200 WHIGS AND TORIES. 868. Were the two great parties of the state, the Whigs and Tories, conciliated by the propriety and wisdom of the measures adopted by the Prince of Orange when he became king? No; though no monarch ever possessed more knowledge of human nature, more equanimity, more elevation of mind; yet he found it impracticable to harmonise the purposes of his government, men animated by principles and interests so discordant; but William triumphed over all the difficulties of his situation in supporting successfully the cause of the revolution. His own personal comfort and composure of mind were sacrificed; and disregarding the embarrassments and dangers it involved, he asserted and maintained the civil and religious liberties of his people and the continent. He was placed at the head of his native country, as the last hope of her safety from conquest and a foreign yoke; and he was raised to the throne of Great Britain under the name of her deliverer from civil tyranny and religious persecution; he was considered in this important light by the rest of Europe; the Empire, Spain and Italy, regarded his counsels as their only resource against the exorbitant ambition and power of Louis the Fourteenth: France herself paid an honest, though ungracious tribute to his merit, by the illiberal joy she manifested upon a false report of his death. Higher eulogium than this could not be given; and if such be the bright side of a human character, we may gaze till we cannot distinguish its shadows. 869. What was William's military character? "He was a patriot and an hero, but not a successful warrior. His armies were disadvantageously formed of officers and soldiers of different nations; and they were opposed to the most consummate commanders that even France has produced.”—“His defeats," CHARACTER OF WILLIAM THE THIRD. 201 says Bolingbroke, "were manifestly due, in a great measure, to circumstances independent of him; and that spirit which even these defeats could not depress, was all his own. He had difficulties in his own commonwealth; the governors of the Spanish Low Countries crossed his measures sometimes; the German allies disappointed and broke them often; and it is not improbable that he was frequently betrayed." 870. With what sentiments was his reign regarded by the two great factions of England? The Tories, comprehending a large portion of the nation, always looked upon the crown as belonging to the Stuarts; and from the coronation of William, to the acknowledgement of his title by the French king, at the peace of Ryswick, a correspondence was carried on between James and many other persons of rank and consequence in England, to which some of the most zealous supporters of the revolution were accessory. During the temporary absences of William from England, the regency of Mary, as the eldest daughter of the exiled monarch, was agreeable to the Tories; and her prudence and moderation gained friends of everyparty in the nation. The Whigs were the authors, the conductors and the maintainers of the revolution, which was legalised by the conventional parliament. This was followed by the "bill of rights;" and in a short reign of thirteen years, we have the questions of "the civil list," "the place bill," "the triennial bill," "the treason bill," "the liberty of the press," "standing armies," and "the responsibility of ministers.” În judging the respective merits of the factions, we must not lose sight of the fact, that the character of William was capable of shedding a lustre on any cause; whilst, on the other hand, the character of James was calculated to detract from the appearance of justice in his claim. 202 THE DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 871. With what did the reign of Anne open? The great war of the succession. At the peace of the Pyrenees, the policy of Mazarin united the royal family of France with that of Spain; and notwithstanding the princes of the house of Bourbon publicly renounced all title to the future succession to the crown, the King of Spain made a will in favour of the French line. This testament was the result of a long series of base intrigues, and was accepted by Louis in defiance of his solemn renunciation. 872. What followed? The war with France, an alternative decided by William, just before his death. The first speeches of Queen Anne to the privy council and the two houses, proposed measures for reducing the exorbitant power of France, and securing, by a balance of interest, the liberties of Europe. 873. Who won the victories that distinguished this reign? The great Duke of Marlborough. The character of this extraordinary man, acknowledged by his opponent, Lord Bolingbroke, to be "the greatest of generals and of ministers," may be panegyrised in a few words: He was always right. In domestic life he was a model of excellence. A spirit of personal ambition never clouded the brightness of his political career; and as a military genius he united the merits of all commanders of every age and country. Encompassed by difficulties at home. and abroad, he accomplished more by scientific warfare than human art or genius ever could before or since; and the unprincipled Louis was taught the danger of ambition, and the instability of human grandeur. 874. What great question agitated the latter part of Queen Anne's reign? THE PROTESTANT SUCCESSION. 203 The great That of "the Protestant succession." domestic event by which this reign is distinguished, was the union of the two kingdoms of England and Scotland. The connexions of England with other countries have always been marked by a political crisis. The measure of a union with Scotland was adopted under the immediate apprehension of a rebellion. Ireland was united after a rebellion which had nearly torn the two countries asunder. In America the rebellion was successful, and we lost the country for ever. 875. What subjects are presented to our attention on the death of the Queen? The violence of the Whigs on their restoration to power. The establishment of the house of Brunswick on the throne of these kingdoms, effected by the policy of Sir Robert Walpole, a circumstance novel and unpromising as an experiment, but which rendered the revolution of 1688 triumphant. The events and characters of this age are illustrated in the immortal writings of Pope, of Addison, of Bolingbroke, and Swift. The parliamentary leaders were men of distinguished ability,-Walpole, Pulteney, Shippen, Sir William Wyndham, Lord Hardwicke, Lord Carteret, Lord Chesterfield, and at the close of the same era, the great orator of England, the first Mr. Pitt. The war between France and England terminated in the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. France relinquished her conquests in the Low Countries for the restitution of Cape Breton. The house of Austria was alone dissatisfied with the dismemberment of Silesia, and the country of Glatz, which was guaranteed to the King of Prussia; with the loss of Parma and Placentia, which were settled on Don Philip, and the cession of some districts in the Milanese, to the King of Sardinia. 876. What were the subsequent events? 204 FREDERIC OF PRUSSIA. The rebellion of 1745. The pretender, Prince Charles, landed in Scotland. The hereditary right of the Stuart family won the arms of the clans of Scotland to their cause, and prejudiced Wales and the northern counties of England in their favour. The wise counsels of Duncan Forbes were disregarded, and the legislators of England, in refusing to carry out the measures proposed by Sir Robert Walpole, may blame themselves for the consequent insurrection. Lord Chatham was the first minister who took advantage of the nobler qualities of the Scottish nation, and drew into the service of the state this hardy and intrepid race. 877. What preceded the accession of George the Third? A period of tranquillity that intervened for seven short years, and the commencement of the great war. 878. What celebrated military sovereign was involved in the politics of Europe during the hostilities between France and England? Frederic, King of Prussia, a talented and extraordinary character. The inordinate ambition of this prince, displayed in his invasion of the territories of his great political opponent, the young queen Maria Theresa, excites feelings of abhorrence; he, himself, in his historical papers, does not attempt to urge the justice of his cause amongst the many futile reasons he alleges for possessing himself of the Austrian dominions. He ascended the throne at the age of thirty, on the death of his father, the Emperor Frederic William; almost at the same time that the young queen assumed the sceptre of her ancestors, possessed of every personal attraction, strength of understanding, and intrepidity above her sex; but summoned in her twenty-third year, without a counsellor of ability near her, to the |