and money should be expended and employed in this expedition, the lefs of either muft remain for the fervice in Europe: and befides, they could always have refort, as they had at laft, to the old Trick, to delay, to put off, to fend orders for marches and counter-marches, for embarkations and debarkations, till the feafon would not permit the execution of the pretended defign. Thus it ended in the fhameful attempt that was made on the coast of Britany.

was empower

The E- of Sed to fettle the contingents for this year with the allies. By which it was agreed, that Great-Britain fhould furnish 40,000 men; the States-General 40,000; the Empress 60,000; in all, 140,000. Here the B-rs put on a fighting face. Befides, the Emprefs obliged herfelf to keep 10,000 men in Luxemburgh, and join 60,000 Auftrians to 30,000 Piedmontefe, to make a diverfion in Provence, leaving 15,000 near the Panaro, to check the King of Naples. Which, fummed up together, was a force much fuperior to that of the enemy,which confifted of no more than 113,340 men, which were 26,660 less than those provided by the convention of the allies; and ratified by P-t. But what availed all these numbers? For first, the taking of the field fo early, that all our foldiers were injured by the inclemency of the weather, reduced them to the greatest neceffity for provifions for themfelves and horses; no care having been' taken to establish magazines, or to serve them properly. The next step to ruin this campaign, was to keep back the Emprefs's fubfidy fo long, that her forces could not be recruited in due time. It is true, our troops were put in motion in February; and about the end of March took the field in three several bodies: but after this they refled on their arms for fix weeks together, while M. Saxe continued his forces in their cantonments; and,

t

with an air of derifion at the English bravery or folly in making war against the elements, faid, That, when the

had fufficiently weakened his army, he would convince him, that the first duty of a General was to provide for his prefervation. Yet, after this parade, we had the mortification to fee our early marching troops lying. inactive, while M. Lowendahl, with twenty three battalions and five fquadrons, and M. de Contade with as many more of each, conquered all Dutch Flanders in lefs than a month; without receiving the leaft check from either our or the Auftrian forces, that could almost hear every gun that was fired in that Expedition. I fay, fays the author, what muft our conclufion of the whole matter be, but that all we did, and all we left undone, was owing to the fame leading principles, which had operated invariably, tho' imperceptibly, to the ruin of the war? Which was in a great measure forwarded by the unfortunate action of Laffeldt, in which we both suffered ourselves to be furprised, and expofed. the British and Electoral troops to bear fingly the whole brunt of that bloody day; and totally accomplished by the reduction of Bergen-opZoom. And yet after all thefe loffes, and the enemy had made the first advances towards an accommodation, the two B-rs, to blast the measures of their rival effectually, thought it was neceffary that the peace should be ruinous like the war; and as the French were yet too moderate in their demands, it was their purpofe to proceed in the fame track, till new advantages on the fide of France, fhould authorife her to exact new conceffions from the allies; though they scandalously declared at other times, that their only aim had been to procure a peace at any rate, at the time they rejected the offer of France to sheath the fword, on these fhort principles, Nothing for herself, and very little for her allies;' and, with as little regard

regard to the good of the nation, delayed to ftrike up an accommodation with Spain, when it was in their power to do it with great advantage. To these accufations, the author adds a few more drawn from fuppofitions, that the whole negotiation and treaty with Ruffia for 30,000 men to be fent into Germany, and the prodigious army of the allies, proposed to confift of 192000 effective men in Flanders, to take the field by the ift of May, were only bubbles to deceive the people, without any intention that they ever should be effectually put in execution: because these schemes were loaded with provifoes, which only ferved as a pretence to excufe the very defect it was calculated to prevent. Befides, fays he, the event proves the charge to be juft for tho' it was certainly known that the French were pre

paring to befiege Maeftricht, this great army, that was expected, lay entirely scattered, and, as it were, infenfible of the danger it was daily threatened with; Maeftricht was to be repaired; and the English troops, which, instead of 20,000, amounted to no more than 7000, were not ordered out of their winter-quarters till within a few days before Maeftricht was actually invested. It is true, the four battalions and 3000 recruits appointed to render the English compleat, did afterwards join the allied army, but not till the preliminaries were figned, and the measure of the war was compleatly ruined.

Then he concludes with a fort of promise to give us, at some other time, the conduct of the two B- -rs in regard to the negotiations of peace.

DWARD VI, the only fon of

EDWARD, VI, the only on of third

Queen JANE SEYMOUR, was born at Hampton Court on the feventeenth of October 1537; and was faid to have been cut from his mother, who died of the incifion four days after.

He was brought up very tenderly amongst nurfes 'till he was fix years old; when being committed to the care of Sir Anthony Cook; Dr. Cox of Eaton to teach him manners, philofophy, and divinity; to Sir John Cheeke, profeffor of Greek at Cambridge, to teach him Latin and Greek; and to John Belman to teach him French, Spanish, and Italian; his Royal Highnefs made fuch a proficiency, having an excellent memory, a wonderful folidity of judgment,and fparing no pains attain knowledge, that at eight years old he wrote Latin letters to his father: fpoke French as fluently as Englib; which faculty alfo he gradually

obtained in the Latin, Greek, Spanish, and Italian; all which he spoke with great propriety: and, at fifteen, had made fo great a progrefs in Logic, Mufic, Aftronomy, and other liberal fciences, that the Italian philofopher, Cardan, declares him to have been the wonder of his age, and a miracle of nature.

At the death of his father, Edward was only nine years and three months old; at which time great preparations were making to declare him to be Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwal, and Count Palatine of Chefter. He was at this juncture with his fifter the Princess Elizabeth at Hertford, where the depaties and meffengers of his father's death, Edward Earl of Hertford and Sir Anthony Brown, Knt. were fent by the Council to bring the young King to London. But they did not inform him of their meffage till they had brought him to Enfield, where

they

they notified to him the King's death, and paid their homage to him, as their Sovereign. Next day (Jan. 31.) they conducted him fafe to London, and lodged him in the Tower, where the Council in a body received him, and proclaimed him King of England, on the fame day, in 1547.

We have before (in Vol. III, p. 245.) fhewn that Henry, by virtue of an act of Parliament, had not only fettled the fucceffion on this Prince, by will, but also had appointed him a Privycouncil. Therefore, on the firft of February, thefe Counsellors met, opened the will, and found that the late King had nominated Thomas Cran mer, Archbishop of Canterbury; Lord Wriothefly, High Chancellor; Lord St. John, Mafter of the Houfhold; Lord Ruffel, Privy-feal; the Earl of Hertford, Chamberlain ; Viscount Lifle, Lord-Admiral; Cuthbert Tuntal, Bishop of Durham; Sir Anthony Brown, Mafter of the Horfe; Sir William Paget, Secretary of State; Sir Edward North, Chancellor of the Court of Augmentations; Sir Edward Montague, Lord Chief Juftice of the Common Pleas Judge Bromley, Sir Anthony Denny, and Sir William Herbert, chief Gentlemen of the Privychamber; Sir Edward Wootton, Treafurer of Calais, and Dr. Wootton, Dean of Canterbury and York, to be Regents of the kingdom, and Governors of his fon, till he should attain the age of eighteen years. Thefe with twelve more affiftants named alfo in the will, to be called in, as need required to the Privy-council, took up. on them to fettle the form of government during the King's minority; which was no fooner done, than a propofal was made to nominate and conftitute one of their body, to be their Head and President with the title of Protector of the King's realm, and Governor of his perfon. How reafonable foever this change feemed to the majority for the difpatch of bufiRefs, the Lord Chancellor Wristhefly

fearing, as in fact it happened, that the choice would fall on the King's uncle, the Earl of Hertford, who was not his friend, which would abfolutely deprive him from that fway in the government, which otherwise he might have expected from his high office, it being next under the Archbishop of Canterbury, who did not much attend fecular affairs, opposed this propofal with all his might, as an alteration not to be warranted by the King's will, fettled according to act of Parliament. To this it was anfwered, that fuch a neceffary promotion of one of their body would by no means change the form of government then established; for that whoever fhould be raised over the reft, fhould be obliged to do nothing without the confent of the other Regents. And the whole affair had been fo well concerted before hand, that the point was not only prefently carried, but, as Wriothefly dreaded, the choice fell upon the Earl of Hertford, who was accordingly proclaimed Protector of the realm, and Governor of the King's perSon, until he fhould accomplish the age of eighteen years; and on the fixth of the fame month, he exercised the first act of his high power and authority, by dubbing, or conferring the dignity of Knighthood upon the King himfelf in the prefence of the Lord-mayor of London, and many other Lords and Gentlemen. And the King, rifing up under his cloth of ftate, dubbed Henry (Burnet fays John) Hoblethorn, the Lord mayor of London, Knight; which also appears to have been the first act of fovereignty done by King Edward VI

Their next care was (according to an ancient manuscript before me) not to take care of their own promotions, but of the burial of their late King, which was performed with great fo lemnity at Windfor, where King Hen ry VIII, was interred on the 15th of February, in the midst of the Quire of that stately church. Then before

the