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that the guilt which agonised him was probably incurred for the sake of some vain title, or, at least, of some increase of wealth, which he did not want, and possibly knew not how to enjoy, our disgust is turned into something like compassion for that very foolish class of men, whom the world calls wise in their generation.

On the scaffold he embraced his friends, gave some tokens of remembrance to his son-in-law, Lord Maitland, for his daughter and grand-children,stripped himself of part of his apparel, of which he likewise made presents, and laid his head upon the block. Having uttered a short prayer, he gave the signal to the executioner, which was instantly obeyed, and his head severed from his body. Such were the last hours, and such the final close, of this great man's life. May the like happy serenity in such dreadful circumstances, and a death equally glorious, be the lot of all whom tyranny, of whatever denomination or description, shall, in any age, or in any country, call to expiate their virtues on the scaffold!'

PHILIP JI. KING OF SPAIN.

Count Egmont advised this Prince to break with France, in order to prevent the troubles that were beginning to rise in Flanders. He answered, "I had rather lose all Flanders, than so scandalously violate the agreement I have made with my brother the Most Christian King, and so young as he is too."

On his death-bed he gave his successor this advice :— "Keep your dominions (if possible) in perpetual peace: give them good ministers, rewarding the good and punishing the bad."

He often dissembled those injuries done to him which he either could not or would not revenge; observing, that it was a great part of prudence occasionally to pretend not to be well informed of certain things.

At his first coming to the crown, he ordered his judges, in all doubtful cases between him and any of his subjects, to be always sure to decide against the sovereign.

On receiving the news of the destruction of the cele brated Spanish armada, he merely said, "I sent my fleet

to fight the English, not the winds: the will of God be done!"

Philip was present at an Auto da Fé, where several persons were to be burnt for heresy. One of them, Don John de Cesa, as he was passing by him, exclaimed, "Sire, how can you permit so many unfortunate persons to suffer! How can you be witness of so horrid a sight without shuddering!" Philip replied cooly, "If my son, Sir, were suspected of heresy, I should give him up myself to the Inquisition. My detestation of you and of your companions is so great, that I would act myself as your executioner, if no other executioner could be found.”

Soon after he had imprisoned his son Don Carlos, he wrote to Pius V. to inform him of it, and to tell him, that Don Carlos, from his earliest youth, had so vicious a ferocity of disposition, that it had even disdained all his pater nal instructions.

COUNT OLIVAREZ.

When this minister was once reproached by his sovereign, Philip the Fourth, for not having done for him what Cardinal Richelieu had done for his master Louis XIII. and for having lost him one kingdom, that of Portugal, whilst Richelieu had extended the dominions of Louis; he replied, "The Cardinal, Sire, had no scruples." Olivarez, in one thing, at least, imitated the Cardinal. He caused himself to be styled the Count Duke, because Richelieu had taken the title of the Cardinal Duke. Olivarez seems to have made some wise regulations for his country. He freed from the charge of public offices, for four years, all newly-married men, and exempted from taxation all those persons who had six male children. To increase the population of his country, however, he had recourse to one very dangerous and shameful expedient; he permitted marriages between young people without the consent of their parents. On being displaced from the post of prime minister, he retired to his estate at Loches, where, according to Vittorio Siri, he died entirely of chagrin and disappointment.

LOPE DR VEGA.

It is said, in the history of the life of this writer, that no less than 1800 comedies, the production of his pen, have been actually represented on the Spanish stage. His Autos Sacramentales (a kind of sacred drama, exceed 400; besides which there is a collection of his

various kinds in 21 vols. 4to.

poems of It is also said, that there was no public success on which he did not compose a panegyric; no marriage of distinction without an epithalamium of his writing, nor child whose nativity he did not celebrate; not a prince died on whom he did not write an elegy; there was no saint for whom he did not produce a hymn; no public holiday that he did not distinguish, no literary dispute at which he did not assist either as secretary or president. He said of himself, that he wrote five sheets per day, which, reckoning by the time he lived, has been calculated to amount to 133,225 sheets. He sometimes composed a comedy in two days, which it would have been difficult for another man to have even copied in the same time. Toledo he once wrote five comedies in fifteen days, reading them as he proceeded in a private house to Joseph de Valdevieso.

At

Juan Perez de Montalvan relates, that a comedy being wanted for the carnival at Madrid, Lope and he united to compose one as fast as they could. Lope took the first act and Montalvan the second, which they wrote in two days; and the third act they divided, taking eight sheets each. Montalvan seeing that the other wrote faster than he could, says he rose at two in the morning, and having finished his part at eleven, he went to seek Lope, whom he found in the garden looking at an orange-tree that was frozen; and on inquiring what progress he had made in the verses, Lope replied, " At five I began to write, and finished the comedy an hour ago; since which I have breakfasted, written 150 other verses, and watered the garden, and am now pretty well tired." He then read to Montalvan the eight sheets and the 150 verses.

REVIEW OF BOOKS,

PROBATQUE CULPATQUE.

The History of the Abolition of the Slave Trade. By T. Clarkson, M. A. 8vo. 2 Vols. 1808.

The abolition of this infamous traffic, disgraceful to humanity and detestable in the sight of Heaven, was greatly promoted, aud, we may add, would not have been effected at all, (certainly not so soon) but for the laborious inquiries and unceasing exertions of Mr. Clarkson. His history of the progress of this great work of benevolence, until its completion under the ministry of the illustrious Charles Fox, will be perused by every man of sensibility with the highest delight, not unmixed with astonishment at the unwearied zeal which, notwithstanding obstacles apparently insurmountable, and the determined opposition of men possessing the highest rank in society and interest in the cabinet, ultimately succeeded in rescuing many millions of our fellow-creatures from the horrors of perpetual slavery. They who are apt to think lightly of public institutions, and academic exercises, will perhaps change their sentiments, when they learn that Mr. Clarkson's attention to this subject was first excited from the information he collected in order to compose a theme for the Bachelor's prize, in 1787, of which this was the subject 66 anne liceat invitos in servitutem dare?" Some manuscript papers of a friend, who had been concerned in the trade, and Anthony Benezet's Historical Account of Guinea, were consulted by him on this occasion, and, according to his own account, his mind was powerfully affected by the facts he thus became acquainted with.

Furnished in this manner, I began my work; but no person can tell the severe trial which the writing of it proved to me. I had expected pleasure from the invention of the arguments, from the arrangement of them, from the putting of them together, and from the thought in the interim that I was engaged in an innocent contest for literary honour. But all my pleasure was damped by the facts which were now continually before me. but one gloomy subject from morning till night. In the day-time I was uneasy in the night I had little rest: I sometimes never closed my eye-lids for grief. It became

It was

now not so much a trial for academical reputation, as for the production of a work which might be useful to injured Africa; and keeping this idea in my mind, even after the perusal of Benezet, I always slept with a candle in my room, that I might rise out of bed, and put down such thoughts as might occur to me in the night, if I judged them valuable, conceiving that no arguments of any moment should be lost in so great a cause. Having at length finished this painful task, I sent my essay to the vicechancellor, and soon afterwards found myself honoured, as before, with the first prize,

As it is usual to read these essays in the senate-house soon after the prize is adjudged, I was called to Cambridge for this purpose. I went and performed my office, On returning, however, to London, the subject of it almost wholly engrossed my thoughts. I became at times very seriously affected while upon the road. I stopped my horse occasionally, and dismounted and walked. I frequently tried to persuade myself, in these intervals, that the contents of my essay could not be true. The more, however, I reflected upon them, or rather upon the authorities on which they were founded, the more I gave them credit. Coming in sight of Wadesmill, in Hertfordshire, I sat down disconsolate on the turf, by the road-side, and held my horse. Here a thought came into my mind, that, if the contents of the essay were true, it was time some person should see these calamities to their end. Agitated in this manner, I reached home. This was in the summer of 1785.

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• In the course of the autumn of the same year, I experienced similar impressions. I walked frequently into the woods, that I might think on the subject in solitude, and find relief to my mind there. But there the question still recurred, Are these things true? Still the answer followed as instantaneously, They are.'-Still the result accompanied it, Then surely some person should interfere. I then began to envy those who had seats in parlament, and who had great riches, and widely-extended connexions, which would enable them to take up this cause. Finding scarcely any one at that time who thought of it, I was turned frequently to myself. But here many difficulties arose. It struck me, among others, that a young man of only twenty-four years of age could not have that solid judgment, that knowledge of men, manners, and things, which were requisite to qualify him to undertake a task of such magnitude and importance.➡

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