lefs received from laws other bounds than lie at its own difcretion; whence it must confift in the licence of doing that which the laws permit.

In moft of the arbitary Courts of Europe, the marriages of the Royal and Princely children are not free. In France, the Princes of the blood are prohibited, by a fundamental law of the ftate from marrying without the leave of the King, and never have the liberty of contracting marriage of their own authority. We fhould be apt to conclude from a regulation of this kind, that the contracts of thofe, who are fo far incapacitated from being mafters of themselves, are of no validity, if not authorized by the King, on whom they depend. But where fhall we find a reafon for this? we cannot say but that these contracts are entered into willingly, as otherwife they could not be called contracts; and this is fo evident that it is impoffible to difavow it: yet it is true, that they are not engaged in according to the prefcript of civil liberty, I mean that, which is regulated by the laws, which gives them full force both as to legality and validity: For if validity was also destroyed by the prefcript of civil liberty, of courfe that ufage muft be annihilated in like manner, tho' founded on a rule of right, which fays, "That what belongs to us, cannot be taken from us without our confent."

It must therefore be abfurd, to think, that any human law can fuperfede the law of God, and of conscience; or that it can be fuppofed, that a man confenting to marry without the condition of civil liberty, has not the power of difpofing of himfelf by reason of his dependance on a fuperior power, and in confequence of this dependance has no manner of power over himself, and cannot take to himself a woman in marriage.

The person, whom this act was apparently intended to affect is not within the letter of it, his marriage being both legal and valid; legal, as not comprehended in the latt marriage act, and valid, as he indifputably had the power of difpoling of himself in marriage. It feems therefore after all that nothing more has been done by the whole procedure, than to open wider the breach, and fow diffenfions in the ftate by perpetuating a coldness and mifunderstanding between the branches. of the royal family. It often happens that the indifcretions of youth are attended with lucid intervals, and fome of these so permanent, that wifdom takes the place of folly; and he, who had been held out as an object of ridicule to the people becomes infenfibly their idol, when experience has at length convinced them, that he is totally reclaimed, and invariably purfues good courfes. Whence

M m 2

Whence this political reflection will have its ufe, that the minifter who fhould attempt to ingage in great defigns abroad, ought first to confider if all at home be right, no causes of animofity fubfifting in the ftate, no misunderstanding between the branches of the royal family. The union of the principal qualities is what preferves our bodies in a proper degree of health. Encroachments of all kinds are a violation of natural juffice; they break the union of minds, and minds being once difunited, trouble and confufion muft enfue. Who is ignorant that the union of the governing powers in a kingdom, and particularly that of the royal family, is the moft aflured foundation of peace and felicity to the subject? They cannot be difunited from the fovereign, and none of them can attempt to enterprize any thing against his authority, without breaking through the laws of juftice, and breaking likewife their own union, which muft expofe the flate to great calamities. This thought is of Micipfa in Saluft. And Cyrus inftructing his son Cambyfes, gave him for advice, to maintain the harmony of friendship with his kindred, and even to grant them advantages fufficient to content them, as fo doing should make him beloved by his fubjects, who never imagine a Prince capable of friendfhip, that does not love thofe of his blood. This confideration may be the more important, as Tacitus fays, that it is ufual with the People, to entertain a particular affection for the Prince's relations, when they fee them hated by him without reafon, giving an inftance of the love the Romans bore to Germanicus, which increased in proportion to Tiberius's hatred of him: For it is evident that this particular affection of the ple, would put great advantages in their power for disturbing the ftate, and might fupport them in cafe of a revolt. as it can hardly happen that the fovereign's relations may remain unappointed, and without departments to direct in the ftate, how fhall they acquit themselves of their duty, if suffered to live at variance with him, and to engage in parties and cabals to his prejudice? would not this be evidently expofing him to the danger of civil wars, of which we have but too many examples in our hiftory?

The Torment of KINGS.

peo

And

A King died without leaving behind him an heir, and by his will gave away the Crown to him who after his death fhould first enter the city of his refidence. A poor labouring man appeared at the gates when the King had expired, and was initantly crowned. He had inteftine and foreign wars to sustain, commerce to revive, taxes to leffen, arts to make flourish, fubfift

ance

ance of his people to provide for. 'He learned to put things in a fhort time on a good footing, because he had common sense; and fucceeded in all, because he fincerely wished to do good; but he was full of cares and overwhelmed with uneafinefs. An inhabitant of his village came to see him, and said: Thanks be to the All-powerful God, with whom nothing can compare who has raised you to fo a high degree of glory and power ! Ah! friend, faid the king, inftead of thanking God, afk him to give me courage and patience, pity inftead of felicitating me : In my former itate, I only fuffered by my own wants; but now I fuffer by the wants of every one of my fubjects.

SIR,

NOT

To the Printer of the Polttical Regifter.

OTHING for fome time paft has fhocked me fo much, as an account I lately read in Bingley's Journal of the manner of fpending life and killing time, which has been adopted as fomething fuperlatively exquifite at Buckingham-houfe. I cannot think that there is any truth in the narrative, and that it must therefore proceed from malevolence; for who could imagine that a plan fo abfurd, fo favouring of folly fhould be fo almoft invariably purfued by rational beings, forbid it decency! Forbid it wifdom! Forbid it Majefty; I wifh never to hear more of it. If the case, however, might be fo, we have just reason to lament over human nature which is prone to take to bad ways, when unaffisted by lights thrown round it from proper education. If therefore you think, Sir, that the inclofed letter from one friend to another, On the Education of Children, and particu larly that of Princes, would prove entertaining in your regifter, it is at your fervice from your conftant reader and correfpondent, Y. Z.

I

Dear Sir,

AM fo perfuaded that a good education is of all means that which contributes moft to the well-being of human nature, that I cannot help admiring the inftitutes you are endeavouring to train up your fon in.

Far from convincing the world that you had any thoughts, according to the prefent mode, of making him acquire qualifications more flafhy, rather than juft; of giving him a turn for external politenefs rather than fentimental impreffions; of teaching him the world, rather than making provisions for the fecurity of his modefty and virtue; you on the contrary exert yourself from the idea of excellent models, to make him as perfect as nature herself may require.

I fay nature; for if it be true what Rouffeau fays, that nature made us for living in a state of feparation from one another, all our care would then be to no purpose. In that fituation, inftinct alone would be fufficient, and we should be the more happy, as regardless of our like, we would fhew lefs attention to them, and retain more affection for ourfelves.

But even in that ftate, as being immerfed in idlenet and addicted to maleficence we, fhould be a greater nuifance to the earth we lived on, than the moft favage beafts; and our ftupid existence would be as fatal to our fellow-creatures, as theirs would be to us by a like excefs of pride and brutality.

It cannot indeed be fo; for deftined to live in fociety, I mean to form a community of our abilities and talents; reduced to borrow helps that are wanted to us; obliged, for our own intereft to make a return of those we have received: Beings, in fhort, neceffarily dependant on each other, we ftand in need of fentiments to unite us; and these fentiments which nature infpires us with, good education must caufe to fpring up, muft depurate, and nurture.

There is nothing but the good ufe of wit and knowledge that can compenfate the trouble we take in acquiring them; and indeed it would be of little fignificancy to attain degrees of knowledge furpaffing those of other men, if we had not learned by education the art of living with them, and by mutual fervices, the fecret of attracting their love and esteem.

As long as the world fubfifts we shall ever meet with jealoufy, hatred, injuftice, fraud, revenge, treachery, as fo many obftacles to the union of hearts; yet will not good education blunt in a great measure the edge of their malignity, and after all our reflections on the ways to happiness, fhall we be able to find any other, than that pointed out to us by gaining the esteem and friendship of men? It is this precious felicity, especially to a well inftructed mind, that can induce it to make a facrifice of glory, fo it can but retain honour; and this felicity is not the effect of conftitution, the work of reafon, the appendage of dignities, the advantage of riches. In vain fhall we feek it in ourselves; it is in the hands of our like, it is from them we must expect it; we can do nothing but deferve it. But how otherwise fhall we deferve it unless it be by acts of beneficence, by unaffected politenefs, by fincerity in dealing, by undifguifed integrity, and by as many marks of esteem as we should defire a return of?

If

If this be the ftate of the cafe, as in fact it is, it will be loving ourfelves truly, to love others, who are only capable of making an eftimate of our talents and our virtues, the only whofe fuffrages recompenfe and fupport merit, the only authors of the happiness which flatters us moft, and which it interefts us moft to poffefs.

I ask what would become of our most eftimable qualities, if there were none who fhould think it worth their while to efteem them. Shut up within our own hearts, where they would be to ourselves only a fubject of complacency, they muft foon lofe all their value; or they would turn out an object of indifference, and then nothing could induce us to fupport them. In the first cafe, our pride, if it was known, would draw upon us nothing but hatred. In the fecond, our indolent coldness would draw upon us nothing but contempt. In both cafes, all merit would be quickly annihilated.

It is therefore true that we owe to those whofe efteem we feek, that which contributes moft to our perfection; and thence I infer that we cannot too much infpire young people with the love of that efteem. It is in reality the leaft frivolous and moft flattering happiness; and to defire that happiness, is not indeed a virtue, but a fort of neceffity, which the welfare of human beings, and nature herself impofe on us.

It is an indubitable fact that this defire excites and gives life to the leaft talents, and enriches fociety with all the degrees of merit which wou'd have been loft to it, whether a daftardly indolence should keep them buried, or proud timidity could not prevail upon itself to produce them, or a ridiculous modefty had made them prove abortive.

We should therefore be far from neglecting to give mankind an early knowledge of the importance of this love of confideration, the fource, or at leaft the fupport of our virtues, it being equally useful and neceffary to make young princes fenfible of it, notwithstanding their elevated condition of life.

It is however certain that this love, which carries us so powerfully to all that may be capable of raifing the dignity of our nature, makes commonly but languid impreffions on men born in the affluence of all things, and who for the most part, having no wishes to form, and being able at pleasure to realize, or render fruitless those formed within their dominions, expect nothing from other men but fubmiffion and respect.

But if we look to the order of providence, and confider that this world is governed by confummate wifdom, we have reafon to require, if not a perfect image, at least one that may bear fome refemblance to it, in the government of the people

com