Bella gerant alii: tu, felix Auftria, nube MY DEAR CHILD, LETTER XXXI. Account of the Pope. As, in one defcription, which I sent you, I have mentioned the pope, I believe you will with to know who that perfon is. The pope, then, is an old cheat, who calls himself the vicar of Jefus Chrift; that is to fay,the perfon who reprefents Jefus Chrift upon earth, and has the power of faving people, or of damning them. By virtue of this pretended power he grants indulgences; that is to fay, pardons for fins or elfe he thunders out excommunications; this means fendingp cople to the devil. The catholics, otherwife cak led papifts, are filly enough to believe this. Befides which, they believe the pope to be infallible; that is, that he never can mistake; that whatever he fays is true, and whatever he does is right. Another abfurdity: the pope pretends to be the greateft prince in Christendom; and takes place of all kings. The proteftant kings, however, do not allow this. The pope creates the cardinals, who are feventy-two In number, and higher in rank than bifhops and archbifhops. The title given to the cardinal is, Your Emiaence; and to the pope, Your Holinefs. When a pope dies, the cardinals affemble to elect another, and that affembly is called a conclave. Whenever a perfon is prefented to the pope, they kifs his foot, and not his hand, as we do to other princes. Laws, made by the pope, are called bulls. The palace he inhabits, aRome, is called the Vatican; and contains the finest library in the world. Let others wage war, but thou, fortunate Auftria, form tender For the kingdoms which Mars gives to others, Venus bestows on you, The pope is, in reality, nothing more than bishop of Rome; but, on the one fide, weaknefs and fuperftition, and on the other the artifice and ambition of the clergy, have made him what he is; that is to fay, a confiderable prince, and head of the catholic church. We proteftants are not weak enough to give into all this nonfenfe. We believe, and with reafon, that God alone is infallible; and that he only can make people happy or miferable. Adieu! Divert yourself and be merry, there is noth-ing like it. LETTER XXXII. General View of English Hiftory. ENGLAND NGLAND was originally called Britain, when the Romans, under Julius Cæfar, firft invaded it: the Romans continued in Britain about four hundred years. The Romans quitted Britain of themfelves; and then the Scorch, who went by the name of Picts (from pingere, to paint) because they painted their fkins, attacked the Britains, and beat them; upon which the Britains called over the Angli, a people of Saxony, to their affittance against the Picts. The Angli came and beat the Picts; but then beat the Britains too, and made themfelves mafters of the kingdom, which, from their own name, they called Anglia, whence it was cal led England. Thefe Saxons divided England into feven kingdoms, which were called the Saxon Heptarchy, from irre feven, and agxa, chief. Afterwards the Danes invaded England, and made themselves mafters of it; but were foon driven out again, and the Saxon government reftored. The laft invafion of England was by the Normans, under William the Conqueror, in 1066; that is, about feven hundred years ago. Though William came in by conquest, he did not 1 pretend to govern abfolutely as a conqueror, but thought it his fafeft way to conform himfelf to the conftitution of this country. He was a great man. His fon, William Rufus, fo called becaufe he had red hair, fucceeded him. He was killed accidentally by one of his own people as he was hunting. He died without children, and was fucceeded by his younger brother, Henry the Firft. Henry the First was a great king. As he had no fons, he was fuccceded by his nephew Stephen. Stephen was attacked by the emprefs Maud, who was daughter to Henry the Firft, and had confquently a better right to the crown than Stephen.. He agreed to a treaty with her, by which the let him reign for his life; and he obliged himfelf to fettle the crown after his death upon her fon, Henry the Second, who in effect fucceeded him. Henry the Second was a very great king; he conquered Ireland, and annexed it to the crown of England. He was fucceeded by his fon, Richard the First. Richard the Firft was remarkable by nothing but by his playing the fool in a croifado to Jerufalem, a prevailing folly in thofe times, whenthe Chriftians thought to merit heaven by taking Jerufalem from the Turks. He was fuceceded by John. King John was oppreffive and tyrannical; fo that the people rofe against him, and obliged him to give them charter, confirming all their liberties and privileges; which charter fubfifts to this day, and is called Magna Charta. He was fucceeded by his fon, Henry the Third. Henry the Third had a long but trouble fome reign, being in perpetual difputes with the people and the nobles; fometimes beating, fometimes beaten. was fucceeded by his fon, Edward the Firft. He Edward the Firft was one of the greateft kings of England. He conquered the principality of Wales, and annexed it to the crown of England; fince which time the eldest fon of the king of England has always been prince of Wales. He beat the Scotch feveral times. Many of our best laws were made in his reign His fon, Edward the Second, fucceeded him. Edward the Second was a wretched, weak creature, and always governed by favourites; fo that he was depofed, put in prifon, and foon afterwards put to death. His fon, Edward the Third, fucceeded him, and was one of the greateft kings England ever had. He declared war against France; and with an army of thirty thousand men beat the French army of fixty thoufand men, at the famous battle of Crecy, in Picardy, where above thirty thoufand French were killed. His fon,who was called the Black Prince, beat the French again at the battle of Poitiers, and took the king of France prifoner. The French had above threefcore thousand men; and the Black Prince had but eight thousand. This king founded the order of the garter. His fon the Black Prince, died before him, fo that he was fuc ceeded by his grandfon, Richard the Second, fon to the Black Prince. This Richard the Second had none of the virtues of his father, or grandfather, but was governed by fa vourites; was profufe, neceflitous, and endeavoured to. make himfelf abfolute; fo that he was depofed, put into prifon, and foon after put to death by Henry the Fourth, who fucceeded him, and who was the first of the Houfe of Lancaster. Henry the Fourth was defcended from Edward the Third, by John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, and had confequently no hereditary right to the crown. He beat both the Scotch and Wellh. He was a confider-able man. Henry the Fifth, his fon, fucceeded him, and was, without difpute, one of the greateft kings of England, though he promifed little while he was prince of Wales, for he led a diffolute and riotous life, even robbing fometimes upon the highway. But, as foon as he came to the throne, he left thofe fhameful courfes, declared war againft France, and entirely routed the French army, fix times more numerous than his own, at the famous battle of Agincourt, in Picardy. He dies Fa before he had completed the conquest of France ; and was fucceeded by his fon, Henry the Sixth, a minor, who was left under the guardianship of his uncles the Dukes of Bedford and Gloucefter. Henry the Sixth was fo little like his father, that he foon loft all that his father had got: and, though crowned king of France, at Paris, was driven out of France; and, of all his father's conquefts, retained only Calais. It was a remarkable accident that gave the firft turn tos the fucceffes of the English, in France. They were befieging the town of Orleans, when an ordinary girl, called Joanné d'Arques, took it into her head that God had appointed her to drive the English out of France. Accordingly the attacked, at the head of the French troops, and entirely beat the English. The French call her, La pucelle d'Orléans. She was afterwards taken by the English, and fhamefully burnt for a witch. Henry had not better fuccefs in England; for, being a weak man himself, and entirely governed by his wife, he was depofed by Edward the Fourth, of the house of York, who had the hereditary right to the crown. Edward the Fourth did nothing confiderable, except against the Scotch, whom he beat. He intended to have attempted the recovery of France, but was prevented by his death. He left two fons under age; the eldeft of which was proclaimed king, by the name of Edward the Fifth. But the duke of Gloucefter, their› uncle and guardian, murdered them both, to make way for himself to the throne. He was Richard the Third, commonly called crooked-back Richard, because he was crooked. Richard the Third was fo cruel and fanguinary, that he foon became univerfally hated. Henry the Seventh, of the houfe of Lancaster, profited of the general hatred of the people to Richard, raifed an army, and beat Richard at the battle of Bofworth-field, in Leicefterfhire, where Richard was killed. Henry the Seventh was proclaimed king, and foon. after married the daughter of Edward the Fourth; res The maid of Orléans. 1 |