the same. Character of Cardinal Fleury. From Character of Maria Theresa. From Core's History of the House of Austria, Just published. "FRANCE, at this period, had attained an enormous preponderancy among the powers of Europe, not only from a dr.ad of her strength and resources, but from the character and system of the prime minister. "Cardinal Fleury was in the 8th year of his age; he was of a circumspect and cautious temper, and pos. sessed the art of winning mankind by an unaffected air of candour and simpacity. His great prudence and sagacity enabled him to distinguish the precise bounds to which he could push his intrigues, and to conceal his designs under the semblance of moderation; his progress was, therefore, more dangerous, as it was silent and unobserved. From temper and principle he was anxious to maintain his country in peace; but, as his great aim was to remove every obstruction to the asendency of France, he directed all his efforts to divide, though be avoided provoking, the other powers of Europe. "In the pursuit of his plan, he had imperceptibly brought the Emperor to an entire dependence on France, and had more reduced the house of Austria by his intrigues, than his predecessors by the sword. Although France had guaranteed the Pragmatic Sanction, yet he looked forward to the prospect of dividing the Austrian dominions between the two Archduchesses; and thus hoped to diminish the weight of a power which had hitherto been the rival, and might again become the enemy, of the house of Bourbon. With this view be filled all the courts of Europe with his intrigues, and endeavoured to isolate the house of Austria, by uniting her enemies, and paralising the efforts of her friends." "Maria Theresa had not completed her twenty-fourth year, when, in virtue of the Pragmatic Sanction, she succeeded to all the dominion of the house of Austria. Her person was formed to wear a crown, and her mind to give lustre to her exalted dignity; she possessed a commanding figure, great beauty, animation, and sweetness of countenance, a pleasing tone of voice, facinating manners; and united feminine grace with a strength of understanding, and an intrepidity above her sex. During her father's illness, the young princess was exposed to great danger in consequence of her advancing pregnancy; but sufficiently recovered her spirits the day after his death, to give audience to his ministers of state and to assume the government " 66 On surveying this deplorable state of affairs, the cause of Maria Theresa appeared wholly desperate; attacked by a formidable league, Vi. enna nenaced with an instant siege, abandoned by all her allies, without treasure, without sufficient army, without able ministers, she seemed to have no other alternative than to receive the law from her most invetcrate enemies." "Soon after her accession she had conciliated the Hungarians, by re viving, with the exception of the thirty first article, the celebrated decree of Andrew the second, which had been abolished by Leopold; and at her coronation had received from her grateful subjects, the warmest demonstrations of loyalty and affection." Mr. Robinson, who was an eye-wit ness of this ceremony, has well described the impression made on the surrounding multitude. "The coronation on the 25th was leste magnificent, and well ordered. The Gg Queen Queen was all charin; she rode gal- "Illam quicquid agit quoquo vesti. decor." "An air of delicacy, occasioned by her recent confinement, increased the personal attractions of this beautiful princess; but when she sat down to dine in public, she appeared still more engaging without her crown ; the heat of the weather, and the fatigues of the ceremony, diffused an animated glow over her countenance; while her beautiful hair flowed over her shoulders and bosom. These at tractions, and the firmness of her mind, kindled the zeal and enthusiasm of that brave and high-spirited people, and to them she turned as to her principal recourse. headed politicians of the court of ViThe greyenna in vain urged, that the Hungarians, who, when Charles first proposed the Pragmatic Sanction, had declared they were accustomed to be governed by mca, and would not consent to a female succession, would seize this opportunity of withdraw ing from the Austrian domination. But Maria Theresa formed a different judgment, and her opinion was ✦ “ Near Presburgh is a barrow or tumulus, called the Royal Mount, which the new Sovereign ascends on horseback, and waves a drawn sword towards the jour cardinal points." justified by the event. She felt that a people ardent for liberty, and dis tinguished by elevation of soul and energy of character, indignantly reject the mandates of a powerful despot, but would shed their blood in support of a defenceless queen, who, under the pressure of misfortune, ap. peeled to them for succour. Having summoned the States of the Diet to the castle, she entered the hall, in which the members of the respective orders were promiscuously assembled, clad in deep mourning, and habited in the Hungarian dress, with the crown of St. Stephen on her both objects of high veneration to the head, and the scymetar at her side, natives, who are devoted to the memory of their antient sovereigns. She traversed the apartment with a slow and majestic step, and ascended reign is accustomed to harangue the the tribune, from whence the sovestates. After an awful silence of a few minutes, the chancellor detailed the distressed situation of their sovereign, and requested immediate assistance. "Maria Theresa then came forward, and addressed the deputies in Latin, a language in common use as if emulous, of antient Rome. they among the Hungarians, and in which preserved the deliberations of diet and the records of the kingdom. "The disastrous situation of our affairs," she said, "has moved us to lay be fore our dear and faithful States of Hungary the recent invasion of Austria, the danger now impending over this kingdom, and a proposal for the consideration of a remedy. The very existence of the kingdom of Hungary, of our own person, of our children, and our crown, are now at stake. Forsaken by all, we place cur sole resource in the fidelity, arms and long tried valour of the Hunga rians; exhorting you, the States and Orders, Orders, to deliberate without delay in this extreme danger, on the most effectual measures for the security of our person, of our children, of our crown, and to carry them into immediate execution. In regard to ourself, the faithful States and Orders of Hungary, shall experience our hearty Co-operation in all things, which may promote the pristine happiness of this antient kingdom and the honour of the people.' "The youth, beauty, and extreme distress of Maria Theresa, who was then pregnant, made an instantaneous impression on the whole assembly. All the deputies drew their sabres half out of the scabbard, and then throwing them back as far as the hilt, exclaimed, "We will consecrate our lives and arms; we will die for our queen, Maria Theresa!" Af fected with this effusion of zeal and loyalty, the Queen, who had hitherto preserved a calm and dignified deportment, burst into tears of joy and gratitude; the members of the States, roused almost to frenzy by this proof of her sensibility, testified, by their gestures and acclamations, the most heartfelt admiration, and, repairing to the diet, voted a liberal supply of men and money." note In a Mr. Coxe gives the original Latin speech, which he transcribed from the Archives of Hungary. Letters from England, by Don Ma. nuel Alvarez Espriella. ON WATERING PLACES. "The English migrate as regularly tooks. Home sickness is a disease which has no existence in a certain state of civilization or of luxury, and lastead of it these islanders are sub ect to periodical fits of what I shall beg leave to call oikophobia, a disorder with which physicians are perfectly well acquainted, though it may not yet have been catalogued in the nomenclature of nosology. "In old times, that is to say, two generations ago, mineral springs were the only places of resort. Now the Nereids have as many votaries as the Naiads, and the tribes of wealth and fashion swarm down to the sea coast as punctually as the land crabs in the West Indies march the same way. These people, who have unquestionably the best houses of any people in Europe, and more conveniencies about to render home comfortable, crowd themselves into the narrow apartments and dark streets of a little country town, just at that time of the year when in stinct seems to make us, like the lark, desirous of as much sky-room as possible. The price they pay for these lodgings is exorbi taut; the more sxpensive the place, the more numerous are the visitors; for the pride of wealth is as ostentatious in this country as ever the pride of birth has been elsewhere. In their haunts, however these visitors are ca. pricious; they frequent a coast some seasons in succession, like herrings, and then desert it for some other, with as little apparent motive as the fish have for varying their track. It is fashion which influences them not the beauty of the place, not the desireableness of the accomodations, not the convenience of the shore for their ostensible purpose, bathing. Wherever one of the queen bees of fashion alights, a whole swarm follows her. They go into the country for the sake of seeing company, not for retirement; and in all this there is more reason than you perhaps have yet imagined. "The fact is, that in these heretical countries parents have bit one way of disposing of their daughters. and and fuffer even according to law, will I think appear evident, after the relation I am going to give you. About three weeks ago, I was walking thro' George's-ftreet, when I was topped familiarly by a foldier whofe face I did not inmediately recognize. After fome converfation I found him to be an old schoolfellow, whom a reftlefs and difobedient difpofition had driven fone years fince into the militia. From the militia he volunteered into the line, and he now belongs to the 31ft regiment of foot, quartered in this city. He told me the Various circumstances of his life, from the period when his enliftment broke his unfortunate father's heart, to the prefent time, being naturally of a bold fpirit, he feemed to like the fervice, but, faid he, I fhould be reconciled to a military profeffion for life, if I was allowed to go to my own place of worship at prefent my ftate of life is directly at war with my confcience, I am not only not fuffered to go to mafs on Sundays, but I am forced to go to church, and this is the cafe with a great number of catholics befides myfelf in the fame regiment. We all think it a cruelty and yet we dare not complain' The poor fellow abfolutely fhed tears; for the rigours of a life for which education unfitted him, had broken the early turbulence of his mind, and he teemed foftened to thinking and to religious feelings. This, fir, I folemly declare to you as a fact, and did not the commanding officers conceive themselves warranted by the clauses of the mutiny bill, they would not dare to offer fuch violence to the confciences of the foldiery. A foldier abfenting himself from church, to forfeit 12d, to be deducted out of his next pay; for the fecond offence, he shall not only forfeit 12d, but be laid in irons for 12 hours; and for every like offence fhall fuffer and pay in like manner, which money fo forfeited, fhall be applied to the ufe of the fick foldiers of the troop or company to which the offender belongs." These are words of the articles of war, Sec. 1. Art, and under them the fuperior officer may fhelter himfelf in forcing the wretched catholic foldier to an houfe of worship which he has been accustomed froin his infancy to deteft. Another inflance of this fyftem of forcing catholics to church in the army has occurred the other day in Athy. I have not yet learned the particulars, but I understand that a private has been threatened with pu nishment at the halbert and perhaps before this has received it for not complying with the ftanding order to go to proteftant worship. And certainly it is impoffible to reconcile the claufes of the mutiny bill, with the popery bill of 1793. for the re lief of the catholics. Unless excep tions are actually made by the legislature in the muting bill in fayour of foldiers profetfing the Roman catholic religion, there will always exift a flrange contradiction in the laws of the country, one allowing and another forbidding the fame thing. Since the paffing of the popery bill in the in the 33d of his Maiefty's reign; there is an inftance on record, of a foldier whofe name was Hyland, of the 14th Light Dragoons, being whipped or not going to Church-The unfortunate man received 200 lafhes-!!! A poor encouragement for Roman catholics to inlift in his Majefty's fervice. This punishment was inflicted on Hyland, on the 8th of December 1794. As the fubject of this fhort letter is interefting to every catholic, I promife you to take it up again whenever another inftance of the fame kind hall come within my obfervation. Catholicus. |