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the fame fize, and carefully measured by the King at Arms before the Combat. The Sentence was always pronounced in favour of the. Conqueror, his Victory being accounted an undeniable Proof of the Equity of his Cause; whereas, both the Conquered and his Evidences are looked upon as guilty of Perjury, and punifhed accordingly either with Death, or with the Lofs of fome of their Limbs. When put to death, they were either hanged or burnt, according to the Quality of the Perjury they were judged guilty of. Notwithstanding the Sentence, it was allowed to fuch only as had been Bail, or had only fworn as acceffory in behalf of the Party chiefly concerned, to redeem themfelves with a Sum of Money from the Punishment they were condemned to. Thofe, who on account of their Age, Sex, or Indifpofitions, could not undergo this kind of Trial, were obliged to clear their Innocence, if charged with Crimes, or prove their Right, in Civil Controverfies, by Fire, in the following manner. An Iron was prepared, more or lefs hot, according to the Nature of the Crime the Perfon was accufed of, and the Proofs that were produced against him. This Iron was religiously preferved in the Church, and the having of it in cuftody was looked upon as a particular mark of Diftinction and Authority. The Party accused, prepared himself to the Trial by Prayer, Fafting, Hearing of Mass, and Receiving of the Communion, after which, they folemnly protested that they were no-ways guilty of the Crime laid to their charge. This done, the Priests conducted them with great Solemnity to the place appointed for the Trial. There they were fprinkled with Holy Water, which they alfo

drank

3

drank of, and washed the Hand with, which was to handle the hot Iron. Now this Iron was either a Gantlet, which the prefumptive Criminal thruft his Hand into; or a Bar, which anfwering both in fize and degree of Heat to the Enormity of the Crime, he was to lift up once or twice, and even thrice, if there were strong Evidences against him. His Hand was afterwards carefully fealed up in a Bag, with the Seals both of the Judge and the Party. If after three Days it appeared to be quite found, he was cleared; if otherwife, he was declared guilty, and punished in proportion to the Crime. This way of Trial, as alfo the former by Combat, was introduced by the barbarous Nations which over-ran Europe in the fixth and enfuing Centuries. As they were quite Strangers to the use of Laws, and to the due Subordination to lawful Judges and fovereign Powers, they had recourfe to fuch extraordinary Means in order to put an end to Differences that arose amongst them. This is in fhort, what F. Calmet relates here, with great Prolixity, concerning thefe Trials. The Account he gives us, is drawn from the Archives of the Duke of Lorrain, and from the antient Records of the Cities of Toul, Metz, and Verdun.

To this Differtation, the Author has added another upon the Coat of Arms, Livery, Devifes, Titles, &c. of the Dukes of Lorrain. He tells us here, that the Use of Arms as a Mark of Diftinction was introduced about the tenth or éleventh Century. The Ornaments fome wore before that time on their Shields, or elsewhere, were meerly arbitrary, and had no manner of relation, to the Nobility, Antiquity, Merit, &c. of their Families; neither did they diftin

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guifh one Family from another, or pass to their Succeffors. What the Antient Roman Soldiers had painted, or ingraved on their Shields, was owing to the Fancy of the Artificer, or, at most, served as a Mark whereby to distinguish the Soldiers of different Cohorts or Legions, but did not at all relate either to their own Family, or to that of their Captain, or to the Emperor's. The greatest Families of Europe had no fixed Coats of Arms, till after the middle of the twelfth Century. It is commonly thought that Lewis VII, King of France, furnamed Florus, was the first, who, in allufion to his Name Loys, chofe the Lys or Flower-de-luces for his Arms. When he caused his Son Philip to be crowned and anointed, he ordered the young King's Dalmatick to be coloured with Azure, and feeded with golden Flower-de-luces. The other Kings, that fucceeded him, took the fame Coat of Arms; but the number of the Flower-de-luces was not fixed till the Reign of Charles V. or, according to others, Charles VI. who reduced them to three.

To thefe Differtations, our Author has annexed a Chronological Catalogue of all the Abbots and Abbeffes of no less than fixty fix Abbeys belonging to the Archbishoprick of Treves, and Bishopricks of Metz, Toul, and Verdun. Such Pieces help on wonderfully towards the making of a Volume, and therefore are very proper for F. Calmet's Defign. As to the Hiftory itself, it ought rather to be entitled the History of France and Germany, than that of Lorrain, which is extremely barren of remarkable Transactions. We fhall therefore, without making any further Extracts of it, pass to other Subjects, which will better anfwer our Defign, and our Reader's Expectation. AR

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Inftruction d'un Pere a fon Fils fur la Maniere de fe conduire dans le monde. Dedié a la Reine. Par M. Du Puy, cidevant Secretaire au Traité de la Paix de

Ryfwick. Paris chez Jacques Estienne, ruë S. Jacques 1730.

That is,

Inftructions of a Father to his Son, concerning the Conduct of his Life. Dedicated to the Queen. By M. du Puy, heretofore Secretary at the Treaty of Ryfwick. Paris 1730, 12°. Pag. 513.

HE Title of the Work fufficiently ac

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quaints us with the Author's Defign, which is to inftruct a Youth how to live in the World according to the Rules of Religion, Virtue and Honour. The Author, who is a Gentleman of diftinguished Parts, and fingular Probity, affures us in his Preface, that the forming of this Plan, for the right Education of Youth, has been, during the Space of fifty Years, his chief, if not his only, Study. He tells us, that he does not propofe himself for a Model, but only offers his Advice to those who begin the World, as a Pilot would do to fuch as were to undertake a Voyage, wherein he himfelf had been often fhipwrecked, and thereby acquired an experimental Knowledge both of the Dangers, and the Art of avoiding them. The many useful Inftructions contained in this

Work,

Work, and fuited to every Condition and Circumftance of Life, will fupply in great meafure the want of Experience, to which are chiefly. owing the Disappointments young People too frequently meet with at their firft fetting out in the World. Had the Author been fomewhat more concife, (as the Nature of fuch Works.requires,) and obferved more religiously the Rule he himself lays down, viz. to reject in writing whatsoever is not precisely neceffary, however ingenious it may appear, his Performance would have been more acceptable to those, for whose ufe it was defigned. This Fault however is in a manner redeemed by a great Politeness of Style, Eafinefs of Expreffion, and many pleasant and diverting Relations he has interfperfed. The whole Book is divided into XXIX Chapters, of which the III. XIX. and XXVIII. deferve particular notice. In the first of these he gives à Youth feveral very proper and useful Inftructions relating to his Studies, especially to the reading of History with Improvement. The Reader will find here which Authors are the moft proper to be perused by fuch as defire to attain to an univerfal Knowledge, and are unwilling to be found ignorant in any Subject that may be started. In the fecond he delivers many fine. Precepts touching that Civility and Politeness of Behaviour, which form the Character of an accomplished Gentleman. He thus diftinguishes Civility from Politeness. "Civility, fays he, is a "particular Regard not to fay, or do any thing "repugnant to good Manners: Politenefs is the "fame Civility, carried to the highest Degree of "Perfection it is capable of. One may be civil

without being polite, but cannot be polite "without being civil. As for inftance, if af

. ter

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