The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.II. Continued from the Reign of William and Mary to the Death of George II.

NOTES TO VOLUME II. NOTES TO VOLUME II. 237 ( return ) [ Note 2 K, p.237 Nothing was heard within doors in parliament, but sarcastic repartee and violent declamation between the two parties, who did not confine their altercation to these debates, but took the field against each other in periodical papers and occasional pamphlets. The paper called The Craftsman, had already risen into high reputation all over England, for the wit, humour, and solid reasoning it contained. Some of the best writers in the opposition, including lord Bolingbroke and Mr. P. made use of this vehicle to convey their animadversions upon the minister, who, on his side, employed the most wretched scribblers to defend his conduct. It was in consequence of two political pamphlets, written in opposition to each other, by “lord Hervey and Mr. P., and some recrimination they produced in the house of commons, that his lordship challenged the other to single combat, and had well nigh lost his life in the duel, which was fought in Hyde Park.] 260 ( return ) [ Note 2. L, p. 260. Captain Jenkins was master of a Scottish merchant-ship. He was boarded by the captain of a Spanish guardacosta, who treated him in the most barbarous manner. The Spaniards, after having rummaged his vessel for what they called contraband commodities, without finding anything to justify their search, insulted him with the most opprobrious invectives. They tore off one of his ears, bidding him carry it to his king, and tell him they would serve him in the same manner should an opportunity offer: they tortured him with the most shocking cruelty, and threatened him with immediate death. This man was examined at the bar of the house of commons, and being asked by a member, what he thought when he found himself in the hands of such barbarians? “I recommended my soul to God,” said he, “and my cause to my country.” The behaviour of this brave seaman, the sight of his ear, which was produced, with his account of the indignities which had been offered to the nation and sovereign of Great Britain, filled the whole house with indignation. Jenkins was afterwards employed in the service of the East India company; he approved himself worthy of his good fortune, in a long engagement with the pirate Angria, during which he behaved with extraordinary courage and conduct; and saved his own ship, with three others that were under his convoy.] 262 ( return ) [ Note 2 M, p. 262. Among the laws enacted in the course of this session was an act against gaming, which had become universal through all ranks of people, and likely to prove destructive to all morals, industry, and sentiment. Another bill passed, for granting a reward to Joanna Stevens, on her discovering, for the benefit of the public, a nostrum for the cure of persons afflicted with the stone—a medicine which has by no means answered the expectations of the legislature. In the house of lords, complaint was made by lord Delaware of a satire, entitled Manners, written by Mr. Whitehead, in which some characters of distinction were severely lashed in the true spirit of poetry. It was voted a libel: a motion was made to take the author into custody; but he having withdrawn himself, the resentment of the house fell upon E. Dodsley, the publisher of the work, who was committed to the usher of the black rod, though lord Carteret, the earl of Abingdon, and lord Talbot, spoke in his behalf.] 283 ( return ) [ Note 2 N, p.283. In May, a dreadful plague broke out at Messina in Sicily. It was imported in cotton and other commodities brought from the Morea; and swept off such a multitude of people, that the city was almost depopulated: all the galley slaves who were employed in burying the dead, perished by the contagion; and this was the fate of many priests and monks who administered to those who were infected. The dead bodies lay in heaps in the streets, corrupting the air, and adding fresh fuel to the rage of the pestilence. Numbers died miserably, for want of proper attendance and necessaries; and all was horror and desolation. At the beginning of winter it ceased, after having destroyed near fifty thousand inhabitants of Messina, and of the garrisons in the citadel and castle. It was prevented from spreading in Sicily by a strong barricado drawn from Melazzo to Taormina; but it was conveyed to Reggio in Calabria by the avarice of a broker of that place, who bought some goods at Messina. The king of Naples immediately ordered lines to be formed, together with a chain of troops, which cut off all communication between that place and the rest of the continent.] 301 ( return ) [ Note 2 O, p. 301. This nobleman, so remarkable for his courage and thirst of glory, exhibited a very extraordinary instance of presence of mind on the morning that preceded this battle. He and some volunteers, accompanied by his aidecamp, and attended by two orderly dragoons, the rode out before day to reconnoitre the situation of the enemy; and fell in with one of their advanced guards. The sergeant who commanded it immediately turned out his men, and their pieces were presented when the earl first perceived them. Without betraying the least mark of disorder, he rode up to the sergeant, and assuming the character of a French general, told him, in that language, that there was no occasion for such ceremony. Then he asked, if they had perceived any of the enemy’s parties; and being answered in the negative, “Very well,” said he, “be upon your guard; and if you should be attacked, I will take care that you shall be sustained.” So saying, he and his company retired, before the sergeant could recollect himself from the surprise occasioned by this unexpected address. In all probability he was sensible of his mistake; for the incident was that very day publicly mentioned in the French army. The prince of Tingray, an officer in the Austrian service, having been taken prisoner in the battle that ensued, dined with mares-chal count Saxe, who dismissed him on his parole, and desired he would charge himself with a facetious compliment to his old friend, the earl of Crawford. He wished his lordship joy of being a French general, and said he could not help being displeased with the sergeant, as he had not procured him the honour of his lordship’s company at dinner.] 310 ( return ) [ Note 2 P, p. 310. Such an expensive war could not be maintained without a very extraordinary exertion of a commercial spirit: accordingly we find that Great Britain, since the death of king William, has risen under our pressures with increased vigour and perseverance. Whether it be owing to the natural progression of trade extending itself from its origin to its acme , or ne plus ultra , or to the encouragement given by the administration to monied men of all denominations; or to necessity, impelling those who can no longer live on small incomes to risk their capitals in traffic, that they may have a chance for bettering their fortunes; or lastly, to a concurrence of all these causes; certain it is, the national exports and imports have been sensibly increasing for these forty years: the yearly medium of woollen exports, from the year 1738 to 1743 inclusive, amounted to about three millions and a half, which was a yearly increase, on the medium, of five hundred thousand pounds above the medium from 1718 to 1724. From this article, the reader will conceive the prodigious extent, and importance of the British commerce.] 321 ( return ) [ Note 2 Q, p. 321. The resolutions of the commons on this head were printed by authority in the London Gazette, signifying, that those who were, or should be, proprietors of any part of the public debt, redeemable by law, incurred before Michaelmas, in the year one thousand seven hundred and forty-nine, carrying an interest of four per centum per annum, who should, on or before the twenty-eighth day of February in that year, subscribe their names, signifying their consent to accept of an interest of three pounds per centum, to commence from the twenty-fifth day of December, in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-seven, subject to the same provisions, notices, and classes of redemption, to which their respective sums at four per centum were then liable, should, in lieu of their present interest, be entitled to four per centum till the twenty-fifth day of December, in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty; and after that day, to three pounds ten shillings per centum per annum, till the twenty-fifth day of December, one thousand seven hundred and fifty-seven; and no part of that debt, except what was due to the East India company, should be redeemable to this period. That if any part of the national debt, incurred before last Michaelmas, redeemable by law, and carrying an interest of four per centum, should remain unsubscribed on or before the thirtieth day of May, the government should pay off the principal. For this purpose Ins majesty was enabled to borrow of any person or persons, bodies politic or corporate, any sum or sums of money not exceeding that part of the national debt which might remain unsubscribed, to be charged on the sinking fund, upon any terms not exceeding the rate of interest in the foregoing proposal. All the duties appropriated to the payment of the interest were still continued, and the surplus of these incorporated with the sinking fund for the discharge of the principal. Books were opened for the subscription at the Exchequer, the Bank of England, and the South Sea house; and copies of these resolutions transmitted to the directors of all the monied corporations.] 322 ( return ) [ Note 2 R, p. 322. The most remarkable circumstance attending the progress of this bill, which made its way through both houses, and obtained the royal assent, was the number of contradictory petitions in favour and in prejudice of it, while it remained under consideration. The tanners of leather in and about the town of Sheffield in Yorkshire, represented, That if the bill should pass, the English iron would be undersold; consequently, a great number of furnaces and forges would be discontinued; in that case the woods used for fuel would stand uncut, and the tanners be deprived of oak bark sufficient for the continuance and support of their occupation. They nevertheless owned, that should the duty be removed from pig iron only, no such consequence could be apprehended; because, should the number of furnaces be lessened, that of forges would be increased. This was likewise the plea urged in divers remonstrances by masters of iron-works, gentlemen, and freeholders, who had tracts of wood-land in their possession. The owners, proprietors, and farmers of furnaces and iron forges, belonging to Sheffield and its neighbourhood, enlarged upon the great expense they had incurred in erecting and supporting iron-works, by means of which great numbers of his majesty’s subjects were comfortably supported. They expressed their apprehension, that should the bill pass into a law, it could not in any degree lessen the consumption of Swedish iron, which was used for purposes which neither the American nor British iron would answer; but that the proposed encouragement, considering the plenty and cheapness of wood in America, would enable the colonies to undersell the British iron, a branch of traffic which would be totally destroyed, to the ruin of many thousand labourers, who would be compelled to seek their livelihood in foreign countries. They likewise suggested, that if all the iron manufacturers of Great Britain should be obliged to depend upon a supply of iron from the plantations, which must ever be rendered precarious by the hazard of the seas and the enemy, the manufactures would probably decay for want of materials, and many thousand families be reduced to want and misery. On the other hand, the ironmongers and smiths belonging to the flourishing town of Birmingham in Warwickshire, presented a petition, declaring, That the bill would be of great benefit to the trade of the nation, as it would enable the colonists to make larger returns of their own produce, and encourage them to take a greater quantity of the British manufactures. They affirmed, that all the iron-works in the island of Great Britain did not supply half the quantity of that metal sufficient to carry on the manufacture; that if this deficiency could be supplied from the colonies in America, the importation would cease, and considerable sums of money be saved to the nation. They observed, that the importation of iron from America could no more affect the iron-works and freeholders of the kingdom, than the like quantity imported from any other country; but they prayed that the people of America might be restrained from erecting slitting or rolling-mills, or forges for plating iron, as they would interfere with the manufacturers of Great Britain. Many remonstrances to the same effect were presented from different parts of the kingdom, and it appeared, upon the most exact inquiry, that the encouragement of American iron would prove extremely beneficial to the kingdom, as it had been found, upon trial, applicable to all the uses of Swedish iron, and as good in every respect as the produce of that country.] 330 ( return ) [ Note 2 S, p. 330. One of the most remarkable acts which passed in the course of this session, was that for regulating the commencement of the year, and correcting the calendar, according to the Gregorian computation, which had been adopted by all other nations in Europe. By this new law it was decreed that the new year should begin on the 1st day of January, and that eleven intermediate nominal days, between the second and fourteenth days of September, 1752, should for that time be omitted; so that the day succeeding the second should be denominated the fourteenth of that month. By this establishment of the new style, the equinoxes and solstices will happen nearly on the same nominal days on which they fell in the year 325, at the council of Nice; and the correspondence between the English merchants and those of foreign countries will be greatly facilitated, with respect to the dates of letters and accounts.] 331 ( return ) [ Note 2 T, p. 330. An indulgent parent was poisoned by his only daughter, on whom, besides other marks of tenderness and paternal affection, he had bestowed a liberal education, which greatly aggravated her guilt and ingratitude. Another young woman was concerned in the assassination of her own uncle, who had been her constant benefactor and sole guardian. A poor old woman, having, from the ignorance and superstition of her neighbours, incurred the suspicion of sorcery and witchcraft, was murdered in Hertfordshire by the populace, with all the wantonness of barbarity. Rape and murder were perpetrated upon an unfortunate woman in the neighbourhood of London, and an innocent man suffered death for this complicated outrage, while the real criminals assisted at his execution, heard him appeal to heaven for his innocence, and, in the character of friends, embraced him, while he stood on the brink of eternity.] 348 ( return ) [ Note 2 U, p. 348. Several European nations had settlements at Surat, which was one of the most frequented cities of the East, from the great concourse of Mahometan pilgrims, who make it their road from India, in their visits to the tomb of their prophet at Mecca. In order to keep the seas clear of pirates between Surat and the gulf of Arabia and Persia, the mogul had been at the annual expense of a large ship, fitted out on purpose to carry the pilgrims to Judda, which is within a small distance of Mecca. For the security of this ship, as well as to protect the trade of Surat, he granted to his admiral, the fiddee , chief of a colony of caffrees, or blacks, a revenue called the tanka, to the value of three lacks of rupees, amounting to above thirty-seven thousand pounds, arising partly from the adjacent lands, and partly from the revenues of Surat, which were paid him yearly by the governor of the castle, who is appointed by the mogul to keep the city under proper subjection, without, however, interfering with the government of it.] 357 ( return ) [ Note 2 X, p. 357. The ministry having resolved to send a body of forces to America, to act in conjunction with the provincial troops raised on that continent, it became necessary that the mutiny act should be rendered more clear and extensive. When this bill, therefore, fell under consideration, it was improved with a new clause, providing, “That all officers and soldiers of any troops being mustered and in pay, which are or shall be raised in any of the British provinces in America, by authority of the respective governors or governments thereof, shall at all times, and in all places, when they happen to join or act in conjunction with his majesty’s British forces, be liable to martial law and discipline, in like manner, to all intents and purposes, as the British forces are; and shall be subject to the same trial, penalties, and punishment.”] 364 ( return ) [ Note 2 Y, p. 364. The king, on his side, promised to pay to the landgrave, for these succours, eighty crowns banco, by way of levy-money, for every trooper or dragoon duly armed and mounted, and thirty crowns banco for every foot soldier; the crown to be reckoned at fifty-three sols of Holland, or at four shillings and ninepence three farthings English money; and also to pay to his serene highness, for the eight thousand men, an annual subsidy of an hundred and fifty thousand crowns banco, during the four years, to commence from the day of signing the treaty; which subsidy was to be increased to three hundred thousand crowns yearly, from the time of requiring the troops, to the time of their entering into British pay; and in case of their being dismissed, the said subsidy of three hundred thousand crowns was then to revive and be continued during the residue of the term: but, if twelve thousand men were demanded and furnished, the subsidy was then to be increased in proportion; and in case the king of Great Britain should at any time think fit to send back these troops before the expiration of the treaty, notice thereof was to be given to his serene highness three months beforehand: one month’s pay was to be allowed them for their return, and they were to be furnished gratis with the necessary transport vessels.] 372 ( return ) [ Note 2 Z, p. 372. It is with pleasure we seize this opportunity of recording an instance of gallantry and patriotism in a British officer, which would have done honour to the character of a Roman tribune. Captain Cunningham, an accomplished young gentleman, who acted as engineer in second at Minorca, being preferred to a majority at home, and recalled to his regiment by an express order, had repaired with his family to Nice in Italy, where he waited for the opportunity of a ship bound for England, when he received certain intelligence that the French armament was destined for the place he had quitted. His lady, whom he tenderly loved, was just delivered, and two of his children were dangerously ill of the small-pox. He recollected that the chief engineer at Minorca was infirm, and indeed disabled by the gout, and that many things were wanting for the defence of the fortress. His zeal for the honour and service of his country immediately triumphed over the calls of tenderness and of nature. He expended a considerable sum of money in purchasing timber for the platforms, and other necessaries for the garrison; hired a ship for transporting them thither; and tearing himself from his wife and children, thus left among strangers in a foreign country, embarked again for Minorca, where he knew he should be in a peculiar manner exposed to all the dangers of a furious siege. In the course of this desperate service he acquitted himself with that vigilance, skill, and active courage, which he had on divers former occasions displayed, until the assault was given to the queen’s bastion; when, mixing with the enemy, sword in hand, he was disabled in his right arm by the shot of a musket and the thrust of a bayonet. His behaviour was so acceptable to his sovereign, that when he returned to England he was preferred to the rank of colonel in the Guards. He afterwards acted as chief engineer in the attempts and descents which were made on the French coast. Though grievously maimed, he accepted the same office in the expedition to Guadaloupe, where he died universally regretted.] 378 ( return ) [ Note 3 A, p. 378. When the French ambassador returned to London, he proposed that orders should be immediately despatched to the English governors in America, with express orders to desist from any new undertaking, and all acts of hostility; but with regard to the lands on the Ohio, to put, without delay, matters on the same footing in which they stood before the late war, that the respective claims of both nations might be amicably referred to the commissaries at Paris. The British court agreed to the cessation of hostilities, and the discussion of the disputes by the ministers of the two crowns, on condition that all the possessions in America should be previously put in the situation prescribed by the treaty of Utrecht, confirmed by that of Aix-la-Chapelle. The French ministry, instead of complying with this condition, produced an evasive draft of a preliminary convention, and this was answered by a counter-proposal. At length the ambassador of France demanded, as preliminary conditions, that Great Britain would renounce all claim to the south coast of the river St. Laurence, and the lakes that discharge themselves into that river; cede to the French twenty leagues of country lying along the river of Fundy, which discovers Acadia, or Nova Scotia; and all the land between the rivers Ohio and Ouabache. A memorial was afterwards presented on the same subject, including the affairs of the neutral islands in the West Indies; but this was amply refuted in another piece, in which the British ministry observed, that even at this very opening of the commission established in Paris, for terminating amicably the disputes in North America, the French invaded Nova Scotia, erected three forts in the heart of that province, and would have destroyed the English settlement at Halifax, had they not been prevented: that the like hostilities were committed upon his Britannic majesty’s subjects on the Ohio and Indian lakes, where the governors appointed by the French king, without any shadow of right, prohibited the English from trading; seized their traders by force, and sent them prisoners to France; invaded the territories of Virginia, attacked a fort that covered its frontier, and, to secure their usurpations, erected, with an armed force, a chain of forts on the lands which they had invaded; that his Britannic majesty had complained of these hostilities to the court of Versailles, but without effect; so that he found himself obliged to provide for the security of his subjects; and as the encroachments made by France were hostile, it could never be unlawful, or irreconcile-able with the assurance of his majesty’s peaceable disposition, to repel an aggressor; and that the same motive of self-defence had forced him to seize the French ships and sailors, in order to deprive that court of the means of making an invasion, with which their ministers in all the courts of Europe had menaced England.] 379 ( return ) [ Note 3B, p. 379. To Lieut. Gen. Fowke, or, in his absence, to the Commander-in-Chief in his Majesty’s garrison of Gibraltar. War-office, March 21, 1756. “Sir,—I am commanded to acquaint you, that it is his majesty’s pleasure that you receive into your garrison lord Robert Bertie’s regiment to do duty there; and in case you should apprehend that the French intend to make any attempt upon his majesty’s island of Minorca, it is his majesty’s pleasure that you make a detachment out of the troops of your garrison equal to a battalion, to be commanded by a lieutenant-colonel and major; such lieutenant-colonel and major to be the eldest in your garrison, to be put on board the fleet for the relief of Minorca, as the admiral shall think expedient, who is to carry them to the said island. I am, your humble servant, B.” To Lieut. Gen. Fowke, or, in his absence, to the Commander-in-Chief at Gibraltar. War-office, March 26,1756. “Sir,—I am commanded to acquaint you, that it is his majesty’s pleasure, in case the island of Minorca should be in any likelihood of being attacked, that you make a detachment from the troops in your garrison equal to a battalion, commanded by a lieutenant-colonel and major, for the relief of that place, to be put on board the fleet, at the disposition of the admiral: such lieutenant-colonel and major to be the eldest in your garrison.” To Lieut. Gen. Fowke, or, in his absence, to the Commander-in-chief in his Majesty’s garrison of Gibraltar. War-office, April 1, 1756. “Sir,—It is his majesty’s pleasure, that you receive into your garrrison the women and children belonging to lord Robert Bertie’s regiment.” To Lieut. Gen. Fowke, or the Commander-in-Chief at Gibraltar. War-office, May 12, 1756. “Sir,—I wrote to you by general Steward: if that order is not complied with, then you are now to make a detachment of seven hundred men out of your own regiment and Guise’s; and also another detachment out of Pulteney’s and Panmure’s regiments, and send them on board the fleet for the relief of Mahon. But if that order has been complied with, then you are to make only one detachment of seven hundred men, to be commanded by another lieutenant-colonel and major, and to send it to Mahon; and you are also to detain all such empty vessels as shall come into your harbour, and keep them in readiness for any further transportation of troops. I have also his royal highness the duke of Cumberland’s commands, to desire that you will keep your garrison as alert as possible during this critical time, and give such other assistance as may be in your power for the relief of Minorca; taking care, however, not to fatigue or endanger your own garrison.”] 387 ( return ) [ Note 3 C, p. 387. His majesty seems to have abated of this respect in the sequel, if we may believe the assertions of his Polish majesty’s queen and the court of Vienna, who affirmed, that sentinels were posted within the palace where the queen and royal family resided; as also at the door of the secret cabinet, where the papers relating to foreign transactions were deposited. The keys of this cabinet were seized, and all the writings demanded. The whole Saxon ministry were discharged from their respective employments, and a new commission was established by the king of Prussia for the administration of affairs in general. When the queen entreated this prince to remove the sentinels posted within the palace and contiguous passages, agreeably to his assurances that all due respect should be observed towards the royal family, the king ordered the guards to be doubled, and sent an officer to demand of her majesty the keys of the secret cabinet. The queen obtained this officer’s consent that the doors should be sealed up, but afterwards he returned with orders to break them open: then her majesty, placing herself before the door, said, she trusted so much to the promise of the king of Prussia, that she could not believe he had given such orders. The officer declaring that his orders were positive, and that he durst not disobey them, she continued in the same place, declaring, that if violence was to be used, he must begin with her. The officer returning to acquaint the king with what had passed, her majesty conjured the ministers of Prussia and England to remind his majesty of his promise; but her representations had no effect: the officer returned with fresh orders to use force, in spite of the opposition she might make against it in person. The queen, finding herself in danger of her life, at length withdrew: the doors were forced, the chests broke open, and all the papers seized.] 388 ( return ) [ Note 3 D, p. 388. The letter was to the following effect:—“Veldt-Mareschal Count Rutowski, It is not without extreme sorrow I understand the deplorable situation, which a chain of misfortunes has reserved for you, the rest of my generals, and my whole army; but we must acquiesce in the dispensations of Providence, and console ourselves with the rectitude of our sentiments and intentions. They would force me, it seems, as you gave me to understand by major-general the baron de Dyherrn, to submit to conditions the more severe, in proportion as the circumstances become more necessitous. I cannot hear them mentioned. I am a free monarch: such I will live; such I will die; and I will both live and die with honour. The fate of my army I leave wholly to your discretion. Let your council of war determine whether you must surrender prisoners of war, fall by the sword, or die by famine. May your resolutions, if possible, be conducted by humanity: whatever they may be, I have no longer any share in them; and I declare you shall not be answerable for aught but one thing, namely, not to carry arms against me or my allies. I pray God may have you, Mr. Mareschal, in his holy keeping.—Given at Koningstein, the 14th of October, 1756. “AUGUSTUS, Kex.” “To the Veldt-Mareschal the Count Rutowski.” 392 ( return ) [ Note 3 E, p. 392. Rear-admiral Knowles being, in the month of December, one thousand seven hundred and forty-nine, tried at Deptford, before a court-martial, for his behaviour in and relating to an action which happened on the first day of October in the preceding year, between a British squadron under his command, and a squadron of Spain, the court was unanimously of opinion, that the said Knowles, while he was standing for the enemy, might, by a different disposition of his squadron, have begun the attack with six ships as early in the day as four of them were engaged; and that, therefore, by his neglecting so to do, he gave the enemy a manifest advantage; that the said Knowles remained on board the ship Cornwall with his flag, after she was disabled from continuing the action, though he might, upon her being disabled, have shifted his flag on board another ship; and the court were unanimously of opinion he ought to have done so, in order to have conducted and directed, during the whole action, the motions of the squadron intrusted to his care and conduct. Upon consideration of the whole conduct of the said Knowles, relating to that action, the court did unanimously agree that he fell under part of the fourteenth article of the articles of war, namely, the word negligence, and no other; and also under the twenty-third article.—The court, therefore, unanimously adjudged, that he should be reprimanded for not bringing up the squadron in closer order than he did, and not beginning the attack with as great force as he might have done; and also for not shifting his flag, upon the Cornwall’s being disabled.] 395 ( return ) [ Note 3 F, p. 395. It was enacted, that persons pawning, exchanging, or disposing of goods, without leave of the owner, should suffer in the penalty of twenty shillings; and, on non-payment, be committed for fourteen days to hard labour; afterwards, if the money could not be then paid, to be whipped publicly in the house of correction, or such other place as the justice of the peace should appoint, on publication of the prosecutor; that every pawnbroker should make entry of the person’s name and place of abode who pledges any goods with him; and the pledger, if he require it, should have a duplicate of that entry; that a pawnbroker receiving linen or apparel intrusted to others to be washed or mended, should forfeit double the sum lent upon it, and restore the goods; that upon oath of any person whose goods are unlawfully pawned or exchanged, the justice should issue a warrant to search the suspected person’s house; and upon refusal of admittance the officer might break open the door; that goods pawned for any sum not exceeding ten pounds might be recovered within two years, the owner making oath of the pawning, and tendering the principal, interest, and charges; that goods remaining unredeemed for two years should be forfeited and sold, the overplus to be accounted for to the owner on demand.] 396 ( return ) [ Note 3 G, p. 395. It likewise imported, that all contracts or agreements made between clothiers and weavers in respect to wages, should, from and after the first of May, in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-seven, be valid, notwithstanding any rate established, or to be established; but that these contracts or agreements should extend only to the actual prices or rates of workmanship or wages, and not to the payment thereof in any other manner than in money; and that if any clothier should refuse or neglect to pay the weaver the wages or price agreed on, in money, within two days after the work should be performed and delivered, the same being demanded, he should forfeit forty shillings for every such offence.] 401 ( return ) [ Note 3 H, p. 401. Admiral F..... s’s reasons for not signing the warrant for admiral Byng’s execution. “It may be thought great presumption in me to differ from so great authority as that of the twelve judges; but when a man is called upon to sign his name to an act which is to give authority to the shedding of blood, he ought to be guided by his own conscience, and not by the opinions of other men. “In the case before us, it is not the merit of admiral Byng that I consider; whether he deserves death or not, is not a question for me to decide; but whether or not his life can be taken away by the sentence pronounced on him by the court-martial, and after having so clearly explained their motives for pronouncing such a sentence, is the point which alone has employed my serious consideration. “The twelfth article of war, on which admiral Byng’s sentence is grounded, says (according to my understanding of its meaning), ‘That every person, who, in time of action, shall withdraw, keep back, or not come into fight, or do his utmost, &c. through motives of cowardice, negligence, or disaffection, shall suffer death.’ The court-martial does, in express words, acquit admiral Byng of cowardice and disaffection, and does not name the word negligence. Admiral Byng does not, as I conceive, fall under the letter or description of the twelfth article of war. It may be said that negligence is implied, though the word is not mentioned, otherwise the court-martial would not have brought his offence under the twelfth article, having acquitted him of cowardice and disaffection. But it must be acknowledged that the negligence implied cannot be wilful negligence; for wilful negligence in admiral Byng’s situation, must have proceeded either from cowardice or disaffection, and he is expressly acquitted of both these crimes; besides, these crimes, which are implied only and not named, may indeed justify suspicion and private opinion, but cannot satisfy the conscience in case of blood. “Admiral Byng’s fate was referred to a court-martial, his life and death were left to their opinions. The court-martial condemn him to death, because, as they expressly say, they were under a necessity of doing so by reason of the letter of the law, the severity of which they complained of, because it admits of no mitigation. The court-martial expressly say, that for the sake of their consciences, as well as in justice to the prisoner, they most earnestly recommend him to his majesty for mercy; it is evident, then, that in the opinions and consciences of the judges he was not deserving of death. “The question then is, shall the opinions or necessities of the court-martial determine admiral Byng’s fate? If it should be the latter, he will be executed contrary to the intentions and meaning of his judges; if the former, his life is not forfeited. His judges declare him not deserving of death; but, mistaking either the meaning of the law, or the nature of his offence, they bring him under an article of war, which, according to their own description of his offence, he does not, I conceive, fall under; and then they condemn him to death, because, as they say, the law admits of no mitigation. Can a man’s life be taken away by such a sentence? I would not willingly be misunderstood, and have it believed that I judge admiral Byng’s deserts; that was the business of a court-martial, and it is my duty only to act according to my conscience; which, after deliberate consideration, assisted by the best light a poor understanding can afford it, remains still in doubt, and therefore I cannot consent to sign a warrant whereby the sentence of the court-martial may be carried into execution; for I cannot help thinking, that however criminal admiral Byng may be, his life is not forfeited by that sentence. I do not mean to find fault with other men’s opinions; all I endeavour at is, to give reasons for my own; and all I desire or wish is, that I may not be misunderstood; I do not pretend to judge admiral Byng’s deserts, nor to give any opinion on the propriety of the act. “Signed, 6th Feb. 1757, at the Admiralty, ” J. F..... S.”] 419 ( return ) [ Note 3 I, p. 419. “The Imperial grenadiers (says he) are an admirable corps; one hundred companies defended a rising ground, which my best infantry could not carry. Ferdinand, who commanded them, returned seven times to the charge; but to no purpose. At first he mastered a battery, but could not hold it. The enemy had the advantage of a numerous and well-served artillery. It did honour to Lichtenstein, who had the direction. Only the Prussian army can dispute it with him. My infantry were too few. All my cavalry were present, and idle spectators, excepting a bold push by my household troops, and some dragoons. Ferdinand attacked without powder; the enemy, in return, were not sparing of theirs. They had the advantage of a rising ground, of intrenchments, and of a prodigious artillery. Several of my regiments were repulsed by their musketry. Henry performed wonders. I tremble for my worthy brothers; they are too brave. Fortune turned her back on me this day. I ought to have expected it; she is a female, and I am no gallant. In fact, I ought to have had more infantry. Success, my dear lord, often occasions destructive confidence. Twenty-four battalions were not sufficient to dislodge sixty thousand men from an advantageous post. Another time we will do better. What say you of this league, which has only the marquis of Brandenburgh for its object? The great elector would be surprised to see his grandson at war with the Russians, the Austrians, almost all Germany, and an hundred thousand French auxiliaries. I know not whether it would be disgrace in me to submit, but I am sure there will be no glory in vanquishing me.”] 422 ( return ) [ Note 3 K, p. 422. This remarkable capitulation, which we shall give here at full length, on account of the disputes that rose shortly after, concerning what the French called an infraction of it, was to the following effect:— His majesty, the king of Denmark—touched with the distresses of the countries of Bremen and Verden, to which he has always granted his special protection; and being desirous, by preventing those countries from being any longer the theatre of war, to spare also the effusion of blood in the armies which are ready to dispute the possession thereof—hath employed his mediation by the ministry of the count de Lynar. His royal highness the duke of Cumberland, general of the army of the allies, on the one part, and his excellency the mareschal duke de Richelieu, general of the king of France’s forces in Germany, on the other, have, in consideration of the intervention of his Danish majesty, respectively engaged their word of honour to the count de Lynar, to abide by the convention hereafter stipulated; and he, the count de Lynar, correspondently to the magnanimity of the king his master’s intention, obliges himself to procure the guarantee mentioned in the present convention; so that it shall be sent to him, with his full powers, which there was no time to make out in the circumstances which hurried his departure. Article I. Hostilities shall cease on both sides within twenty-four hours, or sooner, if possible. Orders for this purpose shall be immediately sent to the detached corps. II. The auxiliary troops of the army of the duke of Cumberland, namely, those of Hesse, Brunswick, Saxe-Gotha, and even those of the count de la Lippe Bucke-bourg, shall be sent home; and as it is necessary to settle particularly their march to their respective countries, a general officer of each nation shall be sent from the army of the allies, with whom shall be settled the route of those troops, the divisions they shall march in, their subsistence on their march, and their passports to be granted them by his excellency the duke de Richelieu to go to their own countries, where they shall be placed and distributed as shall be agreed upon between the court of France and their respective sovereigns. III. His royal highness the duke of Cumberland obliges himself to pass the Elbe, with such part of his army as he shall not be able to place in the city of Stade; that the part of his forces which shall enter into garrison in the said city, and which it is supposed may amount to between four and six thousand men, shall remain there under the guarantee of his majesty the king of Denmark, without committing any act of hostility; nor, on the other hand, shall they be exposed to any of the French troops. In consequence thereof, commissaries, named on each side, shall agree upon the limits to be fixed round that place, for the convenieucy of the garrison; which limits shall not extend beyond half a league or a league from the place, according to the nature of the ground or circumstances, which shall be fairly settled by the commissaries. The rest of the Hanoverian army shall go and take quarters in the country beyond the Elbe; and, to facilitate the march of those troops, his excellency the duke de Richelieu shall concert with a general officer, sent from the Hanoverian army, the route they shall take; obliging himself to give the necessary passports and security for the free passage of them and their baggage, to the places of their destination; his royal highness the duke of Cumberland reserving to himself the liberty of negotiating between the two courts for an extension of those quarters. As to the French troops, they shall remain in the rest of the duchies of Bremen and Verden, till the definitive reconciliation of the two sovereigns. IV.. As the aforesaid articles are to be executed as soon as possible, the Hanoverian army, and the corps which are detached from it, particularly that which is at Buck Schantz and the neighbourhood, shall retire under Stade in the space of eight-and-forty hours. The French army shall not pass the river Oste, in the duchy of Bremen, till the limits be regulated. It shall, besides, keep all the posts and countries of which it is in possession; and, not to retard the regulation of the limits between the armies, commissaries shall be nominated and sent on the 10th instant to Bremen-worden by his royal highness the duke of Cumberland, and his excellency the mareschal duke de Richelieu, to regulate, as well the limits to be assigned to the French army, as those that are to be observed by the garrison at Stade, according to Art. III. V. All the aforesaid articles shall be faithfully executed, according to their form and tenor, and under the faith of his majesty the king of Denmark’s guarantee, which the count de Lynar, his minister, engages to procure. Done at the camp at Closter-Seven, 8th Sept. 1757. (Signed) WILLIAM. SEPARATE ARTICLES. Upon the representation made by the count de Lynar, with a view to explain some dispositions made by the present convention, the following articles have been added:— I. It is the intention of his excellency the mareschal duke de Richelieu, that the allied troops of his royal highness the duke of Cumberland shall be sent back to their respective countries, according to the form mentioned in the second article; and that, as to their separation and distribution in the country, it shall be regulated between the courts, those troops not being considered as prisoners of war. II. It having been represented that the country of Lunenberg cannot accommodate more than fifteen battalions and six squadrons, and that the city of Stade cannot absolutely contain the garrison of six thousand men allotted to it, his excellency the mareschal duke de Richelieu, being pressed by M. de Lynar, who supported this representation by the guarantee of his Danish majesty, gives his consent; and his royal highness the duke of Cumberland engages to cause fifteen battalions and six squadrons to pass the Elbe, and the whole body of hunters, and the remaining ten battalions and twenty-eight squadrons shall be placed in the town of Stade, and the places nearest to it that are within the line, which shall be marked by posts from the mouth of the Liche in the Elbe, to the mouth of the Elmerbeck in the river Oste; provided always, that the said ten battalions and twenty-eight squadrons shall be quartered there as they are at the time of signing this convention, and shall not be recruited under any pretext, or augmented in any case; and this clause is particularly guaranteed by the count de Lynar in the name of his Danish majesty. III. Upon the representation of his royal highness the duke of Cumberland, that the army and the detached corps cannot both retire under Stade in eight-and-forty hours, agreeable to the convention, his excellency the mareschal duke de Richelieu hath signified, that he will grant them proper time, provided the corps encamped at Buck Schantz, as well as the army encamped at Bremen-worden, begin their inarch to retire in four-and-twenty hours after signing the convention. The time necessary for other arrangements, and the execution of the articles concerning the respective limits, shall be settled between lieutenant-general Sporcken, and the marquis de Villemar, first lieutenant-general of the king’s army. Done, &c] 433 ( return ) [ Note 3 L, p. 433. The letter, which was written in French, we have translated for the reader’s satisfaction:—“I am informed that the design of a treaty of neutrality for the electorate of Hanover is not yet laid aside. Is it possible that your majesty can have so little fortitude and constancy, as to be dispirited by a small reverse of fortune? Are affairs so ruinous that they cannot be repaired? I hope your majesty will consider the step you have made me hazard, and remember that you are the sole cause of these misfortunes that now impend over my head. I should never have abandoned the alliance of France, but for your flattering assurances. I do not now repent of the treaty I have concluded with your majesty: but I expect you will not ingloriously leave me at the mercy of my enemies, after having brought upon me all the force of Europe. I depend upon your adhering to your repeated engagements of the twenty-sixth of last month, and that you will listen to no treaty in which I am not comprehended.”] 438 ( return ) [ Note 3 M, p. 438. It was enacted, That every person subscribing for five hundred pounds, should be entitled to four hundred and fifty in annuities, and fifty pounds in lottery tickets, and so in proportion for a greater or lesser sum; that the lottery should consist of tickets of the value of ten pounds each, in a proportion not exceeding eight blanks to a prize; the blanks to be of the value of six pounds each; the blanks and prizes to bear an interest after the rate of three pounds per cent., to commence from the first day of January, in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-nine; and that the sum of four millions five hundred thousand pounds, to be raised by annuities, should bear an interest after the rate of three pounds ten shillings percent, from the fifth day of July in the present year; which annuities should stand reduced to three pounds per cent, after the expiration of twenty-four years, and afterwards he redeemable in the whole, or in part, by sums not less than five hundred thousand pounds, at one time: six months’ notice having been first given of such payments respectively; that any subscriber might, on or before the twenty-ninth day of April, make a deposit of ten pounds per cent, on such sums as he should choose to subscribe towards raising these five millions, with the cashiers of the bank, as a security for his future payments on the days appointed for that purpose; that the several sums so received by the cashiers should be paid into the receipt of the exchequer, to be applied from time to time to such services as should then have been voted by the house of commons in this session of parliament, and not otherwise; that any subscriber, paying the whole or any part of his subscription previous to the days appointed for the respective payments, should be allowed a discount at the rate of three per cent, from the days of such respective payments to the respective times on which such payments were directed to be made, and that all persons who should make their full payments on the said lottery, should receive their tickets as soon as they could be conveniently made out.] 440 ( return ) [ Note 3 N, p. 440. Among those rendered perpetual, we find an act of the 13th and 14th of Charles II. for preventing theft and rapine. An act of the 9th of George I. for punishing persons going armed in disguise. A clause in the act of the 6th of George II. to prevent the breaking down the bank of any river; and another clause in the said act, to prevent the treacherous cutting of hop-binds. Several clauses in an act of the 10th of George II. for punishing persons setting on fire any mine, &c. The temporary part of the act of the 20th of George II. for taking away the hereditary jurisdictions of Scotland, relating to the power of appealing to circuit courts. Those continued were,—1. An act of the 12th of George II. for granting liberty to carry sugar, &c, until the twenty-ninth of September, in the year one thousand seven hundred and sixty-four, and to the end of next session of parliament. 2. An act of the 5th of George II. to prevent frauds by bankrupts, &c., for the same period. 3. An act of the 8th of George II. for encouraging the importation of naval stores, &c, for the same period. 4. An act of the 19th of George II. for preventing frauds in the admeasurement of coals, &c. until June 24, 1759; and to this was added a perpetual clause for preventing the stealing or destroying of madder roots. 5. An act of the 9th George II. for encouraging the manufacture of British sail-cloth until the twenty-ninth of September, one thousand seven hundred and sixty-four. 6. An act of the 4th of George II. for granting an allowance upon British-made gunpowder, for the same period. 7, An act of the 4th of George II. for encouraging the trade of the sugar colonies, until the twenty-ninth of September, one thousand seven hundred and sixty-one. And 8, so much of the act of the 15th and 16th of George II. to empower the importers of rum, &c, as relates to landing it before the payment of duties, until the 29th of September, one thousand seven hundred and sixty-four.] 461 ( return ) [ Note 3 O, p. 461. Translation of the Letter written by the Duke of Brunswick to his brother Prince Ferdinand. “Sir,—I know you too well to doubt that the situation in which we stand at present, with respect to each other, gives you abundance of uneasiness; nor will you doubt that it gives me equal concern. Indeed, it afflicts me greatly. Meanwhile I could never, my dearest brother, have believed that you would be the person who should carry away from me my eldest son. I am exceedingly mortified to find myself under the hard necessity of telling you that this step is contrary to the law of nations, and the constitution of the empire; and that, if you persist in it, you will disgrace your family, and bring a stain upon your country, which you pretend to serve. The hereditary prince, my son, was at Hamburgh by my order, and you have carried him to Stade. Could he distrust his uncle,—an uncle who hath done so much honour to his family? Could he believe that this uncle would deprive him of liberty, a liberty never refused to the lowest officer? I ordered him to make a tour to Holland: could not the lowest officer have done as much? Let us suppose for a moment that my troops, among whom he served, were to have staid with the Hanoverians, would it not have been still in my power to give an officer leave of absence, or even leave to resign his commission? And would you hinder your brother, the head of your family, and of such a family as ours, to exercise this right with regard to a son, who is the hereditary prince, of whose rights and prerogatives you cannot be ignorant? It is impossible you could have conceived such designs, without the suggestion of others. Those who did suggest them have trampled on the rights of nature, of nations, and of the princes of Germany; they have induced you to add to all these the most cruel insult on a brother whom you love, and who always loved you with the warmest affection. Would you have your brother lay his just complaints against you before the whole empire, and all Europe? Are not your proceedings without example? What is Germany become? What are its princes become, and our house in particular? Is it the interest of the two kings, the cause of your country, and my cause that you pretend to support?—I repeat it, brother, that this design could not have been framed by you. I again command my son to pursue his journey and I cannot conceive you will give the least obstruction; if you should (which I pray God avert), I solemnly declare that I will not be constrained by such measures, nor shall I ever forget what I owe to myself. As to my troops, you may see what I have written on that head to the Hanoverian ministry. The duke of Cumberland, by the convention of Closter-Seven, dismissed them, and sent them home; the said ministry gave me notice of this convention, as a treaty by which I was bound. The march of the troops was settled; and an incident happening, they halted: that obstacle being removed, they were to have continued their march. The court of Hanover will be no longer bound by the convention, while I not only accepted it upon their word, but have also, in conformity with their instructions, negotiated at Versailles, and at Vienna. After all these steps, they would have me contradict myself, break my word, and entirely ruin my estate, as well as my honour. Did you ever know your brother guilty of such things? True it is, I have, as you say, sacrificed my all; or rather, I have been sacrificed. The only thing left me is my honour; and in the unhappy contrast of our situations, I lament both you and myself, that it should be from you, my dear brother, I should receive the cruel advice to give up my honour. I cannot listen to it: I cannot recede from my promise. My troops, therefore, must return home, agreeably to what the duke of Cumberland and the Hanoverian ministry stipulated with regard to me in the strongest manner. I am afraid that the true circumstances of things are concealed from you. Not to detain your express too long, I shall send you, by the post, copies of all I have written to the Hanoverian ministry. It will grieve your honest heart to read it. I am, with a heart almost broken, yet full of tenderness for you, your, &c. “Blanckenbourg, Nov. 27,1757.”] 467 ( return ) [ Note 3 P, p. 467. A detail of the cruelties committed by those barbarians cannot be read without horror. They not only burned a great number of villages, but they ravished, rifled, murdered, and mutilated the inhabitants, without distinction of age or sex, without any other provocation or incitement than brutal lust and wantonness of barbarity. They even violated the sepulchres of the dead, which have been held sacred among the most savage nations. At Camin and Breckholtz they forced open the graves and sepulchral vaults, and stripped the bodies of generals Schlaberndorf and Ruitz, which had been deposited there. But the collected force of their vengeance was discharged against Custrin, the capital of the New Marche of Brandenburgh, situated at the conflux of the Warta and the Oder, about fifteen English miles from Franckfort. The particulars of the disaster that befel this city, are particularly related in the following extracts from a letter written by an inhabitant and eye-witness. “On the thirteenth of August, about three o’clock in the afternoon, a sudden report was spread that a body of Russian hussars and cossacks appeared in sight of the little suburb. All the people were immediately in motion, and the whole city was filled with terror, especially as we were certainly informed that the whole Russian army was advancing from Meseric and Konigswalda, by the way of Landsberg. A reinforcement was immediately sent to our piquet-guard, in the suburb, amounting, by this junction, to three hundred men, who were soon attacked by the enemy, and the skirmish lasted from four till seven o’clock in the evening. During this dispute, we could plainly perceive, from our ramparts and church-steeple, several persons of distinction mounted on English horses, reconnoitring our fortification through perspective glasses. They retired, however, when our cannon began to fire: then our piquet took possession of their former post in the suburb; and the reinforcement we had sent from the city returned, after having broken down the bridge over the Oder. Next day count Dohna, who commanded the army near Franckfort, sent in a reinforcement of four battalions, ten squadrons, and a small body of hussars, under the command of lieutenant-general Scherlemmer. The hussars and a body of dragoons were added to the piquet of the little suburb; the four battalions pitched their tents on the Anger, between the suburbs and the fortification; and the rest of the dragoons remained in the field to cover the long suburb. General Scherlemmer, attended by our governor, colonel Schuck, went with a small party to observe the enemy; but were obliged to retire, and were pursued by the cossacks to the walls of the city. Between four and five o’clock next morning the poor inhabitants were roused from their sleep by the noise of the cannon, intermingled with the dismal shrieks and hideous yellings of the cossacks belonging to the Russian army. Alarmed at this horrid noise, I ascended the church-steeple, from whence I beheld the whole plain, extending from the little suburb to the forest, covered with the enemy’s troops, and our light horse, supported by the infantry, engaged in different places with their irregulars. At eight I descried a body of the enemy’s infantry, whose van consisted of four or five thousand men, advancing towards the vineyard, in the neighbourhood of which they had raised occasional batteries in the preceding-evening; from these they now played on our piquet-guard and hussars, who were obliged to retire. They then fired, en ricochet , on the tents and baggage of the four battalions encamped on the Anger, who were also compelled to retreat. Having thus cleared the environs, they threw into the city such a number of bombs and red-hot bullets, that by nine in the morning it was set on fire in three different places; and, the streets being-narrow, it burned with such fury that all our endeavours to extinguish it proved ineffectual. At this time the whole atmosphere appeared like a shower of fiery rain and hail; and the miserable inhabitants thought of nothing but saving their lives by running into the open fields. The whole place was filled with terror and consternation, and resounded with the shrieks of women and children, who ran about in the utmost distraction, exposed to the shot and bomb-shells, which, bursting, tore in pieces every thing that stood in their way. As I led my wife, with a young child in her arms, and drove the rest of my children and servants half naked before me, those instruments of death and devastation fell about us like hail; but, by the mercy of God, we all escaped unhurt. Nothing could be more melancholy and affecting than a sight of the wretched people flying in crowds, and leaving their all behind, while they rent the sky with their lamentations. Many women of distinction I saw without shoes and stockings, and almost without clothes, who had been roused from their beds, and ran out naked into the streets. When my family had reached the open plain, I endeavoured to return, and save some of my effects; but I could not force my way through a multitude of people, thronging out at the gate, some sick and bed-ridden persons being carried on horseback and in carriages, and others conveyed on the backs of their friends, through a most dreadful scene of horror and desolation. A great number of families from the open country, and the defenceless towns in Prussia and Pomerania, had come hither for shelter with their most valuable effects, when the Russians first entered the king’s territories. These, as well as the inhabitants, are all ruined; and many, who a few days ago possessed considerable wealth, are now reduced to the utmost indigence. The neighbouring-towns and villages were soon crowded with the people of Custrin; the roads were filled with objects of misery; and nothing was seen but nakedness and despair; nothing heard but the cries of hunger, fear, and distraction. For my own part, I stayed all night at Goitz, and then proceeded for Berlin. Custrin is now a heap of ruins. The great magazine, the governor’s house, the church, the palace, the store and artillery-houses; in a word, the old and new towns, the suburbs, and all the bridges, were reduced to ashes; nay, after the ashes were destroyed, the piles and sterlings were burned to the water’s edge. The writings of all the colleges, together with the archives of the country, were totally consumed, together with a prodigious magazine of corn and flour, valued at four millions of crowns. The cannon in the arsenal were all melted; and the loaded bombs and cartridges, with a large quantity of gunpowder, went off at once with a most horrid explosion. A great number of the inhabitants are missing, supposed to have perished in the flames, or under the ruins of the houses, or to have been suffocated in the subterraneous vaults and caverns, to which they had fled for safety. Nothing could be more inhuman, or contrary to the practice of a generous enemy, than such vengeance wreaked upon the innocent inhabitants; for the Russians did not begin to batter the fortifications until all the rest of the place was destroyed. In the course of this campaign, the Russian cossacks are said to have plundered and burned fourteen large towns and two hundred villages, and wantonly butchered above two thousand defenceless women and children. Such monsters of barbarity ought to be excluded from all the privileges of human nature, and hunted down as wild beasts without pity or cessation. What infamy ought these powers to incur, who employ and encourage such ruthless barbarians?] 468 ( return ) [ Note 3 Q, p. 468. As very little notice was taken, in the detail published by authority, of any part which this great man acted in the battle of Hochkirchen, and a report was industriously circulated in this kingdom, that he was surprised in his tent, naked, and half asleep,—we think it the duty of a candid historian to vindicate his memory and reputation from the foul aspersion thrown by the perfidious and illiberal hand of envious malice, or else contrived to screen some other character from the imputation of misconduct. The task we are enabled to perform by a gentleman of candour and undoubted credit, who learned the following particulars at Berlin from a person that was eye-witness of the whole transaction. Field-mareschal Keith, who arrived in the camp the very day that preceded the battle, disapproved of the situation of the Prussian army, and remonstrated to the king on that subject. In consequence of his advice, a certain general was sent with a detachment to take possession of the heights that commanded the village of Hochkirchcn; but by some fatality he miscarried. Mareschal Keith was not in any tent, but lodged with prince Francis of Brunswick, in a house belonging to a Saxon major. When the first alarm was given in the night, he instantly mounted his horse, assembled a body of the nearest troops, and marched directly to the place that was attacked. The Austrians had taken possession of the hill which the Prussian officer was sent to occupy, and this they fortified with cannon; then they made themselves masters of the village in which the free companies of Auginelli had been posted. Mareschal Keith immediately conceived the design of the Austrian general, and knowing the importance of this place, thither directed all his efforts. He in person led on the troops to the attack of the village, from whence he drove the enemy; but being overpowered by numbers continually pouring down from the hills, he was obliged to retire in his turn. He rallied his men, returned to the charge, and regained possession of the place; being again repulsed by fresh reinforcements of the enemy, he made another effort, entered the village a third time, and finding it untenable, ordered it to be set on fire. Thus he kept the Austrians at bay, and maintained a desperate conflict against the flower of the Austrian army, from four in the morning till nine, when the Prussians were formed, and began to file off in their retreat. During the whole dispute he rallied the troops in person, charged at their head, and exposed his life in the hottest of a dreadful fire, like a private captain of grenadiers. He found it necessary to exert himself in this manner, the better to remove the bad effects of the confusion that prevailed, and in order to inspirit the troops to their utmost exertion by his voice, presence, and example. Even when dangerously wounded, at eight in the morning, he refused to quit the field; but continued to signalize himself in the midst of the carnage until nine, when he received a second shot in his breast, and fell speechless into the arms of Mr. Tibay, an English volunteer, who had attended him during the whole campaign. This gentleman, who was likewise wounded, applied to a Prussian officer for a file of men to remove the mareschal, being uncertain whether he was entirely deprived of life. His request was granted; but the soldiers, in advancing to the spot, were countermanded by another officer. He afterwards spoke on the same subject to one of the Prussian generals, a German prince, as he chanced to pass on horseback: when Mr. Tibay told him the field-mareschal was lying wounded on the field, he asked if his wounds were mortal; and the other answering he was afraid they were, the prince shrugged up his shoulders, and rode off without further question. The body of this great officer, being thus shamefully abandoned, was soon stripped by the Austrian stragglers, and lay exposed and undistinguished on the field of battle. In this situation it was perceived by count Lasci, son of the general of that name, with whom mareschal Keith had served in Russia. This young count had been the mareschal’s pupil, and revered him as his military father, though employed in the Austrian service. He recognised the body by the large scar of a dangerous wound, which general Keith had received in his thigh at the siege of Oczakow, and could not help bursting into tears to see his honoured master thus extended at his feet, a naked, lifeless, and deserted corpse. He forthwith caused his body to be covered and interred. It was afterwards taken up, and decently buried by the curate of Hochkirchen; and finally removed to Berlin, by order of the king of Prussia, who bestowed upon it those funeral honours that were due to the dignified rank and transcendent merit of the deceased; merit so universally acknowledged, that even the Saxons lamented him as their best friend and patron, who protected them from violence and outrage, even while he acted a principal part in subjecting them to the dominion of his sovereign. 479 ( return ) [ Note 3 R, p. 479. Among other transactions that distinguish the history of Great Britain, scarce a year glides away without producing some incident that strongly marks the singular character of the English nation. A very extraordinary instance of this nature, relating to the late duke of Marlborough, we shall record among the events of this year, although it derived its origin from the latter end of the last, and cannot be properly enumerated among those occurrences that appertain to general history. Towards the end of November, in the preceding year, the above-mentioned nobleman received, by the post, a letter directed “To his Grace the duke of Marlborough, with care and speed,” and containing this address: “My Lord,—As ceremony is an idle thing upon most occasions, more especially to persons in my state of mind, I shall proceed immediately to acquaint you with the motive and end of addressing this epistle to you, which is equally interesting to us both. You are to know, then, that my present situation in life is such, that I should prefer annihilation to a continuance in it. Desperate diseases require desperate remedies; and you are the man I have pitched upon, either to make me or unmake yourself. As I never had the honour to live among the great, the tenor of my proposals will not be very courtly; but let that be an argument to enforce a belief of what I am now going to write. It has employed my invention for some time, to find out a method of destroying another without exposing my own life: that I have accomplished, and defy the law. Now, for the application of it. I am desperate, and must be provided for. You have it in your power: it is my business to make it your inclination to serve me, which you must determine to comply with, by procuring me a genteel support for my life, or your own will be at a period before this session of parliament is over. I have more motives than one for singling you out upon this occasion; and I give you this fair warning, because the means I shall make use of are too fatal to be eluded by the power of physic. If you think this of any consequence, you will not fail to meet the author on Sunday next, at ten in the morning, or on Monday (if the weather should be rainy on Sunday), near the first tree beyond the stile in Hyde-Park, in the foot-walk to Kensington. Secrecy and compliance may preserve you from a double danger of this sort, as there is a certain part of the world where your death has more than been wished for upon other motives. I know the world too well to trust this secret in any breast but my own. A few days determine me your friend or enemy. “FELTON. “You will apprehend that I mean you should be alone; and depend upon it, that a discovery of any artifice in this affair will be fatal to you. My safety is insured by my silence, for confession only can condemn me.” The duke, in compliance with this strange remonstrance, appeared at the time and place appointed, on horseback and alone, with pistols before him, and the star of his order displayed, that he might be the more easily known. He had likewise taken the precaution of engaging a friend to attend in the Park, at such a distance, however, as scarce to be observable. He continued some time on the spot without seeing any person he could suspect of having wrote the letter, and then rode away: but chancing to turn his head when he reached Hyde-Park-Corner, he perceived a man standing at the bridge, and looking at the water, within twenty yards of the tree which was described in the letter. He forthwith rode back at a gentle pace, and, passing by the person, expected to be addressed: but as no advance of this kind was made, he, in repassing, bowed to the stranger, and asked if he had not something to communicate? The man replying, “No, I don’t know you;” the duke told him his name, adding, “Now you know me, I imagine you have something to say to me.” But he still answered in the negative, and the duke rode home. In a day or two after this transaction, another letter was brought to him, couched in the following terms: “My Lord,—You receive this as an acknowledgment of your punctuality as to the time and place of meeting on Sunday last, though it was owing to you it answered no purpose. The pageantry of being armed, and the ensign of your order, were useless and too conspicuous. You needed no attendant, the place was not calculated for mischief, nor was any intended. If you walk in the west aisle of Westminster Abbey, towards eleven o’clock on Sunday next, your sagacity will point the person whom you will address, by asking his company to take a turn or two with you. You will not fail, on inquiry, to be acquainted with the name and place of abode. According to which direction you will please to send two or three hundred pound bank-notes the next day by the penny post. Exert not your curiosity too early; it is in your power to make me grateful on certain terms. I have friends who are faithful, but they do not bark before they bite.—“I am, &c, F.” The duke, determining if possible to unveil this mystery, repaired to the Abbey at the time prescribed; and, after having walked up and down for five or six minutes, saw the very same person to whom he had spoken in Hyde-Park, enter the Abbey with another man of a creditable appearance. This last, after they had viewed some of the monuments, went into the choir, and the other turning back advanced towards the duke, who, accosting him, asked him if he had anything to say to him,” or any commands for him? He replied, “No, my lord. I have not.”—“Sure you have,” said the duke; but he persisted in his denial. Then the duke, leaving him, took several turns in the aisle, while the stranger walked on the other side. But nothing further passed between them; and although the duke had provided several persons in disguise to apprehend the delinquent, he forebore giving the signal, that, notwithstanding appearances, he might run no risk of injuring an innocent person. Not long after this second disappointment he received a third letter, to the following effect: “My Lord,—I am fully convinced you had a companion on Sunday: I interpret it as owing to the weakness of human nature; but such proceeding is far from being ingenuous, and may produce bad effects, whilst it is impossible to answer the end proposed. You will see me again soon, as it were by accident, and may easily find where I go to; in consequence of which, by being sent to, I shall wait on your grace, but expect to be quite alone, and to converse in whispers; you will likewise give your honour, upon meeting, that no part of the conversation shall transpire. These and the former terms complied with ensure your safety; my revenge, in case of non-compliance (or any scheme to expose me), will be slower, but not less sure; and strong suspicion the utmost that can possibly ensue upon it, while the chances would be tenfold against you. You will possibly be in doubt after the meeting, but it is quite necessary the outside should be a mask to the in. The family of the Bloods is not extinct, though they are not in my scheme.” The expression, “You will see me again soon, as it were by accident,” plainly pointed at the person to whom he had spoke in the park and in the Abbey; nevertheless, he saw him not again, nor did he hear anything further of the affair for two months, at the expiration of which the post brought him the following letter: “May it please your Grace,—I have reason to believe, that the son of one Barnard, a surveyor, in Abingdon-buildings, Westminster, is acquainted with some secrets that nearly concern your safety: his father is now out of town, which will give you an opportunity of questioning him more privately; it would be useless to your grace, as well as dangerous to me, to appear more publicly in this affair. “Your sincere friend, “ANONYMOUS. “He frequently goes to Storey’s-gate coffee-house.” In about a week after this intimation was received, the duke sent a person to the coffee-house, to inquire for Mr. Barnard, and tell him he would be glad to speak to him. The message was delivered, and Barnard declared he would wait upon his grace next Thursday, at half an hour after ten in the morning. He was punctual to his appointment, and no sooner appeared than the duke recognised him to be the person to whom he had spoke in the Park and the Abbey. Having conducted him into an apartment, and shut the door, he asked, as before, if he had anything to communicate: and was answered, as formerly, in the negative. Then the duke repeated every circumstance of this strange transaction; to which Barnard listened with attention and surprise, yet without exhibiting any marks of conscious guilt or confusion. The duke observing that it was matter of astonishment to see letters of such import written with the correctness of a scholar; the other replied, that a man might be very poor and very learned at the same time. When he saw the fourth letter, in which his name was mentioned, with the circumstance of his father’s absence, he said, “If is very odd, my father was then out of town.” An expression the more remarkable, as the letter was without date, and he could not, as an innocent man, be supposed to know at what time it was written. The duke having made him acquainted with the particulars, told him, that if he was innocent he ought to use his endeavours-to detect the writer of the letters, especially of the last, in which he was expressely named. To this admonition he returned no other answer but a smile, and then withdrew.—He was afterwards taken into custody, and tried at the Old Bailey,for sending a threatening letter, contrary to the statute; but no evidence could be found to prove the letters were of his handwriting: nor did any presumption appear against him, except his being in Hyde-Park, and in Westminster Abbey, at the time and place appointed in the first two letters. On the other hand, Mr. Barnard proved, that, on the Sunday when he saw the duke in Hyde-Park, he was on his way to Kensington on particular business, by his father’s order, signified to him that very morning: that he accordingly went thither, and dined with his uncle, in company with several other persons, to whom he related what had passed between the duke of Marlborough and him in the Park: that his being afterwards in Westminster Abbey was the effect of mere accident: that Mr. James Greenwood, his kinsman, who had lain that preceding night at his father’s house, desired him to dress himself, that they might walk together in the Park; and he did not comply with his request till after much solicitation: that he proposed to enter the Park without passing through the Abbey, but was prevailed upon by Mr. Greenwood, who expressed a desire of seeing the newly-erected monument of general Hardgrave: that as he had formerly communicated to his friend the strange circumstance of the duke’s speaking to him in Hyde-park, Mr. Greenwood no sooner saw that nobleman in the Abbey, than he gave notice to Mr. Barnard, who was very short-sighted; and that from his passing them several times, concluding he wanted to speak with Mr. Barnard alone, he quitted him and retired into the choir, that they might commune together without interruption. It likewise appeared, from undoubted evidence, that Barnard had often mentioned openly to his friends and acquaintance, the circumstance of what passed between him and the duke in the Park and in the Abbey; that his father was a man of unblemished reputation, and in affluent circumstances; that he himself was never reduced to any want, or such exigence as might impel him to any desperate methods of obtaining money; that his fidelity had been often tried, and his life always irreproachable. For these reasons he was acquitted of the crime laid to his charge, and the mystery remains to this day undiscovered. After all, the author of the letters does not seem to have had any real design to extort money, because the scheme was very ill calculated for that purpose; and indeed could not possibly take effect without the most imminent risk of detection. Perhaps his aim was nothing more than to gratify a petulance and peculiarity of humour, by alarming the duke, exciting the curiosity of the public, puzzling the multitude, and giving rise to a thousand ridiculous conjectures. If anything more was intended, and the duke earnestly desired to know the extent of the scheme, he might, when he closeted the person suspected, have encouraged him to a declaration, by promising inviolable secrecy on his word and honour, in which any man would have confided as a sacred obligation. On the whole, it is surprising that the death of the duke, which happened in the course of this year, was never attributed to the secret practices of this incendiary correspondent, who had given him to understand that his vengeance, though slow, would not be the less certain.]