Present State of Hit University of Dublin. [March 1 , 



the family compact of the Hourbons, 

 arc well known. At length the French 

 revolution, and the unsuccessful at- 

 tempt of Napoleon to fix a branch of 

 his family on the throne of Spain, iraM' 

 birth to a new a;ra and a new order oC 

 things. (,"harles IV. a weak monarcli, 

 ruled by his Queen and her favourilc, 

 an intriguing minister, could not main- 

 tain (lu! covernment in his own jxm'sou, 

 and liis son ultimately assiinied the 

 reigns of jiower. Tlie great grandson of 

 Philip \. Ferdinand VII. is now seated 

 on (he thr-nie of Spain. 



[The other liuijal Houses will be given in 

 our next.] 



For the Mitntldij Magazine. 



PHE.SENT STATK of the Dl.SCIPLlNE 

 and LEARNING of the itmveksity 

 o/ DUBLIN. 



IT is proper to subjoin other par- 

 ticulars, that my account of this In- 

 stitution may not be deemed «lefcctive. 

 The University of Dublin was founded 

 by the (Jreat Klizabeth. Jealous as she 

 was of the royal prerogative, she placed 

 the election of the Provost in the Fel- 

 lows, and thus established indepeu 

 dence here. Charles the First recalled 

 this vital franchise, and annexed the 

 appointment to the crown: a strong 

 instance, perhaps hitherto uniiotice(f, 

 of the ajitipathy to privilege, which 

 possessed that arbitrary prince. The 

 grasp of power is never fixed on know- 

 ledge, without impressing a livid mark; 

 and this invasion of the freedom of the 

 college has not been unattended by per- 

 nicious consequences. I fear it has led 

 candidates to seek an office tlirough 

 electioneering intrigue and factious 

 zeal, which should be religiously aj)- 

 propriated to eminent learning, and 

 unsullied virtue. The spirit of the par- 

 tisan is sometimes displayetl even after 

 promotion, in a fretfiU anxiety to ma- 

 nifest a temper congenial to the stera- 

 ness of power, and an unfavourable 

 regard to popular notions of govern- 

 ment. The late Provost, Dr. EIrington, 

 (now Bishop of Limerick) is a man of 

 much learning, hut greatly deficient in 

 taste and elegance. His address is irre- 

 sistible, not so much from the suavity 

 of his temper or the dignity of his de- 

 portment, as a certain robust energy of 

 manner. His reign has been marked 

 by trifling improvements, important 

 alterations, and, unless my observation 

 deceives me, a signal degeneracy in the 

 intellectual character of the members 

 of the University. He lias been suc- 

 ceeded by Dr. Kyle, the last of the senior 

 fellows: 



110 



The elevation of this monarcli Hom the 

 humble ranks of socit^ty, and the firm- 

 ness with which he pre erves his foreign 

 dominions, are not the least extraordi- 

 nary circumstances of modern times ; 

 but it is evident from the foregoing 

 details, that the northern sovereigns 

 frequently ortcd (heir thrones to elec- 

 tion. 



LINE of CAPET. 



This is one of the most important 

 andpowerfuUines mentioned in history. 

 The sovereign families of this house 

 reign in the south and south-west of 

 Europe, and they possess vast countries, 

 though not so much as they once did, 

 in theNew World. Hugh Ca|)<'t,graiul- 

 son of King Robert, is the stock of this 

 fruitful line. 



PRANCE. 



The principal and most ancl(mt 

 branch of thi^ Capets reigned over 

 France in a direct line until 1328, the 

 epoch of its extinction in the person of 

 Charles IV. named the Fair. France, 

 after this, was governed by the collate- 

 ral line of Charles, Count of Valois, 

 which became extinct in 1589, with 

 Henry III. Another branch of the 

 Capets followed in the IJourl-.ous. Their 

 stock is Robert, Count of Clermont, 

 youngest son of St. Lewis. They 

 reigned over one of the finest kingdoms 

 of Europe, with almost despotic sway, 

 until the month of August 1792. The 

 revolution, which cost Louis XVI. his 

 throne, and afterwards his life, banished 

 his family, and almost extinguished 

 the hope of their restoration. The 

 splendid empire of NapoW^on rose on 

 the ruin of many changeful and hete- 

 rogeneous governments. But the Allied 

 Sovereigns, taking advantage of Napo- 

 leon's reverses, (breed him to .abdicate, 

 and in 1S14, the present Lewis X\'III. 

 was phiced by the power of the Allied 

 Sovereigns in possession of the inhe- 

 ritfince 6f his ancestors. 



SPAIN. 



It is a branch of the Bourbons that 

 reigns in Spain. The Austro-Spauish 

 line being extinct in l/OO, by the dealh 

 of Charles II. The kingdom of Spain 

 passed from the House of Austria to 

 that of France in the person of Philip 

 V. grandson of Lewis the XIV., who, 

 "being summoned by the will of Charles, 

 succeeded to the crown of his paternal 

 grandfatlier. The union of tlie crownis 

 of Spain and France has ever been re- 

 garded with jealousy by the rest of the 

 potentates of Europe. The subsequent 

 discords occasioned by this alliance and 



