Johan de Witt

“ Binnenhof and Buitenhof were both dark save for this one light in John de Witt’s window.
The stars shone through a fine vapour; the glow of the lamps round the Vyverberg was half obscured by the thick leaves of the wych elms and the limes, which sent up a luscious fragrance to the open window.
John de Witt stood quite still. The black velvet and falling lace collar threw into relief his romantic good looks; the candid and melancholy features that were strangely unlined and simple in expression for one whose years had been so laboriously full. ”

“ John de Witt was not the most illustrious of the soldiers and statesmen who, in the seventeenth century were placed at the head of the Dutch republic; but there is not a more noble and impressive figure in that long procession of distinguished worthies. The grand pensionary had not, indeed, all the qualities of a born ruler of men ”

“ Europe was shaken from end to end; and in a few weeks, even days, the storm that had nearly overwhelmed the United Provinces became a great war whirlwind enveloping the world.
John de Witt does his part. His heart swells with pleasure at the deliverance of his country; he does justice, too late, to the Prince whom he has always mistrusted.
He is reviled, hated, cursed; the storm has already engulfed his brother.
Cornelius de Witt, who left the Hague with a guard of honour as plenipotentiary of Their Noble Mightinesses, returned to it on foot, a prisoner. ”

“ Before the French army had drawn near Utrecht, John de Witt had secretly given directions to have everything ready to pierce the dykes; and at the very time when he was parleying with the foe, he was inviting the chief men of the towns of Holland to venture upon a tremendous experiment, to be justified only by the extremity of danger. The assembly was by no means unanimous; many angry or timid protests were raised, but the grand pensionary was firm in his purpose; and the magistrates of Amsterdam having declared on his side, the orders were issued in the third week of June. ”

“ John de Witt is distracted by the agony of Maria de Witt, the fears of his own children, the piteous bewilderment of his father, the dismay of his friends; his very trust in God is almost shaken.
In the bitterness of his despair he appeals to the man who was once his pupil.
The day before the final verdict on Cornelius (and his brother does not doubt that it will be death) the Stadtholder returns unexpectedly to the Hague. ”

“ When, at the end of the same, they arrived before a gate that barred further passage and opened upon a corridor leading into the castle, the grenadier declared to the companions of John De Witt that they could go no further, his orders being to allow admission only to the Grand Pensionary of Holland. John De Witt urged his friends to withdraw, clasped their hands, and entered alone, the door being unlocked, then closed and re-locked after him by the grenadier who was furnished with a key. John De Witt was taken without delay to his brother, and there discovered the trap that was laid for him. ”

“ DE WITT, JOHN (1625–1672) , Dutch statesman, was born at Dort, on the 24th of September 1625. He was a member of one of the old burgher-regent families of his native town. His father, Jacob de Witt, was six times burgomaster of Dort, and for many years sat as a representative of the town in the states of Holland. He was a strenuous adherent of the republican or oligarchical states-right party in opposition to the princes of the house of Orange, who represented the federal principle and had the support of the masses of the people. ”

“ By the law, however, the grand pensionary was in no sense chief of the entire commonwealth; and his prerogatives, in fact, were strictly limited to the narrow bounds of a single province. Partly, however, because, as we have said, after the decline of constitutional powers, authority naturally passed to Holland, which was always the dominant State, but chiefly perhaps, because a great man almost always draws authority to himself, John de Witt became, in a short time, the virtual ruler of the Dutch republic. ”

“ His face remained impassive; not the least emotion did his features betray. He refolded the despatch, and sitting down where the cover was laid for him, remarked: "I learn that both De Witts were yesterday massacred at The Hague by the populace. May God pardon them, if it is true that they betrayed the fatherland!" And turning to his chaplain, the Prince added with unction: "You will order prayers to be read for the repose of the souls of the two De Witts. May God be merciful unto them!"
These were the only words that the young Prince vouchsafed to the memory of Cornelius and John De Witt. ”

“ A politician as, bold as and more far-sighted than Admiral Coligny, twice struck down, like him, by assassins, John van Witt remained in history the unique model of a great republican chief, virtuous and able, proud and modest, up to the day at which other United Provinces, fighting like Holland for their liberty, presented a rival to the purity of his fame, when they chose for their governor General Washington. ”

“ John de Witt ere long retired from the post he had filled with honor for nearly twenty years, and the administration of the two unconquered provinces was transferred to adherents of the Prince of Orange. Revolution, how ever, thirsts for blood, and the abettors of faction and popular fury united in a fierce cry for vengeance on the alleged traitors and foes of the States. The late grand pensionary was naturally the chief object of this passionate hate; but the first blow fell on the faithful brother, who had been for years his best friend and adviser. ”

“ I shall choose the stoutest and healthiest among them, and I can send him out fishing, and he can earn me money, as did George, and so I shall be able to enjoy ease, if not opulence."
"But suppose the lads decline the honour."
"I should like to see the impertinence of the lad that did," said Mrs. De Witt firmly. "I have had experience with men, and I know them in and out that familiarly that I could find my way about their brains or heart, as you would about your marshes, in the dark. ”

“ That state of Europe, which it was one main object of the policy of John de Witt to assure, has been made impossible in the march of events. His republic is now a third-rate monarchy, no longer resting on France by land while endeavoring to restrain her ambitious neighbor, and no longer the rival of England at sea; and the aspirations of the Dutch statesman are among the forgotten dreams of the past. Nevertheless history still does justice to the wisdom of his far-sighted views on the ambitious pretensions of Louis XIV. ”

“ A sudden waft of perfume from the limes came to his nostrils.
“I will not die in the streets, like a gallant in a tavern [357] brawl,” he thought, and forced his failing strength to drag him on. Clutching the railings, the tree-trunks, staggering, falling once or twice to his knees, John de Witt gained his house at the corner of the Kneuterdyk Avenue. ”

“ John de Witt was born in 1625. The family of the future head of the commonwealth had been originally feudal nobles; but, like many of their order, they had turned from the land to commerce in the sixteenth century; and they had long formed a part of the high burgher caste, which had freely lavished its wealth and its blood in the protracted struggle with the monarchy of Spain. ”

“ Who knows but that your own house may be invaded at one moment or another by that senselessly furious mob, as your father's house was invaded in Dortrecht!"
"Preserve yourself for your brother's sake, Monsieur De Witt," put in Salaun Lebrenn. "Leave The Hague."
"Live for this people which is more blind than it is ungrateful. Maybe the day will come when it will implore you to save the Republic!" said Nominoë with tears in his eyes, as he saw John De Witt receive the urgings of his friends with a silent impatience that betrayed his inner resolution to go to his brother. ”

“ But two things had taken hold of a nature naturally observant, cautious, yet energetic and aspiring: the first was the conviction that M. de Witt held a position by no means as secure as it seemed, a position that, despite the treaty of Breda, despite the Triple Alliance, was one that he, the new secretary, must watch carefully if he would not be entangled in a falling cause; and the second was the impression that this youth, the son of the late Stadtholder, was a latent force in Holland that might one day become tremendous, overwhelming. ”

“ No one, not even his bitterest enemies, ever charged John de Witt with personal corruption. Throughout his whole career he lived quietly and unostentatiously, as a simple citizen, on a very moderate income, and he died a poor man. ”

“ The influences, too, which surrounded the youth in the circle of home were well fitted to make the student a cultivated man of the world. At this period many eminent men of letters in France held close relations with the aristocracy of the burghers of the States; Montaigne and other distinguished Frenchmen had found an asylum or home in the Provinces, and the philosophy and manners of France flourished at Dort and other chief towns of Holland. John de Witt, in his teens, had the great advantage of mixing with this brilliant society ”

“ He never showed himself to the people, except surrounded by his ten thousand guards. If he gave an audience, the person admitted to the royal presence was compelled, on pain of death, to present himself dressed in a robe with long sleeves falling over the hands, so that he should not be able to use his hands against his sovereign. If he entertained guests at his table, those among them who were considered the most faithful were placed at his right hand, and the less trusted at his left, because, in case of need, he would be better able to defend himself with the right hand than with the left. ”

“ But war on land would bring the young William forward. De Witt made every possible concession, hoping to prevent it. Rather than fight the French, he was willing to agree to a partition of the Belgic provinces. Already, he was at war with England, and the sea-fights had been indecisive. Resistance to France on land was out of the question, except by means of a Coalition, and as no Coalition could be hoped for, Holland stood aside, while Turenne overran Flanders. The Austrian Habsburgs did not interfere to protect the Spanish branch, although they were its heirs. ”

“ He restored the finances of the state, and extended its commercial supremacy in the East Indies. In 1658–59 he sustained Denmark against Sweden, and in 1662 concluded an advantageous peace with Portugal. The accession of Charles II. to the English throne led to the rescinding of the Act of Seclusion; nevertheless De Witt steadily refused to allow the prince of Orange to be appointed stadtholder or captain-general. This led to ill-will between the English and Dutch governments, and to a renewal of the old grievances about maritime and commercial rights, and war broke out in 1665. ”

“ The bystanders then rush forward and dance on the corpse. The agony of his brother follows close upon his own. John de Witt, having been led from the prison bareheaded, and with blood flowing down his face from the stroke of the pike, had wrapped himself up in a cloak, and was making use of it to ward off the blows that were aimed at him from every side, He had been delivered from Verhoef, who, wounded by a blow from a musket, had thought it unsafe to stay by his side, and was trying to escape ”

“ M. de Witt represents the Government and the law, and the Prince is a powerless cipher——”
“Not so powerless; we are in touch with him, he commands a section of the nobles—and he has the name.”
Florent, hearing again the words used by Sir William Temple, started inwardly. It was curious that the name that owed its prestige and its weight to the fact that it was the name of the man who had first given Holland her liberty was to be used now to aid in her downfall.
“He is a boy,” said Van Mander quickly. “He has been brought up by M. de Witt—educated as a republican——”
St. Croix smiled. ”

“ He galloped proudly, for the burghers of The Hague had made of the corpses of the De Witts a stepping stone to power for William of Orange.
II.--Betrayed for his Bulbs
Doctor Cornelius van Baerle, the godson of Cornelius de Witt, was in his twenty-eighth year, an orphan, but nevertheless, a really happy man. His father had amassed a fortune of 400,000 guilders in trade with the Indies, and an estate brought him in 10,000 guilders a year. He was blessed with the love of a peaceful life with good nerves, ample wealth, and a philosophic mind. ”

“ Sweden also received a subsidy, and her schemes of aggrandizement on continental Germany were encouraged. Meanwhile the illustrious man who ruled Holland showed that kind of weakness which good men often do in the presence of the unscrupulous and wicked. John de Witt could not be convinced of the reality of Louis' nefarious designs. France had ever been Holland's best friend, and he could not believe that the policy of Henry IV, of Richelieu and Mazarin, would be suddenly reversed by the young King of France. ”

“ The Grand Pensionary answered slowly, almost reluctantly—
“I believe it is the wish of the Army—such is their folly.”
“They are very eager to forge their own chains,” said Jacob de Witt grimly.
“It is a strange thing—I think it is the name hath the glamour—they would take him untried....”
John de Witt paused a moment, then went on in a low and laboured voice—
“There are so many difficulties ... a domestic revolution threatened ... a foreign invasion ... but if they trusted me I could save them yet ... from France and from themselves.” ”