46

GREAT REVOLUTIONS.

It is remarked, that the great revolutions of Europe have occurred in the month of July. In that month two revolutions were operated, which rendered famous the eighteenth century, and changed the face of the Old and New World. The revolution of the United States of America occurred on the 4th of July. The French revolution (1789) on the 14th of July. The United Provinces date their revolution from the month of July 1581. The second French revolution in July 1830. The Union of Calmar, which placed three crowns on the head of Marguerite de Waldemar, called the Semiramis of the North, was operated July 8, 1397; and the 9th of the same month, 1762, saw another Semiramis of the North (Catherine II. of Russia) justify that title by driving her husband from the throne, and subsequently covering that usurpation with all the eclat of a celebrated reign.

The battles which have occurred in the month of July often decided the fate of empires. The battle of Allia, the 18th of July, nearly ruined the Roman power. In that of the Tiberiad (3d July) the unfortunate Lusignan was entirely defeated by the celebrated Saladin; and the kingdom of Jerusalem, founded by the first Crusaders, fell for ever into the power of the infidels. At the battle of Ourigua (25th July) Alphonso I. delivered his country from the

yoke of the Moors; and the title of first King of Portugal was the prize of his valour. The battle of the Boyne in Ireland (21st July) ruined the hopes of James I. and secured the crown to the Prince of Orange. At the battle of Pultava (8th July) two famous monarchs, Charles XII. and Peter the Great, fought for their crowns and lives. The Swedes lost, with their king, the title of Invincible; and Charles, seeking safety in the south of Europe, left the Czar ruler of the north. The history of France will furnish battles in the month of July of the most decisive character. The battle of Poitiers, gained by Charles Martel (22d July) rescued France from the yoke of the Saracens, then the masters of Spain. Phillippe Auguste happily saved his life and kingdom at Bouvines, (27th July;) and the throne of Louis XIV., shaken by great reverses towards the end of the Spanish succession war, was secured in the conflict of Denain by Marshal Villars, (25th July 1712.)

French valour gained in the month of July the victories of Fornone, Fleurus, Nerwinde, Lanfelt. The battle between Turenne and Conde, in the Faubourg Saint Antoine, was on the 2d of July; and the taking of Alexandria, in. Egypt, by Bonaparte, the 2d of July. The battle of the Pyramids, gained by the same, was also in July 1798; that of Aboukir, gained over the Turks, 25th July 1799; and, finally, the battle of Wagram, gained by Napoleon over the Austrians, in July, led to all the results of the Treaty of Vienna, in 1809. We have also seen in July the

regency of Algiers overturned, and a piratical state, which for ages had insulted Europe, crushed to rise

no more.

On the 27th of July 1790, the monster Robespierre excited, with Marat, a popular commotion against the Court and the National Assembly. In the Palais Royal, then the focus of conspiracies and revolutionary crimes, he made the following address:-"Citizens of all ages!-Fly to St. Cloud; shut up the king and the dauphin. Secure the Austrian and her brotherin-law, that they may no longer conspire. Arrest all the ministers. Throw them into irons. Watch the chief of the municipality, and be sure of the general -carry off the park of artillery from the Rue Verte! Seize all the magazines and powder mills. Run, run to arms! Four or six hundred heads struck off will secure you peace, liberty, and honour. A false humanity restraining your arms may cost the lives of millions of your brethren."

On the 28th of July 1794, the above sanguinary monster was led to the scaffold, where he furnished a remarkable instance of revolutionary vicissitude. He was put to death with his accomplices by a tribunal composed of friends and associates.

49

THE DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH.

RECALLED at sundry times to the duties of a court life, the hero who surpassed the generals under whom he served, surpassed also the courtiers with whom he came into frequent collision. He was endowed with personal beauty, height of stature, (being above the middle size,) activity, and sweetness of expression; in short, the perfection of the species, high intellect combined with perfect grace, was exhibited in this great, and, when chastened by the course of events, subsequently good man. His countenance was mild, thoughtful, commanding; his brow lofty; his features regular, but flexible. His deportment was dignified, and, at the same time, winning. "No one," said one who knew him personally, "ever said a pert thing to the Duke of Marlborough."

The same consummate judge even attributed the great success of the duke "to the Graces, who protected and promoted him." "His manner," Lord Chesterfield declares, "was irresistible, either by man or woman."

Like most young men destined to the profession of arms, the education of Churchill was limited. Lord Chesterfield, indeed, declares, that the great Marlborough was "eminently illiterate, wrote bad English, and spelt it worse; and he goes so far as to assert, that "he had no share of what is commonly called

D

parts; he had no brightness, nothing shining in his genius."

To the "cool head and warm heart" of Marlborough, as King William III. expressed it, he owed his early and progressive success. He was at once the object of affection and of confidence. His calmness, the suavity of his temper, until disease, most cruel in its effects on that, broke down his self-command; his forbearance-his consideration for others-the gentleness with which he refused what he could not grant-the grace with which he conferred favours,these qualities, combined with indefatigable industry, hardihood, and a judgment never prejudiced by passion, were the true sources of Churchill's greatness, the benignant spirits which made the gifts of fortune sweeter when they came.

may

It is uncertain at what time, or in what manner, the first tokens of ardent affection between Colonel Churchill and the youthful Sarah were exchanged. The authoress of the Life of Zarah has given a romantic description of their first meeting, in which, as in other ephemeral works, we may suppose there be some foundation of truth, but no accuracy of detail. According to this account, the youthful fancy of Sarah was first attracted by the grace of her valiant lover in a dance-a recreation in which he particularly excelled. "Every step he took carried death in it;" and the applause and admiration which Colonel Churchill obtained, sank deep into the heart of one whose ambition was perhaps as easily stimulated as