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affliction; and your loss may have been a punishment for your faults in the manner of enjoying what you had. It is at least pious to ascribe all the ill that befalls us to our own demerits, rather than to injustice in God; and it becomes us better to adore all the issues of his providence in the effects, than enquire into the causes: for submission is the only way of reasoning between a creature and its Maker; and contentment in his will is the greatest duty we can pretend to, and the best remedy we can apply to all our misfortunes." After these appeals to religion, he gives worldly reasons for controlling the violence of her grief; urging her duty to her husband, her son, and her friends :-" I was in hope," he says in concluding, "that what was so violent could not be so long; but when I observed it to be stronger with age, and increase like a stream the farther it ran; when I saw it draw out to such unhappy consequences, and threaten no less than your child, your health, and your life, I could no longer forbear this endeavour, nor end it without begging of your Ladyship, for God's sake, and for your own, for your children and for your friends, for your country's and your family's, that you would no longer abandon yourself to disconsolate passion, but that you would at length awaken your piety, give way to your prudence, or, at least, rouse up the invincible spirit of the Percies, that never yet shrunk at any disaster; that you would sometimes remember the great honours and fortunes of your

* On this passage, with one from the Essay on Ancient and Modern Learning, Blair, after noticing an unharmonious sentence from Tillot

family, not always the losses; cherish those views of good humour that are sometimes so natural to you, and sear up those of ill that would make you so unnatural to your children and to yourself; but, above all, that you would enter upon the cares of your health and your life, for your friends' sake at least, if not for your own."

son, says, "Observe, now, on the other hand, the ease with which the following sentence glides along, and the graceful intervals at which the pauses are placed.... Here every thing is at once easy to the breath, and grateful to the ear; and it is this sort of flowing measure, this regular and proportional division of his sentences, which renders Sir William Temple's style always agreeable. I must observe, at the same time, that a sentence with too many rests, and these placed at intervals too apparently measured and regular, is apt to savour of affectation.” i. 325.

CHAPTER XVII.

SECOND DUTCH WAR.

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HOLDER.
NISTERS IMPEACHED.

THE PRINCE OF ORANGE STADTMASSACRE OF DE WITT. PARLIAMENT. MITEMPLE NEGOTIATES THE PEACE AND SECRENOMINATED AGAIN TO THE HAGUE.

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DECLINES THE SPANISH EMBASSY

TARYSHIP OF STATE.

REMARKABLE CONVERSATION WITH CHARLES.

1671-1674.

AFTER Temple's recall, Charles had pursued boldly his new career. Sir George Downing was again sent to the Hague; a step for which Arlington thus accounted:-" Sir William Temple's three years being upon the point to expire, his Majesty has notified his revocation of him, as likewise his intention to send another person in his stead, which his Majesty desires to find out with a rougher hand, that it may incline these people to give him satisfaction in many points relating to the commerce, instead of putting themselves to the pains of inventing new ways of entangling him in politic ties to his disadvantage." * Downing took Temple's house and furniture off his hands. † But he did not

* To Sir W. Godolphin, July 6. 1671. Arl. ii. 328.

+ Temple says, that "his advantage was but small in comparison with what he lost by the stop of the Exchequer, which sunk all that he had in Alderman Backwell's hands." That measure he ascribes to

long remain in it, for his great unpopularity among the people excited a commotion which frightened him away, and Temple had the satisfaction, (for we fear it must have been pleasing to him,) to see his rival sent to the Tower for coming over without leave.*

The Dutch had reason to be excited and alarmed; since the English Admiral Holmes had made an unexpected, but unsuccessful, attack on their Smyrna fleet; a transaction justly condemned by historians and jurists. ‡

This decisive demonstration was followed by declarations of war by France and England §, on grounds alleged, of which the weakness sufficiently marked the real origin of the war, in ambition, caprice, and self-interest. The war commenced with successes very ill-deserved, the English

* Temple to his brother, Sheen, May 23. 1672. ii. 183., and Arl. ii. 355, 356.

March 13. 1672. Campbell (1812), ii. 387.

Justly, but often upon erroneous grounds. The wrong consisted not in attacking the fleet without a previous declaration of war. If the Dutch had given us a clear and notorious cause of war; if we had made a demand of right, and had received a refusal; if the Dutch had committed, and, after remonstrance, had persevered in, an unequivocal breach of treaty, Charles would have been perfectly justified in redressing the wrong done to him, or in recovering his rights, by the forcible seizure of the ships, goods, or territory of the wrong-doer. But, in the present case, our complaints were comparatively unimportant, and were fairly matters of doubt and controversy; nor had the discussions concerning them ceased. Under such circumstances, the attack upon the Levant fleet was an outrageous proceeding. There is, however, another view in which it may be placed more favourably. The fight began upon the Dutch refusing to lower their topsails. If the English had a right to exact this respect to their flag, in the Channel (and this right was soon afterwards established by treaty), the admiral was justified in enforcing it by his fire. But the right was, in truth, under discussion; and this mode of bringing the question to issue was unjustifiable.

§ Parl. Hist. iv. 512. Hume, vii. 479. Flassan, iii. 410.

having obtained a naval victory in Southwold bay*, and the French having made, in the summer of 1672, easy and extensive conquests in the United Provinces. When the States sued for peace, the two monarchs demanded unreasonable terms. The Dutch people were in despair, and looked anxiously to the Prince of Orange, who began to display the firmness of his character. But De Witt persevered in excluding him. The result was a popular commotion, especially in the province of Holland, where the people rose, obtained a forced repeal of the Perpetual Edict, and the nomination of the Prince of Orange, first to the offices of Captain-General and Admiral, and afterwards to the Stadtholderate of Holland and Zealand.‡ This was soon followed by the massacre of De Witt and his brother.§

So long as he could, Charles had carried on the war without resorting to his parliament. When he at last assembled it ||, he found no such zeal for the war as had existed in 1662, but there was no op

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The parliament, which had met in October, 1670 (p. 352.), was prorogued on April 22. 1671. When it met again, on Feb. 4. 1673, the King thus announced his proceedings: "Since you were last here I have been forced into a most important, necessary, and expensive war; and I make no doubt but you will give me suitable and effectual assistance to get through with it. I refer you to my declaration for the causes, indeed the necessity, of this war; and shall now only tell you that I might have digested the indignities to my own person, rather than have brought it to this extremity, if the interests as well as the honour of the whole kingdom had not been at stake; and if I had omitted this conjuncture, perhaps I had not again ever met with the like advantage." Parl. Hist. iv. 495. 502.

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