age. The death of Queen Mary, which took place early in
1695, proved a severe calamity, both to the king and the nation. She had
been a vigilant guardian of her husband's interests, which were
constantly exposed to hazard by the conflicts of party and by the
disadvantages under which he labored as a foreigner. In 1696 a congress
was opened at Ryswick, to negotiate a general peace; and William did not
interpose any obstacles. In the following year the treaty was concluded.

The King of Spain's death led to the last event of great importance in
William's reign. The powers of Europe had arranged plans to prevent the
accumulation of the Spanish possessions in the houses of Bourbon and
Austria; but the French king violated all his solemn pledges, by
accepting the deceased monarch's will in favor of his own grandson, the
Duke of Anjou. In consequence of this breach of faith, preparations were
made by England and Holland for a renewal of war with France; but a fall
from his horse prevented William from further pursuing his military
career, and the glory of reducing Louis XIV. within the bounds of his
own kingdom was left to be earned by the generals of Queen Anne. The
king was nearly recovered from the lameness consequent on his fall, when
fever supervened; and he died March 8, 1702, in the fifty-second year of
his age and thirteenth of his reign.

The character of King William has been drawn with all the exaggeration
of panegyric and obloquy by opposing partisans. His native country owes
him a lasting debt of gratitude, as the second founder of its liberty
and independence; and his adopted country is bound to uphold his memory,
as its champion and deliverer from civil and religious thraldom. In
short, the attachment of the English nation to constitutional rights and
liberal government may be measured by its adherence to the principles
established at the Revolution of 1688 and its just estimate of that
sovereign and those statesmen who placed the liberties of Great Britain
on a solid and lasting foundation.

ISAAC NEWTON

By JOHN STOUGHTON, D.D.

(1642-1727)

[Illustration: Isaac Newton. [TN]]

As a literary philosopher, Bacon surpasses Newton; as an experimental
philosopher, Newton surpasses Bacon. Newton's works contain nothing in
point of style and illustration comparable to Bacon's essays; Bacon's
works contain nothing in point of scientific discovery and mathematical
calculation comparable to Newton's "Opt