they are connected with the affairs of other nations. In themfelves, though both of them intended to promote the welfare with the liberty of the nation, they were strongly contrasted by the different means through which the fame ends were expected to be accomplished. The French legiflators confidered mankind under general views, and loft fight not only of individuals, but of particular claffes in fociety. Their general maxims were not without plaufibility: but as they related more to a kind of abftract and ideal beings than to mankind, as they really are in all their circumstances, and with all their habits, prejudices, and paffions, the application of them in practice produced manifold acts of injuf tice and inhumanity, not only to particular families, but whole orders of men. The Poles did not want talents for abstraction, nor the faculty of perceiving the fymmetry and beauty of ideal fyftems; but they were too generous and good to fuffer any general principles to break in upon the happihefs of the different ranks of fociety. Liberty was dear to them, but humanity dearer. The Polish conftitution would have ftood on its own bafis, if it had not been affailed by foreign violence :-the French conftitution, or rather conftitutions, contained in themselves the feeds of diffolution; and have been held to gether, gether, during the fhort periods of their exiftence, chiefly by external compression. The Polish and the French conftitutions called the attention of Kings, in fome measure, from feparate pursuits of aggrandizement, to the general interefts and safety of fove 7 reign princes. The Empress of Ruffia made peace with the Turks, that he might be at leifure to interfere and controul the affairs of Poland. She urged the heroic King of Sweden, who needed but little incitement, to undertake a crufade against the French republic; and openly countenanced and promifed fuccours to the emigrant French loyalifts. The court of Madrid was eafily drawn on this occafion, into a concert with that of St. Petersburg. The fage Leopold, formed a confederation of fovereign princes at Pilnitz,-not for the purpofe of dividing, or difinembering France (however ideas of this kind may have been entertained by other princes, or by his own fucceffors afterwards) but for that of establishing a limited monarchy in France, by a gradual amalgamation of the ancient monarchy, with what was reafonable in the principles and claims of the friends of reformation; and alfo and principally for fecuring the future tranquillity of Europe. Though the court of London did not at firft accede to the confederation fet on foot by the Emperor, we find that the revolution to. which it referred, attracted, during the whole of 1791, the profound attention of the British legiflature. In a word, nations as well as men were now fet at variance with each other, by a new principle of divifion and difcord. A war was commenced on new ground, to which the great potentates of Europe, after various windings and tergiverfations, have been obliged, or probably will be obliged, to return a war, not of ambition and conqueft, not for this or that family, nor yet for this or that creed in religion; but a war of the rights of men against the established authority and prerogatives of fovereign princes. An object fo tew, fingular, and important, naturally calls upon the annalist to exert his whole powers of attention and judgment to the different refources of the oppofite parties in this unprecedented warfare: the arguments by which they maintained their theories, and operated on the minds of men; and the means and various fuccefs with which they endeavoured to fupport them refpectively, by arms. Among other fruits of diligent inquiry, we have been favoured with an authentic copy of the plan or groundwork on which the Emperor Leopold wrote a circular letter, relative to the objects above mentioned, to the prin |