at the age of 39, the soldiers of the second levy are incorporated in the landstrum, where they remain until the age of 50; they are then released from all military service.

We believe that Louis Philippe is as perfectly sincere in his wish for peace, as England is. But the people with whom he has to deal have none of his good sense, and the conquest of the Rhenish provinces is the dream of every cobbler in France. We agree entirely in the opinion that France would much more probably lose than gain by an attack on those provinces. Supposing England to be wholly passive, which it is notorious that she would not be, nay, could not, or that Russia would look on, German resistance, in its present state of preparation, would be formidable. The former facility of French conquest on the Rhine arose almost wholly from the weakness of the little Rhenish principalities, too small to resist separately and too jealous to unite- But the greater portion of those states are now consolidated into the Prussian sovereignty, and rest under the immediate direction of Austria."

The principal part of the Prussian dominions lies continuously along the south shore of the Baltic, between Russia and Mecklenburg. The inland frontier of this part of the monarchy on the east and south is sufficiently connected; but on the west side its outline is very irregular, some small independent states being almost entirely surrounded by the Prussian dominions. But exclusive of this principal portion, there is an extensive Prussian territory on both sides of the Rhine; which is separated from the eastern part of the kingdom by Hesse-Cassell, part of Hanover, Brunswick, &c. The canton of Neufchatel, in Switzerland, and some detached territories in Saxony, also belong to Prussia. Considering the importance of making Prussia a first-rate power as a counterpoise to Russia on the one hand, and to France on the other, it is to be regretted that at the congress of Vienna her share of Poland was diminished, and that her territories were not rendered more compact.

THE HISTORY OF THE NETHERLANDS

COMPRISING

HOLLAND AND BELGIUM.

The Netherlands, or Low Countries, which now form two populou Kingdoms, though of second-rate importance when compared with the great European powers, were at the commencement of the Christian era mere dreary marshes and dismal forests of vast extent, which were frequently overflowed by the sea. This inhospitable low track was thinly inhabited by people of German origin, called Batavians and Frisians, many of whom lived in miserable huts, raised on wooden piles, or built upon mounds of sand, to secure them above the reach of the tides. But it is not to be understood that the entire region was of this description; although it has been graphically said, that whole forests were occasionally thrown down by a tempest, or swept away by inundation—that the sea had no limits and the earth no soidity. The higher grounds, extend

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ing from the Rhine to the Scheldt, including that vast extent of woody country, the ancient forest of Ardennes, were inhabited by various tribes of the German race, who subsisted by agriculture and the chase. They had towns and villages in the heart of the forest; their country produced abundant supplies of corn and cattle; they were courageous and uncivilzed; the rites of Druidism were observed, as in Britain; and the people consisted of two classes, chiefs and slaves.

When the Romans under Julius Cæsar subdued the Gauls, that warlike nation turned their arms also against the people we have just spoken of, whose country they denominated Gallia Belgica, or Belgium; but they did not pursue their conquests farther towards the north, thinking probably that the desert plains and patches of land rising, as it were, from their watery bed, were scarcely worth the trouble of exploring, much less of contending for. They accordingly offered peace and alliance to that part of the Netherlands now called Holland; while the Frisians were left to struggle with the Roman legions for their liberty. From the writings of Cæsar we learn that Flanders was occupied by the Menappi and Morini, Brabant by the Atuatici, Hainault and Namur by the Nervii (so remarkable for desperate courage as to excite the wonder of the veterans of Rome), Luxemburg and Limburg by the Eburones, &c. Cæsar emphatically describes the Belgians as the most warlike of the Gallic tribes, and observes that in stature and bulk they surpass the Romans. But though they fought with an energy and determination which nothing could exceed, the discipline and military skill of the Romans eventually obtained th mastery- In subduing this brave people the Romans had recourse to the most barbarous practises of ancient warfare; and for a time either exter.amnation or expulsion seemed to be necessary to conquer their fierce and valiant spirits; thus we read, that in Cæsar's celebrated battle with the Nervii, near Namur, the army of the confederated tribes, amounting to 60,000 men. was reduced to 500, and that on taking the town of Tongres he sold 53,000 of the Atuatici for slaves. By degrees, however, they became incorporated with their conquerors, adopted their manners, and served in their armies, proving themselves, in many memorable instances, the ablest auxiliaries that ever fought by the side of the Roman legions. In this state they remained for about four centuries, during which time the Belgic population underwent considerable changes from the successive invasions of the Franks from the north, whose progress westward terminated in their establishing the Frankish empire in Gaul.

We have already had occasion more than once to notice, that when the Romans subjugated any country, the inhabitants, however barbarous, gradually became acquainted with the arts and advantages of civilized life, and that the subsequent prosperity and rank to which they attained in the scale of nations may justly be attributed to the connexion which subsisted between the conquerors and the conquered. Thus it was with the Belgic provinces. From the Romans they learned how to redeem their inundated lands from the briny flood, by constructing dykes, embankments, and canals; and as they were naturally an active and intelligent people, they drained their marshes, and prepared the land not merely as pasture for cattle and the growth of corn, but for the cultivation of choice fruits and vegetables; while towns and villages were built on higher ground, and the country, instead of being a dreary waste of bog-land and water, presented to the eye a varied prospect of fertility, and an industrious population. Towards the declension of the Roman empire, when its rulers were compelled to withdraw their troops from the provinces. Gallia Belgica shared the fate of the rest; and it was successively overrun by the various tribes from the north of Germany. But notwithstanding these serious disadvantages, the spirit of improvement kept pace with the age; more land was reclaimed from the ocean, and ren

dered both productive and habitable. The maritime lowland descendants of the Menapii, now blended with Saxons and Frisians, continued to prosper in commerce and agriculture. Large towns had been built, and many arts and manufactures, brought from other countries, were carried on with credit and success. Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp, and other towns rose into importance, and the commercial importance of the Fleming' was universally acknowledged.

At what precise time the Christian religion was introduced it is impossible to speak with certainty; but we know that, previous to the reign of Charlemagne, the conversion of the people had become general, and that churches and monasteries existed in various parts of the country. But no trace of the fierce and valiant warriors of former days remained; their swords had, indeed, been turned into ploughshares, and their spears into priming-hooks, but feudal institutions had converted the free sons of the 6oil into abject vassals, who now toiled only to enrich the baronial lords and haughty priests, whose powers and possessions were immense. This slate of vassalage did not, however, extend to the towns, the inhabitants of which were mostly merchants and manufactures, enjoying all the advantages of free citizens. Their industry and ingenuity not only made them wealthy, but obtained for them attention and respect; and, in the course of time, they elected their own magistrates, made their own laws, fortified their cities, and organized a regular militia from among themselves, so that they were able to maintain their privileges and defend their liberties against the encroachments of foreign princes or their own powerful nobles. At the period to which we are now referring, the maritime commerce of the Flemings had made a great progress with Spain and England, from whence they had obtained large importations of wool. Their skill in the manufacture of woolen stuffs and cloths had established for them a market in every foreign port; the herring-fishery was also a great source of wealth; and to these they added a large trade in corn, salt, and jewelry.

In the eleventh century the country was divided into duchies, counties, and imperial cities: Brabant, or Lower Lorraine, and afterward Luxem burg, Limburg, and Gueldres, were governed by dukes; Flanders, Holland, Zealand, Hainault, Artois, Namur, and Zutphen, by counts. Friesland Proper remained a free lordship; Utrecht became a bishopric, the secular authority of the bishop extending over Groningen and Overyssel. Of all these realms, the counts of Flanders were the most powerful, and, after their possessions had passed, in 1383, to the more powerful house of Burgundy, the latter, partly by marriages, partly by force or cession, obtained possession of the largest part of the Low Countries.

Luring the crusades the Flemish burghers obtained great advantages, owing to the mania with which many of the nobles were seized to join the holy leaguers. In order to raise money for equipping armies to combat against the Saracens, they were induced to part with their lands and to grant great privileges and political powers to their wealthy tenants, who thus were enabled to purchase independence and a jurisdiction of their own, as we have before mentioned. "The people, conscious of their power, gradually extorted from their rulers so many concessions, that the provinces formed, in reality, a democracy, and were only nominally sub ject to the monarch of France and his nobles. When the rest of Europe was subject to despotism, and involved in comparative ignorance and bar. barism, the court of the counts of Flanders was the chosen residence of liberty, civilization, and useful knowledge; and when the ships of other nations scarcely ventured beyond the sight of land, those of the Flemish merchants traversed the ocean, and Bruges and Antwerp possessed the commerce and wealth of the north of Europe. In this state the provinces ong continued, until they came under the dominion of the duke of Bur