resembling his mother and the Duke of Gloucester, both deceased."* Lord Arlington also, in a letter to Sir William Godolphin, dated 21st November, 1669, lavishes still higher praise on the future hero :-"The Prince of Orange," he "hath now been three weeks amongst us, says, much to the satisfaction of the King and all that have seen him; being a young man of the most extraordinary understanding and parts, besides his quality and birth, that makes him shine the better. His Majesty hath promised to pay his debt, or assign it upon a good fund, before he goes, which he hopes will be an encouragement to the Queen of Spain to do the like."+ The fact may perhaps be doubted, although to the author of these volumes the arguments appear unanswerable, that even at a very early period of the reign of Charles the Second, the attention of the young Prince of Orange was eagerly fixed on the affairs of England, and that he regarded the unpopularity of the Duke of York, and his unfortunate profession of the Romish faith, as hereafter to be the stepping stones to his own greatness. As early, indeed, as 1675, when it was believed that the Prince was about to pay a visit to the Court of England, we find it openly spoken of as for the purpose of "raising heats in the parliament and commotions in the kingdom." So * Evelyn's Memoirs, vol. i. p. 409. + Letters of the Earl of Arlington, vol. ii. p. 310. satisfied was Charles the Second, that such were the real objects of the Prince's proposed visit, that he despatched a letter to Sir William Temple, then ambassador at the Hague, peremptorily commanding him to put a stop to the Prince's journey. In regard to a subsequent visit which William paid to this country in 1681, we discover evidence of a still more important nature in support of our views. Although the Prince, on this occasion, gave out to his countrymen that he had received an invitation from Charles, and, moreover, .affirmed that the principal object of his visit was to induce the English monarch to unite with him in a league against Louis the Fourteenth, yet the secret motives of the shrewd Hollander were undoubtedly very different from his professions. Indeed, there can be no question, from what follows, that the general feeling of dissatisfaction which existed at this period in England, and the dread, then paramount, of so bigoted a Papist as the Duke of York succeeding to the throne, had already deeply implanted those seeds of ambition in the mind of William, which, under the fostering auspices of his own genius, eventually sprung up into so successful a harvest. That such was the view which both Charles and the Duke of York entertained of the Prince's intentions in visiting England, there cannot be the shadow of a doubt. Even as early as October, 1680, M. Barillon, in one of his despatches to his own court, speaks openly of the fears expressed by the Duke of York on the subject; and James himself wrote to the King from Scotland, advising him by all means to decline the honour of the visit. Charles, however, though he gave it but little encouragement, yet refused to listen to his brother's recommendation to decline it altogether. The conduct of the Prince of Orange, shortly after his arrival, afforded sufficient evidence that the apprehensions of the royal brothers were not unreasonable. Within a few days he appears to have thrown off all disguise, and to have flattered the prejudices, and courted the good opinion, of the popular party, by every means in his power. He paid a visit to Lord Russell, (the person of all others most detested by the Court,) and, moreover, contrary to the advice both of Halifax and Hyde, and, indeed, in express defiance of the King's commands, dined in state with the city of London. From the despatches of Barillon we learn some additional particulars respecting the Prince's behaviour. It seems that, by his polite conduct, his studied civility, and his frequent habit of showing himself in public, he acquired a great accession of popularity; while, other hand, by his being frequently closeted with Lord Russell, he gave the highest offence to the Court, and was personally on the worst on the terms with the King. He was one day dining with Charles, when, the conversation turning on the grievances of the country, William affirmed that the popular party was the most numerous :-"That," retorted the witty monarch, "is because you know no other." Barillon informs us, on the authority of the Duchess of Portsmouth, that during the time the Prince was in England, he went so far as to endeavour to persuade her to inflame the King against his brother, and induce him to sign the Bill of Exclusion, which at this period was in agitation. According to some accounts, one of the Prince's motives in visiting England in 1669, was to endeavour to cement an alliance between Great Britain and the States, as a bulwark against the increasing power of France, and the personal ambition of Louis the Fourteenth. If such were his intention, the project signally failed: indeed it was but a few months afterwards that France and England united in that famous and most disgraceful league against the States of Holland; a measure which, considering the inequality of the contest, threatened the most disastrous results to the infant Republic, but which, in fact, had the effect of calling forth the energies of William's character, and, indeed, finally exalted him to a height of fame and power, which even his wise and warlike ancestors could never have contemplated. 16 CHAPTER II. The Dutch Republic ill prepared to resist the forces of France and England. Is speedily overrun by the French troops. -Increasing unpopularity of the Pensionary, John De Witt, and the Republican party. - Appointments of Captain and Admiral-General conferred upon William by the unanimous voice of the States. His early success against the French. -Popular insurrections in the principal Dutch towns.-The office of Stadtholder revived and conferred on William.-Cruel massacre of the De Witts at the Hague in 1672.-Interesting particulars relative to that frightful tragedy.— Marked improvement in the state of affairs in Holland.-Attempt by France and England to inveigle the young Stadtholder into a treaty injurious to the interests of his country.- His noble conduct on the occasion.-His successful campaign against the troops of Louis the Fourteenth. Treaty of peace between the French and the Dutch signed in February, 1674.— Office of Stadtholder settled in perpetuity on William and his descendants.-Anecdote of William and Count Starenburg.— War renewed between France and Holland. - Personal bravery of William at the battle of Seneffe.-He receives a severe wound at the siege of Maestricht. THE hostile coalition of two such powerful nations as France and England against the Dutch, would, under any circumstances, have involved the latter in a most unequal and dispiriting contest. On no occasion, moreover, had the Republic been so ill prepared as at the |