appearances of decorum preferved on the death of the king; and the appellation of Louis le defiré, unanimously given to his fucceffor, was the bitterest satire on his memory *.

The young monarch, defirous of recommending himself to the favor of his fubjects, began his reign with the difmiffion of the duc d'Aiguillon, and his deteftable co-adjutors, the chancellor Maupeou, and the comptroller-general l'abbé Terrai, which was regarded as the certain prelude of the restoration of the antient parliaments; and on the 12th November, 1774, the recall of the parliament of Paris took place amid the unbounded acclamations of the people. The language of the monarch on this memorable occafion was nevertheless very high and haughty. In his fpeech on holding the bed of juftice, he declared to the parliament," that he was determined to preserve his authority in all its plenitude, and that he expected they would give to his fubjects an example of fubmiffion." He told them," that the king his grandfather was com

"The king died at Choify, May 10, 1774. In 48 hours afterwards his corpfe was conveyed to St. Dennis; the publichoufes upon the road were filled with drunkards finging for joy. He was interred without pomp or ceremony, and the furname of Louis le defiré unanimoufly given to his fucceffor clearly evinced how generally he had incurred the contempt and indignation of the people."

pelled, by their refiftance to his repeated commands, to adopt fuch measures as his wifdom fuggefted; and that as he had thought proper to recall them to the exercife of thofe functions which they ought never to have quitted, he defired them to learn to prize his favors, and never to lose the remembrance of their extent." A royal ordonnance was then read, containing the various limitations by which the monarch thought proper to restrain the authority of this affembly

one very important article of which peremp

torily required the parliament to enregister the royal edicts in one month at fartheft after the day of their publication, unless the king should graciously permit the repetition of their remonftrances; and his majesty concluded with a promise of "his royal protection and countenance fo long as they exactly conformed to what he had prefcribed, and they did not attempt to enlarge the bounds of the power which was granted to them."

It very foon appeared, after the acceffion of the new monarch, though himself of a difpofition pacific and unambitious, and extremely limited in his capacity, how little dependence was to be placed on the amity and good faith of France. A powerful party immediately arofe at the court, of which the QUEEN, a woman of high spirit, bufy, bold, and blind to confequences, was confidered as the head, Diffolute in her man

ners,

ners, unprincipled in her morals, faithlefs in her promises, this princefs wanted only the talents. of her predeceffor Catharine of Medicis to be as illustriously diftinguished for guilt-BUT HER MISFORTUNES HAVE ATONED. This faction burned with a defire to avenge the difgraces of the last war; and America received every encouragement to perfift in her refiftance to the oppreffion of England, that was confiftent with even the appearance of a decent regard to the occafional remonftrances and memorials of the court of London. The queen alfo was believed to be actuated by an ardent defire of advancing the interests of the houfe of Austria, by involving France in contentions which would effectually prevent any interpofition of that power in oppofition to the schemes of aggrandizement projected by her brother the emperor. In the mean time the views of M. de Maurepas, the new minifter, were affiduoufly directed to the extenfion of commerce, and the re-establishment of the French marine.

"The fituation of France," fays the king of Pruffia in reference to the prefent period, "though far from brilliant, did not the less merit the attention of other powers. Her debts made it impracticable for her to fuftain a long war; but, ftrong in her alliance with Spain, and in the affiftance thence to be derived, the

was

was watching the moment to fall like a falcon upon her prey, and avenge herself upon Great Britain for the difafters fhe had fuffered during the preceding war. England was at this time, under the YOKE of the TORIES, engaged in a ruinous contest which augmented the national debts thirty-fix millions of crowns per annum. For the purpose of striking a blow upon her right arm with her left, fhe exhaufted all her refources, and advanced with hasty steps to her decline and fall. Her minifters ACCUMULATED faults; but of all these the greatest was the WAR with AMERICA, from which no poffible advantage could refult. She had needlefsly, and without reafon, embroiled herfelf with all the furrounding powers; and to her own mifconduct only could England afcribe that ftate of defertion and general abandonment in which he now found herself."

That union of counfels which fince the era of the Family Compact had marked the politics of the Bourbon courts, ftill fubfifted in its full vigor. In order to confolidate the friendship of the two crowns, the late king of France had made an entire ceffion of the province of Louisiana to Spain, without any other apparent motive or equivalent. In his Most Christian

Euvres de Frederic II. vol. iv. p. 164, 165.

majesty's

majesty's letter, dated April 21, 1764, to M. d'Abadie, director-general and commandant of the colony of Louisiana, notifying this extraor dinary ceffion, he fays, " By a fpecial act done at Fontainebleau (Nov. 3d, 1762), of my own will and mere motion having ceded to my very dear and beft beloved coufin the king of Spain, and his fucceffors, in full property, purely and fimply, and without any exceptions, the whole country known by the name of Louisiana, together with New Orléans, and the island in which the faid city is fituated: You are, on the receipt of thefe prefents, to deliver up, to the governor or officer appointed by the king of Spain, the faid country and colony of Louifiana."

The difcontents prevailing in Spain fince the acceffion of the prefent king, and which at length broke out in open infurrection, were appeafed by the difmiffion of the marquis de Squillacio, and the other Neapolitans who had accompanied the fovereign from Italy; and the attention of the court of Madrid had been for

fome years chiefly occupied with the means of effecting the expulfion of the Jefuits from the kingdom; which was at length carried into execution with circumftances of relentlefs cruelty, not inferior to thofe which diftinguished the expulfion of the Morifcoes in the last century.

The