that muft arife from the encroachments of any clafs of men, under whatever denomination, on the rights of humanity, on the one hand, or the prerogatives of the executive government on the other; and how much the intereft of every branch of government, and every order in fociety, is connected with fentiments of moderation and juftice. Had the Polith nobles underflood their own intereft, they would neither have weakened the natural ftrength of the country, by oppreffing and enflaving the peafints, on the one hand, nor the energy of government, by endlefs attacks on the powers of the crown, on the other; but it seems unfortunately to be incident, and almoft infeparable from a fpirit of liberty, to puth its clairis beyond a juft and reasonable degree of freedom. No fooner have men ceafed to be slaves, than they afpire to be mafters: liberty is fill the pretence; but power is the real object. It has happened in our own country, that the privileges of the people have generally been only a popular cry, for the power of their leaders. The fame thing has happened in the late truggles in France between contending factions; and perhaps it will always happen in all human focieties. To fecure the liberty of the fubjects, against the tyranny of the crown, was the pretence for the fucceffive changes which took place in Poland; but the real defign was, to throw the whole

power of the ftate into the hands of the ariftocracy. While, with one hand, they feized almoft every branch of the royal prerogative, with the other, they bound harder the fetters of the people. While they raised themselves above the controul of the law, they funk the people below its protection. But in carrying on this double attack on both their king and country, they cut the ground under their own feet: and king, nobles, and the whole Polh nation were involved in one common ruin.

The partitioning powers, in their fucceffive attacks on the independence of Poland, have not been acuated by a fpirit of greater liberality, or more profound political witdom, than thofe of the Polish ariftocracy on the rights of the crown, and thofe of the great mass of the people, the actual cultivators of the foil. The partition of Poland, which was the cement of temporary agreement, muft one day be the fource of conteft. The world is taught to reflect, that the fame powers that were hoftile to the French republic, were also hostile to the liberties of Poland; and the partitioning fyftem, forming a deplorable ara in the hiftory of Europe, fupplanting public law, and fanctioning, through their example, a contempt at once of morality and fovereign authorities, prepares difrefpect and fubverfion to the thrones of kings, as well as to the rights of nations.*

If it might be permitted to interrapt the course of our narrative, yet a little longer, to deplore an event fo common in hiftory, as the triumph of the wrong over the right, we fhould exprefs the regrets of humarity, that the Poles, reafonable, moderate, and capable of regulated freedom, fhould have been abandoned, to appearance, by heaven and earth, while the French, arrogant, furious, and atrocious, were triumphant

It is to be afcribed to the natural good temper of the Poles, that, with all the feeds of faction and mifrale, fo profoundly fown in their political conftitution, they vet hung together fo long as they did, as one nation. The new confiitution of 1791 was ftill a greater proof of temper and moderation, and appears to be the happieft medium that had hitherto been adopted between monarchy and popular go

vernment. For moderation, equity, and found political wisdom, it formed a contraft with the precipitation, violence, and impracticable complexity of the French revolution, or rather revolutions. In the former, the ground-work of the constitution remained the fame; refpect was paid to the rights and privileges of all the orders of the fubjects; and the reform begun, but not confidered as finished, was to be carried on, as the way to perfection fhould be pointed out by times and circumstances. In France, as a preliminary to reformation, all things were moved from their centre, and thrown into the completeft chaos and confufion. On the whole, as the hiftory of the old Polif, conftitution warns men of many things to he avoided, fo the new conftitution, though firangled at its birth, exhibits others worthy of imitation.

CHAP.

an elastic force, which not only overcame that refiftance,but fprang far beyond the boundary at which it would have been completely defeated. The invafion of France, by the duke of Brunfwick, produced the refifiance and the triumphs of Demourier in the Netherlands. France, from being invaded, became the invader; he not only pushed her conquefts to the Rhine, but crofled it, and took Frankfort, with other places beyond it. Cuftine, at the Leed of revolutionary legions, not only took Spires and Mayence, but threatened Hefle and Hanover. An union of greater force than that which had followed the councils of the French princes became neceffary, and fuch an union was formed. The incurfions of the French, into the Low Countries and Germany, produced in their turn, the combinations, which retook Frankfort and Mayence, refcued Holland, and fecured the conqueft of Landrecy, Conde, Quefnoy, and Valenciennes. The irruption of the Germans, within the frontiers of France, gave rife to thofe efforts, which not only reftored thofe places to the dominion of France, but which carried the French arms again beyond the Rhine, and stretched them into the United Provinces, and different quarters in the German territories; until, as we fhall fee in the fequel, being weakened by divifion and expantion, they were a fecond time obliged to recrofs the Rhine with the fevereft lofies,

The French government, encouraged by recent fuccefs, refolved to pirfue, without relaxation, the advantages held out to them by the fituation of that country, which was nearest to those they had already re

duced, and which feemed, indeed, by every circumftance, to invite their immediate attack.

This country was Holland. Its armies had oppofed the French in the field; but the general mass of its inhabitants was friendly to them, and openly difplayed an unfeigned fatisfaction at their victorious pro-, grefs, during the whole of the campaign. Frequent and loud were their complaints, that their rulers had involved them in a war, totally foreign to their concerns, and inimical to their interefts; and they manifefted a rooted determination to feize the firft opportunity of compelling them to enter into terms of peace, if not of friendship, with France. The nearer the French armies drew to the confines of the United Provinces, the bolder and more explicit was the avowal of the people at large, of a determined partiality in their favour.

The ftates-general of the feven united provinces, had hitherto continued firmly attached, in all appearance, to the interefts of the coalition; but the ftates of feveral of the particular provinces were decidedly averle to the continuation of the war, and refolutely infifted on its immediate termination. That which first came to a formal decifion, was the opulent province of Friefland. By a refolution of its affembled ftates, about the middle of Oct. 1794, it was decreed to acknowledge the French republic, to abandon the connection with Great Britain, and to enter into terms of peace and amity with France. This precedent was quickly adopted in other provinces; and the ancient attachment of the Dutch to the houfe of Orange gave way, in moft places, to the most violent re

fentment