stead. He died in 1633, and was succeeded by Augustus, the next surviving brother, who only lived three years afterwards; but before he died, gave up the regency to his brother Frederick, the fourth son, who was present at the famous siege of Buda, in 1602, and was made Dean of Bremen in the same year: he drove the Swedes out of his duchy, in 1640, with the assistance of his brother George; and, upon the demise of William, the last of the line of Harpurg, united that district to the House of Lunenburgh. This prince died in 1648.

George, the sixth son, upon whom rested the lot cast to determine which of the brothers should marry, acquired a knowledge of the military art under the celebrated general of infantry, Maurice, Prince of Nassau, then engaged in a war against Spain; he afterwards entered into the service of Christian IV. King of Denmark, during the war between that monarch and Charles IX. of Sweden, and became a general in the Danish army; he signed the confederacy of Leipzig against the Emperor, in 1631, and gave two signal defeats to the Imperial armies, one in each of the two following years, besides subduing many of the strong fortresses belonging to the Emperor. The Swedes, however, afterwards disgusted him, and in 1635 he signed the treaty of Prague, in favour of the Emperor, though, in a few years after, he was so fully convinced of that potentate's tyrannical principles, that, in 1640, he formed a second alliance with the Swedes; but when at Hildesheim, in the preceding year, where he was assisting at a banquet with General Bannier, an execrable wretch, a monk, contrived to administer poisoned wine to several of the chiefs; and, although he only drank a little of it, from that time his strength visibly abated, till a fever carried him off on the 2nd of April, 1641, in the midst of warlike preparations, which his death rendered almost ineffectual. He married Anne

Eleanor, daughter of Lewis V. Landgrave of HesseDarmstadt, and had issue four sons and four daugh ters. To preserve harmony among his sons, he settled the order of succession by his will; and left to Christian-Lewis, his eldest son, the principalities of Zell and Grubenhagen, and to George-William, his second son, that of Calenberg; and, provided either of these should die without issue, the third son, John-Frederick, was to supply his place; and in case of his decease, Ernest-Augustus, the fourth son. He further directed, that whenever death produced a change in the succession, the eldest surviving brother should have his choice of the two governments.

Every one of the brothers successively enjoyed these privileges; but the three eldest dying without issue, the principalities became re-united, and descended to the posterity of the younger brother. The eldest, and two youngest daughters, died infants: Sophia-Amelia, the second daughter, was married to Frederick III. king of Denmark, whom she survived, dying a widow in 1685.

Christian-Lewis, the eldest son, succeeded his father in the principalities of Calenberg and Gottingen, and fixed his residence at the metropolis, Hanover. Upon the decease of his uncle Frederick, he chose the principalities of Zell and Grubenhagen, and relinquished Calenberg and Gottingen to his brother George-William. The bishopric of Walkenreid was confirmed to the house of Lunenburgh, by the peace of Westphalia, in 1648; and two years afterwards, Neinberg, and several other places, were recovered from the Swedes.

He died, in 1665, without issue by his wife Dorothy, daughter of Philip, Duke of Holstein-Glucksburg; and the family dominions then devolved upon George-William, the next brother, who chose the dukedom of Zell, agreeably to his father's will. He signally defeated the French army under Mar

shal Crequi, in 1675, and reduced the city of Treves. In the following year, he forced the Swedes to abandon Stade. He established peace in Hamburgh in 1686, and three years afterwards acquired the duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg, upon the death of JuliusFrancis. Between this prince and William Prince of Orange, afterwards king of England, a perfect friendship subsisted; indeed that monarch relied so much upon the judgment and advice of this faithful friend, that by it his conduct toward the English nation was entirely regulated: so that in the glorious reign of that distinguished warrior and statesman, William III. the British nation may trace the benefits arising from the energy and wisdom of the House of Brunswick, long before Divine Providence saw fit to place them on the British throne. The love and veneration which the inhabitants of his duchy bore to this prince, were conspicuous during his last illness; when they thronged the churches to pray for his recovery, as if their happiness entirely depended on the continuance of his reign. He died August 28, 1705, in his 82nd year, leaving by his wife, Eleanora d'Esmurs, daughter of Alexander d'Olbreuse, one daughter, Sophia-Dorothy, of Zell, afterwards the wife of his nephew George-Lewis, who inherited his dominions; and was the first prince of his illustrious family that wore the British crown.

John-Frederick, the third brother, then succeeded, and reigned fourteen years: he died in 1679, and, leaving only four daughters, his possessions fell to his brother Ernest-Augustus, who became bishop of Osnaburg in 1662, according to the terms of the peace of Westphalia; whereby the House of Brunswick obtained the alternate succession to that bishopric. It is remarkable, that the citizens of Osnaburg, who had refused to acknowledge his predecessors, and more than once disclaimed all obedience to their prelates, immediately submitted to him: which singular mark of their esteem in

duced him to take up his residence at Osnaburg, where he built a fine palace at his own expense: but upon succeeding his brother John-Frederick in the Hanoverian dominions, he appointed a regency at Osnaburg, and went to reside at Hanover; where he soon afterwards abolished the impolitic custom of dividing the patrimonial lands among the several sons, and established the right of primogeniture; to which salutary regulation George-William, of Zell, whose only daughter, Sophia, was married to the next successor, under this settlement, readily consented. He manifested great zeal for the Empire in general; and had already exposed his own person, and lost two of his children in the wars; while three more were hazarding their lives against the Turks and the French. These ser vices made such an impression upon the Emperor, and upon many of the neighbouring princes, that at a diet held at Augsburg in 1689, in order to elect a King of the Romans, it was the opinion of a majority of the members, that the house of Lunenburgh had merited a seat in the Electoral College. This honour would have naturally fallen upon his elder brother George-William, had he not declined it in favour of Ernest-Augustus: and at the diet held at Ratisbon on Dec. 2. 1692, a majority of the electors resolved, that, in consi deration of the great merits of his Highness ErnestAugustus, and of his predecessors, his power and rank in the empire, and the great succours he had already granted, and was willing to continue for the future, and for other great and weighty reasons, the dignity of Elector of the Roman Empire should be conferred on him, and on his heirs-male. Against this resolution the college of princes protested: but notwithstanding their protest, the Em peror solemnly invested the plenipotentiary of Ernest-Augustus with the electoral dignity, as proxy for his master; and this was afterwards confirmed by

the three colleges of the Empire: at which confirmation, the office of arch-standard-bearer was also added. Ernest-Augustus wisely embraced this favourable opportunity, to obtain the sanction of the Emperor for his act of primogeniture, already mentioned; in which he fully succeeded: for all partitions of the electoral estates were from that time declared void. The estates belonging to the electorate were expressly specified to be the principalities of Zell, Calenberg, and Grubenhagen; the counties of Hoya and Diepholtz, including the territories, cities, and bailiwicks; together with all of those possessions which the two brothers, GeorgeWilliam and Ernest-Augustus, previously enjoyed. In addition to the vote in the college of electors, to which this new dignity entitled the House of Brunswick, they at the same time retained three votes in the college of princes, for the principalities of Zell, Calenberg, and Grubenhagen. By his marriage with the Princess Sophia, the youngest daughter of Frederick, elector palatine, and king of Bohemia, by Elizabeth the eldest daughter of James I. of England, and VI. of Scotland, Ernest-Augustus connected the House of Brunswick with the House of Stuart, and ultimately seated his descendants on the throne of Great Britain.