fy. After a long train of the moft artful preparations, he at length determined, on the morning of the 19th of August 1772, to throw off the mafk. Summoning the offi cers of the royal guard, he infinuated to them that his life was in danger from the machinations of the fenators→→ painted in ftrong colors the wretched ftate of the kingdom, and declared that his only defign was to banish corruption, establish true liberty, and revive the antient luf tre of the Swedish name. "Will you," faid he, "be faithful to me, as your forefathers were to Gustavus Vafa and Guftavus Adolphus? I will then rifk my life for your welfare and that of my country.". The officers expreffing in warm terms their attachment to the king, and their readiness to concur in his defigns, a detachment of grenadiers was pofted with bayonets fixed at the door of the council chamber, where the fenators were actually engaged in deliberation, to prevent all ingrefs or egrefs. Other principal leaders of the aristocratic party were also at the fame time put under an arreft; and the king, mounting his horfe, followed by his officers and foldiers, rode through the streets of Stockholm, addreffing himself to the innumerable crowds which were gathered together, and protesting "that he only meant to defend them, and fave the country from ruin, and that if they could not confide in him, he would refign his fceptre and kingdom." The deluded people, with loud acclamations, applauded his patriotifin, and entreated him not to abandon them. No fymptom of resistance any where appeared; and the diet being in a few days convened, the king addreffed the ftates in a long harangue, in which, after defcribing in forcible language the diforders and misfortunes in which party divifions had plunged the nation, he ordered the new formula of government to be read, which he now propofed for their acceptance. By one article of the conftitution, the king was vefted with the power of affembling and dissolving the states at pleasure. By another, he was

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to have the fole difpofal of the army, the navy, the finances, and all employments civil and military. By a third, all exifting taxes were made perpetual; and the king, in cafe of preffing neceffity, might impofe new taxes till the states should be affembled. And by a fourth, the states, when affembled, were to deliberate only on those questions which the king thought proper to refer to them. The inftrument of government being read, the king demanded whether they approved of it? Cannon being planted in the court facing the hall where the states were affembled, and matroffes ftanding over them with lighted matches, the affembly declared with one voice their entire affent to thefe articles; and the oath of fidelity was immediately administered to them. After which te Deum was fung by his majesty and the affembly, in devout commemoration of this happy event. And thus was a revolution accomplished, which converted one of the most limited monarchies in Europe into one of the most abfolute, without fhedding a fingle drop of blood; and the nation at large, which had been grievously oppreffed under the former aristocratic constitution, and which had never attained to true and rational ideas of liberty, were delighted with the present change of government, from which they hoped to enjoy tranquillity and fecurity at least, if not the felicity and advantages of political freedom.

It is now high time to revert to the more proper fubject of the prefent hiftory, and to refume the narration of military operations in America. It has been before remarked, that the fiege or blockade of Quebec, notwithftanding the difaftrous iffue of general Montgomery's attempt, was continued through the winter with aftonishing refolution by colonel Arnold, who was afterwards fuperfeded by general Sullivan. Early in the spring, before the Americans could be joined by their expected reinforcements, a naval armament of Great Britain, consisting of the Ifis of 54 guns, accompanied by the Surprise frigate and

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and the Martin floop, forced their paffage through the ice before the navigation of the St. Lawrence was deemed practicable. General Carleton, animated no lefs than ftrengthened by the welcome and feasonable fuccors they brought, immediately marched out in force, in order to attack the American camp; but the befiegers, weakened by hardship and difeafe, and now altogether despairing of fuccefs, had already begun their retreat, abandoning their baggage, artillery and ftores, and directing their march towards Sorel, which they reached in a few days in a very ill condition. Towards the end of May, all the reinforcements being now arrived from England, a very great force was collected in Canada; the general rendezvous of which was appointed at Trois Rivieres, half way between Montreal and Quebec, about ninety miles from each. General Burgoyne, who was fecond in command, had orders to pursue the continental army up the Sorel to St. John's. This poft was now abandoned by the Americans, who retreated in confufion to Ifle aux Noix, and from thence to Crown Point. Montreal and Chamblée had been alfo previously evacuated, and the garrisons with difficulty avoided being entirely cut off. Still the Americans were mafters of Lake Champlain, and the greatest exertions were made by the generals Carleton and Burgoyne, to construct a number of veffels of fufficient force to give them that fuperiority which was effential to the fuccefs of the expedition now meditated to the fouthward; and, till this purpofe was effected, military operations were entirely fufpended in the province of Canada.

A ftrong fquadron, commanded by Sir Peter Parker, with about 3000 land forces on board, failed from Cork in the month of February, on an expedition to the middle or fouthern colonies. The departure of this fleet was delayed by a fingular circumftance. The lord lieutenant of Ireland, lord Harcourt, doubting his power to permit the troops to leave the kingdom, a clause expressly au

thorifing

thorifing him fo to do was inferted in a bill then pending in the parliament of Ireland. When the bill came to England, the claufe was ftruck out with indignation, as implying an undue limitation of the prerogative. But the lord lieutenant, conceiving himself pledged by the king's word folemnly given to the Irish parliament, refused to permit the troops to embark without leave of the legislature; and a new claufe was haftily inserted in another bill, which was tranfmitted and paffed, though not without great refentment against the lord lieutenant, who on his arrival in England, fome time afterwards, met at court with a very indifferent reception.

On the 3d of May 1776, admiral Sir Peter Parker anchored off Cape Fear, where he was joined by general Clinton; and finding that nothing could be attempted with probability of success in Virginia, it was determined to try the event of an attack on the city of Charlestown, the capital of South Carolina; and in the beginning of June the whole fleet anchored off Charlestown bar. Prior to their arrival the city had been put into a proper pofture of defence; and works were erected on Sullivan's Island, mounted with thirty pieces of cannon, in a very advantageous fituation for annoying fhips in their approach to the town. The militia of the province were now collected in great numbers for the defence of the metropolis, aided by feveral continental regiments, and the whole were commanded by general Lee, who had traversed the whole extent of the continent with wonderful expedition, in order to put himself at their head.

On the 28th of June, the Bristol and Experiment, each of 50 guns, fupported by several smaller fhips, had with fome difficulty croffed the bar, and advanced to the attack of the fort on Sullivan's Ifland, conftructed entirely of the palmetto, a foft and spungy wood, in which a ball entering is buried, and makes no extended fracture. A most furious cannonade now began from the shipping, which

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was returned with equal fury and much more effect from the fort. The fhips were almoft torn to pieces, and the flaughter was dreadful. During the conflict, the feamen looked frequently and impatiently to fee the land forces advance from Long Ifland, where they had fome time before effected a landing, to Sullivan's Ifland, from which it is separated by a creek, in general fordable, but at this time, through a long continuance of easterly winds, deep and dangerous to attempt. The firing did not cease till evening when the fhips flipped their cables and withdrew from the scene of action, after an engagement fupported on both fides with uncommon spirit and vigor. The Actæon, of 28 guns, having run aground, was abandoned and fet on fire. Captain Morris, of the Bristol, after difplaying heroic valor, received a wound which proved mortal. Captain Scott, of the Experiment, and lord William Campbell, late governor of the colony, who now with great gallantry ferved as a volunteer on board the fleet, were also dangeroufly wounded, with more than 200 men of the crews of these two ships only. Colonel Moultrie, the commandant of the fort, merits diftinguished mention, for the fkill and cool determined valor with which he - conducted his defence. The design on Charlestown was, after this difafter, abandoned; and Sir Peter Parker in·mediately fet fail for New York.

It being now thoroughly afcertained, that the utmost lenity which America had to expect from Britain was pardon upon unconditional fubmiffion, the minds of the generality of men throughout the continent were by this time fully prepared for a formal declaration of Independency. North Carolina and Pennsylvania, which had long oppofed this measure, now fignified their concurrence. Maryland alone ftill difcovered fymptoms of reluctance. General Lee, in a letter written at this time to a person of diftinction in that colony, in terms very characteristic of his ardent and fiery difpofition, fays, "I

know