his temporal one to his eldest fon Lewis, and transferred to him the allegiance of his fubjects; it named at the fame time a council of fiate, to aflift the inexperience of the young monarch; and it concluded, with providing a proper fubfiftence for himfelf and his confort, in the retreat he meditated. This extraordinary fcene, which recalled to the minds of the hearers the abdication of Charles the Fifth, was attended by the fame external marks of regret, that had accompanied the refignation of that monarch; but when the firft impreffions of furprife had fubfided, the Spaniards could not but be fenfible to the different fituation and con rovalty; his abdication was the refult of a degrading indolence, and a narrow fuperftition; in the palace of Ildefonso he preferved the revenue, though he abandoned the funétions, of a king; the annual payment of a million of crowns, or one hundred and twenty thoufind pounds fierling, was feverely felt, and the fum that he was reported to have privately tranfported to his retreat was loudly refented by the people. Account of the Bafchkirs, from Pallus's travels, among the Kalmucs and Tartars. mates in inhabiting, duHESE people differ from other ring the inclement feafon, folid houfes conftructed of wood, after the manner of the Ruffians. For the fupply of the prefling wants of their flocks, they collect hay, which they put in heaps round fome large trees. Their houfes are generally finall, and their chambers, like thole of the Tartars, are furnished with large benches, which ferve inftead of beds. The principal duct of thofe two princes. Charles had advanced his country to the highest pitch of grandeur and profperity; and it was not until a long ferics of illuftrious atchievements and ftubborn toils had matured his glory, and broken his confiitution, that he refigned a fceptre which his arm could no longer wield with vigour. He retreated to the condition of a private gentleman, and a ftipend of a hundred thoufand crowns, or about twelve thoufand pounds a year, was all that he re-enfil, feen in the Bafchkir huts, is ferved for the fupport of his family, and the indulgence of beneficence; in the monaftery of St. Juftus he buried every ambitious thought, and he even reftrained his curiofity from enquiring refpecting the political fituation of Europe. But the age of Philip was that when the mind and body poffefs their fulleft powers; whatever activity he had difplayed, had been in fupport of his pertonal interefts; nor had he earned his difcharge from the cares, by having laboriously fulfilled the duties, of a pretty tall leathern bottle, of the form of a flaggon, refted on a wooden foot, and conftantly fall of four milk. While their cattle furnish milk, and they have good provifion of honey, they live joyoufly, and drink nothing but four milk or hydromel: but, as they feldom clean their vefiels, one may eafily conceive the odour illuing from this inexhauftible bottle. In winter, and on their journey, they fupply the defect of their unal beverage by little cheefes made with very four milk, and fmoke-dried, which they crumble between their fingers, and infufe in water. They allo drink in fpring, the fap of the birch, which they collect by means of deep incisions in the trees; which practice kills a great number of the trees. Their most common nourifhment is a very thin meat broth, which they pour from large fpoons, part in their mouths, and part on their beards. They fow, indeed, a little corn, but fearce enough for their fmall confumption. While they are able to keep horfes and bees, and can pleafe themfelves with an indolent life, it is not to be expected that they can be made tillers of the ground. Bread is not of daily ufe with them. A Bafchkir woman kneads, with unwathed fingers, a cake, with water and a little falt, and buries it in hot aflies on the hearth; it is then fuck on a ftick, and held before the fire to make a cruft. The Bafchkirs have been long without Khans, and all their nobility have been gradually deftroyed in the civil wars. At prefent, every tribe or Woloft chufes from itfelf one or more ancients or Starfchini. The nation compofes thirty-four Wolofts, wherein were reckoned, in 1770, 27,000 families. Their language is a Tartar idiom, differing uch from that fpoken at Kafan. As to military fervice, they themfelves chufe the chiefs, and the of ficers of the fmall troops: but the regimental chiefs, called Attamans, are named by the Ruffian commanders, from among the moft meritoous of the Starfchinis. Their ufual arms are a bow, arrows, a lance, a coat of mail, and a cafque: but many are armed with fabres, fufils, or piftols, and fome with all thefe. They are very well mounted, are good horfemen, and excellent archers; whence a fmall troop of Bafchkirs is not only fure to obtain the victory over a much greater number of Kirgifians, but a fingle regiment of Balchkirs often makes long marches in the midst of a Kirgifian horde without ever being beaten. A corps of Bafchkirs offers feveral fingularities. Every horfeman drefles himfelf as he pleafes, or as he can; all, however, wear long clothing. Each has a led horfe, which he keeps for the battle, and which carries his provifions, confifting chiefly in well-dried corn, which they grind to meal in hand-mills carried with them. Each troop of a hundred carries a ftandard of various colours, which differ from each other in every regiment as much as the arms do. They preferve no order in marching, and it is only when they halt, that they obferve any appearance of ranks and files. The Bafchkirs live in huts in winter, and in moveable jourts in fummer. In the choice of fituations for winter villages, they pay more regard to the fertility of the foil, than to the proximity of water, fnow ferving them in that refpect. A village contains from ten to fifty huts; an encampment is only from five to twenty jourts; fo that a large winter village divides into fevera fummer camps. Though the winters here are long and rigorous, the Bafchkirs leave their cattle entirely to their own diferetion. These unfortunate animals are reduced to fcratch up, from beneath the fnow, fome withered and frozen herbs, or a little mofs. The mafters only furnish a little hay to their weakly beafts, and to thofe which bring forth out of feafon. As to their camels, which in like manner they oblige to provide their own fubliftence, they wrap them in cld felt coverlets, which they few about their bodies. Hence all their cattle are difmally lean and meagre toward fpring; but, in the fummer, they are not only healthy, but fat. In order to profit of the milk, they tie, during the day, their foals and calves to cords ftretched near the jourts, and fuffer them to run with their dams only during night. They have obferved that the young, brought up thus fparingly, fupport much better the feverity of the winters, than thofe which are indulged with all the mother's milk. Both fexes wear fhirts, which are ufually of coarfe cloth of nettles, long and large drawers, and bufkins or flippers. A woman's gown is of fine cloth or filk ftuff, buttoned before, and tightly bound round the body with a girdle. The neck and breaft are covered with a kind of net, garnished with picces of The Bafchkirs are more grofs, negligent, and flovenly in their manner of living and commerce than the Kafan Tartars, but they are alfo more hofpitable, lively, and joyous, efpecially in fummer. They make no account of carriages, but both men and women love to ride on horfeback, and take . money. pride in fine horfes and rich houfings. The faddles for the women are diftinguifhed from thofe which the men ufe by handfome and larger coverings. A faddled horse is commonly feen before every jourt. The habit which they have contracted of being conftantly either on horieback, or feated on their hams, makes nearly all the men crook-kneed. They fleep at night with their clothes on, lying on felts; whence they are rarely without vermin, efpecially as they ufe fewer ablutions than other Mohammedans. age without reproach is greatly ef teemed among them, according to the oriental cuftem; and, when they invite their friends to a feaft, they promife to feat them among the old men. Old Monarchs must have prodigies to announce their fall We are told, that William dreamed the night before the fatal chace, that an extreme cold wind had pierced through his fides. A monk too would have detained him from hunting, by the recital of a frightful vifion; he had feen in a dream, the king gnawing and tearing a crucifix with his teeth, and he had feen him fpurned and trodden down by the image, while flames of fire burft from his mouth. The intrepid tyrant ordered him ico fhillings, and bade him "dream better dreams.” [BROMPT. CAMD. REMAINS.] There cher inftantly embarked for the Holy Land to expiate his involuntary crime. The body was conveyed to Winchíter in a common cart. A tomb erected over it was. broken to pieces in the laft civil wars, and a large gold ring and a filver chalice were found mingled with the royal duft. William Rufus fell, unmarried, in his fortieth year. His perfon muft have been unpleafing. He was fhort and fat, had a ftern vifage, red hair, and eyes of different colours. He had all his father's vices without his few virtues, a ftern magnanimity perhaps excepted; imperious, cruel, and avaricious; he regarded his word or oath only as means to delude the credulous; religion he fcorned; an Ifraelite who knew his character, gave him a large fum of money to perfuade his converted fon to return to Judaifin. Rufus did his honeft endeavour, but in vain. Well,' faid he to the father, I have done what I could, but I have not fucceeded. It is not my fault though, fo we will divide the money between us.' Another time, when ten Englishmen had been cleared by the ordeal of fire from a charge of killing deer, the impious Rufus exclaimed, Pretty juftice above, indeed! to let ten fuch fcoundrels efcape!' To clofe the character of William Rufus, let us quote the nervous lines of Henry of Huntingdon: He was a man more fierce than feemed confiftent with human nature. By the advice of the worst of men (which he always followed) he perpetually harraffed his neighbours with war, and his own fubjects with foldiers and taxes.' Character There are various opinions as to the death of Rufus, although what is written above is generally credited. Eadmer gives it as a received opinion, that he full with an arrow in his hand and mortally wounded his breaft. Suger, in his Life of Lewis the Fat,' affirms, that Tyrrel had with folemn oaths averred to him, that he was not even in that part of the foreft where the king fell, nor faw him there on the day of his death. And John of Salisbury, comparing the death of William to that of Julian the apoftate, fays, that it was equally doubtful (at the time when he wrote) by whom either of them was killed. [LYTTLETON'S HENRY II.] Yet there is in the New Forest, a ford called Tyrrel's Ford;' there is an eftate too called Avon Tyrrel, and if (as the tradition of the foreft affirms) thefe lands have been liable to pay a yearly fine to the Excinquer of seventeen fhillings, on account of the above-mentioned fod having been fhewn to the regicide by the then owner of the eftate, there can be no doubt of Tyrrei's at least prefuming himself guilty. A monument (which still exifts) was erected on the fpot where Rufus died, by a lord Delawar, who avers, that he had feen the oak on which the fhalt had glanced. In the infcription, it is recorded, that a peasant named Purkifs, drove the cart which conveyed the royal body to Winchefter; and it is reinarkable, that two families of the faid name ftill occupy cottages near the spot, and that within the prefent century an axle-tree was preferved by one of thefe cottagers, which tradition afferted to have belonged to the very cart above-mentioned. Among thefe, one of the moft irritating was that fpecies levied by the lawless purveyors. They ravaged the whole country' fays Edmer, through which the court paffed. Frequently they would burn or destroy the provitions which they could not use; and after having washed the feet of their cattle with the beft liquors, they would let the reft run to waste. In short, the cruelties which the mafters of families fuffered, and the brutal treatment offered by thefe wretches to their wives and daughters, are too fhocking to be told or credited. Much more defenfible was a fpecies of impost mentioned by an accurate and curious writer, as in ufe during the earlier Norman reigns, viz. T 3 Character of king John, from the he not made a rash vow not to ad fame. HE party of John being now favourite paffion, revenge, to fuch exes, that he drove the barons to the defperace refolution of applying to Philip of France, for his fon Lewis, (in right of his wife Blanche, grand-daughter to Henry II.) to be their king. In confequence, the Da phin, embracing their invitation, foon landed in Kent, and was joined by many noblemen and their arme dependents. He took Rochefter-caftle with cafe, and was acnally received in London with tranfport. The friends and foldiers of John began to abandon him; and the French prince might have crufned this royal viper with cafe, had 2 vance before he had reduced Dovercaffle. While he ftrove for this in * vain; the English barons by this on But their country might fuftain from a viz. Severe fines on perfons for making foolish speeches, returning foolish anfwers, for This tax may not be unprofitable in more modern days. It is probable, that the first atanding military force in Britain was that garrifon in Dover-caftle, which by refiting the arms of the Dauphin javed the kingdom of England from a foreign dynasty. For as Camden quotes from an ancient hiftorian) "Sir Hubert de Burgo (when made constable of the caftle) confidering that it was not for the fatety of the ortiefs to have new guards every month, procured by the affent of the king, and of all that held of the caitic, that every tenant for one month's guard fhouid fend his ten fhillings, out of which, certain perfons elected and fworn (both of horse and foot) fhould receive pay for guarding the caftie." [BRITANNIA.}] "Alas (faid the king of France, on nearing how ill the befiegers had sped) it my fon has not gained Dover-cattle, he has gained no footing in England!" Sufpicions which, from the fucceeding tenor of Lewis's blameless life, we may conclude to have been groundlets. He was charged with a defign to execute the English barons as traitors to their king, fo foon as by their help he fhould be confirmed on his new throne. Yet the French writers fpeak doubtfully of this business. John had fo ftrong an attacliment to Lynr, in Norfolk, that he had given it a charter, and had girded the firit mayor with his own fword, a relique still preserved in that town. He kept alfo there his crown and other regalia; and it was in attempting to remove these to a ftronger fortrefs that he met with the lait mistortune. [M. PARIS, CAMDEN.] The story of John's being poifoned by a monk at Swinethead-abbey, is of a late date and deferves no credit. In fome refpects, this inconfiftent prince had betr.erded the church; he had actually built many monafteries; and indeed in 150 years, which clapfed between the deaths of Harold and of John, no less than 550 religious houses were founded in England, which compofed above five parts in feven of the whole number of thofe, which Henry VIII. afterwards diffolved at the reformation. So defirous were the most defpotic of the Norman princes and their barons of expiating their fins, at the coft of their ill-fated and oppreffed vaifals. [ANDERSON.] tres. |