WILLIAM. 



lie routed the IrUh army, and totally difperfed it. James 

 abandoned the conteft, and fled precipitately to France, 

 leaving the reduftion of the ifland to William, which was 

 completely efFefted in the following year. Whilft he was 

 thus engaged in military operations, a party fpirit agitated 

 his domeftic government. The convention parhament, con- 

 fifting of whigs, who were his decided friends, dreaded mo- 

 narchical power, and refufed to fettle upon him the crown 

 revenue for life. Hence he was led to diiTolve the parlia- 

 ment in difguft ; but he foon found that the new par- 

 liament, in which the influence of the tories preponderated, 

 though it readily indulged his deCres with regard to the 

 revenue, and voted liberal fupplies for the Irifh war, was 

 compofed of perfons that were not real friends to the prin- 

 ciples which placed him upon the throne. We ftiall leave 

 to the details of hiftory the events that occurred on the con- 

 tinent in the profecution of the war againft France ; and 

 proceed to obferve, that in the year 1695 he fufFered a 

 fevere lofs by the death of queen Mary, who had proved 

 herfelf an affeftionate wife, and both faithful and zealous in 

 promoting his interefl; ; nor was his attachment to her lefs 

 ardent and fincere. The deceafe of Mary revived the hopes 

 of the Jacobites, and they were bufy and aftive in formmg 

 confpiracies, not fcrupling to concert the atrocious plan of 

 aflaflinating the king. In 1697 peace with France was con- 

 cluded at Ryfwick, and Lewis was reduced to the neceflity 

 of acknowledging William as the lawful fovereign of Great 

 Britain, and to make no future attempts for difpoffefling 

 him of his throne. The next conteft that engaged pohtical 

 parties at home related to the reduftion of the mihtary efta- 

 bbfliment. King WiUiam, attached to a mihtary life, and 

 not very confident with refpeft to his own fecurity on the 

 throne, wiflied to retain a greater force than parhament was 

 difpofed to allow ; which was no more than 7000 men, who 

 were to be all natives ; fo that he was under a neceflity, 

 though with great reluftance, of parting with his favourite 

 Dutch guards. The next pohtical objeft that engaged the 

 king's attention was connefted with the balance of power 

 in Europe, and that was the fucceflion to the crown of 

 Spain, upon the death of Charles II., who was in a de- 

 chning fl;ate of health, and who had no iffue. In 1701 the 

 king of Spain died, and left a tefl:ament in favour of the 

 grandfon of Lewis XIV., which will was accepted by the 

 French king ; and of courfe preparations were made by 

 Wilham and the Dutch for renewing the war with France. 

 This meafure was further rendered neceflary by the death 

 of James II. in the fame year, and Lewis's acknowledgment 

 of his fon as king of Great Britain. On the meeting of the 

 parhament at the end of this year, Wilham made a fpeech 

 on the ftate of aS'airs, on his own propofed conduft, and on 

 the neceflity of mutual confidence between the crown and 

 people. This fpeech was much applauded, and was an- 

 fwered by a very loyal addrefs. Thus was his reign, which 

 had been diftinguiflied by its viciflitudes and trials, and by 

 the extenfive and permanent benefits that refulted from it, 

 drawing to its termination. A fall from his horfe gave a 

 fhock to his enfeebled conftitution, and brought on a fever, 

 the iflue of which he tranquilly expefted ; and he expired 

 on the 8th of March, O.S. 1702, in the 52d year of his 

 age, and 1 3th of his reign. 



The charafter of king William has been varioufly de- 

 lineated by political writers of different fentiments and difpo- 

 fitions. All allow that he poflefled confiderable pohtical 

 talents, and though in his military operations he was often 

 unfuecefsful, few perfons exceeded him in his abihty for re- 

 pairing lofles, and making a good clofe of a campaign. 

 Although, as we have before faid, his manners were cold 



and referved, he was not deftitute of fenfibiUty. The par- 

 tifans of James, and thofe who difapproved of the Revolu- 

 tion, have cenfured his conduft in depofing his father-in- 

 law ; but public liberty and the welfare of a nation muft be 

 ever regarded as paramount to private duties. He never 

 fought power otherwife than for accomphfliing the import- 

 ant and beneficial ends to which his views were direfted ; 

 and therefore he cannot be juftly charged with a culpable 

 degree of ambition. Whatever may be the opinion of er- 

 roneous and interefted individuals of the Jacobites and tories 

 of more ancient or modern times, " he will ever be grate- 

 fully remembered," as one of his biographers fays, " by the 

 United Netherlands, as the great founder of their freedom 

 and independence ; and will be honoured as the deliverer of 

 the Britifh iflands from tyranny, civil and religious, as long 

 as a due fenfe of the benefits of that deliverance fubfifts 

 among their inhabitants." 



Though the Jacobites in England would not allow that 

 this prince had any mufic in his foul. Bonnet Bourdelot, in 

 his " Hift. de la Muf. et de les Eff'ets," fays, " that he had 

 been informed by a friend, one of the attendants of the 

 prince of Orange, afterwards king of England, that in the 

 year 1688, the prince being then at the Hague, and, as may 

 be fuppofed, deeply engaged in reflexions on the critical 

 fituation of his affairs at that time, had three choice mufi- 

 cians to play to him whenever he found himfelf too much 

 agitated and thoughtful." 



William of Najfau, prince of Orange, and founder of 

 the Dutch republic, was born in Germany in 1533, and de- 

 fcended from Lutheran parents, though, being introduced into 

 the fervice of Mary queen of Hungary, and afterwards of 

 Charles V., he conformed to the Cathohc rehgion. He 

 was trained to military and civil employments of high rank ; 

 and as he had ample pofleflions in the Low Countries, he 

 attained to the dignity of governor of the provinces of Hol- 

 land, Zealand, and Utrecht, under the Spanifli government. 

 His charafter is very highly drawn, and is faid to have com- 

 bined magnanimity, prudence, bravery, equanimity in all 

 fortunes, Angular penetration and fagacity, retentive me- 

 mory, popular eloquence, and the art of conciliating men's 

 affeftions. Upon the introduftion of the inquifition by the 

 bigotry of Phihp II., a flame broke out in the Netherlands ; 

 and the prince of Orange, with the counts Egmont and 

 Hoorn, did every thing in their power to reftrain the feveri- 

 ties exercifed on a religious account, and to induce the Spanifh 

 court to recal cardinal Granvelle, to whofe influence folely 

 they were owing ; and in this effort they fucceeded in 1564. 

 On occafion of the fanguinary meafures propofed in the 

 councils of Philip, and carried into execution by the duke 

 of Alva, the prince of Orange, the moderation of whofe 

 temper caufed him to be fufpefted, furrendered his employ- 

 ments, and retired with his family, in 1567, to his brother at 

 Naflau. Alva, having arrefted counts Egmont and Hoorn, 

 and occafioned them to be condemned and executed, cited the 

 prince of Orange to anfwer charges of fedition and treafon 

 that were preferred againft him ; and on his non-appearance, 

 his eftates were confifcated, and his eldeft fon, a ftudent at 

 Louvain, was carried off' into Spain. William, who about this 

 time feems to have declared himfelf a Proteftant, levied an 

 army with a view of penetrating into Brabant ; but Alva's 

 military fliill defeated his purpofe, and he was under a ne- 

 ceflity of difbanding his troops. Still determined on reliev. 

 ing his country, he made another apphcation in 1571 to 

 feveral Proteftant powers for fuccour, but they were all 

 averfe from encountering the power of Spain. At lengtk 

 he obtained from the court of France fome fupplies of mo- 

 ney, and was then enabled to fit out a fmall fqu^dron, which, 



in 



