energetic, but so oppressive and high-handed as to arouse hostility and
alienate the native chiefs. Napoleon, informed of Daendels' harsh rule,
sent out Janssens with a body of troops to replace him. The new
governor-general landed on April 27, 1811, but he could make no
effective resistance to a powerful British expedition under General
Auchmuty, which took possession of Batavia on August 4, and after some
severe fighting compelled (September 17) the whole of the Dutch forces
to capitulate.

The year of Napoleon's invasion of Russia, 1812, was a year of passive
endurance. The safety of the remnant of the Grand Army was secured
(November 28) by the courage and staunchness of the Dutch
pontoon-engineers, who, standing in the ice-cold water of the Beresina,
completed the bridge over which, after a desperate battle, the French
troops effected their escape. The Moscow catastrophe was followed in
1813 by a general uprising of the oppressed peoples of Europe against
the Napoleonic tyranny. In this uprising the Dutch people, although
hopes of freedom were beginning to dawn upon them, did not for some time
venture to take any part. The Prince of Orange however had been in
London since April, trying to secure a promise of assistance from the
British government in case of a rising; and he was working in
collaboration with a number of patriotic men in Holland, who saw in an
Orange restoration the best hopes for their country's independence. The
news of Leipzig (October 14-16) roused them to action.

Foremost among these leaders was Gijsbert Karel van Hogendorp. He had
been one of the Orangist leaders at the time of the restoration of 1787
and had filled the post of pensionary of Rotterdam. After the French
conquest he had withdrawn from public life. With him were associated
Count Van Limburg-Stirum and Baron Van der Duyn van Maasdam, like
himself residents at the Hague. Van Hogendorp could also count on a
number of active helpers outside the Hague, prominent among whom were
Falck, Captain of the National Guard at Amsterdam, and Kemper, a
professor at Leyden. Plans were made for restoring the independence of
the country under the rule of the Prince of Orange; but, in order to
escape the vigilance of the French police, great care was taken to
maintain secrecy, and nothing was committed to writing. The rapid march
of allied troops, Russians and Prussians, towards the Dutch frontiers
after Leipzig necessitated rapid action.

Van