at supreme power; and, accordingly, by a combination of parties, to whom he was personally, or by reason of his principles, obnoxious, his schemes were counteracted; not more than thirteen out oftwo hundred members, who were afterwards assembled in a national congress, having been induced to favour his views. The principal question was thus practically decided. The form of government was to be monarchical, and every security was to be taken by which the independence of the country might be guaranteed. Respecting the choice of their future sovereign, nothing was as yet determined. Many still looked to the Prince of Orange, as an individual eminently fitted for that arduous post, not only by his personal qualities, but because of the approbation with which a decision in his favour would be regarded by the other powers of Europe. Nor did the prince himself abandon his hopes of elevation to the throne, until events took place, which ought at least to have satisfied him that the perils attendant on such a position were fully equal to its glory. And now it was that the proceedings at the Hague furnished a pretext to the allied powers to abandon the cause of the King of the Netherlands, and even to take part against him with his revolted subjects. Upon the news of Prince Frederick's repulse, an event alike dismal and unexpected, the cabinet were thrown into great embarrassment, and a commission was appointed to compile a project of organization, "based on a separation," and a revision of the fundamental law. The Prince of Orange received temporary powers to act as governor of the southern provinces, and the ministers at foreign courts were directed to demand the strict execution of the treaty of Vienna. The concessions implied in the deputation of the prince were treated by the triumphant rebels with haughty scorn; while the allied powers, who had predetermined the new course which they were resolved to take, affected to regard them as such a departure from fundamental arrangement, as not only justified them in declining a strict compliance with the demands of the King, but even in lending their countenance to those by whom his authority had been rejected. We confess that we have neither time nor temper for entering into any lengthened discussion respecting the evasions and the subterfuges of the high and mighty contracting parties to the treaty of Vienna, who were now about to undo the work of their hands, by dismembering the kingdom which they had created. Far more dignified would it have been' to plead at once the necessity of the case, than thus to insult the embarrassed monarch by special pleading respecting concessions which they well knew were reluctantly extorted. But we do regret that the King of Holland was led to suppose that such concessions were at that particular moment required, as they only served to add fuel to the flame which already raged in Belgium, and which might still, by a proper vigour, have been repressed, and as they did certainly serve as an excuse for that species of mediatorial interference by which this injured sovereign might literally be said to have been swindled out of more than half of his kingdom. Nor was the King more happy in the choice of his representative. The conduct of the Prince of Orange had already been such as should have satisfied his royal father of his utter unfitness to act in a mediatorial capacity between him and his revolted subjects. Having failed to satisfy the wishes, or even to lull the suspicions, of the Belgians, by the powers which he possessed, or the protestations which he made, he came to the resolution of heading the revolt and renouncing his allegiance. A traitor is at all times loathsome; but when a son rises in rebellion against a father, that father's only fault being that he was too partial and too indulgent, even traitors themselves cry out shame. So it was in this case. The Belgians, in our opinion, stand redeemed, in some measure, by the fact that, in such circumstances, they would not have the prince to rule over them. Even as he had spurned the paternal rule, so he was himself spurned in return; and the only reward which he reaped for his treachery was the scorn and derision of those for whose behoof it was ostensibly practised. Mr. White has satisfied us of his moral disqualification for being the historian of these transactions, by the timid and mincing manner in which he just ventures "to hint a fault, and hesitate dislike," of a proceeding which he should have branded with a burning indignation. But the following will show that the Prince did not altogether escape the due reward of his deeds. "The Prince's decision (Mr. White observes) was not only tardy and incomplete, but it was attended by two striking defects. For whilst it far outstepped all bounds as regarded the king, it fell short of the exigencies of the patriots; it thus excited to the utmost the dissatisfaction of the one, and failed to captivate the good will of the other. Overwhelmed with choler and indig nation, the former instantly revoked the powers accorded to his son, and gave public vent to his feelings in a message addressed to the States' General, on the 20th of October. The latter assuming the democratic tone of the first French revolution, declared that William of Orange, having recognized the national independence, had placed himself under the necessity of choosing either to become a Belgic or Dutch subject. If he determined for the latter, he would find himself in frequent hostility with the Belgic people. If he selected the former, he must go through the forms of naturalization, acknowledge the government, submit to the laws, and consider himself on a level with any other Belgic citizen! No medium was allowed to be possible. It was further agreed, that by recogniz. ing Belgic independence, and the legality of a nocturnal congress, William of Nassau,' (the Prince of Orange,) had admitted the nullity of his own rights and those of his family." We know nothing comparable to this but the case of a villain in the county of Tipperary who accused an innocent man of being an accomplice with him in a certain murder. The man was acquitted upon the clearest evidence; but the perjured informer was indicted, and his own evidence was made available against himself. When the verdict of guilty was given in, we never witnessed so much satisfaction in a court of justice, for every one seemed to see in it the finger of God; as, "in the snare which he had laid for others was he himself taken," and "Nec lex æquior ulla Quam necis artifices arte perire suâ." "Disheartened," Mr. White proceeds, "by the ill success of his efforts, alarmed by the menaces and reproaches of his father, and moved by the sullen murmurs of Chasse and the Dutch generals, repentance quickly followed, and the Prince was as eager to recede as he had been anxious to advance. Consequently, after an ineffectual effort to conclude an armis tice, a proposition haughtily replied to by the provisional government, who demanded the preliminary_evacuation of Maestricht, Antwerp, Fermonde, and Venloo, and the retreat of all the royal troops beyond the Moerdyck; after seeing every attempt or proposition for conciliation disdainfully rejected by the Belgians, and his authority disputed by Chasse, who placed Antwerp in a state of siege on the 24th; after liberating from their oaths tendered their resignation and refused to a number of Belgian officers who, having fight against their countrymen, had been placed under arrest; after witnessing the inundation of the Polders, and the still more dangerous overflowing of the revolutionary spirit in the hitherto loyal city of Antwerp, the Prince embarked for Rotterdam on the night of the 25th, and abandoning all hope of conciliation, with a bleeding heart bade adieu to the Belgic provinces in a short but touching address." 66 What an interesting culprit! How deeply to be commiserated for his unIn a short, but successful treason! touching address!" Really, Mr. White, this is rather too bad. The Prince may have seen his error, and may have sincerely repented of it, in which case he may hope to be forgiven. But to waste our sympathy upon him merely because he sorrowed, not for his crime, but for its ill success, would be "a helping him on with his wrap-rascal," from which we pray to be excused. That Mr. White should have undertaken such an office we unfeignedly regret; for he writes on other occasions like one from whom better things might be expected. We return to the progress of the revolution. The insurgents, encouraged as they had been by so much unexpected success, did not long confine themselves to the defensive. They now, in their turn, became the assailants, and pursued their attacks with a vigour and an ability which, had it been exerted in a better cause, would not have been undeserving of admiration. By a combined movement Antwerp was attacked, and, owing to the unaccountable remissness of Chasse, who had the command of it, was carried by a coup-de-main. "Following up their success, the volun teers eagerly rushed after the flying foe to the very foot of the citadel glacis; and thus, in less than two hours, this important and splendid fortress, which might have resisted the attack of a regular army of fifty thousand men from without, and which had a garrison and fleet sufficient to have repressed any popular movement within, was irrevocably wrested from the crown. On this occasion General Chasse committed one of those grievous errors so necessary to be avoided, in the event of popular tumults. In lieu of concentrating his masses and withdrawing his small detachments-a precaution most essential in times when the barricades of the people are the great instruments of popular triumph-in lieu of keeping his reserves ready to move in dense columns, so as to sweep the streets and ramparts, he divided them into small parties and patrols, and left the gates with little more than the ordinary number of men, and thus subjected his people to be harassed, demoralized, and annihilated in detail." This criticism is just, and we respect it the more because it comes from one who, on other occasions, does justice to the moral and military qualifications of this distinguished general, who was certainly overruled by his destiny in thus yielding an easy victory to an insurgent rabble, whom his resources were abundantly sufficient to have enabled him to scatter before the wind. He was now confined to the citadel, and the authorities proceeded to lay at the feet of the rebel generals the keys of the city, which, however, the latter spurned, claiming for themselves and their followers the honor of an assault. As an opinion prevailed that Chasse might take advantage of his position in the citadel for the destruction of the city, no time was lost in negociating an armistice, by which that apprehension was removed; and an order from the provisional government authorized M. Van der Herreweghe "to take possession of the eity and the citadel of Antwerp, and to see it occupied in the name of the Belgic people." furnish an official instrument parallel in audacity to those few lines. That such a fortress as Antwerp, having a numerous and chosen garrison under experienced and brave commanders, with a powerful and devoted fleet, moored at musket-shot from its open quays-a fortress immediately under the guns of that celebrated citadel which Alva had purposely raised to overawe the people; having a large portion of its respectable burghers and communal guard attached to the government, and being in itself of such paramount military and political importance as to render its preservation a matter of vital necessity; that such a fortress should be abandoned almost without a struggle, is sufficiently incomprehensible; but that the patriot government should anticipate such triumph, and actually empower its delegate to take possession of' the citadel, is certainly not one of the least singular and daring episodes of the revolution. Yet the general commanding has been held up to Europe as a model of firmness and military skill! General Chasse's talents or energy borne any proportion to his reputation, Antwerp, and perhaps all Belgium, would have now owned the dominion of Holland." Had It must be owned that all this is too true. Chasse was lulled into a false security, and the very strength of the place contributed to his delusion. He knew that it was proof against all ordi nary the desultory assaults of tumultuary attacks, and he laughed to scorn and undisciplined insurgents; until he vigor and promptitude could accomwas made to feel what revolutionary plish, by the actual success of an attack seemingly alike desperate and daring. It was then too late to rally his troops, and he was condemned to an inactive contemplation, from his inaccessible retreat, of the movements and the rejoicings of the triumphant invaders. But, while we deplore the remissness of this brave general before the assault upon the city, for his forbearance while cooped up in the citadel, we give him due honor. By the loss of reputation which he must have been conscious of having sustained, his feelings must have been sorely wounded; and this soreness could not have been lessened by the various insults and outrages to which his troops were exposed, when, under the guarantee of a truce, all hostilities were suspended. Nothing would have "The history of civil wars can scarcely been easier than for Chasse to have This was certainly a striking exemplification of the maxim, that fortune favors the bold. We fully subscribe to Mr. White's opinion, that retaliated by turning the guns of the citadel upon the city, and speedily reducing it to a heap of ruins. Indeed many hesitated not to say that he only waited an excuse so to do, as the exigencies of Dutch commerce seemed to require such a sacrifice; and he might then, at one blow, satisfy the requirements of national monopoly and personal vengeance. But no such thoughts or feelings found place either in the head or the heart of Chasse. The armistice had been violated-and violated, Mr. White acknowledges, by the insurgents; and "although a heavy musketry fire had been kept up for some time, not a single cannon was discharged until Kassels, the commander of the assailing artillery, had brought up a six-pounder and began to batter the arsenal gate." To endure this any longer without making reprisals would be madness. Chasse, justly indiguant at the infraction of the truce, ordered two or three guns to be fired from the ravelins and bastion facing the arsenal. But this was not sufficient; the attack still continued, and might have proIceeded to an extent that would have endangered the security of his position, had he not hauled down his white flag and given the signal for action agreed upon with the fleet, consisting of eight vessels of war, and presenting a broadside of ninety guns. "An awful and simultaneous roar of artillery now fell on the ears of the affrighted inhabitants. In an instant the citadel, fleet, and forts hurled forth their converging thunder. Showers of shells, bombs and carcasses were heard cracking, bursting and bellowing around the venerable towers of St. Michael, the uproar of their explosion being multiplied by the echoes of the cathedral. Walls, roofs, and floors fell crushed beneath the resistless weight of projectiles, which sought their victims in the very cellars, confounding mangled bodies and ruined edifices in one mutilated and confused heap. Ere long, dark columns of smoke and jets of flame were seen to rise. The arsenal and entrepot were fired; the obscurity of the night soon gave way to a red and glaring lustre that converted the dark vault of heaven into a fiery canopy, whose lurid reflection announced the fearful catastrophe to the distance of many leagues. «The terror and stupefaction of the inhabitants baffles all description. Some concealed themselves in their vaults and cellars; others rushed wildly through the streets, shrieking and bewildered; such as had horses or vehicles, no matter of what kind, seized their valuables and hastily fled into the country; others, alone intent on saving life, darted through the gates on foot, and sought refuge in the neighbouring fields; old men, pregnant women, and young children, rich and poor, the hale and the sick, were seen flying in frantic disorder. The flames having gained the prison, there was no time to remove its inmates. The doors were therefore thrown open, and nearly two hundred convicts were let loose, but none had the heart to plunder. Terror, confusion, and despair reigned paramount. Weeping women and children clung for succour to men, who could afford them no relief or consolation. Some died of fright, others lost their senses; groans, screams, and prayers were heard between the pauses of the thunder, intermingled with maledictions on the destroyer, and curses on the revolution. In a few hours, however, all those that had power to move, or were not transfixed with terror, had fled into the country. The roads were covered with fugitives of all ages and sexes, who with tearful eyes turned to gaze on their devoted homes. The darkness of the night, awfully relieved by the red glare of the flames-the hissing and roaring of the destructive element-the thunder of the cannon-the rattling of shot and falling of timbers the frantic screams of women and children—and the groans of the wounded and dying--all united to fix an impression of horror on the mind not to be effaced by time or space." After This terrible lesson was not wholly thrown away. The insurgents were various attempts to reach the citadel, soon brought to their senses. which were baffled by the intensity of the fire, a deputation of four persons at length succeeded in gaining the advanc ed post, and a suspension of arins until daylight was solicited, a hope being expressed that it might then be possible to renew the negociation, “which had been apparently interrupted through the error of a few drunken men." this Chasse agreed, threatening that, upon the slightest aggression, he would recommence firing. A preliminary truce was then agreed on; and, two days after, a more formal armistice for five days Το was concluded, which," though never strictly adhered to on either side, formed the basis of the subsequent diplomatic negociations, until the surrender of the citadel." We cannot but think that Chasse should have followed up his success, and compelled, as he easily might, the evacuation of the town. He possessed both the power and the right to do so, the insurgents themselves having provoked the attack, by a want of good faith in the observance of their engagements. But the same unaccountable remissness, which characterised all the former efforts of the government, was here also deplorably manifest; and, while every thing was done which could add bitterness to the rage, nothing was done which circumscribed the power, or curbed, in any effectual manner, the insolence of the assailants. "Had Chasse, (Mr. White tells us,) even after the expiration of the bombardment, peremptorily demanded the evacuation and submission of the city, as the sine qua non to further concessions, he might have imposed his own terms. The terrible lesson the populace had received had rendered them sensible of the imminence of those perils, and the delegates of the provisional government would have paused ere they persisted in sacrificing the second city of Belgium to the obstinacy of a few desperate men; but Chasse, unfortunately let slip the golden opportunity, and thus paved the way to the subsequent downfall of the citadel." If we must condemn the stratagetic conduct, it is well that that condemnation can be made available for the defence of the moral character of this distinguished chief. If he erred, it was as a soldier, not as a man; and when we consider the provocation he received, and the power which he possessed, our censure of his military errors will, perhaps, be mitigated by our acknowledgment of his clemency and moderation. An application having been made by the King of Holland to the allied powers who were parties to the treaty of Vienna, for assistance to reduce his revolted subjects to their allegiance, he received from them but little encouragement. The barricades had already given a new revolutionary sovereign to France, who could have but little sympathy for the troubles of the legitimate England, the Wellington administrasovereign of the Netherlands. And in tion was at that moment tottering to its fall, and had already, by acknowledging the King of the French, given a kind of pledge that they would oppose no serious obstacle to the progress of revolution. Mr. White tells us that a reform mania had at that time taken possession of the people, and that it was by reason of its prevalence the Duke found it so difficult to carry on his administration. In this we trust he is only mistaken. The difficulties which the Duke experienced arose from his concessions to the Roman Catholics, which alienated the best of his supporters in both houses of parliament. Their disgust at his supposed dishonesty gave rise to a temporary coalition with the Whigs, which rendered that almost extinguished faction very powerful. The business of the government could not be carried the Duke of Wellington would consent on, upon the principles on which alone to conduct it: and thus, by a disastrous combination between wounded friends and furious enemies, he was driven from the helm of affairs, and the destinies of England were entrusted to the guidance of the destructive administration. pro Against the charge of having been actuated by any jealous or vindictive feeling, the General stands fully vindicated. It was against the arsenal and entrepot that the fire was chiefly directed, and the whole of these vast buildings, together with the venerable church of St. Michael's, were consumed. But, "Had it been his intention to annihilate the whole, instead of a part, he could speedily have effected his object. Had the range of his howitzers and mortars been diverged-had the ships not elevated their guns-in short, had his jectiles been scattered over the town, in lieu of being concentrated in one part, it is indisputable that, ere the expiration of seven hours, the whole of Antwerp might have been involved in a blaze of destruction." Then it was that a desperate ministry made the people drunk by popular excitement, as their only chanceof maintaining their ill-gotten power; and that a slumbering demon was thus aroused, which never ceased to agitate the |