attent on which this monarch has bestowed, for more than forty years, to the discipline of the army, is unparalleled either in the ancient or modern history of mankind. This perseverance of the king, as it is without example, so it is the most remarkable part of his extraordinary character. That degree of exertion which a vigorous mind is capable of making on some very important occasions, Frederic II. has made during his whole reign at a stretch, without permitting pleasure, indolence, disgust, or disappointment to interrupt his plan for a single day; and he has obliged every person, throughout the various departments of his government, to make the like exertion as far as their characters and strength could go. In what manner must such a king be served! and what is he not capable of performing! Twice every year he makes the circuit of his dominions. This great prince is so perfectly exempt from suspicion and personal fear, that he resides at Sans Souci, in his electoral dominions, without any guard whatever; an orderly sergeant or corporal only attends in the daytime, to carry occasional orders to the garrison at Potsdam, whither ne alway returns in the evening."

Frederic died in 1786, and left to his nephew, Frederic William II. (by some called Frederic III.) an extensive and prosperous kingdom, a large and well-disciplined army, and a well-filled treasury; but he possessed none of those commanding talents, that energy, or that patient per severance, which so eminently distinguished his predecessor. The finan ces of Prussia were soon exhausted; and in consequence of the high rank among the European states to which Frederic the Great had elevated her, she was obliged to take a prominent part in the most important affairs of the continent, which, without his genius, could not be maintained. Frederic William II. died in 1797, and was succeeded by his son Frederic William III.

By the partition of Poland in 1792, and its final dismemberment in 1795, Prussia acquired a great extension of territory, including the important city of Dantzic, and upwards of two millions of inhabitants. In 1796 the Prussian cabinet made a secret treaty with France; and after many sinister and vascillating movements, Prussia resolved upon the maintenance of a strict neutrality, which, in the state of Europe at that time, was impossible. In 1803 France occupied Hanover; and in 1805, when a third coalition was forming against France, Prussia wavered more than ever Alexander of Russia appeared at Berlin, and brought about the convention of Potsdam, Nov. 3, 1805; but after the battle of Austerlitz, Prussia sought for and obtained peace with France, and was consequently compelled to submit to the conqueror. Again, when Napoleon had concluded the confederacy of the Rhine, Prussia stepped forward to arrest his gigantic power; but the battle of Jena disclosed to the world how impossible it was for her to contend against the emperor and his confederated allies. The peace of Tilsit reduced Prussia to half its former dimensions, which half had to support 150,000 French soldiers until the end of 180, and to pay 120 millions of francs, while French troops were to retain possession of the fortresses of Strettin, Kustrien, and Glogau. The minister Von Stein, who was long at the head of affairs, was a most uncompromising enemy of France, and being in consequence compelled by them to quit Germany, Baron Hardenberg was placed at the head of the government as state-chancellor. The continuance of French oppression at length roused the spirit of the people. After Napoleon's Russian campaign the population rose en masse, and to their zealous efforts in the cause of oppressed Europe, the completeness of his discomfiture may be mainly attributed. The part which Prussia played in this great game of war we have elsewhere related, and it is not consistent with the limits of our work to make needless repetitions; it is sufficient to state, that at the general peace of 1815, Prussia became more powerful than ever; for all

though a portion of her Polish dominions passed into the hands of Russia, it was more than compensated by valuable acquisitions in Saxony, Pomerania, &c. In June, 1840, the king died, and was succeeded by his son, Frederic IV., a prince possessing many amiable qualities. His majesty has since paid a visit to Queen Victoria, and was sponsor to the infant prince of Wales.

The following observations are so explanatory of the present influence of Prussia in the scale of European politics, that we unhesitatingly adopt them, from "The Brittannia ;" and in transferring them to our pages, beg to acknowledge their worth: "Since the peace of 1815, Prussia has been tranquil. Her tremendous suffering in the war closed in a triumph of the most exalting and memorable rank. Of all nations she alone had the preeminent honour of sharing in the consummate victory which extinguished the French empire; and since that period she has advanced in a course of tranquil but progressive prosperity.

Prussia is a despotism, but the beau ideal of a despotism. As Plato imagined a republic, the future Plato who shall adopt the cause of despotism might refer to its reality as the most expressive instance of a government directed by the sole will of an intelligent, active and patriotic king. Bacon, we think, says that if an angel were on the throne, despotism would be the finest government in the world. This is true, for the unity of council, the decision of conduct, the power which prevents tumults, and the impartiality which provides for justice to all, are the first essentials to all government. But, since men are not angels, and the best of kings cannot be security for the principles of his successor, we are compelled to find that security in constitutional restraints, in laws regulating the conduct of kings as well as of subjects, in coronation oaths, which are obligations, and in penalties which protect those obligations.

The

The chief immediate expenditure of all European nations is in their means of defence, whether military or naval. In England it is enormous. At this moment of universal peace, a peace, too, of twenty-five years, the expenses of the fleet and army are not under twelve millions of pounds. It is worth our wonder to know, that the whole expense of the military force of Prussia, 500,000 men, is not much more than half the expense of the force of England, or 90,000. This is by the simple but admirable arrangement of dividing the whole force into two parts, the standing army and the landwehr. The landwehr is a standing militia, which forms the reserve of the army, and is augmented from the ranks of the regular troops, instead of supplying recruits to them. This system is peculiar to Prussia, and is thus organized. The standing army is merely the military school, and the landwehr forms the nucleus of the army. landwehr of the first class perform the annual exercises with the regulat troops, and the eye of a military observer would detect no difference in the manœuvres of either corps. The second levy consists chiefly of soldiers who have been drafted from the standing army to the first levy, and from thence to the second, when arrived at the requisite age. The number of men required for the regular army is taken from those between 20 and 25 years of age, the remainder of whom are enrolled in the second levy (or landwehr of the second class). The period of service in the army is for three years; but young men of any station in life are allowed, instead, to enter the army as volunteers, and serve as privates for one year, without receiving any pay. At the end of one year they go over to the reserve, in which they continue two years; the others, after three years in the army and two in the reserve, are sent into the levy of the first class; and after twelve years' service in the army, the reserve and the landwehr of the first class pass into the landwehr of the second. The horses for the cavalry of the landwehr are furnished by the landed owners of the Circle during the continuance of the annual exercises When arrived

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 populous 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 iimits and the earth no so.idity. The higher grounds, extend

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 the mastery. In subduing this brave people the Romans had recourse to the most barbarous practises of ancient warfare; and for a time either extermination 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 inay 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 Flemings 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 pruning-hooks, but feudal institutions had converted the free sons of the soil into abject vassals, who now toiled only to enrich the baronial lords and haughty priests, whose powers and possessions were immense. This state 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.

During 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 subject 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