bition, the offspring of his vanity, was boundlefs: it urged him to violate the faith of treaties; to invade the rights of independent nations: to burst asunder the bonds of humanity and juftice, which, in private life, he was accustomed to refpect; to extend the limits of his power; and to render his authority as univerfal as it was abfolute. Impelled by the fame principle, he fpurned at controul, removed all impediments to arbitrary fway, and quenched the few remaining fparks of civil liberty.

66

Though his abilities were flender, and his genius did not rife above mediocrity, he had penetration to difcover, and liberality to reward, talents of every defcription. Though his encouragement of the fciences must be exempt from a fi uilar imputation, it is certainly a matter of doubt, whether his patronage of the arts proceeded from inclination or policy: whether he confidered the riches they tended to produce as a fource of advantage to himself, or as the means of comfort to his fubjects.

"Deceived, at an early period of life, by thofe in whom he had repofed an implicit confidence, he became fufpicious and mistrustful; and the prejudice he imbibed against individuals not unfrequently proved detrimental to the ftate. He gratified, without referve, his amorous propenfities; and his court exhibited a fcene of gallantry, at one period, more dangerous from excefs of refinement, and, at another, difgufting, from the mafk of devotion affumed to conceal it. Yet he never fuffered his punctuality, in matters of business, to be interrupted by pleafurable enjoyments.

So rigidly orthodox was Lewis, that he preferred impiety to error. He once infifted on the difmiffion of an officer in the houfhold of his nephew the duke of Orleans, because he fufpected him of favouring the principles of his mother, who was a Janfenift. In a conversation on the fubject the duke faid to the king- Faith I know not what may be the fentiments of the mother; but as for the fon being a Fanfenift, tis a mere calumny, for he does not even believe in the existence of a God.""Are you certain of that?" replied Lewis; " you may keep him then." "The appellation of Great, Lewis by no means deferved, for though Great and Good be generally employed as terms of an oppofite meaning, we muft adhere to the idea that no man can he truly great, who is not truly good. Still it thould be remembered that the epithet was beftowed on Lewis, by the Parifians, in 1680, not long after the peace of Nimeguen, indifputably the most glorious epoch of his reign. Though we incline to confider this mark of diftinction, rather as the tribute of vanity than of gratitude, (for the people are as vain of being governed by a great monarch, as the fovereign is of his title) juftice requires we fhould enumerate the actions which they alledged as the motives of their conduct. The king had established schools for Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture; and while he contributed to the inftruction of the pupils by obtaining models of all kinds, at a vast expence from Roine, he rewarded their fuccefsful efforts with great liberality, and embellished his palaces with their works. He had given energy and ftrength to commerce, both foreign, and domeftic, by the establishment of an India company, and by facilitating the intercourfe of one province with another, by means of rivers which he rendered

navigable,

382 navigable, and of new roads which he caufed to be opened. The canal of Languedoc, by which a junction of the two feas was effected, was his work he established manufactories of various kinds; of plateglafs, in imitation of that of Venice; of tapestry, like the Flemish ; and carpets, to resemble those of Turkey: he created a navy for the protection of commerce, and the repreffion of hoftile attacks: he afforded encouragement to agriculture; reformed the French law; repreffed the rage for duels; rendered ecclefiaftical dignities the recompence of genius and of virtue; bestowed rewards on the learned of all countries, and declared himself the protector of the French academy, and of the academies of the Belles-Lettres, and of the Sciences, To him was Aftronomy indebted for her obfervatory; the Louvre for its peri-style; Paris for its police; the troops for their difcipline; the French coafts for harbours, commodious and fafe; the frontiers for protecting forts and fortreffes; and the whole nation for the erection of the Hotel des Invalids, a monument of humanity, in which the victims of their country enjoy an honourable repofe, and blefs the memory of its founder. Thefe were the deeds which, joined to the fpl ndid achievements of a war, fuccefsful though unjuft, and the advantages of a peace, which tended to aggrandize the kingdom by a confiderable extenfion of territory, induced the Parifians to beftow on their tovereign the denomination of LEWIS THE GREAT. They certainly gave him ftrong claims on their gratitude; and, when con fidered in conjunction with the fentiments he difplayed on his deathbed, should be allowed to rescue his memory from that obloquy which many parts of his political conduct are but too well calculated to incur." P. 499.

In the reign of Louis XV. the enterprife of Law, called the Miffilippi fcheme, fo fimilar to our South Sea Bubble at the fame period, is among the most curious articles of detail; of it that as we cannot give the whole, we shall felect the is most remarkable.

ment.

part

"But the reign of this enterprifing fpeculator was nearly at an end, and the moft violent convulfions marked the period of his poli tical diffolution. We have already obferved that at the firft opening of the bank the French haftened to exchange their folid cafh for paper fecurity, which cash was devoted to the purpose of buying up, at an immenfe advantage, the notes which had been iffued by the governAs thefe notes, from the vast quantity of them that were bought up, began to difappear; the opportunity of employing the bank paper to advantage was in a great meafure loft; but Law, whose fertile brain was feldom at a lofs for refources, devised another expedient for renewing that opportunity: this was, to lower the value of their money, carry the current coin, while the notes iffued by the bank were always to retain their first value; thus people were induced to the value of which was diminishing, to the bank, and to receive in exchange notes which, they conceived, were in no danger of lofing their original value; when the miniftry, alarmed at the rapid fall of money, produced by this means, had recourfe to an edict for en

hancing

hancing its value, people then fhut it up in their defks as a precious article, and it there remained in a state of inactivity, until, depreciated by a new edict, it was again carried to the bank,

"The enormous and rapid fortunes that were made, during the prevalence of this infatuation, excited a kind of phrenzy in the minds of the publick, that it would be difficult to defcribe. There were inftances of individuals, beginning with a fingle bank note, who in the course of a few weeks, by a combination of skill and good luck, in the management of this alluring traffic, found themselves in poffeffion of millions; the Rue Quinquempoix, a long and narrow street, became, for what reason is not known, the rendezvous of the brokers and fpeculators, and the theatre of their rage. Servants, who, on the Mon day, had come thither behind the carriages of their masters, were seen to return, on the Saturday, within them. The croud was fo great Never was the Auri facra that many perfons were crushed to death. fames known to rage with fo much violence as at Paris, during this period. But the French were always in extremes.

"All commerce and fociety ceafed in the metropolis. The artifan in his fhop; the merchant in his counting-house; the magiftrate and man of letters in their study; were all exclufively occupied with gambling fpeculations in the funds. As on the news of the day their gain or lofs depended, the first queftion they asked, on meeting an acquaintance in the ftreet, before the ufual falutations of politenefs were interchanged, was-"What news?-How are the ftocks +?” This was the only fubject of converfation in the fashionable circles, and gaming was now totally confined to the bank.

"One of the worst effects of that worst of paffions, avarice, was the fpirit of cruelty and injuftice which it engendered. The ties of blood and of friendship proved infufficient to reftrain a man from ' promoting the ruin of his friend, when his own intereft was concerned

tune.

"In the Memoires of the Regency (tom. ii. p. 31) we are told, it was fufficient to approach this lucky street, in order to make a forA hump-backed man, gained, in a fhort time, upwards of fifty thousand livres, by letting his hump, as a writing desk, (for which purpose, it feems its fhape was peculiarly well calculated) to those who wanted to fign their names in the ftreet, for the transfer of notes, or other purposes relating to their traffic."

"The following curious anecdote is related by Madame de Baviere-Chirac, a celebrated physician, as he was going to the house of a lady, who had fent for him in a great hurry, received intelligence. that the ftocks had fallen: having a confiderable property embarked in the Miffifippi scheme, the news made fo ftrong an impreffion on his mind, that while he was feeling his patient's pulfe, he exclaimed, "Good heavens how they fall! lower, lower, lower -The lady, in alarm, flew to the bell, crying out" I am dying, M. de Chirac fays that my pulfe get lower and lower, fo that it is impoffible that I fhould live."" You are dreaming, madam"-replied the phyfician, roufing himself from his reverie-"your pulfe are very good, and nothing ails you; it was the stocks I was talking of, for I am a great lofer by their fall.”

in

in the event, and an carly knowledge of a fall of the stocks too fre quently offered an opportunity to the rapacious to impose on the credulous and unfufpicious. Hence fuicides, affaffinations, and all the crimes that avarice and defpair can produce, became prevalent.

"While the bank appeared in the moft profperous fituation, and the holders of bills, exulting in the wisdom which had led them to exchange their cafh for notes, were feeding themfelvss with the hopes of obtaining immenfe fortunes, an edict was published, on the twen tieth of May, 1720, at a time when it was leaft expected, which reduced the company's actions to one half the price which they then bore. This meafure was deemed neceffary to check that publick enthufiafm and credulity, by which Law had profited, in order to put into circulation notes to a much greater amount than all the money in the bank could poffibly difcharge. Villars, fays there were eight thoufand millions of paper in circulation. This unexpected blow difpelled the national delufion: confidence and hope were now fuc ceeded by fears and reflections.of the moft mortifying nature, and the fabric which credit had raised was deftroyed by doubt. The parlia ment prefented remonftrances on the fubject, which the regent received with an appearance of favour: he even accepted the refignation of Law, who had, in a moment, become the object of publick execration: but the next day he was again placed at the head of the bank and of the finances." P. 544.

After thefe extracts it feems unneceffary to repeat or add to our commendations: they will fpeak for themselves, and we fhall only obferve that we thall wait with fome impatience for the history of the late king, and of the revolution, from the •pen of a writer fo well qualified to give them.

ART. IX. A Treatife of Equity. With the Addition of Marginal References and Notes. By John Fonblanque, Efq. Barz rifter at Law. Two Vol. 8vo. 9s. Whieldon and Butterworth. 1793 and 1794.

OF

F the original author of this treatife, which he has improved by the addition of notes and references, Mr. Fon blanque gives the following account, in his preface to the fecond volume.

Henry Ballow, Efq. is the generally reputed author of this work. He appears, from the admiffions to the bar by the Honourable Society of Lincoln's-Inn, to have been called in Michaelmas term, 1728.What was his then age, or what had been his previous course of study, are points upon which the editor felt himself particularly anxious to

"Mem. de la Regence, tom. ii. p. 403-tom. iii. p. 5-Villars, tom. ii. P. 430."

procure

procure information, as a knowledge of the courfe of reading which had produced fo profound a work, before its author was of ten years standing at the bar, might have ftimulated, as well as directed the induftry of the student."

Some account of Mr. Ballow may be found by Mr. Fonblanque in Sir John Hawkins's Life of Dr. Johnfon. He is defcribed there as the companion of Akenfide, and as being relieved from the labours of the bar, by the poffeflion of an employment in the Exchequer, which he owed to the family of the Townfhends, to one of whom he had acted as law tutor. He is likewife mentioned in Mr. Bofwell's Life, as being well known to Johnfon, as his chief inftructor in matters of law, and, in his opinion, "a very able man.” These hints may furnish Mr. Fonblanque with a clue to lead him to a more full gratification of his laudable curiofity. It is true, the enquiry may not teem with all thofe valuable advantages our editor is inclined to hope; fince, perhaps, even the fplendid and well-afcertained example of Sir Matthew Hale has made but few profelytes to enthufiafm in legal ftudi oufnefs. But it will at leaft indulge that strong intereft which the world feels in the hiftory of an ingenious man, with refpect to his habits and manners, the courfe and nature of his literary acquirements, and the leading events of his life.

The original treatife is written with great learning and ability. It is equally commendable for concifenefs and clearness, and the author feems to have taken for his model Littleton's famous treatise on Tenures, which Lord Coke has fo much diftinguished by his comment. It is divided into fix books, which embrace the principal fubjects of equitable jurifprudence. The 1ft book treats of the Nature of Equity and of Agreements in general. The 2d comprehends the Law of Ufes and Trufts, both private and public. In the 3d Mortgages and Pledges are confidered. Laft Wills and Teftaments are the fubjects of the 4th. The 5th relates to Damages and Interest, and the 6th part concludes the work, with fome confiderations upon Evidence.

Of the original defign with which Mr. Fonblanque undertook his edition of this work, of the plan he has purfued, and his reafons for adopting it, he has given the following account in his preface to the fecond volume.

"The work was published in 1737, not only anonymously, a circumftance which of itself materially affects the authority of law publication, but also without references. The learned might, indeed, by the perufal of it, preferve or revive their knowledge; but to the ftudent, from the want of references, it was of little ufe; its contents

Vol. II. p. 384. 8vo. Ed.

were