HISTORY OF EUROPE, 
_ Delivered from the English, as 
the Dutch now affected to speak of 
themselves, they gave a loose to the 
‘most intemperate rage against the 
Stadtholder. This, prince found it 
hecessary, for the personal safety of 
himself and his son, the hereditary 
prince of Orange, to escape with 
all diligence from the fury of the 
people. He embarked in an open 
boat at Scheveling, on. the nine- 
teenth of January, 1795, and ar- 
rived the next day at Harwich. 
His escape had not been effected 
without difficulty. A crowd assem- 
bled at the Hague.on the morning 
of their departure, and insisted that 
he should be brought to justice for 
the part he had taken in favour of 
the English. His guards, however, 
protected him from their violence, 
and conveyed him to the water-side, 
where he was again in danger, till 
the guards that accompanied him 
dispersed the populace. 
Pichegru had, in the mean time, 
been applied to, by the heads of the 
pposition to government, who for- 
mally invited him to repair to Am- 
sterdam, withassurances ofa cordial 
teception by the people. He ad- 
dressed a letter to the regency of 
that city, informing them of his in- 
tention to repair thither, and dis. 
patched a body of men to precede 
him. A committee of government 
was elected by the inhabitants, 
principally out of those who had 
been imprisoned for petitioning for 
peace, and against an inundation. 
‘They planted the tree of liberty in 
the chief places of the city, and 
very man assumed the French 
wockade. On the twentieth of 
January, Pichegru made his entry 
4nto Amsterdam, a‘ the head of five 
thousand men, ‘and was received 
withthe greatest acclamations. The 
[51 
first act of the French general was, 
to proclaim the freedom and indes 
pendency of the seven united pro- 
vinces, New magistrates were 
elected, by a general assembly of the 
citizens, together with twenty-one 
provisional representatives of the 
city. , Municipal officers were also 
appointed, on the principal of 
whom they conferred the title of 
mayor. In this manner was effected 
without bloodshed, the surrender of 
the seven united provinces to the 
French republic, Whatever ideas 
the commonalty might entertain of 
this transaction, it was evident to 
the discerning, that the French 
would consider themselves as aus 
thorized to treat it as a conquest ob~ 
tained by their arms, and though a 
peaceable cession had been made, 
it was chiefly through the conscious. 
ness that resistance would haye been 
fruitless. 
The same motive influenced the 
conduct of the other cities in the 
provinces of Holland. . Haarlem 
and Leyden adopted the same mea- 
sures taken at Amsterdam, and de- 
clared themselves for France, in the 
most solemn manner. Ia the pro- 
vince of Zealand, so called from its 
consisting of islands, lay, at this 
time, a considersble squadron of 
ships of war. The admiral, who 
commanded it, was warmly in the 
interest of the French, On. the 
thirtieth of January, after 2 consul. 
tation with the principal individu. 
als of his own party, he hoisted the 
French flag, and took possession of 
Fiushing and Middleburg, the two 
‘chief towns in the province, every 
part of which acceded, on the 
fourth of February, to the terms 
settled by a negotiation with gene~ 
ral Michaud, who commanded the 
French troops in. the neighbour- 
[E2] hood, 
