SPECTATOR'S LIBRARY.

Harrow, History of Holland, from the beginning of the Tenth to the end of the Eighteenth .Century. By C. M. Davies. Volume II Parker.

TB:Bomar. Primitive Christianity Exemplified and Illustrated by the Acts of Primitive Chris. tians. By the Right Reverend Richard Mant, D.D., Lord Bishop of Down and Connor Parker.

POETRY.

The Pilgrim of Glencoe, and other Poems. By Thomas Campbell Maxon. Bells and Pomegranates. No. II. King Victor and King Charles. By Robert Browning, Author of •• Paracelsim." Mama.

DAVIES'S HISTORY OF HOLLAND.

TErts second volume of the History of Holland embraces the period from 1573 to 1660. The first thirty-six years of the time contain the war of the revolted provinces against Spain, till their inde- pendence was virtually admitted by the truce of 1609, negotiated under the auspices of France and England. From that till the death of the Stadtholder Prince MAITRICE in 1625, the most impor- tant events are, the religious dissension springing out of the doc- trines advanced by Aamungs ; the death of BAENEVELDT and the imprisonment of GM:0MM, with the persecution, in a small way, which the Dutch instituted against the Arminians, till they drove them, proh pudor ! to take refuge in the provinces of Spain. The remainder of the period (1625-1660) embraces the wars waged by France and Holland against Spain, till the humbled Monarch of both the Indies made a treaty pretty nearly at the dictation of the States; the diffi- culties Holland had in steering between the King and Parliament during the civil contentions in England ; and the naval war which they at last had to wage against the Commonwealth and Caontwars.. The progress of Dutch commerce and nautical discovery, as well as their advance in wealth and the arts, pervades the whole period, though noticed for convenience only at intervals, and then too slightly, considering the importance of the subject both to Holland and the world at large. From the nature of the subject, the present volume of Mr. DAVIES is an improvement upon the first. The early history of Hol- land, as we formerly remarked, is in its general features mixed up with that of the Low Countries, and in its details is devoid of large- ness and unity—a history of feudal nobles and municipal corpora- tions. Hence it requires qualities much beyond those of a clear and clever narrator to give it interest or weight ; for it is rather an account of principles than a narrative of events, and the historian must possess a philosophical acumen to deduce those principles from a confused heap of facts, and the power to present his sub- ject in large masses!" From the time of the revolt against Prnme's Governor, ALVA, the subject has unity in itself; for though parti- cular provinces sometimes submitted to the King and sometimes opposed him, and the war occasionally approached a partisan cha- racter, there was always the leading subject of Holland resisting Spain. That resistance, moreover, gave rise to particular deeds of heroism, as well in privates as in chiefs ; many of the actions, es- pecially of the sieges and sea-fights, were of importance in them- selves, and deeply interesting in their circumstances; and the par- ticulars have been fully preserved by various contemporary writers. The power which Mr. DAVIES unquestionably possesses of selecting the striking points of things and presenting them with clearness, ease, and effect, has therefore a favourable subject on which to dis- play itself; and his narrative, though long, is neither tedious nor long drawn out in particular parts. But the want of acumen we have alluded to will be felt in this way. He rather describes the surfaces of things than penetrates to their principles : nor does he draw a sufficient distinction between subordinate and governing events—he describes both at the same length. It follows there- fore, that the descriptions of Mr. DAVIES do not always present the philosophical truth which he says their originals contain. Thus, in his character of Prince MAURICE, he represents him as the founder of the modern art of war; although no reader would draw such a conclusion from the historian's narrative, since neither that general's strategy nor his tactics appears to differ essentially from those of his opponents. Nor does the volume leave a distinct impression of the whole history upon the mind. A series of events have occurred, and some by their own intrinsic interest stand out in the memory more prominently than others ; some results have taken place, as we gather from the narrative, and see from the chronological analysis of the contents; but that distinct impression of consequences flowing from their causes, and that regular succession of a series of events terminating at last in a definite end, which a great historian leaves upon the mind, will not be found in the History of Holland by Mr. DAVIES. The desultory nature of some of the facts, and the minute character of others, may indeed be alleged as an excuse ; but it is in the conquest of difficulties that the skill of the historian is shown.

The parts of the narrative in which our author chiefly excels are the description of warlike incidents and the drawing of cha- racter. We will give some example of each.

THE WATER-QUEUE.

The Gueux (or, as they were usually called, Water-Gueux) on the other hand, had no regular fund to depend upon for either pay or subsistence, being Chiefly supported by the inhabitants of the places where they anchored, who gave them bread, money, and such other necessaries as they could afford; when this resource failed, they went in chase of the merchant-ships going to Flanders, and lived upon the booty they thus captured: sometimes, however, they were reduced to extreme scarcity, and even the highest officers were content to sub- sist for weeks together on nothing but salted herrings. Nor had death more terrors for them than hunger and privation; for if by chance a vessel, sepa- rated from the rest, was in danger of capture, they never hesitated to fire their gunpowder and sacrifice their own livea rather than fall into the hands of the enemy. It is scarcely difficult to conjecture how a contest waged on such un- equal terms, and with a foe so desperate, must eventually, terminate. • • •

On board of the latter was a small but terrific band of Water-Gueux, eight hundred in number ; men frightful to behold, from the scars and wounds with which they were covered ; not a few had lost an arm or a leg, or were otherwise cruelly maimed. Sworn to die rather than submit to the Pope or the Inquisition, they never gave or received quarter ; and as a symbol of thia determination, wore on their caps a silver crescent engraven with the words Rather Turk than Pope." Their hatred of the Spaniards amounted to a frenzied passion. It is related oboe of them, that having taken a Spanish soldier in a skirmish at Zoetertneer, he tore his heart out of his body, set his teeth for a moment firmly into it, and threw it on the ground, saying, " It is bitter." This extraordinary memento of national antipathy was preserved for some time at Delft. Wild and fierce as they were, however, they were in a state of the highest discipline, and as seamen, unrivalled in dexterity and skilL

SUFFERINGS AT THE SIEGE OF LEYDEN.

Meanwhile the besieged, who for some weeks heard no tidings of their deli- verers, had scarcely hope left to enable them to sustain the appalling sufferings they endured. They had from the first husbanded their provisions with the greatest care : but as there was no more than 12,000 bushels of corn for 14,000 souls, they were soon deprived wholly of bread, and half a pound of flesh a day was distributed to each of the watch only. " Then," says the historian, who heard it from the mouths of the sufferers, " there was no food so odious but it was esteemed a dainty ; some ate vine-leaves mingled with salt and starch; others boiled the leaves of trees, roots, chaff, and the chopped skins of beasts in a little milk. It was not uncommon to see women, with their faces covered, seated on heaps of refuse searching for bones, dried fish-shins, and other offal ; the young girls ate the lapdogs with which they used to play. On occasions when a slaughtered animal was to be divided among the watch, crowds stood around eager to catch the morsels as they fell, which they devoured raw." Plague, the attendant on famine, was not far behiud; six thousand persons fell victims to its ravages: the burghers could scarcely drag their weary limbs to the walls, and often on their return from the watch found their wives or children dead, and their homes desolate. Intense suffering, moral and phy- sical, at last did its work even upon these resolute men. The Commandant, Bronkhorst, having died of the plague, a number of the citizens came to one of the Burgomasters, -Peter Vauderwerf, beseeching him either to give them food or treat with the Spaniards. " I have made an oath," said he, " which, by the help of God, I will keep, that I will never yield to the Spaniard. Bread, as you well know, I have none ; but if my death Can serve you, slay me, eat my body into morsels, and divide it among you." At this answer they slunk away silent and abashed.

The siege had now lasted five monthly during which neither assault nor sally had been made; no animating sound of war, no day-dreams of glory, had served to beguile the weary time that the inhabitants sat silently awaiting the approach of torture and of death. Not a morsel of food, even the most filthy and loathsome, remained ; and it seemed as though they would at last be driven to put their fearful threat in execution, and suck their own life-blood to still the agonies of hunger, when on a sudden the wind veered to the north- west and thence to the south-west, the waters of the Meuse rushed in full tide over the land, and the ships rode triumphantly over the waves. The Gueux, attacking with vigour the forts on the dikes, succeeded in driving out the garrisons, with considerable slaughter. One, however, still remained, that of Lammen, within half a mile of Leyden ; which being situated on a slight eminence, and provided with enormous pieces of artillery, the Admiral Boisot was doubtful whether he should be able to master. He therefore despatched a carrier-pigeon, desiring the besieged to be ready on the morrow to make a sally at a given signal ; a mandate which they prepared with eager alacrity to obey. But the Water-Gueux had inspired the Spanish soldiers with a terror almost amounting to fatuity : seeing them approach, they hastily abandoned the fort, leaving behind nearly the whole of the baggage and ammunition. On the morning of the 3d October, the vessels were discovered from the ram- parts to have passed Lammen. Suddenly a quick and feeble cry of joy, "Ley- den is relieved I was heard through the half-deserted streets of the city. As they came to the gates, numbers rushed out to hail their deliverers; who were struck with the deepest commiseration at the spectacle of gaunt, tottering, and emaciated figures which met their eyes. They loaded them with provisions ; which some of the unhappy sufferers devouring with unrestrained eagerness, found in the enjoyment of plenty that death which famiue had spared them. As soon as the inhabitants were somewhat restored, the great portion accom- panied the Admirals and Burgomasters to the principal church of the town, to return "thanks to that God who had made them a sea upon the dry land."

BLOWING UP A BRIDGE AT ANTWERP.

Numerous plans were devised for the purpose of breaking down the bridge; and among the rest, Gianibelli, an engineer of Mantua, (the same who was in the service of Queen Elizabeth at the defeat of the Armada,) undertook to blow it up by means of two fire-ships, laden each with six or seven thousand pounds of powder. One of these, taking fire before it had approached sufficiently near the works, proved useless ; but the other, named the Hope, of about eighty tons burden, exploded with fatal and terrific effect. The Spanish soldiers, thinking that the intention was to set fire to the bridge, crowded upon it for the purpose of extinguishing the flames ; when the vessel blew up, and above eight hundred were mingled in one horrible and promiscuous slaughter. Among them were the Marquis of Rysburg. and Gaspar de Robles, Lord of Billy, Stadtholder of Friesland on the Spanish side. Parma himself, who had quitted the bridge only a few moments before at the reiterated instances of Alfiero Vega, captain of his guard, was struck down stunned, but quickly re- covered his senses, and with them his accustomed intrepidity. The shock was so violent that it was felt at the distance of nine miles; the waters of the Scheldt, driven from their bed, inundated the surrounding country, and en- tirely filled the fort of St. Mary at the Flanders end of the bridge. The vessel itself was shivered into atoms so small that not a vestige of it was distinguish- able; and the heavy grave-stones which Gianibelli had laid upon the chest of powder were hurled high into the air, and falling at an immense distance, sunk into the ground to the depth of several feet. Three of the boats in the bridge were entirely destroyed, and three more torn away from their moorings, and a portion of the stockade was broken down.

PERSONAL CHARACTER AND DEATH OF PHILIP THE SECOND.

His character in private life, the pen of the historian is constrained to trace in yet more unfavourable colours. Dark, haughty, and morose, his only rela- tions of courtesy with mankind were the exaction of a rigorous etiquette; human joys never wrung from him a smile, nor human woes a tear ; suspicious and implacable, his friend could hope for no confidence, his enemy for no for- giveness: that the ties of conjugal love, of parental affection, and of gratitude, weighed as nothing in the scale against the gratification of his jealousy or ven- geance, he proved by the murder of his wife Elizabeth of France, his son Don Carlos, and Escovedo, secretary to Don John of Austria : his reserve partook of dissimulation rather than prudence, his fortitude of apathy rather than

resolution, and his liberality rather of profusion than generosity. In person he was well-formed and handsome; bearing traces of his mingled Spanish and Flemish origin his hair and beard being completely black and his complexion fair ; his forehead was broad and high; the principal defect 'a his countenance being the large open mouth peculiar to his family. The deathbed of the man who bad caused as much of misery and destruction to the human race as perhaps any in the history of the world, was calm, re- signed, and peaceful; during fifty-three days of unremitting and almost insup- portable torture his patience was unmoved, his fortitude unshaken; not a shadow of doubt or discouragement for an instant darkened his soul; he de- clared (to such an extent may fanaticism pervert the mind) that he had never knowingly inflicted an injury on any human being. Desiring a number of different relics to be brought him, he kissed them with fervent devotion, and passed them over the wounds with which his body was covered, testifying un- bounded faith in their efficacy; his eyes were constantly fixed on a crucifix which stood before him ; and as a memorial of the nothingness of human gran- deur, he caused a death's-head, encircled with a golden crown, to be placed on his beaufet. As he found the hour of dissolution approach, be summoned to his bedside the Crown Prince and his eldest and favourite daughter Isabella, and pointing to his wasted form, exclaimed, "Behold the end of this world's greatness; see this miserable body, for which all human help is unavailing, and nothing is left but a speedy burial." Ile then gave the Prince a written instruction for his future government; and showed them, as one of the greatest treasures he possessed, the scourge which his father had used shortly before his death, whereon the marks of his blood were still visible. Having received the crucifix which Charles the Fifth held in his hand when dying, he caused one of his attendants to read aloud a paper on which be had noted down the arrangements to he made at his funeral; and shortly after became speechless, in which state he lay for two days before be expired. He was buried, in obedience to his wish, in his royal robes, in the chapel of the Escurial. Money is truly the sinews of war. The want of unity in the Spanish councils, arising from the dissensions between the Spaniards, Italians, and Flemings who yet adhered to the King, was one cause of their failure ; but the thing which rendered these dissensions of consequence was the want of money. Irritated by the non-pay- ment of arrears, the troops in the service of Spain were frequently in a state of mutiny ; and at times, imitating the plebeian seces- sion of Rome, strong holies of them would march away under an " electo," seize upon some place as their head-quarters, and plunder the country for their subsistence,—paralyzing the Spanish commander not merely by their absence, but the un- certainty, if active steps were taken, how many of the troops who yet nominally adhered to him would remain. Upon one occasion, indeed, the Spanish veterans went further ; for they abandoned a town which they had taken, and which was the key of' a series of future operations. On the other hand, the Dutch army was paid with comparative regularity ; and it was known that the money destined for the troops was not squandered in pageantry, profligacy, or personal objects. Nor did the States, like PHILLIP, ever attempt to cheat their creditors by getting from the clergy a dispensation from their debts, as he did from the Pope.

HONESTY THE BEST POLICY.

The results of this war, as wonderful as were its commencement and pro- gress, are to be attributed chiefly to the moral qualities of the Dutch, to their maritime power, to the constitution of their government anterior to the revolt, their geographical position, and the rapid increase of their population by the influx of foreigners of all nations. Among the moral qualities which distin- guished the Dutch of this period, the most remarkable was honesty ; a homely 'virtue, and now, politically speaking, fallen into disesteem ; but none the less real, none the less efficacious in the circumstances in which they were placed. Of the advantage it proved to them in their pecuniary relations with other states, their history affords sufficient evidence. At the time when their affairs were most desperate, none ever doubted their national credit ; the parsimonious Queen of England, the cautions William of Orange, the mistrustful German Princes, never hesitated for a moment to advance them loans, or to trust to their honour for the payment of the troops which served under their standards. Carried into their commercial transactions, this probity won them the con- fidence of the merchants of foreign countries, and caused them to become in course of time the providers and cashiers of nearly the whole civilized world. Pervading their political counsels, it produced a spirit of mutual confidence which bound together all ranks of men in an indissoluble tie. The Govern- ment, acting in perfect good faith itself, never suspected the fidelity of the people, nor descended to the mean arts of rousing their passions by fictions. or misrepresentations ; they never deceived them as to their relations with foreign powers, as to the exact condition of their strength and resources, or as to the true nature of the contest in which they were engaged ; and the people on their part awarded to the Government entire reliance and obedience. Something more than the honesty of the Dutch, however, prompted the loans ; for few people lend money at fair interest with no .cItlaer inducement or security than the mere disposition of the ifblirrower to pay. In the Prince of Orange, patriotism, and a sort of moral necessity as the head of the insurrection, caused the advances. In ELIZABETH and the German Potentates, the com- mercial wealth and honesty of the Dutch had their influence ; but political views, no doubt, entered into the transaction. It is not depreciating the power of honesty to allow its just influ- ence and no more.