, united with England, it would have been a source of
great revenue and power, not a burthen and an expense. Yet, when
convinced of such facts, by the statistics which were liberally laid
before her by her confidential agents, she never manifested, either in
public or private, any intention of accepting the sovereignty. This being
her avowed determination, it was an error on the part of the States,
before becoming thoroughly acquainted with the man's character, to confer
upon Leicester the almost boundless authority which they granted on, his
first arrival. It was a still graver mistake, on the part of Elizabeth,
to give way to such explosions of fury, both against the governor and the
States, when informed of the offer and acceptance of that authority. The
Earl, elevated by the adulation of others, and by his own vanity, into an
almost sovereign attitude, saw himself chastised before the world, like
an aspiring lackey, by her in whose favour he had felt most secure. He
found, himself, in an instant, humbled and ridiculous. Between himself
and the Queen it was, something of a lovers' quarrel, and he soon found
balsam in the hand that smote him. But though reinstated in authority, he
was never again the object of reverence in the land he was attempting to
rule. As he came to know the Netherlanders better, he recognized the
great capacity which their statesmen concealed under a plain and
sometimes a plebeian exterior, and the splendid grandee hated, where at
first he had only despised. The Netherlanders, too, who had been used to
look up almost with worship to a plain man of kindly manners, in felt hat
and bargeman's woollen jacket, whom they called "Father William," did not
appreciate, as they ought, the magnificence of the stranger who had been
sent to govern them. The Earl was handsome, quick-witted, brave; but he
was, neither wise in council nor capable in the field. He was intolerably
arrogant, passionate, and revengeful. He hated easily, and he hated for
life. It was soon obvious that no cordiality of feeling or of action
could exist between him and the plain, stubborn Hollanders. He had the
fatal characteristic of loving only the persons who flattered him. With
much perception of character, sense of humour, and appreciation of
intellect, he recognized the power of the leading men in the nation, and
sought to gain them. So long as he hoped success, he was loud in their
praises. They were all wise, substantial, well-lan