England. Perhaps it was not in this situation possible to push to the utmost any partial advantage.

Charles had concluded the peace of Cambray which set Francis at liberty, and ceded Burgundy, when he set out from Spain to receive the imperial diadem from the hands of the pope. In Italy he assumed the authority of an absolute sovereign. He granted to Francis Sforza the investiture of the Milanese, and to Alexander of Medicis that of Tuscany; and he made the pope restore Modena and Reggio to the duke of Ferrara.

The depredations of the Turks called him into Hungary. It was here that, for the first time, he appeared at the head of his armies; having hitherto fought only by his generals; a circumstance which has been said to mark the character of Charles V. as having been rather that of a politician than a warrior.* He had the glory of compelling Soliman, with an army, as is said, of no less than 300,000 men, to retire before him, and to evacuate the country. This enterprise was succeeded by another still more illustrious. Hayradin Barbarossa, who had been at first a common corsair, seized upon the city of Algiers, and by treachery and violence had dethroned Muley Hassan and usurped the kingdom of Tunis. The dethroned prince applied to the emperor for support, and Charles, ambitious of every opportunity of acquiring glory, embarked immediately for the coast of Africa, with a fleet of five hundred sail and 30,000 men. Barbarossa met him with an army amounting to 50,000. The imperial troops were victorious. Muley Hassan was restored on condition of paying a tribute to the Spanish crown; and 10,000 Christian captives, who had been detained in bondage at Tunis, were instantly set at liberty and returned with the conqueror to Spain. At this time. Charles V. surpassed in reputation all the princes of Europe. No potentate since the days of Charlemagne possessed equal abilities with an equal extent of empire: and if we consider what was the state of this empire, how rich, how flourishing, and how populous, we may regard Charles, in his political capacity, as the greatest monarch that had ever existed in Europe.

It was a mean piece of conduct in Francis-yet perhaps his situation made it his best policy-to call in the aid of Soliman and the Turks, to dispossess Charles of the duchy of Milan. It was concerted that the Turks should attack the kingdom of Naples and Hungary, while a French army invaded the Milanese. Barbarossa landed near Tarento, and spread a dreadful alarm through the whole country. But as the French army was not quick enough to coöperate with him, the project miscarried, and the Turks were obliged to withdraw and reembark their troops.

While the spirit of chivalry prevailed in Europe, kings generally headed their armies in person: but this was sometimes attended with very fatal consequences, for the death or captivity of a sovereign often brought his kingdom ta the brink of ruin.

The French army in the meantime had passed the Alps, when Charles V. set out from Rome, obliged them again to retreat across the mountains, and entering Provence, advanced as far as Marseilles, and laid siege to Arles, while another army ravaged Champagne and Picardy. It was on this occasion of the enterprise against the Milanese, that Francis took it into his head to send Charles a challenge to engage him in single combat; staking as a prize Milan on the one part, and Burgundy on the other. The challenge was accepted, but it may be believed that this extraordinary duel was never fought. A short time after, Francis summoned the emperor to appear before the French parliament and defend himself for having violated the treaty of Cambray. The most ridiculous part of this farce was, that Charles, having failed to compeer, was actually sentenced by the parliament of Paris-and the counties of Artois and Flanders were declared confiscated to the crown of France. In consequence of this absurd procedure, Francis actually took possession of some of the towns in Flanders; but both parties were now desirous of an accommodation, and a truce for ten years was entered into at Nice, by which it was agreed that, till the conclusion of a peace, matters should remain in their then existing situation.

An insurrection happening at this time in the city of Ghent on occasion of a demand of subsidies from the Flemish nobles, the emperor was desirous of making a progress to his dominions in the Netherlands. He askel permission of Francis to pass through the kingdom of France, and promised to grant him the investiture of Milan, which se med all along to have been the highest object of Francis's ambition. The request was cheerfully complied with. Charles, with an hundred attendants, travelled through the dominions of his rival, who gave orders that he should be every where received with all possible marks of magnificent hospitality, and entertained him himself with great pomp during seven days that he stayed in the city of Paris: but Charles, having obtained his purpose, and reduced the rebels of Ghent to submission, thought no more of the promise regarding the Milanese. He left all Europe to make their remarks on the altered appearance which he and his rival now mutually presented to the world-in a word, on the king of France's generous credulity and his own breach of faith. This was sufficient cause for the dissolution of the late treaty of Nice, and accordingly hostilities recommenced with greater animosity than ever. Francis forthwith renewed his alliance with Soliman, and his fleet, under the count D'Enguien, joined with that of the Turks, made an unsuccessful attempt on the town of Nice.

The French were more fortunate in Italy, where they obtained a most complete victory over the Marquis del Vasto, at Cerizoles; but this, like most of their victories in Italy, produced no lasting consequence of any advantage. Francis, meantime, continued to

De harassed in his own dominions both by the emperor and by the king of England, who laid siege to Bologne by sea, while Charles advanced into Picardy; and under these circumstances it was not to be expected that the success of the French in Italy could be of any advantage. France in fact seemed now in the utmost danger; and she owed her preservation to the troubles in Germany, which required the emperor's presence to appease them. The reformation was going on there with great spirit. The protestant party were united against Charles, and this circumstance, extremely fortunate for France, obliged the emperor to conclude the treaty of Crepi with Francis I., who, at the same time, purchased a peace with Henry VIII. for £200,000 sterling. This was the last public event which signalized the reign of Francis I., a prince of a manly and heroic spirit, endowed with abilities sufficient to have made his name illustrious and his country great and happy, had it not been his misfortune to struggle, during the greatest part of his reign, against the superior power and greater political abilities of Charles V. Francis died of that distemper which the discovery of the New World had imported into Europe, and which in those days, from the ignorance of any method of cure, was commonly mortal.,

About this time was founded the famous order of the Jesuits, a body whose influence, for two centuries, was much greater in Europe than that of any other religious society, and had its operation in some shape or other on most of the political transactions during a long period of time. The founder of this order was an ambitious enthusiast of the name of Ignatius Loyola. He rightly conceived that, in this period, when the papal authority had received a severe shock, by the defection and apostasy of so many nations from the catholic faith, a body of men who should enlist themselves as the professed and devoted servants of the pope, and hold themselves constantly in readiness to execute with fidelity, at all times and in all places, whatever he should enjoin them, would so recommend themselves to his favor, as soon to obtain the preeminence over every other religious association. The Jesuits, therefore, to the three vows of poverty, chastity, and monastic obedience, added a fourth, which was, implicit devotion to the pope. The manifest utility of this institution to the support of the holy see procured them from pope Paul III. an apostolic bull, granting them the most ample privileges. It was soon perceived that, if confined to their cloisters, their utility would be too much circumscribed. They were allowed to mingle in the world, and to take a share in all the active concerns of public life, which it was their duty to influence and direct assiduously towards the great end of establishing the power and authority of the popedom; and this end it must be owned, they most zealously promoted. Under the command of a superior, or general of the order, whose instructions they were bound to

receive with implicit submission, they dispersed themselves over the greatest part of the globe. By the most insinuating arts they courted the favor and wrought themselves into the confidence of statesmen, of civil and ecclesiastical governors, and of sovereign princes; and operating on all to the same purpose, and regularly communicating their intelligence to their head, from whom they received their instructions, the whole catholic world was in a manner directed by one great and pervading system of policy, which centred in the establishment of the pope's supreme teinporal and spiritual jurisdiction. The zeal of this order, and the capacity of its members, while thus promoting the great purpose of its institution, could not fail of attaining both immense wealth and great power. As these increased, this society found enemies in all whose authority they undermined, and whose aims they opposed. Books were written without number to expose their artice and ambition. Their frauds, their vices, and even atrocious crimes, were loudly proclaimed; and it was urged, with great reason, that the doctrines which they taught, and the maxins they inculcated, were equally pernicious to religion, to civil government, and to all the interests of society. The sovereigns of the different catholic kingdoms, by degrees, began to perceive that their power and even personal security was in danger, and the Jesuits were successively expelled from France, from Spain, from Portugal, and from Sicily; and such at length was the influence of the house of Bourbon with the holy see, that the order was entirely suppressed and abolished in 1773.

The life of Charles V. was a scene of constant turmoil and azitation. His aim, it is said, was universal empire; but at the death of Francis, his most formidable rival, he found himself at as great a distance as ever from the object of his wishes. The protestants of Germany entered into a most formidable confederacy in support of their religious liberties, and the joint forces of Charles, of his brother Ferdinand, king of Hungary and Bohemia, and of pope Paul III., whom he was forced to call in to his aid, were scarcely sufficient to oppose them. He defeated them, it is true, in the battle of Mulberg, but the party was neither broken nor dispirited, and through the remainder of the Life of Charles continued to give him perpetual vexation. The party of the protestants was headed at this time by one of the greatest char

• It has been noticed by M. Dados, (in his vorace en Itale, as a remarkable fact, that, notwithstanding the great power and influence of this relerious association, non of its members ever arrived at the paral diga.ty. The reasons which he ass gns are the se -the jealotsy of tax casi 1s, wao drevded that very power and influence, as conceiving the Jesuits m gat in on polize that high Girnity to their own order; but st more, the deeper prey of tas Jesuits the inBives, who cons, lered the papai diguity's not the obiet but only the instru nent of their ambition, watch aspired at the government of a i the kingdoms of Europe, and the popedom among the rest. But this was a government which was to be suently exercised, and which an open assumption of power would have altogether destroyed.

acters of the age, Frederic, duke of Saxony; the same man whose high reputation, as we have before observed, would have procured him the election to the Germanic empire, even against such candidates as Charles V. and Francis I., had not his own modesty expressly declined that elevated station. It is but justice to this most respectable man to relate an anecdote, told by Roger Ascham, preceptor to queen Elizabeth, who, when in Germany, was personally acquainted with him. Duke Frederic was taken prisoner by Charles V. in the battle of Mulberg, and upon a representation of some of his counsellors, that the exemplary punishment of so eminent a man would prove of great service in checking the progress of the Reformation, the emperor, forgetting his own obligations to him, condemned him to be beheaded, on a scaffold, at Wittemberg. The warrant for his execution, signed by the emperor's hand, was sent to duke Frederic the night before, and was delivered to him while he was playing at chess with his cousin the landgrave of Lithenberg. He read it over attentively, and then folding it up, "I perceive," said he, "that I fall a victim to my religion, and that my death is necessary to the emperor's schemes of extinguishing the protestant faith. But God will maintain his own cause. Come, cousin," said he, "take heed to your game ;" and then, with the same composure as if he had received a private letter of little importance, he continued to play till he had defeated his antagonist. It is a satisfaction to learn that the emperor, impressed, as is said, by this admirable example of fortitude, gave immediate orders for a recall of the warrant, and ever afterwards treated the elector of Saxony with the highest respect and esteem.*

These disturbances in Germany continued to embroil the emperor during the remainder of his life, and utterly destroyed his peace. It was impossible for him to form his dominions into a well-connected empire. The jealousies that could not fail to subsist between his subjects of different countries, must have been an insuperable bar to such a coalescence, even though his foreign enemies had allowed him sufficient respite to turn his whole attention to the iniernal police of his kingdoms; but this we have seen was far from being the case. Henry II., the successor of Francis, was an antagonist equally formidable as his father had been, and made more effective encroachments upon the dominions of the empire. In short, the last years of Charles were the most tumultuous and the least successful. The load of

Ascham sums up the character of this great man in these remarkable words: "He is a man wise in all his doings, just in all his dealings, lowly to the meanest, princely with the highest, gentle to all. His noble nature thinketh nothing which he dare not speak, and speaketh nothing which he will not do. Him no adversity could ever move, nor policy at any time entice to shrink from God and from his word. The remembrance of him is never out of place, whose worthiness is never to be forgotten."