our defeat, but nothing could be alledged to vindicate our disgrace, or extenuate the glory of the French,

The intelligence, which the Duke of Bavaria's Secretary held with the French, was generally assigned to be the cause of the loss of this battle. Whether the correspondence he managed was by the order of his master, is uncertain, but the servant was hanged very fairly, and tried afterwards.

The Elector of Bavaria is reckoned a superstitious Prince, brave enough, and very much devoted to his religion; but the execution of this gentleman in so odd a manner, without any examination, tryal, or conviction, convinced us of the late Elector's policy, but gave us no great proofs of his piety.

Our horse, excepting two or three regiments, behaved themselves but indifferently, and they declared openly, that they fought as they were paid. But our foot did good service, if not to the English nation, yet to the rest of the confederates; for they stood very firmly, and maintained their ground with all the courage imaginable, and by this means gave the allies an opportunity of running away.

General Talmash and Sir Henry Bellasis continued last upon the field of battle, and one of these had won immortal reputation, if the memory of Vigo and Port St. Mary's did not cancel the glory he acquired in Flanders.

But he survives, and Talmash lies as low as envy or jealousy 'could desire him. Though it is impossible to imagine he was sacrificed to the resentment of a court party; yet it is easy to believe some in the ministry heartily wished his ruin.

He was too brave and too publick a spirited man, either to let himself, the Parliament, or nation be imposed on; he loved a soldier, and, as he was the readiest to lead his men to battle, so he took the greatest care to see them rewarded after the combate. His principles of honour and his sense were too good to be bribed or amused, and his personal courage and integrity too great to be forced or threatened into an unworthy silence.

Such qualifications as these were, without dispute, made him obnoxious to such as hated the interest of England; and, at last, they prevailed so far as to have him employed in an attempt, where he must of necessity lose his honour or his life.

But these were not the only loses that afflicted King William. He had the misfortune to see his Queen fall ill of the small-pox, and a few days robbed the English of a Princess, a better than whom never mounted a throne, or gave laws to a willing people.

She died as unconcerned as his Majesty her husband fought, and braved the King of Terrors with as great a resolution on her bed of sickness, as he did in the field of battle. And certainly that lady's piety or courage was the greater, since, as she said herself to my Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, she was always prepared to die, and her royal spouse very often took the sacrament before a battle.

King William, as it is reported, was very much concerned at her death; and, if he had expressed a more visible sorrow, the

nation would have resented it still more kindly, who sincerely mourned the loss of that Princess, and still do upon her memory.

But, though the loss of so good a Princess afflicted King William very much, yet the peace of Reswick mortified him much more, He was obliged, at last, by the murmuring temper of his subjects, to acquiesce in terms very dishonourable to Europe, and not over glorious to his Majesty. By this treaty of pacification, the French were to retain Luxemburgh and Strasburgh, those bulwarks of Flanders and the empire; who, instead of them, were only to have an equivalent, which, in fact, was far from the intrinsick value of those provinces But, notwithstanding the inequality of these and other articles, the conduct of the Duke of Savoy, and the neutrality in Italy, powerfully persuaded the allies to put an end to the war.

Soon after the peace, the partition treaty followed; and, by too much precaution, the government involved the nation in a dreadful war, which, to their best thinking, they endeavoured to avoid. The Spaniards, who are a haughty people, so much resented the intended division of their monarchy, that their grandees made a will, or influenced their monarch so to do; by which he devised all his dominions in Italy, Spain, and the West Indies, to the house of Bourbon, in the person of the Duke of Anjou, who, notwithstanding the most dreadful imprecations of his grandfather to the contrary, took possession of those states and provinces, by the assistance of that monarch, who, to prefer his family, despised all sanctions, both divine and human.

It is frequently observable in politicks, that men often lose the substance, by an inquisition after the shadow. Old Esop told us this a great many years ago; and we see it every day's experience, that, greedily desiring the whole, we even lose that part of which we might have securely possessed ourselves. But it fell out quite otherwise, in relation to this partition treaty; for the house of Austria, not being contented with a part of the Spanish provinces, lost them the whole, and the balance of Europe was turned to the part of France, which they thought would have been at the discretion of the confederates.

When the peace of Reswick was brought to a conclusion, the Parliament of England thought it high time to disband some of their national regiments, and all the foreigners in their service. Amonst these last were the Dutch blue guards, and my Lord Portland's regiment of Dutch horse, who attended his Majesty in all his expeditions, long before and after his accession to the throne of England. His Majesty was much dissatisfied at the proceedings, and made all the interest he possibly could in the house, to disannul the injunctions of his supreme council; but all to no effect. He used intreaties to the Parliament, but to no purpose; and, upon this occasion, behaved much different from the haughty character he had all along maintained.

He laid the scheme of the present war we are engaged in against France and Spain, and made all the provision the grandeur of such

a design required. After the unfortunate accident of breaking his collar-bone, he fell into a fever, which quickly put an end to his reign and glory.

During his sickness, he behaved himself with that greatness of soul, which he had often shewed in the field, and died with the same bravery as he had expressed in the heat of action.

PROPOSALS

FOR THE

REFORMATION OF SCHOOLS AND UNIVERSITIES,

IN ORDER TO THE BETTER EDUCATION OF YOUTH;

Humbly offered to the serious Consideration of the High Court of Parliament.

[From a Quarto, containing nine Pages, printed in 1704.]

These proposals were calculated for the reformation of learning in North Britain, and though the individuals, contained in them, are peculiar to Scotland, yet the substance of the whole, mutatis mutandis, may not be improperly applied to that part of the realm, which lies South of the Tweed, where the same objections are as forcible against schools and schoolmasters; the aspiring of poor and mechanical spirits to the ministerial office, and the admission into holy orders of those, who either have never been initiated with the advanced studies of an University, or, perchance, on account of their poverty, have been permitted, after a very short stay at those fountains of learning, to return home, and seek after a title to orders, that they may get a morsel of bread *. Though it must be confessed, that no nation has produced more learned and pious divines, than the two famous Universities of England. But it is wished, that a method could be found to prevent so many extra-university men, who, without due education, creep into the ministry for a maintenance; and to reform the extraordinary expences, that are squandered away in the excesses of our young gentlemen, in the great schools and universities of this nation.

TH

HERE has been a great decay of learning in this kingdom for many years for instance, where we have now one, who can write one single sheet, an hundred years ago we had twenty, who

could have written volumes in good sense, and good Latin. And though the causes of the low ebb, learning has sunk to among us, are very obvious, yet I must confess, it is no easy matter to put a stop to the growing evil. It is hard to make a scheme of education which will generally please, and harder still to put it in execution; it is difficult to alter an old constitution, though full of errors, and more difficult, in our circumstances, to establish a new one, though ever so just and reasonable. We have been too long pursuing the wrong road, to be set easily right. We neither take just measures, nor allow sufficient time for the education of our youth. However, since the encouragement and improvement of learning is certainly so much for the true interest of the nation, I shall adventure to tell my opinion frankly, and shall be heartily glad, if it can be found of any use or service; at least, I hope it shall excite others of greater ability, to make farther inquiries into these matters, such as may convince the Parliament of the necessity of reforming our schools and Universities, for the good and benefit of learning.

One main cause of the low estate of learning is, that it is too easily and cheaply purchased.' One can make his son, what now with us passes for a scholar, at a much cheaper rate, than he can breed him a shoe-maker or weaver. For a short time at the schools, and three or four years at the Universities, upon little or no expence, in our way, is enough to make a Master of Arts, who immediately gets into the most considerable employments, which require the longest study and best qualifications, before he have years, sense, prudence, or learning: upon which account, the mechanicks, and poorer sort of people, are encouraged to send their sons to schools and universities, finding a very little money, and as little time, sufficient to make what we call a scholar. But, in my opinion, were these put to the plough and other trades, it would be better for themselves (who would be kept within their proper spheres) and more for the interest of the nation, which is overstocked with scholars, and in extreme want of people, for mechanical employments. This is one great cause of the low condition of learning. People, who are daily pinched for the back and the belly, cannot bestow much time upon the improvement of their minds; their spirits are depressed under their poverty; they have not money to afford them books, or to bring them into the conversation of the world: and how, without these, a man can become a good scholar, passes my comprehension.

But it may be said, by debarring the poorer sort from learning, some good spirits may be excluded; which as it is the only objection, so it is as easily removed.

We have as much use for good spirits, to be employed in mechanical trades and merchandising, as for learning; and by admitting one, upon the pretence of good spirit, we certainly must take in an hundred of low and dull capacities. And let their genius he as good as you please, unless you give them money too, they will never be able to make any tolerable advance in learning;

and, by the following scheme for rectifying our bursaries, a competency is provided for them, as far as the funds will go.

Another great cause of the decay of learning is, the bad methods, which are followed in our schools and universities, and the insufficiency of the masters, who are provided for the government of them.' There are in the kingdom wear one thousand parishes, and in most of them, Latin is pretended to be taught, though not one of fifty of the school-masters is capable of teaching it; and no wonder, for not one of fifty of them was tolerably taught it, and not one of an hundred, however capable, has books to enable him to acquire it by his after industry. At the Universities, we bestow a few months, upon the study of the Greek; whereas that noble language, and the learned and useful books, which are written in it, may perhaps deserve our care and pains for as many years. We allow too much time upon old antiquated metaphysical jargon : and as for natural philosophy, which, in this and the last age, has been so happily brought, from an idle prattling about words of no signification, to a solid science; it requires such a deep insight into the most profound parts of the mathematicks, that I am afraid few of those, who profess it, are capable of teaching it. We get too hastily through our divinity, history, law, and medicine we

have none.

The cheapness of learning brings it into the hands of the poorer and meaner people. Their poverty, the wrong methods which are taken in teaching, and the insufficiency of the teachers, unavoidably subject them to the greatest ignorance. And both together, the ignorance and the poverty of our scholars, infallibly bring learning itself under disgrace and contempt. Poverty deprives them, as of a great many other advantages, so particularly of that due assurance, that address and that freedom of spirit, which are so natural to quality and gentry. Nay sometimes under difficult circumstances, to prevent starving, it forces them upon courses unworthy of their professions, to the no small scandal of others who should be led by their examples. And in one word, the natural tendency of our present methods is to unfit a scholar for a gentleman, and to render a gentleman ashamed of being a scholar. And, till we reconcile the gentleman with the scholar, it is impossible learning should ever flourish. But was this once done, was learning taken out of the hands of the vulgar, and brought to be as honourable and fashionable among the gentry, as it is now contemptible, I think it would be indeed in a fair way of prospering. For were the younger sons of the nobility and gentry (who now are idle at home, or sent abroad to be knocked on the head) kept the due time at schools and universities, they being encouraged with all things proper for studying, and having their time in their own hands for reading, and not being forced, out of pure necessity, to enter too soon on business, would in all probability make considerable advances in learning. And when possessed of employments, gentlemen would be as tender of their character, as they are of their honour; besides, that, being generally able to live without