er, and is known as William
III. Instead of seeking the 'last ditch' himself, he opened it for the
benefit of the invaders. The dikes were cut, and the country was so
thoroughly inundated that the French army was forced to retire, after
sustaining very heavy losses. Peace was made with England in 1674, and
three years later, the Stadtholder married Mary, daughter of James, Duke
of York, who became king of England at the death of his brother Charles
II. By the revolution of 1688, William and Mary were declared joint
sovereigns of England.

"When William III. died, his cousin and next heir was not recognized as
Stadtholder of Holland, the anti-Orange party being in the ascendant. A
republic was again organized under Heinsius; but, in 1747, the prince
again prevailed, and the line of the Stadtholders was resumed under
William IV., who was succeeded by William V. In 1795 the Batavian
Republic was established, under the influence of the French Revolution,
France having conquered the country.

"In 1806, Napoleon remodelled the government, and placed his brother
Louis, the father of the present French emperor, upon the throne. Louis,
who was a very moderate and sensible man, offended his brother by ruling
his kingdom in the interest of Holland rather than France, and, after a
brief reign of four years, was compelled to abdicate. Napoleon then
annexed Holland to France.

"At the downfall of Napoleon the Netherlands were erected into a
kingdom, which included Belgium, as I have before stated, and the Prince
of Orange was made king, under the title of William I. The present
sovereign is his grandson. The Belgian Revolution of 1830 deprived
Holland of one half of its territory, and more than half of its people;
but these events I mentioned in my lecture at Antwerp."

Mr. Mapps retired, and Mr. Lowington took his place.

"Young gentlemen," said the principal, "this afternoon we shall make a
steamboat excursion to Dort, and through some of the arms of the sea, to
enable you to see Dutch life from the water. On Monday we shall start on
a grand excursion through Holland, visiting the following places in the
order in which they are mentioned: Delft, The Hague, Leyden, Harlem,
Amsterdam, Sardam, Broek, Alkmaar, The Helder, and Utrecht. The
programme will enable you to see all the interesting points of Holland,
including the capital, the drained lake of Harlem, and the great dike of
the Helder.

"The water of Holland is very bad,