affed the Rhine without the leaft moleftation, not only under the eye, but as it were within the grasp of a fuperior French army. From this the operations of the armies became gradually more languid; for as nothing decifive happened on either fide during the whole campaign, it was impoffible to think at this advanced feafon of undertaking any very fignal enterprife; as if by common confent they began to move towards winter-quarters. So that whatever happened after this was not connected with the general plan of the campaign; and were the fudden acts of detached parties who attempted fome advantages of farprise. Of these we fhall take fome notice before we conclude, but we pass them by at prefent; the attention of all men being at this time more engaged by an event of the greatest importance, and which many were of opinion, would make no fmall change in the nature of the war, and above all in the general fyftem of pacification. This was the death of George II. king of Great Britain. He died fuddenly in his palace at Kenfington, in the 77th year of his age and 33 of his reign. The immediate cause of his death was the rupture of the fubftance of the right ventricle of his heart, by which the circulation was ftopped in an inftant. This was preceded by no fort of apparent illness, His majefty enjoyed an uncommon degree of health and ftrength for that age; but it was believed that he had fuffered by expofing himself too much to the cold in reviewing fome troops that were to be eme barked for the expedition. He had been extremely folicitous about the fortune of this expedition. He had been no lefs anxious for the fate of the enterprise under the hereditary prince, an account of the ill fuccefs of which he had received, though is was not at that time made public. This was believed to have touched him deeply, and to have been one of the caufes of a death fo afflicting to all his people. When future hiftorians come to fpeak of his late majefty, they will find both in his fortune and his virtue, abundant matter for just and unfufpected panegyric. None of his predeceffors in the throne of England lived to fo great an age; few of them enjoyed fo long a reign. And this long courfe was diftinguifhed by circumftances of peculiar felicity, whether we confider him in the public or the private character. His fubjects, allowing for one short and as it were momentary cloud, enjoyed perpetual peace at home, and abroad on many occafions acquired great glory. There was to the laft a confiderable increase in their agriculture, their commerce, and their manufactures, which were daily improving under the internal tranquility they enjoyed, and the wife regulations that were made in every feflion of his parliaments. By a wonderful happiness, he left there improvements no way checked, but rather forwarded, in one of the moft general and wafteful wars that has raged in the world for many centuries. He lived entirely to extinguish party, and the fpirit of party, in his kingdoms; it was not till the clofe of his reign, that his family might have been confidered as firmly and immoveably feated on the throne; but he, having baffled all the private machinations of his enemies d 4 policy, ammunition spent, and all hopes vain of diflodging a fuperior enemy from an advantageous poft, the hereditary prince having had an horfe killed under him, and being himfelf wounded, was with regret compelled to retire. Eleven hundred and feventy of the allies were killed and wounded in this bloody action; about 500 were made prifoners. The lofs of the French was far greater; but they had the field. On this occafion the English nation regretted the lofs of one of its moft shining ornaments in the death of lord Downe, who, while his grateful fovereign was deftining, him to higher honours, received a mortal wound in this battle. He was a person of free and pleasureable life; but of an excellent understanding, amiable manners, and the moft intrepid courage. In the beginning of this war he had a confiderable thare in roufing a martial fpirit amongst the young people of rank in England, and having long thewed them by a gallant example how to fight, he at laft,, by a melancholy one, fhewed them how to die for their country. As the British troops had been the greatest sufferers in this as well as in moft other actions of the campaign, great murmurs were raised against the commander of the allied army, as if upon all occafions, even the moft trivial, he had wantonly expofed the lives of the British, in order to preferve thofe of the German foldiery. Some carried this complaint to a ridiculous length. But could it with reafon have been expected, that where 25,000 English had ferved for a whole campaign, were engaged in five fharp encounters (fome of them a fort of pitched battles) in all which they acquired the whole glory, that they thould lofe a finaller number than 265 kill ed, and 870 wounded, which is the whole of their lofs in all the encounters of this campaign? It is true, the life of a man is a facred thing, and of value to his country. But in fome circumftances it is ridiculous for a nation to think of sparing even a greater effufion of blood to acquire reputation to their arms, and experience to the troops and the officers. The English defired the poft of honour with equal spirit and wifdom; they were entitled to it, they had it, and they purchafed it more cheaply, than on the whole might have been expected. Neither was their blood lavished on every trivial occafion, as had been falfely fuggefted. The only affairs in which they fuffered any thing worth notice, were thofe of Warbourg and Campen; both actions of the higheft confequence. After the difappointment and lofs the hereditary prince had fuffered in the late engagement, he was fen-* fible that a fiege could no longer be carried on with any profpect of fuccefs, in fight of an army fo much fuperior; the Rhine every day fwelled more and more, and his communication with the troops before Wefel became every hour more difficult. Befides, as the whole country was by this time overflowed, his men must have been expofed to the greatest hardships and the most fatal distempers. The fc confiderations determined him to repafs the Khine without delay. Notwithflanding the extreme nearness of the French army, the late repulfe the prince had met, and the great fwell of the waters, fuch was the impref fion he had left on the enemy, and the excellence of his difpofitions, that they did not even attempt to diftrefs his rear; and he paged affed the Rhine without the leaft moleftation, not only under the eye, but as it were within the grasp of a fuperior French army. fortune of this expedition. He had been no less anxious for the fate of the enterprife under the hereditary prince, an account of the ill fuccefs of which he had received, though is was not at that time made public. This was believed to have touched him deeply, and to have been one of the caufes of a death fo afflicting to all his people. From this the operations of the armies became gradually more languid; for as nothing decifive happened on either fide during the whole campaign, it was impoffible to think at this advanced feafon of undertaking any very fignal enterprise; as if by common confent they began to move towards winter-quarters. So that what ever happened after this was not connected with the general plan of the campaign; and were the fudden acts of detached parties who attempted fome advantages of farprife. Of these we fhall take fome notice before we conclude, but we pass them by at prefent; the attention of all men being at this time more engaged by an event of the greateft importance, and which many were of opinion, would make no fmall change in the nature of the war, and above all in the general fyftem of pacification. This was the death of George II. king of Great Britain. When future hiftorians come to fpeak of his late majefty, they will find both in his fortune and his virtue, abundant matter for just and unfufpected panegyric. None of his predeceffors in the throne of England lived to fo great an age; few of them enjoyed fo long a reign. And this long courfe was diftinguifhed by circumftances of peculiar felicity, whether we confider him in the public or the private character. His fubjects, allowing for one thort and as it were momentary cloud, enjoyed perpetual peace at home, and abroad on many occafions acquired great glory. There was to the laft a confiderable increase in their agriculture, their commerce, and their manufactures, which were daily improving under the internal tranquility they enjoyed, and the wife regulations that were made in every fellion of his parliaments. By a wonderful happiness, he left thefe improvements no way checked, but rather forwarded, in one of the moft general and wafteful wars that has raged in the world for many centuries. He died fuddenly in his palace at Kenfington, in the 77th year of his age and 33 of his reign. The immediate caufe of his death was the rupture of the fubftance of the right ventricle of his heart, by which the circulation was ftopped in an inftant. This was preceded by no fort of apparent illness, His majefty enjoyed an uncommon degree of health and strength for that age; but it was believed that he had fuffered by expofing himself too much to the cold in reviewing fome troops that were to be eme barked for the expedition. He had been extremely folicitous about the He lived entirely to extinguish party, and the fpirit of party, in his kingdoms; it was not till the clofe of his reign, that his family might have been confidered as firmly and immoveably feated on the throne; but he, having baffled all the private machinations of his enemies d 4 policy, policy, fubdued at length the utmoft effort of their force: and tho', on that menacing occafion, he experienced in the fullest measure the affection of his people, yet the completion of this great fervice to his family, he owed folely to the capacity and bravery of his own fon. He lived with his queen in that kind of harmony and confidence, that is feen between the beft fuited couples in private life. He had a numerous iffue, in which he had great caufe of fatisfaction, and very little of difquiet, but what was the almoft neceffary confequence of a life protracted to a late period. He furvived feveral of his children. He had the fatisfaction to fee in his fuccellor, what is very rare, the mott affectionate obedience, the moit dutiful acquiefcence in his will; and what is no lefs rare, contrary to the fortune of moft old kings, he never poffeffed more perfectly the Jove of his fubjects than in the laft years of his life. And he died at the very point of time when the terror of his arms, the power of his kingdoms, and the wisdom of his government, were all raifed to almoft as high a pitch as they could poflibly arrive at; they were indeed at that height of profperity and glory, as never had been exceeded in the reign of the inoft fortunate of his predeceffors. His parts were not lively or brilliant; but the whole of his conduct demonfirates that he had a judgment both folid and comprehenfive. He understood the interefts of the other fovereigns of Europe; and was particularly killed in all the receffes of that political labyrinth, the fyftem of Germany; of the liberties of which he was through is whole life a moft zealous affertor. In the year 1741, he took up arms, and even riked his own perfon, when, by the projected difmemberment of the houfe of Auftria, they were in danger of falling a facrifice to a French faction. He afterwards refifted with equal firmnefs that very houfe of Auftria, which he had expofed his life to defend, when the liberties of the empire were threatened from that quarter. The acquifitions of his father were by him confirmed, improved, and enlarged. He was enabled by his economy always to keep up a confiderable body of troops in Hanover; by which means, when the war broke out, there was a difciplined force ready to oppofe the common enemy; and we do not hazard any thing in afferting, that if it had not been for the prudent forefight of that measure, the army which has fince been formed, and the great things which have fince been done, could never have had existence. So that if we only examine what he has done in Germany, when we reflect what enemies fecret and declared he had at different times to manage and to fight in that country, he muft in every fair judgment be allowed the greateft prince of his family. le was in his temper fudden and violent; but this, though it influenced his behaviour, made no impreflion on his conduct, which was always fufficiently deliberate, and attentive to his own interests and thofe of his fubjects. He was plain and direct in his intentions; true to his word: steady in his favour and protection to his fervants, and never changed them willingly, this appeared clearly in thofe who ferved more immediately on his perfon, whom he fcarce ever removed; but they grew old along with him, or died in their places. But having been in a fort compelled by by a violent faction to relinquish a minifter for whom he had great affection, and in whom he repofed an unlimited confidence, it afterwards became a matter of mere indifference to him by whom he was ferved in the affairs of his government. He was merciful in his difpofition, but not to fuch a degree as in any fort to encourage offences against his government. On the fuppreflion of the rebellion in 1746, he behaved without any remarkable difplay either of severity or clemency. Many were pardoned, many punished; and this, perhaps, is the moft proper conduct on fuch occafions, where offended majefty requires victims, juftice examples, and humanity pardons. But though the law in many inftances had its free courfe, the exceffes committed in the rage of war, were by him neither commanded nor approved. And after that rebellion had been fuppreffed, he retained no bitter remembrance of it, either to the country in which it unfortunately began, or even to many of the perfons who were actually concerned in it. As he came into England in a riper age, and of confequence never had been able to attain a perfect knowledge of the force and beauties of our language, he never thewed a fufficient regard to the English literature, which in his reign did not flourish; and this must be confidered as the greateit, or rather the only blemish that lay upon his go verument. He has been cenfured, as a little too attentive to money; and perhaps in fome niinute things this cenfure was not wholly without foundation. But there are two confiderations which greatly enervate this objection to his character. First, that this difpofition never fhewed itfelf in one rapacious act; and 2dly, that it never influenced his conduct on any important occafion. For it is now well known that he fhewed no improper parfimony when this war broke out. In fact, he expended fo much on that occafion, that, on his decease, his private wealth was found to be far inferior to what had commonly been imagined. Though it is true, that during his whole life, he had thewn a remarkable affection to his Hanoverian fubjects, yet the laft act of it demonftrated that they were far from engroffing the whole of his regard; and that in reality his German poffeffions held no other place in his confideration than what their relative importance to the reft of his dominions naturally claimed. For when that truly fevere trial came, in which the interefts of England and Hanover were separated, when a war began for an object wholly foreign to that country, a war in which Hanover muft fuffer much, and could hope no advantage, even there his majefty did not hesitate a moment to expofe his German dominions to almoft inevitable ruin, rather than make or even propofe the fmallest abatement from the immenfity of the Englith rights in America. A conduct that more than wipes off every fufpicion of an improper partiality; and which furely ought never to be mentioned without the highest gratitud to the memory of that magnanimous monarch. If the authors of thefe fheets were equal to fuch a defign, it would perhaps be impoffible to exhibit a more pleafing picture than that which might be formed from a juft view of his late majefty's conduct to thefe two fo differently co..ituted parts of his dominions. His virtue was |