they had held fo precarioufly before: but it is abfurd, and against every evidence of history, to think, that the king did not reserve his demefne lands, which were to fupport his family and houfhold; and that he had no other fuftentation than wardfhips and reliefs. We meet with charters of large grants made, after this ceffion, by Malcolm and his fucceffors. Upon the whole, the law published by Skene, and here repeated, muft either be fpurious, or imply the meaning I have given it. As to the refervation of the Mute-Hill, it was perhaps, a form which arose from cuftoms that cannot now be accounted for.'

• Boece and Buchanan inform us, that Malcolm stained the latter part of his reign with avarice and oppreflion, occafioned by his own generofity in granting away his lands, as we have already feen. Though we have endeavoured to explain this fact, yet it is fo express, and the evidences for it are so stubborn, that many readers may require a farther illuftration. For my own part I cannot be easily perfuaded, that a prince of fuch abilities, both civil and military, as Malcolm certainly poffeffed, could be guilty of an act of fuch infane generofity, as our hiftorians have represented this ceffion to be. I fhall therefore ftrengthen what I have already said by an additional conjecture, which, I hope, will appear rational and natural. Kenneth, the father of Malcolm, had, with great difficulty, fixed the fucceffion of the throne in his own family, by an act of the states; to which fo little regard was paid after his death, that two princes fucceeded to the crown upon the principles of the old conftitution. Malcolm, by his amazing abilities and good fortune, conquered both those princes, and put an end to their reigns by their deaths; but he no fooner mounted the throne than he found it fhaken by the most formidable prince then in Europe, who was mafter of England, Denmark, and Norway, countries the most contiguous to his own kingdom. 'The good fortune of Malcolm' ftill continued: he had the glory of defeating his warlike enemies, and of establishing his throne in tranquillity. Was it not then natural for his subjects who had ferved him fo bravely, to demand for themselves the fame privilege which they had fo generously granted to him? I am obliged to speak in thofe terms, because the alteration of the fucceffion can admit of no other. Did not found policy require, that after the crown was rendered hereditary, private eftates fhould become fo likewife? Had not this alteration taken place in the latter cafe, a king of Scotland, in lefs than a century, muft have been defpotic, and confequently his people faves.

and defpotic government was foon reftored, by a combination of violence and artifice.

• Her fecret conduct was very different from this her public one. Her favorite, whom, at the requifition of the council, she had left behind, was arrived at Moscow; and she took all the pains imaginable to form a strong party. She tried to engage the guards, by her liberality to thofe who daily did duty. about her perfon. In fhort, fhe left no arts or managements unemployed towards effectuating her purpose of creating mifunderstandings among the members of the council of ftate. Every thing fucceeded to her wish. It had been remarked to them, that the family of the Dolgorouckis, and its connections, would be the only perfons that would be benefited by the fmallness of the emprefs's influence; that they had tied up her hands only to establish the more firmly the power which they had acquired under Peter II. that there were already of that family many of the members of the privy-council, and of the fenate; that, little by little, the number would go on augmenting; and that they ought to reflect on the conduct of that family, after the death of the late emperor, at which time they had aspired to transmit the imperial crown to their family, in which not having been able to fucceed, they had not given up the hope of bringing it about in time, by their circumfcription of the fupreme power.

• Neither was it omitted the inftilling a mistrust into the leffer nobility, which is very numerous in Ruffia, by giving them to understand, that none of them ftood any chance of obtaining any preferment of the leaft confequence, while the council of state should have all the power in their hands; as each member would make a point of procuring the most confiderable employments for his refpective relations and creatures; and that, properly speaking, they would be the flaves of the council: whereas, if the empress was to be declared fovereign, the leaft private gentleman might pretend to the first pofts of the empire, with the fame currency as the first princes: that there were examples of this under Peter I. when the greatest regard was paid to true merit; and that if that prince had done acts of feverity, he had been obliged to it; befides, that the leffer nobility had nowife fuffered by him; on the contrary, they had recovered their confequence under his reign.

Such hints thrown out, with proper difcretion, did not fail of producing the expected effect. The guards, who, even to the private foldiers, are conftituted of hardly any but the nobles of the country, formed meetings. Several hundreds of Country-gentlemen affembled at the houfes of the princes Troubetzkoi, Boraitinfki, and Kzerkafky, as being those in

whom

who merited, as the obtained, the name of Saint, more than any that ever was canonized.

The establishment of peace between Malcolm and William, introduced a total alteration of manners among the Scots. Many causes contributed to this; but the chief was the excellent difpofition of Malcolm's queen, the pattern not only of piety, but politenefs, for that age. The next was the great number of foreigners who had fettled in Scotland; among whom, if I mistake not, were fome French, as Malcolm, by his differences with William, became the natural ally of the French king, who, we are told, furnished him with fome auxiliaries. The third caufe I fhall mention, was the fair opportunity which the new-established peace offered to Malcolm, for foftening the natural ferocity of his fubjects. As to Malcolm himself, the prodigious devastations which he carried through England, fhew him to have been, by habit, a barbarian; but his after-conduct proves him to have been endued with all the qualities befitting a great prince.

During Malcolm's abfence in England, his excellent queen chofe Turgot not only for her confeffor, but her affiftant in her intended reformation of the kingdom. She began with her own court, which she new modelled, by introducing into it the offices, furniture, and modes of life, that were ufual among the more polite nations of Europe. She difmiffed from her service, all who were noted for immorality and impiety; and the charged Turgot, upon pain of her displeasure, to give her his real fentiments upon the state of the kingdom, after the best enquiry he could make. Turgot's report was by not means favourable to the reputation of the Scots. He informed Margaret that faction raged among the nobles; rapine among the commons; and incontinence among all degrees of men. Above all, he complained of the kingdom being destitute of a learned clergy, capable of reforming the people by their example and doctrine. The queen was not difcouraged by this report, and foon made her husband fenfible how necessary it was for his glory and safety, to fecond her efforts for reforming his fubjects. She reprefented to him particularly, the corruption of justice, and the infolence of military men; and found in him a ready difpofition for reforming all abuses. He accordingly began the great work, by fetting the example in his own person, and obliging his nobility to follow it.'

The rife, progrefs, and various fluctuations, of the pretenhions of the English crown to the fuperiority of Scotland, are related by our author with great precision and fidelity. This celebrated conteft, which involved both nations for ages in all the horrors of war and devaftation, prefents us with the

moft

moft obftinate conflicts betwixt ambition and independence that are to be found in the annals of human kind. A regard to truth obliges us to affirm, that this claim of fuperiority was totally unjust and chimerical. No fact in history is more certain, than that the homage, ftipulated to be paid by the Scotch to the English crown, was only for the lands poffeffed by the former in England; in the fame manner as the latter did homage to the kings of France for their Norman inheritance. In both cafes the independency of their crowns remained ftill inviolate and unaffected. Groundless and abfurd, however, as this pretenfion was, it but little excites our indignation, in comparison of the almost unparalleled violations of juftice, honour, and humanity, fo confpicuous in the conduct of Edward I. Though, in other respects, we shall ever admire the warlike virtues of our glorious Henrys and Edwards, who maintained this famous pretenfion; we muft, at the fame time acknowledge, with approbation, that invincible spirit of liberty, which infpired the resistance of a free and magnanimous people. The following extract from a letter, fent by the Scots to the pope, in the time of the great Bruce, and which is inferted in a note in this hiftory, will fufficiently justify our application of the high ideas of patriotism and public liberty, displayed by them at that critical period, to the fentiments of the nation in general, and not of a few individuals. The paffage is extremely remarkable, and runs in the following terms.

From these innumerable evils, by the affiftance of him who binds up and heals the wounded, are we delivered by our very valiant prince, king and lord, Robert, who, in delivering his people and inheritance out of the hands of their enemies, as another Maccabee or Joshua, chearfully underwent troubles, toils, hardships, and dangers; whom also Divine Providence, and the right of fucceffion, according to our laws and customs, which we will maintain to the utmoft, and the due confent and affent of us all, have made our prince and king. To him, as the deliverer of the people, by preferving our liberties, we are bound to adhere, as well upon account of his right, as by reafon of his merit, and to him we will adhere; but if he defift from what he has begun, and fhew any inclination to fubject us or our kingdom to the kingdom of England, or to the English, we will ufe our utmost endeavour to expel him immediately, as our enemy, and the fubverter of his own and our right, and we will make another our king, who is able to defend us; for fo long as an hundred Scotsmen remain alive, we will never be subjected any manner of way to the dominion of England.'

From

From this important part of our author's fubject, we shall extract his account of Bruce, and the tragedy of the celebrated Wallace.

All Edward's plaufible arts could not difguife his true intention from Bruce, who was then a young man of greater vivacity than experience; but having been bred under a verfatile father, he knew how to conceal his fentiments, whatever were his feelings. Through all the fondness which Edward expreffed for his perfon, he found him full of diftruft and jealousy at the bottom; and he knew that it was owing to that king's management that he had been left out of the commiffion for fettling the affairs of Scotland. Edward, however, with all his difcernment, did not fee the extent of Bruce's genius, and confidered him only as a fprightly young nobleman, over whom he must hold a firm and watchful hand. He had claimed Bruce's caftle of Kildrummey, as belonging to the royalty of Scotland; and the latter knew not how to evade the demand, but by delivering his countrymen from the chains they were now fubmitting to wear. He was well qualified for this arduous undertaking. To a mind en◄ terprizing, intrepid, and perfevering, nature had added in Bruce a vigorous conftitution, capable of bearing the extremes of cold, hunger, and fatigue. Being a complete mafter in the exercife of his arms, he was well fitted to command detached parties; and his genius was fo fruitful in refources, that he afterwards rofe greater from every defeat he fuftained. He had received an excellent education, for the times in which he lived, and therefore we cannot fuppofe him infenfible of the glory due to the Greek and Roman patriotifm; and he had a particular paffion for supporting the antiquity and independency of his own country.

Cumming the regent, furnamed, from his complexion, the Red, had acquired great reputation while he was at the head of affairs in Scotland; but, though brave in perfon, and able in council, he had not the heroic difpofition of Bruce, the glory of his country being but his fecond confideration; and, for that reafon, he never had been cordially trufted by Wallace. Seeing himself divefted of power, he could not, however, forbear dropping fome expreffions of discontent against Edward, which were carried to Bruce, who immediately refolved, if poffible, to bring Cumming into his views. A tragical incident for Scotland, which happened at this time, promoted their union.

• Wallace still remained profcribed, and the connections between Edward and the king of France were become now fo strong, that he had no foreign country in which he could ferve

8

Scot