the after-birth was necessary. It was effected with little difficulty, and was followed by a very trifling discharge of either fluid or coagulated blood.

The princess now was as well and composed as ladies usually are immediately after delivery; and continued so until a quarter before twelve o'clock, taking frequently small supplies of nourishment; but at this time she became restless and rather talkative, and complained of being sick. She vomited, but nothing was ejected, except a little camphor julep, which she had taken; and at this moment her pulse was firm, steady, and under a hundred. She again was composed. About half-past twelve, however, the breathing became impeded; the respiratory organs were evidently under the influence of spasm, and continued in that state until she breathed her last, at halfhalf-past two o'clock; exactly five hours and a half after her delivery. In this afflicting state of the case, Dr. Baillie and Dr. Sims, who had been called into the room when the breathing first became affected, united their judgement and their skill with that of sir Richard Croft, but in vain, to avert the impending calamity. Art proved unavailing; although every thing which it could devise, and which experience could suggest, was attempted.

On the 7th of November, the body was opened by sir Everard Home, assisted by sir David Dundas, Mr. Brande, and the apothecary of prince Leopold's household; and, we believe, the following is a pretty accurate statement of the appearances these gentlemen observed:

The membranes of the brain presented their natural aspect. The vessels of one of its envelopes, called

the pia mater, were less distended with blood than was to be expected after so severe a labour. The ventricles or cavities of the brain contained very little fluid. The plexus choroides, a very vascular part within the ventricles, was of a pale colour; and the substance of the brain had its natural texture.

The pericardium, or envelope of the heart, contained two ounces of red coloured fluid. The heart itself and the lungs were in a natural state. The stomach contained nearly three pints of liquid. The colon (the largest of the intestines) was distended with air. The kidneys and other abdominal viscera were in a natural state,

The womb itself contained a considerable quantity of blood, and extended as high up in the abdomen as the navel; and the hourglass contraction was still very apparent.

The foregoing narrative throws very little light upon the immediate cause of the death of the princess. The fluid found in the pericardium might have obstructed the due action of the heart; but it is not easy to account for its presence there, nor to conceive that so large a quantity could have been effused during the short space of time that supervened to delivery, before the breathing became impeded. The quantity of blood which was found in the womb might have induced exhaustion; but this opinion can only be conjectural, as it is impossible to draw any certain inference from the rather indefinite expression "considerable," contained in the report of the surgeons. Conjecture, indeed, has been busy, and a phalanx of casual circumstances have been arranged to account for the dissolution; some of which are ungenerously and unguardedly, not

to

to say maliciously, calculated to attach blame to the medical attend ants; but we must consider such expositions as unjust to the individuals concerned, and in no degree honourable to the profession. We have been informed that the whole of the royal family are liable to the spasms of a violent descrip

tion; and to this hereditary predisposition, and the increased excitability of the amiable sufferer, owing to the tedious nature of the labour, are we left to ascribe an event which has destroyed the flattering hopes of the nation, and lopped off the fairest branch from the stem of its monarchal succession.

thing very interesting, or that will detain us long. Considerable anx. iety and doubt, indeed, must still, and for a considerable future period, exist with regard to the probability of France's settling into a regular and peaceably disposed government; and the friends of freedom and the real happiness of mankind must be equally anxious respecting the probability of her being rendered qualified for it, by the discipline she has undergone; and, if qualified, being able to obtain and secure national liberty, and those political and civil rights without which the people of no country can long be, at the same time, powerful and happy. But it is extremely difficult to foresee what will be the result; because it is impossible to learn, either from the accounts of the French papers, or from the reports of travellers, what are the actual feelings of the French people towards the Bourbons, whether they have abandoned that love of glory, which in them is always fatal both to principle and repose, and whether their notions

were.

There are, however, some circumstances connected with the state of France during the year 1817, which may serve to guide us in our inquiries in these most interesting and important points. In the first place, the feelings and wishes of the military part of the nation seem adverse to repose,-as eager after war, and as unprincipled as ever. This is manifest, whenever and wherever they have an opportunity of expressing their feelings and wishes. It is surprising, therefore, that the French government, which cannot possibly be ignorant of these things, should have passed a conscription law,-altered and modified, indeed, in some respects, from the conscription law of Bonaparte, but still of such a nature as must raise a much larger army than is necessary for the defence of France, and of course, in the present state of that army, dangerous to her repose, and to the repose of the rest of Europe. It is worthy of remark too, that this army, which will amount to about 250,000 men, is to be raised at X 3 a time

time when France declares herself incapable of paying those sums to the allies, which by the treaty she bound herself to do. This feature in the picture of France, therefore, is by no means favourable to her tranquillity, or to her preservation of peace with the rest of Europe. And if she does engage in war again, Britain will be the nation against whom, if possible, she will direct her vengeance; for though the British troops have all along behaved towards France with much more moderation, and indeed forbearance, than any of the other foreign troops; yet against Britain, the hostile and rancorous feelings of nearly all classes of Frenchmen, and especially of her military, are openly and avowedly directed.

In the second place, the conduct of the French king, and even of the royal family, as well as the measures and character of the French ministry, are favourable to the repose and happiness of that country. It is not our intention to state all the changes that have taken place in the French ministry; but only to point out the character of those changes, and their probable influence on the state of the country. When Louis first returned to France, he seems to have thrown himself completely into the arms of some of the most distinguished, and at the same time most profligate actors in the revolution. After he shook him self loose from these, he gave himself too much to the ultra-royalists; to those men, whom twenty-five years of calamity had not taught wisdom. At present, he has in a great measure avoided both extremes; and though some of his ministers do not seem wisely chosen, and some of their measures are not so liberal or judicious as could be wished, yet, on the whole, so far as

the character and conduct of the French king and his ministers can act on the future fate of France, the prospect is rather cheering. The French princes, too, are not such open and imprudent advocates for ultra-royalism as they were; and it is said that the duc d'Angoulême, during a tour which he made in the western provinces of France,— those provinces that are devoted to ultra-royalism,--recommended forgetfulness, moderation, and acquiescence.

The proceedings of the two chambers in the year 1817 have presented nothing very interesting; nor do we perceive that the speeches of the members abound, more than they did, in sound and practical views of the real interests of the nation, or in clear and able expositions of those sober and genuine principles of government and liberty, which alone can guide the counsels of a nation to the attainment and preservation of liberty and happiness.

The point in the political thermometer (if the expression may be allowed) at which national freedom stands, may be ascertained pretty accurately, by attending to two circumstances:-in the first place the trial by jury, and secondly the state of the liberty of the press.

The French are certainly becoming more and more impressed with the conviction that the trial by jury is a most important blessing; and as they understand its nature and benefits better, and manage it more in accordance with that nature, and in such a manner as to secure those blessings in their most pure and ex tended state, they will prize it still higher, and derive still greater advantages from it. It is not merely that a trial by jury secures the due and impartial administration of jus

tice,

tice, that it ought to be prized. It is also highly valuable, by acustoming and disposing the minds of men to think for themselves on questions of law and politics, and to feel sensible of their own weight and value in the state. The French revolution, in the midst of all the horrors it gave birth to, produced one blessing with it there sprang up in France a middle class of men, chiefly by the overgrown estates of the noblesse having been broken into small portions, and bought by men, who thus secured mental and bodily independence. If these men can be taught to know their own importance, they must have it greatly in their power to counter. act on the one hand, any approaches to despotism on the part of the government, and any attempt to break out into the military mania, on the part of the soldiers.

When it is recollected that the deranged state of the French finances gave birth, or rather occasion, to the revolution, considerable anxiety must be felt respecting the present state of their finances. They certainly are not flourishing, though not less so than might be expected from the exhausted condition of the country, and the large sums which they are bound to pay to the allies, directly or indirectly, by the support of their troops. Capital being scarce, and credit very low in France; while capital abounds even to an overflow, and credit is very high in England; the French government have raised a large sum of money by way of loan, in the latter country. As the principal contractor for the loan must have taken every mode of ascertaining the state of France, and the proba. bility of her remaining quiet in herself, and at peace with the rest of the world; the circumstance of

their having agreed to risque so very large a sum, must appear a presumption that France will remain quiet and at peace.

So

On the whole, we are disposed to be of opinion, that the great mass of the French nation are desirous of tranquillity and repose. We do not think they regard any of the allies with friendly feelings; but we hardly imagine, that at present they contemplate the period, when they would wish to indulge their hostile feelings, at the risque of plunging their country into war, and probably again rendering her the footstool of the conquerors. far, therefore, as the great mass of the people are concerned, the probability of peace seems considerable. But when we turn to the military on the one hand, and the ultra-royalists on the other hand, we must confess that our fears preponderate. There can be no doubt that the military are eager for revenge, and to wipe off the stigma cast on themselves: for we believe them so selfish and egotistical, that if the stigma on their country had not touched themselves, or rather been inflicted through them, and by their discomfiture, they would not have disturbed themselves greatly about it but now it boils in their hearts,-it almost exclusively occupies their thoughts, their hopes, and their plans. And when we consider how inflammable the French nation are on the subject of military glory, we are afraid that if the soldiers once applied the match, the flame would spread far and wide: and the probability of this flame extending would be increased by the conduct of the ultra-royalists; who on the one hand exasperate the military, and on the other rouse the jealous apprehension of all who have benefited by the revolution, either in X 4

respect

respect to property, or civil and political privileges, by their constant endeavours, as far as they are able, to restore the government and institutions that existed previously to the revolution.

In consequence of the repeated and strong representations that were made to the allies regarding the inadequate condition of the French finances to defray the expenses of the government, and at the same time pay the contributions and support the foreign troops, the allies consented to withdraw part of their forces and it is generally supposed, that at the expiration of the three years (which will take place in 1818) the whole of them will be withdrawn from France, though, probably, they may be kept in the neighbouring states.

With respect to the liberty of the press in France, it is certainly not placed on that footing which indicates at the same time, a people fit to enjoy such liberty, and a government disposed to grant it. It must be observed, however, in justice to the government, that a people who have been so long unsettled in their political opinions and conduct, are much more likely to injure their own real interests, by the abuse of as large a portion of the liberty of the press, as in England might safely be granted, than by the proper use of it, to secure and extend those interests.

The affairs of Spain still exhibit a melancholy picture. The excitement on the part of the people, caused by their hatred of the French, rather than by any understanding or relish for real liberty, seems to have given place to the most benumbing and listless torpor; and the imbecility and tyranny of Ferdinand's government is patiently endured, if not really

liked, by those who freed their country from the tyranny of Bonaparte. The finances of Spain are in a most deplorable state; and there do not existin the people industry, talent, capital, or credit, the only sources from which a country can draw revenue. No symptoms of regeneration, or of a disposition to free themselves from the abject and melancholy condition in which they vegetate, has broken out. There was, indeed, a conspiracy in Valencia; but whatever was its real character and object, it was ill planned and conducted, and was soon crushed, and the heads of it suffered the vengeance of the Spanish government.

In Portugal nothing occurred, during the year 1817, of the smallest importance, except a conspiracy, the object of which seems to have been to render that country an independent kingdom. The absence of the king of Portugal,— his having raised Brazil to the rank of a separate kingdom, and having seemingly fixed his permanent residence there,-together with some dislike to the constant interference of the English, and especially of marshal Beresford, who still retains his command of the Portuguese troops, were the causes of this conspiracy ;-but it terminated, like that in Spain, fatally to those engaged in it.

Some alarm was spread over Europe, that its repose might be broken by a dispute between Spain and Portugal, The Brazilian government, rather unexpectedly, marched troops into the territories of Buenos Ayres, and took possession of Monte Video.

This step they justified on the ground that Spain had not fulfilled the treaty of 1815, by giving up all the places on the frontiers of Spain and Portugal,