Another collateral branch of study ought to be that•of the governments of nations; not a minute of the various parts of their government, hut such a know ledge of their general and leading principles, as would en able us to ascertain, how far, and in what respects, the in fluence and advances of each state might justly be attri butable to their respective constitutions. In this point of view, also, Great Britain may be cited as an instance pecu liarly illustrative of the justice and truth of our observa tions. A person who had made himself acquainted with the progress of this country in agriculture, manufactures, and commerce, and who beheld in them the sources of her wealth and power, would still be desirous of learning the causes, which had enabled her to make this progress so far beyond that of other nations ; and of these causes, on in vestigation, he would find her free constitution to be the most prominent and operative. The observations which we have now offered, respecting the connection between the history and the statistics and government of a country, will be most fully and satisfactorily confirmed and illustrated by reading the articles BRITAIN, History of; ENGLAND, His tory and Statistics of; SCOTLAND, History and Statis tics of ; in this work. It is only within these few years. that the study of statistics has been much attended to ; and we think we may, without the charge of vanity, or partiality, refer to this Encyclofierdia, as connecting the history and statistics of the various civilized countries of the world more intimately and fully together, than they had been pre viously done in any work of the same nature.
Whatever illustrates the manners, customs, feelings, circumstances, and condition of the inhabitants of a coun try, in the various periods of its history, ought also to be studied by him who wishes to derive from history its high est gratification and its full advantage. The popular bal lads of a nation, in this respect, ought to be perused ; col lections of the laws, ordinances,' and internal regulations enacted in a state, during any particular period of its his tory, are well calculated for the same object ; they give information respecting the condition of the great mass of tl c community, whether they were free or slaves; and also respecting the prevalent crimes and vices of the age, and what measure of punishment was necessary to expiate or repress them.
All these are collateral branches of study, which are con nected with the proper and advantageous perusal of his tory in general ; but those who wish to enter more mi nutely into the history of any country, and to gain access to as many sources of evidence respecting it as possible, may derive great advantage and assistance from the records of the couats of law. These furnish a vast variety of his torical facts, must minutely investigated. To refer again to this particular instance of our own country : It may with ti uth be affirmed, that no one can IM m an adequate and cor rect idea of the gradual amendment effected in our insti tutions, and of the value of those constitutional principles and efforts front which those amendments have been de rived, who has not read with attention tl,e state trials.
eaties with foreign powers should also be perused ; and the despatches of ambassadors, especially the confidential communications made by diplomatic agents. In the offi cial letters of Barillon, publishec by Sir John Dalrymple and Mr Fox, the impolicy of Charles II. and of his unfor tunate successor, is clearly traced ; and in the papers of Sir Robert Walpole, as published by Mr Cum, a striking picture is exhibited of the difficulties incident to the ad ministration of a free government. How ouch history may be illustrated by the publication of such official pa pers, or rather how inexplicable the facts it records may often be, if not illustrated by such papers, is proved in a most striking and interesting manner in the following in stance. In the yea's 1775 and 1776, General Washing ton lay encamped before the town of Boston, at the head of a force far superior to that of the British, for the period of nine months, without striking a blow. The general's offi cial correspondence with Congress, published in the year 1795, accounts for this dilatoriness, which, till this publica tion, was inexplicable. From it, it appears, that, dui ing a great part of this time, he was so scantily provided with powder, that, had the British been aware of his situation, and marched to attack him, he would have been under the necessity of abandoning his position.
Biography also may be brought to the elucidation and assistance of history. In the lives of sovereigns, eminent statesmen, generals, and lawyers, peculiarities of charac ter, prejudices, motives, and reasons for conduct, which history cannot detect, and other circumstances, are often brought to light, which set ve to elucidate what is obscure, to connect what is disjointed and abrupt, and to account for what before seemed without an adequate and appropriate cause.
The history of many' nations may also be elucidated by visible monuments, such as pillars, edifices, or mere heaps of stone ; and by the names given to counties, towns, &c. Of the same nature with public monuments are national customs, in commemoration of remarkable historical events ; such as the Athenians sending annually a ship to Delos ; the paschal supper among the Jews ; the Lord's Supper among the Christians ; our making bonfires on the 5th of November, and carrying oak boughs on the 29th of May.
Coins and medals are also of great use, in the illustra tion of history. On ancient medals, a number of events have been recorded, so that they serve to confirm such passages as are true in old authors, to ascertain what was before doubtful, and to record such as were omitted. By means of them, Valliant has been enabled to ascertain, in a very great degree, the chronology of three important king doms of the ancient world, viz. Egypt, Syria, and Parthia. Of Balbec and Palmyra, whose ruins are so famous, history scarcely makes any mention, and we have little knowledge of them, but what is supplied by medals and inscriptions. In modern times, coats-of-arms have been made use of for the purpose of distinguishing families. They must, there fore, be of great use in tracing pedigrees, and consequent ly in ascertaining persons and events in history. See ME. DALS.