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Published at the Request of the Vice-chancellor, &c. 8vo. 6 Rivington.

2. Before the University of Cambridge, at St. Mary's, on Com. mencement Sunday, July 4, 1756. By John Rofs, D. D. Fellow of St. John's College. 4to. 6d. Beecroft.

3. Our Duty as Patriots, Proteftants, and Chriftians, in a Time of War. At Haberdasher's Hall, May 23, on the Declaration of War, &c. By Thomas Gibbons. 8vo. 6d. Buckland.

4. The Voice of Danger the Voice of God. At St. Alban's, and at Box-lane-with a View to the apprehended Invafion. By J. Grigg. 8vo. 6d. Buckland:

5. The Character and Bleffedness of thofe who die in the Lord.At Bath, April 14, 1756, on the death of the late Rev. Bennet Stevenson, D. D. By John Frank. 8vo. 6d. Henderson.

6. The Glory of any House erected for public Worship, and the true Principles, religious, civil, and focial, of Proteftant Diffenters.At the opening of the new Chapel in St. George's of Colgate in Norwich, May 12th, 1756. By John Taylor, D. D. 8vo. 6d. Waugh.

7. At Chefter Affize, April 19, 1756. By Abel Ward, M. A. Archdeacon of Chefter. 8vo. 6d. Hitch.

8. The Importance and Neceffity of his Majefty's Declaration of War-Preached May 23, 1756. By Richard Winter. 8vo. 6d. Dilly.

9. St. Paul's Inflruction to the Chriftian Preacher-At the Bishop of Lincoln's Vifitation at Huntingdon, June 4, 1756. By John Pennington, A. M. Rector of All-faints in Huntingdon, and Prebendary of Lincoln. 8vo. 6d. Dod.

10. At Harleston, May 23, 1756, on the Declaration of War, By Ifaac Smithson. 8vo. 6d. Waugh.

11. The Gospel Credibility Defended against the Objection of Decreafe by the Length of Time,-before the Univerfity of Oxford, July 4, 1756. By Charles Hall, B. D. Fellow of C. C. C. &c. 8vo. 6d. Fletcher and Rivington.

12. At St. Mary-le-Bow, April 26, 1756, in purfuance of the Will of Mr. John Hutchins, Citizen of London. By Thomas Afhton, A. M. Rector of St. Botolph, Bifhop's-gate, and Fellow of Eaton College. 4to. 6d. Whifton.

13. Dr. Free's, before the Anti-Gallican's, at St. John's Southwark, May 29, 1756. 4to. gd. Sandby.

* On the Excellency of our Liturgy.

ERRATA in laft Month's Review.

Page 475. 1. 12. for defires, read, requires.

P. 500, 1. 17. for fame, read, tame.

P.

507. 1. 30. for

are, read, is.

P. 547, 1. 21, for recommend, read, recommended.
P. 559, 1. 26, for not, read, yet.

THE

MONTHLY REVIEW,

For AUGUS T, 1756.

Memoirs of Maximilian Duke of Sully, Prime Minifter to Henry the Great. [Continued from p. 573. Vol. XIV.]

N our Appendix, published last month, we brought downt

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the account of these Memoirs, to the death of Henry III. which made way for the acceffion of Henry IV. commonly called Henry the Great. Before he was able to mount the throne to which he had an indifputable right, he was obliged to encounter many and great oppofitions, from the League that was formed by the Popish party, to prevent his fucceffion. Dur ing the continuance of this conteft, many battles were fought, and fieges carried on, for the particulars of which we must refer to the book.-As the Reader may, perhaps, be glad to know how the Prime Minifter to fo great a Prince, could find time for writing fo voluminous a work, we fhall here infert a digreffion of his own, in the third book, concerning these Memoirs, and their original production. I forewarn • the public,' fays he, to expect, in these Memoirs, a detail • only of important events, such as I have been a witness to, or what regards the King himself; and if I fhould add any • others, they will be those, the truth of which I can warrant ⚫ from the authenticity of those memoirs that have fallen into my hands. As for the reft, it will be fufficient juft to point • them out, that the Reader may from thence form an idea of the condition and affairs of Henry the Great, in different • periods of time. It was to relieve my memory, that I at • first committed such particulars as most struck me, to paper; • especially those conversations I had with the King, or he VOL. XV. with

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• with others, either upon war, or politics, which I apprehended might be of great use to me. This Prince, who perceived it by my fometimes repeating exactly what had ⚫ fallen from him on these subjects, commanded me to put my • work in fome order, and to enlarge it. I made fome difficulties in obeying him, nor was my ftyle one of the best; but upon repeated commands from his Majesty, and his promife to correct it with his own hand, I refumed and continued this work with more affiduity.-Such was the ́rife of thefe Memoirs."

In the fourth book we have a detail of a vast number of military tranfactions, of various kinds, and attended with vazious fuccefs. In fhort, fo many difficulties lay in Henry's way to the throne, that in the fifth book we find him thereby induced to change his religion, as the only thing capable of removing them. To this he was ftrongly prefled, even by our Memorialist, tho' he ftill continued a Proteftant himself: which plainly fhews, that all the gloffes which he is at great pains to throw over his mafter's conduct in this matter, are nothing more than political refinements. That this was really the cafe, may appear from one of Sully's own remarks; where he fays It is not furprizing, that Henry, who never heard any arguments about religion, but in thofe conferences," (which were held in order to prepare him for converfion) fhould fuffer himself to be drawn on that fide, which they • took care to make always victorious. For it must be observed ← as an effect of the King's prudent delays, that every one, even the Proteftants, nay more, the Proteftant Clergy, who were employed in the conferences, were at laft thoroughly convinced, that the King's change of religion was a circumstance abfolutely neceffary for the good of the ftate, for peace, and even for the advantage of both religions; fo that there was a kind • of general combination to draw him to it.'

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Now after fuch an explicit acknowlegement, that the King was drawn into this change, is it not fomewhat furprizing to find Sully endeavouring, in another place, to perfuade his readers, that this converfion of the King proceeded from conviction, and that he was really a very good Catholic in his

heart.

In the fixth book we find Henry, like a true fon of the Pope, fending a deputation to Rome, in order to make the necellary fubmiffions there, and obtain the holy Father's abfolution. But notwithstanding all thefe appearances of reconciliation to the holy church, we foon after find, that he had like to have been affaffinated, as an heretic, by the hand of

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Duke de SULLY.

Northwestern

University
Library

99

one of thofe enthufiafts, who were every where fuborned for that purpose. Amongst other informations that were sent • him upon this fubject, he received advice, while at Melun, [anno 1593] that one of thefe villains had fet out from Lyons, with a refolution to come thither and affaffinate him. Fortunately, before he left Lyons, he declared his defign in confeffion to a prieft; who, terrified at this frenzy, revealed it to a gentleman of Lyons. This gentleman pofted away ⚫ immediately, to get to Melun before the murderer; and de* fcribed him fo exactly to the King, from the picture the priest

had drawn of him, that he was known and feized amongst the 'crowd at Melun, confefled his intended crime, and received ⚫ punishment for it. The King, afhamed even for his enemies, who by this wickedness discovered the true bent of their difpofitions, equally alarmed with these attempts against his person, and tormented with the precautions he was obliged to take, often complained to me, in the most affecting manner, of his uneafy fituation.-He would not have been unhappy, if the behaviour of the Catholics in his court had at leaft compenfated for that of the Catholics in the league; but the King's abjuration had produced no more change in them ⚫ than the others.'

Thus much may fuffice to fhew, that the fincerity of the King's converfion was not quite fo clear to others, as Sully would willingly have his reader believe it was to him.

Soon after we have an account of the King's being crowned at Chartres; and alfo of his being admitted into Paris, by Count Brifac, who had the government of that city for the League. Previous to this laft event, we have a fpecimen of Sully's political reflections, which frequently occur, and make no fmall addition to the merit of the work. Brifac, it seems, at first answered the purpose of those who had placed the government of Paris in his hands, perfectly well. But after he had for fome time experienced the power wherewith he was invested, he was prompted by it to attempt a change in the conftitution of the kingdom. For we are told, that- The ftudy of the Roman hiftory had infpired this officer, (who valued himself greatly upon his fenfe and penetration) with a very fingular project; which was, to form France ́into a republic, and make Paris the capital of this new state, upon the model of antient Rome. Had Brifac defcended ever fo little from thefe lofty ideas to an attention to particular circumftances, which in the greateft defigns it is neceflary to have fome regard to, he would have perceived, that a scheme, however happily imagined, may, by the nature of the cb• ftacles

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ftacles that oppofe it, by the difference of the genius and character of the people, by the force of thofe laws they have adopted, and by long cuftom, which, as it were, ftamps a feal upon them, become alike chimerical and impracticable. Time only, and long experience, can bring 6 remedies to the defects in the customs of a state, whofe form is already determined; and this ought always to be attempted with a view to the plan of its original conftitution: this is fo certain, that whenever we see a state conducted by measures contrary to thofe made ufe of in its foundation, we may be affured a great revolution is at hand; nor do the application of the beft remedies operate upon • diseases that refift their force.-Brifac did not go fo far; he • could not for a long time comprehend from whence the general oppofition his defigns met with proceeded; for he had explained himself freely to the Nobles, and all the chief Partifans, of the League at laft he began to be apprehenfive for his own fafety, left while, without any affiftance, he was labouring to bring his project to perfection, the King fhould deftroy it entirely by feizing his capital. Poffeffed with this fear, the Roman ideas quickly gave place to the French fpirit of thofe times, which was to be folicitous only for his own advantage. When felf-interested motives are ftrengthened by the apprehenfion of any danger, there are few perfons that will not be induced by them to betray even their best friend. Thus Brifac acted; and thought of nothing but of making the King purchase, at the highest price, the treachery he meditated. And having procured very advantageous conditions, he agreed to admit Henry, with his army, into Paris.At nine o'clock in the morning, (March 22, 1594) the King prefented himfelf, at the head of eight thousand men, before Porte Neuve, where the Mayor of • Paris, and the other Magiftrates, received him in form. He ⚫ went immediately and took poffeffion of the Louvre, the Palace, the great and little Châtelet, and found no oppofition any where; he proceeded even to the church of Notre Dame, ⚫ which he entered to return thanks to God for his fuccefs. • His foldiers, on their fide, fulfilled, with fuch exactness the orders and intentions of their mafter, that no one throughout this great city complained of having received any outrage from them. They took poffeffion of all the fquares and cross-ways in the ftreets, where they drew up in order of battle. All was quiet, and from that day the shops were opened with all the fecurity that a long continued peace • could have given.-His Majefty then published a general

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