over mountains, along rocks, through moraffes; and they would fleep on beds formed by tying bunches of heath haftily and carelessly together. Their advance to battle was rapid; and after difcharging their mufquets and pistols, they rushed into the ranks of the enemy with their broad fwords; and in close fight, when unable to use their ordinary weapon, they fuddenly ftabbed with the durk. Their religion, which they called christianity, was ftrongly tinctured with the ancient and barbarous fuperftitions of the country. They were univerfally believers in ghofts and preternatural appearances. They marked with eager attention the variable forms of their cloudy and changeful sky; from the different afpect of which, they foretold future and contingent events; and, abforbed in fantaftical imaginations, they perceived in a fort of ecftatic vifion things and perfons feparated from them by a vast interval of space. Each tribe had its peculiar dogmas and modes of faith, which the furrounding clans regarded with indifference, or at most with a cold diflike far removed from the rancor of religious hatred and perfecution for religion was happily a fpecies of folly and wickedness unknown and unheard of amongst them. By extraordinary efforts of activity and valor, viscount Dundee at the head of his gallant countrymen made a rapid and alarming progrefs; and receiving great promises of fupport from the late king, he flattered himself with the vain hope of ultimately restoring the royal authority in North Britain. But being clofely followed by general Mackay, who commanded for the reigning monarch, in Scotland, after various marches and counter-marches the two armies came to an engagement May the 26th, 1689, at the pass of Killicranky, fome miles above Dunkeld. Such was the impetuofity of the highlanders, incited by the conduct of their gallant chieftain, that the English troops were entirely broken in lefs than ten minutes. The dragoons fled at the firft charge, and the whole train of artil lery lery fell into the hands of the enemy. Nothing could be more decifive than the victory thus obtained, when a random shot put an end to the life of Dundee: and general Mackay, taking advantage of this unexpected and fortunate incident, rallied his men, and retrieved with great courage and address the battle thus to appearance irrecoverably loft. The highlanders, ftruck with grief and confternation, were never after able to make head; and the clans, wearied with a repetition of misfortunes, at length almost universally laid down their arms, and took the benefit of the pardon offered by king William to those who should submit within the time limited in his proclamation. The duke of Gordon, also, defpairing of relief, furrendered the caftle of Edinburgh at discretion on the 13th of June, 1689: fo that the whole island of Great Britain now acknowledged the fovereignty of the new monarch; but Ireland was far from following this example. In order to form a juft estimate of the political state of this kingdom as connected with Great Britain, it will be neceffary to fix our previous attention upon the fituation of affairs on the continent. The rifing power of France and the immeasurable ambition of its fovereign Louis XIV. . had long excited the most serious apprehenfions of the European potentates. Wholly negligent of the rules of policy, the pride of that monarch incited him to attempts no less infulting to the feelings than injurious to the rights of his neighbours. Immediately on the conclufion of the peace of Nimeguen, Feb. 1678-9, two pretended courts of justice were erected, the one at Metz, the other at Brifac, under the appellation of " Chambers of Re-union," for the exprefs and avowed purpose of enforcing the claims of the French monarch respecting those cities and districts which were faid to be dependencies either upon the bishoprics of Metz, Toul and Verdun, or upon the countries ceded to France by the treaty of Nimeguen. The feudal proprietors and lords of those places were cited to appear in these courts, and in default fault of fuch appearance were condemned for contumacy. It is evident that claims of this nature, enforced in this mode, must be productive of the bitterest animofity and contention. On the refufal of Spain and the empire to furrender several places in Brabant, Alface, and Lorraine, thus imperiously demanded, Strasburg was feized, and Luxemburg befieged. The higheft offence and the highest alarm were also excited in Holland and the proteftant ftates of Germany, by the repeal of the famous edict of Nantz, and the furious perfecution now commenced against the Huguenots in France. Leopold emperor of Germany, the only prince in Christendom whose power could with any profpect of fuccefs be fet in oppofition to that of France, was engaged in a dangerous war with the Ottoman Porte, affifted by the mal-contents of Hungary; infomuch that, in the course of it, the Turkish moons had been displayed before the walls of Vienna. But in confequence of the ́fplendid and memorable victory obtained there over the infidels by the heroic Sobieski, the war took an unexpected and very favorable turn and the court of Vienna was now much more at liberty to fix her attention upon the bold and afpiring projects of France. In order effectually to counteract those daring designs, a league was formed in the year 1686 at Augsburg, to which the emperor, Spain, Holland, Savoy, and the principal states of the empire both catholic and proteftant, were the contracting parties. The acceffion of England was eagerly looked for to this grand alliance, of which the emperor was the nominal but the prince of Orange the real head; from whofe firmnefs and wifdom it derived all its weight and energy. It is fingular, that even the pope himself, Innocent XI. greatly favored this confederacy against Louis, from whofe haughtinefs he had received the moft mortifying perfonal affronts, and who had by recent violence wrested from him the city of Avignon. ; Perceiving Perceiving a war inevitable, the king of France did not wait for the attack, but in the month of October, 1688, caused a numerous army under the command of the Dauphin to pass the Rhine, which took poffeffion with very little oppofition of the cities of Philipfburg, Manheim, Mentz, Spires, &c.: but he was wholly disappointed in his designs upon Cologne, which, rejecting the neutrality offered by France, admitted a garrifon of 6000 men from printe Clement of Bavaria, recently chofen elector. The States General having nothing to apprehend therefore on that fide, the prince of Orange was left at full liberty to prosecute his defigns upon England. This fudden irruption was immediately followed by a manifesto against the emperor, and a declaration of war against Holland, accompanied nearly at the fame time with similar declarations against the other contracting parties of the league of Augsburg. And on the other hand, the States of the Empire convened at Ratisbon ' paffed unanimously a decree, pronouncing the crown of France with its adherents enemies of the Holy Roman Empire, for their manifold contraventions of the treaties of Munfter, Nimeguen, &c. and declaring the war now undertaken to be a common war of the empire against the common foe of Christendom. The ravages committed by the French armies in the circles of the Rhine, and particularly the Palatinate, were dreadful in the extreme, and excited throughout Europe the livelieft emotions of refentment and commiferation. Strong traces of their devastations are even yet difcernible in many parts of that beautiful territory; and on this fpot at least the memory of Louis XIV. must be for ever held accurfed. In the month of March, 1689, the king by a meffage informed both houses of parliament, that the late king had failed from Breft with French troops in order to effect a landing in Ireland; on which a joint address was presented, declaring, "that they would with their lives and fortunes affift his majesty in fupporting the alliances abroad, in the re duction of Ireland, and in defending the religion and laws of the kingdom." And in the month of April the house of commons came to a more determinate refolution, that in cafe his majesty thought fit to engage in the war with France, the house would give him all such assistance in a parliamentary way as fhould enable him to support and go through with the fame." In the subsequent address founded on this refolution, they express their confidence, that through his majesty's wisdom the alliances already made, and hereafter to be concluded, will be effectual. to reduce the French king to a condition that it may not be in his power hereafter to violate the peace of Christendom. On this grand point, a deep and cordial sympathy united the monarch, the parliament, and the nation; and the king in reply declared in warm terms his fatisfaction at this addrefs, and profeffed that he looked upon the war to be already fo much declared by France against England, that the step now taken was not fo properly an act of choice as of inevitable neceffity and felf-defence. And on the 7th of May following, 1689, war was in form.declared against the French monarch. On the abdication of James, and his fubfequent arrival in France, he had been received by Louis with an hofpitality and kindness approaching even to oftentation. The palace of St. Germains was affigned him for his refidence, his household fupported with great magnificence, and hopes, or rather affurances, were given him that he fhould be fpeedily re-established on the throne of England. The conduct of James, however, in this fituation, difcovered no symptoms either of spirit or understanding. shewed little fenfibility at the lofs, of his crown. His fa⚫culties were abforbed in the moft abject fuperftition and bigotry. His favorite occupation was holding conferences with the Jefuits, into which order he had been initiated on the mysteries of religion: and of the perfonal courage which He had: |