rom Holland. The direct issue is between England and
Germany. The Hollander likes England, fashions his life as much as
possible after the English pattern, prefers to do business with English
people. Yet is there any reason why Holland should make the possible
sacrifice of her own existence for the benefit of England?

Will Mr. Wells kindly glance through his history and see what we as a
nation have suffered at the hands of England?

During three centuries we fought with England about a principle laid
down by Grotius of Delft. We claimed that the sea was an open highway,
free to all navigators. England used her best legal talent to prove the
contrary. In this struggle we exhausted ourselves and we finally lost.
Incidentally we saw our richest colonies go into the possession of
England. The very colony in which I am writing this letter was taken
from us in time of peace. Of course all this is past history and no
Hollander is going to accuse an Englishman of acts committed by his
great-grandfather. But the people will remember all those things,
however vaguely, and they will distrust the nation that has constantly
done them harm. We gave England her best King, (if one is to believe Mr.
Macaulay.) William III. in order to destroy the power of Louis XIV., and
greatly for the benefit of England incidentally, did the greatest harm
to the country of his origin. After 1715, totally exhausted, we were
obliged to see how England got ahead of us.

Then there are some other small items. I take one at random. While the
Duke of Wellington danced the polka in Brussels the Prince of Orange
with a small Dutch army stopped Napoleon's progress at Quatre Bras, and
by disobeying the orders of the British commander saved the army of the
allies and made the victory of Waterloo possible. Our thanks for this
self-sacrifice was the mild abuse of Mr. Thackeray and other gentlemen
who have ever since laughed at the clumsy Dutch troops who in truth so
valiantly assisted the British and Prussians. In this matter a little
more generosity on the part of British historians would have made us
feel more cordial toward our English neighbors. It was ever thus. To
read the story of the Armada one would believe that the English
destroyed this dangerous Spanish fleet. As a matter of fact, competent
historians know that certainly one-half of the glory for that feat goes
to the Dutch sailors, who prevented the Spaniards from getting their
supplies, their pilo