William Bentinck

“ In a bewildered way they looked at each other.
“You should never have let him go,” said M. Beverningh. “A strong man could not have stood what he has put upon himself——”
“You made no protest,” retorted William Bentinck.
“What influence have I?”
“No—nor any man.” M. Bentinck frowned. “Well, if he falls sick there is an end to all of it—for he alone holds us together.”
Catching up the candle he flickered it across the Prince’s unconscious face.
M. de Zuylestein was unbuckling his nephew’s rusty armour.
“He is not wounded,” he said ”

“ When William of Orange came over at the request of many of the nobility and influential commoners in this country there was in his train, Hans William Bentinck, who had previously been to England on a political mission for the Prince.
Bentinck was of noble Batavian descent and served William as a page of honour. His family had its local habitation at Overyssel in the Netherlands and still is known there. At Welbeck a curious old chest, made of metal and carved, is one of his relics, for in it he brought over from Holland all his family plate and jewels. ”

“ He turned his gaze over his camp, spread beneath the gold and silver dawn.
“Perhaps some men could have done better,” he said. “I would I could have served one campaign under Condé before I had to serve against him ... yet against all odds something may be accomplished.”
M. Bentinck stared at him.
“You do not seriously think of resistance, Highness?”
“Would you consider it madness?” asked William.
“The most utter madness!”
M. Bentinck was vehement.
“The country is lost—half conquered, wholly despaired of. Nothing will soften King Louis’ demands—you must see it.” ”

“ The steady sound of low, earnest voices filled the tent.
Only William Van Odyk stood silent, staring at the ground.
It was very quiet without; so quiet that the sudden jingle of harness and sound of a horse’s hoofs made them abruptly hold their converse.
[291]
The second flap was lifted; M. Beverningh stepped forward.
The Prince entered quickly, followed by William Bentinck.
The bar of sunshine making a dazzle before his eyes, and, the other men being withdrawn into the shadows, he did not instantly perceive any one but Mr. Bromley and the Deputy for Holland.
“M. Beverningh?” ”

“ William Bentinck, whose great knowledge of hidden affairs as well as his lack of bias in favor of that Society entitles his opinion to a greater value, thought it to be a case in which one had been employed that might, in event of failure, throw the fault upon a body of men as accustomed to be blamed as to do good. ”

“ Happily, William had not to grieve that the life of his devoted servant had been sacrificed by his tender care. From that time Bentinck was peculiarly favoured by the reserved but not ungrateful Prince; yet so little dependence is there to be placed on human affections, so constantly are we to be admonished that nothing is stable, nothing wholly satisfactory, in this life of chances and changes, that the generous Bentinck afterwards found himself supplanted in his sovereign’s regard by Keppel Earl of Albemarle ”

“ His obvious policy lay in a compact with France, but so far he appeared to have rejected such overtures as had been made to him.
“I cannot see clearly how you stand, Highness,” said M. Bentinck at last, puzzled.
“No?” In no man’s company did the Prince smile so much. “My attitude is rather difficult to define, is it not, my child?”
William was three or four years younger than M. Bentinck, and half a head shorter, but the expression did not sound foolish on his lips.
“How will war help you?” asked M. Bentinck thoughtfully. ”

“ To a very small circle of intimate friends, on whose fidelity and secrecy he could absolutely depend, he was a different man from the reserved and stoical William whom the multitude supposed to be destitute of human feelings. He was kind, cordial, open, even convivial and jocose, would sit at table many hours, and would bear his full share in festive conversation. Highest in his favour stood a gentleman of his household named Bentinck, sprung from a noble Batavian race, and destined to be the founder of one of the great patrician houses of England. ”

“ This was a matter he seldom spoke of, and M. Bentinck was abashed.
“A gift I share with every common soldier,” he answered.
“They are to be envied,” said William, rather grimly.
He had regained his composure of manner and his control, but he looked tired and sick to swooning point. M. Bentinck could not bear to hear him cough.
“Will you see if you can get better lamps for to-night,” he said. “The fumes of these choke me.”
He pressed M. Bentinck’s hand affectionately, took up M. Fagel’s letter and, lifting the curtain, entered the inner part of the tent. ”

“ William wanted neither a guide nor a flatterer. Having a firm and just reliance on his own judgment, he was not partial to counsellors who dealt much in suggestions and objections. At the same time he had too much discernment, and too much elevation of mind, to be gratified by sycophancy. The confidant of such a prince ought to be a man, not of inventive genius or commanding spirit, but brave and faithful, capable of executing orders punctually, of keeping secrets inviolably, of observing facts vigilantly, and of reporting them truly; and such a man was Bentinck. ”

“ When an heir is born to Bentinck, "he will live, I hope," says William, "to be as good a fellow as you are; and, if I should have a son, our children will love each other, I hope, as we have done." 211 Through life he continues to regard the little Bentincks with paternal kindness. He calls them by endearing diminutives: he takes charge of them in their father's absence, and, though vexed at being forced to refuse them any pleasure, will not suffer them to go on a hunting party, where there would be risk of a push from a stag's horn, or to sit up late at a riotous supper. ”

“ King Louis hopes to celebrate Mass at the Hague....”
“If the peace negotiations fail what could one do?” asked M. Bentinck. “We have de Ruyter, but there is no captain to hold the French back on the land.”
“One might arise,” answered the Prince.
“You think——?”
William cut him short.
“We talk too weightily. I have had no dinner, you must dine again to keep me company. How are my uncle the Elector and my cousin Charlotte?”
M. Bentinck rose.
“It could be a match there, if you wished, Highness. You see there are many courting your alliance.” ”

“ The descendants of Bentinck still preserve many letters written by William to their ancestor: and it is not too much to say that no person who has not studied those letters can form a correct notion of the Prince's character. He whom even his admirers generally accounted the most distant and frigid of men here forgets all distinctions of rank, and pours out all his thoughts with the ingenuousness of a schoolboy. He imparts without reserve secrets of the highest moment. He explains with perfect simplicity vast designs affecting all the governments of Europe. ”

“ Lord William describes his position as not agreeable, having to effect the odious work of reduction. [Footnote: Besides the burning question of 'Half- Batta,' Lord W. Bentinck's administration was regarded as hostile in spirit to that of his predecessors, and so disliked by those who had served under them, especially by the military.] He says that in India no man thinks of anything but MONEY, that the local government has incurred great odium by carrying into effect the orders of the home authorities. ”

“ People of his disposition at times reveal the existence of tender sensibilities. They form friendships limited in extent, but intense in degree. Nor do sallies of humour fail to sparkle in their sombre lives. William’s almost romantic love for Bentinck, who watched him in illness, is generally known. Less noticed is the Prince’s power of repartee. One day as he walked in the pleasant gardens of the Hague, the Grand Pensionary praised one of the parterres. “Yes,” replied His Highness, “this garden is very fine, but there is too much white in it.” ”

“ Florent left the room, to return almost immediately with M. Bentinck, who had slept well all night and was as gay as if he were starting for a hunt in Guelders.
William gave him a charming smile and rolled up the map.
“M. de Zuylestein is below with his regiment of cavalry.” M. Bentinck, who was also in armour, bent and kissed his master’s hand. “I think you will already find the streets full of people——”
“They had best keep their cheers for our return,” answered William briefly.
Florent was observing him closely. He wished that he might have accompanied M. Bentinck to the war ”

“ Sleeman, a wise and admirable man, under the government and support of Lord William Bentinck. [The question of the Thugs and their modern successors has been again discussed in the Quarterly Review, Oct. 1901.]
c. 1665.—"Les Voleurs de ce pais-là sont les plus adroits du monde; ils ont l'usage d'un certain lasset à noeud coulant, qu'ils savent jetter si subtilement au col d'un homme, quand ils sont à sa portée, qu'ils ne le manquent jamais; en sorte qu'en un moment ils l'étranglent ..." ”

“ William, second Duke of Portland, was born in 1709, and married, in 1734, the Lady Margaret Cavendish Harley, daughter and sole heiress of the Earl of Oxford by his countess, daughter and sole heiress of John Holles, Duke of Newcastle, who thus brought the estates of Welbeck, &c., to the Bentinck family. By this union his grace had issue three sons and three daughters. These were—the Lady Elizabeth Cavendish Bentinck, married to the Marquis of Thomond; Lady Henrietta Cavendish Bentinck, married to the Earl of Stamford ”

“ Mr. Bromley was silent, as always when his master seemed in one of his coldly cynical moods. The Prince was usually in a sardonic humour after he had been openly acclaimed by the crowd; it pointed, perhaps, the difference between his actual position and the one he should have filled.
M. Bentinck was abroad, taking farewell of friends; he was to accompany the Prince to the front.
William dined alone.
Afterwards he wrote a brief but kind letter to the Princess Dowager, and one to Cornelius Triglandt at Arnheim.
He gave these for dispatch to Mr. ”

“ In a letter to Bentinck, dated Sept. 6/16 1688, William insists strongly on the importance of avoiding an action, and begs Bentinck to represent this to Herbert. "Ce n'est pas le tems de faire voir sa bravoure, ni de se battre si l'on le peut eviter. Je luy l'ai deja dit: mais il sera necessaire que vous le repetiez et que vous le luy fassiez bien comprendre." ↑ Rapin's History; Whittle's Exact Diary. I have seen a contemporary Dutch chart of the order in which the fleet sailed. ↑ Adda, Nov. 1688; Newsletter in the Mackintosh Collection; Citters Nov 6/16 ↑ Burnet, i. ”

“ Even her placid temper appears to have been ruffled at the reported desire of William, through the intrigues of his favourite Bentinck, to rule alone; and to exclude her family from the possession of a crown which they were little likely to regain when lost. But William, checked by the demonstration of English spirit in one of his English adherents, contented himself with a declaration, first, that in case of a regency being proposed, he should decline that office: he would accept of no dignity dependent on the life of another. ”

“ Defence of a theory of government founded on certain propensities of human nature, 442. Refutation of the same, 445. His "greatest happiness principle," 448. His authorship of the defence of Mill denied, 458. His greatness; his literary partnership with Dumont, ii. 96-98. On the French Revolution, 294. Bentinck, Lord William, his memory cherished by the Hindoos, ii. 762. Bentivoglio, Cardinal, on the state of religion in England in the sixteenth century, ii. 84. Bentley, Richard, his quarrel with Boyle, and remarks on Temple's Essay on the Letters of Phalaris, ii. ”

“ While Maud and Mr. Morley were thus revelling in each other's society, over the bold cliffs and headlands, Blanche and her lover were taking their quiet walks along the rocks and sands beneath, where they would, ever and anon, stop and rest themselves, and look out on the broad ocean which lay before them, talking of the future, and hoping that all might turn out smoothly in the end ”

“ Man's life is not in his own hands. He who gave it, and He alone, has the right to take it when it shall please Him so to do. Morley thought not of the future, but only how to escape from "the pangs of despised love," which now oppressed him. ”

“ Better die a thousand deaths than face this terrible ordeal. Her husband would despise and hate her, as much as he loved her now, when he discovered the extent of the deception that had been practised upon him. ”

“ I have no one in the world but my father and my aunt, to look to for protection. My father lies upstairs on a bed of sickness, and he has no one but myself to nurse him; and where my aunt is I know not. Oh! gentlemen, have pity on me, if not on my father;—he is my father, whatever evil he may have done. Spare him for my sake! Consider, squire Pendray, you have daughters of your own,—consider their feelings if placed in my situation. ”

“ Morley examines his chest."
"'Morley!'" cried Alrina; "did I hear you rightly, sir? did you call that gentleman 'Morley?'"
"My name is Morley," said that gentleman, taking her hand; "I am the brother of one whom I know you have been led to believe will take you out of your present position, and raise you to his station in life."
"No, sir," replied Alrina, indignantly,—"my family shall never be a disgrace to anyone; and, let me tell you, sir, that neither you nor your brother shall ever be disgraced by me! I will never be the wife of a man who might afterwards despise me." ”