Page:English Historical Review Volume 35.djvu/288

 280 REVIEWS OF BOOKS April desire to avoid any expense because expenditure would necessitate the summoning of a parliament was the dominant motive of king and ministers. Soranzo declared that he was absolutely useless in England and could achieve nothing, but it was not his fault and ought to be ascribed to the corruption of the government. It must be considered a great misfortune to see this kingdom enfeebled by the serious inconveniences which result from the King being out of sympathy with his people, unequal to governing by himself, and his councils distracted by private interests. All these things result in his finding himself without money or reputation, advantages which include all the other prerogatives and in time past brought this flourishing and powerful kingdom into the highest estimation. . . . Here they do not speak of war because they have not the means to carry it on ; and if they treat for peace the same helplessness makes them throw away their own interests, so that they do not uphold their reputation, and do not pay the slightest attention to what is reasonable (p. 290) In another dispatch he contrasts the weakness of the government with the spirit and vigour of the people, and the credit with which the squadrons of privateers were managed as compared with the king's fleets ' (p. 207). If England was at present a cipher in European politics, it was from want of will not from want of power (p. 463). The prevalence of popular dis- content and the boldness and persistency with which the king's policy was opposed are often emphasized, and there is an interesting account of the combination amongst the merchants to stop the export trade during the year which followed the dissolution of 1629 (p. lii). ' The King, who is guided by his father's maxims ', writes Soranzo in September 1629, desires to be absolute master and not bound by the laws. As a matter of fact this cannot possibly succeed because this people would sacrifice their goods {ind their lives before they would consent to any diminution soever of their privileges (p. 177). In addition to information about foreign affairs and domestic politics there is a large amount of gossip about the intrigues and quarrels which went on in the court and council of Charles I. Amongst the incidents recorded is the birth of the prince who was afterwards King Charles II. Soranzo saw the infant in his cradle. ' So far as one can judge from present indica- tions ', said the ambassador, ' he will be very strong and vigorous. The nurses told me that after his birth he had never clenched his fists, but had always kept his hands open. From this they argue that he will be a prince of great liberality in the future ' (p. 350), He was. Mr. Hinds translates the documents with great accuracy, and his editorial work is very careful. But as in previous cases this volume of the calendar in- cludes a number of papers which do not deserve calendaring, and documents containing trivial information about events in Italy are often abstracted at considerable length instead of being reduced to a couple of lines. In this way the cost and bulk of the calendars is needlessly increased. The rules for calendaring ought to be revised, and editors ought to use their discretion more than they do in dealing with unimportant papers. C. H. Firth. Les Premieres Controverses Jansenistes en France. Par Albert De Meyer. (Louvain : Van Linthout, 1917.) This learned and impartial dissertation with its ample notes and references is a welcome testimony to the revival of the ancient imiversity from which it proceeds. The great traditions of Louvain as * for a time by far the