buquerque; when the islands of Madagascar, Ceylon, and St. Helena were discovered. As wealth soon flowed from so many sources into the Peninsula, it became at length the emporium of the precious metals; and that luxury was induced which, in process of time, lowered the power and dignity of both its states. young of brutes, as well as of men, we "We might have had enough, enough For luxury, medicine, and toil- ST. PETER'S CATHEDRAL at Rome AGRICULTURE IN ENGLAND, properly so called, originated with The Book of Husbandry' of Fitzherbert, a judge of the Common Pleas, 1504; but it still languished until the time of the Commonwealth, when Sir Hugh Platt brought into use a great variety of manures for recovering exhausted soils, and fertilizing barren_ones. Soon after the Restoration, Evelyn and Tull greatly encouraged agriculture by their writings; and in the reign of George III., Sir John Sinclair established a Board of Agriculture, which has admirably answered the intention. As respects Horticulture, the English borrowed their taste, in the first instance, from the Dutch. Previously to 1500, every species of was commenced 1506 by Pope vegetable, and most of the common out- Julius I. Bramante first superindoor fruits, were imported from the tended the splendid work; but MiLow Countries by our merchants; but chael Angelo gave the edifice the about that time the markets were first peculiarly sublime character it posabundantly supplied from our own sesses. Though constantly advancing, fields and gardens. As respects flow- with all the means that the wealth of ers, which at the same juncture began the hierarchy could then command, to interest the English, they appear to it took the reigns of eighteen popes, us, if it were alone on the apparently and the period of 115 years, to see superfluous ground of their beauty, to the temple alone finished. It occuclaim an admiration at least equal to pies, with its vestibules and accessoour regard for their more useful breth-ries, a third of a mile of ground; and ren of the soil. Paley has observed, its extreme height, to the apex of the that every man finds for himself one cross, is 464 feet, or 60 feet higher especial arrangement of Providence, than our St. Paul's. From the adwhich, more than any other, satisfies mirable attention of the builders to his mind respecting the benevolence preserve the relative proportions of of the Deity: and he affirms the power all the parts, the edifice does not which a healthy child possesses of strike the visiter with its size on enamusing itself, to be the most con- trance; but by degrees it unfolds its vincing proof to himself. We should magnitude to his wondering sight. adduce the beauty, scent, and variety The figures of the Evangelists, which of flowers. Undoubtedly, Paley's decorate the inside of the cupola, do ground, and countless others, afford not appear to be larger than the life; sufficient arguments in support of yet the pen in St. Mark's hand is six the same principle; but as his in- feet long, from which one may calcustance is equally applicable to the late their real stature. In a word, all is gigantic and cyclopean in the fane. But beyond its grandeur of extension, as regards both the structure and its contents, the extreme cleanliness of every portion, whether it be the walls, the pillars, the statues, the dome and roofs, or even the pavement on which he treads, seize the stranger with amazement; and, on enquiry, he finds that some hundreds of penitents are constantly engaged in the work of removing every particle of dust and soil of hand and foot from the place-such being the full penance of the labourers. Immediately under the glorious cupola is the tomb of St. Peter, round which an hundred silver lamps are constantly kept burning; and underneath that, in the old church of Constantine, on which St. Peter's is built, lie the remains of the great Apostle himself. ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY founded by king James IV., 1494, in Old Aberdeen. It possesses a library of of 13,000 volumes, and has 134 bursaries, or exhibitions for the support of students, varying from 5l. to 50l. per annum. The number of students is about 250. (See Marischal College.) CHIAROSCURO invented by Leonardo da Vinci; though that can hardly be called an invention which consists in an accurate representation of natural objects by the pencil. Chiaro, light, and oscuro, dark, are Italian words, and the compound term is used to signify that effect produced in painting by the judicious contrast or combination of light and shade. No rule can be laid down for it, as it depends on the accuracy of the artist's eye and taste: but Leonardo's careful plan made Coreggio and Titian draw something like a rule therefrom for their excellencies; while the beauties of Rubens and Rem brandt are the result of an undeviating attention to the same principle. RISE OF THE SIKHS.-Nanak, a Hindu prince, son of the ruler of Talwandi, a small district in the province of Lahore, began to preach against both the idolatry of his na tion and the Islam, 1494. I am sent,' he said to the Mohammedans, to reconcile your jarring tenets; and I implore you to read the Hindu scriptures, as well as the Koran; but reading is useless, without obedience to the doctrine taught. God has said no man shall be saved except he has performed good works. The Almighty will not ask to what tribe or persuasion he belongs: he will only ask what he has done.' Nanak now, to free himself from the cares of the world, left his wife and children, and retired to Bavy, 80 miles north of Lahore, where he died, greatly respected, aged 70, 1539. He had gained many proselytes, and his opinions continued to spread in peace for nearly two centuries; till in 1702 the increase of the sect he had originated, called the Sikhs (deists, in opposition to idol worshippers,) excited the jealousy of the Mohammedan government of Delhi; and from that time the disciples of Nanak became an armed people. The Sikhs worship one God, without image, or mediator. They eat all kinds of meat except beef, sparing the black cattle on account of their utility; and they especially enjoin the use of pork, out of sheer opposition to the Moslims, who in that and many other observances, strictly follow Judaism. The Sikhs dress in blue, even to their turbans, a colour thought unlucky by the other Hindus. The doctrines of Nanak were taught by his favourite disciple and high-priest Anjud Lhina, who collected them in a work called, in imitation of the Bible and Koran, Pothi, the book.' Anjud, at his death, named for his successor in the priesthood another disciple, called Amerduz; and this method of continuing the sect seems to have been practised till the union of the pontifical character with the kingly in the person of Runjeet Singh, 1798. (See Govind Singh.) RISE OF THE MORAVIANS.-The Hussites having split into various parties, some again joined the Church; but others, forming themselves into a THE POPEDOM.-ALEXANDER VI. succeeded Innocent VIII. 1492, being Rodriguez Borgia, of a wealthy family of Valentia, in Spain. He had been made a cardinal by his uncle Calixtus III.; and at the time of his election had four natural children, whom he scrupled not to advance to riches and honours. His most noted son was Cesare, first a cardinal, and afterwards made duke of Valentinois in Dauphiny by king Louis XII.; on which account he was styled 'le duc Valentine,' a name which he rendered infamous by his atrocities. The politics of Alexander were capricious and faithless in the extreme. At first he was hostile to the house of Aragon, then reigning at Naples, and showed himself favourable to the French, who were attempting to invade Naples; but afterwards, his son having married a daughter of Alfonso II. of Naples, he allied himself with the latter against the invaders. When, however, Charles VIII. advanced with his army upon Rome, he received him with honour, promised him his support for the conquest of Naples, and even gave him his son cardinal Cesare as a hostage. But the cardinal found means to escape; and Alexander joined that league formed in the north by the Venetians and Sforza against the French, which led to the expulsion of the latter. He now allied himself to Louis XII., successor of Charles VIII., who wanted his sanction for divorcing his first wife; and was a party to the double treachery by which Ferdinand of Spain first betrayed the cause of his relative, Frederick of Naples-partitioning that kingdom between Louis XII. and himself, and then, breaking his en gagement with the French, seizing upon the whole of the conquest by means of his general, Gonzalo. His internal policy was even more perfidious. Having meditated the depression of the great Roman families of Colonna, Orsini, and Savelli, he, either by treachery or open violence, succeeded in putting to death most of them, and seized on their extensive possessions. He sent into the Romagna his son, duke Valentine, who, by means of similar practices, made himself master of that country, entrapping and strangling the independent lords and petty despots of the various towns. Soon after the murder of his eldest son, John duke of Gandia, by unknown assassins, when returning from a debauch, Alexander died, aged 74, 1503. He was followed by Pius III., Francesco Todeschini, son of the sister of Paul II.; and great expectations were entertained that he would reform the papal court after the blackest reign in its annals. He survived his election, however, only 27 days, and was succeeded by the famous JULIUS II., cardinal Della Rovere, nephew of Sixtus IV. He had long distinguished himself by his haughty temper and warlike disposition; and upon being elected, began by driving Cesare Borgia out of his ill-gotten possessions in the Romagna. But there he found another power, the Venetians; who, during the preceding troubles, had taken possession of Ravenna, Rimini, and other places. They offered to pay tribute to the see of Rome for those territories; but Julius refused, and demanded their restoration to the Church. After fruitless negotiations, Julius in 1508 made a league (that of Cambrai) with Louis XII., the emperor Maximi- | 1508 that Stephen Bull, a courageous lian, and the duke of Ferrara, against Venice, whose object was the destruction of the oligarchy. Venice, however, stood firm, though its territories were ravaged by both Germans and French with their usual atrocity; and at last Julius, perceiving the impolicy of uniting with ultramontane sovereigns against the oldest Italian state, made peace with the oligarchy, 1510. Wishing to undo the mischief he had done, he called to his aid the Swiss, and himself took the field against the French in Lombardy, and captured the town of La Mirandola, 1511. He thereupon united with Ferdinand of Spain, Henry of England, the Venetians, and the Swiss; and his campaign of 1512 was marked by the battle of Ravenna, and the death of Gaston de Foix, the French commander, followed by the total expulsion of the French from Lombardy. The Swiss and Spanish allies next employed themselves to subvert the republic of Florence, which they gave to the Medici; and in the midst of these events the pope died 1513, aged 70. Julius was fond of the fine arts, patronized Bramante, Michael Angelo, and Rafaelle, and began the noble structure of St. Peter's. It was said of him, that he threw St. Peter's keys into the Tiber, the better to use that apostle's sword. SCOTLAND UNDER JAMES IV. James succeeded his father, James III., at 15, 1488; and the first marked event of his life was his lapse into a state of melancholy, 1494, on reflecting that he had countenanced the rebellion by which his father perished. In obedience therefore to the pope's legate, he bound about his waist an iron belt, to be worn in penance day and night for the remainder of his life. Some time after, his queen fell sick, and he made a pilgrimage to St. Ninian's in Galloway on foot for her recovery; and she being at length restored to health, they both went thither the same year to return thanks. It was in English captain, undertook to seize Wood, the Scottish admiral, who had made prizes of five British ships sent to ravage the shores about the Frith of Forth. Wood, however, captured Bull in a very severe battle, and presented him to his sovereign; who immediately ordered his dismissal, and received the thanks of Henry VII. for his generous conduct. James, after withdrawing his aid from Perkin the impostor, married Margaret, the daughter of king Henry; and in commemoration of an event which he thought would unite the two countries for ever, gave a series of splendid entertainments, built palaces, and fitted out large ships, to a degree that seriously trenched upon his finances. On the accession of Henry VIII., he declared war against England, on account of the incursions of the English borderers; and meeting the forces of his brother-in-law at Flodden, fell in a battle there, together with the flower of his nobility, (aged 40) 1513. The university of Aberdeen was founded in this reign; and learning was so much patronized by the Scottish clergy, that an act was passed, enjoining all barons and freeholders to put their eldest sons to grammar-schools. In 1512 the clergy, in a council at Edinburgh, drew up the famous Valor Beneficiorum,' known by the title of Bagimont's Roll.' FRANCE UNDER LOUIS XII.-This prince, who acquired the enviable title of 'le père de son peuple,' was the son of Charles duc d'Orleans and Mary of Cleve, and succeeded his kinsman, Charles VIII., 1498. He immediately relieved his people by diminishing the taxes; and generously pardoned Louis de la Trimouille, whom he had made prisoner at the battle of St. Aubin, observing that Bretagne, widow of Charles VIII.; and in the same year he conquered the Milanese. Some months after, Louis Sforza having prevailed on the inhabitants of that duchy to revolt, he sent an army into Italy under La Trimouille, who restored the Milanese to his obedience; and Louis Sforza being delivered up to him, was shut up at Loches in France in an iron cage, in which he died 10 years after. Louis XII. at length thought of making good his right to Naples; and for that purpose joined his forces to those of Ferdinand the Catholic. These two princes made themselves masters of that kingdom in 1501, but quarrelled when they came to divide it; on which the Spaniards, conducted by Gonzalo de Cordova, defeated the French at Seminara, 1503, and drove them out. Louis concluded a peace in 1505; and in 1507 chastised the Genoese, who had revolted, made his public entry into Genoa, and recovered the Milanese. In 1508 was formed the famous league of Cambray, between Louis XII., Julius II., Maximilian I., | and Ferdinand; and in 1509 Louis defeated the Venetians in person at Aignadel, and took from them Cremona and Padua. Julius II. becoming jealous of this extraordinary success, quitted the confederacy, and even entered into a league, 1510, against Louis, with Ferdinand, Henry VIII. of England, and the Venetians; he also put the kingdom of Louis under an interdict. Enraged at these proceedings, the latter called a national council at Tours, in which it was agreed to summon a general one at Pisa, to which the pope should be cited; but Julius, on the other hand, called one in the Lateran palace. Gaston de Foix, duke of Nemours, who commanded the French in Italy, obtained a victory over the confederates at Ravenna, 1511, but was killed after the battle; and his death occasioned the loss of the Milanese, where the Swiss re-established Maximilian Sforza, the son of Ludovico. Louis then allied with the Venetians, and in 1513 his army, commanded by La Trimouille, retook the Milanese for the third time; but the Swiss soon after drove the French out of that province. The Swiss also, in conjunction with Maximilian and the English, defeated the French in what was called the battle of the spurs,' near Guinegaste, and after that engage ment took Tournay. Louis, in this extremity, brought about an accommodation with the Swiss, entered into a treaty with pope Leo X., concluded a peace with the Spaniards, and allied with the English by marrying, for his third wife, Mary, sister of Henry VIII., 1514. He was resuming his projects against the Milanese, when death seized him, aged 53, 1515. DENMARK, &c. UNDER JOHN I.He succeeded to the Scandinavian kingdoms 1481, on the death of his father Christiern I.; though Sweden scarcely acknowledged his authority, and for many years owned Steno Sture, nephew of Knutson, and viceroy of John, (see Christiern I.) as its ruler. At length John attacked the malcontents with a large army in Ditmarsh; and having wholly defeated them, was crowned at Stockholm, 1497. In a few months, however, the Swedes, jealous of the preference shown to the Danes, drove him out of Stockholm, and seized the queen; who was only released on promising that neither the king nor herself should ever claim authority again in Sweden. The rest of the reign of John was marked by his numerous attempts to restore the union of Calmar; but he died without effecting that object, aged 61, 1513. PORTUGAL UNDER EMANUel.Emanuel succeeded his cousin João II., who died without issue, 1495. His reign has been styled, the golden age of Portugal.' He protected men of learning, drove the Moors out of his dominions, and took many cities and fortresses in Africa. Carrying out the designs of his predecessor João, he equipped a fleet under Vasco de Gama for the prosecution of the voyage to India, (effected as |