568 



A. D. 1672. 



found it bell; to return home, and leave his army, which being weak- 

 ened by its own fuccefs in garrifoning the numerous conquered townSj 

 was obUged to retreat ; and the prince of Orange, now ftadtholder, 

 was by the above fuccours enabled quickly to recover all that Louis 

 had conquered. In the midft of thofe diforders and devaftations,' 

 (fays Voltaire) ' the magiftrates of Amfterdam (to their eternal honour) 

 manifefled virtues which are feldom feen but in a republic. For as 

 thofe people who were pofFeHed of bank-notes * ran in crowds to the 

 bank, where it was to be apprehended they would lay violent hands 

 on the public treafure, every one being eager to get his money out 

 of the little which they iuppore<.l dill to remain there, -the magiftrates 

 opened the places where the treafure was depofited, and it was found 

 entire, juft as it had been firft depofited fixty years before ; and the 

 filver was even ftill black from the effeds of the fire by which the old 

 ftadthoufe had been confumed long before. The bank-notes,' (credit) 

 till now had been conftantly negotiated, and this treafure never touch- 

 ed, till now, that thole who infifted on havhig their nioney were paid 

 out of it. Such diftinguiihed good faith, and luch great refources, were 

 then fo much the more admirable, as Charles II king ot England, to 

 defray the expenfe of his pleafures and of this war againft the Hol- 

 landers, had juft at that time become a bankrupt to his fubjeds ; and 

 it was as diftionouruble in this king thus to violate the public faith, 

 as it was glorious in the magiftrates of Amfterdam to preferve it at a 

 time when a failure might have appeared pardonable f .' 

 This account of Holland's condition is fo finely told by Voltaire, that, 

 though fomewhat prolix, it cannot, we imagine, fail to be entertaining 

 to every curious reader who has not read bis work. 



Spain having afllfted the Dutch in this war with France, as their own 

 Netherlands muft inevitably have been loft had the Dutch been ruined, 

 Louis made that a pretence to feize on the Franche Compte of Burgun- 

 dy, and on many places in the Spanifh Netherlands ; and although by 

 the fucceeding peace of Nimeguen fome of the Netherland towns were 

 reftored to Spain, France neverthelefs has retained the county of Bur- 

 gundy to this day. 



We have feen the three former Englifh African companies ruined 

 by war, mifcondud, and ftriiggles with the interlopers. In this year 

 the fourth and laft exclufive company was ereded, alter the third com- 

 pany had furrendered their charter, for the above reaions. To this 



* He means bank credit — comptes in lanque. A. 



\ This noble llriiggle of free merchants ag.unll 

 hi.ughty conq\icrors lecalls to the mind of the read- 

 er tne noble ilands made by Tyre againil Nebu- 

 chadnezzar and Alexander, and by the Carthagi- 



nians againft the Romans. Though, like thofe 

 antient leias, l^ouis was ahnoft deified by the 

 adulation of bafe flatterers, the event was more 

 favourable to the citizens of Amlttrdam than to 

 their predccefibrs, the merchants of antiquity. M. 



