fo tentive to calculations. It is however to be hoped, that the total want of any brilliant acquifition, may, for a while at leaft, check that luft of dominion, which has been for now, almost an age, very unfruitful. There is but one prince now living on the continent of Europe, who has been even apparently a gainer by conqueft; and it ftill remains a doubt, whether, in three fucceffive wars, he has not paid more for his purchafe than it is worth, exclufive of the risks he has himself run, and which his fucceffors will probably be liable to, in confequence of his victories. In this fituation of affairs, exhaufted as most of the principal powers in Europe are of men and money, and involved deeply in debt, it is poffible that they may fuffer mankind to indulge for fome years longer in the bleffings of peace. Our next neighbour and old rival, France, feems in thefe circumstances, vaft as her natural refources are. The confequences of a ruinous war having reduced her very nearly to a state of general bankruptcy, nothing but time, together with the ftricteft economy, attention, and induftry, can reftore to their former ftate, her manufactures, commerce, marine, and finances. To all these points, however, fhe has with equal affiduity and fuccefs been very attentive fince the peace; in which time fhe has recovered her trade, in many parts of the world, to a furprising degree. It is true, her attempts to retrieve her commerce, have met with difcouragements, and the dreadful hurricanes in the Weft Indies, and fome other misfortunes, have put them back confiderably, in fome articles of it; but, on the whole, the natural advantages of that country, in the hands of an enterprifing and induftrious people, have had a conftant operation in their favour, and they recover apace. The court of France feems at present to lay itself out with the greatest care, to cement and cultivate the ftrict alliance and family union with the other branches of the house of Bourbon, in Spain and Naples. The prefent king of Spain, however difagreeable it may be to the Spaniards in general, gives entirely into French meafures, and makes a common intereft of the affairs of both nations. Mutual ceffions of lands, it is faid, have been made in America and the Weft Indies; the French having given up to the Spaniards, what they poffeffed on the Miffifippi; and the Spaniards, as it is univerfally reported and believed, have relinquished to them the part that fill remained in their hands, of the great and valuable island of Hifpaniola. Many have been furprised, that this exchange of territory was not by fome means attempted to be fruftrated by Great Britain; confidering how much it must affect our pof feffions in the West Indies, and fo great and valuable a branch of our commerce, as the fugar-trade. France feems, as well as Eng. land, to have entirely dropped her fubfidiary connections in Germany. With her new ally, the house of Auftria, fhe however keeps upon the most friendly terms, and there feems to be a cordial harmony between them. In the north, her intereft feems to have declined greatly; though it is faid, not withstanding these appearances, that her ambaffador at the court of Petersburg has lately got leave to establish a factory at Archangel, on the White fea. It is alfo be lieved that she has attempted to negotiate a treaty of more confequence with Sweden; whereby she has offered to pay the fubfidy arrears due to that court, upon condition that the Swedes fhould build her a certain number of men of war at a ftated price, and fupply her for the future, in cafe of war, with a fixed number of fhips and failors, in lieu of the old ftipulation of land-forces. This feems an improvement of her plan of northern politics. Indeed both France and Spain, fenfible of their past errors, and of the great importance of the object, are increafing their marine, with the most unwearied affiduity; in which the former has been greatly affifted, as well by the Genoefe, as by the great quantity of fhip-timber with which they have fupplied their arsenals at Toulon, from Corfica, fince their troops took poffeffion of the Genoefe part of that island. The affair of the Canada bills, which was the only cause of altercation that remained between the courts of Great Britain and France, has been amicably fettled to the fatisfaction of both. Though the court of Spain has not yet thought proper to manifeft that regard to justice and honour, with refpect to the Manilla ranfom, which might have been wifhed and expected, yet it is not probable, that it will fo fuddenly venture to involve itfelf in a fecond rupture with Great Britain. Spain has already foffered by her obftinacy in that affair, if it be true, as is generally believed, that it was in confequence of her fears for the vengeance that might have been taken upon that account, that the flota which had already failed for Europe, was ftopt in its voyage, and remanded back again to its port. The detention of their Weft India treafure is always attended with ill confequences in that country; nor are thefe confined to the commercial part of the nation, the people in general fenfibly feel them. The mifchief however did not ftop there; the fleet having afterwards received orders to fail for Europe, met with a violent ftorm, by which fome of the fhips were drove afhore, and the reft obliged to put back in a fhattered condition to the Havanna. The alliance by marriage, which we have formerly taken notice of, between Great Britain and Denmark, as well as that which took place about the fame time, between a fifter of the present King of Denmark and the Prince Royal of Sweden, by cementing anew, and drawing clofer together the Proteftant intereft, feems in a great meafure to counterpoife the clofe union of the houfe of Bourbon. Though the death of the late King of Denmark has hitherto made no visible alteration in the fyftem of the north; yet it may not be vain to expect, that a total change will take place in the condust of that court. Influenced entirely, as it has been for fome year's paft, by French councils, we may now hope to fee an Anglo-Pruffian fyftem take place in their ftead. It is not to be doubted, but the amiable Princess whom his Danish Majely has efpoufed, will contribute greatly to increase the fe [B] 3 good ever been the natural foil of defpotiẩm, the martial Georgian Prince Heraclius, famous fome years fince for his victories over the Perfians, formed the glorious project of attempting to deliver his country from the bondage of the Turks. The Georgians (who are a Chriftian nation) had long fubmitted to an ignominious tribute, of delivering up every year for the ufe of the Turkish feraglios, a great number of their nobleft and most beautiful virgins; their country having in all ages been famous for producing the finett women in the world. The Georgians, fpirited by Heraclius, refused to contince this fhameful tribute, and offered to commute for it, by paying a certain fam of money; which proposal was rejected by the Turks. the war which ensued, Herabravely afferted the rights of and in the liberties of his ry, and is faid to have deund the Turks in many battles. tants of thefe tranfactions, rough a barbarous and meatum, are hitherto, probably continue for ne, imperfect and inaccuhere are no authentic acrnational affairs published er. The tories of the victained by this prince, bably fomething exagge 3 me great conleq tences ere Lapccied to be the rehema zuch more fo. It the Heraclius having everal of the neighbour ries, had extended his decals of the Black neta te imperial city Cafe, and at the head of threatened nothing lefs than the fubverfion of the whole Ottoman empire. The infurrections which happened in Egypt and Cyprus, feemed to confirm, that the dif temper was epidemical throughout the greateft part of the globe. We fhall, under their respective heads, give the best accounts we have been able to collect, of fuch of thefe commotions within the plan of our obfervation and as the clouds are now difperfed without any confiderable effects, which, from fo many different quarters, feemed to darken the political hemifphere; we shall now confider the general state of affairs, as they appear at prefent. as come the Europe, ftill fore with wounds it received in the last war, feems as yet defirous of rest and peace. There have been in different periods of history, and different parts of the world, fome very poor, and very military nations, who had no other road to riches or confideration but war. experience of the mischiefs attendΝο ing it, can affect people of that character; it would be ridiculous to caution a man against danger, wounds, or even death, who had no poffible manner of living, but by encountering them. To the happiness of mankind, Providence has now circumfcribed these hungry nations within very narrow bounds; like the birds and beats of prey, their numbers are far、 from being confiderable, and Europe at prefent is infefted with but few of them. On a review of the wars of this century in Europe, and their confequences, it would be difficult to prove any nation at all a gainer by them. Ambition indeed is not very at[B] a tentive good difpofitions, as well as the harmony and friendfhip which fubfifts between our court and nation, and thofe of Denmark. The Prince of Orange, perpe. tual Stadtholder of the United Provinces, being alfo 8th March, happily arrived of 1766. age, to take the adminiftration upon him, may be looked upon as a great addition and ftrength to the Proteftant fyftem. The great and voluntary rejoicings which were fo univerfally made upon that occafion throughout the whole United Provinces, and which exceeded, even as to outward appearance, thofe that are the offspring of fear or neceffity, in defpotic governments, fufficiently teftify the great weight which the Princes of that illuftrious houfe will ever bear in the republic. The Emprefs of Ruffia (excepting the part fhe has taken in the affairs of Poland, which we fhall take notice of in the next chapter) ftill preferves the fame pacific afpect towards the rest of Europe, and the fame attention to the intereft and improvement of her fubjects, which we have already with pleasure remarked in our former volumes. Her court is become the afylum of the fciences, to which fhe invites learned men from every part of Europe. Among the reft the celebrated profeffor Euler from Berlin is at prefent one of her moft remarkable guefts; on whom her Imperial Majefty has fettled a large annual ftipend, made him a prefent of a houfe, befides, many other marks of her royal favour and protection. Germany, as well as Italy, afford at prefent but little room for political obfervation. The two great rival powers in the former, at the fame time that they take the greateft care to complete their armies, and remount their cavalry, feem for the prefent to have no particular intention to give umbrage one to the other. The part which the King of Pruffia has taken, in concert with Ruffia, Denmark, and England, in the affairs of Poland, does not appear (partly through the inability of the Poles to contend with the great powers in queftion) likely to be attended with any extraordinary confequences; unless the Emprefs-Queen, ftimulated by her hatred to the King of Pruffia, fhould make the Catholic caufe a pretext for interfering in favour of Poland; in which cafe there can be no poffibility of forefeeing how far the confequences may extend. The most remarkable incident which this year produced in Italy, was the Pope's abfolute refufal to acknowledge, by any of thofe vain titles, which he pretended to claim in right of his father, the eldest fon of the unhappy family of Stuart. This example has been followed, even by thofe RomanCatholic Princes who had formerly given the greatest protection to that family; fo that as the father had lived long enough to fee every hope of fuccefs to his claims on thefe kingdoms extinct and dead, the fon has already found his very pretenfions difavowed by every power in Europe. The fuperiors of the Engl. fh, Scotch, and Irish colleges in Rome,' having thought proper to pay thofe honours which the Pope had himfelf refufed and forbidden, were, upon that account, fent into exile; while the unfortunate adventurer retired into, the |