town, who refused to sign the document in question. For a time he escaped the vengeance of the infuriated populace; but, shortly afterwards, being accused by one Ticklaer, a low barber, of offering him a bribe of 32,000 guilders, to take away the life of the Prince of Orange, he was arrested and sent to prison. On his trial, the only evidence adduced against him was that of the barber; yet, unfounded and improbable as was the charge, this excellent man and great patriot was actually put to the rack, where, though suffering the most excruciating tortures, he persisted nobly and perseveringly in denying the truth of the charge. In the midst of his agony he was heard repeating the beautiful lines of Horace :—

Justum et tenacem propositi virum,
Non civium ardor prava jubentium,
Non vultus instantis tyranni,

Mente quatit solidâ; neque Auster

Dux inquieti turbidus Adriæ,

Nec fulminantis magna manus Jovis ;

Si fractus illabatur orbis,

Impavidum ferient ruinæ.

The man in conscious virtue bold,
Who dares his secret purpose hold,
Unshaken hears the crowd's tumultuous cries,
And the impetuous tyrant's angry brow defies.

Let the loud winds, that rule the seas,
Tempestuous their wild horrors raise;

Let Jove's dread arm with thunders rend the spheres,
Beneath the crush of worlds undaunted he appears.

FRANCIS.

During the sufferings of his unfortunate brother, the Pensionary, John De Witt, remained closely by his side; wiping away the tears of agony from his eyes; encouraging him by his exhortations, and supporting him by his consolation.

The

Although the result of the infamous proceedings against Cornelius De Witt, was the admission of his judges, that the evidence in support of the charge was insufficient, it was nevertheless decreed that he should for ever be banished the territories of Holland and West Friseland. populace were exasperated at what they believed to be the mildness of the sentence, and their fury was still greater, when, on the day that Cornelius De Witt was to be released from prison, his brother, the Pensionary, contrary to the most urgent advice of his friends, proceeded in a magnificent coach of state, drawn by four horses, to the prison gates; prepared to do honour to his innocent brother, and to conduct him in triumph out of the town.

As the Pensionary was usually a man of no display, and as it had hitherto been his custom to proceed on foot, even to the most solemn meetings of the States, the mere circumstance of his appearing in the streets of the Hague with so magnificent an equipage, would at any time have been sufficient to attract the attention of the mob. But now that every eye was upon him; that every heart was inflamed with fury

and disappointed revenge; the probable consequences of this imprudent conduct became sufficiently evident, and, in the end, verified the worst apprehensions of the Pensionary's friends. By degrees the crowd thickened; they were presently joined by several of the train-bands; and in a short time the mob flocked in formidable numbers towards the prison-door. On their arrival a brief delay occurred, during which the more infuriated of the bystanders continued to excite the remainder by the most inflammatory speeches and remarks. At length the doors of the prison were thrown open, and the instant that the two brothers presented themselves, a dreadful yell of curses and revilings assailed their ears. It must have been a trying moment, even to hearts the least susceptible of fear. The brothers had already proceeded some steps from the prison, when their course was arrested by the train-bands. "We have now the two traitors together," exclaimed one of these wretches; "it is our own fault if they escape us." This inflammatory speech was immediately succeeded by a blow. Other acts of violence rapidly followed, on which the Pensionary, perceiving their fate to be inevitable, affectionately took his brother by the hand, as if to bid him a last farewell, and to show that, as they had been united by affection through life, so would they be linked together even in death. While in the act of clasping his brother's hand,

John De Witt was knocked on the head by the butt end of a musket; the tragedy was soon concluded, and, after a rapid succession of blows, the noble-hearted brothers ceased to live. After being trodden under foot, and dragged through the streets in triumph, their crushed and mangled remains were suspended from the common gallows, where the body of the great Pensionary was hung one foot higher than that of his brother. The remains of both were afterwards cut into a thousand pieces, and it has even been affirmed that a portion was actually boiled and eaten by their brutal murderers. It may be mentioned, as a singular fact, that, though certainly not himself of a cruel disposition, William should have risen, step by step, to greatness, by successive acts of violence or of blood. To the slaughter of the De Witts he owed his security in the Stadtholdership; his establishment on the throne of England was purchased by the expulsion of an uncle and a father-in-law; he was indebted for his dominion over Ireland to the blood which flowed on the banks of the Boyne; and for the reduction of the Highlands of Scotland, to the terrible massacre of Glencoe.

It would be altogether foreign to the nature of this work to follow William through all the details of the numerous battles and sieges, through the various successes or defeats, which distinguished his long and noble contest with the French

king. It may be observed, that from the moment the Prince of Orange was confirmed in his office of Stadtholder, the affairs of the United Provinces perceptibly improved: a new spirit was infused into their counsels; a high state of discipline was gradually introduced into their armies, and, eventually, the States proved themselves, if not actually a match for the vast energies and resources of the French empire, at least a most obstinate and formidable enemy.

The prudent and intrepid character of the young Stadtholder appears early to have become a subject of anxiety both to the French and English monarchs; indeed it is shown, on the authority of Sir William Temple, that an attempt was made to enveigle the Prince into a disgraceful treaty with those Powers, by the conditions of which the sovereignty of Holland, and a guarantee against internal insurrections and foreign invasions, were to be insured to him, on the understanding that he should be content to owe his greatness to, and that he should promote the unjust and despotic measures of, the two most profligate monarchs in Europe. The reply of William does him credit:-"No," he said, “I will never betray the trust which has been imposed on me, nor consent to sell the liberties of my country, which my ancestors so nobly defended." On another occasion, when, to all. but himself, his affairs appeared to be in the worst