CHAPTER XIII.

"The ablest men among the Catholics," he thus writes to his brother, "think that what I have published is written with great freedom and moderation, and approve of it."[068]

These pacific projects of Grotius cemented the union between him and Father Petâu.

"I had," says that most learned Jesuit, in his 12th Letter, "a great desire to see and converse with Grotius. We have been long together, and very intimate. He is, as far as I can judge, a good man, and possesses great candour. I do not think him far from becoming a Catholic, after the example of Holstenius as you hoped. I shall neglect nothing in my power to reconcile him to Christ, and put him in the way of salvation."[069]

His Project of Religious Pacification.

CHAP. XII.

XII. 3. His Project of Religious Pacification.

CHAP. XII.

As Grotius lays so much stress on the pacific labours of Erasmus, Wicelius, Cassander and Casaubon, we shall briefly mention, in the present chapter, the labours of the three first: Casaubon's we shall notice, in the second appendix to this work.

XII. 3. His Project of Religious Pacification.

CHAP. XII.

It appears that

Erasmus

had it in contemplation to compose three dialogues, upon the important subject of religious pacification: the speakers were to have been Luther, under the name of Thrasimacus, and a Catholic divine, under that of Eubolus. In the first dialogue, they were to have discussed the proper methods of terminating the religious controversies of the times; in the second, to have investigated what were the points in controversy, the belief of which was essential to a member of the church of Christ; in the third, they were to have inquired what were the best means to procure a good understanding between the contending parties, and to effect their union. It is to be lamented that Erasmus did not execute his design. His general sentiments appear in his

Paraphrase upon the 83d Psalm

; they are expressed with great wisdom and moderation.

[071]

XII. 3. His Project of Religious Pacification.

Wicelius,-who is next mentioned by Grotius, had been professed in a religious order: had quitted it, and embraced Lutheranism: he afterwards forsook that communion, and returned to the Catholic: upon this, he was appointed to a curacy; and, in the discharge of his functions, obtained general esteem: he was much regarded by the Emperors Ferdinand and Maximilian. In 1537, he published at Leipsic a Latin work, "On the method of procuring Religious Concord,-Methodus Concordiæ Ecclesiasticæ." He addressed it to the pope, to all sovereigns, bishops, doctors, and generally to all christians, exhorting them to peace, and to desist from contention. He assumed in it, that the true religion had been preserved in the Catholic church; but he allows that modern doctors had involved it in numerous scholastic subtleties, unknown to antiquity. He complains that on one hand the reformers left nothing untouched; that, on the other, the scholastics would retain every abuse, and every superfluity: Wisdom, he thought, lay between them; the reformers should have respected what antiquity consecrated; the Catholics should have abandoned modern doctrines and modern practices to the discretion of individuals.

The "Royal Road," orVia Regiaof Wicelius, a still more important work, was published by him at Helmstadt in 1537. Both works were approved, and the perusal of them warmly recommended, by the emperors: they have been often reprinted; they are inserted, with a life of their author, in the second volume ofBrown's Fasciculus.

"If all the divines of those times," says Father Simôn the oratorian,[073]"had possessed the same spirit as Wicelius, the affairs of religion might have taken a different turn."

CHAP. XII.

XII.3. His Project of Religious Pacification

Cassander, another peacemaker, mentioned with praise by Grotius, is the subject of a long and interesting article inDupin's Ecclesiastical History:[074]

"He was," says Dupin, "solidly learned; and thoroughly versed in ecclesiastical antiquity and the controversies of his own times. The flaming zeal, which he had for the re-union and peace of the church, made him yield much to the Protestants, and led him to advance some propositions that were too bold. But he always kept in the communion of the Catholic church. He declared that he submitted to its judgments, and openly condemned the authors of the schism and their principal errors. He was a gentle, humble and moderate man; patient under afflictions, and entirely disinterested. In his disputes, he never returned injury for injury; and neither in his manners nor in his writings were presumption or arrogance ever discoverable. He avoided glory, honor, or wealth; and lived private and retired, having no other thought or wish, but to promote the peace of the church; no employment, but study; no business, but to compose books, which might be profitable to the public; and no passion, but knowing and teaching the truth."

His character procured him universal respect. The emperor and several Catholic princes in Germany fixed upon him as a mediator in the religious disputes, by which the empire was, at that time, agitated. In conformity with their views he published his celebrated, "Consultatio de Articulis Religionis inter Catholicos et Protestantes Controversis."

"In this work," says Mr. Chalmers, "he discusses the several articles of the Augsburgh Confession, stating their difference from the doctrines of the Catholic church, and the concessions that might safely be made in respect to them. This work was written with great liberality, was much applauded by those, who were desirous of a coalition: they were too soon convinced that every attempt of this kind was nugatory. Cassander presented it to the Emperors Ferdinand I. and Maximilian II. They received it favourably; the former invited Cassander to Vienna, but his infirmities prevented his accepting the offer."

CHAP. XII.

In 1542, Grotius published his "Road to Religious Peace,-Via ad Pacem Ecclesiasticam:" he inserted in it Cassander's "Consultation," and accompanied it with notes.

All pacific persons reverenced Grotius, and still reverence his memory, for his attempts to restore the religious peace of Christendom: all the violent condemned him, and opposed his projects. The contradictions, which he met with, chagrined him; so that he sometimes lost that tranquillity of mind, which he had possessed in his deepest adversity. But, to use his own words, he looked to the blessed Peacemaker for his reward, and trusted that posterity would do justice to its intentions.-

"Perhaps, by writing to reconcile such as entertain very opposite sentiments, I shall," says Grotius, "offend both parties: but, if that should so happen, I shall comfort myself with the example of him, who said, If I please men, I am not the servant of Christ."

XII. 3. His Project of Religious Pacification.

"Grotius," says Burigni, "content with gratifying his pacific desires, expected his reward from posterity. This he clearly intimates in the following verses, written by him on the subject:"Accipe, sed placidé, quæ, si non optimo,certéEspressit nobis non mala pacis amor.Et tibi dic, nostro labor hic si displicet avo,A gratia pretium posteritate feret."The projects of religious pacification did not cease with Grotius: several divines of distinction adopted it; and attempted, some with more prudence and ability than others, to carry it into effect. The principal of these are noticed in the second appendix to the present work. None succeeded: One description of persons, who engaged in this design, was denominatedSyncretists, orCalixtines, fromGeorge Calixtustheir leader: the other, from their calling men from controversy to holiness of life, received the appellation ofPietists: A third party,-perhaps we may style them, theUltra-orthodox,-more hostile to the former than to the latter-arose in opposition to both, and accused them of sacrificing the doctrines of faith to a mistaken zeal for union and sanctity.[075]It is certain[076]that the friends of union too often erred in this,-that they aimed rather at an uniformity oftermsthan ofsentiments; and thus seemed satisfied, when they engaged the contending parties to use the samewords and phrases, though theirreal differencein opinion remained the same. This could not be justified: it tended evidently to extinguish truth and honour, and to introduce equivocation.CHAPTER XIII.THE DEATH OF GROTIUS.1645CHAP. XIII. 1645.Every thing respecting the recall of Grotius being settled, he embarked at Dieppe for Holland. He was extremely well received at Amsterdam and Rotterdam: the constituted authorities, of the former city fitted a vessel, which was to take him to Hamburgh: there, after along and harassing journey, he arrived on the 16th of May. From Hamburgh he proceeded to Lübec: the magistrates of that city gave him an honourable reception. He proceeded to Wismar; where Count Wismar, the admiral of the Swedish fleet, gave him a splendid entertainment, and afterwards sent him in a man-of-war to Colmar: thence, he went by land to Stockholm. When he arrived there, Queen Christina was at Upsal; but, hearing that Grotius was at Stockholm, she returned to that city to meet him. On the day after her arrival, she favoured him with a long audience: she expressed to him great satisfaction at his conduct, and made him large promises. These audiences were often repeated; and once she permitted him to have the honour of dining with her. She assured him, that if he would continue in her service, as Councillor of State, and bring his family into Sweden, he should have no reason to complain of her. But Grotius was anxious to leave Sweden; and his passport being delayed, he resolved to quit it without one, and actually proceeded to a seaport about seven leagues distant from Stockholm. The Queen, being informed of his departure, sent a gentleman to inform him, that she wished to see him once more. On this invitation he returned to Stockholm, and was immediately admitted into the Queen's presence; he then explained to her his reasons for wishing to quit Sweden. The Queen appeared to be satisfied with them: she made him a present in money of twelve or thirteen thousand Swedish imperials, of the value of about ten thousand French crowns; she added to the present, some plate, the finishing of which had, she told him, been the only cause of the delay of his passport. She then put it into his hands, and a vessel was appointed to carry him to Lübec. On the 12th August he embarked for that city.The Death of Grotius.What were his real motives for refusing Christina's offers, or in what place he ultimately intended to fix himself, is not known.The vessel in which he embarked had scarcely sailed from Lübec, when it was overtaken by a violent storm, and obliged, on the 17th August, to take shelter in a port fourteen miles distant from Dantzic. Grotius went from it in an open wagon to Lübec, and arrived very ill at Rostock[077]on the 26th August. No one, there, knew him: his great weakness determined him to call in the aid of a physician: one accordingly attended him: his name was Stochman. On feeling Grotius's pulse, he said his indisposition proceeded from weakness and fatigue, and that, with rest and some restoratives, he might recover; but, on the following day he changed his opinion. Perceiving that the weakness of Grotius increased, and that it was accompanied with a cold sweat and other symptoms indicating an exhaustion of nature, the physician announced that the end of his patient was near. Grotius then asked for a clergyman.John Quistorpiuswas brought to him. Quistorpius, in a letter to Calovius, gives the following particulars of Grotius's last moments:"You are desirous of hearing from me, how that Phoenix of Literature, Hugo Grotius, behaved in his last moments, and I am going to tell you. He embarked at Stockholm for Lübec, and after having been tossed for the three days, by a violent tempest, he was shipwrecked, and got to shore on the coast of Pomerania, from whence he came to our town of Rostock, distant above sixty miles, in an open wagon through wind and rain. He lodged with Balleman; and sent for M. Stochman, the physician, who observing that he was extremely weakened by years, by what he suffered at sea, and by the inconveniences attending the journey, judged that he could not live long. The second day after Grotius's arrival in this town, that is, on the 18th of August, O.S. he sent for me, about nine at night, I went, and found him almost at the point of death: I said, 'There was nothing I desired more, than to have seen him in health, that I might have the pleasure of his conversation.' He answered, 'God had ordered it otherwise.' I desired him: to prepare himself for a happier life, to acknowledge that he was a sinner, and to repent of his faults: and, happening to mention the publican, who acknowledged that he was a sinner, and asked God's mercy; he answered, 'I am that publican.' I went on, and told him that he must have recourse to Jesus Christ, without whom there is no salvation.'"He replied, 'I place all my hope in Jesus Christ.'The Death of Grotius."I began to repeat aloud in German, the prayer which beginsHerr Jesu:[078]he followed me in a very low voice; with his hands clasped. When I had done, I asked him, 'if he understood me.' He answered, 'I understand you very well.' I continued to repeat to him those passages of the word of God, which are commonly offered to the remembrance of dying persons; and asking him, 'if he understood me,' he answered, 'I heard your voice, but I did not understand what you said.'"These were his last words; soon afterwards he expired; just at midnight. His body was delivered to the physicians, who took out his bowels. I easily obtained leave to bury them in our principal church, which is dedicated to the Virgin."His corpse, was afterwards carried to Delft, and deposited in the tomb of his ancestors. He wrote this modest epitaph for himself,"GROTIUS HIC HUGO EST, BATAVUMCAPTIVUS ET EXSUL,LEGATUS REGNI, SUECIA MAGNA, TUI."Burigni informs us that Grotius had a very agreeable person, a good complexion, an aquiline nose, sparkling eyes, a serene and smiling countenance; that he was not tall, but very strong, and well built. The engraving of him prefixed to theHugonis Grotii Manesanswers this description.It is needless to give an account of his descendants, or their prosperous or adverse fortunes: they are noticed at length by Burigni. InMr. Boswell's Life of Johnson, mention is made of one who was then in a state of want. Dr. Johnson, in a letter to Dr. Vyse,"requests him to recommend, an old friend, to his grace the Archbishop of Canterbury. His name," says the Doctor, "is De Groot. He has all the common claims to charity; he is poor and infirm in a great degree. He has likewise another claim, to which no scholar can refuse attention: he is, by several descents, the nephew of Hugo Grotius; of him, of whom every man of learning has perhaps learned something. Let it not be said, that, in any lettered country, the nephew of Grotius, ever asked a charity, and was refused."The reader must be pleased, to be informed, that the application,-it was for some situation, in the charter-house,-was successful. Dr. Vyse informed Dr. Johnson of it, by letter. In his answer,"Dr. Johnson," by Dr. Vyse's account, "rejoiced much, and was lavish of the praise he bestowed upon his favourite Hugo Grotius."[079]The Death of Grotius.Three points were united in Grotius, each of which would strongly recommend him to Dr. Johnson: he was learned, pious, and opposed to the doctrines of Calvin. It is still more unnecessary to mention the various encomiums, which the learned of all nations have made of Grotius, in prose and verse. That he was one of the most universal scholars, whom the world has produced, and that he possessed sense, taste, and genius in a high degree, is universally confessed. It is equally true, that both his public and his private character, are entitled to a high degree of praise.When Queen Christina, heard of his death, she wrote to his widow, a letter of condolence, and requested, that the manuscripts which he had left, might be sent to her:"My ambassador," the Queen says in this letter, "has made you acquainted, with my high esteem, for his learning, and the good services he did me; but he could not express, how dear I hold his memory, and the effects of his great labours. If gold, or silver, could do any thing towards redeeming such a valuable life, I would gladly employ all, I am mistress of, for that purpose."She concludes by asking his widow, for all the manuscripts "of that learned man, whose works had given her such pleasure." The Queen assures her, that "they could not fall into better hands," and that, "the author, having been useful to her in his lifetime, it was not just that she should be deprived, after his death, of the fruits of his labours."

"Grotius," says Burigni, "content with gratifying his pacific desires, expected his reward from posterity. This he clearly intimates in the following verses, written by him on the subject:

"Accipe, sed placidé, quæ, si non optimo,certéEspressit nobis non mala pacis amor.Et tibi dic, nostro labor hic si displicet avo,A gratia pretium posteritate feret."

The projects of religious pacification did not cease with Grotius: several divines of distinction adopted it; and attempted, some with more prudence and ability than others, to carry it into effect. The principal of these are noticed in the second appendix to the present work. None succeeded: One description of persons, who engaged in this design, was denominatedSyncretists, orCalixtines, fromGeorge Calixtustheir leader: the other, from their calling men from controversy to holiness of life, received the appellation ofPietists: A third party,-perhaps we may style them, theUltra-orthodox,-more hostile to the former than to the latter-arose in opposition to both, and accused them of sacrificing the doctrines of faith to a mistaken zeal for union and sanctity.[075]

It is certain[076]that the friends of union too often erred in this,-that they aimed rather at an uniformity oftermsthan ofsentiments; and thus seemed satisfied, when they engaged the contending parties to use the samewords and phrases, though theirreal differencein opinion remained the same. This could not be justified: it tended evidently to extinguish truth and honour, and to introduce equivocation.

THE DEATH OF GROTIUS.

1645

CHAP. XIII. 1645.

Every thing respecting the recall of Grotius being settled, he embarked at Dieppe for Holland. He was extremely well received at Amsterdam and Rotterdam: the constituted authorities, of the former city fitted a vessel, which was to take him to Hamburgh: there, after along and harassing journey, he arrived on the 16th of May. From Hamburgh he proceeded to Lübec: the magistrates of that city gave him an honourable reception. He proceeded to Wismar; where Count Wismar, the admiral of the Swedish fleet, gave him a splendid entertainment, and afterwards sent him in a man-of-war to Colmar: thence, he went by land to Stockholm. When he arrived there, Queen Christina was at Upsal; but, hearing that Grotius was at Stockholm, she returned to that city to meet him. On the day after her arrival, she favoured him with a long audience: she expressed to him great satisfaction at his conduct, and made him large promises. These audiences were often repeated; and once she permitted him to have the honour of dining with her. She assured him, that if he would continue in her service, as Councillor of State, and bring his family into Sweden, he should have no reason to complain of her. But Grotius was anxious to leave Sweden; and his passport being delayed, he resolved to quit it without one, and actually proceeded to a seaport about seven leagues distant from Stockholm. The Queen, being informed of his departure, sent a gentleman to inform him, that she wished to see him once more. On this invitation he returned to Stockholm, and was immediately admitted into the Queen's presence; he then explained to her his reasons for wishing to quit Sweden. The Queen appeared to be satisfied with them: she made him a present in money of twelve or thirteen thousand Swedish imperials, of the value of about ten thousand French crowns; she added to the present, some plate, the finishing of which had, she told him, been the only cause of the delay of his passport. She then put it into his hands, and a vessel was appointed to carry him to Lübec. On the 12th August he embarked for that city.

The Death of Grotius.

What were his real motives for refusing Christina's offers, or in what place he ultimately intended to fix himself, is not known.

The vessel in which he embarked had scarcely sailed from Lübec, when it was overtaken by a violent storm, and obliged, on the 17th August, to take shelter in a port fourteen miles distant from Dantzic. Grotius went from it in an open wagon to Lübec, and arrived very ill at Rostock[077]on the 26th August. No one, there, knew him: his great weakness determined him to call in the aid of a physician: one accordingly attended him: his name was Stochman. On feeling Grotius's pulse, he said his indisposition proceeded from weakness and fatigue, and that, with rest and some restoratives, he might recover; but, on the following day he changed his opinion. Perceiving that the weakness of Grotius increased, and that it was accompanied with a cold sweat and other symptoms indicating an exhaustion of nature, the physician announced that the end of his patient was near. Grotius then asked for a clergyman.John Quistorpiuswas brought to him. Quistorpius, in a letter to Calovius, gives the following particulars of Grotius's last moments:

"You are desirous of hearing from me, how that Phoenix of Literature, Hugo Grotius, behaved in his last moments, and I am going to tell you. He embarked at Stockholm for Lübec, and after having been tossed for the three days, by a violent tempest, he was shipwrecked, and got to shore on the coast of Pomerania, from whence he came to our town of Rostock, distant above sixty miles, in an open wagon through wind and rain. He lodged with Balleman; and sent for M. Stochman, the physician, who observing that he was extremely weakened by years, by what he suffered at sea, and by the inconveniences attending the journey, judged that he could not live long. The second day after Grotius's arrival in this town, that is, on the 18th of August, O.S. he sent for me, about nine at night, I went, and found him almost at the point of death: I said, 'There was nothing I desired more, than to have seen him in health, that I might have the pleasure of his conversation.' He answered, 'God had ordered it otherwise.' I desired him: to prepare himself for a happier life, to acknowledge that he was a sinner, and to repent of his faults: and, happening to mention the publican, who acknowledged that he was a sinner, and asked God's mercy; he answered, 'I am that publican.' I went on, and told him that he must have recourse to Jesus Christ, without whom there is no salvation.'"He replied, 'I place all my hope in Jesus Christ.'

"He replied, 'I place all my hope in Jesus Christ.'

The Death of Grotius.

"I began to repeat aloud in German, the prayer which beginsHerr Jesu:[078]he followed me in a very low voice; with his hands clasped. When I had done, I asked him, 'if he understood me.' He answered, 'I understand you very well.' I continued to repeat to him those passages of the word of God, which are commonly offered to the remembrance of dying persons; and asking him, 'if he understood me,' he answered, 'I heard your voice, but I did not understand what you said.'"These were his last words; soon afterwards he expired; just at midnight. His body was delivered to the physicians, who took out his bowels. I easily obtained leave to bury them in our principal church, which is dedicated to the Virgin."

"These were his last words; soon afterwards he expired; just at midnight. His body was delivered to the physicians, who took out his bowels. I easily obtained leave to bury them in our principal church, which is dedicated to the Virgin."

His corpse, was afterwards carried to Delft, and deposited in the tomb of his ancestors. He wrote this modest epitaph for himself,

"GROTIUS HIC HUGO EST, BATAVUMCAPTIVUS ET EXSUL,LEGATUS REGNI, SUECIA MAGNA, TUI."

Burigni informs us that Grotius had a very agreeable person, a good complexion, an aquiline nose, sparkling eyes, a serene and smiling countenance; that he was not tall, but very strong, and well built. The engraving of him prefixed to theHugonis Grotii Manesanswers this description.

It is needless to give an account of his descendants, or their prosperous or adverse fortunes: they are noticed at length by Burigni. InMr. Boswell's Life of Johnson, mention is made of one who was then in a state of want. Dr. Johnson, in a letter to Dr. Vyse,

"requests him to recommend, an old friend, to his grace the Archbishop of Canterbury. His name," says the Doctor, "is De Groot. He has all the common claims to charity; he is poor and infirm in a great degree. He has likewise another claim, to which no scholar can refuse attention: he is, by several descents, the nephew of Hugo Grotius; of him, of whom every man of learning has perhaps learned something. Let it not be said, that, in any lettered country, the nephew of Grotius, ever asked a charity, and was refused."

The reader must be pleased, to be informed, that the application,-it was for some situation, in the charter-house,-was successful. Dr. Vyse informed Dr. Johnson of it, by letter. In his answer,

"Dr. Johnson," by Dr. Vyse's account, "rejoiced much, and was lavish of the praise he bestowed upon his favourite Hugo Grotius."[079]

The Death of Grotius.

Three points were united in Grotius, each of which would strongly recommend him to Dr. Johnson: he was learned, pious, and opposed to the doctrines of Calvin. It is still more unnecessary to mention the various encomiums, which the learned of all nations have made of Grotius, in prose and verse. That he was one of the most universal scholars, whom the world has produced, and that he possessed sense, taste, and genius in a high degree, is universally confessed. It is equally true, that both his public and his private character, are entitled to a high degree of praise.

When Queen Christina, heard of his death, she wrote to his widow, a letter of condolence, and requested, that the manuscripts which he had left, might be sent to her:

"My ambassador," the Queen says in this letter, "has made you acquainted, with my high esteem, for his learning, and the good services he did me; but he could not express, how dear I hold his memory, and the effects of his great labours. If gold, or silver, could do any thing towards redeeming such a valuable life, I would gladly employ all, I am mistress of, for that purpose."

She concludes by asking his widow, for all the manuscripts "of that learned man, whose works had given her such pleasure." The Queen assures her, that "they could not fall into better hands," and that, "the author, having been useful to her in his lifetime, it was not just that she should be deprived, after his death, of the fruits of his labours."

It remains to mention, that, after the death of Grotius, his wife communicated with the Church of England: this, it is said, she did in conformity to the dying injunctions of her husband: it is certain, that Grotius respected the Church of England. His wife died at the Hague, in the communion of the Remonstrants. Through life, she was uniformly respected; and, whenever the services of Grotius, to sacred and profane literature, are recorded, her services to him, should be mentioned with praise.

HISTORICAL MINUTES OF THE REVOLUTIONS OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SEVEN UNITED PROVINCES, FROM THE DEATH OF WILLIAM II. TILL THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS.

1680-1815.

In some of the preceding pages, the principal events in the history of the Seven United Provinces, till the death of William II, in 1680, have been briefly mentioned: in the present chapter, we shall insert a summary account of the revolutions of their government, till the present time.

William III.

1650-1702.

William III. was born after the death of William II. his father. Immediately after that event, his mother claimed for him the stadtholderate, and all the other dignities, pre-eminences, and rights, which his father and grandfather had enjoyed; but, so great, at that time, was the public jealousy of the ambitious views of the house of Orange, that the States General would not even take her claims into deliberation. A general assembly of the States was held in 1661. They confirmed the Treaty of Union, of 1579; attributed to themselves, the appointment of all civil and military offices; placed the army under the authority of the provinces and municipalities, and invested the council of state with the general direction of the military concerns of the nation. A war with England, which was then governed by Cromwell, soon followed; it was the commencement of the naval glory of the United States. But the government was distracted by the contests and dissensions between the republican and the Orange factions. The former were headed by John de Witt. He possessed transcendent abilities, was a true lover of his country, and, on every occasion, advised the wisest measures. Some of the military operations of the States proving unsuccessful, the Orange faction endeavoured to persuade the people, that this reverse of fortune was owing to the want of a Stadtholder; and exhorted them to confer this dignity on the young prince, to be exercised, during his minority, by one of the family. This proposition was successfully resisted by De Witt. Peace between England and the United Provinces being concluded, Cromwell endeavoured to unite them to England by a federative alliance; but they rejected the proposition. At the suggestion of De Witt, the States of Holland passed an Act, by which they bound themselves never to appoint the Prince of Orange, or any of his descendants, to the office of Stadtholder, or Captain General; and to prevent, to their utmost power, the other States from making such an appointment. This measure displeased the other States. In 1665, the office of Commander in Chief becoming vacant, the opposite party endeavoured to procure it for one of the Orange family; this attempt also proved abortive. In 1661 a war broke out between England,-which was then governed by Charles II., and the United States; these displayed in it, chiefly under the command of De Ruyter, prodigies of valour and naval skill; the year 1667 was famous in their annals, by their fleet's sailing up the river Thames, and burning the English fleet at Chatham. The peace of Breda immediately followed.

XIV. 1. William III.

Still, the civil discord continued. The States of Holland renewed theEdict of Exclusion, with the addition of a clause, that, whenever a person should be invested, with the office of Captain, or Admiral General, he should swear never to aspire to the office of Stadtholder, and to refuse it, if it should be offered to him.

CHAP. XIV 1650-1702.

The year 1671 is remarkable for the league entered into by Louis XIV. and Charles II. against the United States, and by their vigourous resistance to it. The circumstances into which it drove the United States, compelled them to appoint the Prince of Orange Captain General and Admiral: he took the oath prescribed by the Perpetual Edict, not to aspire to the stadtholderate, and to reject it, if offered. He was at this time in his twenty-second year: he owed his elevation to the critical situation in which the United States were then placed; but it was also owing to the great prudence with which he had conducted himself when fortune was opposed to him; and to the talents and application to business which he then discovered.

At sea, the navy of the United States was generally successful. At land, the arms of Lewis XIV. triumphed; he conquered Gueldres, Overyssell, and the city and province of Utretcht. This maddened the populace. They massacred John De Witt, and Cornelius De Witt, his brother, after having subjected them to the cruellest tortures and the most brutal indignities. To the indelible reproach of William III. he did not interfere to prevent or stop these horrors. His measures for obtaining the stadtholderate succeeded.

XIV. 1. William III.

On the 4th of July 1672, it was re-established in the person of William III.; and all the dignities and rights enjoyed by his predecessors were conferred upon him. These, in 1674, were made hereditary in his family. His subsequent conduct is entitled, on many accounts, to the warmest praise. The success of the United States at sea compelled Charles II. to make peace with them, so that Lewis XIV. was their only enemy. The war with him was terminated by the peace of Nimeguen in 1678. Ten years after it, the Stadtholder, on the abdication of James II. became King of England. In 1690, England, Spain, Austria, and the United Provinces, entered into the Grand Alliance against France. The Duke of Savoy and several Princes of Germany afterwards joined it. In general, the proceedings of the confederacy were unsuccessful; the war was terminated in 1697 by the peace of Ryswick. In 1700, the disputes on the succession to the Spanish monarchy, in consequence of the death of Charles II. of Spain, without issue, called the world again to arms. William III. died in 1702.

John William Count of Nassau Dietz, 1702-1711;William IV. 1711-1751.

The government of William III. was generally displeasing to the United States: they accused him of sacrificing them to the interests of his English monarchy, and to the hatred which he always bore to the French. He was also suspected, and not without reason, of a design to acquire the independent sovereignty of the provinces. At first, his influence within them was so great, that he was said to be King in the United States, and Stadtholder in England; but it declined gradually; and an attempt by him to obtain the succession to the stadtholderate for John Friso, Prince of Nassau and Hereditary Stadtholder of Frizeland, absolutely failed. He made, by his will, that prince his testamentary heir.

Upon the decease of William III. a general wish to discontinue the stadtholderate was expressed in most of the provinces; those of Holland, Zealand, Utrecht, Gueldres, and Overyssell, came to a formal resolution to this effect They recognised the supreme power of the States General, and conferred the direction of their political concerns on Heinsius, the actual Grand Pensionary, a person of great learning, uncommon talents for business, and acknowledged integrity.

XIV. 2. John William Count of Nassau Diets, 1702-1711; William IV. 1711-1749.

As testamentary heir of William III., John-William assumed the title of Prince of Orange: he died in 1711, without having exercised the power of the stadtholderate, except in the province of Frizeland.

The war of the succession terminated in 1713, by the peace of Utretcht: it was succeeded in 1715 by the Barrier Treaty, and in 1719 by the Quadruple Alliance, ever memorable for the triumphant campaigns of Marlborough, by which it was followed. The pensionary Heinsius died in 1720. In his life-time, several weak attempts had been made, in different provinces, to restore in them the stadtholderate. They succeeded only at Gueldres; and even there, it was restored with great limitations.

Upon the decease of Prince William-John, his rights and pretensions descended to Prince William, his son. In 1733, he married Mary, the daughter of George II. of England. This strengthened his cause; but the general spirit of the United Provinces was so averse to the Stadtholderate, that it was not till the invasion of Holland, by the French, in 1747, that the prince's party judged it advisable to bring forward his claim. At first they met with resistance, but finally prevailed, and Prince William of Orange became the sole Stadtholder of every province: until his time each of the provinces of Frizeland and Groningen had its particular Stadtholder. The dignities of Captain General and Admiral were also conferred on him; and, in addition to these, some rights and privileges which no former Stadtholder had enjoyed.

The reverses of the United Provinces continued, and the aggrandisement of the Stadtholderate increased proportionally. As yet William IV. had no male issue. In 1748, the Orange faction proposed that the Stadtholderate should be declared hereditary; and that, in default of males, females should be admitted into the succession. After some opposition the measure was carried in all the provinces, except Frizeland and Groningen. From this time the United Provinces ceased to be a republic, and became a monarchy, limited by the antient usages and institutions. William IV. died in 1749.

From the Death of William IV. till the Erection of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

1749-1815.

At the death of William IV. William, his son, and afterwards his successor in the Stadtholderate, was an infant, in very tender years. His mother was named by the states Governess of the United Provinces. She appointed the Duke of Brunswick to the command of their armies; thus, after all their exertions and sacrifices for liberty, the United Provinces became subject to the government of an English princess and a German prince; and an English party became predominant in their politics; William V. married a princess of Prussia, and thus the Orange party was strengthened by Prussian influence.

XIV. 3. From the death of William IV. till the erection of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

These opposite, and conflicting interests, filled every province, with dissension; and, on some occasions, armed one body of citizens against another. The English party, sided with the Orange faction; the French, with the republicans. At first the latter prevailed; they led the states into measures, which forced England to declare war against them. In 1782, they acknowledged the independence of the United States of America. Still, the dissensions continued. After a long conflict, the republican party acquired the ascendant; they suspended the Prince of Orange from his functions, and filled all the principal places of trust with their own adherents. But the Orange party soon rallied; the Duke of Brunswick entered Holland at the head of a victorious army, and, in 1787, re-established the Stadtholderate.

CHAP. XIV. 1749-1816.

His victorious career, was soon terminated. In 1799, the revolutionary army of France made themselves masters of the whole territory of the United States; and establishedThe Batavian Republic. It was successively governed, but always under the overpowering controul of France, by a Convention, a Directory, and a Consul, with the appellation of Grand Pensionary. In 1806, even these forms of her antient government were abolished; Napoleon sending Louis, one of his brothers, to reign over the United Provinces, with the title and powers of royalty; but with an intimation, that France was entitled to his first attentions and a priority of duty. The demands of Napoleon for attentions and duties were so exorbitant, that rather than be instrumental in the infliction of the miseries which a compliance with them must occasion, Louis resigned his throne. Napoleon then incorporated the United Provinces into his empire, "as an alluvion," for such he termed them, "to the Rivers of France." Scenes of the most grinding oppression followed: the Batavians were relieved from it by the fall and abdication of Napoleon.

XIV. 3. Establishment of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Before this event, William V. died, leaving a son, called from his pretensions to the stadtholderate, William VI. We have seen that, on the death of the Emperor Charles V. all the seventeen provinces, composing the Netherlands, devolved to Philip II. his son; the successful defection of the Seven United Provinces has been mentioned; the ten remaining provinces were afterwards transferred to the House of Austria, and were inherited by the Emperor Joseph II. The French made an easy conquest of them in an early stage of the Revolution.

We now reach the ultimate fate of both the divisions of the Netherlands. The congress of Vienna, by an act of the 9th June 1815, created and conferred upon this prince, THE KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS, consisting of the seventeen provinces, and a portion of Luxemburgh. It is confessedly the first among the kingdoms of the second order.

It was our wish to present our readers with a sketch of the literary history of the Netherlands, during the period treated of in this chapter; but after most diligent and extensive searches, both in the British and foreign markets, we have not been able to discover materials for it; persons of acknowledged learning, both in Germany and the Netherlands, have assured us that no such history exists.

REFERRED TO IN PAGE 188.

SOME ACCOUNT OF THE FORMULARIES, CONFESSIONS OF FAITH, OR SYMBOLIC BOOKS, OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC, GREEK, AND PRINCIPAL PROTESTANT CHURCHES.

The constitutions of the Roman Catholic, and Protestant Churches, differ in nothing more, than in the following important points: The Catholic Church, acknowledges the authority of the Scriptures, and, in addition to them, a body of traditionary law. She receives both under the authority, and with the interpretation of the Church, and believes that the authority of the Church in receiving and interpreting them is infallible. The Protestant Churches generally profess to acknowledge no law but the Scriptures, no interpreter of the Scriptures, but the understanding and conscience of the individual who peruses them.

That the Roman Catholic Church should propound a formulary of her faith, enlarge this formulary from time to time, as further interpretation is wanted, and enforce acquiscence in it by spiritual censures, is consistent withherprinciples. Whether such a pretension can be avowed, without inconsistency, by any Protestant Church, has been a subject of much discussion. In point of fact, however, no Protestant Church is without her formulary, or abstains from enforcing it by temporal provisions and spiritual censures. To enforce their formularies by civil penalties, is inconsistent with the principles, of every christian church. All churches howsoever have so enforced, and have blamed the others, for so enforcing them.

Such formularies, from the circumstance of their collecting into one instrument, several articles, of religious belief, are generally known on the Continent, by the appellation of SYMBOLIC BOOKS.

I. The symbolic books, received by ALL TRINITARIAN CHRISTIAN CHURCHES,-are,

1.The Symbol of the Apostles; and2.The Nicene Symbol.

1.The Symbol of the Apostles; and

2.The Nicene Symbol.

II. The symbolic books, received by the ROMAN CATHOLIC Church,-are,

1. The General Councils;2. Among these,-the Council of Trent,-as immediately applying to the controversies between the Catholic and Protestant Churches, is particularly regarded;3.The Symbol of Pope Pius IV.;4.The Catechism of the Council of Trent.

1. The General Councils;

2. Among these,-the Council of Trent,-as immediately applying to the controversies between the Catholic and Protestant Churches, is particularly regarded;

3.The Symbol of Pope Pius IV.;

4.The Catechism of the Council of Trent.

III. The symbolic books of the GREEK CHURCH,-are,

1.The Confession, of her true and sincere faith, which, on the taking of Constantinople, by Mahomet II, in 1453, Gennadius, its patriarch, presented to the conqueror;2.The Orthodox Confession, of the Catholic and Apostolic Greek Church, published in 1642, by Mogilow, the Metropolitan of Kiow.

1.The Confession, of her true and sincere faith, which, on the taking of Constantinople, by Mahomet II, in 1453, Gennadius, its patriarch, presented to the conqueror;

2.The Orthodox Confession, of the Catholic and Apostolic Greek Church, published in 1642, by Mogilow, the Metropolitan of Kiow.

IV. The symbolic books of the LUTHERAN CHURCHES, are

1.The Confession of Augsburgh;2.The Apology of the Confession of Augsburgh;3.The Articles of Smalcald;4.And, (in the opinion of some Lutheran Churches),-The Form of Concord;5.The Saxon, Wirtenburgian, Suabian, Pomeranian, Mansfeldian, Antwerpensian, and Copenhagen Confessions, possess, in particular places, the authority of Symbolic books:-the two first are particularly respected.

1.The Confession of Augsburgh;

2.The Apology of the Confession of Augsburgh;

3.The Articles of Smalcald;

4.And, (in the opinion of some Lutheran Churches),-The Form of Concord;

5.The Saxon, Wirtenburgian, Suabian, Pomeranian, Mansfeldian, Antwerpensian, and Copenhagen Confessions, possess, in particular places, the authority of Symbolic books:-the two first are particularly respected.

V. The symbolic books of the REFORMED CHURCHES. The reformed Church, in the largest extent of that expression, comprises all the religious communities, which have separated from the Church of Rome. In this sense, it is often used by English writers: but, having, soon after the Reformation, been used by the French Protestants to describe their church, which was Calvinistic, it became, insensibly, the appellation of all Calvinistic churches on the Continent. The principal symbolic books of these churches,-are,

1.The Confession of the Helvetian Churches;2.The Tetrapolitan Confession,-signed by the four cities of Strasburgh, Constance, Memmingen, and Lindau;3.The Catechism of Heidelbergh;4.The Gallic Confession of Faith;5.The Belgic Confession of Faith;6.The Canons of the Council of Dort.VI. The symbolic books of the WALDENSES,-are,Their original and reformed Creeds.

1.The Confession of the Helvetian Churches;

2.The Tetrapolitan Confession,-signed by the four cities of Strasburgh, Constance, Memmingen, and Lindau;

3.The Catechism of Heidelbergh;

4.The Gallic Confession of Faith;

5.The Belgic Confession of Faith;

6.The Canons of the Council of Dort.

VI. The symbolic books of the WALDENSES,-are,

Their original and reformed Creeds.

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