and impartially with every fort of industry. Since the downfal of the Roman empire, the policy of Europe has been more favourable to arts, manufactures and commerce, the industry of towns; than to agriculture, the industry of the country. The circumftances which feem to have introduced and eftablished this policy are explained in the Third Book..

"Though thofe different plans were, perhaps, first introduced by the private interefts and prejudices of particular orders of men, without any regard to, or forefight of, their confequences upon the general welfare of the fociety; yet they have given occafion to very different theories of political economy; of which fome magnify the importance of that industry which is carried on in towns, others of that which is carried on in the country. Those theories have had a confiderable influence, not only upon the opinions of men of learning, but upon the public conduct of princes and fovereign ftates. I have endeavoured, in the Fourth Book,

to explain, as fully and diftinctly

as I can, those different theories, and the principal effects which they have produced in different ages and nations.

"In what has confifted the revenue of the great body of the people, or what is the nature of thofe funds which, in different ages and nations, have fupplied their annual confumption, is treated of in thefe four firft Books. The Fifth and laft Book treats of the revenue of the fovereign, or commonwealth. In this Book I have endeavoured to fhow, firft, what are the neceffary expences of the fovereign, or commonwealth; which

of thofe expences ought to be defrayed by the general contribution of the whole fociety; and which of them, by that of fome particular part only, or of fome particular members of the fociety: fecondly, what are the different methods in which the whole fociety may be made to contribute towards defraying the expences incumbent on the whole fociety, and what are the principal advan tages and inconveniences of each of thofe methods: and, thirdly and lastly, what are the reafons and caufes which have induced almost all modern governments to mortgage fome part of this revenue, or to contract debts, and what have been the effects of thofe debts upon the real wealth, the annual produce of the land and labour of the fociety."

The Hiftory of the Reign of Philip the Second, King of Spain. By Robert Watson, LL.D. 2 vols. quarto.

WHATEVER

preference

may, in other respects, be given to former times, the prefent age, it must be allowed, has retrieved our country from the reproach it lay under, of a deficiency of good hiftorians. Mr. Watfon has increafed the number of good writers in this line. He has chofen a period, that muft ever be interefting, whilit religious and civil liberty hold their natural and proper estimation.

There cannot perhaps be found in hiftory, a ftory of more inftruction to thofe who govern mankind, if inftruction were, as people imagine it, the certain confequence of R 2 example.

example. But the fame paffions and prejudices feem to govern human actions in the fame fituations, through all ages, and in all

countries.

Men do not view the fcene, in which they themselves are the actors, with the fame cool eye of impartiality with which they judge of the conduct of those who have trod the ftage before them; or, they flatter themselves that they fhall conduct themselves with more prudence and difcretion in the fame courfe, which has brought on the ruin of others; or, attributing a great deal to chance, they trust that they shall have better fortune than those who failed in fimilar attempts before them; or, which is, we fear, moft probable, they think little of what has been done before, and indulging themselves in the hopes of obtaining the gratification of the object they are at the moment in purfuit of, they precipitate themselves into action, and leave it to their pofterity to exercise the fame difcernment on their conduct, which they very unprofitably find no difficulty in paffing on the paffions and mistakes of the times that went before them. But if we are obliged reluctantly to admit, that hiftory does not convey that fure inftruction and warning, which a pleafing theory might make hope it did, we muft at least allow, that the labours of the hiftorian are not waited. The mind full of energy, as well as reflection, delights in the contemplation of active life.

Us

The reprefentation of real tranfactions in the great and bufy fcenes of the world, certainly make a deeper and more affecting im

preffion, than the moft lively exertions of fancy and imagination can imprefs, or the confideration of merely fpeculative truth can furnish.

Hiftory is naturally of a more grave and fober caft than poetry or romance; but the hiflorian, who is worthy of that name, will find means even to indulge his fancy and imagination, as well, though not as wantonly, as the poet; and the real tranfactions of man are of fo ftrange and furprising a nature, that the romance-writer will envy the hiftorian the inftances of the marvellous that offer themselves in the relation of true hiftory. The fiege of Malta, which we shall make our extract from Dr. Watfon's hiftory, is of that kind. The reader will find our author animated with the fubject; he gives the ftory with all the warmth and fpirit that fo great, fo wonderful, fo gallant a conduct as that fuccefsfal defence of Malta could excite.

But if the gallantry of the knights of Malta commands our veneration; we muft, in the fame proportion, contemn and abhor the little politicks, not lefs unwife than bafe, of Philip, who rifked the lofs of that place, of fuch infinite confequence to himself, and to the christian cause, which he affected to make the object of his reign. It is no lefs wonderful than lamentable, to confider the character of Philip, whofe reign is the fubject of this hiftory, and whofe difpofition gave rife to many important events. Ungrateful to the moft indulgent and fondeft of fathers, and the murderer of his own fon, without one amiable quality to recommend him to the

love or refpect of the world; of a fecluded life, abforbed in the one chimerical idea of raising his own perfonal authority, and making it the unenviable merit of his reign, that he would rather forego the government of his fubjects, than not force them to worship their God in the forms and manner he had himfelf been brought up; if there is any merit in this, and that obftinacy in fuch ideas and fuch purfuits is a virtue, Philip has a claim to one virtue. He actually did forego his government, fooner than indulge liberty of confcience; and the whole ufe he made of that vaft force by which his father had nearly attained univerfal monarchy, was to leffen that empire, and to leave a lafting debility in the power which he had abused.

The world has been in a practice of admiring this prince as a great politician; we confefs ourfelves at a lofs to justify this opinion: we can fee no depth or extent of mind, that can rank him among the able statesmen; his vaft power enabled him to continue his ill-judged purfuits; and this obftinacy has been dignified with the name of firmness.

Mr. Watfon has chofen his fubject well, and managed it with great ability; his ftyle is clear and unaffected, and his obfervations in general profound, and fuch as tend to lead his reader into just and reasonable contemplations upon the

matter he relates.

The following is the extract from this work.

"At length the Turkish fleet, having left Conftantinople in the end of March, arrived in fight of Malta about the middle of May;

confifting of more than two hundred fail, and having on board, befides a great number of chriftian flaves, defigned to ferve as pioneers, above forty thousand land forces, compofed chiefly of Janiffaries and Spahis, the braveft foldiers of the Ottoman empire. This formidable army landed at fome distance from Il Borgo, and foon afterwards fpread themselves over the country; fetting fire to the villages, putting the peasants to the fword, and carrying off fuch of the cattle as, notwithstanding the orders of the grand-mafter, had not been fecured within the forts and towns.

"While the Turks were thus employed, La Valette [the grandmafter] fent out de Copier, marshal of the order, with two hundred horfe and fix hundred foot, to watch their motions. De Copier, an officer of great experience, executed his commiffion with fo much prudence and vigour, that by falling unexpectedly on detached parties, he cut off one thousand five hundred of the Turks, with the lofs of only about eighty men.

"The Turkish general held a council of war as foon as all his troops were landed, to affift him in refolving where he fhould begin his attack. Piali, agreeably to what he understood to have been the Sultan's inftructions, was of opinion that they ought not to enter upon action till Dragut fhould arrive. But Muftapha having received information of the king of Spain's preparations, thought that fomething muft be done inftantly for the fecurity of the fleet; which lay at prefent in a creek where it was expofed to the violence of the R 3

eaft

eaft wind, and might be attacked with great advantage by the Spaniards. On this account he was of opinion, that they fhould immediately lay fiege to a fort called St. Elmo, which ftood on a neck of land near 11 Borgo, having the principal harbour on one fide of it, and on the other another harbour large enough to contain the whole fleet in fafety. This propofal was approved by a majority of the council, and Mustapha proceeded, without delay, to carry it into execution. He vainly expected that he would be able to reduce the fort in a few days.

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"La Valette did not expect that a place which was neither strong, nor large enough to admit numerous garrifon, could be defended long, against fo great a force as was employed to reduce it; but he thought it neceffary that the fiege of this fort fhould be prolonged as much as poffible, in order to give the viceroy of Sicily time to come to his relief. With this view he refolved to throw himself into St. Elmo with a felect body of troops; and he was preparing to fet out when the whole body of knights remonftrated with fuch earneft importunity against his leaving the town, that he at laft confented to fuffer the reinforcement which he had prepared, to be conducted to the fort by a knight called De Medran, upon whofe conduct and intrepidity he could rely with the most affured confidence.

"Not long after De Medran's arrival in the fort, the garrifon made a vigorous fally, in which they drove the enemy from their intrenchments, and put a number of them to the fword. But the

reft foon recovered from their farprife, and having returned to the charge, they compelled the Chriftians to retire. In this rencounter, the vigorous efforts of the Janiffaries were favoured by the wind, which blew the smoke of the guns upon the fort, and covered the befieged with a thick cloud, through which it was impoffible to difcern the operations of the enemy. This incident the Turks had the prefence of mind to improve to great advantage. They feized, unperceived, upon the counterfcarp, made a lodgement there with beams, woolfacks, and gabions; and raised a battery upon it with incredible expedition. After the fmoke difperfed, the the befieged beheld what had been done with much aftonishment; and they were the more difquieted, as the fortification which the Turks had raised upon the counterscarp overtopped a ravelin which lay near it, in which the befieged could no longer appear with fafety. They refolved, however, to defend this ravelin as long as poffible, whatever it should coft them.

was

"In the mean time Dragut and another noted corfair called Uluchiali arrived with twenty gallies, having, befides flaves and feamen, two thousand five hundred troops on board. This reinforcement and the prefence of Dragut, added fresh vigour to the operations of the fiege. This gallant corfair expofed himself on all occafions with the utmoft intrepidity: fpent whole days in the trenches; and as, befides his other extraordinary talents, he was particularly fkilful in the management of artillery, he caufed fome new bat

teries to be raised in more advantageous fituations than had hitherto been made choice of; and kept up a continual fire both upon the гаvelin above mentioned, and a cavalier that covered the fort, and was one of its principal defences.

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"This cavalier foon became the only defence which could prevent the befiegers from coming up to the very foot of the walls. Some Turkish engineers having approached the ravelin at day-break, to examine the effects of their artillery, they obferved a gun-port fo low, that one of them, when mounted on the shoulders of another, looked into it, and faw the christian foldiers lying on the ground afleep. Of this they gave immediate information to the troops; who, advancing as quickly and filently as poffible, and clap ping ladders to the gun-hole, got up into the ravelin, and cut most of the chriftians to pieces.

"Between this ravelin and the cavalier lay the ditch, over which the befieged had thrown a temporary bridge of planks, leading up to the cavalier. The Turks perceiving this, leapt inftantly upon the bridge, and attempted to make themselves mafters of the cavalier, as they had already done of the ravelin. But the garrifon was now alarmed; the braveft of the knights haftened from different quarters to the post of danger; and, after an obftinate engagement, they compelled the Turks to retire into the ravelin. There obferving another way of reaching the cavalier, by a path from the bottom of the ditch, they threw themselves down without dread or hefitation; and having afcended by this path to the other fide,

they renewed their attack with greater fury than ever. The combat lasted from fun-rife till noon, when the invincible bravery of the garrifon proved at last victorious. About twenty knights and a hundred foldiers were killed, and near three thoufand of the enemy.

"As the ravelin was open on the fide towards the fort, the befieged pointed fome cannon against it, and made great havoc among the infidels. But Muftapha, fenfible of the value of the acquifition which he had made, poured in fresh foldiers without number; and the pioneers coming forward with wool-facks, planks, and gabions, put the troops at length in fafety, and made a lodgment in the ravelin, of which the garrifon were never able to difpoffefs them.

"The grand-mafter's concern on account of this difafter was greatly augmented, by confidering that it could not have happened fo foon, without fome negligence on the part of the garrifon. He fent them however an immediate reinforcement; and both the fiege and the defence were carried on with the fame vigour as before.

"But the fituation of the befieged was now become much more dangerous than formerly. The Turks applied themselves with unremitting diligence to heighten the ravelin till it overtopt the walkof the fort; and after this, the garrifon could no longer appear upon the parapet with fafety. Many were killed by the enemy's artillery. Several breaches were made in different parts of the wall, and the hearts of the brav eft knights began to fail within them.

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