tent, wealth, and civilisation, was a great ous as showing the state of civilisation. "If object of his ambition, but which at that time he was not powerful enough to attack openly. The beauty of Clotilda was much dwelt upon, and the care with which she was guarded by those whom Gondebald placed about her tended to confirm and strengthen the reports. Means were taken to make her acquainted with the wishes of Clovis. The monks of St. Denys, in their Chronicle, tell us that Aurelian, a confidant of Clovis, repaired to Geneva, disguised as a poor man; and as Clotilda was accustomed on every Sunday to give alms as she went to church to all who made known their wants, he, under pretext of telling his tale of misfortune, informed her of the purport of his visit. Clotilda, who was little better than a prisoner under the care of him who had been the murderer of her parents and her brothers, and against whom she cherished a secret, but undying desire of vengeance, listened willingly to the overtures of Clovis, and consented to become his bride.t a Burgundian refuse shelter to a stranger who comes to him, he shall pay a fine of three sous, and six if the stranger is an officer or friend of the king. If instead of showing hospitality he points out the house of a Roman, he is to pay three sous to the Roman, and three sous as a fine. If he is one of the king's labourers, he is to be whipped." "A Burgundian and a Roman are to be judged by the Burgundian law, two Romans by the Roman law." "If a slave commit a theft, he is to be punished with death, and his master is to pay the value of the thing stolen." steal the bell which is fastened to the neck "If any one of a horse or an ox, he is to pay the price of the animal." "If a slave strike a free man, he is to receive a hundred strokes with a whip." hair with one hand is to pay two sous, but "He who seizes a man by the if he seizes with two hands he is to pay double." "An injury done to the face is to be punished threefold to one which is concealed by the clothes." Some resemblance to the trial by jury may be found An embassy came from Clovis to make proposals of marriage. Gondebald, whose in the enactment which required that the sagacity foresaw all the consequences of defendant, who wished to repel an accuthe alliance, made every excuse to prevent sation or deny a debt, should be obligit. He alleged, as a strong ground for refusal, the difference of religion; Clovis be ed to produce twelve, or sometimes more, of his relations, friends, or neighbours, to ing at that time a worshipper of the gods swear also to the truth of his statement. of the Germans. The ambassadors met this by stating that their master intended to embrace Christianity. After many delays Gondebald was obliged to consent, and Clotilda became the wife of Clovis. The advancement of his kingdom and its internal good government, were now the care of Gondebald and to which all his energies were directed. Arles and Marseilles became the emporiums for all the productions of the east. Laws suited to the circumstances of his people were substituted instead of those of the Romans, which pressed hard upon his subjects, while due care was taken that the former should be well protected. These laws of Gondebald, known by the name of La Loi Gombette, are the most ancient whose text has been preserved. Some of them are curi 16. * Chroniques de St. Denys, tom. iii., lib. i., c. "Clotilde avait de l'esprit, de la jeunesse, des graces, et de la beauté; mais sous un air très réservé, sous une simplicité modeste, elle cachoit une ame fière et vindicative jusqu'à la cruauté." -Essai sur les premiers Rois de Bourgogne. + "Les lois de Gondebaud, qu'on appelle Les Gombettes, sont le plus ancien des codes barbares dont on ait conservé le texte. Elles continuèrent à regir le royaume de Bourgogne jusqu'au tems de Louis le Débonnaire, qui les abrogea." Sismondi, Histoire des François i The judicial combat, the origin of the gundy appears to have reached its highest Under Gondebald the kingdom of Bureminence. Possessed of great personal valour, undismayed by misfortunes, enterprising, little scrupulous about the means employed on any object, provided those ceeded in attaching his people to him so means would accomplish the end, he sucfirmly that he was enabled ultimately to resist every endeavour of his enemies to destroy or weaken his power. Sigismond, who came to the throne at his father's death, was twice married. By his first wife, a daughter of Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths, he had a son, Sigeric, and a daughter. His second wife, whose beauty was very great, had been an attendant upon his first, and her elevation to an unexpected rank made her vain and imperious. Sigeric was treated by her with contempt, while he on his part was not slow in re- | conquest was most important. The most proaching his mother-in-law for her com- fertile provinces of Gaul, the most populous paratively low birth, and for her vanity, particularly as shown in wearing his mother's jewels, which he said did not become her. Ill will and mutual hatred were soon engendered. She lost no opportunity of spreading false reports of Sigeric, and at last so prevailed upon Sigismond that he caused his son to be strangled while sleeping after dinner. Remorse immediately followed the deed. Sigismond made open confession of repentance for his crimes. He retired to the monastery of St. Maurice, in Vallais, and founded an establishment for singing hymns day and night in the choir. With his son he sacrificed the peace of his life. He lost the affections of his subjects, and all the affairs of his kingdom were thrown into confusion. Clotilda, now the widow of Clovis, thought this a favourable opportunity for executing her vengeance on the race of Gondebald. "Faites, mes chers enfans," said she, que je n'aie point à me repentir de la tendresse avec laquelle je vous ai élevés; rassentez avec indignation l'injure que j'ai reçue, et vengez avec constance la mort de mon père et de ma mère." War was declared. Sigismond was soon compelled to flee to St. Maurice, where he was betrayed into the hands of Chlodomir. The mode of his death shows too well the barbarous cruelty of the age. Himself, his wife, and two princes, were let down into a deep well and left to perish. Godemar, the brother of Sigismond, succeeded to the throne of Burgundy, and for a time resisted the attacks of the sons of Clotilda. At the very commencement of the first battle near Vienne, Chlodomir lost his life. His head was cut off and carried about on a spear's point to encourage the Burgundians, who gained the victory. But the good fortune of Godemar did not last long. The two remaining sons of Clovis, Clothaire and Childebert, continued the war with increased vigour, thirsting for revenge as well as for power. Godemar was taken prisoner A. D. 534 at Autun, " et aucun historien ne nous apprend quel fut son sort."-Sismondi, vol. i., p. 264. Their armies defeated and the royal race at an end, the Burgundians became tributaries to the Franks. The * He was known by his long hair. Agathias thus describes the kings of the Franks. From very childhood their hair is never cut, and the whole hangs in a comely manner down the shoulders; the front hair, divided in the middle, hangs down on each side. Not however like the Turks and barbarians, whose hair is dirty and uncombed, but theirs is kept with great care and adorned, the hair being a distinctive mark of noble birth.-Agathias, lib. i., p. 14, Par. 1660. cities, the most civilized and industrious citizens, and a large body of veteran soldiers, increased the power and wealth of the descendants of Clovis. From 534 to 561 Burgundy was under the dominion of Clothaire. For the better government of this large province he divided it into CisJurane and Trans-Jurane. He also created Dukes, whose title and power were at first merely official and at the will of the king: afterwards the office was for life, and finally it became hereditary. At the death of Clothaire his kingdom was divided between his four sons. The rich and civilized Burgundy fell to the second Gontran, king of Orleans, who soon relinquished that title, fixed his court at Chalons sur Saone, and caused himself to be called king of Burgundy. A plague made its appearance in his reign, which was fatal to great numbers; its symptoms and effects were similar to that which ravaged Italy in the fourteenth century. Gontran dying childless was succeeded by Childebert II., who added the dominions of Burgundy to his own kingdom of Austrasia. In 613 Burgundy again ceased to be independent, and the whole empire of the Franks was united under Clothaire II. During his reign there appears to have been a considerable increase to what may be termed the aristocracy of France. The descendants of those leaders who had followed in the train of some victorious chief, and who at first had been all equal in rank and power, now began to assume superiority, according to the extent of territory which each acquired, and the number of slaves he possessed. Gregory of Tours, who makes no mention of any distinction of rank during the reigns of Clovis and his sons, speaks occasionally in the reign of Clothaire of "Optimates, and Fredegarius designates the same class among the Burgundians by the title of "Farones," a word, according to Du Cange, of the same signification as Baroness. Peculiar privileges, exemptions, &c., began * The office and title were analogous to the Roman Patricius, as we find from a formula of Marculfus: "Ergo dum et fidem et utilitatem tuam habemus compertam, ideo tibi actionem comitatus, ducatus, patritiatus in pago illo quem antecessor tuus ille usque nunc visus est egisse, tibi ad agendum regendumque commisimus. Ita ut semper erga regimen nostrum fidem inlimitam custodias et omnes populi ibidem commanentes, tam Franci, Romani, Burgundiones, vel reliquæ nationes sub tuo regiinine degant et moderentur, et eos recto tramite secundum legem et consuetudinem eorum regas, viduis et pupillis maximus defensor appareas: latronum et malefactorum scelera a te severissime reprimantur."-Marculfi Monachi aliorumque Auctorum Fornot only to be claimed, but to be exercised, the king himself was hardly sufficient to mula Veteres. Par. 1665. and all the evils which attend the worst state of feudalism prevailed, such as oppression of their tenants, wars against their neighbours, contempt for the authority of the sovereign, and a general licentiousness of conduct. Clothaire, finding Burgundy impoverished, civilisation at a stand, trade injured, and the public safety compromised, took strong measures to repress the power which many of the nobles had assumed, and even put to death some of the most refractory; not excepting Aletheus, to whom he had been indebted for his victory over the vindictive and ambitious Brunehault. A little before this period a power began to be known, that of the Mayor of the Palace, which kept on gradually but firmly increasing, till after a few years, in the person of Pepin, it put an end to the Merovingian race of kings, and changed the royal dynasty of France.* The Maire du Palais is called by the chroniclers and ecclesiastical historians of the times, Major Domus Regiæ - Gubernator Palatii Rector Palatii et Major Domus-Palatii Præfectus - Regalis Curiæ Princeps Comes Domus Regiæ-Comes PalatinusDux Palatii. At first he was merely an officer of the household, like him among the Persians spoken of by Sozomen as μειζων της Βασιλικής οικιας," through whom petitions or representations were laid before the king. The weakness of the sovereign rendered the office important, and still greater weakness suffered it to become elective: men of energetic talents and ambition united it with military command."t Sismondi derives the title Major Domus from the Teutonic words Mord-dom. "Mord-dom signifioit mot-à-mot, juge du meurtre, ou juge à mort, et à l'oreille des Romains mord-dom ressembloit beaucoup à major domus"‡ - a derivation which savours more of ingenuity than of sound philology. He afterwards describes the same officer as, "le représentant, non des grands, mais des hommes libres; qu'il étoit pris en général dans la seconde classe de la société, et qu'il étoit chargé de réprimer les usurpations de l'aristocracie bien autant que celle des rois."§ It is not likely, however, that the nobles of France would submit to the authority of one taken from a lower rank than themselves, when that of • It is true that Childeric was deposed by the consent and in the name of the French nation, and the matter was referred to Pope Zacharias, but it was the power and influence of Pepin that effected the whole, + Hallam. + Histoire des François, vol. i., p. 340, note. § Ib., vol. ii., p. 5. keep them in subjection. When the mayor of the palace held no higher office than that of chamberlain, he might have been selected from the second class of society, but such could not have been the case when he possessed the proud titles of Duc des François, Prince de France, Duc des Ducs et le Premier du Royaume après le Roi.* In opposition to Sismondi we find, in the Gesta Francorum, c. 45, "Franci autem Leudesium filium Eranaldi nobilem in Majorem Domus Palatii eligunt." "Qui honor non aliis a populo dari consueverat quam his, qui et claritati generis, et opum amplitudine cæteris eminebant."-Eginhardus in Vit. Car. Mag., c. 48. Whatever might have been the origin of the office, the extent of power in the hands of its possessor soon arrived at an enormous height. "Per Præfectos Palatii domus regia ordinabatur; neque aliud regi relinquebatur, quam ut regio solum nomine contentus in solio resideret, ac speciem dominantis effingeret, legatos undecunque venientes audiret, eisque abeuntibus responsaque erat edoctus, vel potius jussus, ex sua velut potestate redderet, ac regni administrationem, et omnia, quæ vel domi, vel foris erant agenda ac disponenda, Præfectus aulæ procurabat." A power so formidable and so dangerous could only exist in an age of weakness, and accordingly, as soon as the royal authority was sufficiently firmly established, we find it cease. "Tandem regnante feliciter tertia regum nostrorum stirpe, inter leges latas quibus regni tranquillitati provisum est, ea potissimum obtinuit locum, 'ne in posterum essent Majores Domus.' '"‡ Dagobert succeeded his father Clothaire in all his possessions, but shortly afterwards gave to his son Clovis the independent kingdom of Burgundy, which continued entire till the year 843. About this time, at the death of Louis le Debonnaire, his sons made a voluntary division of their father's kingdom. Burgundy was shared between the eldest son, the Emperor Lothaire, and the youngest, Charles the Bold, the offspring of the second wife of Louis. Lothaire had all the upper part of the ancient kingdom, as being nearest his own territory of Italy, which was called from him Lotharingia or Lorraine. Charles had that part which bordered upon his kingdom of France. This was the first dismemberment, and since this partition at Verdun, the two por * Du Chesne, Histoire de Royaume de Bourgogne, + Hariulfus, lib. ii., Chr., c. 1. + Petrus Gregorius de Republicâ, lib. vii., c. 8, § 14. tions of the kingdom of Burgundy have never been again united. That which became the property of Charles has ever since been incorporated with France; but the portion which fell to Lothaire was, at his death, divided between his two younger sons, Lothaire king of Austrasia, and Charles king of Provence. The former made a further division of his share between his brother Louis, emperor and king of Italy, and Charles; since which time, 870, these portions have never been reunited. Other kingdoms were thus made from the ancient one of Burgundy, and its name alone remained to the duchy and the county. The latter, better known as Franche Comté, became a separate jurisdiction in the reign of Charles the Simple. The history of this, as well as of the duchy, become so intermingled with the general history of France, that we shall content ourselves with very briefly touching upon a few events of the latter till the death of Charles the Bold, with whom the dukedom ended. From the sixth to the ninth centuries the dukes were revocable; in the tenth century the dukedom was considered hereditary, though still held at the pleasure of the king. In the beginning of the eleventh century Hugh Capet, on becoming king of France, bestowed the dukedom of Burgundy upon his brother Henry, who has the surname, "Great," given to him, not on account of his exploits, but because he was the first hereditary duke not revocable. About 1078, Constance, a daughter of Robert le Vieux, widow of the Comte de Challons, married Alphonso, king of Castile and Leon. On her marriage many of the Burgundian nobles attended her to her kingdom, who afterwards joined the banner of the Cid, and were present at the taking of Toledo in 1085. Henry, a brother of Eudes, the fifth duke of the first line, married a natural daughter of Alphonso VI., was made Count of Portugal, and became the founder of the royal house. During the eleventh and till the latter part of the twelfth century the history of Burgundy presents nothing of interest. In 1185 Hugo the Third rendered the Burgundian name illustrious by his valour in the Holy Land, and on his return to his dukedom endeavoured to render himself independent of the king of France. After many struggles he was obliged to relinquish his attempt and to acknowledge himself the vassal of Philip. Under his son Hugo the Fourth the territories of the dukedom were much extended by purchase; great possessions were thus acquired in the county, and the count himself did homage to the duke as his feudal lord. The strong desire of the dukes of Burgundy to render the province an independent kingdom made them particular in exacting homage from the chief nobles, while the continual extending of their territories seemed to promise an early fulfilment of their hopes. This desire appears to have lain dormant during the dukedom of Robert the Second, who became titular king of Thessalonica, and was honoured with great proofs of confidence by the king of France. He was appointed Grand Chamberlain of the kingdom, Lieutenant in the Lyonnois, and Guardian of the County of Burgundy. These various offices he filled with zeal and fidelity, but at the same time was cautious in not permitting the slightest encroachment upon the rights of the dukedom. One privilege which it possessed was that no tax could be imposed without the consent of the duke, and when Philip in 1295 levied money from the Burgundians, a letter was given to the duke stating that it was with his consent, and that it was done without any prejudice to his rights. Plancher describes him as "Dans le gouvernement du duché il fut doux, un peu trop ardent pour des intérêts, pas assez attentif à ceux des autres; promt à faire des traités, lent à les executer; toujours prêt à recevoir, jamais empressé de donner, il laissa plus de preuves de sa puissance et de sa grandeur, que de sa religion et de sa piété." On the extinction of the male line of the old dukes in 1361, John, king of France, conveyed to his favourite son, Philip the Hardy and his posterity, the duchy of Burgundy, who, to render himself more acceptable to the Burgundians, married the widow of the late duke. During his dukedom the gabelle on saltt was first introduced into Burgundy. In 1370 granaries were established at Dijon, Autun, and several other large cities, and the tax on all the salt which was sold was given to the duke for two years. The possessions of the dukes of Burgundy continued to increase during his lifetime, and that of his son John the Fearless. On the accession of Philip the Good, they consisted, in addition to the duchy, of Flanders, Artois, Franche Comté, with Nevers, Rethuel, Mechlin and Antwerp; he himself acquired by purchase Namur and Luxemburg, by inheritance | ART. III.-Geschichte Polens, von Dr. Rich Brabant and Limburg, and he extorted from Jacqueline of Hainault, Hainault, Holland, Zealand and West Friesland. It was Philip who in the year 1429, on the occasion of his marriage with Isabel of Portugal, instituted and founded the order of the Golden Fleece, to consist of thirty knights besides the chief. He chose for its motto "Aultre n'auray," I will have no other; and by one of its laws no one belonging to it, except a king or reigning prince, or one of royal race, could become a knight of another order. When Charles the Bold succeeded to its dignities he changed the motto to "Je l'ay emprins." At his death Maximilian, Archduke of Austria, became sovereign of the order by right of his marriage with Mary, daughter of Charles. From him it descended to the kings of Spain, though the emperors of Germany claimed the sovereignty, and exercised the right of conferring the knight hood. It now continues to be esteemed the third, if not the second, of European or ders. Charles the Bold, the last of the dukes, added to the extensive dominions just mentioned, Guelderland and Zutphen. The desire of regal dignity was stronger in him than in any of his predecessors. He had privately caballed with the electors of Germany in the hope of being chosen king of the Romans. Failing in that he applied to Frederic the Third to raise the duchy of Burgundy into a kingdom, promising the hand of his daughter Mary to the archduke Maximilian. Influenced by the prospect of this splendid alliance, Frederic readily expressed his willingness to gratify the duke. Thinking that his wishes were near their accomplishment, Charles prepared all the ensigns of royalty, and even ordered the throne for his inauguration to be erected in the cathedral. Louis XI., the most crafty monarch that ever swayed the sceptre of France, was not an idle spectator of what was going on, and so worked upon the suspicions of Frederic that he declined any further proceedings in the business. After a reign of wars and fightings Charles the Bold fell before Nancy, January 5th, 1477, and with him expired the Dukes of Burgundy. Louis XI. seized upon the province, which has ever since that period been incorporated with France. 1 ard Roepell. Erster Theil. Hamburg, 1840. (History of Poland, by Dr. Richard Roepell.) Part I. Hamburgh, 1840. SHOULD all the works on Poland that have appeared during the last ten years both here and on the continent, in the shape of regular compositions, pamphlets, and articles in the periodical press, be collected, they would form a by no means inconsiderable library. At first sight it may seem strange that a nation politically dead should still provoke so much discussion, and some may be inclined to consider this phenomenon as nothing more than ordinary posthumous talk and lamentation. But such is not the case with Poland. Though for fifty years she has ceased to be numbered amongst the independent nations of Europe, her record in their memory lies in the permanent, unrelenting, and unmerited oppression which has been exercised against her, and which is not the mere ebullition of rage in a frantic tyrant, but the effect of an organised system for the extermination of her people; it lies in the de struction of all her national institutions of church and state; in the pillage of her libraries and museums; in the periodical exportation of her population without regard to age or sex; in the unprovoked extirpation of whole families in time of peace; in the proscription of right, of civic virtue, and of a national language; in the vandallike profanation of temples and tombs, in the sweeping away of public monuments, even to the very forests associated with national recollections; whilst, in conformity with such barbarous reform, the Polish names of provinces, cities, and villages have been exchanged for Asiatic appellations, in order that, to use the expression of a Polish prelate and poet, "the remnants of the people may not know themselves." We need not here adduce special instances to confirm the truth of these facts, since our readers must be already well acquainted with them through the public press. The great interests of civilisation and the peace of the world, are intimately connected with the Polish cause; and the general conviction of this is so strong as to have become a popular prejudice, and the fact is admitted almost universally without proofs being required of it. At all events, it is not now our task to produce them; let it suffice that the late Prince Talleyrand considered the Polish question, at the Congress of Vienna, 1815, as "la question la plus Européenne;" and that the English plenipo |