDO was King of SPAIN in 587, and called a Cortes, at which prelates, as well as fecular lords, affifted, and granted aids to the crown. After him came WITTERIC, to whom fucceeded GUNDEMAR, in 610. In 631, SISENANDO was chofe King, who called a Cortes at TOLEDO.

THE MOORS entered SPAIN about the year 680, confequently the Gothic government did not last 300 years. TARIF ABENZARCA came in 713.

THE three moft principal northern nations which came here, were, the VANDALS, from whom the province of ANDALUSIA received its name; these went afterwards into AFRICA: The SUEVI, who remained long in GALLICIA; and the GOTHS, who conquered the whole country, and held it upwards of 200 years. The GоTHS poffeffed the whole continent of SPAIN, MAURITANIA, AFRICA, and GALLIA GOTHICA, or that part of FRANCE, which

b

which is now corruptly called LANGUEDOC: but in their turn they gave place to the MOORS or ARABS, whose dominion ceased, when PELAYO was establifhed in his throne. The MOORS Conquered all SPAIN, except thofe mountainous parts,whither some bodies of refolute chriftians fled for refuge. These by degrees planned and concerted measures to shake off the Arabic yoke. The first stand against them was made by the mountaineers of AsTURIAS, who elected King the Infant Don PELAYO, swearing the nobles over a fhield, and crying out, Real! Real! This PELAYO was a Gothic prince by birth, so that he in fome meafure restored again the Gothic monarchy. He recovered GIJON and LEON; and his fon got poffeffion of part of PORTUGAL, and all GALLICIA. From this recovery of LEON came the race of the kings of OVIEDO and LEON. The boldness and success of these christians alarming the ARABS, they attacked them in their different strong-holds, in order to cut off their communications one with another. But this produced a very different effect from what they expected. The chriftians, to repel the danger that threatned them on every fide at the fame time, chofe different heads in different places, who being feparate one from the other in their governments, defended their fubjects independently of one another. This neceffary refolution gave rife to the different kingdoms in SPAIN. Such was their undoubted origin, tho' it is impoffible to say, at what exact period each kingdom rofe, as there are no antient monuments remaining fufficient to prove that point..

THE first kingdom or monarchy that arose, after the Moorish invafion, was that, as we have faid, of Don PELAYO in the AsTURIAS, an elective monarchy: and in proportion as the Afturian princes diflodged the pagans of thofe lands and territories that lay nearest to them, they changed the stile of their titles; being first called Kings of ASTURIAS, then of OVIEDO, and laftly of LEON and GALLICIA, until they were incorporated with the Kings of CASTILE, by the marriage of Queen Donna SANCHA ISABELLA, fifter of King Don BERMUDO III. its last prince, both of them defcendants of King Don ALONZO V. who married the daughter of FERDINAND the great, to whom fome give the title of Emperor, and who was firft King of CASTILE.

OF