interests, and which were fuppofed to have encouraged their revolt, yet their armies were refpectably in creased by a number of foreigners, particularly from England and France, who entered as volunteers into their fervice, and performed the moft gallant actions. That which was termed the Belgic legion in particular was compofed chiefly of British, and no body of military ever distinguished themselves by more active courage or more perfect difcipline.

It would be foreign to our purpofe minutely to detail the viciffitudes of the war. The spirit of the people, encouraged by their clergy, and the good conduct of their officers, not only enabled them to fupport an unequal conteft, but even inclined the balance of victory in their favour, and foon wrefted the whole of the Belgic provinces from the dominion of Auftria.

The unanimity which prevailed at the commencement of the revolution was unfortunately not of lung duration. The federal government of the Belgic ftates appeared to be. established on a bafis not ill calculated to fupport the fabric of a confederated empire; but, in the government of the different states, there exited enough of evil to produce difcontent, faction, and distrust. The constitutions of thefe provinces were, like most of the old governments of Europe, founded entirely upon feudal and ariftocratical principles. The nobles and the clergy were invested with particular privileges, which like all others were fo many infringements on the general rights of the citizens. When Jofeph fubverted the conftitution of thefe provinces, the privileges of the fuperior orders were involved in one common ruin with the liberties of the people. All parties, therefore, were at first

united in reclaiming the ancient conftitution, as more tolerable than the defpotifm of Auftria; but when they had fuccefsfully contended, and purchafed their liberties at the price of their blood, the enlightened part of the community conceived that, in establishing the new government, fuch alterations ought to be adopted as were agreeable to the present im proved notions of civil policy, and fuch parts of the old constitution facrificed as were actually oppreffive. But what was their furprife, when they found that, instead of an im proved fyftem, the old aristocratical government was every where adopted by the ruling powers, and even with additional burthens on the people, and additional indulgences to the privileged orders!got mer omnitor

So far from indicating any.defre for improvement, any genuine affection for the cause of liberty, one of the first steps of the Belgic congrefs was a public déclaration of intolerance; the liberty of the prefs was totally prohibited, and ftate licenfers appointed; arbitrary imprifonment was allowed, and feveral other unpopular measures were adopted. A general air of myftety covered the proceedings of the congrefs, which was foon found to be filled with the creatures and immediate connexions of Van der Noot and Van Euren. Among the perfons who profeffed themselves diffatisfied with the exiting arrangements, and who wished that fomething more might be done for the caufe of the people, were fome of the highest rank and the molt popular character. Of these it is only neceflary (to mention the prince d'Aremberg, the duc d'Urfel, the viscount Walkiers, and general Van der Merfch. A patriotic committee was formed at Bruffels for the purpole of effecting fome reform in the government.

and unpopular into which the Belgic, congrefs was not impelled by his advice and authority, and thofe of Van Euren. The Vonkits, or pa triotic committee (fo called from the name of their prefident Vonk), were every where perfecuted. The dungeons were crowded with ftate prifoners. The most sanguinary and fevere code of military laws that, perhaps ever was invented, was enacted for the regulation of the armies. If a foldier was heard to murmur, he was put in irons, and chaftifed with the flat fide of a fabre, ad libitum. If he threatened his officer, he was fhot dead on the spot, with, out form or procefs. It was death for a foldier to defert his poft, to lofe his arms, or fly from the enemy; and even if he were to abfent himfelf from his company for ever fo short a time without a pass, he was, confidered as a deferter, and inevitably punished with death. To complete the impolicy and abfurdity of their proceedings, the duke d'Urfel, the viscount de Walkiers, and several of the firft nobility were arrested as traitors. The victorious general Van der Merfch was put under arrest, and committed to the caftle of Anvers, upon charges which in themfelves were frivolous; though it must be confeffed that there is fome reafon to believe that this commander had devoted himself to the views of Auftria.

1

A fact of a lefs important nature. will ferve perhaps ftill better to fhew the weakness and inconfiftency of this administration, When the national affembly of France fequefiered: the eftates of the monafterics, the Belgic congrefs, which was comsi posed of monks, or of men devoted to that order, beheld the facrileger with horror and refentment; and to evinge their difapprobation, and to retaliate for fuch of their couns

trymen as might have fuffered in the general deftruction of monaftic orders in France, they fequeftered themselves the eftates of the French monks in the Belgic provinces; and thus to punish this heretical nation for what they had done, they exactly did what the French themselves would have done, had they been in poffeffion of the fupreme authority in Brabant,

. Daron Schoenfeld, a Pruffian, fueceeded Van der Mersch in the command, and in the outlet of his career evinced himself a fit minifter of the decrees of congrefs. In one day he hanged thirty foldiers who had deferted their poft. Without form or ceremony he broke all the officers who were obnoxious to him; M. Lochée, colonel of the Belgic legion, was obliged to refign, and many other foreign officers of great merit quitted the fervice, Still the congrefs determined to refift; and fuch was the deteftation of the Auftrian yoke, that, amidst all thefe difcou ragements, the majority both af foldiers and of the people continued to fecond them in all their operations, and the war was ftill carried on with various fuccefs. The weight how ever of power and of difcipline was at length felt in several unfuccefsful encounters with the Auftrians; and, as an expiring effort, the peafantry of Brabant and Flanders was embo-died; and M. Van der Noot, whoap-1 pears to have been more deficient in conduct than either in principle or in courage, determined to put him felf at their head. On the 23d of September 1790, this undifeiplined multitude, to the amount of 60,000 men, entered the province of Limburgh, which the Auftrians had recovered by a series of little advant tages. On their approach, the Auftrians, to the amount of about: 15,000, appeared to retreat befores

them.

3

them. But it was a fatal ftratagem to the Belgic pealants. In their purfuit of the flying enemy, they fuffered themselves to be allured into a narrow pals between Huy and Liege, where numbers or even va lour itfelf could no longer avail. There the Auftrians fell upon them with all the advantages of generals fhip and of difcipline; and the unfortunate Van der Noot faw his army completely routed. The fugitives were purfued even to the gates of Liege, where the inhabitants. fhut their gates against them, and re fufed them an afylum. The Auftrian laurels were flained with blood. Immenfe multitudes were maffacred while crying out for quarter, and a number, were hanged on the fpot as rebels, among whom were thirty,Capuchins, and eighty fecular clergy, The lofs of the Flemish in this action was estimated at from seven to ten thoufand.

To complete the misfortunes of the Belgic infurgents, they found themfelves abandoned by the powers under whole expected protection and fupport they had first revolted. The politics of courts are always felfifh; and the moral principles or fentiments which govern the conduct of individuals, in their mutual intercourfe, are feldom found to mix in the negociations of itates. The new arrangements which had taken place between the king of Pruffia and the emperor, defeated every hope of fuccour from that quarter; and even in a congrefs which was held at the Hague between the minifters of Pruf fia, England, Holland, and Auftria, they were given to underftand, that all which the mediating powers could guarantee was, the refloration of the Belgic conftitutions as under the adminiftration of the late emprefs queen Maria Theresa.

Such was the fate of things on

the 13th of November, when M. Van Euren entered the hall of congrefs with a large crucifix in his hand, which with much folemnity he depofited on a velvet cufhion, and took a facred oath, never to agree to any propofal of accommo dation with the tyrant Leopold, He was followed by M. Van der Noot-but, to their unspeakable fur prife, by no other member of the congrefs. The reprefentatives of Hainault, of Flanders, of Tournay, and Malines, declared even that they were inftructed by their con tituents to treat with the emperor. The feffion concluded with the mif fion of four members, one from each of thofe provinces, to negociate an accommodation through the minifters of the mediating powers. In the mean time the Auftrians ad vanced with a body of 43,000 chosen troops; on the 24th of November Namur furrendered, and Bruffels on the 2d of December. Thefe events were followed by the flight of Meffrs. Van der Noot and Van, Eu ren, and the baron Schoenfeld. Ge neral Van der Merfch was fet at li berty, and foon after reinftated in all his honours and poffeffions by the Auftrians. The cities and towns of Flanders and Brabant fucceffively opened their gates to the conquer ors; and, at the commencement of the year 1791, Leopold had the fas tisfaction to fee himself completely master of the Auftrian Netherlands. On the, it of January, Te Deum was fung at Bruffels in celebration of their reduction under the domi nion of Auftria; and on the 8th the inhabitants of the Belgic provinces fent an addrefs to the emperor, expreflive of their obedience and devotion to his authority. $ *

Several other circumflances cone curred to render Leopold defirous of peace. The kingdom of Fiungary,

though

though not in a state of actual rebellion, had yet manifefted fome un pleafant fymptoms of difquietude and diffatisfaction. Wearied and exhausted by the quixotifm of Jo feph, the Hungarians complained that the war had been entered into without the confent of the ftates of the kingdom. As Jofeph too had not confined his innovations to his Auftrian dominions, there exifted fome causes of complaint on that account. Thefe however Jofeph, previous to his death, had promifed to redrefs ; nor was there much probability that the pacific Leopold would perfit in meafures which the obftinate and ambitious Jofeph had res Linquifhed as untenable. When, however, the principle of difcontent is excited in a people, it is not eafily to be allayed. The demands of the Hungarians appeared greatly to exceed the limits of their firft profeffions, and fell little fhort of arro gating to the affembly of the ftates the full fovereignty of the nation. The fecret of Leopold's government was perhaps venality. The fame perfuafive eloquence which had penetrated the hearts of the patriotic party in Flanders, probably ferved gradually to diminish the haughty pretenfions of the Hungarian noBles. Two methods, therefore, re mained, by which the new monarch might eftablish his authority. The onewas, to conciliate the malcontents within and the other, to remove the caufe which had reduced the houfe of Auftria to this predicament, by a fpeedy termination of the war with the Turks.

d. There was a caufe which perhaps Jay ftill nearer to the heart of Leo pold, fince it was one which affected more ftrongly his felf-love. He had been a little affected with the rage of innovation himself, and his Italian fubjects feemed not to receive his

alterations with the moft paffive fpirit. His tyrannical regulations concerning the interment of the dead in particular were adopted with hor ror, and fome ferious riots had been the confequence of this and fome other changes.

But if peace was defirable on thefe accounts, it was almost rendered neceffary by the impofing mediation of Pruffia. That imperious and infatiable power, who wished to be the arbitrefs of Germany, had left nothing unattempted to humble the house of Austria, her only rival. In conjunction with another power, which on the continent of Europe is commonly regarded as under the direction of Pruffia in all foreign politics, the court of Berlin was commonly fuppofed to have been the means of plunging the misguided Ottomans into the unpropitious and distressful conteft in which they were engaged. Honour, as far as we may apply that term to the negociations of politicians, forbad the total abandoning of this infatuated people in the extremity of their difs trefs; intereft, real or imaginary, alfo, which is by far the ftronger tie, forbad the total deftruction of the Ottoman empire. Pruffia embraced the opportunity of de grading Auftria, and of manifesting its own power; and, however dif. agreeable or humiliating to Leopold, began foon after his acceffion to infift on a pacification between Austria and the Turks,