Whatever wisdom and equity appear in the ancient regulations of the Francs, and other nations, beyond what we fhould have expected in thofe times, we muft, nevertheless, fee reason to congratulate ourselves and countrymen on our happier ftate, particularly in this view, that while numbers of the inhabitants (the native Gauls) received no benefit from thefe provisions, but were in an abject state of flavery, the free conftitution under which we live extends its beneficial influence to every rank, and the loweit ftation fhares the advantage of its laws.

Another chapter is entitled, State of Trade in the 8th and 9th Centuries.

There was a fettled trade between France and England till Charlemain, offended at the prefumption of Offa, king of the Mercians, prohibited all manner of dealing between the two nations; and it was not till two years after that it returned into its former channel, In these times fcarce any other trade was known than that carried on in markets or fairs; thefe were almoft the only places for providing one's felf with neceffaries. Artificers and dealers lived apart difperfed in the country; the towns were chiefly inhabited by the clergy and fome handicraftsmen, with few or no monks or nuns, the far greater part of the monafteries being either in the open countries or the neighbourhood of the cities. The nobility lived on their eftates, or attended on the court. The Pote people were fo far under their lord's power, as not to quit the place of their birth without his leave; the villain was annexed to the eftate, and the flave to the matter's houfe or land. Such a difperfion was little promotive of trade, which loves large and policed communities; and it was to remedy this inconvenience that our kings eftablished fo many fairs. One of the most famous was that of St. Dennis, traders reforting to it not only from all parts of France, but from Friesland, Saxony, England, Spain, and Italy. We find, however, that in more diftant ages trade was not abfolutely confined to those markets alone, or to European foreigners. The city of Arles, under the firth reigns of the Merovingians, was in great repute for its manufactures, its embroideries, and gold and filver inlaid works, and, like Narbonne and Marfeilles, frequented by fhips from the Levant and Africa; but this profperity gradually funk under the devastations of continual wars, the Afiatics and Africans no longer coming to our ports. Such, however, is the force of original and innate difpofitions, that Narbonne, Arles, and Marfeilles, till retain that commercial and raval genius which had made then the ftaples of the univerfe under the Carlovingians. They kept a certain number of fhips trading to Conftantinople, Genoa and Pifa, and Alexandria. Lewis the Gracious granted a charter to a body of merchants, without any other acknowledgement or obligation than to come once a year and account with his exchequer. The French appear to have little bufied themfelves in trade under the two first races of our kings, leaving it almost entirely to foreigners. Spain furnished them with horfes and mules; Friefland with party-coloured mantles, upper garments furred with marten, otter, and cat's-fkin; England with grain, iron, tin, lead, leather,

leather, and hounds; the Eaft and Africa with drugs, exquifite vines, and Egyptian paper, the only fort used in France till the 11th century, and olive oil, which at that time was fo scarce in our climates, that at a council held at Aix-la-Chapelle, monks were permitted to use bacon oil. If foreigners imported only common goods to France, its exports were anfwerable, confifting ufually of potter's ware, brafiery, wine, honey, madder, and falt. The collection of the capitularies contain many ordinances relating to commerce in general. The flave trade, and that of wines, filver, coftly veffels and jewels, were then very common in France. By fome ordinances, markets are not to be fet up without a licence from the king, nor to be held on Sundays or great festivals; others inflict a fevere penalty on felling a flave clandeftinely, or a Christian to Jews and Pagans. Some forbid all fales by night; others enjoin the fame measures and weights to be used all over the French empire. A Jewish trader paid the tenth part of his profit, and a Chriftian the eleventh. Thefe impofts, with the feveral tolls and duties on imports and exports, made a confiderable part of the royal revenue.' "State of the Coinage and Money. Anno 869.

The calm which France now enjoyed, was improved in making ufeful regulations. The edict of Fiftes is the most curious monument remaining concerning the monies of the first and second race*. It acquaints us with the only places which had the privilege of coining under Charles the Bald; it gives us to know that, on the 1st of July, all the counts or governors of those towns were to fend their viscounts to Senlis, with their monatarii or coiners, and two refponsible men having lands within their jurifdiction, each to receive five pounds of filver out of the king's private treafury, together with a weight, and thus begin to make good monies. The fmallness of the fum will unquestionably be thought ftrange in an age when kings, and even private perfons, reckon only by millions; but a few short and plain reflections will remove the amazement. Pecuniary payment was not the only payment used under our first kings. The gold and filver received from the people was refined and kept in bullion in the prince's treasury, where it was iffued by weight. This cuftom was of Roman origin, and obferved even by private perfons till the reign of Philip the Handfome. Nothing more common in the inftruments of thofe times than payments and fines of pounds and marks of gold and filver, fo that money was wanting only for retail trade, and that was the reafon of fo little being coined; as this makes any pieces of the first, fecond, and beginning of the third race to be esteemed as valu

Pharamond is generally placed at the head of the firft or Merovingian race of the kings of France; but, little being known of him, the prefident Henault begins it with Clovis as the real founder of the monarchy, A. D. 481. The fecond or Carlovingian race began in Pepin, A. D 751, and failed in 987. The third or Capetian race, of which the founder was Hugues Capet, in the year 987; and his defcendants ftill fway the French fceptre through an uninterrapted fucceffion of very near eight hundred years, a profperity which no other family in the universe can boast.

able curiofities; fo that these particulars being known, the abovementioned order affords not the least cause of furprize. It even appears from several monuments and accounts, that there was then in France very nearly as much money as at prefent. The deception lies in eftimating the worth of the ancient money, by that which we have been pleased to fet on ours. We wonder at a council of Touloufe, rating at only two fols a measure of three bushels of wheat, the fame of barley, a measure of wine, and a lamb, which was the contribution due from every priest to his bishop; and that seemingly petty fum the bishop received as a modus. What a wonder at twentyfour pounds of bread felling for no more than a fingle denier in Charlemain's reign! but that fol was very different from ours, and that denier would, according to our reckoning, be now equal to thirty fols. The price of bread, therefore, was at about five liards, which is pretty near the prefent common price in good years. Thus, whenever our ancient history speaks of money under any name whatever, our first care must be to look into the value of it at that time, that we may form an estimate of it comparatively with ours.'

After feveral obfervations and comparisons of this nature, it is added: An acquaintance with thefe changes, little less frequent than thofe of our fashions, is especially neceffary for understanding the valuations of our old coins with regard to the prefent. The eight ounce filver mark has, for a long time, been worth 49 livres. The livre, which in Charlemain's time was the reprefentative fign of 12 ounces, would be, in our time, worth 73 livres c fols: the worth of a fol, which was the twentieth part of a livre, would be 3 livres, 13 fols, 6 deniers; that, fuppofing a city to have borrowed 150 livres in the emperors reign, if obliged to pay at the fame intrinfic value (it) would be indebted near 460 louis d'ors of our money. A monaftery, to which that prince had granted a perpetual penfion of 400 livres, on the royal treasury, would now, if paid according to the foundation, have an annual income of 29,400 livres. This computation fhews, that of all the European monies the English pound ferling has deviated the leaft from the primitive ftandard.'

One Chapter, or Section, is entitled Satyr, being a Sketch of the Wit of thofe Times, and of feveral Princes then reigning. Anno 1252,

About this time died one of those brave knights against whom the most malignant envy could not bring the leaft reproach: a poet, who revered him, compofed the panegyric on his virtues, which on the other hand was a fevere fatyr on great perfonages; and being a sketch both of the wit and of the princes of thofe times, it may not be unacceptable: here it follows in its literal plainnefs: "In this doleful lay I will lament Blacus, and well, indeed, may I lament his death. The most cordial friend! the moft worthy lord! with him all the virtues have taken their flight. This is fuch an afflic tive ftroke, that I do not know any expedient for the vaft lofs but to take that noble heart of his, and fhare it among those barons who have none, and they will have heart fufficient. The first piece fhould be eaten by the emperor of Rome, if he is for recovering thofe lands which the Milanefe have wrefted from him, in fpite of all his bulky Germans could do. We would likewife counsel the illuftrious king of France to partake of it, that he may retrieve

Caftile,

Caftile, which he is fo fillily lofing; but fhould his good mother know it, he won't touch it; for all the world fees what a dutiful child he is, how very obedient to all the fays, never doing any thing that may displease her. King of England, eat thou a lusty gob, for no heart haft thou, and then thou wilt be a hero, and regain thofe provinces, which, fie upon thy cowardice and negligence! thou haft fhamefully fuffered to fall into the French hands. The king of Caftile fhould eat two shares, having two kingdoms and not capable fo much as to govern one; but when he is for eating, let him too get out of his mother's fight: fhould it come to her ears, She would give him a found warming. I would have the king of Arragon not be fparing of this animating heart: he has two blots in his efcutcheon, one got at Marfeilles, and the other at Milan; and this is the only way to make all clean and bright again. The king of Navarre fhall not go without a good bit; for, by what I hear, he was better thought of when a count than now on the throne, to which he has been fo fortunately raised. A fad thing, indeed! when they whom God has exalted are brought low by their base want of courage. The count de Toulouse must think that he has no fmall need of it, if he is pleased to call to mind what he has been, and what he is now: and he fhould eat it with a good will, for his own heart is known to be fuch a poor thing, that it will never help him to recover his loffes.'

We shall close the article with just adding the fhort account, given in a note, of an artifice employed by Lewis IX. in his abundant zeal to increase the number of illuftrious adventurers in the Croisade.

It was customary, at folemn festivals, for kings to give the court lords furred hoods, or great coats, which they immediately put on. Thefe are what the ancient houfehold accounts call liveries, being livres, i. e. delivered to the perfon by the king himself. Lewis ordered a greater number, and much finer, than ufual to be got ready against Christmas-eve, and on thefe he caufed privately to be put large Croffes, embroidered in gold and filk; and, for the better carrying on this innocent deceit, care was taken to leave only fuch a light in the apartments as one could juft fee one's way. The monarch diftributes the garments, and every one with refpectful thanks kifies the royal hand at receiving his, and immediately puts it on all then proceed, following the king to the first mafs, which was before day-break. The reader conceives (the) great furprize when, at the firft dawning of light, they faw on thofe before them, and afterwards on themselves, that fign, in their account facred, of an engagement which they had not the leaft thought of contracting. The king's meaning was foon understood, and though only a fport which could not be conftrued obligatory, fuch was the complaifance of thefe lords, that they were pleafed to look on themselves as irrevocably lifted. After mafs the whole company joined in the laugh with this dexterous Fisher of Men, as he was afterwards furnamed, and all perfons of rank flocked to congratulate him on fo notable a draught.'

ART. V. The Deferted Village; a Poem. By Dr. Goldsmith. 4to. 2 S. Griffin. 1770.

IN

Na dedication of this poem to Sir Joshua Reynolds Dr. Goldfmith fays, I know you will object (and indeed several of our best and wifest friends concur in the opinion) that the depopulation it deplores is no where to be feen, and the diforders it laments are only to be found in the poet's own imagination. To this I can fcarce make any other answer than that I fincerely believe what I have written; that I have taken all poffible pains, in my country excurfions, for thefe four or five years paft, to be certain of what I alledge, and that all my views and enquiries have led me to believe thofe miferies real, which I here attempt to display.'

He fays alfo, in regretting the depopulation of the country, I inveigh against the increase of our luxuries; and here alfo I expect the hout of modern politicians against me. For twenty or thirty years paft, it has been the fashion to confider luxury as one of the greatest national advantages; and all the wisdom of antiquity in that particular, as erroneous. Still however, I muft remain a profeffed ancient on that head, and continue to think thofe luxuries prejudicial to ftates, by which fo many vices are introduced, and fo many kingdoms have been undone.'

There can be no doubt that luxury produces vice, and vice mifery; but luxury is, notwithstanding, effentially neceffry to national greatnefs, for of a great nation neither virtue nor happinefs is a characteristic. It is indeed true that nations have been undone by luxury; but it is also true that no nation can fubfift without it.

The word luxury, applied to nations, has perhaps never been defined. It fecms to be, indefinitely, the pleafures arifing from the gratification of artificial wants; and it will be found extremely difficult to draw a line between the artificial wants that fhould be admitted, and thofe that, fhould be rejected. That they do not add to the happinefs of 1:fe might perhaps be eafily demonftrated, by comparing the ftate of those who fupply them with that of thofe to whom they are fupplied it will appear that more is fuffered by thofe who are employed in the gradual tranfmutation of ore into a fervice of plate, than is added to the enjoyment of a meal which is eaten from it. But no nation can be populous without employing more than agriculture can employ, and no nation that is not populous can be ftrong. Luxury, in a political view, is good when it provides employment for more than the inhabitants of a country; it is evil when it leaves part of the inhabitants unemployed. That luxury, at least in its confequences, may prevent employment in a particular country where it is carried farther than in

other