together with the infant princess, attended by lady Mostyn, and escorted by a party of dragoons. In the mean time, Struensee and Brandt, were also seized in their beds, and imprisoned in the citadel. Struensee's brother, some of his adherents, and most of the members of the late administration, were seized the same night, to the number of about eighteen, and thrown into confinement.

The government, after this, seemed to be lodged in the queen-dowager and her son, supported and assisted by those who had the principal share in the revolution; while the king appeared to be little more than a pageant, whose person and name it was necessary occasionally to make use of.

All the officers, who had a hand in the revolution, were immediately promoted, and an almost total change took place, in all the departments of administration. A new council was appointed, in which prince Frederic presided, and a commission of eight members, to examine the papers of the prisoners, and to commence a process against them.

The son of queen Matilda, the prince royal, who was entered into the fifth year of his age, was put under the care of a lady of quality, who was appointed governess, under the superintendency of the queen-dowager.

Struensee and Brandt were put in irons, and very rigorously treated in prison. They both underwent long and frequent examinations, and at length received sentence of death. They were beheaded on the twenty-eighth of April 1772,

having their right hand previously cut off, but many of their friends and adherents were afterwards set at liberty.

Struensee, at first, had absolutely denied having any criminal intercourse with the queen. This, however, he afterwards confessed; though he is said to have been induced to do it, only by the fear of torture. No measures were adopted by the court of Great Britain to clear up the queen's character in this respect. But in May his Britannic majesty sent a small squadron of ships to convey that princess to Germany, and appointed the city of Zell, in his electoral dominions, for the place of her future residence. She died there of a malignant fever, on the tenth of May, 1775, aged 23 years and 10 months.

CHAP. XCII.

Of the Cause and Commencement of the American War.

DURING the administration of Mr Grenville, in 1765, bills passed for laying a stamp duty on the British colonies in America, which first laid the foundation of those quarrels between the colonies and the mother country, which ended in a total separation. This measure was no sooner known in America, than insurrections commenced there, and great murmurings at home. In consequence of which the ministry retired, and the act was repealed.

After the repeal of the stamp-act, which was received with great joy in America, all things became quiet there. New duties, however, were soon after laid on paper, glass, tea, and other articles. But as a general combination seemed to be forming among the Americans, not to take any of those commodities from the mother country, all these acts were also repealed, except the duties on tea.

In order to induce the East-India company to become instrumental in enforcing the tea duty in America, an act was passed by which they were enabled to export their teas, duty-free, to all places whatsoever. Several ships were accordingly freighted with teas for the different col onies by the company, which also appointed agents there, for the disposal of that commodity. This was considered by the Americans, as a scheme calculated merely to circumvent them into a compliance with the revenue law, and thereby pave the way to an unlimited taxation. For it was easily comprehended, that if the tea was once landed, and in the custody of the consignees, no associations, nor other measures would be sufficient to prevent its sale and consumption. And, it was not to be supposed, they said, that when taxation was established in one instance, it would restrain itself in others.

These ideas being generally prevalent in America, it was resolved by the colonists to prevent the landing of the tea-cargoes among them, at whatever hazard. Accordingly, three ships laden with tea having arrived in the port of Boston, in December 1773, a number of

armed men, under the disguise of Mohawk Indians, boarded these ships, and in a few hours discharged their whole cargoes of tea into the sea, without doing any other damage, or offering any injury to the captains or crews. Some smaller quantities of tea met afterwards with a similar fate at Boston, and a few other places, but in general the commissioners for the sale of that commodity were obliged to relinquish their employments, and the masters of the tea vessels, from an apprehension of danger, returned again to England with their cargoes.-At New-York, indeed, the tea was landed under the cannon of a man of war. But the persons in the service of government there were obliged to consent to its being locked up from use.

These proceedings in America, excited so much indignation in the government of England, that on the thirty-first of March, 1774, an act was passed for removing the custom-house officers from the town of Boston, and shutting up the port.-Another act was soon after passed, for altering the constitution of Massachusetts Bay and Quebec, so that the magistrates might be appointed by the king of England.

In this situation of affairs, the Americans entered into agreement, not to trade with Great Britain, till these acts were repealed. At the same time the delegates appointed from the English colonies, avowed their loyalty to his majesty, but supplicated him to order a change of measures. This petition of the congress was rejected, as well as an application of their agents to be heard at the bar of the House of Commons.

The earl of Chatham, who had been long in an infirm state of health, appeared in the house of Lords, and expressed, in the strongest terms, his disapprobation of the whole system of American measures. He also made a motion for immediately recalling the troops from Boston. He represented this as a measure, which should be immediately adopted; urging, that an hour then lost, in allaying the ferment in America, might produce years of calamity. He alledged, that the present situation of the troops rendered them and the Americans continually liable to events, which would cut off the possibility of a reconciliation; but that this conciliatory measure would be well timed; and as a mark of affection and good-will on our side, would remove all jealousy and apprehension on the other, and instantaneously produce the happiest effects to both. His lordship's motion was rejected by a large majority, as was also a bill which he brought in soon after for settling the American troubles.

The Americans finding themselves thus treated, began to train their militia with great industry. They erected powder mills in Philadelphia, and Virginia, and began to prepare arms in all the provinces; nor were these preparations fruitless, as will evidently appear from what followed.

On the nineteenth of April, 1775, general Gage detached a party, to seize some military stores at Concord, in New-England. Several skirmishes ensued, many were killed on both sides, and the troops would probably have all