(Ligia), in law, properly signifies a vassal, who holds a kind of fee, that binds him in a closer obligation to his lord than other people.

The term seems to be derived from the French lier "to bind;" on account of a ceremony used in rendering faith or homage: which was by locking the vassal's thumb or his hand in that of the lord, to show that he was fast bound by his oath of fidelity. Cujas, Vigenere, and Bignon, choose rather to derive the word from the same source with leudis or leadi, "loyal, faithful." But Du Cange falls in with the opinion of those who derive it from lii, a kind of vassals, so firmly attached to their lord, on account of lands or fees held of him, that they were obliged to do him all manner of service, as if they were his domestics. He adds, this was formerly called ligium servitium, and the person liege. In this sense, the word is used, Leg. Edw. cap. 29. Judaei sub tutela regis ligae debent esse; that is, wholly under his protection.

By liege homage, the vassal was obliged to serve his lord towards all, and against all, excepting his father. In which sense, the word was used in opposition to simple homage; which last only obliged the vassal to pay the rights and accustomed dues to his lord; and not to bear arms against the emperor, prince, or other superior lord: so that a liege man was a person wholly devoted to his lord, and entirely under his command. Omnibus, &c. Reginaldus, rex Insularum, salutem. Sciatis quod deveni homo ligatus domini regis Angliae Johannis, contra omnes mortales, quamdiu vivero; & inde ei fidelitatem & sacramentum praefitis, &c. MS. penes W. Dugdale.

But it must be observed, there were formerly two kinds of liege homage: the one, by which the vassal was obliged to serve his lord, against all, without exception even of his sovereign; the other, by which he was to serve him against all, except such other lords as he had formerly owed liege homage to.

In our old statutes lieges, and liege people, are terms peculiarly appropriated to the king's subjects; as being liges, ligii, or ligati, obliged to pay allegiance to him; 8 Henry VI. 14 Hen. VIII. &c., though private persons had their lieges too. Reinaldus, Dei gratia, abbas Ramesfæ, propeposito & hominibus de Brancifore, & omnibus vicinis Francis & Anglis, salutem. Sciatis me dedisse terram Ulfe, in depende (bodie depende) huius Boefelino, & usuari ejus Alfnie—ea conditione quod efficiant homines leges. Lib. Ramesf.

in Scots law, is opposed to deathbed; and signifies a person's enjoying that state of health in which only he can dispose of his property at pleasure.

a bishopric of Germany, in the circle of Westphalia; bounded to the north by Brabant, to the south by Champagne and Luxembourg, to the east by Limburg and Juliers, and to the west by Brabant, Namur, and Hainault. It is very unequal both in length and breadth; the former being in some places above 90 miles, in others not half so much; and the latter in some places 45, in others hardly 25. The air here is very temperate; and the soil fruitful in corn, wine, wood, and pasture. Here also are mines of lead and iron, pits of coal, quarries of marble and stone, and some celebrated mineral waters, as those of Spa and Chau-fontaine. The principal rivers are, the Maes and Sambre. The manufactures and commodities of the country are chiefly beer, arms, nails, serge, leather, with the products we have just mentioned. The estates of the bishopric are composed of three bodies: the first is the chapter of Liege; the second, the nobility of the country; and the third, the deputies of the capital and the other towns. The three estates are seldom called together, except to raise taxes for the service of the province, or upon some particular emergency; but there is a committee of the estates, who meet thrice a-week, and in time of war daily. They are always about the prince-bishop, to make remonstrances, and demand the redress of grievances. The bishop is spiritual and temporal lord of of the whole country; but, as bishop, is suffragan to the archbishop of Cologne. He styles himself, by the grace of God, bishop and prince of Liege, duke of Bou- illon, marquis of Franchimont, count of Looz, Hoorn, &c. His arms for Liege are, a pillar argent, on a pede- stal of the same, with a crown or, in a field ruby. In the matricula he was formerly rated at 50 horse and 170 foot; or 1280 florins monthly, in lieu of them, but now only at 826. An abatement of one third has also been granted of the ancient assessment to the chamber-court, which was 360 rix-dollars 62½ kruitzers for each term. Here are several col- leges which fit at Liege, for the government of the country, and the decision of causes, civil, criminal, spiritual, and feudal, and of such also as relate to the finances. The chapter consists of 60 persons, who must either prove their nobility for four generations, both by father and mother, before they can be ad- mitted; or if they cannot do that, must at least have been doctors or, licentiates of divinity for seven years, or, or of law, for five years, in some famous university. The bishopric is very populous and extensive, contain- ing 1500 parishes, in which are 24 walled towns, be- sides others, 52 baronies, besides counties and feignio- nes, 17 abbeys for men, who must be all gentlemen, and 11 for ladies, exclusive of others.

capital of the bishopric of the same name, stands upon the Maas, in a fine valley, sur- rounded with woods and hills, being a free imperial city, and one of the largest and most eminent in Europe. Though it is 100 miles from the sea by water, the Maas is navigable up to it. The city has 16 gates; 17 bridges, some of them very handsome; 154 streets, many of them straight and broad; a fine episcopal palace; a very large stately cathedral, in which, be- sides five great silver coffers full of relics, are several silver statues of saints, and a St George on horseback of mussy gold, presented to the cathedral by Charles the Bold, by way of atonement for using the inhabi- tants cruelly in the year 1468. Of the other churches, that of St Paul is the most remarkable, both for its structure and fine ornaments in painting and marble. The city is well fortified, and there are also two castles on the mountain of the Holy Walburg for its defence. Besides a great number of other convents of both sexes, here is a college of English Jesuits, founded in the year 1616, and a fine nunnery of English ladies. Indeed, churches, convents, and other reli- gious foundations, take up the greater part of it. The reader, therefore, no doubt, will take it for granted, that it is a most blessed, holy, and happy city. But however it may fare with the profane, un- hallowed hity, it is certainly the paradise of priests, as it is expressly called, by way of eminence. It is divided into the old and new, or the upper and lower; and the latter again into the island, and the quarter beyond the Maas. The houses are high, and built of bluish marble. In the town and suburbs are 12 public places or squares, 10 hospitals, a beguin-houle, and two fine keys, planted with several rows of trees, for the burghers to take the air; but a great part of that within the walls is taken up with orchards and vineyards. The manufactures of this city are arms, nails, leather, serge, and beer. In St William's convent, without the city, is the tomb of the famous

English traveller Sir John Mandeville, with an in- scription in barbarous French, requesting those who read it to pray for his soul. Near it are kept the faddle, spurs, and knife, that he made use of in his travels. After having seen most of the cities of any note in the world, he made choice of this to spend the eve of his life in. A little way from the city, on the other side the Maas, stands the episcopal palace of Seraing, in which the bishops generally reside during the summer. The latitude of this city is 50° 36' N. and the longitude 5° 40' E.

Some disturbances took place here in the year 1789, in consequence of certain disputes that had arisen be- tween the prince-bishop and the inhabitants. The latter having demanded certain privileges, which he did not think proper to grant, they took up arms, and compelled him and his chapter to comply with their request. The prince, together with many of the clergy, nobility, and citizens, alarmed by this commotion, and dreading the consequences of popular fury, which when once roused, seldom knows any bounds, sought safety by a voluntary exile. They then appealed to the imperial chamber; and this tribunal, instead of acting the part of arbiter, decided as a sovereign, and ordered the circles of the Lower Rhine and Westphalia to execute the sentence.

The king of Prussia, at whose court one of the chiefs of the insurrection had resided, and who wished to gain a party at Liege, became mediator; and seemed to fa- vour the Liegoise, many of whose claims were just, though they attempted to enforce them by violence and the most illegal steps. Intoxicated with this pro- tection, the people of Liege treated the remonstrances of their bishop, the decrees of the imperial chamber, and the resolutions of the directory of the two circles, with the utmost contempt; and proceeded so far as even to dethrone their prince, by appointing a regent in the person of a French prelate. The electoral col- lege having deliberated on the best means of putting an end to these disturbances, its propositions, though mo- dified by M. Dohm the Prussian plenipotentiary, made the insurgents break out into open sedition. Deluded by their leaders, they gave themselves up every day to new excesses; the effects of the citizens were exposed to pillage, and their persons to insult. The king of Prussia, who was desirous to bring matters to an ac- commodation, and not to instigate the Liegoise to become independent, finding that the efforts of his minister were not attended with the desired success, seemed unwilling to interfere any farther in an affair which might have led him into a quarrel with the em- pire. The executive troops, at the same time, re- mained almost in a state of inactivity; and seemed ra- ther to guard the frontiers of this petty state, than to make any attempt to reduce it to obedience. Neither this conduct, however, nor the exhortations of Prussia, added to the moral certainty of their being soon com- pelled to lay down their arms, made any change in the conduct of the malcontents. They declared openly, in the face of all Europe, that they would either con- quer or die; and they persisted in this resolution, while commerce, manufactures, and the public revenues, were going daily to decay.

Having at length openly attacked the executive forces without the territories of their city, the empe- ror could no longer remain an indifferent spectator. It Liege was now full time to put a period to that madness to which the people had abandoned themselves; and to accomplish this in an effectual manner, the imperial chamber at Wetzlar requested the emperor, as a member of the ancient circle of Burgundy, to execute its orders respecting this object. In consequence of this measure, Baron Alvinzi, who commanded a body of Austrians cantoned in Limburgh and the confines of Brabant, notified, by order of Marshal Bender, to the States and municipality of Liege, that the emperor intended to send troops into their city and territories, for the purpose of restoring tranquillity and good order. The States had already been informed of this resolution by their agent at Wetzlar. They therefore wrote to Marshal Bender, to assure him of the respectful confidence which they placed in the justice and magnanimity of the emperor, and to request that the Austrian troops might enter alone, without those of the electors; and that they might be confined to occupy the gates and the suburbs only. To this letter, which was carried to Brussels by a deputation of the States, Marshal Bender returned a very satisfactory answer, relating to the disposition of the electoral troops: but Baron Alvinzi, in a note which he wrote to the States, insisted among other articles, that all the citizens should throw down their arms; that proper accommodations should be prepared for the officers and men; that the warlike stores, collected for making resistance, should be removed; and that cockades, and every other distinctive mark of the like kind, should be laid aside before the arrival of the Imperial troops. However humiliating these preliminaries might be, especially that of a general disarming, the States and municipalities acquiesced without the least reserve; and their submission, as sudden as complete, was communicated to the people, with an exhortation to follow their example.

Notwithstanding this pacific appearance, two days before the entrance of the Imperial troops, the municipal council of Liege, flattering themselves, perhaps, with the hopes of assistance from Prussia, assured the inhabitants that they would remain unshaken in their post, and that they had sworn never to desert the cause in which they were engaged. This, however, did not prevent the Austrian troops, to the number of 6000, from penetrating, without opposition, into the heart of the city; where they occupied every post; made the citizens lay aside their arms, uniforms, and cockades; and, in a single hour, dethroned so many sovereigns of a year. The greater part of the municipal officers, who, two days before, had solemnly promised such great things, betook themselves to flight, and retired either to France or Wesel; while the ancient magistracy, which had been expelled in the month of August 1789, was provisionally re-instated by the directorial commissioners.—The decrees of the imperial chamber at Wetzlar have since been executed in their utmost extent. The ancient magistracy and the privy-council of the prince bishop have been restored; and the prince himself having returned, peace and good order have been re-established.