Prince who was his Nephew and had been bred up with him at Sedan and the Duke discovered some Ambition to have his Nephew a King when he wrote to some Friends at Paris that whilst Lewis was making Knights at Fountainbleau he was making Kings in Germany But this Royalty did not continue above 6 months so that his Enemies called him a King of Snow because the single battle of Prague in the beginning of the year 1621 lost him all Bohemia Silesia Lusatia Moravia with the adjoyning Provinces and the year following the Spanish Forces marching from the Low Countries deprived him of the Palatinate itself in which he was not re-established but by Adolphus's Descent into Germany Charles Duke of Lorrain who died many years after one of the oldest Captains of the age signalized himself very much at the Battle of Pragne where Count Harcourt was likewise tho very young But to return to Prince Maurice France being so apparently inclined to the Interests of Barnevelt's Party its Ministers which were then in Holland used to say that Prince Maurice would have pretended to the Soveraignty of the United Provinces but that such People who in the beginning had been hottest against Mr. Barnevelt and most devoted to the Prince yet when they fathom'd his designs became averse to them notwithstanding their former obligations besides the Exile Death and Imprisonment of persons who had been so considerable in the State and had likewise a great many Friends and Dependants wrought a mighty change in the Peoples affections to the Prince which appeared very visibly for whereas before when he went through the Towns of Holland every body came out of their houses praying for him with extraordinary Acclamations now as he was one day going through the Market-place at Gorcum which was full of people there was scarce a single man that pull'd his Hat off to him For the common people were so variable that the very Writings which heretofore had made Mr. Barnevelt become suspected by them were now produced as so many motives for their pity and compassion towards him To this they added that the assistance which probably he might have hop'd for from the Elector Palatine was since the loss of the battle of Prague no longer to be expected and the Emperor Ferdinand the 2d having by the happy success of his Generals Count Tilly and Wallestein made himself absolute Master of all Germany even to the Baltick Sea where he established an Admiralty at Wismar reduced all the Princes and Imperial Towns under his Obedience Prince Maurice could no longer expect Succors from Germany whatever Friends he might heretofore have had there But those who adhered to the Interests of Prince Maurice and the House of Orange acquitted him of a Design so prejudicial to the good of the United Provinces by maintaining that it was a perfect Artifice of his Enemies to make him become odious to the People of the Low Countries for said they what probability was there that Prince Maurice ever had it in his thoughts to become Soveraign of his Country since after the extirpation of Barnevelt and his party he never made one step towards it which he might have done having then no farther obstacles Prince Maurice did not long survive a great Conspiracy which the Sieur de Stautemburg youngest Son of Mr. Barnevelt had laid against his Life which being happily discovered some hours before its execution obliged him to punish a great number of the Conspirators throughout the pincipal Towns of Holland The Prince was never married but had several Natural Children the most considerable of them all was Mousieur de Beververt a man very well made and very brave he was Governor of Bolduc after whose death the Prince of Tarentum had that Government and was succeeded by Collonel Fitz Patrick a Scotchman Prince Maurice died in the Spring of the Year 1625 when the Marquess Spinola besieged the Town of Breda And as some pretended it was for grief that he did not succeed in the Soveraignty so others said that it was because he could not relieve that place which was his own propriety and had been surprized by him 34 years before FREDERICK HENRY Prince of Orange Henry Frederick of Nassau Prince of Orange and his Posterity THis Prince was born the 28th of February 1584. He was of a good mein and of a strong make and his parts were as eminent as his person was agreeable He was a very great Captain and equall'd the Glory of his Brother Maurice who taught him the Art of War and lead him into the most dangerous Adventures and amongst others at the battle of Newport where though he was very young he contributed much by his Valor to the gaining that great Victory in a conjuncture where the Army of the States General had before them a powerful body of men commanded by Albert the Arch-duke in person and the Sea behind them so that it was absolutely necessary either to make themselves Conquerors or to perish When Prince Maurice died in the year 1625 he advised his Brother Henry Frederick his chief Heir to marry Madam de Solmes who was come into Holland with the Queen of Bohemia whose Beauty and good Carriage were accompanied with a great deal of Modesty and Prudence she died a little while ago being very antient and her Name was Amelia Daughter to Iohn Albert Count de Solmes This Prince had one Son and four Daughters the eldest of these Ladies married Frederick William the Elector of Brandenburg by whom she had several Children This Prince has the greatest Territories in all Germany they reaching from the Low Countries to Poland and Curland The 2d Daughter Henrietta Emilia married the Count de Nassau The 3d Henrietta Catherina married Iohn George Prince of Anhalt and the 4th married the Duke of Simeren the youngest Son of the House Palatine who died a little while ago The Son was called William was born in 1626 and died the 6th of November 1650 after the business of Amsterdam He was a Prince naturally ambitious and of great Courage so that his Enemies reported of him that though he was so young yet he aimed at the execution of that design which had been laid to Prince Maurice's charge by Barnevelt and his Adherents His sudden death changed the whole face of affairs in the Low Countries He had great prospects from his alliance of England having married Princess Mary Daughter of Charles the first King of Great Britain by whom he left Prince William Henry of Nassau now King of England c. who was born the 14th of November 1650 some days after the death of his Father This young Prince William was very remarkable in his Infancy for his reservedness and moderation his Prudence increased as he grew up and such people as were nice observers of merit and took great notice of him have affirmed that never Prince gave greater hopes than he even in the most tender years He suffered with an admirable temper
their own bounds which was so true that when the States of the 17 Provinces assembled at Brussels having instantly demanded of Prince William of Orange that the Roman Catholic Religion might be exercised in his Governments returned answer That this depended only upon the States of Holland and Zealand That they appealed from these Judges as incompetent and visibly suspected of being their Enemies to such Judges as were natural and proper to their cause At the same time Prince Maurice with the States General called a National Synod in the Town of Dort and several Divines of Foreign Countries were invited thither in this Assembly the Opinion of Arminius was declared to be Heretical scandalous and tending to the Re establishment of Popery in the United Provinces and in pursuance of this decree Utembaugarts and all the other Ministers and Doctors suspected to be of that Opinion were dismissed from their Cures and banished the Country and forbid to return under pain of severe punishment After this Monsieur Barnevelt and the other Prisoners were tried before Judges nominated by the States General these Judges Condemned Monsieur Barnevelt to death upon the 12th of May 1619. My Father had several times interceeded for him in the Name of the French King and Monsieur de Boissise had been twice sent Envoy Extraordinary into Holland to exhort the States to consult their proper welfare and treat their Prisoners with moderation Pursuant to the Sentence he was executed in the Court of the Castle at the Hague being 66 years old where the Scaffold was raised against his Chamber Window opposite to the Prince's Apartment who was said to have beheld this Execution from his window by the help of a prospective upon which some people made their Reflections Prince Maurice and the States had less regard to the Intercession of France because the King of England was in their Interest as being perswaded that Monsieur Barnevelt was none of his Friends and that he had done him a sensible displeasure by causing the English Garrisons to retire from the Town of Flushing the Brill and the Castle of Ramekius which the English held for a security of those Sums which Queen Elizabeth had lent to the States General Monsieur Barnevelt being the chief of a very splendid Embassy made great Instances to the King to recall his Forces from their Towns King Iames promised him publickly and solemnly that he would do it provided they paid the Money due to him thinking he had imposed an impossible condition upon them considering how the Provinces had been exhausted by their Taxes but Monsieur Barnevelt having got the Kings word applyed himself with so much diligence to the collecting of the Money and by his Credit the people bled so freely that in a little time these vast Sums were carried into England which King Iames tho' very much surprized at was obliged to receive and consequently to recall his Garrisons and the remembrance of it stuck so close that he had always a great aversion for Monsieur Barnevelt Prince Maurice had another reason to make him have less regard to the intercession of France which was because he was not in the least afraid of their resentments Lewis the 13th was then come out of his Minority and a new Favorite was absolute Master of Affairs who had more regard to the raising of himself and two Brothers than to meddle with the Affairs of other Countries which appeared in the business of the Elector Palatine King of Bohemia for though by reasons of State he should have been maintained to weaken the House of Austria which at that time was become formidable and because this Elector was one of our principal Allies who might always have so divided Germany as that one of the Parties should have assisted us when we had occasion yet Monsieur de Luynes promised the Marquess de Mirabel the Spanish Ambassador then at Paris to ruin the Affairs of the Palatinate upon condition that Monsieur de Cadenet his Brother should marry Mademoiselle de Pecquigny and Chaulnâ—…s one of the most noble most beautiful and richest Heiresses of her time who was educated at Bruxels in the Family of the Infanta Isabella Upon these hopes which were not ill grounded for the Spaniards had given him their word Monsieur de Luynes sent a splendid Embassy into Germany consisting of Monsieurs d' Angouleme de Bethune and de Chateau-neuf who deceived the Protestant Princes that were armed for the defence of the Palatinate for it was concluded by the Treaty of Ulme where all the Princes of both Parties were assembled to hearken to the propositions of France That both Catholics and Protestants should lay down their Arms and the Quarrel be decided by the King of Bohemia and the Emperor only The Protestant Princes suffered themselves to be abused and did perform the Treaty honestly so that the Marquess of Ansbatch the General of their Forces had orders to disband them but the Duke of Bavaria and the other Catholic Princes of the same Parties sent their Troops by the Danube to the Emperor who overthrew the Prince Palatine at the battel of Prague After this Monsieur de Luynes having thus sufficiently raised his Family began to consider what might be for the Interest of the Kingdom and thereupon councelled the King to weaken the Hugonots who as he told his Majesty had the Insolence to make a distinct State within themselves and had hitherto been held invincible hereupon Monsieur de Luynes seized upon all their important places except Montauban from Saumur to the Pyreneans and after his death in the year 1622 pursuant to his Maxims Montpelier was taken and at last some time after Cardinal Richelieu counselled the King to attack Rochel which he gained and razed immediately and having in that destroyed the principal strength of the Hugonot Party their entire ruin soon followed upon the Duke of Rohans retreat to Venice who had a long time upheld them by his Valor and Industry Prince Maurice was sufficiently informed of this condition of France by the Dukes of Bovillon and dela Trimoille who had married his Sisters besides these he had a great many Friends in Germany where several of the Soveraign Princes were related to him either by his own side or his Mothers who was Daughter to Maurice Duke of Saxony The Elector Palatine was his Nephew likewise and he afterwards was chose King of Bohemia which he accepted as 't is said upon the advice of Prince Maurice and the persuasions of the Princess his Lady though contrary to the Counsels of King Iames his Father in-law who thought a young Prince was not capable to manage an Affair of such Importance and resist the power of the House of Austria protesting that he would neither succor him with men nor money except he quitted this design which would infallibly become his ruin but the Duke of Bovillon perswaded the Elector Palatine to the contrary as having some power over the young
established and to make him more odious The Count de Bossut Governor of Holland for the Spaniards made a fruitless attempt to drive them out of the Brill Many other Cities of Holland viz Horn Alkmar Edam Goude Oudewater Leyden Gorcum Harlem and all Zealand except Middleburg following the Example of the Brill abandoned the Duke of Alva and declared for the Prince of Orange Flushing a considerable City and Port of Zealand was one of the first that revolted by the perswasion of the Priest who on Easter-day as he was saying Mass exhorted the People to recover their Liberty This Air of sedition having blown the People into a flame they immediately went to their Arms and forced the Spanish Garrison to leave the place But they arrested Alvarez Pacheco a Spaniard and Relation of the Duke of Alva who was superintendant of the Fortifications of the Cittadel which was building at Flushing He was immediately hanged by order of Treton who revenged on him the death of his brother who had been beheaded by the Duke of Alva at Brussels 4 years before Pacheco in vain represented that he was a Gentleman and desired the favour to be beheaded but he was hanged publickly on a Gibbet I wonder at the variety of opinions I have met with in the most famous Historians of the Netherlands concerning this Pacheco Grotius says he was a Savoyard though Benlivoglio Strada Meursius and Emanuel de Metteren do all agree he was a Spaniard Cardinal Bentivoglio says he was beheaded and others write that he was hanged on the other side Meursius calls this Gentleman who was executed a Relation of the Duke of Alva Pacioli although the others call him Pacheco confounding this Pacheco with Francis Paciotti of Urbin Count de Montefabre so famous for his skill in fortifications and other engines of War that when he had built the Cittadel at Antwerp his name was given to one of the Bastions by order of the Duke of Alva the four others were called the Duke Ferdinand Toledo and Alva not one by the name of the King his Master But to return to this Pacheco Emanuel de Metteren though a very exact Historian names him Pierre Pacheco though Famianus Strada who was better informed names him Alvarez Which shows that the greatest men are liable to mistakes The Sea Gueux in requital of the Duke of Alva's cruelty hanged all the Prisoners they made without distinction but the Spaniards they tyed by couples back to back and threw them into the Sea As soon as the Prince of Orange arrived in Holland and Zealand he made the Sieur Diederic or Theoderick de Sonoy a Friezland Gentleman his Lieutenant in North-Holland otherwise called Westfrise and Charles Bâ—…issol Governor of Flushing and his Brother Lewis Boissol Admiral These two Gentlemen were of Brussles and being condemned by the Duke of Alva follow'd the â—…ortunes of the Prince of Orange About that time the States of Holland and Zealand met at Dordrecht where they acknowledg'd the Prince of Orange for their Governour though he was absent and obliged themselves by oath never to abandon him and the Prince in like manner swore by his proxy Philip de Marnix Sieur de St. Aldegonde to continue inviolably devoted to their interests 'T was observed in this Assembly that St. Aldegonde gave his hand to all the Deputies of the States and they to him in token of their mutual confidence and fidelity William Count de la Mark then present was declared Lieutenant of the Prince of Orange but rebelling some time after against the Prince with his confidentt Bertel Entens as rash as himself they were both seized on and they would have proceeded to the Trial of the Count if the consideration of his alliances and great services had not pleaded for him for he had been guilty of great cruelties to some good Ecclesiasticks which deserved a severe punishment After he was out of Prison he retired to Leige where he died of the bite of one of his mad dogs The Prince did all things in the Name of the States though he had all the Power of the Government in his own hands such an intire confidence had the People in him There were anciently but six Cities in Holland that had right to vote in the States viz Dordrecht Harlem Leyden Delft Amsterdam and Goude the Prince added twelve others to these six viz Rotterdam Gorcum Schedam Sconen la Brille Alkmar Horn Enkhusen Edam Munikedam Medimblet and Purmerend that he might engage these Cities in his interest by the honour he had done them and that they might be the better affected to him in the assembly of the States and ease the publick miseries and grievances the more effectually by being acquainted with them He had the absolute disposal of all Employments and charges but refused the name of King and contented himself with the Power At that time he banished all the Romish Ceremonies out of the Churches that this difference of Religion might out off all means of an accommodation with the Spaniards who were sworn Enemies to the new opinions A. D. 1572 the Duke of Alva after the recovery of Mons being very much indisposed sent his Son Don Frederick de Toledo to take the Cities of Holland and Guelderland that had revolted from him Don Frederick resolved to make Malines an Example for opening its Gates to the Prince of Orange He did not think it enough to pillage the Town for several days together but permitted his Souldiers to commit all sorts of Cruelties and Barbarities even to ravish the Women without excepting the Nuns After this he marched against the Marquess of Bergues routed him and possessed himself of all the Towns he had won among the rest of Zutphen which he mercilesly gave up to the Plunder of his Army He retook Narden and intirely destroyed it cutting off the Innocent and Guilty without distinction of Age or Sex and contrary to the Promise which Iulian Romero a Spanish Colonel had made to the Burghers of saving their Lives He burnt the Houses razed the Walls let the dead Bodies lie Three whole Weeks in the Streets without Burial An excess of Barbarity which was considered by the most Cruel rather as a detestable Villainy than a just Punishment for their revolts This made Harlem take a Resolution to hold out to the last Extremity having to do with so Merciless a Conqueror The Dutch Historians write that the Art of Printing was begun at Harlem A. D. 1440. by Laurence le Contre and Thomas Pieterson his Son-in-Law but that their Factor Iohn Faustus betraying them carried away the Letters to Amsterdam then to Cologne and from thence to Mayence where he stopt and where Iohn Guttemburg a German Gentleman who is commonly reckoned the Inventor of Printing improved it very much Wibald Riperda a Friezland Gentleman Commanded in the City of Harlem and Don Frederick declared that he would make use of no other Keys to enter the City than his
had razed because the Nobility met there to draw up an Address against the Inquisition At that time all Men believed the King of Spain had entirely lost the Netherlands for he was forced to comply with the time and ratify and approve the Peace In pursuance of this Treaty the Castles of Ghent Valenciennes Cambray Utrceht and Groeningen were demolished all Friezeland declared for the States and Gaspar de Robb who had married the Heiress of Billy and Malepert Governour of the Province was laid close Prisoner in the Town-house of Groeningen with Irons on his Legs This Gaspar a Man of Sense and Courage was Son to King Philip's Nurse and Native of Robb in Portugal He was advanced and employed by Margaret of Parma and in her time was Governour of Philipville He was released out of Prison by Vertue of the perpetual Edict which was made under the Government of Don Iohn of Austria Christopher de Vasquez who had hid himself in the Monastery of the Cordeliers shaved and disguised like a Monk was also taken and carried in that Habit into the great Square of Groeningen the people crying out in Mockery that they had got a new Bishop favourer of the Inquisition Upon this Subject I cannot forbear observing how addicted the People of these Countries are to turn their Enemies into Ridicule upon the least good Success as they did after the taking of Levarden in Friezland for the States having surprized it they brought all the Monks and Priests into the great Square where their Troops were drawn up in Battalia and placed them by Ranks between the Ranks of the Souldiers and then conducted them out of the City in the same order at the sound of Fises and Drums with incredible Mockeries and there left them without doing them any other injury than laughing at them They had already given Proofs of this Inclination to Derision and Raillery after the surprizing of the Brill in that Picture which I mentioned before where Count de la Mark put Spectacles on the Duke of Alva's Nose and at Harlem where the Citizens believing That Don Frederick de Toledo would raise the Siege made Processions of Images clad like Monks Priests and Cardinals holding the Figures of the blessed Sacrament which they flung down from the tops of their Walls I my Self at Twelve years old observed the particular bent of this Nation to Mockery My Father who was Embassador into Holland had put to Board in the Year 1622. with Doctor Iohn Gerard Vossius a German and Native of Heidelburg who has published a vast number of Learned works My elder Brother my Self and my younger Brother called Daniel who was killed in the Battle of Harlingen in the Year 1645 who had so great a Genius for the Mathematicks that he would have equal'd the Reputation of Galileus and Archimedes if Death had not snatch'd him away in the flower of his Age. That Year 1622. Maurice Prince of Orange having forced the Marquess Ambrose Spinola to raise the Siege of Bergen-op-zoom assisted by Count Ernest of Mansfield and Duke Christian of Brunswick the Cities of the Low Countries were transported with inexpressible Joy Among others Leyden joyned Derision to its publick rejoycings This Doctor 's House stood before the Square of the Church call'd Hoguetanskirk where was one of the greatest Bonfires Upon the top of the Pile was placed a great Spinning Wheel which they call Spin in Dutch and round it little Tickets of Paper on which was written the Name of Spinola General of the Spanish Army Upon the Cord of the Wheel there were other Tickets with the Names of Gonsolvo de Cordoua one of the chief Commanders of the Spanish Army Upon the Wheel was a great Distaff loaded with Flax which they call Ulasque in Dutch and upon it was writ the Name of Don Louis de Valasco General of the Horse this done they put Fire to it and the People over-joy'd fancied they had burnt these Generals with their Names This bears some Resemblance with the Rebus's of Picardy and acquainted me at that time with the raillying Humour of these People Pursuant to this Inclination of the People 't was reported with probability some years since That the Sieur van Beuningen which is the Sieur du Boudon in French had caused himself to be ingraved an a Medal like another Ioshua making the Sun stand still meaning that he had put a stop to and been the Iupiter Stator of the French King's Conquests who had taken the Body of the Sun for his device But Persons very well informed have assured me that 't was a scandal fastned on him to cast an Odium upon him and his Nation at our Court and that the Medal was never seen nor had ever any Being unless in the Imaginations of those Men who contrived the Story It is true That the united Provinces after the Peace of Aix la Chapelle all the Honour of which they assum'd to themselves puffed up with the Glory of a Treaty which they imagined so advantageous to them Coyned Medals with a pompous Motto which their Enemies call'd proud and which as I am assured was this Assertis Legibus sacris Defensis exteris Regibus Vindicata perorbem Christianum Marium libertate Egregiâ pace virtute Armorum partâ Batavia P. Which I thus translate in favour of the Ladies Having vindicated our Religion and Laws And defended Foreign Kings our Allies And established the security of Navigation in the Seas of the Christian World and made a glorious Peace by the force of our Arms the States-General c. The Consideration of which made Monsieur de Lamoignon the greatest and most famous Man in France for his Learning and Vertue say to me that the Romans after the Destruction of Numantia and Carthage the Rival of their Empire could not have talked of their Victories in more lofty and magnificent Terms At the end of the Year 1671. the States-General seeing that those Medals drew upon them the Envy and Hatred of the most powerful Monarchs suppressed them as well as they could by breaking the Coins and Molds insomuch as there remain very few unless in the Hands of the Curious These proud Medals with the continual and insolent Reflections of the Amsterdam Gazzette which took a Liberty of openly rallying all things without sparing Crowned Heads which ought always to be respected was not the least Motive of the last War 'T is this gave credit to the imaginary Medal of the Sieur Van Beuningen whose Airy and Extravagant Discourses made any thing to be believed of him Upon this Subject I may affirm with Reason that those Men are the wisest who are never arrogant in good Fortune which many easily change into bad by the ordinary Revolutions of the Affairs of this World which suffer nothing to be settled or lasting Besides Moderation make Men lamented when they are unhappy but we rejoice at the Misfortune of Insolent persons When Duke Charles of Burgundy had
shall speak hereafter Besides his celebrated Posterity of legitimate Children the Prince of Orange left a Natural Son called Iustin de Nassau who led a considerable Body of Men to the Assistance of King Henry the IV. before the Peace of Vervins He was a Brave Vertuous Man and died Governour of Breda I have heard my Father say that in the year 1616. having dispatched to Court upon some important Affair a Garson Captain named Lanchere famous in the Netherlands where he served This Courier in his Return passing through Breda Monsieur Iustin de Nassau asked him what News He answered nothing considerable but the Imprisonment of the Count D' Auvergne since Duke of Angoulesme Iustin de Nassau asking him the Reason he replied bluntly striking him on the Back for he was acquainted with his true Extraction Don't you know Sir that a Son of a Whore was never good for any thing A Fault which the poor Lanchere confessed to my Father when he knew that he was a Bastard Which is a proof that 't is good to be informed of Pedigrees and Alliances otherwise we are liable to Mistakes and to offend innocently Persons of Quality The End of the Life of William of Nassau Prince of Orange THE LIFE OF LOVISE de COLIGNY THE Fourth and Last Wife of WILLIAM of NASSAU Prince of ORANGE THIS Lady had very excellent Vertues without having the least Mixture of any Weakness incident to her Sex through the Course of her whole Life though it was very long She had been married to Monsieur de Teligny before the Famous Day of St. Bartholomew which was in 1572. and she died in 1620. The Admiral her Father esteem'd her very much both for her Modesty and Prudence She gain'd every Body's Heart and Affection by her Way of Conversation which was easy and graceful and had an universal Respect as well for her true Sence as her extraordinary good Nature She was very well shap'd though her Stature was but low her Eyes were very beautiful and her Complexion lively The Admiral who loved her tenderly and passionately desired to have her well disposed of after having cast his Eyes upon all the Persons of Quality that were of his own Religion and Party he found none so deserving to marry this excellent Lady as Monsieur de Teligny Son of Monsieur de Teligny a Famous Captain in the Wars of Italy in whom he had observed more Valour and Conduct than in any other Gentleman of his time besides his Vertues were so considerable that those who writ in Favour of Queen Catharine Queen of Medices who mortally hated the Admiral have confessed that she and the King her Son had very great Difficulty to consent to the Death of Monsieur de Teligny who had rendred himself agreeable to both of them by his handsom Deportment and by his sincere and noble Way of Acting which shews that Vertue is always attractive from whencesoever it proceeds and that it has uncommon Charms to make it self admired and favoured though in the Person of an Enemy The Admiral then advised this beautiful Lady to accept of Monsieur de Teligny and to preferr a Man indued with so many good Qualities though of moderate Fortune to others who though they had greater Riches and Titles were still less worthy to possess her But she soon lost so good a Husband together with the Admiral her Father in the cruel Day of St. Bartholomew Having heard of this Misfortune in Burgundy her Mother-in-Law and she with the young Lord of Chatillon her Brother had much ado to get into Switzerland to secure their Lives the Massacre of the Protestants being universal throughout all France This great Admiral was Son of another Gaspar de Coligny Lord of Chatillon upon Loyr Mareschal of France under Louis the XII a Famous General who died at Aix as he was commanding the French Army against the Spaniards and of Louise de Montmorency Sister to Anne de Montmorency Constable of France He left behind him three Sons that were very considerable Odet Cardinal of Chatillon the eldest who was Patron to all the Wits and Learned Persons of his Age Iasper Admiral of France who before that had been Governour of Paris and Picardy and lastly Francis de Coligny Lord of Andelot Colonel General of the French Infantry A Son of the Admiral named Francis was likewise Colonel of the French Infantry he signalized himself as well upon the Bridge of Tours by saving the Persons of Henry the III. and the King of Navarre from the Forces of the League and afterwards in the Battle of Arques by which he gained the Reputation of surpassing the Admiral He left two Sons by a Daughter of the House of Chaune de Pequigny the eldest who promised much was taken off by a Cannon Bullet at the Siege of Ostend the other was the Mareschal de Chatillon Father to the Count de Coligny that died young and the Duke de Chatillon who was killed at Charenton The Mareschal Chatillon had likewise two Daughters one married to the Prince of Montbeliard and the other named Henrietta Countess of Adinton and Suze had so great a Genius for Poetry that she has out done Sappho her self by her exquisite Works which are the Delight of all such as are Lovers of Gallantry Madam de Teligny having lived during her Widowhood with a Conduct that made her admired by the whole World she was sought to by Prince William of Orange after the Death of Charlotte de Bourbon and he married her in the year 1583. upon the Reputation of her Vertue But soon after by a Fatality that usually snatches from us That which is most dear she saw him assassinated before her own Eyes having had but one Son by him born a little before his Father's Death who was the Famous Henry Frederick Prince of Orange She had this Advantage to be Sprung from the greatest Man in Europe and to have had two Husbands of very eminent Vertues the last of which left behind him an immortal Reputation but she had likewise the Misfortune to lose them all three by hasty and violent Deaths her Life having been nothing but a continued Series of Afflictions able to make any one sink under them but a Soul that like hers had resigned her self up so totally to the will of Heaven She has told my Father freely that at her coming into Holland she was very much surprized at their Rude Way of Living so different from that in France and whereas she had been used to a Coach she was there put into a Dutch Waggon open at Top guided by a Vourman where she sate upon a Board and that in going from Roterdam to Delft which is but two Leagues she was crippled and almost Frozen to death There never was one of a more noble Soul or a truer Lover of Justice than this Princess But it was observable during the great Differences between Maurice Prince of Orange her Son-in-Law and Monsieur
each day continually so that when Count Mansfeldt said one day to a Trumpeter whom P. Maurice had sent him That he admired his Master who was a young Prince full of heat and courage would always contain himself within the covert of his own retrenchments the Trumpeter answered him That his Excellency of Nassau was a young Prince who desired to become one day such an old and experienced General as his Excellency of Mansfeldt was at present The year following he took the great and famous Town of Groninghen Capital of the Province he likewise took and retook Rimbergues and seized upon Maeurs and the Grave Towns belonging to his own Patrimony having by the death of several Spaniards revenged the public injuries and those of his Private Family The Reputation of Prince Maurice was very much increased by the long and memorable defence of Ostend where the Spaniards having lost more than Threescore Thousand Men in a Siege that continued above 3 Years and exhausted their Treasures by the expence of above two Millions at last became Masters of a bit of ground which might seem to be a burying place rather than a City At the time of this loss Prince Maurice was so happy and diligent that to return it with Usury in a few days he seized upon the Town of Sluise in Flanders which was of more consequence than Ostend that had cost so many Men so much Time and so vast a Treasure upon which Theophilus says very well in the Ode he made for the Prince of Orange Much time and many years the Spaniards spend Before their Forces gain Ostend But Sir when you resolve to seize a Town Few Days suffice to beat its Bulwarks down Each Day of yours much more importance bears Than all that space of time which mortal Men call Years This Ode did not displease Prince Maurice and tho he was naturally an Enemy to Flattery and Vain glory yet he recompenced this Poet with a Chain of Gold and his Medal to a very great value But this Prince showed at the battle of Newport where he overcame the Arch-Duke Albert that he knew as well how to defeat a numerous and well appointed Army in open field as to defend places or else to force and surprize them The Arch-Duke and the Duke d'Aumale were wounded in the fight Francis Mendoza Admiral of Arragon Maister de Campe was taken Prisoner with a great many other Commanders and even the Arch-Dukes Pages whom Prince Maurice sent him back very civâ—…illy without any Ransom All the Cannon the Baggage and above 100 Cornets and Colors remained in the hands of the Conqueror who saw above 6000 Enemies dead upon the place and had all other marks of a full and entire Victory which made several People say because this great Success happened upon the 2d day of Iuly that the Fortune of the House of Nassau was changed seeing that 300 years before upon the same day of Iuly the Emperor Adolphus of Nassau had lost his Life and Empire near Spire in a Battle against Albert of Austria and that the same day Maurice had revenged the disgrace of his Ancestors by the defeat of the Arch-Duke Albert who was a Descendant from the former Albert of Austria A little before the fight there was a dispute of Honor between Prince Maurice and Prince Henry Frederick his younger Brother who was then but 17 Years old for when the Elder desired him to retire into some place of Safety that in case of any misfortune he might defend his Family and his Country Prince Henry being offended said he would run the same fortune with himself and live or dye by him Prince Maurice showed that no ill success could daunt his courage for the Resolution he had taken to give Battle was not altered notwithstanding that the night before the Arch-Duke had defeated the Count Ernest whom the Prince had sent to seize a pass with 2 Regiments of Foot and 4 Troops of Horse that were all cut off and several Colors with 2 pieces of Cannon taken It is remarkable that the Prince to take away from his Army all hopes of a retreat and to show his Men that they had nothing to trust to but their Arms made all those Vessels that brought them into Flanders to be sent away for which he was much commended by the Admiral of Arragon as the thing which had gained him the Victory by the necessity that was laid upon his Soldiers to fight boldly as having no prospect of Life but in the defeat of the Spaniards so he told his Men before the fight that they must either overcome the Enemy or drink up all the water in the Sea There came out at that time a magnificent Inscription upon this Battle in honor of Prince Maurice which is this Anno 1600 secunda die Iulij Mauricius Aransionensium Princeps in Flandriam terram hospitem traducto exercitu cum Alberto Archiduce Austriae conflixit copias ejus cecidit Duces multos primumque Mendosam coepit reversus ad suos victor signa hostium centum quinque in Hagiensi Capitolio suspendit Deo Bellatori In the year 1600 the 2d day of July Maurice Prince of Orange having brought his Army into Flanders then possessed by his Enemy fought with Albert Arch-Duke of Austria slew his Forces took several Commanders and especially Mendoza then returning Conqueror to his Country he hung up 105 of the Enemies Colors in the Councel House at the Hague to the Honor of God the Disposer of Victory This was not his first Essay of a Field Battle for otherwise he might have passed for one that was good only at the taking of Towns but he had long before forced the Duke of Parma to raise the Seige of Knotsemburg over against Nimiguen having defeated 7 Troops of his best Cavalry a disgrace which the Duke lessen'd by the necessity laid upon him by Orders from Spain to go and succor Roan In the year 1594 he had likewise at the Battle of Tournhout defeated and slain the Lord de Balancon Count de Varax General of the Artillery of Spain who commanded a body of 6000 Foot and 600 Horse of which besides the General above 2000 were left upon the place with several Prisoners of Note amongst whom a Count of Mansfeldt was one there were 38 Ensigns taken with the Cornet of Alonzo de Mondragon which were all hung up in the great Hall of the Castle at the Hague for a perpetual Memorial And upon this occasion I shall here relate how an Ambassador of Poland being come from King Sigismond to exhort the States General to reconcile themselves to the King of Spain whose Power he magnified so far as that sooner or later it would entirely subdue them and speaking as if he would frighten them with lofty words full of Vanity and according to the Eloquence of his Nation Count Maurice who was then present at this Harrangue upon his going out of the Assembly led the Ambassador
the injuries of Barnevelt's Party which revived itself in the persons of the two De-wits who were Brothers expecting with a silent patience which was greater much than that of his Ancestor the great Prince William what time would produce and what favorable occasions might occur at last for his Re-establishment for having by a solemn sentence been deprived of all the Employments of his Family after the sudden death of the Prince his Father he was restored to them again at the beginning of the last war by an Ordinance that was made on purpose for it His Rise and Re-establishment were owing to France which having made great Conquests for almost 8 years together the greatest part of the Frontier Towns and several capital places of the Provinces Utrecht and Zutphen among others were rendered up at the very sight of their Armies though these places were provided with large Garrisons yet being composed of Officers and Men without any experience the King of France became Master of more than 40 places in less than two months These misfortunes which seemed to be the presages of greater and had put the United Provinces into the utmost consternation gave occasion to the People to complain of the ill conduct of the two De Wits who governed till that time and furnished those who adhered to the House of Nassau with a reasonable pretext to affirm that the Princes of Orange were only able to uphold their tottering State and defend them against their most potent Enemies and that as heretofore they had protected them against the Tyranny of Spain so it was they alone who could preserve them from the Fury and Violence of the French Armies The Grand-mother of this young Prince who was a Woman of a Masculine courage and suffered the indignities that had been offered to the House of Orange with great impatience having beheld it in its greatest splendour was not a little serviceable in stirring up all the creatures and dependants on the House of Nassau who were very numerous these people being angry to see themselves fallen from their credit the principal employments being given to the Sons of Burgomasters and seconded by the fury of the people that were grown out of all patience at so many disasters and the sight of a victorious Army through the very bowels of the Countrey massacred the Enemies of the Young Prince who was afterwards restored to the possession of all the dignities that had belonged to his Ancestors which is to say that of General of their Forces Stadt-holder and Admiral which were moreover by a solemn decree made hereditary to his Family Upon this occasion it cannot but be admired how so powerful a State that had made head for Fourscore years against the Crown of Spain had taken such large Towns and gained so many Battels and had become formidable at Sea to all the Princes of the world having carried its Arms and Victory to the farthest part of the Earth that this State I say which had rendred itself so famous by the long defence of Ostend which has equall'd the reputation of the famous Sieges of Tire and the ancient Troy should be reduced in less than two months to the very brink of its ruine and it had assuredly been destroyed in the year 1672 if by a desperate resolution it had not resolved to save itself by drowning part of the Country as a Pilot who throws all his Cargo overboard during a furious Storm that so he may preserve his Men and Vessel But those who knew the constitution of these Provinces and were not ignorant that discord is the plague and certain destruction of the most flourishing States were not so much amazed considering it was more than Threescore years since that Country had been torn in pieces by two contrary Factions which threatned its subversion without any Foreign Forces This Gangreen likewise had so seized upon the most noble parts of the United Provinces that in the year 1672 by a strange fatality and an unaccountable passion the greatest part of the chief Persons in that Country desired the loss of their Land Army and the defeat of the Prince of Orange whose Rise and Power they so much envied For this reason they had not sufficiently provided his Army with necessary provisions whilst they applied their principal cares to increase the Fleet to resist the Kings of England and France who attacked them jointly with a Navy of above Fourscore Men of War But it is not less surprizing to consider the expedition the French made in this Campaign when as these people for fear of becoming subject to the House of Orange allied to these great Monarchs had committed a considerable fault in their Politicks for after the Peace of Munster imagining themselves to be in perfect security and that they had nothing more to be afraid of and being acknowledged Soveraigns by Spain they might rather give Laws than receive them from any body They disbanded the greatest part of their old Forces that were Strangers and those experienced Officers who had gained so great Glory to their Country imagining that the surest means of freeing themselves from the Slavery which they thought themselves threatened with was to take from the Prince of Orange the support of his Government by reforming those Troops which looked upon him as their Master having taken an Oath to him and were devoted perfectly to his service Besides the principal men in the Country had as they thought some interest in this change for they gave all the Commands in the Army and the Government of places to their own Relations thinking by the assistance of this Souldiery to sortifie themselves and at the same time to weaken the House of Orange but they found by sad experience that endeavoring to avoid one inconvenience they fell quickly into a greater For having given the great Employments in the Army and Government of places to Sons of Burgomasters and Deputies of Towns People without any experience and who wanted Tutors for themselves rather than to be Commanders when a strong and powerful Enemy made War against them these young men show'd none of their Northern courage in this storm and danger for there were places that were garrisoned with 5000 Foot and 800 Horse that rendred themselves all Prisoners of War at the very sight of the French Army without making any resistance My Brother de la Villaumaine who came into France a little before this last War giving me an account of the state of the Army in Holland told me that if a powerful Enemy should attack them the Officers must resolve to perish and bear the brunt in their own persons having no confidence in the Souldiers they commanded who did not know how to manage their Arms a Prophecy which was since accomplished at the expence of his Life A little before he told me likewise that the Dutch Horse were so ill equipped that 50 Reyters of Munster would put to flight two or three Hundred Dutch
long Combat where abundance of persons of France England and the Low Countries ran from all parts to see from the shore so extraordinary a spectacle The greatest part of so powerful a Fleet was burnt destroyed or separated and those which escaped put themselves under the covert of some English Vessels and so retreated into the River of Thames or some Port in Flanders The Spaniards lost above 7000 men that were burnt or drowned besides 2000 who were made Prisoners by the Hollanders This Victory was very great and memorable for there were 40 large Vessels sunk burnt or taken and amongst others the great Galeon of Portugal called Mater Tereza was burnt which was 62 foot broad and had 800 men on board who all perished This Tromp was the Father of Count Tromp who was engaged in the King of Denmark's service and gained great advantages over the Swedes In the year 1641 Prince Henry Frederick married his only Son Prince William to the Princess Mary of England eldest Daughter to Charles I. King of Great Britain and Madam Henrietta of France and this Marriage was celebrated with a great deal of Pomp and Magnificence The year 1645 was remarkable for the taking of the important Town of Hulsh in Flanders which was carried in spite of the Spaniards who could neither put succors into it nor make Prince Henry raise the Siege This Prince during the space of two and twenty years that he had the Government in his hands was remarkable for his wife and moderate conduct Because the Princess Louise de Coligny his Mother had maintained Barnevelt's Party some people thought that the Prince following his Mothers inclinations would re-establish that Party and recall such of them as had been banished and among others Mr Grotius But this Prince like a good Politician thought it better to let things continue in the posture he found them in than to embroil'em afresh by bringing a prevailing party upon his back I have seen Mr. Grotius in a great passion upon this occasion and he has spoke very ill of the Prince accusing him of Ingratitude and of having no respect for those who had been Friends to his Mother Prince Henry was very rich but instead of finding any support from England he was forc'd to help King Charles in his necessity with all his ready Money The greatest part of which has been repaid by the King of England since his Restauration to his Nephew the Prince of Orange Henry Frederick died the 14th of March 1647 and was buried with a great deal of State Besides his Children that we have mentioned before he left a Natural Son remarkable for his Valor his name was Mr. Zulestein Collonel of the Dutch Infantry who died at the attack of Vorden Prince William of Orange laid the Foundation of the Commonwealth of the United Provinces and was their first Founder his eldest Son Maurice secured and established this Commonwealth by his Victories which forced the Spaniards in the Treaty of Truce for 12 years to acknowledge the United Provinces for a free State and Henry Frederick Brother to Maurice and Grandfather to the present King of England by the continuation of his Conquests at last forced the Spaniards to renounce entirely the right which they had pretended to that Country so that we may say with reason and justice that this illustrious Father and his two generous Sons who have imitated his Vertues are the Founders of this Commonwealth which sends Ambassadors that are covered before the most powerful Kings in Christendom even before the King of Spain himself whose Vassals they were about 100 years ago Henry Frederick had for his devise this word Patriaeque Patrique intimating thereby that he thought of nothing but serving his Country and revenging the Death of his Father WILLIAM II Prince of Orange THE LIFE OF WILLIAM II. Prince of Orange THis Prince was born in the year 1626 the States General were his Godfathers and by the appointment of his Father was called William after the name of his Illustrious Grandfather In the year 1630 this young Prince was declared General of the Cavalry of the Low Countries and the year following the States granted him the Survivorship of the Government of their Province He was no sooner of Age to bear Arms but he followed his Father to the Army and was present at the Siege of Breda giving great proofs of his Courage though but 13 years old Immediately upon the death of his Father Frederick Henry he took the Oath of Fidelity to the States for the Government of which they had granted him the Reversion All Europe was in a profound Peace upon conclusion of the Treaty at Munster which was done the next year after Prince Henry's death The States considering the vast Debts they had contracted by the extraordinary Expences they had been obliged to make resolved to retrench all unnecessary ones having a great number of Troops in their pay that were of no use now the War was at an end they proposed to disband a considerable part of them William the Second who had succeeded in all the Places of the Prince his Father and knowing very well that nothing but the Army could support the credit of the Places he was possessed of made a strong opposition to this design of the States General He represented that it was against all the Rules of Policy to disband Troops who had been so faithful to the Provinces and that France or Spain might make use of this opportunity to fall upon their Common-wealth in a time when they could not be in a condition to defend themselves The States who were already resolved to break 120 Companies to make some sort of satisfaction to the Prince offered to continue the ordinary Pay to the disbanded Officers The Prince agreed to this proposal but the Province of Guelders and the City of Amsterdam opposed and protested against it for several reasons They who were in the Prince's Interests advised him to visit the principal Cities of the Netherlands to perswade the Magistrates to take a Resolution of leaving not only the Officers but the Troops in the same condition they were in before the War that they might be in a readiness to serve where-ever there was occasion Pursuant to this advice the Prince having sent for the principal Collonels of the Army went in person to four or fiveCities of Holland The Burghers of Amsterdam who were well assured that the Prince would visit them too and apprehending his presence would cross the Resolutions they had taken desired him by their Deputies to put off his intended Journey to this City for several Reasons which they gave him Haerlem Medemblic and several other places followed the Example of Amsterdam The Proceedings of these Cities was so considerable an Affliction to the Prince and incensed him so much that in a meeting of the States General he resented it with inexpressible concern He endeavoured to insinuate to them by a great number of Reasons
that the Affront they had put upon him in refusing to give him Audience was designed only to lessen his Authority that nothing but a publick satisfaction would make him amends for this Affront which he demanded earnestly of the States The Deputies of Amsterdam and other Cities answered this Remonstrance by a long Manifesto wherein they alledged the Reasons that induced them to make the Prince that Request this touched him to the quick and made him continue more obstinate against disbanding the Souldiers and transported him so much that he Arrested six of the principal Magistrates and sent them Prisoners immediately after into the Castle of Lovestein This violent proceeding of the Prince alarm'd all Holland The people were generally apprehensive that he aspired to the Soveraignty of the United Provinces and that he opposed the disbanding the Troops for no other reason All Europe said something and tho probably the Prince had no such design the attempt that he made upon Amsterdam confirmed the suspicions all men had entertained of him that he was too arrogant to obey the orders of a popular Government But those who judge impartially of this action are of opinion that he never aim'd at making himself King and that he had no other prospect in besieging Amsterdam but to revenge some private affronts and support his authority and credit by humbling such a powerful City Whatever his reasons were he resolved to besiege it and actually perform'd it on the 30th of Iuly 1650 he narrowly miss'd of surprizing it for the Citizens had not the least apprehension of such a design The Troops appointed for this enterprize put their orders so punctually in execution and met so exactly at their rendezvous that the City must unavoidably have fallen into the Prince's hands but for the Hamburgh Courier who passed through the Prince's Army without being perceived and gave timely notice of it to the Magistrates The City immediately took the alarm the Council of Thirty six met the Burghers run to their Arms the Bridges were drawn up the Cannon mounted upon the Ramparts and the City put in a posture of defence Deputies were dispatched to the Prince with proposals which took up all the next day which was done to gain time for the opening of their Sluces The Prince seeing all the Country under water and the impossibility of continuing a long Siege and the firm resolution of the Burghers hearkened to a Treaty of accommodation which was concluded three days after very much to his advantage The Prince was sensible the States would resent this attempt and the better to make his peace with them he released the Prisoners out of the Castle of Lovestein upon condition that they should be for ever unqualified for any public employments or places and at the same time presented a Memorial to the States with a particular account of the motives he had to form this Siege The States sent it back without opening it assuring him that there needed no justification since the difference had been so soon adjusted About a month after the Prince assisted at a particular Assembly in the Dutchy of Guelders where by his prudence and good conduct he entirely quieted all the jealousies they had entertained of him He returned to the Hague about the beginning of November and went to bed very weary with his Journey He had been observed to be melancholy ever since the miscarriage of his design upon Amsterdam for which reason the Court was not alarm'd with this little indisposition He was let blood the next day and the day after the Small Pox appeared and proved so violent that the Physicians believed him in danger he died the 6th day in the Twenty fourth year of his age on the 6th of November 1650. There wanted but three things to make his memory immortal viz. The Continuation of the War which he passionately desired a longer Life and a little more Deference to the State whom he treated with too much authority for he was Master of a great many good qualities and eminently possessed the advantages of body and mind He was a great General and would have been as renowned for all civil and military vertues as the Heroes of his Family He had a vast comprehensive Genius and learned in his Youth the Mathematics and spoke English French Italian Spanish and High Dutch as readily and fluently as his Mother Tongue He was buried at Delf in the magnificent Tomb of the Princes of Orange in great state He married Mary Stuart eldest Daughter to Charles I. King of Great Britain An Illustrious Birth Interest of State and Glory are the three ordinary motives which sway Princes in the choice of their alliances and all three concur in the making this match for the Glory of the immortal actions of his Father Frederick were spread over all Europe William his Son had given a Thousand proofs that he did not degenerate from the Valour and Vertue of his Ancestors and the Family of Nassau had given five Electors to Cologne and Ments and an Emperor to Germany The proposals were no sooner made but they were accepted and the Marriage was celebrated at London with great magnificence From this Marriage was born William III. whose History we are now entring upon WILLIAM III. KING of ENGLAND Prince of Orange etc. THE HISTORY OF WILLIAM III. Prince of Orange AND King of GREAT BRITAIN Out of the French by Mr. Brown THe sudden and unexpected death of William II. who died in the 24th year of his age threw the Court and Friends of the House of Nassau into such a consternation as is not easie to be exprest But to moderate their grief the Princess Royal within eight days after was delivered of William Henry a Prince in whom the valour and all the other qualities of his glorious ancestors revived and who may justly be stiled the Restorer of that flourishing Republick whereof his Fathers were the Architects and Founders He was born on the fourteenth of November 1650 and had for his Godfathers the States of Holland and of Zealand the Cities of Delf Leiden and Amsterdam As it was his misfortune to be born at a calamitous conjuncture when his enemies were furnished with a plausible pretence to deprive him of those Dignities which his Ancestors had enjoy'd the States General finding themselves now at liberty by the death of William II. and concluding from the enterprize of Amsterdam what they might expect from a single Governour resolved to remedy all inconveniences that might for the future happen upon this occasion and so appointed a General Assembly to meet at the Hague This Assembly began on the eighteenth of Ianuary 1651 and did not end till the month of August the same year In the first Session it was resolved That since the Country was now without a Governour by the death of the Prince the choice of all Officers and Magistrates for the time to come should be in the disposal of the Cities and that not only