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OF THE REFORMATION. 91which had; in fact, been mainly founded upon the personaldislike which these crowned heads entertained towards eachother; and England, fallinginto the indolent hands ofJames I., was soon in a situation which precluded anyeffectual participationin the affairs of other countries; whileamidst the troubles which attended the reign of his unfortunate son, it w ? as totally shut out from them.On the other hand, France had recovered her internalsecurity since the accession of the Bourbons ;and the judicious government of Henry IV. and Sully, had in a wonderfully short time healed up the wounds inflicted by thecivil war. France then resumed her proper station in thepolitical system of Europe her old jealousy of the Spanish-;Austrian house revived of itself; but in the schemes ofHenry IV. it was considered only as the means to an end,only as the foundation of a new system by which Europewas to be remodelled.It is needless to dwell upon the celebrated project of aEuropean republic the ; prosecution of which would eitherhave wholly spared this quarter of the world a war of thirtycomyears, or, which is more probable, have accelerated itsmencement. With the death of its author (1610) not onlydid this scheme pass away, but instead of rivalry with Spaina friendly connexion was established ;and France, falling aprey to the petty factions of the court, sank back into astate of weakness and vacillation, which ended only whenRichelieu (1624) laid his firm grasp upon the helm of state.But though the murder of Henry IV. prevented Francefrom taking the first part in the great tragedy of which Europe was to be the stage, it ityet delayed, although couldnot wholly avert, the itself.tragedy The scene of it wasalready chosen, and as Germany during the thirty yearswar obtained this melancholy preference,its fate becameconnected with the destinies of Europe.The general point of view from which the originof thiswar must be considered, has been given above. After thereligious peace of Augsburg a peace far too easily obtained the maintenance of a balance between the two parties had become the constant object of German politics.But, if we throw a glance over the internal affairs of the empire, from the date of that peace till the commencement ofu 2